Foreign Ministry criticizes latest Security Council resolution on Eritrean-Ethiopian peace process
By: Shaebia.org
September 18, 2004

The State of Eritrea
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Press Statement

Eritrea today reiterated that there are only two just options before the United Nations and the international community as a whole to resolve the Eritrea-Ethiopia conflict. This was contained in a press statement issued today by the Eritrean Foreign Ministry.

The statement underlined that the United Nations in particular and the international community in general should compel Ethiopia to agree to border demarcation in line with the Boundary Commission’s ruling on the one hand, and see to it that in accordance with Chapter 7 of the UN Charter Ethiopia honor the EEBC ruling on the other. The statement stressed that there is no any other alternative.

The Ministry issued the statement following a resolution adopted by the UN Security Council with regard to the Eritrean-Ethiopian peace process during its meeting on 15 September 2004. It noted that Security Council Resolution 1560(2004) places both the law-abiding party and the one that completely violates international law on equal footing. It described the Council resolution as unjust and passive that would only embolden the party that had clearly violated international law.

Noting that the demarcation of the border was expected to be finalized by November 2003 in accordance with the timetable drawn up by the Boundary Commission, the statement pointed out that the process did not even get off-ground, let alone reach finalization, due to the Addis Ababa regime’s failure to abide by the rule of law. The statement recalled that the Ethiopian Premier, in his letter of 19 September 2003 to the UN Secretary General, officially informed the UN Chief that Ethiopia fully rejects the final and biding decision of the Boundary Commission.

The Foreign Ministry statement noted that it is out of place to witness the Security Council concentrating on meaningless minor issues, instead of compelling the Ethiopian regime to immediately implement the EEBC decision by honoring the agreement it had signed in the presence of the UN Secretary General.