Eritrea could provoke war, not Ethiopia: Meles Zenawi

ADDIS ABABA, June 09, 2004 (The Reporter) — Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said the Ethiopian government had no intention of resorting to war as a result of the differences that had developed between Ethiopia and Eritrea on the boundary issue.

In an interview with an organ of [the ruling coalition] EPRDF [Ethiopian People’s revolutionary Democratic Front] called Abyotawi Democracy [Revolutionary Democracy] magazine, the prime minister said that war could only be provoked by Eritrea – and not by Ethiopia – because of the boundary issue.

The Algiers agreement had closed the war alternative, and accordingly, the Ethiopian government had closed the war alternative, the prime minister said.

The EPRDF organ quoted the prime minister as saying, “The Eritrean people want to enjoy the virtues of peace just as the Ethiopian people do. The Eritrean people would therefore close the war alternative if Shabia failed to advance their position.”

According to Meles Zenawi, Shabia had not declared the war alternative as a zero alternative. “Under the circumstances, it is difficult to assess with certainty the magnitude of the danger on the part of Shabia,” he concluded.