Eritrea, Ethiopia sign a comprehensive peace agreement in Algeria
President Asyas Afourki of Eritrea and the Ethiopian prime minister Meles Zenawi on Tuesday afternoon at the Nations's Palace in Algiers, and in the presence of the Algerian President Abdul Aziz Butaflika signed a final and comprehensive peace agreement between their two countries.
The signing ceremony was attended by President of Togo, in his capacity as the current President of the African Unity organization, the Nigerian President, the US secretary of State Madeleine Albright, the UN secretary general Kofi Annan, the secretary general of the African unity organization Salim Ahmad salim and the representative for the European Union.
This agreement, however, is considered a fruit for the efforts made by the Algerian diplomacy between various sides concerned at a personal supervision of the Algerian President Abdul Aziz Butaflika..
This agreement which was not an easy task to be attained came at the efforts of the Algerian diplomats who made shuttle tours between the two countries capitals of Asmara and Addis Ababa and other African capitals which have influence and links to the two countries.
The Algerian diplomats had worked on more than one level, on the African, European or American levels because the question of the conflict between the two countries was not only local rather meet regional and international interests either American or Europeans.
Observers see that the success of the Algerian mediation goes back to the reputation of the Algerian diplomacy and its credibility and Algeria's care to bridge the conflict or armed conflicts erupted in the African continent and also the direct American and African support to end this struggle.
The Algerian daily Sawt al-Ahrar said that the presence of the of the US secretary of state Madeleine Albright at the signing ceremony of the agreement was a clear evidence on the great care shown by the US to this issue and its backing to the national reconciliation policy pursued by the Algerian President Butaflika.
On the other hand, Ethiopia called on its citizens who were damaged as a result of the war with Eritrea to submit applications in order to get compensations. The Ethiopian daily " Ethiopian Herald, run by the government said that a national committee has started its work and was assigned to register applications relating to losses resulted to the war took place between the two countries since May 1998.
However, the peace agreement between the two countries, in particular stated to pay compensations resulting from the war damages and border demarcation between the two countries.