Demarcaton Letter to UN Security Council
By: Hiweit Haile
January 5, 2004
H.E. President
UN Security Council
NY NY
YOUR EXCELLENCY
1. This letter is submitted, pursuant to the UN's Public Diplomacy Policy,
for purposes of urging, and appeal to the UN Security Council, to redress factual
errors, and inconsistent commentaries expressed in S/2003/1186, Progress report
of the Secretary General on Ethiopia and Eritrea.
2. As a matter dispute resolution, under normal circumstances, the Office of the UN Secretary General is required to deliberate diligently. Usually, the Office spends tireless time and effort in preparing and submitting, fair, neutral and objective reports, in any given disputes between any nations. Even-handed reports are submitted to UN Security Council to render equitable and fair decisions. Regretfully, in this case, S/2002/1186 is full of prejudices, and it is polluted with preferential treatments favorable to Ethiopia, and unsympathetic to Eritrea.
3. In S/2003/1186, it is worth noticing for the author's discriminatory reasoning. In Section III (paragraphs 15-18), the writer/editor, incorporated, extracted, and attached thereto, progress reports of the Boundary Commission, (Annex I, Appendix I and Appendix II). However, deliberately, the Secretary General neglected UNMEE's factual progress reports, as articulated by UNMEE, and posted at UNMEE's web site, which web site was launched in October 2003 (see par. 30). In lieu of putting together simple and plain facts, the Secretary General, without proofreading, released his Progress report of the Secretary General on Ethiopia and Eritrea.
4. Evidently, this Report is one-sided. Its partiality is quite conspicuous, which seems that the UN Secretary General's Executive Secretary is an Ethiopian citizen, whose influence is real as suggested by the wordings of paragraph 35, and those offending, anti Eritrea expressions articulated in paragraphs 12-14, of S/2003/1186. Furthermore, in paragraphs 21-23, the report appeals financial aid to defray humanitarian annual budget at $54.30 per person or $380 million for seven million Ethiopian beneficiaries, but seeks no annual budget for 1.7 million Eritrean citizens. Seeking $380 for Ethiopians but $0.00, for Eritrean people is unfair, an out right discriminatory. Promoting Ethiopian causes, while, neglecting same humanitarian needs in Eritrea proves that S/2003/1186, prejudices against Eritrea.
5. The Secretary General went on to a great length to articulate minor incidents such as stone-throwing by children and cattle-rustling, but gave a deaf ear to more series issues originally raised and reported by UNMEE. For example, in paragraph 6, he used the word " suggested” to cover up some fact known to him or intentionally, decided to misguide the Security Council, because, the original UNMEE Report stated that the perpetrators were UNMEE employees, and the vehicle was smuggled from Eritrea to Ethiopia. It was hijacked from Senafe, in Temporary Security Zone, and the vehicle was use to transport more than 12 defectors, which should have been mentioned, since UNMEE-assisted defections were and remain of great concern to all parties concerned.
6. Instead of adhering to the burning issue at hand, Ethiopia's rejection of the ruling of the Boundary Commission, the Security General appeared as an Ethiopian sympathizer. In lieu of addressing Ethiopia's contemptuous behavior, he repeatedly infiltrated in Eritrea's internal affairs, such as its national service policy, and he demands Eritrean working for UNMEE to be exempted from Eritrean national services, in violation of Eritrea’s employment law (see par. 12). He blamed Eritrea for restrictions of movement, which movement is out side of the scope of UNMEE's mandate. The UN Secretary General failed to mention a relevant fact, that the pilot of His Special Representative was expelled from Eritrea, during the period under review, because, Eritrean authorities caught the pilot spying at an Eritrean site, which site was outside of UNMEE jurisdictions. (See Q & A of UNMEE's Weekly Press Briefing at its web site).
7. It appears the UN Secretary General does not practice what he preaches to heads of states. As the highest UN arbitrator, he is obliged to investigate any dispute or situation, which might lead to any friction. His observations, as set forth in paragraph 35 is a simple endorsement of Ethiopian position, which goes to show that he is not even handed peace maker, and as such, he does not rise to the standards of neutral UN magistrate. In due respect, his observations are prejudicial, as much as they are inflammatory. Such observations diminish the credibility and legitimacy of the Office of the Secretary General. Regretfully, S/2003/1183 is likely to hardening the position of the State of Eritrea and its people in regard to border demarcation. The Eritrean people are loosing confidence in the Secretary General's ability to furnish fair and just progress report.
8. S/2003/1186 failed to recommend to the UN Security Council tangible options to resolve the crises. It is fruitless, because the Secretary General failed to demand immediate implementation of the Boundary Commission's ruling. He blamed Eritrea for recalling its Ambassador to the African Union, but failed to address Eritrea's grievance against the African Union. Also, he neglected to mention that the other grantors of the Peace Accord are striving for find a real solution to three-year-old crises. Unlike the Secretary General, these grantor continue to appeal for expeditious demarcation of the common border between Eritrea and Ethiopia pursuant to the Algiers Agreement of December 2000, in which both Eritrea and Ethiopia solemnly pledged, and stipulated in writing, to accepting the Commission's ruling as final and binding.
Your Excellency,
9. S/2003/1186, as submitted, exasperates an existing-precarious situation. Any miss-interpretations are likely to lead to miscalculation that could have serious consequences in the Horn of Africa. Therefore, the UN Security Council is urged, on its own motion, to investigate the situation. Furthermore, the UNSC is urged to remedy the defects of S/2003/1186, consist with its charter. The Eritrean people are asking the Security Council to enforce the verdict of the Boundary Commission. The Eritrean people, like all victims of aggressions, have faith, and full confidence at the UN Security Council to render fair and equitable decision based upon the merits of the parties conduct in this case.
Respectfully Submitted,
Copy shared with:
HE UN Secretary General
President of European Union
President of the United States
Chairman of the African Union
The Media (Press)
Hiweit Haile
Eritrea