Eritrea

I wish to join those who have spoken before me in congratulating Mr. Didier Opertti on his election to the presidency of the fifty-third session of the General Assembly. His vast experience and skill assure us that he will guide the deliberations of the Assembly to a successful end. I assure him of the full support of my delegation as he carries out his important mandate. Let me also take this opportunity to pay tribute to his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko of Ukraine, for his outstanding leadership during his tenure last session. The Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan, deserves appreciation for his commendable efforts and for the effective leadership he has provided to ensure the realization of the ideals of our Organization by making the United Nations more effective and better able to serve its Members. The end of the cold war, even if only briefly, raised hopes and expectations and sent tidings of a more peaceful, safer, just and fair world safeguarded from conflict and tension, hunger and disease. Such hopes and expectations were to be frustrated rather early as the world was plunged in numerous conflicts between and with States, ethnic violence and hatred, terrorism, gross violations of human rights, racism and xenophobia, as well as mass starvation and an increase in the number of refugees and displaced persons. The international community cannot dismiss or, much less, ignore this situation, which in some cases has caused the commission of serious international crimes, not only because it is generally the innocent and the weak — women, children and the elderly — who are the first victims, but also because this situation, which now seems to be limited to certain regions, may soon engulf wider areas of the world. In the face of these harsh realities, it is incumbent on the United Nations and the international community to search for fresh, innovative approaches with a view to eliminating the root causes of this situation, in order to ensure respect for the basic principles of the Charter, to save the innocent from the scourge of terrorism and to protect the human and civil rights of ethnic minorities. If they fail to do so, it will not only prolong the agony of the victims but will, in fact, sooner or later, threaten regional as well as international peace and security. The founding fathers of our Organization recognized economic development as one of humanity’s inalienable rights, and set as one of the goals of the United Nations the promotion of social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom. I am certain that all developing countries would declare in no uncertain terms that this goal has so far been unattained. The situation in Africa is cause for serious concern. In spite of the great efforts exerted by regional and subregional organizations and agencies, the situation in many parts of the continent is deteriorating and becoming more dangerous by the day. The tragic bloodshed and suffering that Africans have witnessed in the recent past in various parts of the continent are too horrible to recite. They must not recur and, where they continue to exist, they must be stopped. In the Great Lakes region, conflicts are developing much wider ramifications, in spite of their seeming regional containment. They pose a grave threat to peace and security, as they may soon involve extraregional Powers. It is hoped that through ongoing regional initiatives it will be possible to formulate just and mutually acceptable solutions. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africans and the rest of the world have been forced to witness the disheartening spectacle of an 22 African country which had barely emerged from the cruel destruction of a rapacious dictatorship being once again ravaged by multifaceted fighting. This has also divided the broad African coalition which had contributed to the promotion of peace and security in that country. This sad state of affairs must be quickly reversed on the basis of full respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a recognition that the internal political process is the sole prerogative of the Congolese people, and with awareness of the need for a regional framework of cooperation to address the security concerns of the countries of the region. Somalia and the Sudan continue to be sources of anguish and sorrow for Africa, because there is still a lack of progress in the efforts to resolve the crises in both countries. The frustration of the international community at the lack of progress in peacemaking in both countries is understandable. It must be noted, however, that genuine efforts continue to be made by the countries of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and the international community must not despair or give up, but must contribute to the efforts of these countries if they are to be successful. In this connection, my delegation upholds the view that with regard to the Sudan conflict IGAD’s Declaration of Principles and consequent resolutions remain the sound basis for a just and lasting solution to the conflict. In my statement last year I declared that Eritrea’s foreign policy rested on two basic tenets. The first was the deep conviction that where there is goodwill all disputes can be resolved through peaceful negotiations and methods without recourse to violence. The second tenet was the unswerving devotion of Eritrea to justice and equality. I also declared that these two tenets have influenced our search for friendship and cooperation with our neighbours, as well as with other States. This statement is as valid today as it was last year. The commitment of the Government of Eritrea to these two tenets has helped to defuse conflict with the Republic of Yemen and to arrive at a mutual understanding to resolve the dispute over the Eritrean archipelago of Hanish-Zukar in the Red Sea by peaceful means through arbitration. Today, too, the Government of Eritrea insists that the road to peace with Ethiopia is by a strict application and enforcement of the principles of the Charters of the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity (OAU), as well as the OAU decision on colonial borders. Once again, Eritrea calls upon the international community, particularly the United Nations and the OAU, to ensure respect for these principles and the decision. Eritrea was surprised and disturbed by the eruption of conflict with Ethiopia because, in spite of disagreements on the issue of boundaries, dating back to the days of armed struggle the Eritrean Government had assumed and hoped that in view of the close relations between the two countries, it was possible to arrive at an amicable and enduring solution. The responsibility for the escalation of the dispute rests solely with the Government of Ethiopia, which has for a long period of time consistently violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Eritrea, resulting in the occupation of large tracts of Eritrean territory, followed by the forced displacement of Eritrean peasants and the replacement of Eritrean administrative structures by Ethiopian institutions. It reached a climax on 6 May only as a result of the further unprovoked incursions by members of the Ethiopian armed forces, which attacked Eritrean troops in the Badme region, in south-western Eritrea. These incursions were premeditated and meticulously planned. This is the root cause of the dispute. For a long time Eritreans had opted for patient and quiet diplomacy. They had hoped against hope that the periodic incursions were only the petty acts of some miscreant and ill-advised regional officials. It was only at a very late stage — and particularly after the publication in 1997 of an official map of the Tigray administrative zone incorporating additional indisputably Eritrean territory and after the issuance of the new Ethiopian currency note depicting the same map — that they realized the full meaning of the Ethiopian adventure. Yet, even in the aftermath of the fighting that was triggered by the unprovoked Ethiopian incursion and attacks on Eritrean troops, Eritrea never crossed its internationally recognized border; but Ethiopia still controls other Eritrean territory in south-western Eritrea. In spite of all this evidence of its aggressive deeds, the Ethiopian Government is conducting an absurd propaganda campaign to portray Eritrea as a warmongering nation which has committed aggression against, and occupies, Ethiopian territory. Nothing could be further from the truth. At no time have Eritrean troops crossed Eritrea’s internationally recognized borders as everybody can see. On the contrary, it was Ethiopian troops that invaded Eritrea after Prime Minister Meles 23 Zenawi’s declaration of war on 13 May 1998. They were repulsed. It is important to note that the Deputy Foreign Minister of Ethiopia, Dr. Tekeda Alemu, had articulated Ethiopia’s expansionist designs by publicly declaring in a speech to members of the Ethiopian community in the United States that Ethiopia would occupy the Eritrean port of Assab within a short time. In the light of the above, Ethiopia’s claims that it is the victim of aggression and will not negotiate unless Eritrea withdraws from “its territory” are obviously false and only meant to hoodwink the international community and to cover up its own acts of aggression. Even today, Ethiopia is threatening war unless Eritrea withdraws unconditionally from territories which are fully within its internationally recognized borders. Today virtually the whole of the Ethiopian army has taken positions along the Eritrean border, and almost all of the highest leaders of Ethiopia, including the President, the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, the President of the Tigray region and a Senior Official of the TPLF have publicly declared in just the past few days that Ethiopia has finalized war preparations and will soon teach Eritreans lessons they will never forget. It is regrettable, therefore, that all the goodwill and efforts of the Eritrean Government, consisting of several constructive proposals, to bring about a peaceful and legal settlement of the present border dispute with Ethiopia, on the basis of the OAU resolution on colonial borders, have been consistently rejected by the Ethiopian Government, which obdurately pursues a policy which is committed to the settlement of matters by military means. The Ethiopian Government has also rejected all overtures by third parties for a peaceful solution of the dispute and all calls made by the international community to seek a peaceful solution. This expansionist and aggressive policy is underscored by the use or threat of force, as well as a massive and malicious propaganda campaign against Eritrea. The propaganda campaign accents ethnic hatred and vituperation against and slander of the Eritrean people and members of the Eritrean Government. It also calls upon the Eritrean people to rise up against their Government. At the same time, the Ethiopian Government has been systematically and wilfully violating the most sacred and cherished provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the two International Covenants and several other international human rights instruments, as well as the principles enshrined in the United Nations and OAU Charters, by deporting or expelling more than 20,000 Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin under extremely unhealthy conditions or dumping them in very dangerous places, and by deliberately separating family members, exposing them to inhuman, cruel and degrading treatment and confiscating their property. These acts have been well documented by third parties, including members of United Nations agencies, heads of mission of member States of the European Union and several non- governmental organizations. Yet the Ethiopian Government, in an amazingly refined application of the Orwellian principle, accuses the Eritrean Government of precisely the outrages and atrocities it itself has been committing against Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin. The truth is that the Eritrean Government has not detained, expelled, deported or otherwise violated the rights — human or otherwise — of Ethiopians living in Eritrea. This has been verified by legitimate third parties like representatives of the European Union, United Nations agencies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). As usual, the Ethiopian Government has called all of them liars. We have hitherto extended an invitation to all interested parties to carry out an on-the-spot verification of the human rights conditions in both Eritrea and Ethiopia. We now extend this invitation to members of the Assembly. We also would like them to receive a similar invitation from the Ethiopian Government. This dispute is about borders, pure and simple. Any effort to transmute it into anything else must be viewed as only a vain and brazen attempt by the Ethiopian Government to camouflage its aggression and its expansionist policies. In this connection, it must be made clear that it was the Ethiopian Government which wilfully violated Eritrea’s colonial boundaries and forcefully occupied those areas that it had incorporated into its new map of Tigray. It was the Ethiopian Government which subverted all Eritrean efforts to defuse the crisis and to find a peaceful bilateral solution through their Joint Border Commission by unleashing unprovoked military attacks on Eritrea from 6 to 12 May. It was the Ethiopian Government which declared war on Eritrea by a resolution of its Parliament on 13 May. It was the Government of Ethiopia which invaded Eritrea along several points on their common border. It was the Government of Ethiopia which launched an air strike on Asmara, the Eritrean capital, on 5 June 1998. It was the Ethiopian Government which imposed an air and sea blockade by threatening indiscriminate air bombing of Eritrea. 24 Yet Ethiopia has falsely portrayed Eritrea as an aggressor country by claiming that Eritrean forces invaded Ethiopian territory on 12 May. However, it is not claims and counter-claims that matter. There is incontrovertible material evidence which establishes that Ethiopia has deliberately used force and carried out military incursions in Eritrea since July 1997 with a view to covertly changing the reality on the ground. In this connection, I wish to bring to the Assembly’s attention that the Eritrean Government has repeatedly called for an independent investigation of the incidents that triggered the conflict. This border dispute should not have existed in the first place, considering that boundaries between the two States are some of the most clearly defined in Africa and were made by explicit and detailed provisions of international treaties. They were then confirmed by the United Nations when it created the ill-fated Eritrean-Ethiopian federation, and again clearly defined in the Constitution that the United Nations gave to Eritrea. True, the borders may not have been demarcated; but they are not the only undemarcated borders in Africa, and the non-demarcation of boundaries has not prevented most African — and indeed other — States from living in peace with their neighbours and from solving their problems peacefully. Eritrea is committed to a peaceful and legal solution of this dispute on the basis of the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of States which are enshrined in the charters of both the United Nations and the OAU as well as the decisions and declarations of the OAU and the Non- Aligned Movement. Since before the onset of the crisis, Eritrea has been attempting to initiate numerous bilateral discussions with Ethiopia with a view to addressing all outstanding issues related to their common borders. In this connection, the following must be mentioned. First, the Eritrean Cabinet and National Assembly issued orders, on 14 and 20 May 1998 and again on 18 June 1998, respectively, for the temporary demilitarization of the areas of dispute. Secondly, the Eritrean President sent two letters to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia requesting him to join him in defusing the dispute and settling the border issue peacefully and legally on a bilateral basis. Thirdly, the Eritrean Government presented to the OAU Committee of Ambassadors a proposal containing the principles of respect of colonial boundaries and non- violation of these borders; respect of the charters of the OAU and the United Nations; commitment not to use force to impose a solution; commitment to peaceful and legal means to solve the dispute; readiness to stop all hostilities; and readiness to enter into direct talks without preconditions. Unfortunately, all our efforts failed because of negative responses from Ethiopia. On the other hand, Ethiopia has yet to offer a single plan or peace proposal. It has only threatened war unless Eritrea withdraws from territories which are within the internationally recognized borders of Eritrea. In this connection, it must be mentioned that the Eritrean Government has time and again requested the Ethiopian Government to publicly announce to the peoples of Eritrea, Ethiopia and the international community the territories that it claims and to designate them on a political map with clear geographical coordinates. It is for these reasons that the Government of Eritrea yet again offers the following as a basis for the solution of the dispute. First, the comprehensive solution of the problem through a technical demarcation on the basis of the established colonial treaties that clearly define the boundary between the two countries. Secondly, a possible resort to arbitration on the basis of the sanctity of colonial borders in the event that this is demanded by the other party. Pending a lasting, legal solution, an immediate cessation of all hostilities and a ceasefire to be monitored by an observer force under the auspices of the United Nations. It is a matter of satisfaction to the people and Government of Eritrea that numerous governmental institutions, international and regional organizations and non-governmental organizations, including the House of Representatives of the United States Congress, the European Union and the Non-Aligned Movement, have, in welcoming the Eritrean initiative, called upon both Eritrea and Ethiopia to avoid the use of force at all costs and to resolve their disputes peacefully. I wish to declare here and now, in loud and clear terms, that the Government of Eritrea welcomes, and is ready to undertake to implement, a decision by the Assembly which provides without any preconditions for the cessation of hostilities, a ceasefire agreement and a 25 peaceful resolution of the dispute by any method as the only acceptable solution. In Africa, conflicts such as the present Eritrean- Ethiopian border dispute have taken place several times in the past. Each one of these conflicts was addressed on the basis of the hallowed principles and decisions of the OAU, including in particular respect for colonial borders, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States and the non- use of force or threat of force. As the OAU prepares itself to enter the twenty-first century, it is imperative that its member States rededicate themselves to the sublime principles and resolutions that have hitherto served our continent. These principles and decisions, which have successfully fostered peace and stability, solved conflicts and defused tension in our continent in the past, will be as valid in the future as they have been since they were first articulated. Only through their proper application will it be possible to defuse tension and eliminate conflict. Eritrea reiterates its commitment to peace, harmony and the rule of law in international relations, however painful this tragedy may be. Eritrea seeks peace for itself and for all of its neighbours. Eritrea will continue to seek good relations with all its neighbours. Eritrea is in a race against the clock of development and cannot afford to lose the time, energy and resources which must be used in the war against underdevelopment. To date, Eritrea has restrained itself against extreme provocation, and it will continue to do so unless it is forced to defend itself. If aggression is committed against their country, however, Eritreans will have no choice but to defend their hard-won independence and sovereignty as well as every inch of their territory with whatever is at their disposal.