Top officials urge Eritreans to "prepare for any eventuality"

Top party officials have been touring European countries to warn Eritreans to "be prepared for any eventuality" ahead of border demarcation. According to Shaebia, the website of the ruling People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), the party's secretary-general Al-amin Mohammed Seid told a recent meeting of Eritreans in Rotterdam, Holland that Ethiopia "is trying to disrupt the peace process and seems to be heading for war". "Accordingly, every Eritrean should be ready for any eventuality," he said. The independent Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) recently stated that the disputed and symbolic village of Badme - where the two countries' border war flared up in 1998 - was in Eritrean territory. Demarcation of the new border is due to begin in July. Ethiopia has expressed unhappiness over the pronouncement and indicated it may not accept the ruling. It accused the EEBC of being "unfair" and of "misinterpreting" the Algiers peace accord of December 2000 which officially ended the war. Officials in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, which borders Eritrea, have warned of local clashes if Badme goes to Eritrea. Earlier, during a meeting in Rome, Al-amin again urged all Eritreans to "stand ready and united for any eventuality". Last month, during a meeting with Eritreans in London, the PFDJ's political affairs head Yemane Gebreab called on the international community to "take all necessary steps to ensure that Ethiopia does not renege on the treaty". However, Legwaila Joseph Legwaila, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative in Ethiopia and Eritrea, this week said that both countries were still committed to the peace process. He told a news conference in Addis Ababa on Thursday that the "hiccup" over Badme was not beyond resolution and would not disrupt the process. Eritrean opposition groups have accused the PFDJ of "desperation" by sending its top officials abroad "to gain support for the government". Financial contributions from the diaspora are an important source of revenue for the Eritrean government.