DATE=7/7/98
TYPE=Correspondent Report
NUMBER=2-235103
TITLE=Eritrea Agriculture (L only)
BYLINE=Carol Pineau
DATELINE=Shiketi, Eritrea

Intro: Diplomatic efforts continue in the search for a peaceful solution to the border conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Even though there has been no significant fighting in three weeks, the war is taking a toll -- especially on agriculture. Carol Pineau reports from Eritrea,

Text: The rains usually start in Eritrea in mid-june. And seed is planted by early july. But this year, the rains are late. Even worse, the war that broke out in early may between Eritrea and Ethiopia, has diverted manpower from farming to fighting.

Hans Minab, a 55-year old farmer, toils under the hot sun near his small village, shiketi, about 20 kilometers west of the capital, Asmara. Only his youngest son is helping him in the fields. Two older sons, aged 19 and 21, have gone to fight at the front.

Mr. Hans says he would love to have had his older sons helping mim, but they had to do their patriotic duty. Of course, he says, it means the harvest will not be as good, since he does not have their help.

Nearby countries -- Sudan, Somalia, and Ethiopia -- all have experienced a similar combination of problems -- unrest, a lack of rain, and a diversion of farm workers to war. All three countries have experienced severe food shortages or famine. And Eritrea's agriculture minister, Arefaine Berhe, admits he is concerned.

/// first arefaine act ///
The fact that a lot of people are now in the front line, farmers, definitely there is a shortage of labor, but in order to compensate for this shortage of labor, we are mobilizing the rest of the community to do the job, not only their own jobs, but also the work that would have been done by those who are in the front lines. And secondly, we are filling the gap by introducing mechanization, for example during seeding. We will also do this during cultivation. So this way we hope to minimize the effects of the war.
/// end act ///

Mr. Arefaine says the country will not suffer -- if the rains are good in july and august. Otherwise, there will be a problem.

The agriculture minister says the war has already cost Eritrea in terms of the progress his ministry had hoped to make.

/// second arefaine act ///
Before this war, all the attention of the government was towards development, especially agricultural development. We had deployed more than 32-thousand youngsters to work on agriculture projects, like soil and water conservation, fixing feeder roads, and stuff like that. So there was a lot of attention. And besides, we have been helping the communities by providing them with things like seeds, fertilizers. we've been helping them with farming, bio-mechanization, tractorizing a lot of our land. It was in the middle of such a process that such a war broke out.
/// end act ///

Eritrea and Ethiopia went to war in early may. There has been no significant fighting since mid-june, but both countries continue to send large numbers of reinforcements to the disputed border.

Meanwhile, the Eritrean minister of agriculture, as well as farmers left to till the land, hope for peace and wait for rain. (signed)

NEB/CP/JWH/WFR
07-Jul-98 1:35 PM EDT (1735 UTC)
Source: Voice of America

DATE=7/6/98
TYPE=Correspondent Report
NUMBER=2-235026
TITLE=Ethiopia Diplomacy (L only)
BYLINE=Scott Stearns
DATELINE=Nairobi

Intro: Ethiopia is sending diplomats to europe to explain its position in the two-month border fight with Eritrea. VOA East Africa correspondent Scott Stearns reports Ethiopia wants the international community to do more to pressure Eritrea to withdraw from disputed areas.

Text: Ethiopia's ministers of foreign affairs, transport, and economic development are in Europe this week to make their case against Eritrea.

Now that Eritrean president Isaias Afworki has accepted a UN resolution on the border conflict, Ethiopia wants the international community to hold him to that commitment. Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin says that means forcing Eritrea to withdraw troops around the disputed village of Badame, before any direct talks on the border.

/// first Seyoum act ///
If Eritrea is prepared to accept and implement the UN resolution, the first step they have to do is withdraw their troops from the areas they occupied by the use of force. That is the test. Unless Eritrea withdraws its troops from the Badame area and its environs, there can not be a face-to-face negotiation.
/// end act ///

Without an Eritrean withdrawal, foreign minister Seyoum says Ethiopia will not take part in any international effort to discuss the border, because that would be rewarding aggression.

/// opt /// /// second seyoum act ///
That should not be acceptable, not only to Ethiopia but to the international community as well because you can not invade the territory of a sovereign neighbor and ask the neighbor to come and talk to you.
/// end act ///

In addition to west European capitals, foreign Minister Seyoum is also scheduled to visit Moscow -- the main sponsor of Ethiopia's former marxist dictator, Mengistu Haile Mariam. So far, the united states, Rwanda, and Italy have played the biggest diplomatic roles in this crisis.

There has been little fighting since a cease-fire in the air war last month. The two countries have thousands of troops and heavy armor massed along their rocky border.

Foreign minister Seyoum says Ethiopia is prepared to act militarily to reclaim its territory, but still is hoping diplomatic pressure can force Eritrea to withdraw its troops first.

/// third Seyoum act ///
It's only through this concerted pressure of the international community that might force the Eritrean regime to peacefully withdraw its troops from Badame. if this fails, if there is no clear and mounting pressure built on the government of Eritrea, unfortunately there is not any other option but for Ethiopia to respond in kind, to push away or push out the invading force from its sovereign territory.
/// end act ///

There was no clear border between the countries when Eritrea declared its independence from Ethiopia in 1993. Resolving the dispute means going back to Italian and British colonial treaties that both sides say support their rival claims. (signed)

NEB/SKS/JWH/WTW
06-Jul-98 5:27 AM EDT (0927 UTC)
Source: Voice of America