Ethiopia's leader tells David Gough in Addis Ababa that Eritrea will have to pay for bombing raids on civilians
Friday June 19, 1998
The latest border conflict in the Horn of Africa looked set to escalate last night as the Ethiopian prime minister, Meles Zenawi, came under increasing pressure to launch an offensive against Eritrean forces occupying hundreds of square miles of northern Ethiopia.
The danger of renewed hostilities came despite the arrival in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, yesterday of a peace delegation from the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). The presidents of Burkina Faso, Rwanda and Zimbabwe, and Djibouti's foreign minister, met Mr Zenawi for talks and then flew to the Eritrean capital, Asmara.
Ethiopia and Eritrea are divided on a peace plan devised by the United States and Rwanda. Ethiopia accepts the initiative, which calls for its neighbour to withdraw from territory it held before a border dispute turned violent six weeks ago.
But Western diplomatic sources in Addis Ababa said there was internal opposition to the plan.
In an interview with the Guardian, Mr Zenawi denied that Ethiopia was on the verge of launching a military offensive. But he said: "If and when the peace initiative fails, we will strike back."
Mr Zenawi said Eritrea "would have to pay" for the bombing of the northern Ethiopian towns of Mekele and Adigrat, in which more than 50 civilians were killed. "What they have done will have long-term consequences for them," he said.
The OAU delegation is trying to kick-start the peace process which stalled when Eritrea rejected the four-point US/Rwanda plan.
The Eritreans claim that the land they now occupy is theirs and say they have no intention of withdrawing. Ethiopia has accepted the peace initiative and says it will never negotiate with Eritrea while the disputed land is occupied.
The OAU has called on Eritrea to withdraw its forces but it appears unlikely that Asmara will agree to talks with a pre-condition that it has previously rejected.
Mr Zenawi said Ethiopia had done all it could for peace. "The ball is firmly in Eritrea's court. We have done what is required of us."
Mr Zenawi insisted that his government was united. "We have absolute consensus within the cabinet on our approach to this crisis."
But Western diplomatic sources said Mr Zenawi has come under increasing pressure from his party, the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, to alter his strategy.
In the last week, Ethiopia has engaged in a mass mobilisation of military resources with thousands of regular and militia forces being bussed to the front line. The talk in northern Ethiopia is of impending war.
Mr Zenawi said he would continue to pursue peace through talks, but was also confident of military victory. "A nation's fate in war depends on its ability to mobilise resources. Eritrea's ability to mobilise will decrease as the crisis continues whereas ours will increase," he said.
Ethiopians feel betrayed by what they see as an unacceptable act of aggression by their former ally. A government spokesperson in the north said: "I cannot describe the sense of betrayal we feel at this unprovoked attack. How can we forgive them for murdering our children while they were at school?"