መለስ ዜናዊ ኤርትራን ለማስገንጠል ለተባበሩት መንግሥታት ዋና ጸሃፊ የጻፈው የተማጽኖ ደብዳቤ

መለስ ዜናዊ  ኤርትራን ለማስገንጠል ለተባበሩት መንግሥታት ዋና ጸሃፊ የጻፈው የተማጽኖ ደብዳቤ

TRANSITIONAL GOVERNEMENT OF ETHIOPIA OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

13 December 1991

Excellency, Mr. Secretary-General,

As your Excellency is well aware, the transitional government period in Ethiopia highlights the task of redressing the causes of the 30-year civil war in Eritrea and of establishing the basis of permanent peace and stability.

It is to be recalled that the conference on peace and Democracy in Ethiopia, held in Addis Ababa from 1-5 July 1991, adopted a charter affirming that freedom, equal rights and self-determination of all peoples are the cardinal principles governing state affairs in new Ethiopia. In light of this, the conference formally recognized that the people of Eritrea have the right to determine their own future themselves and accepted that the future status of Eritrea should be decided by the Eritrean people in a referendum to be conducted in the presence of international observers. The provisional Government of Eritrea set by EPLF, on its part, decided to deter the referendum for two years which, we believe, contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability in our sub-region. At the same time, agreement was reached on the modalities of relationship between the Transitional Government of Ethiopia and the Provisional Government of Eritrea for the interim period.

Both the transitional Government of Ethiopia and the Provisional Government of Eritrea have registered their commitments to respect the results of the referendum in Eritrea as the genuine choice of the people concerned, expressed in an exercise of self-determination.

The Transitional Government of Ethiopia, as an interested party in the outcome of the referendum, has the firm conviction that the referendum will be free and fair, and believes that the United Nations should play an active role in verifying that the referendum is, indeed, fair and free.

In this regard, the Transitional Government of Ethiopia wishes to bring the attention of your Excellency the need to *………………… ………………… …………… ……………………… ………………………  * to play this role and make the necessary arrangements with the Provisional Government of Eritrea   to facilitate the ways and means for the UN supervision of the referendum. The Transitional Government of Ethiopia also wishes to point out that the time available for preparation in this regard is very short.

With highest considerations,

Signature

Meles Zenawi
President of the Transitional
Governement of Ethiopia

H.E. Javier Peraz de Cuellar
Secretary-General of the United Nations
UN Headquarters
NEW YORK