Coordination commission rejects UN map

The Eritrean commissioner in the Commission for Coordination with the UN peacekeeping mission, Andeberhan Woldegiorgis, said Eritrea had not accepted the latest map issued by the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), and had officially protested against it. The commissioner said it was wrong for UNMEE to issue a map of the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) "to suit the weyane's [Ethiopians'] demands", official Eritrean radio said on Tuesday. Andeberhan also complained that Ethiopia still had troops inside the TSZ, and had failed to hand over mine-field maps, which, he said, delayed the peace process and hindered the return of displaced people.

The comments referred to a map recently presented which UNMEE said was a temporary working map for the buffer zone, and would not determine the eventual boundaries. An UNMEE spokesman appealed to both parties to "live with it". Both parties have subsequently rejected it.

Regarding freedom of movement for UNMEE, Andeberhan said Eritrea would not allow the peacekeepers to "move all over the country at will without permission". He said UNMEE's understanding on the issue "was improving, and it had apologised for some of its repeated accusations against Eritrea". In its last report on the Ethiopia-Eritrea peace mission, the UN Security Council expressed strong concern over freedom of movement issues in Eritrea.