Freedom of movement “fundamental” for peace

The UN Security Council has called on Ethiopia and Eritrea to allow the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) free and unrestricted access in and around the 25 km-wide Temporary Security Zone (TSZ). Current Council President James Cunningham said in a statement on Tuesday that free and unhindered access for UNMEE was “a fundamental condition for the success of the peacekeeping operation”. “The Security Council calls on the parties to cooperate fully and expeditiously with UNMEE in the implementation of its mandate and to abide scrupulously by the letter and spirit of their agreements, particularly regarding the inviolability of the TSZ,” Cunningham said. The buffer zone, which is designed to separate the armed forces of the two countries, “must be completely demilitarised,” the statement said. Cunningham added that civilians inside the zone should be supported by an “appropriate but limited” number of Eritrean civilian militia and police. In accordance with the Algiers Peace Agreement, UNMEE is granted complete freedom of movement in and around the TSZ. Head of UNMEE Legwaila Joseph Legwaila has been quoted as saying that freedom of movement for UN peacekeepers within the TSZ is “the most serious problem” in the peace process.