Xinhua
07-JUL-98
(by Chen Cailin)
ADDIS ABABA (July 7) XINHUA - Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Tuesday that ''if the Eritrean forces were not withdrawn, Ethiopia could not rule out the use of force.''
Premier Meles made the remarks while addressing a parliament session here, an Ethiopian government spokesman said.
Meles told parliament that "the Eritrean invasion had come at a time when Ethiopia was concentrating on peace and development, which had transformed the country."
"The situation is such that we have been taking two inter-linked actions - the peaceful path and, if it doesn't succeed, defending our sovereignty," he stated, adding: "parallel to the peace efforts, Ethiopia has been preparing to defend its sovereignty."
Meles told parliament members that "the Ethiopian government has succeeded in securing the whole-hearted support of the Ethiopian people by making it clear that: we were aggressively invaded, we desire the peaceful path, when the government considers that there is no room for a peaceful solution the sovereignty of Ethiopia will have to be secured by force.''
According to Meles, the Ethiopian people have so far donated at least 100 million Birr (14.3 million U.S. Dollars) to the war effort and for those displaced by the conflict and militias in their tens of thousands have registered to defend their country.
"Opposition groups that have never worked with the government have decided to put aside their differences and work together for defense of the sovereignty of our country," Meles said.
"If the Eritrean government withdraws we will solve the problem peacefully," Meles said, adding that "if it does not withdraw then, without any doubt, we will force it to do so."
In a similar development, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni arrived here Tuesday to hold talks with Meles on peaceful resolution of Ethio-Eritrea border dispute. before he came here, President Museveni had held talks with Eritrean leaders in Asmara Monday in a bid to mediate the crisis.
Ambassadors from Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Djibouti had visited both Ethiopia and Eritrea last week as the second part of the peaceful initiative by the Organization of African Unity.