From: Eri-News (er_news@dehai.org)
Date: Tue Jul 29 2008 - 21:30:30 EDT
UN to vote on ending monitoring of Eritrea-Ethiopia dispute
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — Belgium on Tuesday presented a draft Security
Council resolution that would end the UN mission monitoring the
border dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia.
The text, which would terminate the mission's mandate when it expires
on Thursday, would go for a vote before the 15-member council on
Wednesday, said a Western diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity.
The draft stresses that the termination is "without prejudice to
Ethiopia and Eritrea's obligation under the (2000) Algiers agreements."
It calls on the two bitter Horn of Africa rivals "to show maximum
restraint and refrain from any threat or use of force against each
other and to avoid provocative military activities."
The text also directs UN chief Ban Ki-moon to further explore "with
Ethiopia and Eritrea the possibility of a United Nations presence in
Ethiopia and Eritrea in the context of the maintenance of
international peace and security."
Last May, the council unanimously slammed Eritrea for cutting off
diesel supplies to the UN mission, forcing it to pull out of the
country.
Faced with Eritrea's fuel and other restrictions, Ban in April laid
out several options to deal with the impasse.
These include the full withdrawal of the UN mission from the border
area, or a less drastic option of deploying a "small observer
mission" which would try to defuse tensions and serve as "the eyes
and ears of the international community."
Under a 2000 Algiers peace deal which ended their two-year border
war, Eritrea and Ethiopia pledged to accept as "final and binding" a
verdict by the panel on their dispute.
The commission granted the flash point border town of Badme to
Eritrea, but Ethiopia has refused to recognize it.
Asmara, which claims that the United Nations sides with Ethiopia in
the dispute, has repeatedly accused its bigger and more powerful
neighbor of bracing for a new war.
Addis Ababa has dismissed the charge as a bid by Eritrea to divert
attention from its internal problems.
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