Eritrea says will not rescind expulsion of UN peacekeepers

ASMARA – Eritrea will not reverse its decision to expel North American and European peacekeepers from the UN mission monitoring its tense border with Ethiopia despite demands by the world body to do so, a senior Eritrean official said yesterday.

The official said Asmara had no intention of complying with forceful demands from UN chief Kofi Annan and the UN Security Council to rescind its order for US, Canadian, European and Russian peacekeepers to leave Eritrea in 10 days. “We are a sovereign country, we have every right to expel some personnel within the law,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.”The UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) is here at the invitation of both parties under Chapter Six of the UN charter,” the official said, referring to provisions that make the hosting of such operations voluntary.”It seems the UN doesn’t even know the rules of the game,” the official said.On Wednesday, shortly after the Eritrean order was made public, Annan and the Security Council both issued strong condemnations of the move, calling it “unacceptable” and “inconsistent” with Asmara’s UN obligations.”The Security Council unequivocally demands that Eritrea immediately reverse its decision without preconditions,” it said in a statement read by its current president, British UN envoy Emyr Jones Parry.- Nampa-AFP”We are a sovereign country, we have every right to expel some personnel within the law,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.”The UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) is here at the invitation of both parties under Chapter Six of the UN charter,” the official said, referring to provisions that make the hosting of such operations voluntary.”It seems the UN doesn’t even know the rules of the game,” the official said.On Wednesday, shortly after the Eritrean order was made public, Annan and the Security Council both issued strong condemnations of the move, calling it “unacceptable” and “inconsistent” with Asmara’s UN obligations.”The Security Council unequivocally demands that Eritrea immediately reverse its decision without preconditions,” it said in a statement read by its current president, British UN envoy Emyr Jones Parry.- Nampa-AFP