Eritrea

Ethiopia’s attack against Eritrean military posts inside Eritrea is a breach of international law as it invades a sovereign state and member of the UN that is not guilty of any external aggression. This is a crime against peace by a country known for waging wars against neighbouring sovereign states using cheap pretexts for military intervention.

Ethiopia should have learned by now that Eritreans grow more united with every Ethiopian bullet used to kill Eritrea.

Ethiopian Pretexts to harm Eritrea:

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.

Example 4: Just this week, two German tourists were released by the Afar rebel group ARDUF (thought to be supported by Asmara), who captured them during a bloody operation in January 2012. And despite declarations from ARDUF that the Eritrea government had nothing to do with the kidnappings, Ethiopia maintains its claims of Eritrean involvement, and plans to seek even tougher sanctions against its neighbour.

Awet Gebremariam