Map will not “prejudice” boundaries

The final map of the Temporary Security Zone has been presented to Ethiopia and Eritrea, the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) said. In a briefing to journalists and diplomats, UNMEE Spokesman Chris De Bono said that in creating the map, the UN had been guided by the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, signed by both countries last June, to end the two-year border war. He said the map had been drafted “for the sole purpose of allowing us to better monitor the zone, and to allow the two parties to live up to their commitments”. He warned that the map in no way prejudged or prejudiced the outcome of the Neutral Boundary Commission’s work, which would eventually decide “what in the border area is Eritrea and what is Ethiopia”. De Bono appealed to the two governments to work with the map, which would not be made public. “We are confident that both sides will find things that do not satisfy them in this map. We are not asking them to accept it. We are asking them to live with it.”

Responding to questions, the spokesman described the map as an internal tool to be used by the two governments and by UNMEE “to try and create confidence”. Establishing the boundaries on the disputed border has been one of the main obstacles in the peace process, diplomatic sources said.