• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

15 May 2000

Ethiopia-Eritrea Arms Embargo under Discussion

(FR) (Security Council angered by continued fighting) (370)
By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent
United Nations -- Secretary General Kofi Annan on May 15 urged Eritrea
and Ethiopia to "heed the call for peace" as members of the Security
Council began meeting to consider imposing an arms embargo on the two
countries.
"I would urge the two leaders and the people of Eritrea and Ethiopia
to really, for the sake of their people, for the sake of the region,
to heed the call for peace," Annan said.
"It's unfortunate that this (border) war had to break out. The
differences between the two countries are relatively small and I think
with a bit of patience and effort and will, it could have been
resolved peacefully," the secretary general said.
Meanwhile, Ethiopia and Eritrea both ignored a May 12 Security Council
resolution demanding that they stop fighting immediately or face
unspecified U.N. actions within 72 hours.
The fighting erupted two days after a Security Council mission to the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) led by U.S. Ambassador Richard
Holbrooke extended its visit to Addis Ababa and Asmara in an attempt
to get the two countries to resume talks.
Security Council members on the trip included: Ambassador Jean-David
Levitte of France, Ambassador Moctar Ouane of Mali, Ambassador Martin
Andjaba of Namibia, Ambassador A. Peter van Walsum of the Netherlands,
Ambassador Said Ben Mustapha of Tunisia, and Ambassador Jeremy
Greenstock of the United Kingdom.
Talking with journalists before the closed consultations began on an
arms embargo resolution on Ethiopia and Eritrea May 15, Greenstock
said that the members are "thinking about taking immediate steps to
follow up their failure to stop fighting.
"We're beginning to get indications from both of them that they would
like to come back to proximity talks. I don't think that is going to
be possible unless they also stop fighting," Greenstock said.
"We need clear indications from both capitals to the Security Council
that they accept the terms of (the council's May 12 resolution) and
that they understand that the Security Council will follow up if they
don't respond to that resolution," the ambassador said.
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)