Agreement “almost perfect”

The cessation of hostilities between Ethiopia and Eritrea is holding, but does not constitute either a ceasefire or a negotiated peace settlement. Special Representative of the Secretary-General Legwaila Joseph Legwaila told reporters during a visit to Eritrea that the cessation of hostilities functioned like a ceasefire while the two parties engaged in dialogue, and compared it very favourably to other regional ceasefires. “This one is almost a perfect cessation of hostilities,” he said.

The Special Representative of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) said it had taken a lot of discipline for both sides to maintain the agreement signed on 18 June because the opposing forces were “so close in certain areas... as to shout at each other, but they have not shot at each other.” Legwaila said he did not doubt that the two leaders were genuine in their commitment to the peace process, but urged them to resolve the dispute, exchange political prisoners and deportees, and start normalising the situation between the two countries.