By Amanuel Biedemariam

Late Monday on January 16, 2012, Ethiopia reported two Germans, two Hungarians and an Austrian were killed in a deadly attack in Ethiopia’s North-Eastern Afar region. During the attacks, a Hungarian and Italian were wounded while two Germans had been kidnapped. The unsuspecting tourists were attacked, wounded, captured and killed inside Ethiopia. This incident was unfortunate for those who lost their lives, those that suffered through it and, for their families. This incident was also devastating for the tourism industry of Ethiopia and those who depend on it for their livelihood.

Regardless of how the genocidal regime of Meles Zenawi tries to characterize the incident or who it claims has perpetrated the killings, there remains one fact it cannot deny. The incident took place inside the borders of Ethiopia. And it happened while under the protection of Ethiopian authorities.

On the 19^th of January, The Voice of America (VOA) aired an interview with Information Minister of Ethiopia Bereket Simon, and in it, the Minister openly admitted that Ethiopia does not and cannot control its borders. Ethiopia is a country under fire in every direction due to the reckless adventures of the minority regime inside Ethiopia and the region. In Ethiopia, rebellion is flourishing throughout the entire country. There exists the Oromo Liberation Front, The Oganden liberation Front in Eastern Ethiopia, AEDUF in the Afar region, there is the EPPF in the central region, the Benishangul in the West and the Tigray movement TPDM etc…operate inside Ethiopia for different reasons. Some are fighting for self-determination and the others for greater freedoms from the oppressive minority regime. 

This is how The Christian Science Monitor characterized Ethiopia’s claims. “This week, even before Ethiopian officials knew how many people had died, or even when the fatal shooting of five European tourists in its remote northeastern region of Afar had taken place, they were sure of one crucial detail: It was Eritrea’s fault.” 

It is convenient for Ethiopian authorities to claim Eritrea did it for many reasons. It is easier. It deflects attention away from Ethiopia’s ever-exploding internal civil struggles. It is within the strategic objective of trying to label Eritrea, as a country that sponsors all the anti-regime activities as terrorist activity and within that context, all the rebellion in Ethiopia is considered terrorism and, the rebels’ terrorists. 

But here is the problem with that assumption and claim. If Eritrea is capable to develop all that activity inside Ethiopia, what that means is Meles’s regime has effectively lost control of Ethiopia. The authorities in Ethiopia have lost control of the entire country. 

The various movements in Ethiopia have been there for decades fighting for their rights. The OLF was there before the regime came to power; the Ogaden has been mired in conflicts for decades, and so have the Afars. These groups are fighting for denied rights by Ethiopia. They are not terrorist organizations. In fact, in contradiction to Meles’ claim that these groups are terrorist the US never labeled the OLF or others as terrorists. In fact, they have offices in the US. Meles and his cronies know this fact.   

In this case, the blanket claim by the regime that Eritrea is at fault in order to cover up its internal problems backfired in many major ways. First off, the regime looked defeated by playing a victim. Secondly, it lost any credibility that it may have had internally and globally because, the truth came-out swiftly and contradicted their fabrications making them look pettier. Thirdly, it gave AEDUF, the rebel group, international exposure they never had and, advertised Ethiopia’s internal conflicts to the world. Fourthly, and most importantly, the minority clique gave the world unadulterated evidence that the regime has lost its legitimacy. The genocidal regime, in order to score a political point against Eritrea threw all discovery mechanisms-out and actually got in the way of the evidence-discovery process thus denied the world access to truth.  As The Christian Science Monitor reported, “They were sure of one crucial detail: It was Eritrea’s fault” before any meaningful information was extracted.

This is clear evidence that the regime is not about finding-out truth to protect the Ethiopian people and the tourists. The regime was not concerned about the tourism industry of Ethiopia. This is a major PR disaster for the tourism industry of Ethiopia. By infusing Eritrea in the killing, the illegitimate regime magnified the level of negative attention into all tourism related activities of Ethiopia. This was in effect advertising that announced; come and tour Ethiopia and you might earn the chance to be killed, wounded and captured. Just imagine, can anyone dare take the volcanic tour in the Afar region after this?  The answer is NO. That means the people in the Afar region will suffer because an industry or a means of income was taken away from them. This is not a sign of a caring government. 

The rebels quickly gave their condolences to the families, facilitated the release of those captured and, claimed those that died were killed by Ethiopian authorities. This put the minority regime in a spot and forced it into a defensive position. 

Here is the reality, prior to his fall, the Mengistu regime was losing large swath of territories, to then rebels, the current regime, in the same manner the minority regime is losing now. This incident provided a great opportunity for the world to see that Ethiopia is burning from within with fire that is ready to consume the entire nation fast. Through the hasty announcements, the regime inadvertently advertised to the world that it doesn’t control the Afar region. This is also true throughout the entire country. 

Every action the government takes now is strictly designed to elongate its life. In the West, the regime uprooted over 70,000 Gambellans from their villages destroying their way of life. The illegitimate genocidal regime has done this in every territory in Ethiopia. The genocides in Gambella and Ogaden are recorded in detail with evidences by major humanitarian organizations.  

Ethiopia has seen consistent growth in its tourism industry for decades. This will definitely damage it. The minority regime has managed to stay in power by oppressing the various nationalities that it wants to label terrorist now. All these people are doing is demand their rights.  However, instead of resolving the internal issues peacefully the regime resorted to force. In time, the rebellion has gathered enough momentum and it is ready to engulf the nation. The minority regime, fully aware it can no longer contain it, is trying desperate approaches such as labeling the entire nation terrorist. Individuals that oppose the regime are labeled terrorist and tried. The Diaspora is not spared because the regime makes it a point to sentence them in absentia.

This is a regime on the brink. Certainly, tourism needs peace to flourish and in Ethiopia, peace is dissipating like water in the desert sand. The regime’s acceptance by Ethiopians and people in the region is almost nonexistent. People are anticipating when and how the big shoe will drop. In this climate it is very difficult to commit to any investment in Ethiopia and certainly those that have money are sending their hard currency abroad because they are not certain of the future. This is the reason why it is easy to predict the fall of the minority regime eminent. That is why the former Ambassador Herman Cohen said that the hegemonic minority rule of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) is difficult to sustain, as Ethiopians are demanding freedom and democracy.

Conclusion

It is ironic a terrorist regime is trying to label Eritreans, the Somalis and the entire Ethiopian population terrorists with fabricated trumped charges. By doing so the regime is asking the international community for a mandate to rule with iron fist as a king maker of the region. This is also clear evidence that this futile ambition has put the regime at odds with all the people in the region. One thing the regime has done clearly is that it is challenging the publics of the region with blood in every turn. Hence, it is crucial for the people of Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea to come together and rid of the vermin finally. And I am certain this will happen soon because the people of the region are saying enough to the genocidal, illegitimate regime of Meles Zenawi. In order to hasten his demise and to help end the little Batustans he created, it is everyone’s responsibility to stop cooperating with this criminal and end his reign before more harm could be done.

Awetnayu@hotmail.com

By Martin Zimmerman

In recent days, Eritrea is once again pushed into negative headlines: In the Afar region of Ethiopia, European tourists were abducted and murdered. Two German, two Hungarians and Austrians did not survive the journey to the Ethiopian-Eritrean border area.  For another two German and two Ethiopian companion perhaps the horror continues: These were kidnapped, like the Ethiopian government spokesman Bereket Simon told.

This raises the question of why tourists always ignore the longstanding travel warnings for this area. In recent years there has been several robberies and kidnappings, most ending without tragedy. Before any investigation and immediately after the cruel deed has been known, the Ethiopian government spokesman named the culprit: the Eritrean Government.

But not enough. The Ethiopian propaganda machine gets going and suddenly the subject is no longer “just” murdered and kidnapped tourists, but rather, Eritrea being also accused of instigating a plot in January 2011, to disrupt the annual summit of the African Union (AU) in the Ethiopian capital. The current incident was a deliberate action, according to Simon, because in the next week in Addis Ababa AU starts again a great conference: “Eritrea wants to destabilize the entire region,” the Ethiopian foreign minister goes on in a piece of his allegations. Another target of the attack, which he accuses the government in Asmara-trained bandits of, is suipposed to be the Ethiopian tourism industry.

The international media echoe the Ethiopian version of the drama in the Afar region -, the facts hardly checked by a newspaper, in spite of the well documented hgistory of the Ethiopian propaganda. Some newspapers even noted that Ethiopia and Eritrea were involved in a border dispute, Eritrea supported Somali Islamists militarily, and Ethiopia accusations of Eritrea of terrorist acts. All this in a time, when Ethiopia finds itself exposed to harsh international criticism because of massive human rights abuses and forced displacement.

The facts and the failure of critical journalism

Eritrean government officials, including Girma Asmerom, Eritrea’s ambassador to the African Union immediately reported that the charges are “an absolute lie and a fabrication”. It had become a habit of the Ethiopian government, to blame Eritrea whenever something happens in Ethiopia, said Asmerom. This is however barely mentioned in the media. The Ethiopian propaganda machine following its scheme of “Something will always stick!” in its efforts to discredit Eritrea time and again.

This is just the continuation of Ethiopian politics, making Eritrea responsible for all internal and external political conflicts in the country: the ongoing war in Somalia, that is fueled by Ethiopia as well as attacks of various independence movements in Ethiopia -now a raid in the Afar region. Such attacks were proven of not having been controlled by Eritrea in the past, on the contrary, in the effort to liberate Europeans who were kidnapped by a tribe Afar, Eritrea played a crucial and positive role.

Facts are: alleged Eritrea’s attacks in Ethiopia have been found so far to be manufactured for propaganda purposes, as its false claims of the support of the Islamist Al Shabab in Somalia.

Example 1: On August 30, 2011 on Wikileaks labelled ‘secret’ telegram from the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa published October 6th, 2006. The message has been sent to the U.S. State Department, the headquarters of USCENTCOM, IGAD, the CIA, CJTF, DIA, and NSC. The notification (Reference ID 06ADDISABABA2708) referred to a series of three planned terrorist attacks on 16 September 2006 in the capital of Ethiopia, the Eritrean authorities responsible for the security and the Oromo resistance made. Contents of the secret dispatch: The media reported that the Ethiopian intelligence The National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) claimed together with the anti-terrorism task force of the federal police that the bombs as part of a coordinated terrorist attack on the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF ), the oldest national liberation movement in Ethiopia, and the Sha’abiya (Eritrea) were applied to disrupt the democratic process. In the – unsuccessful – attacks in Kara Kore-District three suicide bombers were killed. The bombs had gone off prematurely in the preparation in an illegally constructed buildings and two of the men died in the explosion, the third a little later in the hospital, the release of the security authorities.

In the dispatch of the report of an informant and secret messages of the message source was quoted as blaming the security forces of the Government of Ethiopia for the assassination. On 20 September 2006 contacted Dr. Merera Gudina, former leader of the Embassy of the ONC. In his report he stated that the deceased was not killed when a bomb, but rather have been in the hands of government cadres were imprisoned and tortured. The men had been picked up a week earlier by police and arrested. The police would have brought them into the house and raised near the explosives. It remained unclear, whether the men belonged to the ONC or OLF.

Example 2: The claim that Eritrea would destabilize the region relates mainly to the accusation that Eritrea supported the Islamist Al-Shabab militia in Somalia with money and weapons. The most recent accusation acoounting for UN sanctions against Eritrea – was recently moved to the realm of fables: In November last year, Eritrea was accused of supplying arms to Kenya Al Shabab. Three planes full of weapons were said to having landed in the town of Baidoa. The “UN Monitoring Group on Somalia,” could not prove this, and recently reported that such flights have taken place and “incorrect” the assertion …

Example 3: The border dispute. The fact is that relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea have been strained by this ongoing border dispute – the blame on which is, however, only to Ethiopia. Because for this border disput,there is a solution on the table since 2000. The International Court in The Hague ruled on the issue of border disputes to an arbitration, the two sides have in advance officially recognized within the framework of the Algiers peace agreement as final and binding. But Ethiopia refused to implement the peace agreement, illegally occupying Eritrean territories and threatening war, whenever it seems politically expedient internally.

 Source: Dehai and translated by Chrischi

afar

Stellungnahme zum Artikel

Von Christian Glaunsinger

Ihr Artikel zeichnet ein oberflächliches Bild der Problematik zwischen Eritrea und Äthiopien allgemein und in der Afar Region im Grenzgebiet zwischen beiden Ländern im Besonderen. Die Danakil-Senke und die gesamte Afar Region werden ausschließlich von nomadischen Stämmen durchstreift, die sehr eigenständig in dieser unwirtlichen und unwegsamen Region leben.

Diese Stämme überschreiten die Grenzen zwischen Eritrea, Äthiopien und Djibouti nach Belieben und sind dort nicht kontrollierbar -vergleichbar mit den Touareg der Sahara. Ein Überfall mit Entführung und Todesopfern kann dort nie ausgeschlossen werden. Welches Interesse Eritrea an solchen Vorgängen haben sollte, ist völlig unklar.

Das Gegenteil darf angenommen werden. Eine Stellungnahme der eritreischen Regierung fehlt in Ihrem Bericht. Äthiopien und Eritrea trennt kein Grenzstreit, denn dieser wurde vom internationalen Gerichtshof in Den Haag 2002 entschieden. Beide Parteien hatten diesen Schiedsspruch bereits 2000 im Frieden von Algier als verbindlich akzeptiert. Äthiopien verweigert die Umsetzung, hält eritreische Gebiete besetzt und droht mit Krieg, wann immer dies innenpolitisch opportun scheint.

Darüber hinaus ist Äthiopien dazu übergegangen, Eritrea für sämtliche innen- und außenpolitischen Konflikte verantwortlich zu machen: den anhaltenden und von Äthiopien angeheizten Krieg in Somalia ebenso wie Anschläge verschiedener Unabhängigkeitsbewegungen in Äthiopien -nun auch einen Überfall in Afar. Solche Überfälle wurden auch in der Vergangenheit nachweislich nicht von Eritrea gesteuert.

Die Regierung Äthiopiens wälzt so Verantwortung zu Unrecht auf Eritreas, denn es ist gerade Äthiopien, welches in der Region; namentlich Eritrea, Somalia und in eigenen Provinzen wie Tigray, Oromia und dem Ogaden seit Jahrzehnten für Instabilität und große Not verantwortlich ist. Dieses sollten deutsche Journalisten durchschauen, anstatt daran mitzuwirken.

Christian Glaunsinger

Amanuel Biedemariam

On a recent interview with ESAT, former US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ambassador Herman Cohen made some startling revelations regarding matters that influenced the history of the peoples of Eritrea and Ethiopia. While I am not a fan of the Ambassador and cognizant of the negative roles he played on the region over the decades, it was shocking to witness the candid responses to the barrage of questions hurled at him by a brilliant ESAT interviewer Abebe Gellaw. This raises some questions. Why now, how does it factor into the political calculations of Meles, and ultimately what does it mean to Ethiopia?

Key: The hegemony of a minority regime is not sustainable. What does that mean?

It means that it is a matter of time until the minority regime will crumble. The role minority regime can play in Ethiopia is on life support. It is a dead man walking per se; a rejected system that could not be revived no matter what. Ambassador Cohen said that Meles failed to realize the vision of his own constitution. Article 39 was meant to provide autonomy to the country’s various regions. Instead, Meles “imposed the same type of authoritarian regime that Ethiopians has always had.” Meles’ actions are in contradiction to the constitution and outright disregarding to the rights of the rest of the country.

For over 20 years, his reign accorded preferential treatment to the state of Tigray. The prevailing opinion is predicated upon the argument that the clique’s objective is to create an independent state, Abbay Tigray. But is there evidence to back this up?

Over the last 20 years, Tigray has had disparate advantages over the rest of the country. After the TPLF came to power, they have redrawn the internal Ethiopian map to favor Tigray to the dismay of Ethiopians in various parts of the country. There are many reports that accuse Meles and his clique of taking fertile lands from different parts of Ethiopia and, made them part of Tigray. Resources are transferred from the Ethiopian heartland to Tigray. This included the banking, major industries, the air force and major portion of the country’s armaments using the threat of Eritrea as excuse. In Tigray, there exists an international bureau. Evidences of building towards greater Tigray are plenty. Many Ethiopians believe Meles literally gave-away major portions of Ethiopian land to Sudan to appease Sudan and to ensure a friendly and non-threatening Sudan. There are regular flights between Sudan and Tigray in a daily basis. The transformation of the city of Mekele and overall, the state of Tigray is intense relative to the rest of the country etc…

Key: “The TPLF was at the gates of Addis. We wanted to make sure that the war ended with what we called a soft landing in Addis and there should be no destruction….We didn’t say takeover the government. We said take over Addis.”

This is clear evidence that TPLF and Meles never enjoyed support of the Ethiopian people. The US, in effect, was forced to accept the inevitable change at a crucial moment in history. According to the Ambassador, Meles promised change but failed to implement any of the reforms he promised.

Key: the US, according to Ambassador Cohen is, primarily interested on its “Strategic Interests.” Human rights and other issues are secondary considerations if at all. The question then becomes, does the minority Meles regime-hegemony serve US national interests? According to Ambassador Cohen, “The hegemonic minority rule of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) is difficult to sustain as Ethiopians are demanding freedom and democracy.”

Given the fact that it is clearly understood that the agenda Meles pursues is unsustainable, and also, given the fact that the US’s key strategic interest in Ethiopia is a united Ethiopia; Ambassador Cohen’s campaign, albeit pushed by a personal motive to sell a book, is likely the modus operandi. Hence, it is clear to all, Meles Zenawi and co must go. Meles Zenawi can no longer ensure US strategic interests for many reasons.

For twenty years, Meles and co shunned goodwill towards any group, individuals, national organizations or nations. Meles played hardball. He used the War on Terror-card against everyone. He used it against Ethiopians, in the Ogaden, Oromo, Somalis and Eritreans. He used every tool at his disposal mercilessly. He imprisoned Ethiopians, Eritreans, Somalis or any Ethnic group that he felt could get on his way. If one is to ask, if there exists any group of people that supports the minority regime in the region the answer is an emphatic no. Ask the Ogadeni’s the Somalis, the Oromos, Eritreans or any group and one will find no loyalty for this regime.

There are many indicators that Meles is on his last legs. For over three years, Meles gambled on associating anything Eritrean with terrorism. The trajectory seemed on the up and up when he proclaimed that the noose is now on Eritrea’s neck and bragged of what is to come. He invested a great deal of time and resources to accomplish what he could not through military and other subversive tactics. He literally gave-away Ethiopia to China and others just to get Eritrea and failed. Meles tried to buy time by talking sanction and Eritrea. He, in effect, muzzled the voice of the Ethiopian opposition because the focus was the sanction. However, that is all the time he could buy because Ethiopians are back with vengeance ready to devour him.

This was highlighted by the recent OLF announcement that clarified a united Ethiopia position. This simple expression of unity jolted the Weyane clique as if hit by tsunami. All one has to do is look at the recent headlines in the mouthpiece website of the genocidal regime Aigaforum. Their incoherent frantic attacks on any Ethiopian opposition are a reflection of the fragility and susceptibility of this group. And they are right to be concerned because for the first time Ethiopians are beginning to speak with one voice. They are talking a voice of unity to an organization that could only survive in a splintered environment, an organization that is truly afraid of a united Ethiopia. When all these groups come together to decide the future of Ethiopia, guess who is going to be on the outside looking in? Meles and his genocidal friends! Meles and co in turn will run for their life if there is a safe haven somewhere.

According to Ambassador Cohen, “Save Addis from destruction” propelled Meles to power. However, TPLF’s main agenda was Tigray not Ethiopia. After 20 years, Meles has put the people of Tigray in a precarious position by placing them in the middle. He cannot out-rightly proclaim independent Tigray while he is ripping the benefits of being a ruler of Ethiopia because his masters will hang him dry. This is reflected by the lack of affection and respect that Meles shows the people of Ethiopia. But how are the people of Tigray faring and, how will they fair in the long term?

The reality is no temporary gain is sustainable unless coupled with peace and stability. Meles Zenawi could not win any peace with any group or nation in the region. He could not unite Ethiopia and certainly, he cannot ensure peace for the people of Tigray. The people of Tigray are surrounded by hostility because the hegemonic agenda Meles pursued in the name of Tigray did not promote friendly ties with anyone.

Meles Zenawi is at a downward spiral, scared and is likely to make erotic decisions as he recently did by “retiring” (expelling) many officers abruptly. It is odd to see Meles, while involved in military campaign in Somalia, releasing officers’ en mass at same time. The reality is, he is scared and he felt that he is removing threats as he repeatedly does. Meles clearly believes that the support he gets from the West is forever. He also believes that they will stick by him regardless of what he does as long as he can ensure their strategic interests. However, US interests cannot be ensured if officers trained by US are chopped-off their duties abruptly as in this case.

When ESAT asked the Ambassador if Meles was in good terms with him, he replied, Meles got angry after the Ambassador spoke-out in the aftermath of the 2005 election massacre. Meles felt that the Ambassador spoke outside the scope of US Ethiopia strategic relations. In effect, bit the hand that feeds his madness. Think how mad Meles will be after the interview. The Ambassador added fuel to the raging fire that is consuming the regime. In other words, Cohen is telling Meles his time is up.

Conclusion,

Meles Zenawi will go down in history as one of the worst leaders for selling his people, Africa and his soul if he had any. He should face justice for corruption, embezzlement, torture, genocide and all the crimes he committed against the people of the region collectively. Meles used hunger, climate change, war on terror, fear, economy, stability etc…to sell his agenda. All is coming to ahead now. The people of Tigray need peace, stability and prosperity. The region also needs it. However, Meles has proven he cannot provide peace, stability or prosperity. The West already knows Meles cannot ensure a united Ethiopia. These are key constituencies Meles has lost. And regardless of what he does, without them he cannot stay in power for long. That is the stage we are in and I do believe Ambassador Cohen’s timing is not accidental. The Ambassador is telling Ethiopians it is time.

Awetnayu@hotmail.com

Amanuel Biedemariam

President Obama undermined US diplomatic protocol, longstanding US diplomatic process and the State Department when he moved-up the UN Ambassadorship of Susan Rice to a cabinet level position. The move is a serious blunder that will undermine US diplomatic structures and processes and its negative effects to be felt for decades to come. There are many examples of these colossal failures.

Ambassador Rice has a horrific record as US point person of Africa during the Clinton Administration in which she stood by as a bystander and witnessed the Rwanda Holocaust unfold. And as a UN Ambassador, Susan Rice is doing serious damages to US political and moral high ground by undercutting US diplomatic leverages and, infringing upon American citizen’s rights by conspiring with some of the most atrocious human rights violators and genocidal tyrants of Africa.

Moreover, Ambassador Rice or President Obama are denying the American people congressional oversight by outsourcing US political agendas to international organizations like the Arab League, African Union and other regional organizations in Africa such as IGAD and ECOWAS. This is a convenient shortcut of pursuing US interests. It only requires pressuring tyrants and leaders of client states to echo US agendas. This approach gives Rice cover to push resolutions and decisions that have long-term implications with a lightning speed.

The problem with this approach is multi-pronged. Firstly, the process excludes the American people and congress. Secondly, and absent of informed public, US congressional representatives are less likely to be inquisitive and as a result not as invested as they should be. This approach avoids open discussions of US diplomatic endeavors and, in this interconnected global environment, to negate the American people and congress opportunities to meaningful understanding of world politics and engagement is serious abrogation of responsibilities.

In addition, the approach renders the State Department impotent at worst or, diminishes its influence greatly. Because regardless, of the communications that take place between the State Department and the US Mission at the UN, the focus of world leaders will be UN and the UNSC. This empowers the UN greatly while diminishing US diplomatic upper hand globally and reduces the US State Department to a mere bureaucratic shell.

Case in point, the recent Sanction measure against Eritrea Resolution 2023 adopted by the UNSC December 5, that passed with thirteen “yes” votes and two abstentions Russia and China. A simple glance at the votes makes the sanction measure look successful. However, upon digging deeper we can uncover layers of disturbing patterns that ought to concern every American.

One of the basic tenets of the American way of life is the jurisprudence based on US constitution that observes certain inalienable rights such as the ability to defend oneself and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt. While that is not-always forthcoming and apparent in foreign policy matters, there are certain precedents and protocols as well as rules the US is expected to follow. These norms, values and laws, even if they are not adhered-to as they should they are universally accepted principles. And for the US, the standards are higher.

However, in this case, everything was thrown out the window. Ambassador Rice failed to bring a credible case against Eritrea. Rice failed to embrace fairness and American values. Rice presented fabrications to the UNSC to make a case in order to pass sanction measures against Eritrea. She pressed the measure in unprecedented fashion to catch the members of UNSC by surprise into voting without deliberation at 5pm on Tuesday Nov 29, to be voted on the next morning shocking all. She usurped the UN process and gave the matter unwarranted urgency in order to pass the measure. She put the measure in Blue prematurely as if the situation is dire, of utmost urgency and importance.

The members reacted negatively and denied the vote with Russia threatening to veto the measure. China said that President Isaias Afwerki has requested to come and address the UNSC in October and, according to UN charter that is the right of every UN member-country and demanded President Isaias address the council. Of course she did not want President Isaias to appear in front of the council. Her remarks were unbecoming of a diplomat. It was a shameful act and display of utter arrogance that future generation American diplomats cannot model after. She disrespected the Eritrean people by saying I have met the Eritrean delegation in July, we do not want a “circus and is not to my taste.” Her comments are an example that the US needs to seriously reevaluate its diplomatic approaches. Because, Rice acted as if she is above a president and undermined the UN process by disregarding concerns of other members and abused the privileges of being a host nation by using the issuance of a visa as part of her maneuvers. The circus that followed was a must see TV for the whole world to laugh at.

Ambassador Rice went on a two day negotiation spree in which she was forced to say we are obligated to grant a visa to President Isaias and his delegation on Friday Dec 2, 48 hours before the measure was to be voted on. According to Rice, the visas were granted on Saturday and the vote was scheduled for Monday. The president was slated to address the council and make a case for his country in a matter that could determine the fate of his people on Monday morning December 5after travelling 16 hours from Africa.

On Christmas Eve in 2009, Ambassador Rice passed a similar measure in a stealthy manner and placed an arms embargo against Eritrea a nation at war with Ethiopia denying Eritrea a right to self-defense. This was based on fabrications by using Somalia and a border dispute with Djibouti while ignoring Ethiopia that is occupying Eritrean territories illegally. She called this an African initiative and used Africa to pressure China and Russia to pass a sanction measure.

In July of 2011, the African Union (AU) rejected for lack of evidence, Ethiopia’s plea to send yet another bogus statement to the UNSC against Eritrea. The accusations came from Ethiopia and alleged that Eritrea was caught trying to bomb Addis Ababa during the AU gatherings. Ethiopia is at war with Eritrea and the accusations came from a country that is party to the conflict. Gabon, a country that has no connection to Eritrea, tabled the measure at the urging of the US to give it an African cover. The evidence provided to the UNSC is laughable. It is absurd that Rice tried to convince the UNSC, Eritrea, a nation that is capable to wage full scale wars and have successfully defeated Africa’s strongest army to gain independence, can resort to this joke of terrorist act fabricated by a genocidal regime that is using terrorism as a cover to quell decent and make money from the West.

The Russian Ambassador to the United Nations said as follows… “The text of the resolution contains a range of provisions that lack adequate foundation, and the role of the group of experts has been expanded beyond measure. In that respect, we refer in particular to the “planned terrorist attack” in Addis Ababa during the African Union summit there. The Russian Federation is categorically against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. However, in this case, the Security Council was not presented with convincing proof of Eritrea’s involvement in that incident. We have not seen the results of any investigation of that incident, if indeed there was one.”

This is diplo-speak that means the accusations are fabrications, in other words lies. The barrage of accusations and allegations Eritrea faced was designed to put maximum pressure on China and Russia to pass punitive measures by using Africans. Kenya accused Eritrea of flying arms to Al Shabab in Kisamyo South Somalia. All one has to do is observe the map of the Horn of Africa and observe in order to reach Kisamyou, Eritrea must fly through hostile air space of Ethiopia and above heavily monitored Indian Ocean Waters. The Djibouti case was also a farce since Djibouti has already agreed and signed to allow Qatar to mediate the “dispute.” Ambassador Rice created a circus by having the accusers address the UNSC from Addis via satellite in order to put more pressure and failed. By doing that, Rice empowered the UNSC over the US.

The reality, Djibouti is a client state of the US that hosts over 3,000 US soldiers stationed in Camp Lemonier Djibouti. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta just visited Djibouti to highlight the importance. Ethiopia and Kenya are in the same boat. The Transitional Government of Somalia is very dependent on the US and Ethiopian soldiers for its very survival. In other words, they are all parties to the conflict.

The US used The Somali Monitoring Group, a group formed by the US to give recommendations on Somalia related issues. In this case, the Monitoring Group presented to the UN everything Ethiopia gave them including names of Eritreans that support their birth country. These law-abiding Eritrean American citizens have resided in the US for decades. The Sanction recommendation the Monitoring Group gave targeted remittances these citizens send to their homeland. The monitoring group gave specific sanction measures to decapitate Eritrea from existence prompting the Russians to react and rightfully say…,

“We also have doubts with respect to the provision in the resolution that gives the Sanctions Committee a mandate to draft, with the support of the expert group, guiding principles for States on maintaining vigilance in their cooperation with Eritrea in the mining sector. When it comes to guiding United Nations Members, guidance should be provided by a resolution of the Security Council and not by the preliminary work of subsidiary bodies, as that can lead to various interpretations of resolutions that have been adopted.”

The monitoring group is not a legal body, an elected representation or a neutral and transparent investigative organ. It is political tool the US and Ethiopia use to further their agendas.

More than what is described above, the most disturbing aspect of Ambassador Rice’s adventures is what Wikileaks exposed. Ambassador Rice conspired with African leaders and discussed on how to impose restrictions on US citizens of Eritrean decent from sending remittances to their home country. Cables on May and August of 2009 reveal Rice talking to various Ethiopian officials in cable after another. This is what Ethiopian official recommended. Cable quote:

“ Tekeda said, cutting off the flow of money to Eritrea was essential. Particularly, remittances from the U.S. was a major source of funding for Eritrea, which used such funds for arms procurement and support for extremist elements.”

On August 17, 2009 Rice conferred with Ethiopian representative Tessema, cable quote:

“Ambassador Rice emphasized that any new sanctions Resolution should reflect the common ground between Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Somalia.”

This is a pattern that shows Rice conspiring against American citizens with leaders of other countries. The list and detail is abundant for all to research. Rice called Eritrean Americans, “The Diaspora” and decided to infringe upon the rights of American citizens that she calls “Diaspora” in order to get at the country of their origin.

One of the most disturbing aspects of these developments is to know how easy it is to infringe upon US citizen rights without any congressional oversight and the citizenry finding out what is really taking place. Moreover, today, it is Eritrean Americans, who is next? It may be easy for the average American to overlook these developments because it is happening to obscure unfamiliar communities. However, these are outstanding law abiding American citizens most of whom arrived in the early to mid-80s. Their kids represent a first generation of Eritrean Americans that are brilliant excelling in many areas. There are many Eritrean doctors, engineers, army officials, athletes and successful exemplary Eritrean American citizens. It is criminal and libelous for Rice to incriminate entire communities of American citizens for foreign policy agendas in order to pass a flowed resolution based on fabrications.

Concluding Remarks

Over the years, the US has showed the world the ways and, meanings of diplomacy in good and bad times. American diplomats epitomized patriotism and international legal savvy. Most importantly they knew the importance of keeping the political upper hand while retaining the moral high grounds. Above all, they placed the rights of American citizens above everything. They accorded it the dignity that it deserves. Howard Baker, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Henry Kissinger to mention some. They always knew how to keep their eyes on the ball while keeping the long and short term goals of the nation intact.

Ambassador Rice is a departure from that. She represents street diplomacy of thug like bullying underhanded mischief; petty shortcut diplomacy, fabrications, obvious-threats and intimidation. Her approaches are gifts to Russia and China because due to her belligerence they are looking like saints. In this latest debacle, China and Russia came out with moral high ground because they were talking transparency and following the UN rules and laws. Susan Rice on the other hand, was always on the defensive and looked petty. Her tactics were a reach by any standard; the strategy she applied was flawed giving Russia and China opportunities to play her like a child.

The people of Africa are suffering terribly due to the incompetence of foreign officials Such as Susan Rice. This episode is likely to lead to more wars and bloodshed. Examples are aplenty. Susan Rice’s name is synonymous to The Genocide of Rwanda. The irony is, after a failure of that magnitude, her incompetence was rewarded by promotion to a much higher and significant position of high impact.

Susan Rice believes that she has picked a soft target to bully, misrepresent, fabricate harass and undermine the rights of Eritrean American citizens in order to pursue her feeble agendas. Certainly, Susan Rice will not try the same strategy on other American groups such as the Armenian or Jewish communities. She felt that Eritrean Americans are soft targets to stigmatize. This Eritrean American will not sit idle and watch American rights stripped brazenly.

All Eritreans and concerned citizens need to call for the firing of Susan Rice and hold her legally accountable for conspiring against American citizens with foreign nationals and governments.

Awetnayu@hotmail.com

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, November 30 — Amid widespread questioning in the UN Security Council of the push to vote today on new Eritrea sanctions, with the US having blocked a request from Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki to talk to the Council, Gabon midday on Wednesday again said it would call for a vote later that day.

Sources tell Inner City Press that Russia has threatened to veto.

Inner City Press has obtained a copy of the November 29 letter to the Council from Eritrea’s UN Ambassador Araya Desta, and asked Desta about it. “It is the third letter,” Desta told Inner City Press.

The letter says, “It has come to my attention that the delebation of Gabon intends to table the draft resolution on Eritrea for action tomorrow… I appeal to your Excellency that H.E. Mr. Isaias Afwerki, President of the State of Eritrea, be given the audience to address the [UNSC] before any action is taken on the draft resolution.”

Desta speaking exclusively to Inner City Press went further: “What does Gabon know about Eritrea? Where it is? They don’t even know the location of Eritrea.” Significantly, larger African member of the Council South Africa is known to oppose voting on Wednesday on the proposed sanctions.

Desta told Inner City Press, “It is crazy to penalize the Eritrean people in order to get a second term for Jean Ping as commissioner of the African Union.” He mused, “Meles [Zenawi] tells him, I’ll help you get a second term, if you help” put more sanctions on Eritrea.

Inner City Press asked Desta why he thought the US was being so adamant. Desta said “my President has write two or three letters” to President Obama, “my foreign minister met with them.”

Some have alluded to the US “using” Ethiopia to fight Islamists in Somalia, first the Islamic Courts and now Al Shabaab, including it’s said from drone bases in Ethiopia.

To be less US-focused, Eritrea clearly has enemies among other neighbors: Djibouti, for example, often buzzes around the Security Council. But the idea that a head of state should on request be allowed to address the Security Council before such sanctions are voted on seems to be widely held.

Vitaly Churkin

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, November 30, updated below — After a draft resolution to impose more UN Security Council sanctions on Eritrea was “put in blue” at 5:30 pm on Tuesday, the Council delayed a planned 10 am open debate on its Working Methods to fight behind closed doors about voting on the sanctions.

As Inner City Press exclusively reported Tuesday night, US Ambassador Susan Rice said the vote should take place Wednesday since Gabon, Nigeria and the regional IGAD group want the sanctions.

But the other African member of the Council, South Africa, questioned the rush to vote. Eritrean president Afwerki as asked to speak to the Council. Ambassador Rice put on a block, and as of now no other member has (“dared to”) call for a procedural vote, which it is predicted Rice would lose.

Most Council members spoken to by Inner City Press feel that if any head of state wants to speak with the Council, especially before sanctions are imposed, it should be allowed as a matter of due process and precedent.

On Wednesday morning sources told Inner City Press that Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said there should be no vote on the Eritrea draft today. South Africa has amendments. Experts will meet — but will Rice get her way?

Amanuel Biedemariam

On a recent interview with ESAT, the Founder and President of Genocide Watch, Dr. Gregory Stanton stressed that Ethiopia is high on the list of countries of Genocide Watch. The reasons Dr. Stanton outlined are alarming; however true, yet, an opportunity for Ethiopians and other peace loving people in the world to try to stop it from taking place. This is not the first time Dr. Stanton raised alarm publicly. However, this time, Dr. Stanton detailed the reasons why; as well as how and, what could trigger genocide in Ethiopia and specifically Tigray.

Dr. Stanton comes with a sizeable resume and expertise in genocide related matters because he has been closely associated with the formulation of the legal language and UN resolutions that govern the international standards. He has dedicated a great deal of time into the matter understanding the triggers; the damage, the consequences and ramifications; and hopefully preventive mechanisms. Dr. Stanton said the very reason Genocide Watch started is that, after The Rwanda Genocide, he came to the realization that there is a need for a watchdog group that specifically focused on genocide. And, that is the reason why he founded the organization.

While it is difficult to trust West- based organizations that claim to do good; I found Dr. Stanton’s reasoning compelling and his observation about the issues in Ethiopia spot-on. Dr. Stanton highlighted the stages or indicators that point to the likelihood of genocidal events in a given region and in this case Ethiopia, specifically Tigray. One of the common factors in these countries is often minority regimes ruling ethnically based administrations. Dr. Stanton said a Tigrayan minority that created its own colonies within the country rules Ethiopia. He further noted that the minority Tigrayan regime has created animosities and mistrust amongst the various ethnic groups in Ethiopia in order to divide and rule. In these circumstances a feeling of”Us-against-them” and resentment arises with deadly consequences. And there is always a nickname associated used to demonize the minority group as in Rwanda.

In Ethiopia, the minority Tigrayan regime has committed countless crimes against humanity in the Ogaden, the Gambella and other places. There has been a major forced uprooting of large populations to accommodate multinational organizations not to mention the ethnic cleansing of over eighty thousand Eritreans from Ethiopia from 1998-2000. That is why Dr. Stanton was compelled to warn; ultimately, the people of Tigray will end up paying the price for the crimes the genocides Meles regime is perpetrating. He stated, “My job is to identify trends that could cause genocides and what I am witnessing in Ethiopia is a great deal of concern for the people of Tigray because the regime is committing these crimes on their names.”

Here we go…, if an Ethiopian or Eritrean makes these remarks a Tigrayan is likely to brush it off as exaggeration. But what Dr. Stanton’s attempt to expose the minority Tigrayan genocidal regime does is, give weight to the subject and raise the ante. It gives it credibility. In a recent interview with ESAT, American Professor Theodore Vestal echoed similar concerns.

What is taking place in Ethiopia is real and not difficult to see its direction. All good things come to an end and the good time the genocidal TPLF clique enjoyed at the expense of Ethiopia and the regime is coming to end sooner than later. The regime, thinking that it will be the ultimate ruler in the region played a zero sum game with every country and ethnic group in the region. It committed genocides in the Ogaden and Gambella. It is dismembering the region by giving major land-away free; in Somalia, it has created a holocaust etc…

Signs of a dying regime

All of what the minority genocidal regime has done is ending. In 2006, Meles Zenawi waived the Holy Bible to invade an Islamic nation and failed leaving bloody trails. Now the Kenyans have taken that dubious honor to the dismay of the Transitional Government of Somalia. This clearly is a sign that the mercenary clique has failed to do the job and replaced by Kenya.

After the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia started, the minority regime established alliances with Omar Al Beshir of Sudan and Abdallah Sallah of Yemen to isolate and entrap Eritrea. Ten years removed, The Sallah regime is on life support and Sudan has distanced itself from Meles and strengthened her alliance with Eritrea. This is significant because there were major events that changed the dynamics of the frail Sudanese Ethiopian alliance for good. Firstly, Sudan split into two. Secondly, the Weakileaks revelation that Meles wanted Beshir gone is a certain dagger into the relationship and importantly, the TPLF clique is prone to pursue US interests at the expense of Ethiopia. While the minority regime has tried to show a positive face with Sudan, in a departure from the regular positive spins, the mouthpiece of TPLF Aigaforum website posted a critical article about Sudan while President Isaias Afwerki was in Sudan on a state visit, a first.

All one has to do is understand what Sudan means to Tigray.  The city of Kassala Sudan is 182 km from the city of Humera Tigray [aka Beghemder]. Sudan is a lifeline to Tigray because Tigray is a landlocked province. Most of the goods that come into Tigray including oil come from Sudan. If Sudan closes borders with Tigray, there will be a drastic change in the economic realities of Tigray. For long, the genocidal Meles was able to play the ICC card against President Beshir but now the political dynamics have changed after the independence of South Sudan. Furthermore, Eritrea is deeply entrenched in Sudan. In fact, during the opening ceremonies of a new highway between Eritrea and Sudan President Beshir said, “I want no border between Eritrea and Sudan.” This is significant because it means the interest of Sudan and Eritrea are in sink economically, politically, culturally and security wise. This clearly highlights the influence Meles lacks with his immediate neighbors. The only lifeline the genocidal regime has is Djibouti. In other words, he is alienated and, what he conspired against Eritrea turned on him.

The realities inside Ethiopia are not different. Meles Zenawi and his clique have no support of the Ethiopian people. The majority of Ethiopians in the 2005 election rejected them.  And the crimes Meles committed in various Ethiopian regions are a public record.

The Alarm of Genocide

That being the case, what could push Ethiopia over the edge and create a scenario that could dismember the nation and create chaos? What could trigger a situation that makes a specific group of Ethiopians, in this case Tigray a target for mass killing?  Why Tigray? Is there a truth behind Dr. Stanton’s alarm about genocide? To say Ethiopia loathes the TPLF and Meles Zenawi is understatement. Hence, is there truth to the fact that Tigrayans will ultimately pay for the crimes Meles is committing in their name?

While there are many Tigrayans that say Meles does not represent Tigray; the reality is the main supporters of Meles are from Tigray.  On the other hand, one of the main threats to his regime is Tigray based with a resurgent TPDM, a movement that is creating problems from within and gaining momentum with tens of thousands in the force already.  This means that the people Tigray, at least a sizeable portion are, opposed to Meles Zenawi’s rule. However, a perception exists that Tigrayans are the ones perpetrating the oppression that is taking place in Ethiopia.

In 1998, Meles and his clique forced over 80,000 Eritreans out of their homes. What is interesting was that the majority of Ethiopians were opposed to this. They hated seeing their neighbors, their friends, friends of their sons and daughters, people they grew up and grew old with; old, young and people that knew little or nothing about Eritrea forced out of their homes and ethnic cleansed. This is a precedent Meles Zenawi set, unheard of before and breaking the fabric of a long-standing relationship between both peoples. Therefore, is it likely, when the opportunity arises that Ethiopians could say, “What is good for the goose is good for the gander” and repeat history?

In 2003, a report that detailed the atrocities the minority clique committed in Gambella became public and it compelled Dr. Stanton to state, that the crimes “fit the definitions of genocide and crimes against humanity. Human Rights Watch also conducted two investigations of their own and determined that the crimes against the Anuak meet the stringent definition of crimes against humanity.”  This does not include the forced eviction of thousands of Anuak Ethiopians from their homes, villages and farmlands to accommodate Indian and other multinational corporations. If Anuaks have the opportunity, will they lash out?

The most Brutal atrocities by Meles and his clique are taking place in the Ogaden. Major humanitarian organizations have provided detailed account of the atrocities the genocidal clique is committing in the Ogaden. Horrid pictures of tortured and raped women; torched village after village; reports of systemic alienation and denial of humanitarian aid to millions of Ogadeni’s over a sustained period with irrefutable-evidences are abundant. Thousands have perished while millions remain disconnected from the outside world, deliberately. The international community has been-denied access to the area. In fact, two Swedish reporters are in jail captured by the minority clique while trying to report about the plight of the people of Ogaden.  The list could go on…, but the question is there a repercussion?  And who will pay?

What the minority clique is doing to the people Somalia is a historic crime that will reverberate for generations. It is the highest crime of humanity like the holocaust and the crimes of the Ottoman Empire on the Armenian people. What makes it more ironic is that the people of Somalia were not posing any threat; they were not in a position; they did not have the capacity or, the ability to do harm. The minority clique invaded a sovereign nation at the behest of Westerners and committed genocides needlessly. Unfortunately, the regime is still at it using the people of Somalia for political, monetary and military advantages from the West and using the plight of the poor women and children as apolitical theater against Eritrea squandering precious moments for the people. Will they have their day?

The people of Oromo didn’t fare better either. The first target of the minority clique was Oromia.  The people of Oromo have suffered the most in the hands the TPLF. Any resistance against the clique meets brute force. Thousands of students have perished, beaten and jailed in high schools and colleges for showing a sign of opposition. Siye Abraha, a clique member said that the jails are full of Oromo people. A fight with Tigrayan students in colleges is a reason for serious punishments. This is because Oromia poses the greatest threat since the Oromo represent the highest percentage of Ethiopia’s population and if they rise, it will end the regime’s reign. Whilst the minority clique is-forced to apply an appeasement strategy, the people of Oromo are asserting their position evermore with vigor. And it is certain that they will clash in due time. The list of atrocities is long everywhere in Ethiopia.

These are the realities in Ethiopia today. The situation in Ethiopia is grave and requires urgent intervention. Numerous causalities can lead to calamitous and bloody events in Ethiopia at any time. There are different scenarios under which these events could become reality. However, the clique has ignored all the possibilities with a belief, “As long as the international community is with us, the people of Ethiopia and the region does not matter: hence, catering to the needs of foreign powers and businesses solely. For example:

The regime is in violation of international laws for sitting on Eritrean territories which could trigger a conflict at any time when Eritrea sees it necessary. Furthermore, the Tigrayan minority regime has based its very existence on the destruction of Eritrea. Emboldened by the support it gets from the West, it is feeling invincible which could lead to a conflict. This will create an opportunities for the insurgencies to assert their positions forcefully and target their perceived threat, the people of Tigray.

Sudan could close its border with Tigray and deny needed goods creating economic chaos for Tigray. This in turn will force Tigryans to migrate into areas where they may not be welcomed.

Frustration and helplessness of the youth will be rampant and a conflict from within will be rampant. Insurgencies will erupt and create a civil war inside Tigray. This grim assessment is happening as we speak and will gain momentum in a much faster pace because the regime has broken all the bridges with Ethiopians. It denied Tigrayans their traditional gateway and business partner in Eritrea isolating the people.

Conclusion

Dr. Gregory Stanton made it clear that Meles Zenawi will face justice for the crimes he is committing all over Ethiopia. There is always a price to be paid and someone is going to pay for all the crimes committed over the last two decades. The question is will that affect the people of Tigray and how? What can the average person do to avert disasters and unnecessary hardships of poor innocent people? Meles Zenawi is a friend to no one. He is leading a minority clique that does not answer to the Ethiopian people. As he gets desperate, he is doing all he can to stay in power and if he cannot, he has already seeded all the destructive seeds to light the fire and destroy everything so he cannot be brought to justice. This alarm is a call to all regardless of where they come from.

Awetnayu@hotmail.com

In June of 2011 I posted an article, “Eritrea, UK and PVI Incident” highlighting the significance and the implications of the incident. I received considerable responses and reactions. However, I was taken aback, surprised and pleased after I read an email from Adrian Troy one of the four men that were held in Eritrea. I asked Mr. Troy if I can share the email with my Facebook bodies and, he said that I can share it with every Eritrean. I felt that our brief exchange was significant and worthy of our collective attention because it provides us with opportunities for a fresh start. It allows us to move forward and create a bridge. This also id a huge slap for those that live to see disharmony with hopes that it could serve their petty interests. I have decided to show the exchange as is…

Good article dated 19th June 2011.Eritrea, UK PVI Incident.
I look forward to visit your country again with your Government’s permission.
1 of the 4 detainees..

Adrian Charles Troy

My response:

Hi Adrian,

It is noble of you to contact me. May God bless you and your family. I never, in a million years would have expected this pleasure. Good things can materialize from difficulties and I think you are the example of it. Hopefully you can build up on it because it has a potential to play a significant role in building a bridge. That is what humanity needs now more than ever.

Please allow me to share your email with my Facebook friends. It will mean a lot to many.

Thanks

Amanuel Biedemariam

Adrian’s response:

Please share with every Eritrean!

I have deep admiration and respect for your Nation. I had the pleasure to visit Eritrea as a tourist in 1994 and was humbled by Your Struggle.I make no excuse but I had no choice in my 2nd visit to your country… This brought me much shame to have been part of this terrible insult but Yes Amanuel you are correct; ‘Good things can materialize from Difficulties’ My ‘Family Name’ is the most important thing in my life.

May God and Saint Michael Bless Eritrea

Adrian Charles Troy

Conclusion

Mr. Adrian Charles Troy deserves a great deal of kudos, admiration and respect for looking at things in positive way. I am also grateful to him for reaching out. My hope is that these small acts of good are the basis for a larger-good that we must all join-in. Yes, I would love for Adrian to visit Eritrea and more than that, I believe this to be an inspirational story that can go a long way in creating people to people relations between our countries. Each and every one of us braced not knowing how things will end and I feel this is a good ending and a new beginning!

Thanks Adrian!

Amanuel Biedemariam

Awetnayu@hotmail.com

refugee camp

A joint undercover investigation by BBC Newsnight and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has uncovered evidence that the Ethiopian government is using billions of dollars of development aid as a tool for political oppression.

Posing as tourists the team of journalists travelled to the southern region of Ethiopia.

There they found villages where whole communities are starving, having allegedly been denied basic food, seed and fertiliser for failing to support Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

The investigation has also gathered evidence of mass detentions, the widespread use of torture and extra-judicial killings by Ethiopian government forces.

Yet Western donors including Britain – which is the third largest donor to Ethiopia – stand accused of turning a blind eye by continuing to provide aid money despite being warned about the abuses. The aid in question is long-term development aid, not the emergency aid provided in response to the current drought in Ethiopia and its neighbours in the Horn of Africa.

Government response

Ambassador Abdirashid Dulane, the Deputy Head of Ethiopia’s UK Mission, has rejected the allegations saying that the Newsnight/Bureau report “lacked objectivity, even-handedness”.

“The sole source of the story was opponents of Ethiopia who have been rejected by the electorate, and time and again it has been shown that their allegations are unfounded”. Our reporters visited one village in southern Ethiopia with a population of about 1,700 adults. Despite being surrounded by other communities which are well fed and prosperous, this village, which cannot be named for fear of reprisals, is starving. We were told that in the two weeks prior to our team’s arrival five adults and 10 children had died.

Lying on the floor, too exhausted to stand, and flanked by her three-year-old son whose stomach is bloated by malnutrition, one woman described how her family had not eaten for four days.

“We are living day to day on the grace of God,” she said.

Another three-year-old boy lay in his grandmother’s lap, listless and barely moving as he stared into space. ”We are just waiting on the crop, if we have one meal a day we will survive until the harvest, beyond that there is no hope for us,” the grandmother said.

‘Abandoned’

In another village 30 km (19 miles) away it was a similar story. There our team met Yenee, a widow who along with her seven children is surviving by begging, eating leaves and scavenging scraps from the bins in the nearest town. ”The situation is desperate,” she said. “We have been abandoned… It is a matter of chance if we live or die.” The two villages sit just 15km (9 miles) either side of a major town, surrounded by other communities where the populations are well fed and healthy. They are in desperate need, but no-one is helping.

According to local opposition members they are being punished for failing to vote for the ruling party, the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), which Mr Meles leads. Further north a group of farmers alienated by Mr Meles’ government met the BBC/Bureau team at a secret location on the edge of a remote village. One farmer described how he had been ostracised for failing to support EPRDF: “Because of our political views we face great intimidation. We are denied the right to fertiliser and seeds because of political ideology,” he said.

‘Buying support’

The Ethiopian federal and regional governments control the distribution of aid in Ethiopia. Professor Beyene Petros, the current vice-chairman of the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Forum, an alliance of eight opposition parties known as Medrek, told our reporters that aid is not distributed according to need, but according to support for the EPRDF:

“Almost all of the aid goes through the government channels… in terms of relief food supply and some of the safety net provisions, they simply don’t get to the needy of an equitably basis. ”There is a great deal of political differentiation. People who support the ruling party, the EPRDF, and our members are treated differently. The motivation is buying support, that is how they recruit support, holding the population hostage,” he said.

Mr Beyene said that the international community, including the British government, is well aware of the problem and that he has personally presented them with evidence: ”The position of the donor communities is dismissive… they always want to dismiss it as an isolated incident when we present them with some proof. And we challenge them to go down and check it out for themselves, but they don’t do it.”

Accountability

The UK International Development Minister Stephen O’Brien issued a statement in response to the allegations raised by the investigation, saying: ”We take all allegations of human rights abuses extremely seriously and raise them immediately with the relevant authorities including the Ethiopian Government, with whom we have a candid relationship. Where there is evidence, we take firm and decisive action.

“The British aid programme helps the people of Ethiopia, 30 million of whom live in extreme poverty. We demand full accountability and maximum impact on the ground for support from the British taxpayer.”

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and Newsnight also gathered evidence of a crackdown and human rights abuses in Ethiopia’s Somali region, the area bordering Somalia and Kenya, also know as the Ogaden region. Ethnic Somali rebels from the outlawed Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) and Ethiopian government forces have been fighting for control of Ogaden since the 1970s. The media and most aid agencies are banned from the region.

Ethiopia, one of the poorest countries of the world, is currently suffering from horrific drought.

Many of those fleeing the ensuing humanitarian crisis have headed to Dadaab refugee camp in northern Kenya. It is the largest refugee camp in the world, and the vast majority of the 400,000 people there are from Somalia, but among them are an increasing number of Ethiopians from the Ogaden.

‘Revenge killings’

Abdifatah Arab Olad, an Ogaden community leader, told our reporters that up to 100 refugees are arriving every month with tales of killings and the burning of villages by government troops. ”Whenever fighting has taken place between the rebels and the army, for each army member that is killed, the military go to the nearest town and they start killing people,” he said. “For each army member killed it equals to 10 civilians losses.”

In the corner of a makeshift shack in the camp, an old woman who had arrived from Ogaden three weeks earlier described being arrested along with 100 others in her village. She said they were taken to a jail where they were locked up in a shipping container, and picked out on a nightly basis to be tortured: ”They beat me then started to rape me; I screamed and fought with them… I tried to bite them… they tied me this way,” she said, gesturing to her legs.

“They raped me in a room, one of them was standing on my mouth, and one tied my hand, they were taking turns, I fainted during this… I can’t say how many, but they were many in the army,” she said.

‘Assaulted when pregnant’

Other women in the camp also said they had been arrested and accused of being members of the OLNF. They included one who said that she was eight months pregnant when she was detained and raped by eight soldiers: ”They were beating me while I was being raped, I was bleeding,” she said, describing how one soldier stamped on her stomach and beat her with the stock of his rifle:

“I fell unconscious when I saw my baby… a man jumping on your stomach, you can imagine what happened to the child, very big kicks blows with the back of a gun. As a consequence of that the child died.” We cannot substantiate these individual allegations. But other credible sources have reported similar stories of the widespread use of rape by Ethiopian security forces against women in the Ogaden.

Speaking on Newsnight, Ethiopia’s Ambassador Abdirashid Dulane said that the claims of rape and torture were a “rehash” of old allegations that the Ethiopian government had answered time and again. ”The Ethiopian government is governed by the rule of law, and human rights and democratic rights are enshrined in the Ethiopian constitution,” he said.

BBC

President Isaias Afwerki arrived in Juba city to participate in the official celebrations marking the declaration of the Republic of South Sudan due to take place today.

The President was accorded warm welcome by senior officials and Commanders of the Government of South Sudan and that of the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).

Earlier, an Eritrean government delegation headed by Foreign Minister Osman Saleh that included Mr. Yemane Gebreab, Head of Political Affairs at the PFDJ, and Mr. Abdala  Jabir, Head of Organizational Affairs at the Front arrived in Juba on July 6 to take part in the celebrations.

It is to be recalled that 98.8% of the people of South Sudan voted for secession from North Sudan in the referendum conducted on 9 January 2011 in line with the comprehensive Naivasha peace agreement signed in 2005.

Shabait

China in Africa

Amanuel Biedemariam

Over the last decade China has received a favorable PR on the way that it deals with Africa. The perception is that China’s a-political approach of engaging Africa is good for Africa. It is also deemed that China’s economic investments are positive for Africa. The low bid contracts by Chinese companies are seen to be good alternative from the West that traditionally strangulated Africa with debt. China is helping African countries develop some capacities in various fields. These are amongst some of the advantages China provides African countries.

In November of 2006, China organized probably the largest gathering of African countries outside Africa a “China Africa Summit”. The gathering was hailed by African leaders because they believed it to be a good sign for future China-Africa relations. There were press accounts detailing satisfaction of African countries because they perceived that China was looking to partner with African countries. The very fact that China held the gathering was a big deal, a-first for Africa and, a knock at Western nations that treated Africans with utter disrespect for generations.

China’s involvement with Africa has its critics and supporters. The most glaring objection is that China is dealings with countries that the West claims-have bad human rights records. China is accused of encouraging corruption and corrupt leaders. China is criticized for not focusing on governance and human right issues. And for systematic denial of African countries from manufacturing their own products because of China’s insistence on selling products produced by China. In a nut shell this is the extent of the critical view China gets from the West.

China is the “anti West” in the way that it deals with African countries. For example in Ghana, a $270 million loan facility to carry out expansion works at the Kpong Water Project was agreed upon between the government of Ghana and China. What is different about the loans China provides Africa is the fact that these countries can use their resources, in effect bartering in exchange for projects, goods and services that these African countries need in this case, water. The Chinese have a lot of dollars that they must dump. This is leverage that Africa never had with the West.

What does it mean when we say is China a friend of Africa? How should friendship between China and Africa be defined? How deep of a friendship is China cultivating in Africa? How good of a friend is China to Africa? What does China’s friendship mean to African countries? And the main question; is China a friend of Africa?

For a layman and according to various dictionaries, a friend is: a person whom one knows, likes, and trusts; an acquaintance; an ally in a struggle or cause; a comrade; one who supports, sympathizes with, or patronizes a group, cause, or movement and, a member of the Society of Friends.

Using the basic understanding of the meaning of friendship, can Africa trust China; consider China as an ally and be confident that China is a comrade in the struggle towards economic emancipation and development? Can Africa “trust” China to support and be the party that stands for the security of Africa?

The attention China received for her dealing with Africa collectively was partly accentuated by China Africa Summit in other words self made. One thing that needs to be clear however, Africa is not one nation. Therefore, it is impossible to paint China-Africa relations with one brush and as such; fair to ask some basic questions in order to have a common-basic understanding of what China means to Africa. It is also important to look at history of relations of other nations for example, Great Britain and the US as a standard. It is important to see the historic interaction of UK and US in the realms of economic cooperation, cultural relations, friendly ties, political/diplomatic co-ordinations and importantly on national and global security matters as a guide…

Is there a country in Africa that has ties with China that remotely resembles the example above? Does China have allied countries in Africa? During the Cold War, the alliances were almost clearly defined. The countries that were pro-West received support from the West led by the US, and vice versa. Can African countries count on that type of support from China? While the author is not an advocate of Africa divided based on the interests of super powers; it is important to note that countries enjoyed qualified diplomatic and military support during that era from one side or the other. However, while the current world is considered to be multi-polar, the main powers are the US and China. These are veto wielding powers capable to impose their will on any nation around the world. Ironically, while the US is clear on whom their friends are and her interests; it is extremely difficult to gauge China’s intentions. And absent of any pronounced friendship with any country in Africa it is nearly impossible to say where China stands with any nation.

It is important to ask these questions of China considering the extent of China interaction with Africa over the last thirty years. It is even more crucial in light of the resolutions United Nations Security Council (UNSC) produced over the last ten years that profoundly impacted many countries in Africa. In 2005 alone, nearly 80% of the 70 deliberations and decisions the UNSC made were related to matters in African countries with the Middle East coming far-second and Third World countries such as Haiti and Bosnia Herzegovina filling-in the blanks. The reality is 2005 is not an aberration it is the annual reality in the UNSC. And the problem is the fact that the UNSC is making all these decisions without the affected parties having a say and a fighting chance against decisions that are affecting these nations in some cases altering the social landscapes violently. Moreover, the role China played or lack thereof is by far the most perplexing.

One needs to look at some of the recent developments in Africa pertaining to Libya, Sudan, Eritrea and others vis-à-vis Security Council decisions that the West and particularly the US perused in the region. China went along with decisions when it seemingly could impact its national interests. These decisions raise some serious questions about Chinese intentions and dealings in Africa.

China has been in Sudan for decades and it is one of the reasons why Sudan remained viable. China has heavy investments in Sudan primarily in the oil sector. China imports an estimated 7% of its oil from Sudan. Moreover, China has a sizeable human-resources invested in various sectors. In other words China’s investments in Sudan are numerous, extensive and took decades for China to build it that level. Yet, when we look at the future security and stability of Sudan, the West led by the US appears to be on the driver’s seat basically dictating terms while weakening Sudan and nailing wedges designed to fragment the nation into pieces. It is ironic because the US pushed measure after measure using the UNSC that China can stop using its veto power.

Moreover, if one is to add Eritrea into the mix it makes one wonder what China’s underlined interests are. Nearly all of China’s goods from Sudan are channeled through the Red Sea. Eritrea owns a large and strategic lane on the Red Sea. Eritrea is also bordered by Sudan. If Eritrea is to be what Ethiopia and the US wanted to be (an entity under their control in whatever shape or form); then Sudan would be encircled by countries that are propped by the US and, the US would have assumed control over the entire eastern part, the Horn, and the Northern parts of Africa.

The US is in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda and Egypt. The only countries left are Sudan and Eritrea. If the US is to succeed by accomplishing what they planned for Eritrea after World War II, then Sudan would have no fighting chance because it will be encircled. Moreover, US and her allies would have controlled the entire Red Sea territories namely Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti on one side and, Saudi Arabia, Yemen on the other. They will have the chokehold for any shipment that sails through that area. A good example to glean from is the Suez Canal and Iran. Eritrea controlled by the US can potentially limit China’s access to the area and give US the upper hand in the region.

It is with this background in mind that the author questions China’s role. Why is China allowing the US to pass measure after measure to pressure Sudan and Eritrea? The US, on Xmas Eve of 2009 imposed a sanction measure, by concocting lies and fabrications in the most brazen way that disregarded the existence of the people of Eritrea. They used a mechanism and methodology that denies Eritrea a say and moved along with a sanction.

In Libya when the UNSC authorized the No Fly Zone, this is the statement by China’s Ambassador to the UN LI BAODONG:

“The continuing deterioration of the situation in Libya was of great concern to China. However, the United Nations Charter must be respected and the current crisis must be ended through peaceful means. China was always against the use of force when those means were not exhausted. His delegation had asked specific questions that failed to be answered and, therefore, it had serious difficulty with the resolution. It had not blocked the passage of the resolution, however, because it attached great importance to the requests of the Arab League and the African Union. At the same time, he supported the efforts of the Secretary-General’s Envoy to resolve the situation by peaceful means.”

“The UN adopted Resolution 1973 (2011) by a vote of 10 in favor to none against, with 5 abstentions (Brazil, China, Germany, India, Russian Federation), the Council authorized Member States, acting nationally or through regional organizations or arrangements, to take all necessary measures to protect civilians under threat of attack in the country, including Benghazi, while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory — requesting them to immediately inform the Secretary-General of such measures, to establish a ban on all flights in the airspace of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in order to help protect civilians.”

LI BAODONG statements are very troubling. Firstly, he stated that China wants the situation to have a peaceful end. And secondly China is against use of force. He continues, his delegation had asked specific questions that failed to be answered and, therefore, it had serious difficulty with the resolution. The most troubling statement however is, “It had not blocked the passage of the resolution, however, because it attached great importance to the requests of the Arab League and the African Union,” and passed a resolution with a vague and open-ended language that allowed NATO to destroy Libya in the name of protecting civilians.

The Irony, first of, the African Union was disregarded. And secondly, this was taking place in the most turbulent times in the history of the Middle East when countries were embroiled on their internal civil struggles. China passed the resolution not to protect the best interest of the people of Libya but to satisfy a nonexistent or a nominal Arab League and African Union. It is even more perplexing considering the number of Chinese that worked in Libya and the amount of investment that China had in Libya.

This begs the question; why is China allowing punitive measures against nations that are friendly; nations that are doing business and, nations that have accepted not only the diplomatic core but the Chinese people all around Africa? Why is China allowing the US and Western nations to take advantage of UNSC resolutions for their hegemonic objectives. The No Fly resolution was just a hook because soon after the decisions were made the French, UK and US did bait-and- switch, called for a regime change and escalated the operations including sending advisors into a civil war. The people of Libya are being terrorized by the most intensive bombing campaign the continent of Africa has ever seen. The people of Libya are being exposed to depleted uranium; Libyans are suffering and not better off. And contrary to China’s wish of peace, Libya is ensnared by violence of the brutish NATO forces. In short, China’s repeated abstentions do not absolve it from the responsibilities.

Conclusion

Dambisa Moyo and others have said a great deal of good about China’s economic programs in Africa. However, no-economic success means a-whole-lot unless coupled by peace. Africa’s problems are chronic by design and they continue because the West is intent on keeping Africa crippled. China was Africa’s first and best hope to counterbalance the negative role the West continues to play in Africa. Instead, China is tacitly accepting the label of new colonizer of Africa. On a setting that resembles a Hollywood’s scary witch-movie, Secretary Hillary Clinton stood on a dark room on a podium in Ethiopia and warned Africans to beware of the new colonizers that do not care about Africa. Her statements are evidence that Africa has effectively turned in the dinner table of hyenas and lions fighting for a carcass only this time; it is with the impending holocaust of the African continent.

The question is what can Africans do? The UN/UNSC is an organization designed to benefit the five permanent members at the expense of the world. The UNSC has literally turned the international order into that of the Jim-Crow laws that punishes without representation, due process and to send a message. They have established systems they can manipulate as they wish like the ICC that they are using to petrify leaders such as Beshir to get what they want. They are penalizing the people of entire regions based on their national interest-considerations and denying them the right to live in peace. Moreover, these are people that have never been able to establish institutions that can sustain them in bad times such as draught. The continuation of this holocaust is reaching biblical proportions. Yet, they are escalating these strategies.

The reality is there is no recourse for these transgressions and deliberate injustices. Therefore, the responsibility befalls on those countries that are being negatively affected by the injustices. Hence, the only solution is for nations to abandon the defunct UN and disqualify its purpose and create a mechanism to deal with world matters. Moreover, united vigilance of the people is far more important than ever because they are openly returning Africa back to the colonial era. China could also assume the just role of defending African because ultimately that will serve its interests in the right way.

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