Eritrea POW release "public relations gimmick"

Ethiopia has termed Eritrea's release of its remaining prisoners of war (POWs) as a "public relations gimmick". An Ethiopian foreign ministry statement described the release as "partial". "The [Eritrean] regime... has refused to disclose the whereabouts of the remaining prisoners who fell under its custody under different circumstances," the statement charged. Eritrea on Thursday freed 279 remaining POWs from its two-year border war with Ethiopia. They were released under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which registered the POWs on both sides. "The announcement made by the Eritrean government that it has partially released today [Thursday] Ethiopian prisoners of war is just a public relations gimmick aimed at improving the regime's international image," the Ethiopian statement said. "The fact that there are still Ethiopian POWs, who have never been visited by the ICRC or the relevant international organisations, also clearly demonstrates the regime's public relations gimmick," the statement added. It accused the Eritrean government of "war criminal responsibility" for "refusing to disclose the whereabouts of other POWs". Eritrea on Friday rejected Ethiopia's claims. "However they want to portray this, we are talking results here," Eritrea's deputy ambassador to Kenya, Teweldemedhin Tesfamariam, told IRIN. "We have freed their POWs," he said. "It would be more appropriate for them to reciprocate, rather than trading in insults." The December 2000 Algiers peace accord, which put an end to the Ethiopia-Eritrea border war, stipulates that all POWs must be repatriated. But the process was delayed by continuing differences between the two sides. A major sticking point for the Ethiopians was Eritrea's detention of one of its fighter pilots, Bezabeh Petros. Both Eritrea and Ethiopia recently pledged to release all the remaining POWs during a visit to both countries by the ICRC president, Jakob Kellenberger. But Ethiopia still has to announce a date for the release of some 1,300 Eritrean POWs and 300 civilian internees. ICRC spokesman Juan Diaz told IRIN "various modalities" regarding the release were being discussed with the Ethiopian authorities. The Ethiopian statement added that the Eritrean POWs had been treated in a "humane manner". "The Ethiopian government also takes this opportunity to announce that it is ready to release all Eritrean POWs, and the necessary formalities for the release of the POWs are being finalised," it said.