Peacekeepers insist on freedom of movement

International peacekeepers deployed under the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) still faced problems of access to the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ), UNMEE said in a statement issued at its regular Friday press briefing, held simultaneously in Asmara and Addis Ababa. Although both the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments guaranteed access and freedom of movement for the peacekeeping operation in the December 2000 cessation of hostilities agreement, the Eritrean government had repeatedly “argued against our right to unrestricted freedom of movement outside the TSZ and supply routes to the zone”, said the statement, adding: “We must be able to observe what is happening outside the zone, as well as inside it.” UNMEE spokesman Jean Victor Nkolo said it was important that all concerned adhere to UN Security Council Resolution 1320 and permit free movement and access for UNMEE and its supplies throughout the territories of the two parties without any restrictions, including within the TSZ and the 15 kilometre-wide adjacent area. Routes to Sabalita and Harsile in Eritrea were cited as areas where UNMEE peacekeepers had been encountering movement difficulties, “contrary to the letter and spirit of the peace agreement”. Nkolo told journalists that solving the issue of access throughout the operational area was essential to UNMEE’s ability to fulfil its mandate. The road to Harsile, in spite of its critical importance as an evacuation route in and out of the TSZ, is largely out of bounds to UNMEE. Expressing optimism that a solution would soon be found, Nkolo told the press briefing that the question of free access had been raised again in a recent meeting between the UNMEE Chief Military Liaison Officer and Brig-Gen Kifle Abrahaley of the Eritrea Commission for Coordination with the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission. “It is a clear matter, the resolutions of the Security Council are clear on it, and we hope that the matter will soon be resolved,” Nkolo concluded.