Shabait.com (Asmara)
15 February 2008
press release
Asmara — In the past few days, the Office of the UN Secretary General, DPKO as well as UNMEE's officials based in Ethiopia have been issuing a string of attributed and anonymous statements both distorting the reality regarding UNMEE's status and levelling unwarranted accusations against Eritrea .
The Government of Eritrea again wishes to underline the following salient points so as to set the record straight :
The critical legal and moral obligations of the United Nations, including that of the Office of the Secretary General, must remain the maintenance of regional peace and security through respect of the rule of law and the provisions of the UN Charter, in this respect, Ethiopia's occupation of Eritrean sovereign territories in violation of the UN Charter and the substantive provisions of the Algiers Peace Agreement cannot be excused or tolerated under any pretext. The Government of Eritrea has made numerous representations to the Security Council, including to Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, on this account since the end of November last year when the Boundary Commission concluded its final demarcation decision and terminated its operations. Instead of seriously and properly addressing the kernel of the problem, the Office of the Secretary General appears to have chosen 10 dwell on peripheral matters to conceal its failure to shoulder its obligations and to blame Eritrea as a scapegoat. This position is not tenable or acceptable .
The oft-repeated insinuation of looming "danger to the lives of UNMEE troops in Eritrea" is unfounded and perhaps designed to cover-up the UN's failure to address the fundamental problem cited above. Furthermore, it constitutes a disservice to the well-known hospitality that the people and Government of Eritrea have accorded to UNMEE since their deployment in the country in 2000 .
The Government of Eritrea cannot discuss or acquiesce in "temporary relocation" or some other new "'arrangement" that is at variance with the provisions of the Algiers Peace Agreement. The mandate as well as the circumstances and modalities of UNMEE's deployment and termination of functions are indeed explicitly stipulated in the Algiers Agreement .
The Government of Eritrea again calls on the UN Security Council to redress the situation and ensure the removal of Ethiopian occupation of Eritrean territories in breach of the Algiers Peace Agreement and the UN Charter .
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Asmara
15 February 2008
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