Ethiopia "essentially contesting" border ruling - Isayas

Eritrean President Isayas Afewerki has accused Ethiopia of "conjuring up new pretexts" to challenge last month's ruling on the border between the two countries.

Speaking on the occasion of Eritrea's 11th independence anniversary on 24 May, he described the border ruling by an independent Boundary Commission as a "second referendum" which had "re-asserted" the country's independence and sovereignty.

"We have gone through an international judicial process that has now delimited and will soon demarcate our border with unequivocal legality and clarity," he said. "The significance of this event, which has few parallels on our continent, cannot be underestimated."

On 13 April, the Commission in The Hague issued a "final and binding" verdict on the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia, following a bitter two-year war.

Isayas said the Ethiopian government was "essentially contesting" the decision. "The TPLF [Tigray People's Liberation Front] regime has conjured up new pretexts, coached in a 'request for clarification'," he said. He urged "those who pamper the TPLF regime" to "reconsider their approach".

In a statement, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) confirmed that the Ethiopian government had, on 13 May, filed a "request for interpretation, correction and consultation" regarding the border ruling. The statement said the request had been sent to the Eritrean government for comment.

"In due course, the Commission will give its decision regarding the request," the EEBC statement said. "The pleadings and arguments of the parties in the case are not in the public domain."

Last week, representatives of the two governments held discussions with members of the Commission in The Hague to discuss the demarcation process. In his speech, Isayas accused the Ethiopian representatives of "resorting to fruitless obstructionist tactics", and said Eritrea would not be "derailed by the familiar behaviour of the TPLF regime".

On the future of his country, he said the focus now would be on capacity building, following the war with Ethiopia which had diverted "most of our productive human capital". "The internal resources and natural endowments that we have not exploited are enormous," he said.

But he also warned that the preoccupation with the war had given rise to "bureaucratic red tape, administrative abuses and embezzlement of public property". He said appropriate measures would be taken to reduce corruption.

Isayas also warned against outside interference in domestic issues. "To those few who intervene in our internal political matters and who pretend to be our mentors of democracy and justice...we have this simple message," he said. "We shall not choose slavery in order to get their assistance."