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A NNEX toPRESS RELEASEStatement of the Government of Eritreaon the Award of the Claims CommissionOn Monday, 17 August 2009, the Eritrea Ethiopia Claims Commission("EECC") delivered its Final Awards regarding violations of internationallaw during the 1998-2000 border war. The EECC was established by Article5 of the Algiers Agreement, the same legal instrument that created theEritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission ("EEBC") which rendered itsboundary Award in April 2002.Eritrea is well aware of interference that has impaired the administration ofjustice. Nonetheless, and irrespective of the plausibility of the evidence andlegal instruments invoked to arrive at the Award, the Government of Eritreaaccepts the Award of the Claims Commission without any equivocation dueto its final and binding nature under the Algiers Agreement. This is indeedconsistent with Eritrea's track record of respecting arbitration decisions thatemanate from its treaty obligations.The Government of Eritrea expresses its profound gratitude to its legalcounsel who toiled extremely hard to compile the necessary evidence and toadvance robust legal arguments in order to ensure justice.The legal filings have not yet been made public due to proceduralrequirements of confidentiality during the litigation process. Now that theAward has been announced, the Government of Eritrea intends to put allthese proceedings in the public domain for their judgmental and educationalpurposes to posterity.Asmara18 August 2009