Date=6/27/98
Type=Correspondent Report
Number=2-234651
Title=Eritrea national assembly (l)
Byline=Carol Pineau
Dateline=Asmara

Intro: Eritrea's national assembly has strongly endorsed the government's position on the border war with Ethiopia. Carol Pineau in Asmara reports this is the first time the Eritrean legislature has met since the conflict broke out in early May.

Text: In an official statement saturday, the Eritrean national assembly endorsed the government's peace plan that calls for a demilitarization, demarcation of borders, and arbitration to settle territorial claims.

The assembly reaffirmed Eritrea's call for a cessation of hostilities, saying the two countries should go further then the air strike ban they agreed to earlier. It also reiterated the need for direct talks.

The assembly demanded the immediate withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from what it says is Eritrean territory, although the legislature said that under no circumstances would it agree to Ethiopia's demand to withdraw Eritrean troops to the positions held before May sixth, when the war started.

The issue of Eritrean withdrawal has been a sticking point in negotiations. Eritrea says it will not withdraw unless there is a bilateral withdrawal, because it says it is only occupying territory taken by Ethiopian border incursions during the past year.

The assembly mandated Eritrea's government to vigorously pursue peace with Ethiopia.

It also assessed the impact the war is having on development programs, particularly in irrigation, road building, and dam construction. It agreed the programs will continue, with a concentration on the major projects.

The legislature also said it is concerned about Ethiopia's expulsion of its Eritrean residents. It accused Ethiopia of expelling, kidnapping, and killing Eritreans in Ethiopia. The assembly called for a stop to the expulsions, freedom for those being held, protection of property owned by Eritreans in Ethiopia, and reunification of families separated by the expulsions.

A spokesman for the Eritrean government says at least one-thousand Eritreans are being held in a camp in Ethiopia, 85 of them exchange students. He said there have been reports of beatings and a climate of fear.

The spokesman said an additional 200 farmers near The disputed area of Badame were expelled. Several thousand were deported earlier. The Eritrean government estimates more than 50-thousand will be expelled from Ethiopia and another 50-thousand displaced by the war.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council (Friday) discussed the Ethiopian-Eritrean conflict. A spokesman for the Eritrean Government says the UN meetings were very positive in many ways.

The spokesman says it was the first time that the concerns of both sides were address, although he says the Security Council could have gone further.

The Security Council supported the moratorium on air strikes, which Eritrea says it hopes will enable it to again receive commercial air traffic in the near future. International air carriers halted all flights to Asmara as the threat of bombing made insurance costs prohibitively expensive.

The Security Council also agreed to provide technical assistance for demarcation of the border. And it called on the organization of African Unity (OAU) to continue mediation efforts.

An OAU delegation shuttled between Asmara and Addis Ababa last weekend, although the head of the OAU, Salim Ahmed Salim, said later the talks had broken down.

The OAU delegation had come to Asmara proposing the US-Rwanda peace plan, which already had been rejected by the Eritreans. The OAU has offered no new peace plan, athough it says there will be more talks in the near future at the ambassadorial level. (signed)

Neb/cp/jwh
27-jun-98 9:06 am edt (1306 utc)
Source: voice of america