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Ethiopia: Speculations Rife as EEBC's Mandate Expires
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The Reporter (Addis Ababa)
1 December 2007
Posted to the web 3 December 2007
Namrud Berhane
Addis Ababa
With the November 30 deadline expiring yesterday for the dissolution of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC), speculations are high as to how the two countries are reacting to the development.
The EEBC did not make official announcement until the time The Reporter went to press.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whose reaction was sought for ,declined to make any comments on the matter.
Reliable sources however say that Ethiopia welcomes the ending of the commission's mandate.
"The Ethiopian government has always regarded the boundary commission as one which favored Eritrea while Eritrea would definitely want for the commission to stay. Ethiopia considers this as an opportunity which will allow for the dialogue it has always been pushing for between Eritrea and itself," the sources added.
The same sources disclosed that the Foreign Ministry of Ethiopia has sent a letter indicating that it welcomed the end of the mandate of the boundary commission.
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Will this lead to another war?
"There is no reason why these countries will resort to the use of force because the commission has dissolved. This is a matter which is being followed by the United Nations too," the sources close to government said.
In a related development, Sir Arthur Watts, one of the commissioners appointed by Ethiopia to EEBC, passed away on the 16th of November.
EEBC is authorized by Ethiopia & Eritrea to demarcate & delinate, the Ethio-Eritrean borderders.
By Bogonko Bosire Sat Dec 1, 4:52 PM ET
NAIROBI (AFP) - A UN-backed panel assigned to physically demarcate the Ethiopia-Eritrean border dissolved Saturday, leaving the frontier delineated only on maps amid escalating tension between the two African foes.
After their 1998-2000 border war which left 70,000 people dead, the two Horn of Africa countries agreed The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration should demarcate the border both on maps and on the ground.
But the court's Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) was set to end its... [Read Full Text]
Eritrea: Asmara, the magnet for opponents! A small country with big ambitions, Eritrea has become the headquarters of opponents from all over the Horn of Africa. Asmara uses them against Ethiopia or as bargaining counters to make its presence felt on the regional diplomatic scene. But its aid is not without obligations, as many of its “guests” have found out to their cost. (...)
www.indianoceannewsletter.com
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