Eritrea calls UN peacekeepers scaledown unjust

June 2, 2006 (NAIROBI) — Eritrea has described a recent United Nations resolution to trim the number of peacekeepers on its tense border with Ethiopia as unjust, an article on the official Web site of Eritrea’s Information Ministry said.

The U.N. Security Council voted on Wednesday to cut the number of troops policing the border from 3,300 to 2,300 after Ethiopia failed to agree on a shared border drawn by international experts and Eritrea refused to end restrictions on peacekeepers’ movements.

The article on shabait.com, quoted the unnamed high-ranking official in the Foreign Ministry describing the U.N. decision as “a resolution that undermines the path of justice.”

“The only viable … solution to the issue is the implementation of the final and binding Boundary Commission’s verdict,” the article said.

U.N. troops were sent to the region after a two-year border war in which 70,000 people were killed.

As part of a 2002 agreement, both countries agreed to accept the findings of an international commission sent to mark a new border. But once announced, Ethiopia rejected the border and insisted on more talks.

Eritrea has accused the international community of doing little to enforce Ethiopian compliance with the decision.

Last year, Eritrea imposed harsh restrictions on U.N. peacekeepers — including a helicopter flight ban.

The article said that the high-ranking government official described the failure by the U.N. Security Council to push Ethiopia to accept the border decision, as “a clear indication of its failure of meeting its core responsibilities.”

Ethiopia on Thursday heaped blame on Eritrea for the impasse over their disputed border and repeated its calls for dialogue.

A U.S.-led diplomatic initiative seeking to end the border stalemate was announced in January, but diplomats say progress has been slow. Last week, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki accused the United States of favouring Ethiopia.

Eritrea is deeply suspicious of world powers, and diplomats and analysts say Washington’s closeness with Ethiopia — its top counter-terrorism ally in the Horn of Africa — may be complicating its role in the border issue.

(Reuters)