15 September 2000
U.S. Helped "From Day One" in Obtaining Horn of Africa Cease-fire
Meles says U.S. has been consistent peace partner By Jim Fisher-Thompson Washington File Staff Writer Washington -- Visiting Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has praised the Clinton administration for helping bring about a cease-fire between Ethiopia and Eritrea and paving the way for what could be "a final and comprehensive peace agreement" between the two Horn of Africa neighbors. His September 15 remarks came on the final day of a five-day visit to the United States in which he met with top U.S. government officials, lawmakers, World Bank officials, and private groups. Meles lauded U.S. efforts to end fighting between Ethiopia and Eritrea in which 70,000 soldiers have perished and 800,000 civilians have been displaced. According to Meles, America "has been engaged in the peace process from day one. There have been times when we had our differences, particularly with regard to the exercise of our right of self-defense. Despite that, the United States has continued to remain engaged, and I believe that the final cessation of hostilities agreement that we got had a clear imprint of U.S. assistance, and I believe without their assistance that agreement would have been difficult to achieve." Meles said he conferred in Washington with top U.S. government officials and various congressmen to "rejuvenate Ethiopian-U.S. relations, not only at the government-to-government level, but also at the private and people-to-people level." He said he had "extensive discussions" with U.S. officials at the State Department, White House, Pentagon, and Treasury, and that they "were extremely fruitful and successful." Meles acknowledged that he also had met with World Bank officials, saying that "there are no sticking points -- at least economic" -- about the Bank's resuming lending to Ethiopia that had been halted by the war. "Obviously, they [World Bank] want to see the signing of a peace agreement before they can disburse their funds," he said. On peace talks, Meles said, "It is my expectation that the negotiations will start sometime at the end of this month or early next month," making it possible for up to 4,200 U.N. peacekeeping troops to be deployed to monitor the agreement once it is signed. Regarding a rumor that Ethiopia planned to assault the Eritrean port of Assab, Meles said that would be "an act of thuggery and aggression, and we don't believe aggression should be answered by aggression." He said that "access to the port of Assab is not an item in peace talks, and we do not intend to make it one." He said there were 11 other ports in the region that Ethiopia could use and that it would seek the best deal it could get. Asked what maps would be used in the peace negotiations, Meles said the border region contested by the two countries would be "delimited by colonial treaties and applicable international law. I do not believe there is any going back on those two fundamental principles. We're not talking about maps, colonial or otherwise." Despite the debilitating conflict, Meles said, Ethiopia is making progress "on the political and economic transformation of our country." He said: "In the past nine years, the important process of democratizing the political life of the country is under way. A far-reaching economic reform program is also being implemented." Asked if economic reform could lead to confederation with neighboring Djibouti, Meles said: "The economic integration in the subregion of the Horn of Africa is vital for sustained development in the region, and I believe economic integration might entail ... political integration of sorts. How and when this is going to be achieved, we'll have to wait and see. But I think, as a matter of principle, it is a good idea for us to move in that direction." On the question of ethnicity, which some observers say has been an important factor fueling conflicts on the continent, Meles said, "We are trying to stop thinking of it [ethnicity] as a sickness." He said "there are natural differences" among people, such as gender, that should be respected but should "never be a cause of violence." In Ethiopia, he said, "we have a federal arrangement that allows people to express themselves." And "this is the only way of using diversity as a social strength. So far, it's been a tremendous success." (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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