Ethiopia seeks ‘international guarantees’ before withdrawal from Eritrea
June 2, 2000
ALGIERS, Algeria — A day after declaring its war with Eritrea over, Ethiopia said it wants unspecified “international guarantees” before withdrawing its forces.
Ethiopia also reported fresh fighting on Thursday. It accused Eritrea of attacking its positions on the eastern front, saying Eritrean shellfire had killed two civilians and wounded eight.
There was no immediate comment from Asmara, Eritrea’s capital.
“We are inside Eritrea not because we claim these territories, but because they are a theater of war that took us there,” Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin told reporters at peace talks in the Algerian capital.
“What we are calling for is that the international community gives us guarantees that Eritrea will not repeat its madness of invading neighbors.”
Algerian Justice Minister Ahmed Ouyahia said the talks would resume Friday afternoon after both governments had studied written proposals presented by the OAU.
“It is natural that we give both sides some time to study the proposals and consult with their capitals,” he said.
Seyoum did not elaborate on what “international guarantees” Ethiopia was seeking. “We will leave that for the facilitators,” he said.
The announcement, carried by state media, came outside the Algiers talks.
Eritrea had earlier openly doubted Ethiopia’s announcement that their two-year border war was over, saying it would not declare a cease-fire until Ethiopian forces withdrew from its territory.
The official skepticism was matched by that found on the streets of Asmara.
“The war will never be finished because Ethiopia will never be satisfied. They want to reach Asmara,” said Milke Kebede, an 18-year-old student.
Ethiopia’s 19-day offensive into western and southern Eritrea last month brought them within 60 miles (100 kilometers) of the Eritrean capital.
Ethiopia had previously said it would not negotiate until Eritrea had withdrawn from all the land it claimed had been seized at the outset of the war in 1998.
Eritrea has said that it no longer occupies any Ethiopian territory — a claim supported by the United States — but Ethiopia still has troops well within Eritrea.
On Wednesday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi declared the two-year border war with Eritrea over, saying his country had recovered all territory lost since fighting began in 1998.
Peace envoys optimistic
Ahmed Ouyahia, the lead envoy in the Organization for African Unity-sponsored peace talks, told reporters in Algiers he was confident about the outcome.
“Don’t ask me for blind optimism, but I have no reason to doubt that we’ll succeed,” he said.
“We are working very, very hard and the focus now is on technical arrangements that concern the withdrawal of the Ethiopians from the Eritrean territories and guarantees for the respect of the frontiers,” said U.S. special envoy Anthony Lake.
Asked if an agreement could be reached in Algiers, Lake told reporters: “Yes, if this was not the case we would not be here.”
The OAU peace proposal calls for both sides to pull back to the pre-1998 borders before a cease-fire.
Military analysts say both sides have released misleading casualty figures, exaggerating the losses of the other side and playing down their own.
However, they say more than 120,000 soldiers on both sides have been killed in the conflict and raise doubts about Eritrea’s ability to fight for much longer.
Eritrea was a province of Ethiopia until 1991, when its guerrilla fighters, who had fought a 30-year guerrilla war for independence, helped overthrow Marxist military dictator Haile Mengistu Mariam. It gained independence after a referendum in 1993.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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