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)

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Summary
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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.

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Seeking Outside Help
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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.

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Avoid War
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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.

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Elements for Forward Movement
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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.

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Comment
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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,

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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