NEWS RELEASE

Friday, May 28, 1999

ETHIOPIA CELEBRATES ANNIVERSARY OF FREEDOM FROM REPRESSION

May 28, 1991 is always cherished by the people of Ethiopia for sounding the death-knell of an endless succession of repressive regimes. It marked the dawn of a new era when the Ethiopian nations, nationalities and peoples began to enjoy civil and democratic rights.

This year’s commemoration of May 28 is special in that it coincides with the resolve displayed by the Ethiopian peoples to safeguard the sovereignty of their country after it was violated by the unprovoked attacks committed by Eritrea in north-western Ethiopia.

Eritrean forces invaded the Ethiopian localities of Badme, Zalambessa, Aiga, Alitena, Bada and others one year ago. Incidents such as the air raids on Mekelle and Adigrat roused the Ethiopian people to anger and made them more united than ever before. The unity and collective effort for the preservation of their independence and sovereignty demonstrated by Ethiopians living in the country and the diaspora augurs well for economic development and for the future of Ethiopia.

Ethiopia showed its commitment to peace by accepting not only the peace proposals put forward by the US Rwanda governments, but also the Framework Agreement for the peaceful resolution of the conflict that was tabled by the OAU and endorsed by the UN Security Council and other international bodies. Eritrea has meanwhile remained as tumbling block to peace by rejecting the various peace proposals put forward, and by continuing with its forceful occupation of Ethiopian territory.

Side by side with defending the sovereignty of Ethiopia, the people are also engaged in expediting the development of their country. All the socio-economic development programmes that were planned for the current year have been successfully carried out and the smooth implementation of projects that we have launched with our development partners is a source of great satisfaction to us.

However, we need to do more. In the short term we have to redouble our efforts to ensure that the aggressors leave every inch of our territory and in the longer term we must take advantage of the present momentum to ensure the regeneration of our country.