Kofi Annan welcomes any step that may bring peace

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Wednesday he welcomed any step that may bring peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea. He spoke after studying a five-point proposal unveiled by Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to break a deadlock between the two countries over their common border. "The Secretary-General welcomes any step which may contribute to full implementation of the 2000 Algiers Agreements and the subsequent decision of the boundary commission, to the initiation of dialogue between Ethiopia and Eritrea, as well as to the restoration of normal relations between these two neighbouring countries," a statement by Annan’s spokesman said. "Such relations could contribute in a major way to economic and social development in both countries, as well as to that of the whole region," he added. Ethiopia had refused to respect the April 2002 ruling by the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission, part of the Permanent Court of Arbitration based in The Hague. However, Meles announced in parliament on 25 November that Ethiopia would accept the ruling "in principle". He also called for dialogue between the two former foes. Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a border war between May 1998 and December 2000, in which tens of thousands of people were killed. As part of a deal to end the war, Ethiopia and Eritrea agreed to form an independent boundary commission and to consider its decision final and binding. Meanwhile, the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) announced on Thursday that 550 peacekeepers would begin returning to Kenya from the border region. The move comes after the UN Security Council voted in September to extend UNMEE’s mandate until March 2005, but called for a reduction in its size in order to reduce its annual budget of around US $200 million. UNMEE also announced it was investigating claims that Ethiopian soldiers crossed the border and burnt down ten houses in Eritrea. Maj-Gen Rajender Singh, UNMEE’s commander, said the attack was alleged to have taken place in the demilitarised zone that separates the two countries. "In the next couple of days we should be able to complete the investigation," he told journalists via video-link in Addis Ababa and Asmara. "Our investigations are still under progress. Up till now, we did not find any of the burnt houses, however, the investigations are not complete." He said that Ethiopia had categorically denied the attack, which was alleged to have taken place in a remote village called Edehlaf, one km inside the Eritrean border. Some 4,000 U.N peacekeepers patrol the 1,000-km-long border between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and the 25-km wide temporary security zone. They are mandated to do so until the demarcation – suspended indefinitely due to the disagreement between the two sides - is confirmed.