Shabait.com (Asmara)
9 July 2008
press release
Asmara — As clarified in our previous communications, there is no good-faith territorial dispute between Eritrea and Djibouti. Eritrea harbours no territorial ambitions, or claims whatsoever, on Djibouti. Neither has Eritrea overstepped its territory to occupy an inch of sovereign land of its neighbouring and sisterly State.
While these are the facts of the matter, the Government of Djibouti has sadly been engaged in an unprovoked, intensive and hostile campaign against Eritrea under the prodding of external forces for the last two months. This campaign is underpinned by ulterior motives that have nothing to do with a putative border problem between the two countries. To exacerbate and dramatize the situation, however, the Government of Djibouti was even cajoled to launch a reckless attack on our territorial units on June 10 last month.
The transparent game, principally labeled and packaged in Washington, consists of fomenting an artificial crisis to precipitate the conditions for regional meddling and complication. And, as it happened, the UN Security Council and other regional bodies were pressed to swiftly pass unwarranted statements and resolutions.
The irony of the whole affair is evident indeed. The Security Council has shirked its responsibilities for the past years to accommodate Ethiopia's occupation of sovereign Eritrean territories, including the town of Badme, in violation of the UN Charter and the Algiers Peace Agreement. Moreover since April this year, Ethiopia has occupied Mount Musa Ali - that includes sovereign Djiboutian and Eritrean territories - to deploy long-range offensive weapons there.
While these flagrant acts of aggression are ignored, the UN Security Council has now been asked to send "fact-finding missions" and launch "diplomatic shuttles" for a non-existent problem.
Eritrea wishes to underline that it cannot possibly entertain an exogenous agenda when the real problem has, and continues to be, ignored and pushed to the back-burner. The principal causes of potential regional destabilization are clear indeed and Eritrea again requests the UN Security Council to channel its efforts to address the real problems.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Asmara
9 June 2008
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