Ethiopian Airlines would like to inform its customers that it has resumed normal schedule operation from Addis Ababa as of Monday March 1/1999.

Ethiopian Airlines would like to take this opportunity to extend its appreciation to it's esteemed customers for their understanding and tolerance. We regret any inconveniences this might have caused.

The appeal came after Ethiopian forces drove Eritrean troops out of the contested border region of Badme in a ground offensive backed by artillery and fighter planes.

Eritrea had long rejected an OAU proposal to end the conflict but, in a diplomatic climbdown to match its military retreat, it said at the weekend it would comply with the plan.

Ethiopia accepted the OAU proposal months ago but Eritrea had opposed a clause ordering it to withdraw from Badme.

``Given the acceptance by both parties, we urge an immediate end to the fighting,'' the OAU said in a statement.

OAU Secretary-General Salim Ahmed Salim told a news conference on Monday he was certain Ethiopia had no military interest beyond Badme and would formally halt its offensive.

``As far as I am concerned they have no other ambition and I have no reason to doubt their only objective was to return land occupied by Eritrea,'' Salim said.

Eritrea occupied disputed land at Badme and around the border town of Zalambessa further to the east during six weeks of fighting last May.

The war restarted on February 6 on fronts southwest of Eritrea's Red Sea port of Assab, at Badme and at Zalambessa, which Eritrea still holds.

The Ethiopian government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, which declared ``total victory'' on Sunday but is yet to declare a ceasefire, said there was no fighting on Monday.

But it renewed its war of words against the Eritrean government of President Isayas Afewerki, accusing him of ``arrogance and disrespect'' of peace-making organisations.

The Eritrean president ``dreams of being the superpower of the Horn of Africa,'' Ethiopia said in a statement. ``His conduct with neighbouring countries is based on power, might and military strength and a belief in his invincibility.''

Eritreans in the capital Asmara were shocked on Sunday at news of the retreat but the mood on Monday turned to defiance.

``It was a very bad day yesterday but we have had worse days. It's normal, they push us, we will push them. It's not over,'' taxi driver Michael Kibread said.

Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a referendum and the two countries were seen as allies until last May.

Text: After Ethiopian troops overran their lines around the border town of Badame, Eritrea is trying to put the best face on a big loss.

State-run radio says the Eritrean government decided to retreat in order to restructure its defensive lines. The radio said it would like to inform the Eritrean people that they have not suffered any severe losses.

Ethiopia says it sent more than 40-thousand troops scattering in a hasty retreat after five-days of fighting that Ethiopia's military command says was a "monumental and humiliating defeat" for eritrea.

Ethiopia says the Badame front is quiet Monday. Regional diplomats hope momentum will now shift to mediation, with Eritrea accepting an Organization of African Unity plan to arbitrate the border dispute. (signed)

Intro: There is new hope for a peaceful end to the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia, with Eritrea now accepting an organization of African Unity plan to arbitrate their border dispute. VOA's East Africa correspondent Scott Stearns looks at the plan, and what it means for the Horn of Africa.

Text: The foundation of the O-A-U plan is reestablishing the border that existed before fighting started last may. That means Eritrea withdrawing from disputed territories until the issue can be settled through international arbitration.

President Isaysas Afeworki had previously objected to that proposal, saying the land in question is rightfully Eritrean and was being illegally occupied by Ethiopia. He said the chance of Eritrea ever withdrawing from the border town of Badame was as likely as the sun never rising again.

Ethiopia took up the challenge in a counter-offensive named "operation sunset," recapturing most of the area and driving Eritrean troops back across the border. Beaten on the battlefield, President Isayas wrote the United Nations that he is now ready to accept the O-A-U plan.

Doing so means he will have to wait for a panel of border experts and scholars in colonial-era treaties to decide where the real dividing line between Ethiopia and Eritrea lays.

Historians say each is likely to both gain and lose some ground in the process. While the Mereb river and the Setit river are natural boundaries, most of the dispute rests on the location of the 100 kilometers or so of border land between the two rivers.

In addition to reestablishing the previous border, the O-A-U plan also restores Ethiopian local administration in the area. Ethiopian foreign minister Seyoum Mesfin says that is a precondition to any talks based on an O-A-U proposal -- one that he believes is fair to both sides.

"Ethiopia has accepted that proposal not because all what was contained in that proposal is to our liking, but simply because we believe this is a package built on the basis on compromise and give-and-take."

The O-A-U plan calls for a demilitarization of the area around the border town of Badame and the creation of a six-month peacekeeping force to control the area. The plan halts expulsions of each other's nationals and calls for the delineation of a proper border, under U-N supervision, within six months.

Organization of African Unity spokesman Ibrahim Dagash says everyone stands to benefit from ending the war.

"Nobody wants fighting. Nobody want war. And at the end of the day, we are very much concerned because of the security and stability of the whole region, and this war is actually damaging all our efforts, all that we have built until now to have security and stability in the Horn of Africa."

Observers note with irony that before the war, Ethiopia and Eritrea worked together in regional efforts to end the civil war In Sudan, and to bring more stability to Somalia. (signed)

For the last nine months President Issaias and his EPLF cohorts have systematically and repeatedly shown their arrogance and disrespect both for individuals and institutions that have tried to find a peaceful solution to the Ethio-Eritrea conflict. They have deliberately misled the Eritrean people and misinformed the international community. In particular they have tried to cast scorn on the ability of the OAU to broker a peaceful settlement.

On February 27 1999 Eritrean Foreign Minister Haile Wolde Tensae, in remarks published in the Egyptian Government newspaper Al-Ahram, accused the Organization of African Unity of being unable to resolve the Horn of Africa Conflict. The Eritrean Foreign Minister said that the "OAU is unable to ensure a relevant solution to the dispute." In the same interview the Eritrean Foreign Minister said that the OAU should not monopolize mediation efforts and that the organization is weak and in need of support.

President Issaias has clearly shown that he thinks little of the hard work and effort that the OAU has put in to come up with the Proposals for a Framework Agreement. After the Ouagadougou summit in November when the High Level Delegation first presented its proposals to the Heads of State, the EPLF leadership castigated the proposals saying that they were uncoordinated, haphazard and lacking in clarity. President Issaias reduced the High Level Delegation Proposals for a Framework Agreement to a mere talking paper. Clearly the UN and the EU found the OAU Proposals for a Framework Agreement quite acceptable as they fully supported and endorsed them both as fair and balanced and the only way forward to a peaceful settlement.

Again in December 1998 at the meeting of the Central Organ of the OAU in Ouagadougou, President Issaias reiterated his lack of respect for the OAU Framework Agreement when he arrogantly questioned the actual mandate of the OAU central organ. Casting such remarks on the work of the OAU is tantamount to criticizing the genuine and sincere efforts of African Heads of State. Indeed President Issaias leveled serious and baseless accusations against Djibouti, as President Hassen Gouled Aptidon was one of three African leaders working to mediate a peaceful solution under the auspices of the OAU. Prior to this President Issaias had affronted the Rawness delegation of the OAU and publicly shunned the Secretary General. His arrogance was displayed again when he tried to lecture the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan on international relations and the role of the UN.

In a recent interview with Carol Pineau (VOA) President Issaias again affirms his disregard for the OAU whilst at the same time purporting to welcome the latest UN Security Council Resolution. President Issaias said "the OAU has its limitations - no one can exaggerate the capabilities of the OAU." His disrespect for the OAU is further reiterated when he dares to assign a token role to the OAU as an umbrella organization as the "OAU on its own could not come up with miracles and find a solution to the problem."

Why does President Issaias and the EPLF clique in Asmara have such a disdainful attitude towards the OAU and the strenuous efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict? The Government of Issaias Afeworki has little regard and respect for international law and order. President Issaias's main concern has always been enhancing his own personal image at whatever cost. For President Issaias, the Eritrean people who have been driven to fight an unnecessary war and have suffered as a result, are of little consequence.

EPLF as an organization and as a government serves to further one man - President Issaias. When he adopts a wrong position the President has made sure that there is no institution or institutional framework in place to challenge him or provide any form of checks and balances. The EPLF clique is accountable to no one - not the Eritrean people, neighboring countries or indeed the international community.

President Issaias dreams of being the superpower of the Horn of Africa. His conduct with neighboring countries is based on power, might and military strength and a belief in his invincibility. He has repeatedly resorted to resolving conflicts with neighboring countries through military means and the distortion of facts at will. He has the capacity to try to turn everything to his own favor and can say one thing in the morning only to contradict this after lunch.

Ethiopia was forced into this war by the government of Issaias Afeworki. For the last seven years Ethiopia had been able to tackle poverty - the scourge of our region. Ethiopia wants stability in the Horn and its policy of constructive engagement based on mutual interest and noninterference in the affairs of neighbors is testimony to its single-minded drive to register fast economic development. Ethiopia seeks real and lasting peace in the Horn of Africa.

ENDS