Call for punitive measures against Ethiopia

Eritrea was “very much dismayed by the failure of the Security Council to honour its obligations...(and)....has an obligation to invoke Chapter VII and take punitive measures, including an arms embargo and economic sanctions against Ethiopia”, an Eritrean statement said. In a letter sent to the Security Council on 12 May, Eritrean President Isaias Aferworki asked it to condemn Ethiopia for launching a large-scale offensive. The letter said: “Ethiopia’s renewed resort to force comes in the wake of its repeated declaration to the international community that it was going to war.” It said Ethiopia had deliberately blocked peace talks and had “rejected proposals put forward by the mission of the Security Council that visited both countries this week”. It called on the Council to “strongly condemn Ethiopia’s resumption of its war of aggression ... and, support Eritrea’s legitimate right to self-defence”.