Global Policy Forum

IRIN has interviewed Legwaila Joseph Legwaila, the UN secretary-general's special representative for the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE). At the end of this month, the international Boundary Commission in The Hague will rule on border delimitation between Ethiopia and Eritrea, a pivotal step towards peace after their two-year border war. This will be followed by the physical demarcation of the border. Legwaila talks about his role as special representative, the problems he has faced over the last 15 months, and his hopes for peace in the region.

[IRIN] This is your first time as a special representative in what was a conflict zone. What problems have you faced and what lessons have you learnt in this role with Ethiopia and Eritrea?

[Legwaila] It is often suggested that this is an easy mission, because we are dealing with two countries, and we are dealing with two disciplined armies - and we came to this area when the two sides had already signed a cease-fire. People compute that this is a very easy mission, but the fact remains that after any war there is a lot of bitterness between the regions, and Ethiopia and Eritrea are not an exception. There is a lot of bitterness, which we have to change, and therefore the mission is not as easy as people might think.

It is a difficult mission, because we are dealing with people who are right now even refusing to sit down and discuss issues other than to the Military Coordination Commission [which brings the two sides together under UNMEE chairmanship]. Another lesson which I think is important is that we are dealing here with two countries which have decided genuinely to end their conflict and start a new chapter, and that is what has helped us to be as successful as we have been in the past 15 months. In other words, where you have two countries committed to peace it is possible that you can achieve peace.

Border delimitation

[IRIN] What problems does UNMEE expect after delimitation and demarcation, and what contingency plans have been put in place in the event of renewed hostilities?

[Legwaila] We have decided to think positive all the time. We don't expect problems after delimitation. We are dealing with a situation where the parties, in their wisdom, decided when they signed the [peace] agreements to tie their hands, because they have said that the decision of the Boundary Commission, whatever it may be, will be final and binding. They have so bound themselves to accept its decision that they even deny themselves the opportunity to go to arbitration. They have decided they have no appeal to any other mechanism.

But we are realistic at the same time. Things can happen in a more negative way, because we don't think that we can know exactly how the security situation is going to evolve after the decision of the Boundary Commission. But we are ready for any eventuality. Wherever you have a peacekeeping operation, you must always have contingency plans. Even with the most benign peacekeeping operation, you have contingency plans.

This is the critical phase. This is what my job is about, and the day we hear the decision has been made and the countries have welcomed the decision, we will know that we have achieved a very important milestone. But we are not going to rest on our laurels, because we know that the challenge before us will be to keep the countries calm while we are demarcating the border, which may take longer than the period we have taken to reach the decision of delimitation. I think that will be our biggest challenge.

[IRIN] How long will UNMEE have a presence in Ethiopia and Eritrea?

[Legwaila] I think as long as there is a need for the border to be demarcated. Our presence is conterminous with the successful completion of the demarcation process. Once the border is demarcated according to the decisions of the Security Council, we are supposed to terminate the mission.

Land mines

[IRIN] There have been some strong criticisms of UNMEE. Mines still lie in the ground, prisoners of war are still in camps, and there are no direct flights between Addis Ababa and Eritrea. What do you say to those critics?

[Legwaila] Well, that is not the fault of UNMEE, it is the fault of the parties. UNMEE is not responsible for releasing the prisoners of war, it is the parties. This is in an agreement that the parties have signed, that they will release - article two of the [Algiers peace] agreement, saying that they will release the prisoners of war, and therefore that is not a failure of UNMEE.

The parties are supposed to allow us to fly as cheaply and conveniently as possible between their countries, so unfortunately they have not been able to agree on direct flights between capitals.

People who are not knowledgeable don't know how much work we have done in removing mines. The removal of mines, by the way, will take years - years. Long after UNMEE has ended its work here, there will still be more mines than the ones we have been able to remove. But we have been able to make so many roads safer. People must ask themselves why the internally displaced persons have returned to their villages, and we have not heard of whole villages being wiped out by mines, blown up by mines, thanks to UNMEE. And we are still at it.

We are still going to make sure the entire Temporary Security Zone is safe from mines, but we are not going to be able to tell anybody that we can remove all the mines. But we are going to do the best we can to make sure the villagers in that zone are safe, and the villagers in the adjacent areas are safe. So there we have the evidence to show our success with the little resources we have at our disposal.

UNMEE's movement "restricted"

[IRIN] Has UNMEE's role been neutered because it has not been allowed complete freedom of movement?

[Legwaila] Well, we have not been allowed freedom of movement on the Eritrean side, but even there we now have access to the areas - the adjacent areas in the west and the east. The areas where we still have serious problems are in the central sector; we don't have freedom of movement there.

The areas are still restricted, although we no longer call them blind spots because we have been able, through our own alternative means, to see exactly what is there on the ground. We can say without any fear of contradiction that we know exactly where the Eritrean forces are, in the adjacent areas, in the central sector, although we still want the world to know we are denied freedom of movement on the ground. We have no problem in the Temporary Security Zone.

No troop build-up

[IRIN] Why are they not allowing you freedom of movement? Is it the case there is a build-up of troops?

[Legwaila] There is no build-up of troops. We know where their troops are and we know what they are doing, and one thing they are not doing is to prepare for war. Our people can interpret an army that is deployed at some position and an army that is deployed in some position just waiting there and an army that is preparing for war.

We can say with authority now that the Eritreans are packed somewhere north of the northern border of the Temporary Security Zone [but they are] not preparing for war. Once we see them doing something that we think is not commensurate with the kind of peaceful redeployment, we will let the world know. As of now, we don't think there is any reason for anybody to worry.

I don't understand why, then, they will not allow us freedom of movement if they are not doing anything there untoward. Why don't they allow us freedom of movement so we can say yes, even on the ground we are able to see what they are doing and what they are not doing.

[IRIN] Is that an embarrassment for UNMEE that you do not have freedom of movement?

[Legwaila] It is a disappointment for the United Nations. I don't know whether it is an embarrassment. It is a disappointment for the United Nations that one of the parties is refusing to read a very important article on the agreement on the cessation of hostilities, which, if not abided by, might cause conflict, because the article is very clear: the United Nations must monitor the activities of the forces of the two sides where they are deployed.

And all we are saying is that since the forces of the two sides are not redeployed inside the Temporary Security Zone, where we have 100 per cent freedom of movement, we have to go and monitor where they are redeployed, and where they are redeployed is in the adjacent areas. The article is not saying we go around snooping on the troops of the two sides far away from our area of responsibility.

[IRIN] Do you think there is going to be any political instability following the decision of the Boundary Commission, particularly as there was a demonstration in Ethiopia on Sunday?

[Legwaila] I hope for both sides of the border there will be no political problems for the leadership, but I am not running the two countries. I think it is to the credit of Ethiopia that yesterday [Sunday] people took to the streets to go and demonstrate, to go and exercise their freedom to express themselves, and I don't think that when people go to Meskel Square [in Addis Ababa] to exercise their right of freedom of speech people should think that is something we have to fear and tremble about.

I think it is very good that people can air their views in a free society. I wish the two countries the best of luck. Although decisions on borders are never happy occasions, I just hope the people of Ethiopia and Eritrea realize that is the only way they can start a new chapter in their relations, by agreeing to a common border and by living in peace.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Policy Forum distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C íŸ 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.