Ethiopia asks for explanations of OAU peace plan

Ethiopia has asked the Organization of the African Unity for explanations concerning technical measures for the peace plan with Eritrea.

The spokesman for the Ethiopian government said on Monday in a statement that Ethiopia asked the current president of the OAU, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, for explanations on certain points stated in the technical measures set out by the OAU for implementing the peace plan. He added that the Ethiopian government will announce its position when it receives the reply on the explanations.

Eritrea's Foreign Ministry called the Ethiopian response a "transparent ploy" to delay the peace process. A press release from the Eritrean ministry said that Ethiopia "cannot plausibly raise now, at the eleventh hour, substantial issues in regard to the Technical Arrangements if it had really accepted the underlying agreements in good faith."

The spokeswoman for the Ethiopian government, Saloumi Tadisi, said that high-ranking officials in the Ethiopian government asked for explanations, adding that strict commitment to the peace plan of the OAU has not changed.

The OAU has made proposals to the two disputing sides, Ethiopia and Eritrea, latest of these proposals on August 6.

Last Saturday, Ethiopia announced that the withdrawal of the Eritrean forces from the territories which Eritrea entered on May 6, 1998 and the return of the civil administration are the basic conditions for establishing peace with Eritrea.

On Sunday Eritrea announced its acceptance of the technical arrangements proposed by the OAU to facilitate the implementation of the peace plan.

Meanwhile, the special Algerian envoy, Ahmad Ouyahia arrived on Sunday in Addis Ababa, where he will meet with the Ethiopian premier and the foreign minister.