DATE=6/8/98
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
NUMBER=2-233545
TITLE=ETHIOPIA / PRIME MINISTER
BYLINE=DIANA CAHN
DATELINE=ADDIS ABABA

INTRO: ETHIOPIAN PRIME MINISTER MELES ZENAWI SAYS HIS COUNTRY WILL RESORT TO MILITARY ACTION IF ERITREA REFUSES TO WITHDRAW ITS TROOPS FROM DISPUTED ETHIOPIAN TERRITORY. MR. MELES WARNS THE HOSTILITIES THAT ESCALATED LAST WEEK WITH AIRSTRIKES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BORDER WILL HEAT UP AGAIN IF ERITREA DOESN'T BACK DOWN. DIANA CAHN SPOKE WITH THE ETHIOPIAN PRIME MINISTER MONDAY IN THE CAPITAL, ADDIS ABABA.

TEXT: PRIME MINISTER MELES ZENAWI SAYS HE STILL HOPES TO AVOID WAR BUT IT'S UP TO ERITREA, HE SAYS, TO WITHDRAW ITS TROOPS FROM BORDER TOWNS IN THE "YURGA TRIANGLE" OF HIS COUNTRY'S NORTHWEST. HE SAYS THEY INVADED IN EARLY MAY.

///ACT ONE///
IF THAT HAPPENS, THEN THERE'S STILL ANOTHER POSSIBILITY OF RESOLVING THE PUBLIC PEACEFULLY. OTHERWISE, WE WILL HAVE TO EXERCISE OUR RIGHT OF SELF-DEFENSE AND REMOVE THE INVADING TROOPS FROM OUR TERRITORY. SO IN BOTH SENSE, THE BALL IS CLEARLY IN THE ERITREAN COURT.
///END ACT///

PRIME MINISTER MELES SAYS THAT ETHIOPIA WAS QUICK TO ACCEPT A PROPOSAL CRAFTED BY THE UNITED STATES AND RWANDA TO END THE CRISIS AND URGED ERITREAN PRESIDENT ISAIAS AFWERKI TO ANSWER INTERNATIONAL CALLS TO DO THE SAME. ACCORDING TO THE PROPOSAL, ERITREA WOULD WITHDRAW FROM ETHIOPIAN TERRITORY AND THE DISPUTE WOULD BE ARBITRATED BY INTERNATIONAL MEDIATORS.

MR. MELES ACCUSED ERITREA OF DRAWING OUT NEGOTIATION EFFORTS IN ORDER TO -- IN HIS WORDS -- CONSOLIDATE THEIR HOLD ON ETHIOPIAN TERRITORY, AND HE WARNS THAT OPPORTUNITIES TO SOLVE THE DISPUTE PEACEFULLY ARE QUICKLY DISAPPEARING.

ETHIOPIA ANNOUNCED MONDAY THAT THE ERITREANS HAVE EXPELLED THREE-THOUSAND ETHIOPIANS AND ARRESTED 530 MORE; SIMILAR ACCUSATIONS HAVE COME FROM THE OTHER SIDE.

ERITREA AND ETHIOPIA ARE AT ODDS OVER BORDER AS WELL AS TRADE ISSUES. BUT MR. MELES INSISTS THAT THERE HAS BEEN NO JUSTIFICATION FROM MILITARY AGGRESSION WHICH, HE SAYS, WAS INSTIGATED BY THE ERITREANS.

BORDER SKIRMISHES ESCALATED INTO ACTS OF WAR FRIDAY WHEN ETHIOPIAN BOMBERS STRUCK A CIVILIAN AIRPORT AND MILITARY AIR BASE, WHICH SHARE A RUNWAY OUTSIDE THE ERITREAN CAPITAL, ASMARA. AT THE SAME TIME, ERITREANS PLANS BOMBED THE NORTHERN ETHIOPIAN TOWN OF MEKELE, KILLING 44 PEOPLE AND WOUNDING OVER 100. IT'S NOT CLEAR WHO STRUCK FIRST -- BUT THE ETHIOPIAN LEADER SAYS THERE WAS NO JUSTIFICATION FOR ERITREA'S ATTACK ON CIVILIANS.

MR. MELES SAYS TENS OF THOUSANDS OF ETHIOPIANS HAVE ALREADY SIGNED UP FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE.

///ACT TWO///
IT'S NOT A SURPRISE THAT THE ETHIOPIAN PEOPLE ARE VERY ANGRY AND THAT A GOVERNMENT WE CONSIDERED TO BE A CLOSE FRIEND WOULD STAB US IN THE BACK AT A TIME WHEN WE ARE EXCLUSIVELY FOCUSED ON THE WAR AGAINST POVERTY AND IGNORANCE. SO PEOPLE ARE INDEED VERY ANGRY AND ARE CLEARLY PREPARED TO DEFEND THEIR COUNTRY, AS THEY HAVE DONE OVER CENTURIES.
///END ACT///

MR. MELES CONFIRMED THAT ERITREANEN TROOPS LAST WEEK ALSO CAPTURED THE NORTHEASTERN BORDER TOWN OF ZALA ANBESSA AND THE TOWN'S 15-THOUSAND CIVILIANS HAVE ALL FLED.

PRIME MINISTER MELES WARNS THAT IF HIS TROOPS MOVE TO TAKE BACK THE TOWN, THEY WILL ALSO DEPLOY TO RECAPTURE THE "YURGA TRIANGLE" TERRITORY AS WELL. IF IT DOES COME TO WAR, HE SAYS IT SHOULDN'T TAKE LONG.

MR. MELES SAYS ETHIOPIA WILL NOT INVADE ERITREA AND IS ONLY INTERESTED IN EJECTING THE FOREIGN TROOPS FROM WHAT HE SAYS IS ETHIOPIAN SOIL. IN THE MEANTIME, ETHIOPIAN PRIME MINISTER MELES ZENAWI SAYS HE IS STILL WAITING TO SEE IF A PEACEFUL SOLUTION CAN BE FOUND. (SIGNED)

NEB/DC/WDC/RRM
08-Jun-98 5:22 PM EDT (2122 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America

DATE=6/8/98
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
NUMBER=2-233542
TITLE=ERITREA PREPARES (L)
BYLINE=CAROL PINEAU
DATELINE=ASMARA

INTRO: THE ETHIOPIA-ERITREA BORDER DISPUTE CONTINUES TO LEAD THE AGENDA AT THE ORGANIZATION OF AFRICAN UNITY MEETING THIS WEEK. AS CAROL PINEAU REPORTS FROM ASMARA, THE ERITREANS ARE HOPING FOR PEACE BUT ARE PREPARING THE COUNTRY SHOULD THERE BE WAR.

TEXT: FOR THE SECOND DAY IN A ROW THERE, THE ERITREAN CAPITAL REMAINED CALM DESPITE THE EVER-PRESENT THREAT OF WAR. YUMANI GARYEB, SPOKESMAN FOR THE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE IN ERITREA, SAYS THEY EXPECT ETHIOPIA TO ATTACK AT ANY TIME AND THEY ARE DOING EVERYTHING NECESSARY TO PREPARE THE PEOPLE SHOULD HOSTILITIES BREAK OUT.

/// GARYEB ACT ONE///
WE DON'T WANT TO SEE LOSSES AMONG THE POPULATION HERE. SCHOOLS ARE OUT ... HOSPITALS AND OTHER AREAS WHERE THERE ARE LARGE CONCENTRATIONS OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN URGED TO TAKE EXTRA PRECAUTIONS. SO WE ARE ASKING PEOPLE TO STAY IN THEIR HOMES IN CASE OF BOMBARDMENT. WE ARE ALSO TAKING MEASURES TO MAKE SURE OUR MEDICAL PEOPLE ARE READY FOR ANY EVENTUALITY.
///END ACT///

MR. GARYEB SAYS THE MILITARY IS ALSO ON STANDBY. ON MONDAY, SEVERAL ERITREAN JETS COULD BE HEARD FLYING OVER THE CAPITAL. MR. GARYEB SAYS IT'S ALL A PART OF MILITARY PREPAREDNESS.

///ACT TWO///
IT'S PART OF THE EFFORT TO AVERT AN ETHIOPIAN AIRSTRIKE. OUR PLANES WERE IN THE AIR AND JUST TO ENSURE -- THAT WE WOULD BE READY IN CASE OF A BOMBARDMENT HERE.
///END ACT///

MR. GARYEB STRESSES THAT THEY HOPE THE TWO COUNTRIES WILL FIND A PEACEFUL SOLUTION. BUT HE IS NOT OPTIMISTIC THAT THEY WILL RESOLVE THE CRISIS WITHOUT FURTHER FIGHTING. ETHIOPIA AND ERITREA FOUGHT A BITTER 30-YEAR WAR WHICH ENDED ONLY SEVEN YEARS AGO. MR. GARYEB SAYS THIS TIME HE BELIEVES THE CONFLICT WILL BE SHORT-TERM.

///ACT THREE///
THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE AN ALL-OUT WAR, I DON'T THINK. I HOPE NOT. BUT THERE ARE SOME EXPECTATIONS THERE WILL BE SOME ENGAGEMENTS.
///END ACT///

ERITREAN PRESIDENT ISAIAS AFWERKI SAID IN AN INTERVIEW MONDAY EVENING THAT HIS GOVERNMENT HAS INFORMATION THAT THOSE HOSTILITIES MAY COME AS SOON AS TUESDAY AFTERNOON. (SIGNED)

NEB/CP/RRM

08-Jun-98 4:44 PM EDT (2044 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America

DATE=6/8/98
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
NUMBER=5-40622
TITLE=ETHIOPIA / ERITREA / BADAME
BYLINE=SCOTT STEARNS
DATELINE=NAIROBI

INTRO: A SMALL TOWN CALLED BADAME IS AT THE CENTER OF THE CONFLICT BETWEEN ETHIOPIA AND ERITREA. V-O-A'S SCOTT STEARNS REPORTS THAT CONTROL OF THE TOWN IS ALSO AT THE CENTER OF A U-S-BACKED PEACE PLAN.

TEXT: THE CRISIS STARTED WHEN ERITREAN TROOPS MOVED INTO BADAME LAST MONTH, KILLING ETHIOPIAN MILITIAMEN AND POLICE.

THE BORDER TOWN IS ABOUT 150 KILOMETERS SOUTHWEST OF THE ERITREAN CAPITAL, ASMARA. PRESIDENT ISAYAS AFEWORKI SAYS BADAME IS PART OF ERITREA.

/// ISAYAS ACT - IN TIGRINIAN - FADE UNDER ///


PRESIDENT ISAYAS SAYS BADAME HAS BEEN PART OF ERITREA SINCE COLONIAL ITALIANS DREW THE BOUNDARY WITH ETHIOPIA IN 1885. IT IS A BIG AREA, BUT HE SAYS THE TOWN ITSELF HAS ALWAYS BEEN IN ERITREA.

PRESIDENT ISAYAS SAYS THE ITALIANS WANTED ALL ETHNIC KUNAMA PEOPLE TO BE PART OF ERITREA, SO THEY MADE SURE BADAME WAS ON THE ERITREAN SIDE OF THE BORDER. HE SAYS ERITREANS DO NOT WANT TO STEAL ANYONE'S LAND, THEY JUST WANT TO RECLAIM WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY THEIRS.

HOWEVER, ETHIOPIAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER TEKEDA ALEMU SAYS BADAME HAS NEVER BEEN PART OF ERITREA, SO THE ERITREANS CAN NOT CLAIM IT.

/// TEKEDA ACT ///
THE ETHIOPIAN PEOPLE KNOW, THE PEOPLE OF THE LOCALITIES KNOW THAT IT IS AN ETHIOPIAN LOCALITY. THE ERITREANS THEMSELVES KNOW THAT IT IS, IN FACT, AN ETHIOPIAN LOCALITY. AND THAT THERE IS NO QUESTION, I HAVE NO DOUBT IN MY MIND, THAT THE ERITREANS KNOW IN THEIR HEART OF HEARTS THAT THEY ACTUALLY CARRIED OUT AN INVASION. /// END ACT ///

A PEACE PLAN BACKED BY THE UNITED STATES AND RWANDA CALLS FOR ERITREAN TROOPS TO WITHDRAW FROM BADAME, SO A SMALL OBSERVER FORCE CAN TAKE CONTROL OF THE AREA UNTIL THE BORDER DISPUTE IS SETTLED PEACEFULLY. THE PLAN ALSO CALLS FOR RESTORATION OF THE LOCAL ETHIOPIAN AUTHORITY IN BADAME, AND A COMPLETE DEMILITARIZATION OF THE AREA.

REGIONAL DIPLOMATS SAY THE DEMAND THAT ERITREA WITHDRAW FROM BADAME IS ONE OF THE REASONS PRESIDENT ISAYAS HAS BEEN RELUCTANT TO ACCEPT THE PLAN. BUT ETHIOPIAN PRIME MINISTER MELES ZENAWI SAYS IT IS THE ONLY WAY TO STOP THE WAR.

/// MELES ACT ///
IT IS VERY CLEAR TO ME THAT THERE WAS AN INVASION, THAT THERE WAS AN ACT OF AGGRESSION, AND THAT IT WAS THIS ACT OF AGGRESSION WHICH STARTED THE SPIRALING CRISIS. THE ONLY WAY TO UNDO THAT IS TO START FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. YOU UNDO THE INVASION AND THEN EVERYTHING ELSE FALLS IN LINE.
/// END ACT ///

THERE WAS NO CLEAR BOUNDARY BETWEEN THE COUNTRIES WHEN ERITREA DECLARED ITS INDEPENDENCE FROM ETHIOPIA IN 1993. ULTIMATELY RESOLVING THE BORDER DISPUTE WITHOUT MORE FIGHTING MEANS GOING BACK TO EUROPEAN COLONIAL MAPS. BOTH COUNTRIES SAY THEY HAVE MAPS PROVING THEIR CASE, SHOWING THAT THE OTHER NATION IS LYING ABOUT WHERE BADAME BELONGS. (SIGNED)