Border commission accused of "belittling" calls for change

Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin has accused the independent Boundary Commission of “belittling” Ethiopia's calls for changes to the new border with Eritrea. “No-one expects the government of Ethiopia to accept these mistakes committed by the Commission,” he said in a statement written in Amharic. A translation was received by IRIN on Wednesday. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has also written a letter to Secretary General Kofi Annan asking for UN support over the ruling, a source close to the peace process told IRIN. Tension has been mounting following the latest announcement by the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC), stating categorically that the disputed village of Badme - where the two countries' border conflict flared up in 1998 - is in Eritrean territory. The foreign minister accused the EEBC of making errors in both the western and central sectors of the 1,000 km border region. "The question is raised on the western parts between the Tekeze and Mereb rivers, and on areas between the Mereb and the border of the northern Afar region," he stated. However, he said the government had no problems with the new border in the eastern sector where demarcation is due to begin in July. “Since the issue of the eastern part of the border (Afar region) was addressed satisfactorily, no question was raised from Ethiopia,” he said. EEBC surveyors are due to complete their fieldwork analysis of the eastern sector in a matter of days. The results will be passed back to the EEBC – it is expected that both countries will also comment on the findings - and demarcation can then start in the region. Meanwhile, it emerged that last week Ethiopian troops grounded a UN helicopter, carrying staff and liaison officers of the EEBC, in the eastern sector near Bure. The incident, which Ethiopian sources described as a “misunderstanding”, lasted several hours before the helicopter took off again. Sources close to the peace process said a “window of opportunity” for resolving the border dispute would not remain open indefinitely. “These issues really would need to be resolved before surveyors move to the other sectors that are controversial,” the sources told IRIN.