Eritrea says Ethiopia ‘beating battle drums’

By Ed Harris

ASMARA, May 24 (Reuters) – Eritrea’s president on Tuesday accused Ethiopia of “beating battle drums” and said a new border war was likely if Addis Ababa did not accept a legally binding 2002 boundary ruling.

President Isaias Afewerki, in a speech celebrating Eritrea’s 14th anniversary of independence from Ethiopia, also criticised the international community for not forcing Ethiopia to accept the ruling of an independent boundary commission in Eritrea’s favour.

“It is no secret that the TPLF regime is not only beating battle drums again, but is preparing for a massive military campaign,” Isaias said, referring to Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s former rebel Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front.

Both Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to accept the ruling under terms of a deal to end their 1998-2000 border war, which killed 70,000 people.

The commission awarded the flashpoint town of Badme to Eritrea, but Addis Ababa has refused to allow final demarcation of the border.

Meles in November said he accepted the ruling in principle but insisted on dialogue with Asmara first, which Eritrea refused as unnecessary under the peace deal.

“The TPLF regime, emboldened by the support of its proponents, has not only shunned the commission’s decision but views war as the only resort,” Isaias said.

“At the same time, we have no apprehension in confronting what may unfold, bearing in mind that the Security Council is responsible for all consequences,” he said.

Isaias accused the U.N. Security Council of failing to enforce the ruling in its latest resolution to extend the U.N. peacekeeping mandate there. Many saw the decision as insufficiently forceful.

“Although other Security Council members cannot be held unaccountable, it must be stated candidly that the principal architect of this obstruction of law is the United States of America,” Isaias said.

Washington has given Ethiopia political backing and military support cloaked in the guise of counter-terrorism, he said.

The U.S. Embassy in Asmara would give no immediate comment.

Isaias said Eritrea had repeatedly suffered from “unholy alliances” that flouted justice and the rule of law over the past century, and this was the latest example of it.

“The tragic consequence of this charade is that it entails war.”

A senior U.N. official in the peacekeeping mission warned in March that a new war was likely if the status quo in the stalemate did not change.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan also has criticised Ethiopia for moving as many as 48,000 soldiers closer to the border in December. Ethiopia has denied the movements were anything other than a restructuring of its forces.