German chancellor offers help in Ethiopia-Eritrea dispute

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia: German Chancellor Angela Merkel offered to help Horn of Africa rivals Ethiopia and Eritrea resolve a long-running border dispute, saying as she began a tour of Africa Thursday that there was reason for hope.

Merkel said she had spoken with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi about Ethiopia's neighbors Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea, and said she was confident the acrimonious dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea would be peacefully settled since Ethiopia has accepted the ruling of an impartial border commission.

"Now it seems that the problems are mainly in the implementation," she said. "Wherever we can be of any assistance, Germany will certainly be ready to do so."

She did not specify what form that help would take or what had changed in a deadlock that has had both countries trading accusations for years.

Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a 30-year guerrilla war, but the border between the two was never formally demarcated. A war erupted in 1998 over the border and claimed tens of thousands of lives.

A December 2000 peace agreement provided for an independent commission to rule on the position of the disputed 621-mile (1,000-kilometer) border.

The neighbors who have repeatedly accused each other of not honoring the terms of that deal. Tensions have increased even further with the rivals backing opposing sides in Somalia, where fighting between a weak government and Islamic insurgents has seen thousands of civilians die this year.

Ethiopia also has trouble at home, but Merkel did not directly address Ethiopia's crackdown on opposition leaders or the insurgency in the Ogaden region, where Ethiopian troops are fighting ethnic Somali insurgents. She said she encouraged Ethiopia to be "open."

Aid groups and the rebels accuse Ethiopia of running a police state and targeting civilians in Ogaden.

Meles used the press conference as an opportunity to send a robust response to U.S. legislators who have proposed cutting aid unless Ethiopia improves its human rights conditions.

"I don't think it will affect the relationship between ourselves and the U.S.," Meles said. The bill "is not fair. It is a reflection of the vendetta of a congressman. And that's it. If this person was interested in human rights and democracy, he should have looked at Eritrea first."

The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously approved the bill on Tuesday but it has not yet become law.

After the short briefing with journalists, Merkel planted several trees as part of a national Ethiopian reforestation project.

On Thursday afternoon, she will address the African Union, which is headquartered in Addis Ababa. Germany is currently the head of the Group of Eight industrialized nations, from whom the AU has been seeking funding for peacekeeping efforts.

Over the weekend, 10 A.U. peacekeepers were killed in an attack on their base in the Darfur region of Sudan. The underfunded, under-equipped AU force was to be absorbed into a larger, joint AU-UN force this month, and the weekend attack has spurred calls to overcome logistical and financial hurdles and speed that deployment.

Merkel's long-planned visit, which will also take her to South Africa and Liberia, will focus on development and trade, as well as human rights, corruption and the fight against AIDS.

During the news conference, Merkel said her trip would focus on pledges from the G-8 summit in Heiligendamm, Germany in June and the foundations for an EU-AU summit.

"I think that Europe has a vested interest in trying to further foster relations with Africa and further enhance its relationship with Africa," she said. "This is why the EU-AU summit later this year is of such tremendous importance."

Fellow G-8 leader Gordon Brown of Britain has said he will not attend the summit because Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe was expected. Merkel has said that she will bring up the human rights problems in Zimbabwe with the South African government during her trip.

Mugabe has been accused of abusing human rights record and presiding over the economic collapse of his country.(AP)