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