Annan urges Eritrea to lift helicopter ban on UN peacekeepers

 


www.chinaview.cn 2005-10-22 09:30:14
UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has written to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, calling on him to lift Eritrea's ban on helicopter flights by the UN peacekeeping mission deployed along the country's border with Ethiopia.
"It is critical that these restrictions be lifted, irrespective of political issues and considerations," spokesman Stephanie Dujarric told reporters on Friday, quoting from the letter.
In the letter, Annan expressed growing concern over restrictions placed on humanitarian operations in Eritrea, where food insecurity remains of paramount concern.
Annan said the ban severely inhibited the UN mission in carrying out its mandate as requested by Eritrea and Ethiopia and authorized by the Security Council.
For the past five years the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) has been monitoring the temporary security zone along the frontier, where the two countries fought a two-year border war.
The secretary-general also expressed concern over the negative implications for the security of the UN peacekeepers and their operations, and reminded President Isaias that freedom of movement is a fundamental principle of peacekeeping.
Any decisions to undermine the effectiveness of the UNMEE and the cease-fire arrangements on the ground will not advance the peace process, which is already stalemated, he said.
Also on Friday, UN Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Margareta Wahlstrem briefed the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Eritrea, where 2.3 million people face acrisis. She said food insecurity and widespread poor nutritional status among women and children remains the paramount humanitarian concern in the Horn of African country.
Eritrea is one of few countries in the world where 60 percent of the entire population is dependent on international relief assistance for survival, she added. End item