Eritrea wants divided Ethiopia says Meles
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Mar 31 2006  ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia- Ethiopian Prime Minster Meles Zenawi said Eritrea wishes to see a divided and weakened Ethiopia, blaming the neighboring country for a series of bomb blasts in the capital city on Monday which left one person dead and at least 14 wounded.
In his speech to the parliament this week, the Prime Minister said that to achieve this goal Eritrea is coordinating and mobilizing opposition forces that are remnants of the Dergue regime, the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and other groups with common objectives. |
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Meles said that Eritrea and other forces oppose federalism, by which Ethiopia is bound together, and are working hand in glove in an unholy alliance masterminded by the Eritrean government.
However, Eritrean Ambassador to the United States Girma Asmerom dismissed the Prime Minister’s accusations as “a lie and pure fabrication” aimed at diverting attention from the political situation in Ethiopia.
He told the Voice of America the basic cause of the problem in Ethiopia was the existence of one party, a minority party with one ethnic group leading Ethiopia.
And Eritrean Information Minster Ali Abdu told Reuters that the accusation was the philosophy of somebody with an inferiority complex who really believes his existence will depend on the weakness of others in the neighborhood.
However, Eritrean ambassador Girma admitted his country’s support of the OLF, and said that there is injustice in Ethiopia and wherever there is the case, the international community should support people deprived of justice.
“In that context, we have had long-term relations with the Oromo Liberation Front. Eritrea’s support to these people’s struggle for justice is strictly political, and absolutely nothing to do with inciting unrest,” he added.
Tensions have risen in the past year, as Eritrea has grown angrier over the delay of the implementation of the decision by the boundary commission and over Ethiopia’s insistence on further talks, which Ethiopia believes is the only way to a lasting solution.
Prime Minster Meles said in his speech that the recent meeting held in London between the two countries did not achieve a breakthrough.
“Progress has been frustrated due to the insistence of the Eritrean government on the mechanical implementation of the [border] decision without any dialogue, against international conventional practice, emanating from its habitual rigidity and lack of readiness to show any flexibility,” he said.
During the border war in 1998-2000, over 70,000 people were killed, and there have been fears of renewed combat.
Meles warned that Ethiopia would keep its forces on guard “to deter the government of Eritrea from initiating armed conflict and to ensure a lasting resolution of the dispute.” He also added that the consistent position and desire of his country is the peaceful resolution of the boundary dispute according to international law and with the manner that would ensure durable peace.
“We always are ready for the implementation of this and other proposals contained in our peace plan,” he said.
However, Eritrean Information Minister Abdu said no matter what Ethiopia said or wanted, “the border will be fully demarcated according to the ruling.”
The United Nations, which has a peacekeeping mission monitoring the border, had said the talks had made progress on marking the border.
A series of bomb blasts on Monday in Addis Ababa killed one and injured at least 14 at five separate locations throughout the city.
“The explosions, which caused loss of life and destruction of property, are aimed at disrupting the peaceful lives of citizens,” a police statement said.
During the morning rush hour a minibus holding 13 passengers was totally destroyed and one man was killed and three others were seriously wounded on outskirts of the city’s main square.
The attack on the minibus in particular has caused increased amounts of alarm in Addis, as thousands of commuters use the vehicles to get back and forth to work every day.
The U.S. Embassy has even recommended that Americans living in Ethiopia desist from using the minibuses.
“The U.S. Embassy at this time discourages use of public transportation in Addis Ababa,” an email message sent to American expatriates said.
Other explosions at a small cafe, a guard shack, an abattoir and a residential home followed.
The explosion at a government-owned abattoir resulted in no casualties or damage, but at least 10 people were injured in the attack on the café.
In January three small separate explosions went off in Addis Ababa, in which four people were injured.
No one is claiming responsibility for the attacks.
The Ethiopian government accuses Eritrea as suppliers of grenades to the “terrorists.” Eritrea has denied the accusation. By Minassie Teshome
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