The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday voted to impose sanctions on Eritrea for supporting the Somali Islamist group Al-Shabab. First of all, the U.S. State Department, which pushed the resolution on behalf of Woyanne — its puppet regime in Ethiopia — is unable to produce any evidence that Eritrea provides support to Al-Shabab. Secondly, even if it does, what is the big deal? Doesn’t the U.S. Government support the Woyanne regime, which is terrorizing the people of Ethiopia, committing war crimes in eastern Ethiopia, blocking food from reaching the people in Ogaden (according to the Red Cross), and has committed genocide in the western Ethiopian region of Gambella? The U.S.-financed Woyanne regime’s crimes against the people of Ethiopia are too many to list here. These crimes against humanity are not mere allegations. They are charges made by all credible international human rights organizations. And yet the U.N. Security Council is totally silent. Let’s also not forget that the U.N. has not uttered one word of concern when Meles Zenawi’s death squads gunned down hundreds of pro-democracy protesters in Ethiopia’s capital following the 2005 elections. Through such nonsensical and hypocritical action, the U.N. once again proved itself to be a joke. For peace to prevail in Somalia, the U.S. and its puppet Woyanne must stop meddling in Somalia’s internal affairs. Let the people of Somalia sort things out for themselves without outside intervention. If there is any sanction needed in the U.N., it should be against the U.S. Government that is creating havoc in Somalia by backing one clan against another. – Elias Kifle
In the following audio Eritrea’s Minister of Information Ato Ali Abdo comments on the U.N. sanction.
[podcast]http://www.ethiopianreview.info/audio/23dec2009amha1800a.mp3[/podcast]
(Forward to 13:15:00)
19 thoughts on “Eritrean Government’s reaction to U.N. sanction”
GOOD JOB MR. ELIAS KIFLE. THIS IS THE TRUTH. BUT NEVER EVER WEYANE WIN WHAT THEY THINK. GOD BLESS MAMA ETHIOPIA AND OUR BROTHERS ERITREAN AND THE GEVERNEMENT OF ERITREA.
GOOD JOB MR. ELIAS KIFLE. GOD BLESS YOU.
Dear felow country men,
Let’s not be fooled by Washington’s behaviour to be solely Eritrean affair. Whatever harm they do to Eritrea, we mus understand they are harming us as well. This has nothing to do with the recent rapproachment envisioned between Eritrea and Ethiopia (thanks to Elias). But, we must realize that any damage to Eritrea is damge to Ethiopia for we are one in struggle. Don’t be emotional. Eritrea is and WILL ALWAYS remain our main ally.
The woyane thought saction to eritrea will hart the EPPF, ONLF,OLF, TPDM and othere but it will not work. those fighters will gain more power now than they did before.
thank you Elias
THE WAY THE UN THINKS IS SUPPLYING MONEY TO WHOEVER US CHOOSES IS THEIR RIGHT. IT MIGHT BE TRUE TO AN EXTENT BECAUSE THEY DIDNOT GIVE HIM THE MONEY SPECIFIEING WEYANE NEED TO COMMIT CRIMES AGAINST ETHIOPIAN PEOPLE.THE ONLY ONES THAT CAN OPPOSE THIS AND MAKE A DIFFRENCE ARE THE HARD WORKING TAX PAYERS CITIZENS OF THE USA. MAJORITY OF THE TAXPAYERS IN USA RIGHT NOW HAVE LITTLE OR NO KNOWLEDGE ON THE CRIMES BEING COMMITED BY WEYANE AGAINST THE ETHIOPIAN PEOPLE USING THE MONEY THAT THEIR ELECTED GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS DECIDED TO PROVIDE EVENTHOUGH THE HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTS LABELS WEYANE CLOSE TO THE HITLER REGIME. ETHIOPIANS NEED TO WORK HARD IN EDUCATING THE TAX PAYERS OF USA ON THE ISSUES AND THE MONEY BEING WASTED UNDER FALSE PRETENCES.ETHIOPIANS NEED TO START SWALLOWING THEIR PRIDE BY STOPING LIVING IN THE PAST AND COMMUNICATE AT ALL LEVELS TO ORDINARY PEOPLE IN USA AND EVERYWHERE ABOUT THAT MATTER TO GET SOME TANGIBLE RESULT.IT REQUIRES YOUTH , MEN , WOMEN , ELDERLY WHOEVER TO HAVE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE 30 BILLION DOLLARS THAT WAS SENT FROM THE WEST TO WEYANE IN THE PAST 18 YEARS AND WHAT WEYANE IN TURN DID AND IS DOING WITH THE MONEY.
The Weyane junta could not continue like this forever. They will see the consequence soon. They betray the EPLF first , then the Ethiopian second, then Africa third,…and they continue like that till they betray their current French and chineese budies to some other else. They are always after money. They do not have moral values. They sell their mother for money. Do you know why Meles sell Africa to France, because they will get some pocket money for dictator and wind power installation for their tigrai region.
That’s what I thought you will do , It conforms that you have no life line left .
Poor thing.
The shameful and dispecable act of western powers against Eritrea is a blessing in disguise. The people of Eritrea alwasy knew who their true friends and enemies are thanks to their horrific experience after World War II all the way through 1991, every power on earth piled up on us, yet we won our independence thanks to our unfliching stand for our freedom and the steely unity we forged fighting super powers and their puppets for over 40 years.
Now the Ethiopian people have a front seat to witness the lies and hypocritical attitude of the western powers. Western powers only care about their selfish interest and would never ever accept any African nation that stands up for its people, so far they succeeded in subjugating Africans in the whole continent except Eritrea, now Ethiopians can see for themselves what it takes to be trully free, it requires unity, clarity of vision, knowing your true friends and enemies and above all knowing that no matter how strong westerners think they are, they can never defeat a united and tenatious people in their own land.
Take heart my Ethiopian brothers and sisters, this event will be turned to our advantage in due time, stay united and don’t get fooled by westerners because when they see you get stronger they will try to charm you until they corrupt your leaders. Don’t ever let that kind of trick work on you, that’s why any Ethiopian who thinks they can lead should go back to Ethiopia and lead from the front and the rest of you stand firm and support your partriots back home.
I am 100% with Weqaw (#3) here. If we let Meles and the West defeat PIA and Eritrea on this issue, there will be no EPPF and no where to go for us and as a result we might as well say good bye to our freedom. PIA and Eritrea is the only obstacle for Meles and the West to fully control Ethiopia and its people.
IF President Isayas is gone, Meles will be in total control and we we will never have another suitable place for our our struggle from which we can lead and regroup without any fear of persecution.
My fellow Ethiopians, you should take this seriously.
thanks for reading.
It is a shame for the UN to allow itself to be misused for the pure personal satisfaction of questionable individuals and their cohorts: SHAME on UN for betraying neutrality and justice again!
If the pursuit for self-reliance, independence and national development on the basis of our own resources is seen “as arrogance” [US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice] that needs to be broken: well, the Eritrean Nation has -like any other nation, be it a ‘super power’ by own definition or a small country- its legitimated right to pursue its own national interest.
Question the Security Council Resolution 1907(2009) !!
1. Did Eritrea sponsor the war in Somalia, such as flying in 2000 Eritrean soldiers to Mogadishu, while the Red Sea and the sky over the Horn of Africa is the best internationally surveilled spot on earth lately?
Well, neither the “Somalia Monitoring Group” nor the highly objective UN could provide a single proof to undermine their accusations. To the contrary, they had to admit that they could not submit evidence for Eritrea being sponsoring militant fractions in Somalia…but then again one might ask: what are the evidence worth shown at UN?
Remember US State Secretary Colin Powell presenting to the Security Council “satellite photographs and intercepted telephone conversations” as evidence for Irak’s possession of weapons of mass destruction? And we all remember that this proved to be a huge bogus and how Mr. Powell’s career ended, right? And yet, the Security Council remained today what it was back then: A platform for fools – and to clarify it: with fools I mean both the audience and the second-rate actors.
To the contrary, not Eritrea but cleary Ethiopia backed and sponsored by the Bush administration mingled into Somalian affairs. This has been documented in an UN memo, which leaked and later was posted at http://www.wikileaks.org:
Summary
“US encouraged Ethiopian invasion of Somalia: UN meeting memo with Jenday Frazer, Secretary of State for African Affairs (2006)“
„This is a memo written from an official with the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea in 2006 detailing a meeting with Jenday Frazer, the Bush Administration’s Assistant Secretary of State for African affairs. It is interesting in that it undercuts Bush administration officials’ later assertions that they did not encourage Ethiopia to invade Somalia in 2006. It also reveals a bias on the part of Frazer in favor of Ethiopia and against Eritrea that many including former US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton believe set back difficult negotiations on the border dispute between the two countries. The document has not been released until now. It will be of interest to people who follow US policy in the Horn of Africa.“
2. Did Eritrea invaded Djibouti?
Read the Eritrean History very carefully, and you will find out:
Eritreans defend themselves, but they never invade.
Period!
3. Does Eritrea jeopardize the region?
The Eritrean Government’s point of view is very clear: Let the people of Somalia be the one to identify the situation, to elect its governmental bodies and to work collectively on the solutions.There is no credibility for a government in Mogadishu to be appointed and blessed in the capitals of the neighbouring countries of which some are perceived as traditional foes by the Somalian people.
Is this that difficult to understand?
What did this day proved again?
The UN being once more in history the dogsbody of the US – what a sad day for justice.
Let’s have a look back:
U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles at the United Nations: 1952
“From the point of view of justice, the opinion of the Eritrean people must receive consideration. Nevertheless, the strategic interests of the United States in the Red Sea Basin and world peace make it necessary that the country be linked with our ally Ethiopia.”
U.S. President Jimmy Carter: 19 May 2005
“Despite difficulties with Eritrean leader Isaias Afwerke, we made a lot of progress, which led ultimately to Eritrea becoming an independent nation.[…] After Meles prevailed in 1991 and despite my concerns about Eritrean leadership, he granted Eritrea complete independence in 1993, cutting Ethiopia off from the Red Sea and making it the most populous landlocked nation in the world.”
U.S. Assis.Secretary for African Affairs, Jendayi Frazer: 17 August 2007
“On the — Eritrea’s activities in Somalia, the UN Monitoring Group report clearly indicates that Eritrea has played a key role in financing, funding and arming the terror and insurgency activities which are taking place in Somalia, and is the primary source of support for that insurgency and terror activities.”
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice: 24 October 2007
“It has been difficult to talk to Eritrea, frankly. We’ve had trouble getting them to talk to us. And I sent our assistant secretary to talk with Mr. Isaias, and he didn’t see her. So while we are saying to the Ethiopians that certain things need to be done, it would be very helpful if the Eritreans would show a little bit more interest in what the United States has to say.”
… there is nothing new Washington has to say to us that would be worth listening to, since its analyses never have been based on facts, but mere ignorance of real historical evidence.
How on earth could we ERITREANS show interest on what US has to say, if the US is acting since way back as prosecuter, judge, lobbyist of the opposing site and mediator in one?
So why sanctioning Eritrea NOW?
Because we ERITREANS are defining our own domestic and foreign policies!
Because we ERITREANS are thinking beyond today!
Well, dear authors of Security Council Resolution 1907(2009):
Please be assured that we ERITREANS will remain an independently thinking people in the Horn of Africa!
Please be assured that we ERITREANS will support furthermore our visionary, patriotic, incorrupt and dedicated leaders!
Please be assured that we ERITREANS will continue to work on realizing our national development programmes in 2010!
Please be assured that while the dogs keep barking, the Eritrean camel continues its way!
Please be assured that ERITEANS do not dance after anyone’s pipe – no matter how big or tiny the pipe might be!
And finally, for all those who sold their souls and conscience: What goes around, comes around….!
Anbegere
To my fellow Eritreans and Ethiopians,
We have to learn a big lesson from this shameful so called sanction. It is not about Eritrea, It is designed to serve the interest of economic and political agenda of Big power how to dominate the region by putting puppet governments who can not say no to the super powers. There is nothing to do with solving Somalian problems. Somalian problems can be solved only by somalians .Who can understand the agony of Somalian people more than Eritrean people. Somalians were there for us when we needed them thorough out our struggle .How can we now back stubbed them just to satisfy the west. Guys, December 2009 sanction imposed and 2010 December we will find our self in the same situation like today; may be worse and we will ask the actors of this time, where the weapon come from and where is the solution? By the end of 2010 may be the somalians may fight with stone and arrow ,then I would say waw guys in Washington and London you were right. and apologise for being so stupid not to believe them, Targeting and demonizing Eritrea! Why Eritrea? Simple answer ..Eritrea is the only country who has strong stability by any standard, a country who put first her national interest , never compromise her integrity and sovereignty for dollars..The only country in the world where Moslem and Christian live in harmony even marriage is common between Christians a nd Moslems, which is not thinkable in other countries of the world, a unique country never kneel down for pressure from out side ..never get order from London or Washington..a best model to other African nation ..using her national resources to the interest of her own people..Who doesn’t believe in fake election which held in Kenya and Ethiopia. A country see countries equally big small ..rich or poor. A country who follow different path from other African countries which did learn from the mistake of others…self reliance is the solution to get out of poverty. A country does believe democracy by it self doesn’t give you equal opportunity, country who doesn’t entertain kind of democracy of Kenya, Egypt, Nigeria, India, Pakistan etc which can’t take you anywhere .without harmony and stability and good infrastructure and education democracy doesn’t bring you anything. Where is Eritrea wrong? We have been in the world as independent country less than 20 years , however what we achieved is enormous comparing to our African brothers and sister. My country people ..never mind what they accuse us …Mandela , Lumumba , Che, Hoch mini, Mao, Arafat, Ayende..all these people were terrorist ..because they were fighting for right of their people. Pinochet, Ferdinad Marcus and Moputu were their heroes. So the barking dogs never stop the caravan from marching..I wish my Eritreans, Ethiopians and Somalians a Happy New Year. Peace and stability for whole world.
God will be with the beutiful nation of Eritrea
I as an Oromo Ethiopian, my anger is unlimited to the biased UN or USA which is shuting it’s eyes and ears to the Ethiopian peoples suffering under the military boots of Woyane. Instead, UN and USA, the one coin with two faces, are pointing their fingers to the Eritreans who are trying to help their brothers and sisters Ethiopian peoples. The people of Ethiopia, specially the intelectuals, regardless of your ethnic groups, please try to discard your own interest and stand together to face the monstrous Woyane which is exploiting the division among our peoples.Blieve me or not, if we will not united to fight Woyane, leave alone Ethiopia or Horn of Africa, still Woyane will terrorize the whole African continent for it’s political and economic interests.
Our Lord, save us from the dragon Woyane !
There is no doubt that the sactions was ochestrated by TPLF. TPLF thinks that if Eritrea is weakened economically and diplomatically it will submit or kneel down for TPLF. For us the Ethiopians the time is now to start the second “BLACK LION” movement against Weyane like the first ” BLACK LION ” which was during GRAZIAN Italy. As DEFA has mentioned above, if we will stand together brotherly and sisterly, the MINI WEYANE cannot withstand the torrential wind of Ethiopian peoples.
It seems the West is extremely happy to see the gap between Ethiopia and Eritrea is widening; however, the Ethiopians, presented by Elias Kifle, and the Eritreans, presented by Isaiah Afewerki, are working hard to narrow the gap created by the West of “divide and conquer” mentality.
Do the Europeans and the United States think that the Ethiopian people are happy by the sanction these Western nations have imposed on our Eritrean brothers and sisters? Not at all!
Ethiopians want to see Eritreans prosper and grow, because the happiness of the Eritrean people is the happiness of the Ethiopian people, and, in the same way, the sufferings of the Eritrean people, because of this uncalled for sanction, is the sufferings of the Ethiopian people. Ethiopia and Eritrea can solve their regional problems in Somalia without the interference of foreign powers, and this is the time for the African states to unanimously denounce the sanction against one of their states – Eritrea. As they rallied behind the President of Sudan not to be indicted by the human rights, they have also to rally behind Eritrea against the west to lift the sanction imposed on Eritrea.
Elias,
Happy Holidays! Thanks for the objective comment on Eritrea. You are indeed true friend of Eritrea. As for Eritrea this happens to be an official US led sanction. The hidden sanction started in 1998. The independence of Eritrea never bud well with America. However, every Eritrean happens to stand with their government no worry there. This will unify all Eritreans and make them more stronger. Also, it gives the oppertunity for Ethiopians to drew a lesson. America will never ever cares for Ethiopia accept their interest. Learn from Eritrea and strive for true independence.
As saying goes on ” The dying dog bites it’s tail ” the USA is making sanctions on it’s self indirectily. Today USA has a very bad reputation with Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea and it is trying to spoil Kenya too. Do the USA blieve that Meles the tiny island will save the USA interests in the Ocean of it’s gigantic enemies ? That is really wrong culculation. Gradually, USA is losing it’s grounds in Horn of Africa and elsewhere all over the world. Now we need unity among our friendly countries like Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea to crush the puppet TPLF and free our peoples.
UN Sanction against Eritrea who is the real target? Are EPPF, G-7, OLF, ONLF and all Ethiopian resistance are included in the Sanction but not mentioned in the UN resolution?
The United Nations Security Council resolution against Eritrea is based on alleged accusation of its involvement in Somalia. The Eritrean Government repeatedly denied the accusations which failed on deaf ear of the international bodies of AU, IGAD, UN, US, UK and France all deeply involved knowingly or unknowingly fueling the conflict in Somalia. The only political and armed support Eritrea admitted to the world is its unwavering support to all Ethiopian resistant force against the regime in Addis Ababa which is busy stealing and selling Ethiopian fertile land to foreigners, the land that so many generations of Ethiopian patriots gave their lives to secure it. Millions sacrificed from Mekdela to Adua, from Micchew to Wolwol Ogaden against British and Italian Colonizers. Thousands Young students in 1960 and 1970s died fighting local feudal land lords with slogan “Land to the Tiller” to secure their land to poor Ethiopian farmers. That dream has vanished with the DERG followed by EPRDF régimes, which made land ownership to the government and those in power give it sell it to whomever they like or use it as a a political tool to punish their opponents. Land that could have been used to produce food to the people is diverted to grow flowers to decorate European and Arab houses while millions left to starve! All the ‘foreign investors’ who are grabbing Ethiopian fertile land and minerals for free know exactly that EPPF is a threat to their free ride. Therefore they want to kill EPPF on its bud, and what better way to accomplish it by punishing their only support they have from Eritrea. The West, the Russians, Chinese; Indians and Arabs; consider Eritreans the bad example in Africa for all modern colonizers from East and West near and far. It is the only country that rejected the NGOs and ‘Development Experts’ who are preparing Africa for re-colonization in the twenty first century.
In the nineteenth century Missionaries with their bible came to African villages with a slogan to “civilize Africans”. But when real African leaders demanded real technical people to teach and develop their country, they turned against them. They demonized them, recruited locals supplied with arms to revolt against progressive leaders like Tewodros to replace him with Yohanis and Menelik who created havoc in the region based on religion and ethnic deference in the region. They are the real collaborators with the colonialists. Eritrea, Djibuti and Somalia would not have been colonized if Ethiopians were behind Tewodros instead of trusting Yohanis and Teklehaimanot who were collaborating with the British. The British army by itself would not have defeated Thewodros without those who betrayed him and their country and lead the enemy of Ethiopia at his door steps of the Lion’s den at Mekdela. Imagine if Tewodros was successful at Mekdelam , there would not have been a sale of land in Asab by the Italaian Mision which became the foot hold for the colonization of the red sea cost which became Eritrea, If Eritrea was not colonized there would not have been the Adua war, the Michew in Ethiopia Walwal war in Ogaden Somaia and the Keren War in Eritrea.
Today the world media are busy demonizing Eritrea and its leader Isaias and praising Meless, wining and dining him at every conference. The same tactic is employed today which was tried by Western Colonizers of the 19th and 20th Centuries. They demonized Tewdros as “Mad Man of Mekedela” and decided to replace him by Yohanis of Tigrai and Teklehaimanot of Gojam and in Somalia they also labeled the nationalist worrier and religious leader Sayid Muhammad as the ‘Mad Mullah of Somalia’ for resting the British and Italian Colonizers. They conspired with Menelik the king of Shoa to kill nationalist leaders in our region. In 1935 when Fascist Italy decided to colonize Ethiopia they accused Haile Sellasie as unjust ruler and wanted to replace him with Haile Sellasie Gugsa of Tigrai as the king of Abyssinia, because Emperor Haile Selassie chose to fight the Italian aggression against his country and people who were dying with poison gas. The League of Nations imposed armed embargo against Ethiopia, while supporting Italy with sophisticated arms, logistics and diplomatic support for Italy. The British looked the other way when hundred of thousands soldiers and arms went to Ethiopia through the Suez Canal which was under their control. Had Mussolini remained their ally against Hitler, Britain and France were happy with Ethiopian invasion by Italy. It was the threat of Italy and Germany on their country and colonies in Africa, which forced them to join the resistance of the people of the Horn of Africa against Italy and German. The prophetic words and the plight of Emperor Haile Selassie had fallen on deaf ears. Although the British claim credit that they helped us to liberate our country, the truth is the reverse, we helped them to defeat the Germans and Italians. Without the gallant, Eritreans, Ethiopians and Somali patriots, the British would not have secured the Red Sea the source of Oil needed for their war machines.
If we look back to our history, in 1935, the Ethiopian people confronted the world body at the League of Nations in Geneva for justice against the Italian Fascist aggression. The aggression started as a border conflict at “Wolewole”, a border town in Ogaden which served as a cover-up for Italy to complete its colonization process that started in 1890s. The League of Nations and superpowers of the time, Great Britain and France, ignored the plight of the Emperor Haile Selassie and his people and sided with the aggressors Fascist Italy. They claimed that Abyssinians were savage people and deserved to be under the ‘Civilized Fascist Italy’. But Ethiopians, Eritreans and Somalis ignored the League of Nations and mobilized world opinion against the unjust decision of the League of Nations to continue the armed struggle against Fascist Italy. Contrary to the Italians propaganda many Eritreans in those days saw Haile Selassie a leader they could trust who stood for justice and the rule of law. Many Eritreans and Somali soldiers defected with their arms to join Ethiopian patriots. They saw a king who abolished slavery in his country and a man of principle and rule of law to his subjects, not a dictator as portrayed by Italy. Lorenzo Taezaz, Ephrem Teweld Medhin, Dawit Okbazgi and Zerai Deress to mention few and countless “Askaris” stood by the side of Haile Sellasie in those terrible days of Italians Fascist and Racist rule in their country. They trusted Haile Selassie a man of their kind rather than the white man Benito Mussolini, who was pouring millions of lire to betray their people and neighbors. They were able to mobilize the world on their side. It took only five years for our wise parents to uproot Colonial Fascist Italians from our region! It is time to learn from our history and not repeat the same mistakes of Mekdela against Tewodros , but repeat our history of 1935-41. President Isaias need to be serious and assume the leadership role of the region to unite Ethiopians, Eritreans and Somalis to defeat the conspiracies against our region. The UN Sanction could be a blessing in disguise to the region, if we avoid repeating the mistake of Mekdela and repeat our success of 1935-41 under the leadership of President Isaias , which could pave the road of for true independence of Africa from the yolk of modern colonization disguised under development aid. The Italians did not build roads or French the rail roads to develop our region for the benefit of our people but to exploit our natural resources and ship it to Europe.Today all those who cliam to invest in our region have no intension to help us but to enrich themselves while millions starve to death.
Anonymous(#18),
I agree with your comments 100%. The comments should be read by many people. So, I suggest you paste it again on the article titled “Woyanne Prepares to Attack Eritrea”, so ppl can have more chance to read it, as the current article may dissappear from the front page soon.
Thanks…Yared