"HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL IN MY BREAST AS A PEACEKEEPER" -SRSG

In a situation which he described as "very unusual in Africa," UNMEE’s Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG), Ambassador Legwaila Joseph Legwaila said three years after Ethiopia and Eritrea signed a ceasefire and invited the United Nations to oversee their peace process, the Parties continue to adhere to their commitments and agreements.

"In October we will be reaching…three years of the peace process. But I think a lot of you will realize that (on) the 18th of June (2003) the ceasefire between Ethiopia and Eritrea achieved a milestone, which is three years," noted SRSG Legwaila. "We are lucky that we have had a ceasefire, which has enabled us to do our job…" he said, adding that the job in question was the separation of the former warring forces by means of the Temporary Security buffer Zone.

SRSG Legwaila (centre) with FC Gordon (left) and Spokeswoman Gail B-T Sainte

He made these remarks in Addis Ababa on 31st July during a well-attended press briefing that brought together more thean a dozen international and national journalists from both Asmara and Addis Ababa via videoconference linking the two capitals.

While expressing his gratitude and appreciation to Ethiopia and Eritrea for the manner in which they had both cooperated with the Peacekeeping Mission, Ambassador Legwaila, however, called for political dialogue between the Parties which he said, was a prerequisite for lasting peace among the peoples of the two countries.

"I am right when I say that imagine, the last pillar is planted, the United Nations is withdrawn, the two Parties are still polarized; they still don’t like each other, they’re still not talking to each other, that endangers the peace between them" observed the SRSG. It would be "tragic" he added, " if when the border is demarcated, …the United Nations leaves (but) the two Parties still do not want to talk to each other." Acknowledging that it was "public knowledge" that Ethiopia has "problems" with some parts of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) decision, the Head of Mission stated: " It is also public knowledge that Ethiopia has reaffirmed its commitment time and again to pursue its disagreement with the Boundary Commission legally, that is, through the EEBC legal process." He insisted: iIt is not the intention of Ethiopia to assert whatever demands it has against the Boundary Commission through a re-initiation of the conflict between it and Eritrea."

Outlining the way forward, the SRSG said UNMEE would perform the tasks that it had been requested to undertake by the EEBC, namely demining for demarcation and to provide administrative and logistical support for the Commission. "We already are playing that role." He was quick to add however that "The Boundary Commission are their own masters and the masters of their own procedures."

In the wide-ranging briefing, the journalists

raised several issues including the fact that the Eritrean authorities were preventing their people from visiting the Mission’s Outreach Centres in that country, illegal border crossings as well as the increasing spate of mine incidents. Also mentioned was the question of the possibility of direct UNMEE flights from Asmara to Addis Ababa in the future. Responding to this matter, the SRSG recalled the numerous attempts already made by UNMEE in trying to persuade the Parties to allow UNMEE peacekeepers to fly directly between the two capitals - a move that would not only be cost-effective but would improve security as well. These appeals, the SRSG admitted, had fallen on deaf ears. "I have written letters, I appealed to the Security Council, to appeal to the Parties. I have appealed to everybody who has influence with the Parties to no avail." He went on: "We are not asking for Lufthansa to fly direct, we are asking for UNMEE, and UNMEE is here on the ground to help. In any case you are not going to force the two countries to agree to something to which they do not want to agree." In a lively exchange during the briefing, SRSG Legwaila was typically optimistic: "you know, hope springs eternal in my breast as a peacekeeper otherwise I would not be here."UNMEE Force Commander Major-General Robert Gordon, and his Deputy, Brigadier-General Walid Kreishan, were also present at the briefing

Journalists at the briefing