Restrictions on movement of peacekeepers persist, UN says

The UN has expressed concern over Eritrea's continuing imposition of restrictions on the movement of its peacekeepers north of the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) set up on its disputed border with Ethiopia. The UN mission to the two countries (UNMEE) said on Monday that while Ethiopia had lifted its earlier interdictions in the south of the 25-km wide zone, Eritrea had continued to restrict the movement of peacekeepers in the adjacent areas north of the TSZ and along the Asmara-Keren road, which leads to Barentu. Maj-Gen Robert Gordon, the UNMEE force commander, said during a Military Coordination Commission (MCC) meeting on Monday in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, that Eritrea had maintained its restrictions on peacekeepers despite a Security Council resolution appealing to the Eritrean authorities to give UNMEE "the freedom of movement it needs to carry out its mandate". The meeting, the MCC's 23rd, was chaired by Gordon and attended by top military officials from the two countries and representatives from the Africa Union (AU). An UNMEE statement quoted Gordon as saying that although the environment inside the TSZ and adjacent areas had remained stable, UNMEE was experiencing some difficulties in its daily operations due to bilateral actions taken by the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Ethiopia had imposed restrictions on UNMEE's peacekeepers crossing the southern boundary of the TSZ, but these were lifted after discussions with the Ethiopian government, Gordon said. He noted, however, that although there was a certain degree of concern among the international community about the military situation on the ground, the situation had remained stable, with both parties maintaining their essentially defensive postures. Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a bloody two-and-a-half-year war over their 1,000-km border, ending in a peace accord signed in Algiers in 2000. Under the deal, an independent boundary commission was set up to defuse tensions by demarcating the border. The commission issued its ruling in April 2002, but this was rejected by Ethiopia because it placed Badme, a symbolic border town over which the war had broken out, in Eritrea. Brig-Gen Elliot Kamteni, who represented the AU, told the meeting that he had no doubt that as military leaders, members of the MCC would find a solution to the problems. He appealed for cooperation from both parties in the matter, according to UNMEE. "Previously there has been no problem [that] we have not been able to sort out as military members," Kamteni said. "I strongly believe that we will be able to sort out this current problem," he added. Eritrea's Brig-Gen Abrahaley Kifle, however, said the issue of restrictions on UNMEE in the TSZ and adjacent areas, including its movement along the Asmara-Keren road, was subject to Eritrea's own investigation into the matter and, until this was done, the road would remain closed to UNMEE. Ethiopia's Yohanes Gebremeskel appealed to the international community to become more involved in finding a solution to the current impasse on the demarcation of the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and urged both countries to also seek the views of the ordinary people who would be affected by demarcation. "It is easy to create problems, to be hostile. The challenge is how to become rational and how to contribute positively," he said. On the issue of Ethiopia's military training near the TSZ, Yohanes said his country had no intention of "provoking anyone into going to war", stressing that Ethiopia had already agreed to move its military training further away from the southern boundary of the TSZ. The next MCC is scheduled for 10 May in Nairobi, according to UNMEE.