OAU chief says he has received border ruling

The Secretary-General of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), Amara Essy, said on Saturday he had received the decision on border delimitation between Ethiopia and Eritrea. In a press statement, he said he welcomed the ruling, announced earlier in the day by an independent Boundary Commission sitting in The Hague. The decision, he said, "constitutes a milestone step in the peace process". "I call on the two parties to extend full cooperation to UNMEE [UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea] and the EEBC [Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission] for the implementation of the decision on the delimitation, so that the border can be demarcated within the shortest possible time," he stated. He said the OAU would continue to work closely with the parties and UNMEE "in the efforts to address the challenges relating to the implementation of the EEBC decision". The OAU would also work towards "ensuring that the peace process is pursued in an expeditious manner, so as to promote a lasting peace between the two countries", he added. Details of the ruling have not yet been made public. Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a bloody two-year war which erupted over a border dispute in May 1998. In December 2000, they signed the Algiers peace accord in which they agreed to the establishment of the Boundary Commission.