Ethiopia Military Aggression Diversionary Ploy, Says Eritrea
By Peter Clotty | Voice of America (VOA)
Eritrean Information Minister Ali Abdu said Ethiopia’s admission of its military attack is a calculated ploy to divert the international community’s attention from its continuous 10-year occupation of Eritrean territory.
He expressed little surprise that Ethiopia embarked on what he called “a military bellicosity that encroaches on Eritrea’s sovereignty.”
Abdu said Eritrea is not to blame for what he said is Ethiopia’s failure to resolve its internal crisis.
“By its own admission, it’s an aggression against the sovereignty of Eritrean territory,” said Abdu. “The internal crisis in Ethiopia is due to the marginalization and exclusion of minor Ethiopian groups [because] of the regime’s narrow and backward policy of divide and rule being conducted by the Ethiopian regime.”
Ethiopia announced its forces attacked a military base inside Eritrea as an act of retaliation after accusing its neighbor of sponsoring groups that have carried out attacks inside Ethiopia.
Ethiopian government spokesman Shimeles Kemal said Ethiopian troops moved 16 kilometers into Eritrea early Thursday and launched what he called a “successful attack” against two military posts used by “subversive groups.”
Ethiopia has often accused Eritrea of backing rebel groups that attack targets in Ethiopia’s Afar area. But, Abdu said Ethiopia’s accusations that Eritrea supports terrorism are like accusing (inventor) Thomas Edison of supporting darkness.
“We have fought terrorism long ago before it became the talk of the town for politicians… and who are these terrorist subversive groups?” asked Abdu. “Almost all Ethiopians are fighting against the regime for the obvious reason because the regime is pursuing a narrow, corrupted policy, which services a very small family of the elite.”
Abdu said Asmara resists being dragged into “this kind of acrimony and provocation.” He said the Eritrean government is pondering its next line of action.
In its “final and binding” ruling on April 13th 2002, the UN-backed Eritrean and Ethiopian Border Commission awarded the town of Badme to Eritrea. But, Asmara insists Addis Ababa has repeatedly refused to implement the ruling.
Abdu said the UN Security Council has yet to take disciplinary action against Ethiopia’s decision to ignore the ruling for the past 10 years, despite Asmara’s repeated requests.
“We have been asking the Security Council to take serious measures against the Ethiopian regime, which is occupying our sovereign territory. The United Nations has not fulfilled this mandate and has not taken necessary measures,” said Abdu. “The United Nations should take action, legal punitive measures against the Ethiopian regime for its violations against the Eritrean and Ethiopian Border Commission verdict.”
The United States has urged both sides to exercise restraint. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Washington is seeking further clarification from Ethiopia about its intentions.
By LUC VAN KEMENADE
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Ethiopian Woyanne forces entered Eritrea on Thursday and carried out what a regime spokesman described as “a successful attack” against military posts.
Shimeles Kemal said Ethiopia Woyanne launched the attack because Eritrea was training “subversive groups” that carried out attacks inside Ethiopia.
Ethiopia Woyanne and Eritrea fought a border war from 1998 to 2000. Tensions have reignited between the countries in recent months.
No details about the military operations or any damage or casualties were immediately released.
The “Eritrea government has continued launching attacks at Ethiopia through its proxy groups. The attacks had continued. And the recent attacks against European tourists is one of the reasons for the retaliation,” Shimeles said.
Militants attacked European tourists from five nations traveling in Ethiopia’s arid north in January. Five tourists were killed and two were kidnapped. The two kidnapped German tourists have since been released.
Ethiopia Woyanne blamed gunmen from Eritrea for the attack.
The attacks Thursday by Ethiopian Woyanne forces took place about 10 miles (16 kilometers) inside Eritrea’s territory in areas called Gelakalay and Gimbina, Kemal said. The Ethiopian Woyanne forces have returned to Ethiopia, he said.
“Today’s measures do not constitute a direct military confrontation between the two countries. The Ethiopian Woyanne defense force has entered into Eritrea and launched a successful attack against military posts that have been used to organize, finance and train the subversive groups,” Shimeles said.
Shimeles said it was unlikely that Eritrea would retaliate because it is “not in a position to launch a counter attack.”
The border war between the two countries killed about 80,000 people. Recent signs have pointed to growing tension in the region.
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Woyanne junta leader Meles Zenawi told his parliament in April that his government would actively support Eritrean opposition groups to help topple that country’s regime.
What happened to our sister Alem Dechasa is a crime against all Ethiopian women. The horror and humiliation she suffered is unacceptable to any decent human being. To express our outrage over the crime committed against Alem and mourn her death, concerned Ethiopians in the Washington DC area will gather in front of the Lebanon embassy tomorrow, Thursday, at 11 AM.
Thursday March 15 at 11:00 AM
Place. Embassy of Lebannon
Address: 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
Thursday March 15 at 1:00 PM
Ethiopian Embassy: 3506 International Dr., NW Washington, D.C. 20008
Silent protest
Please wear dark clothes.
Organized by Concerned Ethiopians in the Washington DC Area.
We are shocked and terribly sad to learn that the Ethiopian girl who we saw on a video over the weekend being attacked and kidnapped by Lebanese men in front of the Ethiopian embassy has died this morning. She was fighting for her life as she was beaten and dragged into a car. How can it be said she committed suicide? She was murdered.
BEIRUT (DailyStar) — The Ethiopian woman whose beating outside her country’s consulate was widely publicized on video committed suicide Wednesday morning, Ethiopia’s consul general in Lebanon confirmed to The Daily Star.
Alem Dechasa, 33, hanged herself using her bed sheets between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m., Ethiopian General Consul Asaminew Debelie Bonssa said doctors told him. He spoke to The Daily Star while returning from the hospital Psychiatrique de la Croix Hospital, known as Deir al-Salib. Police took her to the hospital after the incident.
The video released by LBCI last week showed Dechasa moaning as a man, later identified as Ali Mahfouz, beat her and forced her into a car. According to Bonssa, who said Dechassa was in Lebanon illegally, the incident took place two weeks prior to its release. Mahfouz said Dechasa had previously attempted suicide.
Bonssa said he saw Dechasa Saturday and she appeared fine. Bonssa also said doctors told him they checked on her at 5 a.m. this morning and when they returned at 6 a.m. she was dead.
Bonssa said he was “deeply shocked” by the news.
The hospital declined to comment, citing privacy concerns.
Negotiating is bargaining for self interest, whereas dialoguing is satisfying the Others’ interests as well. To understand the Others, first we have to try and know them in their entirety, know their beliefs, their customs, their rites – which requires knowledge or a certain education… [read more]
At least 19 people were killed and 8 wounded in a surprise attack on a bus. Tensions have been on the rise in Gambella, Ethiopia. There has been much anger at the government as people are evicted from their land that is being sold to wealthy foreigners. The most recent killings took place as calls have increased for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to bring Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to justice for the massacre of over 425 people in Gambella in 2003.
“An atmosphere of terror continues to permeate innocent people in Gambella as crimes of inhumanity against them are so regular that it has become part of their everyday life, changing even the most basic life events such as traveling between towns. Yesterday March 12, a minibus traveling from Godere district to Gambella city was attacked by unknown assailants. 17 people or more were reported killed. It is a hideous act that must be condemned. Details are sketchy at this time. We are trying our best to find out more information. We will keep you post it.” — Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE) statement, March 13, 2012
Ethiopia official says gunmen kill 19, wound 8, in bus attack in country’s southwest
By Associated Press
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — An Ethiopian official says unknown gunmen in the country’s southwest have killed 19 people in an attack on a public bus.
The president of Ethiopia’s Gambella region said Tuesday that eight people were wounded.
Omod Obang Olum said the victims were Ethiopian residents traveling in a public bus that got ambushed near a town called Bonga by attackers with machine guns.
He says Gambella security forces are still chasing down the attackers. He said he had no detailed information about the attackers’ objectives.
Gambella is a traditionally marginalized area of the country that suffers internal conflicts over resources like water and land. It also is affected by its border with South Sudan, as refugees pour across into Gambella when violence erupts in that newly independent nation.
