Ethiopia, Eritrea disagree on whether war is over
CNN
June 1, 2000
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Negotiators began a third day of indirect talks between Ethiopia and Eritrea in Algiers on Thursday, as the two warring sides disputed whether the conflict had ended.
Citing the presence of Ethiopian troops in sovereign Eritrean territory, Eritrea rejected Ethiopian claims that the war was over.
But Ethiopia insisted it had achieved its objectives — regaining disputed territory occupied by Eritrea since the start of the war in May 1998 — and would withdraw from undisputed Eritrean territory when it was confident that its neighbor wouldn’t repeat the actions that sparked the war.
“Ethiopia is still committed to go back to its position of May 6, 1998,” said Ethiopian Foreign Minister Haile Woldensae in Algiers. “But what we are calling for is that the international community gives us guarantees that Eritrea will not repeat its madness of invading neighbors.”
Ethiopia also said it was now prepared to negotiate directly with Eritrea — a new development in the 2-year-old conflict.
Previously, Ethiopia had refused a cease-fire and direct negotiations until Eritrea had withdrawn from the territory it had occupied during the war. Eritrea refused to withdraw until Ethiopia stopped fighting.
International mediators, shuttling between representatives of the two nations, were conducting the Algerian talks.
No agreement to stop fighting
Start-and-stop peace talks in Algeria failed to resolve the conflict. The two sides agreed to a plan last summer, but the talks stalled over implementation, finally breaking down early last month.
Two weeks ago, Ethiopia launched an all-out assault on the Eritreans, pushing far into Eritrean territory.
Last week, Eritrea announced that it was withdrawing from disputed territories, and on Wednesday, Ethiopian officials announced that the war was over.
Eritrea immediately objected.
“They can’t say the war is over when they still occupy sovereign Eritrean territory,” presidential spokesman Yemane Gebremeskel said.
But the declaration by Ethiopia — the stronger nation in the conflict — that it no longer saw reason to keep fighting spoke firmly, even without the agreement of its badly punished adversary.
Famine, war cause crisis
Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, after a 30-year battle for freedom and a 1991 Ethiopian rebel insurgency that deposed military dictator Haile Mengistu Mariam.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki were allies in the fight against Mengistu. But the two never resolved their common border after Eritrea’s independence, leading to Eritrea’s moves in 1998 to occupy territory along the 600-mile (1,000-kilometer) border.
Analysts estimate more than 100,000 soldiers have been killed in the two years of trench and tank warfare between the two countries.
Both countries are facing dire humanitarian consequences as a result of the war and of drought that has brought a crushing famine to the region.
Correspondent Mark Armstrong, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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