May 1, 2002
Eritrea has asked the UN to clarify Ethiopia's decision to close the border with Eritrea to UN peacekeepers, saying the move violates the recent border ruling.
According to the ruling People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) website, Shaebia, the government has told the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) that "the matter in hand concerns Eritrea". It asked UNMEE to provide "detailed and official information on where the alleged border violation has taken place".
Ethiopia announced it was closing its border to UNMEE on Saturday, accusing the peacekeeping force of "gross violations" for taking a group of journalists to the disputed border village of Badme via the Eritrean capital Asmara. Both sides have claimed victory following a border ruling, issued last month by an independent Boundary Commission. They both say they have been awarded Badme - a symbolic area as this was where their border war began in May 1998.
"UNMEE informed Eritrea on Monday that Ethiopia had closed its borders with Eritrea to UNMEE personnel," Shaebia reported. "It further informed Eritrea's Commission for Coordination with UNMEE that Ethiopia has said 'UNMEE took international journalists by air from Eritrea to Ethiopia without Ethiopian permission and visas'".
The Eritrean government informed UNMEE that the new Eritrean-Ethiopian border "took immediate effect on the basis of the 13 April decision" by the Boundary Commission.
"Ethiopia's non-compliance is a violation of the decision," the government stressed, according to Shaebia. It said the move by Ethiopia was "obstructing the [border] demarcation process".
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