The Government of Eritrea has sent one of its most seasoned diplomats, Ambassador Girma Asmerom, to Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa as a representative to the African Union. Although Girma was sent to Addis Ababa because it is the seat of African Union’s Headquarters, the news has caused a {www:rumor}, fueled by Woyanne cadres, that it is among the first steps for normalization of relations between the regimes of Meles Zenawi and Isaias Afwerki.
Eritrea Reopens African Union Mission
By Peter Heinlein
Eritrea has reopened its mission to the African Union, ending years of self-imposed exile from the continental organization. But diplomats say the move does not signal a thaw in relations between Eritrea and its archrival, the African Union host Ethiopia.
Eritrea’s ambassador to the African Union Girma Asmerom Tesfay presented credentials this week to AU Commission Chairman Jean Ping. An AU statement said Ping expressed delight at seeing Eritrea return to the 53-member organization after several years’ absence.
Eritrea recalled its previous ambassador in an angry protest at what it called the African Union’s ‘failure’ to condemn Ethiopia’s alleged violations of a peace agreement that ended a 1998-2000 border war. The continental body was one of the main brokers of the agreement.
Eritrea broke away from Ethiopia and declared independence in 1993 after a 30-year struggle. But a border {www:dispute} sent the neighbors back to war five years later, and relations have been frozen since.
At Ethiopia’s urging, the AU took the unprecedented step in 2009 of asking the United Nations to penalize Eritrea for providing aid to Islamic fighters in Somalia. Despite Eritrea’s strong denial, the UN Security Council imposed tough sanctions on the Asmara government, including an arms embargo, asset freezes and travel bans.
AU Chairman Ping last year rejected Eritrean allegations that Ethiopia was using its position as AU host to block Eritrea from reopening its mission in Addis Ababa. Diplomats say Ping has worked tirelessly to bring the estranged member back into the fold.
Ethiopia’s foreign ministry has strongly denied any attempt to block Eritrea’s return. But in a telephone interview, ministry spokesman Dina Mufti said the re-establishment of Asmara’s AU mission will have no effect on the frozen bilateral relationship.
“It has nothing to do with the situation. We are the host country of the African Union,” said Mufti. “We are under obligation to facilitate anything for the African Union. That has nothing to do with the status quo.”
The Ethiopian spokesman rejected a suggestion that the arrival of an Eritrean government representative in Addis Ababa might be a sign of a thaw. He said there has been no change in the status quo.
Eritrea sent a high-level {www:observer} delegation to the most recent AU summit in Kampala last July as a sign of its renewed interest in continental affairs. There was no immediate word on who might represent the Asmara government at the next continental summit beginning later this month in Addis Ababa.
76 thoughts on “Eritrea sends seasoned diplomat to Addis Ababa”
Brother Elias,
This is what I don’t like about you.You don’t seem to post with comments that you don’t agree with.Its sad to see another Colonel Mengistu Hailemariam in the making.
You better post my damn comment.
Thankx,
Elias,
There is an agreement between Woaynes and Shabea, because Issias agreed to control the woaynes enemies and as returned need to work on normalizations. you should show some doubts but just naïve to lets us know about this stupid diplomat
Amnyus
ERITREA HAS TO PLAY ITS LEADERSHIP ROLE
Eritrea has the capabilities and the qualities of a good leader for the Horn of African subregion.
As it is rich in experienced diplomats
if they are given the chance we all people of the horn Africa have great hope
to see peace prevailed in our region
Just a reminder to Ethiopians, Eritrea is now an independent country. By the way if Ethiopia payed for over a hundered thousand lives to occupy BADIME, imagine how many thousands of Ethiopian lives you would need to occupy ASSEB. Let’s forget about this nonsense and talk about PEACE. Long live the friendship between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Solidarity forever.
Elias, “Yezefen dara daru eskista new”, many years ago a lot of us questioned the decision of EPPF and other Ethiopian Nationalists to get support from EPLF and Eritrea. Some of you against all historical evidence supported the idea. Unfortunately, few weeks back we heard the very bad news that members of EPPF were imprisoned and some of them were made to disappear. It looks like you are being duped again in believing that the culprit in this case is a certain Colonel Fitsum.
It is very important to understand that in countries where dictators or totalitarian leaders rule there is no such thing as an individual making these types of decisions. Only the leader has the power and authority to sanction these types of activities. Secondly, it is now clear why EPLF/Issayas has to take these types of crimes against EPPF and other Ethiopians. The fact that Girma Asmerom has been assigned by Issayas as Ambassador to AU in Addis Ababa and the subsequent acceptance of this appointment by Melese is an eye opener. Now, the puzzle is coming together. In International Diplomatic norms no Ambassador is assigned by one country in this case Eritrea to a second country – Ethiopia before the second country -Ethiopia accepts the Ambassador’s appointment. This is also true even if Mr Asmerom is Ambassador to AU. This is because the Ambassador resides in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. This is especially relevant in the case of Girma, an Ambassador whole was kicked out of the country – Ethiopia on ground of being “persona non granta” before. That is, unless the TPLF leaders and cadres live in another – monkey world. Girma’s assignment to Addis Ababa and the imprisonments/ disappearances of EPPF members is surely a – Quad pro quo (if you do this for me, I will do this for you) between the EPLF and TPLF leaders. I am afraid, this is the beginning of another round of treachery. No amount os spinning will change this fact.
“Most seasoned diplomats” + “Ambassador Girma Asmerom” = Oxymoron
Well EPPF leadership locked up by Shabea and Issias sold out all EPPF foot soldiers to make Peace with Ethiopia, in return they will work on normalization. The first step is to send shabea ambassador to Addis, Issias did not have much choice but obey woaynes and he realized that Egypt factor is no longer working.
Sheabea leadership is so nervous 1. The Ethiopian government influence in the horn of Africa is staggering and Eritrean leadership ability to pursue their interest is very limited, 2. the Second Sheabea’s headache is the Eritreans who made a decision to start real gorilla war in Eritrea, at present Eritreans ability to defend themselves is zero, the reader can understand why, plus most Eritreans who support the Eritreans are no longer reliable in other words Eritreans are no longer have a heart to support the despot,
That led Issias to bow down for Meles and so soon your seasoned diplomat (Egyptian Spy Asmerom) will agree with woaynes, they will kick out all Eritrean opposition from Ethiopia and SOON ISSIAS WILL ALLOW WOAYNES TO USE ASSAB… THEN Elias will shut his mouth and give up politics..lol
@”Tulu Oda” #2 —– don’t get to excited to a point where you get to end up believing your hellucination
and @Asmelash #8—– what else have you not blubbered about. How are you gonna sleep or live in peace with such hate laden baggage in you? You need a cure.
Angus #57—— I really enjoyed reading your fiction. Your trouble is that you expect others to be a fool like you, beleiving your fiction as facts like you seem to have done. Get real man—– Eritrea will never give up on the poor people of Ethiopia not you obviously who don’t seem to care for the majority of the blameless poor in Ethiopia. Rain or shine….. We won’t abondon the blameless poor. If weyane is ordered by its puppet masters to open another adventurous war, then it would be the poor which the weyane would put in the firing line, not you and your children who would be busy playingNintendo games. Like Shaebia did in the past,again it would work to give back the dignity that was cruelly stripped off the poor Ethiopians on a continuous basis.
A lot of people writing their opinion here are extremely arrogant. And the funny thing is, they don´t even seem to realize that. To remind them: Africa is a continent of many countries. The AU is a meeting place for these countries. The AU, by design, happens to be located in A.A. Eritrea is one african country, with the right to attend meetings called by this organization. Now, since the AU HQs is in Addis and has been used by consecutive ethiopian regimes as one way of blocking Eritrea to achieve its independence and for the US as a backdoor in its quest to recolonize the african continent, Eritrea had/has difficulties in dealing with this org. Let´s analize why Eritrea decided to suspend its membership. The first reason is the AUs silence concerning the border decision and weyanes refusal to abide by it and the silence of the AU when Ethiopia invaded Somalia (another soverign state and member of the AU). But the straw that broke the camels back was when the AU supported unjustified and unfair sanctions to be applied by the UN, an unprecedented act in its 50 or so yrs history. Even true ethiopians should condemn this timid and impotent org. if they want it to act effectively in the future because one can site the example of Mengistus murder of the Haile Selassie regimes officials in broad daylight in the backdoor of the AU building and the complete silence of the org. to show how weak and frustrating it is. This is what I meant by arrogance when some ethiopians think the AU is Ethiopia. Well, its not! Why Eritrea decided to rejoin is the fact that Jean Ping promised to do his utmost for this org. modus operadi to be more effective and better in the future and because Eritrea thought it had made its statement loud and clear why it temporarily suspended its membership. I don´t believe there´ll be any dialog or whatever with the weyane as long as they´re occupying our territories.
First it was naqfa then badme and algiers accord. After a decade long row, meles mobilized au and us for shabya’s embargo. elias mobilized eritreans against embargo at DC while isayas is boot licking us diplomats to normalize his country’s image in the world. Meles start helping anti shabya elements in ethiopia and shabiya is reciprocating equally with alshabab, olf and eppf. Then meles start advocating for eritreans who lost thier property a decade ago and then brought a large number of eritrean students to AA university defying and looking down ethiopians youth by saying so what?, shabya kills and expels eppf leaders and sends asmerom as au ambassador to ethiopia. Did you see the pattern Elias? Unfortunately, you never learn and start dancing with every event eritrean. Shame on you.
to #34 tzebit,
The name asmerom is eritrean 100%,his father was a colonel in the ethiopian army so were 30% of eplf and elf soldiers at one stage,i guess you are amhara but anything ending with “OM” is eritrean and isn’t real person name but a label or surname if you like e.g asmerom,goitom,asgedom these surnames refer to the kebessa clans they are from so when you say his father is a colonel in the ethiopian army and he would be upset to see his son ambassador of eritrea you need to learn the basic principles of names first girma and his father are 100% eritreans just like aman and”OM”,you also forget to add his father assistance to the eritrean liberation…Thats how you diffrentiate between kebessa and tigrayans as tigrayans don’t have clan system nor definate ancestory thats why their family names are usually their father first name and once you trace their fourth or fifth name you end up usually with oromo,amhara,agew names.
Again I support what Fitihawi says about his comments that was destined not to make it on elias’s website because of his tough censorship. I am the one who have been witnessing such dramas and when ever i need to comment I have to say good things about the moderator or he will trash it. He is born and raised in Africa so he will be like one of Africa’a dictators by muzzling the voices of the people. Fetahawi says,
“This is what I don’t like about you.You don’t seem to post with comments that you don’t agree with.Its sad to see another Colonel Mengistu Hailemariam in the making.
You better post my damn comment.
Thankx,” thumbs up fethawi we all are under the mercy of elias the web dictator.
AneWediEre,
First of all you have to learn how to address a lot of people. You could not say a lot of people and curse unless you are uncivilized crude and unbridled naughty person.
By saying “A lot of people writing their opinion here are extremely arrogant. And the funny thing is, they don´t even seem to realize that” you show your rudeness and arrogance.If you think that any one in this circle does not know where AU headquarter is located, then the arrogant behaviour is reflected on you not on a lot of people. In regards to your “straw that breaks the camels back” you mentioned that Eritrea is withdrawing its membership from the organization is becuase the embargo that has been backed by OAU. How about now? Is the embargo lifted by OAU or the mad dog that called himself a “president” of that tiny poor nation decides to join the OAU again.May be he feels like it and his mood is so good to send his envoy to Addis. May be when the Arabs and western nations turned their back on him because of alshabab that barbaric goon thinks to come back by his own.
Come on! When you argue in a point you do not have to be biased because it is near to you or because it is your country. The one thing that I despise about the likes of you is that you do not have to disagree even if you are hurted because you might be labled unpatriotic. Liar!! It is good to have a young nation with a little resource but whenever there is no freedom of expression or people are starving or unjust things are carried out by the so called government you have to express the true image of that country. You have to call a spade a spade. Or if you do not want to be true for your self there is no need for you to preach about Ethiopia and OAU.
Dear All: Ambassador Girma Asmerom Tesfa is going to represent ER at the African Union headquartered in Addis Ababa. You may like/dislike Amb. Girma’s personality, political stands or mannerism, but there is no doubt that he is an experienced and seasoned ER fighter and diplomat. The ET regime needs to prepare itself to make peace with ER, and Amb. Girma could be the person it has to reckon with.
ER suspended its AU membership for a reason–i.e. because AU failed to do its part in handling the resolution of the ET-ER border conflict. AU Commission Chairman Jean Ping claims that he has worked on bringing ER back to the AU community for (3)three years. Mr. Ping is glad his initiative succeeded. I would not yet hinge this new development to anything else, but opportunities are there in either direction. No miracle should be expected at this time. If ET does not allow ER’s ambassador to AU come to A. Ababa, then it would be a good ground for those who advocate removing AU HQs from A. Ababa. Nations who have planted their diplomatic and intelligence networks in A.Ababa could also not favor such a move.
The mood of ET’s opposition movements should not go up or down with every single event related to ER or ET. Their trust should be built around ER’s overall policies (not individuals, for individuals are just incidences of the ER people) and the ingenuity of the ET people.
It is true that the Melless regime wants to include the issue of ET opposition movements in its peace proposals related to ET-ER normalization of relations, and ER does not want to combine the withdrawal of ET troops from territories determined to be ER’s (i.e. ER wants to try to solve this matter diplomatically, at this time)with that of ET’s regime vs. opposition conflicts. Some ER “haters” from ET also aim to break up the alliance between ER and the ET opposition for their own reasons (for e.g. suggesting that ER caused the EPPF internal crisis). You have to know that ER has to always follow up ET opposition activities in ER for reasons of its own national security. The long-term aim of the ET opposition should not be staying put in ER but continue to mobilze and organize their people inside ET; and should not blame ER for their own failures and shortcomings. If things go as activists wishes, ER struggle for independence would not have taken for generations. Those who intend to bring change must first change themselves, and there are no short-cuts in this endeavor.
[#62 Semhar],
I felt to respond because I really didn’t like your family tree course 101 in here. As to Girma Asmerom I accept he is 100% yours. I have no problem with it.However,he was born and lived in Addis played for the national squad and was all along a Shabian agent, and no one knew it. This was a puzzle form more than the fact that Napoleonic complexion runs deep in the blood in the blood stream of Shabians. Cc Fellow Ethiopians we demand all Shabian refuges to leave Ethiopia now. We need the new diplomat to be closely monitord 24/7.If the Shabian wing of weyane refuse to do this things we must not sit and see the demise of our country.
Elias, Elias, Elias!!!
Sometimes I don’t know how your brain works and even if it does?
We knew Girma and we knew him very well.
We know what he was responsible for in Addis just before his departure to Asmara.
ASK HIM WHAT HAPPENED TO MELAKU SEGID IN ADDIS!!
If bestow such words on his political capability and forget to mention what else he has done in Addis, shame on you TRAITOR!!
#57 Amanu, you got a great point and normalizations is not going happen with in a short time but gradually will happen, this is the indications slowly but surely these two despot going to get together because both need each other to survive, so you got a good point and I am waiting for the next three to six month we are going to wintess a big diplomatic change and Meles and Issias are like a good shermutas, they will do anything to get their way..
to Anon #66,
You cannot sugar coat what you trying to achieve,meaning you live and work in america doesn’t make you an anglo saxon,my 101 course is essential for your compatriot in here as they are making a fool of themselves claiming asmerom as ethiopian,if you want to kick out the half cast rejected wishing to be eritrean woyane elite in your country like meles,samora younis,mesfin,yemane jamaica and others all you have to do is go to ethiopia and do it yourself don’t cry us a river here with your amhara whingers,if eritrean rejects are controlling you either add to the 70 fighters commitment you have (minus 17 who seemed to have a big mouth) or shut up,amhara are always getting others to fight for them so now either fight yourself or shut up but knowing amhara who likes to hang around sipping coffee with women have a better chance winning an oscar than fighting themselves.
Semhar
When will these armchair hate preachers stop!!!
You can not build a nation hating others.
Eritrea is free 2 decades ago.Now South Sudan is comming.Think about keeping Ethiopia united–if you go on the way you see and understand how people see others-next Oromiia-then others if you donot get out of your hate mentality!!
Yohannes Ejigu, i think I hit a very sensitive nerve. I don´t believe arrogant people want people to know they´re arrogant and it seems U´re one of those people. I explained myself clearly why i thought some ethiopians show their arrogance and contempt for the AU because they think their country IS the AU. Eritreans never believed suspending their membership will somehow change the stance of the UN or the US, but it was merely a statement of anger and dissapointment. Now that the statement is heard loud and clear, one can again rejoin. As for Eritrea being “poor and tiny”, it´s ok, it´s enough for us eritreans. We don´t want to enlarge it by illegal means as some ethiopians here preach everyday for their country to do. As for some eritreans having a hard time is an internal issue not related to the article above but as usual when people like U want the truth to be buried, you opt to change the subject.
Ethipian review web page turned to BESHESHEK-MEDREK.There is nothing to learn or to share as a citizen of horn of Africa.
[semhar],
You are projeting your personal problem out of proportion in this forum.Adress your consern through your Adei forums,this is Ethipopioan forum.End of conversation.Come not here you are not wellcomed,it has never been my conviction to go to Hamasen inorder to remove the current Ethiopian regime.Such prospect was intertained by some Ethios as a result of Shabian misguided biguilment.Now this case is permanently sealed.Leave Ethiopia and her challenge for her citizens.I ask you kindly to leave this forum now and all will be fine with Ethios.
To 69. semhar says:
to Anon #66,
Dear Semhar
I did ignor your comment on mine but you sound like a beligerent person or a mad dog biting anyone around you; therefore, I wanted to respond to your comment on Anon and mine.
First of all, If you really have any type of crush course for us do it with civility. Instead you are wastng more time in insulting and admonishing us. Secondly, you are not the only who know about all this. If I am an Amhara that doesn’t mean I am from Germany. I know all about names in Eritrea. All I meant to say is that Ambassador Girma is like anyone of us, raised and educated in Ethiopia. I never said he is not Eritean. But for me Eritreans will always be Ethioipians. We are one people. All I have for Ertireans is Love. If that is what is making you sick, it can kill you and I don’t care. You are also attacking Anon. Just take it easy and comment with out the manifestations of mental problem. You don’t sound right. Talk to us like you see us. Probably, if you were not under the cover of user name with no face, you wouldn’t be talking like this. Be a man, in that say things that you will repeat if you see us in person.
To anon,
I would leave this forum once people like you can stop spreading your fairytale about who is ethiopian and who is not,when it comes to claiming members of eritrean families who have their kins as martyrs and who spend the better half of their lives fighting your so called hero’s while their relatives were getting executed for listening to an eritrean song you can bet your whole dam life if its worth anything i will be here,maybe you should watch what you say about people instead of spreading your verbal non sense.I repeat you don’t have the right to point other people of having personal feeling when you yourself are acting personal and claiming Mr asmerom to be ethiopian,what gave you that idea especially with a surname like asmerom???either you lack a basic 101 geographic information or you just feel to write something in here and find nothing but this nonsense,just remember its not the 1970’s and your amhara people residing in eritrea must most and formost respect the national security and the hospitality of the host nation,when you have members of your amhara elite discussing the internal situation and troops movement and military updates with known woyane ex officials this warrant an action similar to what you see,if you don’t like it you tell your few spies among the eppf to get the hell out and deal with woyane,but under no circumstances we would let few spoiled “jabana” gossipers and spies have our national security under threat for an opposition which has no hope,you have 200 fighters at most from a population of 27 million,you are hopeless and lazy you just want to backride other ethnic groups and reach power like your ancestors always do…no more so put up or shut up.Once again don’t you ever claim eritreans especially who fought for eritrean independance as ethiopian.
Weyane must do somthing for Eritrean’s diplomat as what weyane do for other african diplomats.