British minister assails Eritrea over border

Dec 18, 2005 (ADDIS ABABA) — Britain’s junior foreign minister for Africa Saturday accused Eritrea of building up tensions with Ethiopia by placing restrictions on the UN mission (UNMEE) monitoring the disputed border between the countries.

“The decision to remove, the order to remove some detachments of those UNMEE forces, the decision to prevent helicopter flights by UNMEE forces raises tension,” said David Triesman, a parliamentary under-secretary of state with responsibility for Africa.

“I think that’s a mistake and we are trying to convey that to president Isaias (Afwerki), although at present he is not willing to see representatives of the international community.”

Triesman said it was “absolutely critical that everybody deals with the UNMEE forces in the way that the United Nations specified, and that everybody takes seriously resolution 1640,” which ordered Eritrea to reverse its order expelling UN peacekeepers earlier this month.

The soaring tensions along the Ethiopian-Eritrean border have raised fears of a new war between the rival Horn of Africa neighbors.

Triesman said that Ethiopia was complying with the UN order. “In terms of moving troops back to a safe distance from the border, prime minister Meles (Zenawi) has been able to demonstrate that he has done so,” he added.

Triesman confirmed to reporters that Britain had suspended part of its aid to Ethiopia following the post-election violence that took at least 48 lives last month in one of Africa’s poorest countries. But he said this was part of a general review of aid spending.

“There has been no cutting of aid,” he said. “The whole of the development aid is right now under review.”

“We remain completely convinced that the need to provide aid in respect of some of the poorest people in the world remains a commitment.”

But he added, “we need to find ways of ensuring that aid gets directly to the people.”

(AFP/ST)