ETHIOPIA SEEKS THIRD PARTY FACILITATION ON THE

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 ADDIS ABABA 002958 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF, AF/E, AND INR/AA LONDON, PARIS, ROME FOR AFRICA WATCHER CJTF-HOA AND USCENTCOM FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/02/2017 TAGS: PREL PBTS KPKO ET ER SO IR SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA SEEKS THIRD PARTY FACILITATION ON THE BORDER REF: ADDIS 2863 Classified By: Ambassador Donald Yamaamoto for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D) -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (S/NF) Ethiopian State Minister for Foreign Affairs Tekeda Alemu told P-5 Ambassadors and UNMEE chief on October 1 that Ethiopia will abide fully with the Algiers Accord, accepts the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) delimitation decision as final and binding, seeks to avoid war and calls on Eritrea to renounce war as a means to resolve problems, calls on the international community to help facilitate talks between Eritrea and Ethiopia, and ultimately recognizes that Ethiopia and Eritrea must resolve their bilateral differences through direct discussions because both parties bear full responsibility for the border problem. Tekeda said Eritrea was in violation of the cessation of hostilities accord signed in 2000 and related UN Security Council resolutions, specifically 1640, because of Eritrean troops in the TSZ. Ethiopia, he said, will abide by the accord. Tekeda called on the P-5 countries to avoid &creating a pretext for war8 through any inadvertent action at the U.N. to enforce demarcation of the border. He urged the P-5 to support EEBC Chairperson Sir Elihu Lauterpacht,s final note of the September 6 Hague meeting that both parties are responsible for resolving the border problem and called on P-5 partners to advance efforts for a third party facilitation. ¶2. (S/NF) P-5 noted Tekeda,s commitment that Ethiopia would avoid war and added that elements for forward movement may include public commitment from both sides to refrain from war, support open borders, respect territorial sovereignty, and normalize relations through bilateral discussions. P-5 acknowledged Tekeda,s note that currently Eritrea is required to return more land than Ethiopia through the demarcation process, but added that efforts must be pursued to avoid war, address bilateral problems and finalize the demarcation process. Further, the next month will raise tensions as a report from the EEBC, apparently very critical of Ethiopia due to its engagement at the September 6 EEBC meeting, will soon be presented to the U.N. and the Secretary General,s report on the border is due in mid-October, a full month prior to the EEBC final decision of demarcation of the border through geographical coordinates. End Summary. -------------- Seeking Outside Help -------------- ¶3. (S/NF) Ambassadors from France, Russia, China, and the U.S.; DCM from the UK; and UNMEE chief, Ambassador Ennifar, met October 1 with Ethiopian State Minister for Foreign Affairs Tekeda Alemu with Director General for the Americas Tesfaye Yilma in attendance. Tekeda asserted that Ethiopia would not abrogate the Algiers Accord and would remain committed to the agreement and all related accords, including the cessation of hostilities agreement, despite Eritrea,s violation of the accord. The entry of Eritrean troops into the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) is a violation of the Cessation of Hostilities and pertinent UNSC resolutions, specifically 1640, according to Tekeda. ¶4. (S/NF) Tekeda stressed that both parties bear full responsibility for the border problem and referred to EEBC Chairperson Sir Elihu Lautherpacht,s statement at the end of the September 6 Hague meeting that both parties must resolve the border problem. In this context, Tekeda called on the P-5 Ambassadors to urge the UN, AU, and Witnesses to advance third party facilitation to enable both Eritrea and Ethiopia to resolve directly bilateral problems and finalize demarcation. ¶5. (S/NF) Tekeda raised the Cameroon-Nigeria resolution of the Bakassi border dispute through intense international involvement. He pointed to the meeting of the witnesses in New York in February 2006 in which both the witnesses and UNSC presidential statement raised the idea of facilitated ADDIS ABAB 00002958 002 OF 002 talks to resolve the border dispute. -------------- Avoid War -------------- ¶6. (S/NF) Tekeda said Ethiopia is committed to avoiding war. The EEBC is expected to issue a report to the UN Secretary General, and the UNMEE chief and P-5 Ambassadors assume that the report would be critical of Ethiopia as the obstacle to demarcation. Ambassador Ennifar noted to P-5 Ambassadors in private earlier that the EEBC does not care about Eritrean troops in the TSZ or Eritrean restrictions on UNMEE operations. The mandate of the EEBC is strictly to implement demarcation, not the means to demarcate the border nor the political and geographic obstacles to demarcation. In this context, Eritrea has played the border discussion much better than Ethiopia. The UN Secretary General will issue his report in mid-October, a full month prior to the EEBC's finalization of the border through geographical coordinates, according to Ambassador Ennifar. ¶7. (S/NF) Tekeda told the P-5 that the UN must not create a pretext for war to occur. He stressed that the UN should not adopt any actions or sanctions to compel demarcation. This will advance conflict. The better course would be to advocate direct bilateral discussions for both parties to resolve fundamental differences and finalize themselves the border demarcation. -------------- Elements for Forward Movement -------------- ¶8. (S/NF) The P-5 discussed that elements for forward movement may include public commitment by both sides to refrain from war, support open borders, respect territorial sovereignty, and normalize relations through bilateral discussions. The international community's engagement was important, but France noted that the African issue dominating European capitals was Sudan and not much attention was being paid to the border. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶9. (S/NF) Fundamentally, Ethiopia's stance on the border has shifted marginally over the past five years. The GoE has proclaimed that it accepts the EEBC's delimitation decision as final and binding without condition. However, it remains opposed to some elements of the EEBC decision. This complicates demarcation, particularly in view of Eritrea's continuing refusal to engage in direct talks with Ethiopia on the border, and restrictions on UNMEE operations. Nevertheless, Ethiopia's argument that the two countries themselves must address the underlying issues that fuel the conflict between them remains true and necessary for a sustainable peace. ¶10. (S/NF) The P-5 Ambassadors in Addis agreed to meet again with GOE officials at the time of the issuance of the UN Secretary General,s report on the border in mid-October, SIPDIS which would include the comments from the EEBC. Ambassadors here in Addis are focused on limiting potential problems which could lead to possible unintended military actions along the border which could lead to an inadvertent conflict. Border tensions must be eased now. The UN and international community must approach the November deadline by the EEBC to finalize the border demarcation through geographic coordinates carefully and judiciously without setting conditions or precipitating conflict through unintended actions. Post has raised possible ideas for consideration in easing tensions and addressing possible options in finalizing the demarcation of the border (Addis 2863). End Comment. YAMAMOTO