By Shân Ross – The Scotsman

SMILING and signing autographs in the hospitality tent in Holyrood Park after the World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh last year, the team of athletes representing Eritrea gave no indication of the dangerous action they were about to take.

For the six world-class runners competing in Scotland under the strict supervision of their coach, running was more than a sport. Every day they pushed themselves to the limit – literally running for their lives – to avoid the nightmare of being conscripted into the Eritrean military where forced slave labour, torture and brutality are commonplace.

But at the Edinburgh event the runners – three men and three women – hadn’t performed as well as expected, with lengthy flight delays taking their toll and attracting the wrath of their coach.

Describing the build-up of tension during the event, in March 2008, one of the runners, Amanuel Hagos, 29, said: “The coach said to us, ‘Why did you not win? If you can’t run to win we don’t want you.’

“There was no humanity. We were very tired and stressed because our flights had been cancelled and we had to wait for a week in Egypt for a visa and then got delayed at Heathrow.

“We asked what he was going to do when we got back to Eritrea and he replied, ‘I’ll see’.”

The team understood this as an implied threat they would be dropped and forced into the army. “Later that day we went up the mountain (Arthur’s Seat] to talk about what to do. We were scared to go back to Eritrea and scared what would happen in this country if they did not accept us. We asked ourselves, ‘What can we do?’” It was a big, big decision.

“We went out at night and asked someone where the train station was. Then we asked what was the nearest city that was cheapest to get to as we didn’t have much money. That’s how we got to Glasgow.”

On their arrival in Glasgow, the runners went to a police station and asked for asylum. The athletes were granted political asylum by the UK government within two months of their arrival in Scotland, on the grounds that they could face persecution if they returned home.

By one of those amazing twists of fate which would seem far-fetched in a Hollywood movie, John Mackay, a coach at Shettleston Harriers running club in the east end of Glasgow – who had stood in the queue of fans at Holyrood waiting for the Eritreans to sign autographs – got a telephone call from the Scottish Refugee Council. The caller asked: “Do you want some athletes?”

Mackay, a chemistry teacher at St Mungo’s Academy in Glasgow, said: “I had no idea who they were but I said yes. A few days later they brought them down to the track. There hadn’t been any news coverage of the athletes disappearing and when I realised who they were, I was shocked – we all were, international athletes just appearing like that and asking to join our club,” Mackay said. Asked how other running clubs in Glasgow had greeted the news that Shettleston Harriers had overnight acquired a world-class team of athletes, Mackay replied wryly: “Oh, they probably weren’t pleased at all.”

The runners – three men, Amanuel Hagos, Tewoldebrhan Mengisteab, Tsegai Tewelde and three women, Amelest Twelde, Chichi Germai, and Kohob Menhari – are all stars. Tewelde, 20, set a national 1,500 metres record when fifth at the World Junior Championships in 2006, while Hagos reached the final of the African Games 5,000m last year.

Since joining Shettleston Harriers the runners have been billed as Scotland’s best hope for gold medals in the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. When not scooping up gold medals wearing the famous Shettleston Harriers blue and gold vests – such as their triumph at the Scottish cross-country relay 4×4,000m championships at Cumbernauld last month, in which they led from start to finish – the runners help train youngsters in the club. Mackay said: “It is fantastic in so many different ways. They turn out all the time for us. They’re helping to raise the standard of endurance running in Glasgow. The youngsters in the club all aspire to be like them. The young ones have heard stories of a hyena being killed after coming too near a village – they love it.

“But it’s made us aware of how much we have in this country and take for granted. Members of the club have helped them out with things too and given them sofas and domestic items for their homes. This is not the most affluent part of Glasgow but no-one in the club is discriminated of in terms of finance.”

Mackay fails to mention that he himself has paid the entry fees for events for the group.

The welcome given to the athletes continues the tradition of Shettleston Harriers set by Allan Scally, Mackay’s wife’s grandfather, a professional runner in the city during the 1930s Depression who set up soup kitchens with his winnings.

Agostino Desta, who fought with the rebels in the anti-government Eritrean Liberation Front and who came to Scotland more than 18 years ago, said the athletes would be in danger if they returned home and that when he first met them, they were terrified of him, believing he was from the Eritrean Embassy.

“In Eritrea, sport is to survive. But if you lose, even through lack of food and sleep, you go back to the ground. When you go back you will be detained and put into the army where you will be like a slave digging the roads,” Desta said.

“Sport is meant to be something voluntary and that people can enjoy but it is different for us.”

Meanwhile, the athletes – except for Menhari, who moved away – continue with their Eritrean high-altitude training schedules, battling against the Scottish winter. These include six 2,000m repetitions compared with the Scottish athletes’ 10 400m sessions. Their 25-minute warm-ups are also longer than those of British athletes.

Mengisteab said the group often goes running along the Clyde and through the city centre out to Hamilton and Cambuslang, fuelled by a diet of macaroni, spaghetti, fruit and the occasional piece of meat. Tea is drunk black with six spoonfuls of sugar.

They are adapting to life in Scotland but there are culture shocks and low moments, especially after speaking to family members on the telephone. They fear their families, mainly small farmers, will face fines equivalent of up to £1,500 demanded of those whose children abscond or defect from the army.

When not training the runners attend English language classes at the Glasgow Nautical College and are devout Orthodox Christians, attending services lasting up to three hours in a hall made over to Eritreans at Shettleston Old Parish Church.

However, Tewelde, who celebrated his 20th birthday earlier this month, was at pains to point out that strict regime was for a purpose: “This is the way we are now, but we’re not hermits, we are concentrating on winning.”

ERITREA: A TROUBLED HISTORY

ERITREA has a long history of strife and occupation and its one-party state government is regarded as one of the most repressive in Africa.

In April this year, Human Rights Watch said Eritrea’s government was turning the country into a “giant prison”.

It has a population of five million; the average life expectancy is 57 years for men and 62 years for women.

The east African country emerged from its long war of independence in 1993 only to plunge once again into military conflict, first with Yemen and then, more devastatingly, with its neighbour and historic adversary, Ethiopia.

Today, a fragile peace prevails and Eritrea faces the gigantic tasks of rebuilding its infrastructure and of developing its economy after more than 30 years of fighting.

A former Italian colony, the country was occupied by the British in 1941. In 1952, the United Nations passed a resolution to establish it as an autonomously entity, federated with Ethiopia.

However, ten years later Haile Selassie annexed it, triggering a 32-year struggle for independence.

At its independence Eritrea was held up by Western governments as a beacon of hope for Africa. Fiercely self-reliant, the continent’s youngest nation was hailed for its determination to rebuild after its devastating liberation war from Ethiopia.

Former United States president Bill Clinton has described Eritrea’s current president, Isaias Afewerki, as a “renaissance leader”.

However, relations between Eritrea and western nations, especially the US, have soured, with the US accusing Eritrea of destabilising the Horn of Africa region by backing rebels as proxies to fight Ethiopia, with whom it remains in a tense border stand-off.

Although both countries have vowed to co-operate on the “war on terrorism” there have also been warnings that Washington could add Eritrea to its list of rogue states alongside countries including North Korea and Iran.

One in 20 of Eritrea’s population are in the military, with round-ups at gunpoint of those of military age being a regular occurrence.

Those who manage to evade being conscripted but are later caught are sent to prison camps on the islands of Dahlak and Naqira.

Eritrea is the only African country to have no privately-owned news media, including radio or television stations.

The European Commission Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO) has raised a red flag over the worsening food security situation in the Horn of Africa.

Karel De Gucht, European Commissioner in charge of development and humanitarian aid, attributes the disastrous situation to the terrible potential of climate change.

“Large parts of the Horn of Africa have had less than 75 percent of normal rainfall this year, having already endured a series of severe droughts. The population can no longer cope with such extreme and protracted hardship which often comes on top of conflict situation. As a result, more than 16 million people desperately need help,” he said in a statement released by ECHO.

Initial optimism occasioned by forecasts of El Niño rains were thwarted when November proved largely dry. El Niño refers to a periodic warming of temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, far from East Africa’s shores but with impacts on the country’s rainfall and weather patterns.

Samuel Mwangi, acting assistant director of Kenya’s national weather forecasting services explains that El Niño has been linked with greater rainfall during the annual “short rains” in East Africa, between October and December.

ECHO warns that if the December rains are below average, parts of Kenya may suffer irreparable damage.

ECHO regional information officer Daniel Dickinson told IPS, “In the face of the unfolding drought situation, ECHO is providing 50 million euros in humanitarian aid to vulnerable drought-affected people in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. The rains have failed and people have exhausted the coping mechanisms which they had and urgently need help.”

Kenya’s minister for special programmes, Naomi Shaban, issued a similar warning in mid- December over the worsening food security situation across the country.

Speaking as she flagged off relief food worth $80,000 donated by Telkom Kenya and World Vision Kenya, Shaban said ten districts across the country are facing an imminent crisis in relation to food insecurity.

“Unfortunately, the country has experienced another season of failed rains which is expected to increase the current levels of food insecurity. Although Kenya’s food security is still on the borderline, many districts are at risk of sliding into an acute food and livelihood crisis. This situation is made worse by high food prices,” Shaban explained.

In Kenya, Dickinson says it is estimated 3.8 million people currently rely on humanitarian aid and the situation is worsening. with acute malnutrition above 20 percent in five districts.

The government of Kenya has increased its monthly spending on relief food to $1.3 million per month to assist those facing starvation. In early 2009, the government declared the unfolding food security situation a national disaster, stating that 10 million Kenyans were unable to access food.

In Ethiopia, ECHO reports indicate with several consecutive crop failures, the nutritional situation in that country has deteriorated badly and is expected to worsen further.

The story unfolding in Somalia is similar, with the situation aggravated by ongoing conflict. In Uganda, ECHO indicates 2.2 million people in northern Acholi and Karamoja regions face food insecurity.

According to Famine Early Warning Systems Network (which issues alerts on food insecurity) poor rains in November have revised prospects for widespread food security improvements that were expected to manifest toward the end of December in Kenya.

Those set to be adversely affected include pastoral households who already face unrelenting prices for food, an outbreak of cholera and heightened conflict over limited pasture and water in drought conditions.

However, Mwangi says sections of the country have experienced increased rainfall as predicted, which means good harvests will be recorded in certain areas.

“It must be pointed out that the poor performance of rainfall is not widespread across the country. There are areas that will still record good harvests from the rainfall received during the season.

In Coast, Northeastern, Eastern and Central Provinces, the rainfall was characterised by heavy storms in the second half of the month. This significantly enhanced the total rainfall amounts recorded in these provinces,” Mwangi says.

It is not clear whether good harvests in these areas will cover the predicted shortfalls in the rest of the country. Source: (IPS)

Athletes from Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe and Kenya have arrived here to take part in the São Silvestre year-end 15-km race, according to the technical director of the Angolan Athletics Federation, Augusto Silvério.

According to the official here Tuesday, the rest of the 17 confirmed overseas athletes for the race are expected to turn up within the next 24 hours.

Runners from Brazil, Cape Verde, Congo-Brazzaville, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Malawi, Macau, Namibia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sudan, Zambia, Zimbabwe and France were expected to arrive shortly.

According to Augusto Silvério, 10 Angolan runners from the provinces of Benguela, Bengo, Moxico, Malanje, Kwanza Sul, Lunda Sul, Lunda Norte, Bié, Namibe and Huíla had just arrived in Luanda for the marathon.

The latest edition of the 15-km year-end men’s competition was won by Ethiopian Ibraim Cashu who clocked 43.38 minutes, while Kenyan Grace Momany won the women’s race in a time of 48.50 minutes. Source: (Angop)

London Africa Ltd.

Chalice Gold Mines Limited (ASX:CHN) has agreed to invest in the United Kingdom based London Africa Limited (”London Africa”) which holds a number of prospecting licences in Eritrea.

London Africa Limited is a private company registered in England and Wales, originally set up in 2006 to acquire  precious and base metal projects in Africa.

Chalice will subscribe for 1.6M shares in London Africa at 12.5p per share for GBP200,000 (A$358,000) which will give Chalice an 11.8% interest in the Company. The funds will be applied to a work program currently being undertaken and managed by London Africa.

London Africa Limited signed in June 2009 a prospecting licence to cover 1562 km² around Akordat – Orota in central Eritrea.

The company says it is the first business in 4 years to sign a new Prospecting Licence in Eritrea. The agreement was signed back in June with the new Eritrean Minister of Mines, Mr Ahmed Haj Ali.

The company’s Web site states that numerous gold-bearing quartz veins systems as well as as alterations zones characteristic of volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) mineralisation have been identified after just two field visits to the southern part of the licence area.

Additional Landsat and Aster image anomalies remain to be visited (field checked) and the company is confident that it will have a series of quality gold and VMS targets to evaluate going forward.

London Africa is aiming to explore and find similar volcanic massive sulphide deposits like those of Nevsun Resources’ Bisha deposit. The four prospects of London Africa are Akordat VMS Prospect, Melih VMS Prospect, Enjehay Kereb Gold Prospect, Adinjera Gold Prospect.

London Africa Limited in Eritrea

Massawa, 28 December 2009 (Shabait) – Investment being made to develop and put in place infrastructure facilities so as to ensure safe, speedy and regular marine transport service of international standard is bearing fruitful outcome, sated Mr. Gebremedhin Habte, director general of the department.

He pointed out that study has been finalized for preparing a master plan for a modern port, and that the necessary suitable and extensive plot has been prepared to this end. A docking facility for oil tankers has also been constructed in Hirgigo at a cost of about 450 million Nakfa, and that it would go operational in January 2010, Mr. Gebremedhin added.

He further indicated that following the renovation and expansion tasks undertaken in Massawa port over the past years, the port could now accommodate ships lauded with 1,000 containers.

Noting that the loading and unloading capacity of the port has increased from 850 tones to 1,500 tones on a daily basis, Mr. Gebremedhin explained that the  time of stay for ships in the port has now been dramatically reduced, which in turn had positive  effect regarding import and export.

He went on to say that the department is working diligently to properly monitor the competence of ships which dock in the Eritrean ports so as to maintain the unpolluted and pure nature of the coastline.  In this respect, the director general asserted that no pollution has been witnessed in Eritrean territorial waters as a result of marine transport.

Moreover,  he stated that Assab Port is ready to render efficient service as a result of the renovation tasks undertaken and the introduction of managerial system.  Mr. Gebremedhin further indicated that fostering close coordination between the Massawa Port Authority and the Free Economic Zone Authority has a major role to play in reinforcing the activities of marine transport.

On top of the infrastructure development endeavors, strengthening institutional capacity and upgrading human resources are equally imperative so as to attain the set goal, he added.

Libyan Airlines is aiming to complete its long-proposed merger with Afriqiyah Airways within two years, to strengthen the carriers’ competitive position. Both airlines are already under a single holding company, Libyan African Aviation, but are yet to proceed to full integration.

“We are trying to work something out with Afriqiyah,” said Libyan Airlines chief Mohamed Ibsem at the last AFRAA meeting in November. “Initially we will codeshare and then we will go into one airline, through a merger, to make the business worthwhile. The idea is for this to take place within two years.”

The carriers are hoping to gain stronger negotiating power from the merger. “While we are separate, people treat us as small airlines. I think after the merger we will be in a better condition to compete and negotiate with the mega-carriers,” says Ibsem.

Combined, Libyan Airlines and Afriqiyah Airways would operate a fleet of 35 aircraft, including 16 long-haul jets. Ibsem adds: “Our network would go up to around 50 destinations when we merge, but that would be certain to increase later on.”

In the meantime, Libyan Airlines is to create a new leisure brand, which it will roll out when it receives the first of its seven new Airbus A320s next autumn.

Ibsem says Libyan Airlines will offer holiday packages, including flights and accommodation, under a new brand to keep the product isolated from its normal regional operations.

“It will be a separate operation, but it will be organised by Libyan Airlines,” he says. “Our target is to attract more passengers and help increase the load factor of our aircraft. By the time our first A320 is delivered, around September 2010, we should have the brand ready.”

Reuters reports that Sudan has begun exporting its first 5 million litres of ethanol to the European Union, at an initial price of around 450 euros a cubic metre, according to officials from the Kenana Sugar company.

Kenana, Sudan’s largest sugar company, this year inaugurated the ethanol plant which aims to produce 65 million litres a year of the bio fuel.

“Yesterday a vessel carrying 5 million litres of ethanol went to Rotterdam,” said company secretary Fareed Omer Medani.

“This has been purchased by the European Union,” he said, adding by the end of February a further 20 million litres would be exported in four separate shipments.

Kenana’s Managing Director Mohamed El Mardi told Reuters the price per cubic metre for the December shipment was about 450 euros FOB. But he said prices for the four further shipments would vary, depending on the market.

“The prices are not fixed prices,” he said. “For the five shipments we will have 5 different prices — January/February prices are higher than in December.”

Mardi said it was the first export of ethanol from Sudan, adding the shipments would continue regularly at 5 million litres every month. Mardi said the plant’s capacity would rise to 200 million litres of ethanol a year by 2013.

The factory uses by-products from Sudan’s sugar industry to create a renewable energy source for a country whose economy is largely dependent on crude oil output of almost 500,000 barrels per day. He added some European companies had contacted Kenana about possible ethanol exports to West Africa.

Brazilian company Dedini Industrias de Base S.A. built the ethanol plant.  Sudan aims to produce 750,000 tonnes of sugar in 2009/2010.

DOHA: Qatar is one of the leading investors in the agricultural sector in Sudan, says a former minister of irrigation of Egypt.

Mahmoud Abu Zaid is currently chairman of Arab Water Council. The Arab world is rich in water resources and agriculture. It’s lands are fertile. This is especially true of Sudan which is indeed the food basket of the Arab world.

Such resources are in need of capital-intensive investment as well as management. So the government and the private sector have already begun setting up food growing and processing projects in Sudan.

The investors in Sudan, which are commercial entities and not individuals, are all from Arab countries. Qatar has the largest investment in Sudan’s agricultural sector besides having investment in other areas of economy.

Other GCC states which have sizeable presence in Sudan through their investments in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Abu Zaid said in Cairo that there is the need to support the private sector by providing the necessary political backing to protect and encourage investments.

He pointed out that the Arab world is the largest importer of food in the world and is so affected by international food price fluctuations.

Speaking about water, he said that 80 percent of water requirements of the Arab world is sourced from other countries. A good example is the Nile which is the longest river in the world but its source is from the Victorian lake and Ethiopian highlands.

Also, the water available to Syria and Iraq are sourced from Turkey. So Abu Zaid said that there is the need to have a strategy in place to preserve and exploit the water resources of the Arab world.

In remarks to Al Sharq correspondent in Cairo, the former Egyptian minister talked of various projects being launched with NASA and World Bank to use satellite images to estimate the water resources of the Arab world for preservation and exploitation.

A number of programmes have been launched to train people in the Arab world in the realm of water management in collaboration with international organizations. Irrigation systems in the Arab is generally outdated so there is a need to modernise them, said Abu Zaid. Source: (The Peninsula)

Hormuud Telecom

By Olad Hassan

Mogadishu is the largest city and the capital of Somalia; it’s the commercial and financial center of the country, situated in the Southward of the country.

After the collapse of the central government in 1991, Mogadishu has been the stage for nearly 20 years of fighting which left many of its residents dead, others fled from the city to neighbouring countries.

Despite civil chaos, and daily Fighting, Mogadishu is a business growing city in the east Africa.

Both, its seaport and airport- controlled by African Union Peacekeeping forces, backing the weak Somali government- are functioning properly, supporting the business to improve.

In The City, Bakara Market is the biggest trading center in the country and a strong hold of anti-government Islamists, and a target of the government and the Peace keeping forces. Residents say, Islamists lob mortars from the market to the government controlled areas causing instant mortar reply from the peacekeepers that prevents the business to continue some hours or a day.

Telecommunication network companies play an important role in the city’s business. More than three private Mobile and land-line operators’ headquarters are located in the city. Hormuud Telecom is a private enterprise established in 2002 in southern and central Somalia, and located in Bakara Market business center. It’s the most used mobile operator in the country.

“Nearly 700 Somalis own shares, and more than 1000 people work in it’s headquartering in restive Mogadishu”, Says Ahmed Saudi, the president of Hormuud.

Telecom Somalia is the first major privately owned company providing telecommunications in Somali territory. It’s headquarter is also in the city center. There are other telecom companies like Nationlink Telecom and Somafone, giving the people sufficient services of landline and Mobile in Mogadishu.

Fund transfer services is an other business factor in the city, more than 15 private money transfer companies run in the City. With an estimated nearly $1 million USD monthly remitted to the capital by the Somali Diaspora via Money transfer companies, known as HAWALA in the country.

Moreover, Industries are becoming in the city, nearly 10 private productive industries are also in Mogadishu.

Coca cola is the world’s largest beverage company, largest manufacturer, distributor and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates. It’s one of the important industries in the city. It distributes its product different directions of the city.

Other industries include; Afi Water Purification Company, Banadir Sweats Company, many detergent companies and other use full and productive industries for the residents in the city.

In the middle of Anarchy and daily fighting between the Somali federal Government and the Islamic militants in the capital, Mogadishu, business seems booming.

An attempted terrorist attack aboard an Airbus A330-300 with Delta Air Lines livery failed and the aircraft made a safe landing as scheduled at Detroit Metro Wayne County airport.

According to US media reports, White House officials have confirmed a Nigerian passenger aboard Northwest Flight 253 tried to blow up the aircraft.

Rep Peter King, the ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee, told media outlets the passenger used a “somewhat sophisticated” explosive device.

Flight 253 landed in Detroit about one hour later than scheduled at 11:42am EST, according to the Flight Aware airline tracking web site. The flight also departed Amsterdam Schiphol airport slightly more than an hour late at 10:02am CET, the site says.

Eyewitnesses interviewed by national media described hearing a firework-like sound, followed quickly by smoke and flames.

Another passenger, Syed Jafry, told Fox News TV channel that the explosion occurred as the A330 began its descent to the Detroit airport.

Nevsun

Nevsun Resources Ltd. (NSU-TSX/AMEX) announces that the United Nations Security Council has on December 23, 2009 passed a resolution to place sanctions on the State of Eritrea in regards to an arms embargo, certain travel restrictions and asset freezes.

A separate sanctions committee is responsible for designating the actions and parties to which the resolution applies. The implementation of this process may take some time and the details are not yet known. The resolution will be posted at the UN Security Council web site UN Security Council

Nevsun has been operating in Eritrea for over ten years and has developed a strong relationship with the government of Eritrea. The State is a partner in the development of the Bisha mine and it has been a strong supporter of a responsible mining industry within the country. The State has honored all of its commitments in our business arrangement and Nevsun is very pleased to have the State as its partner.

Nevsun believes that these sanctions should not have any direct impact on the Company or its Bisha project in Eritrea as the Company is focused solely on the development of the Bisha project.

It is however uncertain whether these sanctions could indirectly impact the Bisha debt facilities announced in July 2009. The Company is already in discussions with stakeholders to evaluate that possibility and has contemplated alternative finance sources if the sanctions do eventually negatively impact the debt facilities.

The Bisha project continues to be on track to commence operations in late 2010. Updates on the project will continue to be provided periodically.

Forward Looking Statements: The above contains forward-looking statements concerning the impact of the UN sanctions on the Company, its projects and debt facilities. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “intends,” “estimates,” “potential,” “possible” and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions or results “will,” “may,” “could” or “should” occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements are statements about the future and are inherently uncertain, and actual achievements of the Company or other future events or conditions may differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements due to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors, including, without limitation, those described in the Management Discussion and Analysis of the Company. The Company’s forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, expectations and opinions of management on the date the statements are made and the Company assumes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements in the future. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

NEVSUN RESOURCES LTD.

“Cliff T. Davis”

Cliff T. Davis

President & Chief Executive Officer

Nsu09-13.doc

For further information, Contact:

Kin Communications

Tel: 604 684 6730

Toll free 1 866 684 6730

Email: ir@kincommunications.com

Website: www.nevsun.com

PRESS RELEASE

The UN Security Council has today passed a shameful resolution imposing sanctions against Eritrea. The unjustifiable measures imposed on Eritrea include: an arms embargo; the inspection and seizure by Member States in their territory of such cargo to and from Eritrea; and, the imposition of a travel ban, and the freezing of assets of, Eritrea’s political and military leadership who may be blacklisted by a Committee.

As Eritrea has strongly emphasized in the past weeks, this brazen act is neither based on fact nor on the provisions of international law. It constitutes a travesty of justice and amplifies the dangers inherent in a unipolar world.

The fact of the matter is this resolution was originally conceived and feverishly executed by the United States. Britain, and especially Uganda, were co-opted as sponsors of the resolution for purposes of deceitful packaging. The US Mission to the UN further tried to invoke a resolution of the African Union to disguise the real culprit. But in the end, this cover did not work. As it happened, the US Ambassador to the UN was ultimately forced to come out of the closet and cajole UN Member States to adopt the resolution willy-nilly.

Setting aside the misguided policies of the US Administration in the Horn of Africa region and the loathsome personal agenda of the US Ambassador to the UN who could not hide her obsession to “punish Eritrea” and “break its arrogance”, what are the accusations leveled against Eritrea? How do these accusations square with the provisions of the UN Charter? Does the

heavy-handed process pursued in this case conform to the modalities and precedents of the UN Security Council in imposing sanctions against a Member State?

1. It must be stressed that the accusations against Eritrea for involvement in Somalia have never been substantiated or verified. Many Member States objected to the draft resolution in the early days precisely for these reasons though they acquiesced to US pressure later. The Somalia Monitoring Group had previously accused Eritrea for “supplying arms to those opposing the TFG”. This clause was later dropped quietly and the revised version indicts Eritrea for “providing political, financial, and logistical support to armed groups engaged in undermining peace and reconciliation in Somalia”. As pointed out earlier, these allegations were, again, not explained or substantiated. Indeed, how can Eritrea provide logistical support to armed groups in Somalia when it does not have a contiguous border with that country? The allegation of financial support is equally tenuous. Eritrea has neither the political will nor the financial clout to bankroll armed groups in Somalia. As for the accusations of political support, it is well-known that Eritrea has not recognized the TFG for cogent and well-thought out reasons. This was also the case with the externally established previous TFGs installed in Mogadishu without the consent of the Somali people. Eritrea’s impartial and balanced position emanates from its profound desire to contribute to a durable and sustainable solution to the crisis in Somalia. These political considerations aside, the fundamental legal issue at hand is whether this matter of purely sovereign national jurisdiction can be misconstrued as a subject of UN Security Council concern. Is it the mandate of the Security Council to punish any Member State on account of the political views it holds or the diplomatic choices it makes? Has the Security Council ever imposed sanctions against one or more countries because they have not recognized Kosovo, Abkhazia, or South Ossetia? Does controversy on matters of this nature empower the UN Security Council to take punitive measures against a defenseless country arbitrarily?

2. The resolution refers to the “decision of the 13th Assembly of the African Union in Sirte, calling on the Council to impose sanctions against Eritrea”. Again, this assertion is replete with distortions and half-truths. As underlined earlier, the resolution was co-sponsored by Uganda in its individual capacity. It was not tabled, but on the contrary, vehemently opposed by Libya which is the current Chair of the AU and a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. More importantly, the UN Security Council’s function is not to rubber-stamp resolutions adopted by a regional organization when invoking Chapter VII of the UN Charter to impose sanctions against a Member State but to do so independently and only on the basis of incontrovertible facts and law.

3. In a feat of unprecedented cynicism, the UN Security Council Resolution recommends other punitive measures against Eritrea on account of the U.S. fabricated “border dispute with Djibouti”. For seven long years now since the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission gave its final and binding Award on the border dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia in April 2002, the Security Council has refused to shoulder its responsibilities to ensure the respect of the arbitration decision in accordance with the provisions of the Algiers Peace Treaty that was largely drafted and explicitly guaranteed by this same body. This has encouraged Ethiopia to violate its treaty obligations, the UN Charter and international law to continue its occupation of Badme and other sovereign Eritrean lands. This same Security Council is now singing to a different tune, simply because it is played by Washington, to threaten Eritrea with punitive measure for a non-existent border conflict.

Security Council Resolution 1907(2009) is thus not based on law and incontrovertible facts. The United States has simply employed its preponderant influence to ram through unjustifiable sanctions against a small country. What is shameful is that the United States has been allowed to use the platform and authority of the United Nations to perpetrate injustices against the people and Government of Eritrea; for the second time in recent history. What is shameful is that other major powers in the UN Security Council cannot go beyond expressing their disappointment, mostly in private meetings, to check the excesses of Washington. What is shameful is that the United States can turn the tables and victimize an innocent nation for the very crimes that it is responsible for in the first place. Because the truth is, the United States is mostly responsible for the mayhem and suffering that is bedeviling Somalia today. Indeed, it is common knowledge that as intractable as the Somali crisis is, there were real hopes of a turnaround for the better in 2006. For reasons that defy reason, the Bush Administration then acted to roll back those promising developments to instigate and support Ethiopia’s invasion of Somalia. That single debacle claimed the lives of thousands of innocent Somalis, made half a million people homeless and aggravated the humanitarian crisis in Somalia to unprecedented levels. But then, the Security Council is not taking action on the basis of justice and legality. It is taking action on the basis of the existing power balance in a largely unipolar world. This does not bode well for international justice and peace. This is why today is a shameful day for the United Nations.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Asmara

23 December 2009