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October 15, 2009

Eritrea: Spoiler Exacerbates Crisis in the Horn of Africa and Beyond

J.Peter Pham, PhD

One of the frustrations with which Africa’s friends have had to repeatedly cope over the years has been the seemingly utter incapacity of the African leaders to deal with their more problematic peers: witness the annual African Union (AU) summit’s literal embrace of Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe last year on the very morrow of a farcical “reelection” criticized the pan-African organization’s own monitors or, with a few honorable exceptions, its circling of the wagons around Sudanese despot Umar Hassan al-Bashir earlier this year after the International Criminal Court indicted him for crimes against humanity and war crimes for his role in the humanitarian disaster in Darfur. Thus it is even more bitterly disappointing when, on the few rare occasions the continent’s leaders do manage to get their act together and turn against one of their own, as they did this year with Eritrea’s Isaias Afewerki – whose regime has not only supported a terrorist-led Islamist insurgency in Somalia, but been implicated in numerous efforts to destabilize countries throughout the Horn of Africa – that their efforts have been largely ignored, to the detriment of both the African states immediately bearing the brunt of the assaults from Asmara and the broader security interests of the international community.

To recall, it has been more than two years since I warned in this column space about the danger posed by “the rogue regime in Asmara which, for its own reasons, is fomenting a growing cycle of violence phenomenon that not only threatens the stability of its neighbors, but, because of its support of an al-Qaeda-linked Islamist insurgency, risks opening a broad terrorist front across the entire Horn of Africa.” Earlier this year, after a May emergency summit in Addis Ababa, the Council of Ministers of the subregional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) issued a statement asserting that “the government of Eritrea and its financiers continue to instigate, finance, recruit, train, fund and supply the criminal elements in and/or to Somalia” and calling on the United Nations Security Council to “impose sanctions on the government of Eritrea without any further delay.” The Peace and Security Council of the African Union concurred, issuing a communiqué expressing its “deep concern at the reports regarding the support provided to these armed groups [in Somalia], through training, provision of weapons and ammunitions and funding, by external actors, including Eritrea, in flagrant violation of the United Nations arms embargo” and likewise asking the Security Council to “impose sanctions against all those foreign actors, both within and outside the region, specially Eritrea, providing support to the armed groups engaged in destabilization activities in Somalia, attacks against the TFG, the civilian population and AMISOM, as well as against all the Somali individuals and entities working towards undermining the peace and reconciliation efforts and regional stability.”

Even the usually weak AU did not equivocate this time. In July, at the AU’s 13th annual Summit of Heads of State and Government, hosted this year by Libya’s Mu’ammar Qadhafi at his hometown of Sirte, issued a decision pleading with the Security Council “to take immediate measures, including the imposition of a no-fly zone and blockade of sea ports, to prevent the entry of foreign elements into Somalia, as well as flights and shipments carrying weapons and ammunitions to armed groups inside Somalia which are carrying out attacks against [the Transitional Federal Government, TFG], the civilian population and [the African Union Mission in Somalia, AMISOM], and also to impose sanctions against all those foreign actors, both within and outside the region, especially Eritrea, providing support to the armed groups engaged in destabilization activities in Somalia, attacks against the TFG, the civilian population and AMISOM, as well as against the Somali individuals and entities working towards undermining the peace and reconciliation efforts and regional stability.” Even more remarkably, the call for sanctions was virtually unanimous, with only Eritrea opposing the measure (whatever few friends Eritrea had in Africa evidently could no longer justify its continual intervention in Somali affairs since the withdrawal earlier this year of Ethiopian forces deprived Asmara of any Realpolitik justification of opposing a rival).

While, for the moment, the ongoing conflict in southern and central Somalia is perhaps the most urgent crisis in which Eritrea’s meddling has worsened the situation, it is by no means the only one in the subregion being stoked by Isaias Afewerki (for a sample of the Maoist-trained former guerrilla leader’s mindset, see the transcript released last month of a July interview with him conducted by Barney Jopson of the Financial Times; Jopson’s observations during and reflections about his journey to Asmara are also worth studying). In April 2008, Eritrean troops crossed the border into Djibouti and fortified positions near Ras Doumeira on the Red Sea. Two months later, Djiboutian forces came under fire from the Eritreans, sparking a brief conflict during which Djibouti received logistical support and intelligence from its former colonial power, France, which maintains a not insignificant military presence in the country as does the U.S. Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), based at Camp Lemonier. An ultimatum from the UN Security Council, contained in Resolution 1862, passed in January of this year, gave Eritrea five weeks to withdraw its forces. Unfortunately, as the AU noted with “grave concern” in July, the deadline came and went with a “total absence of progress regarding the implementation by Eritrea of the successive decisions taken at the 11th and 12th Ordinary Sessions of the Assembly, held respectively in July 2008 and February 2009, as well as resolution 1862 of the UN Security Council regarding the border dispute between Djibouti and Eritrea.”

Of course, it should come as no surprise that Isaias Afewerki was willing to pick a fight with Djibouti, a tiny statelet the size of Massachusetts with a population of barely half a million. Just a decade ago, he was just as prepared to commence hostilities with Ethiopia, a country whose population of 85 million is 15 times the size of Eritrea’s and with a GDP is at least 20 times larger. The resulting two-year war – which an international panel at the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague ruled in a 2005 decision to have been due to Eritrea’s violation of international law by “by resorting to armed force on May 12, 1998 and the immediately following days to attack and occupy the town of Badme, then under peaceful administration” by Ethiopia – left at least 100,000 dead and cost untold billions of dollars in damages.

Regrettably, it is not only that repeated appeals from African regional organizations have not only fallen on deaf ears, but there seems to be evidence that of a willful refusal to face the reality of the situation. Two weeks ago, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon submitted to the Security Council the semi-annual report on Somalia that he has been tasked with preparing. Astoundingly, in a 20-page document that is supposed to access the Somalia’s political and security situation, Eritrea is mentioned only once and then only to report without comment U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s August 6 admonishment that “with respect to Eritrea we are making it very clear that their actions are unacceptable their interference with the rights of the Somali people to determine their own future are the height of misplaced efforts and funding and we intend to take action if they do not cease.” The UN chief devoted more space in the document to expressing concern about illegal exports of livestock and charcoal from Somalia and bemoaning human and drug smuggling. No wonder on astute observer, Jacob Heilbrunn, in a hard-hitting analysis in the July/August issue of Foreign Policy, characterized Ban as “nowhere man,” “the world’s most dangerous Korean,” and “a dilettante on the international stage,” noting that, even in the undistinguished company of his immediately predecessors, Ban “appears to have set the standard for failure.”

Not surprisingly, with this type of “leadership,” the UN has yet to sanction the Asmara regime, notwithstanding efforts to move toward sanctions like those made last week by the British permanent representative, Ambassador Sir John Sawyers, and the U.S. alternate representative for special political affairs, Ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo, who told her Security Council colleagues that “it is time for the international community to consider ways to address Eritrea’s destabilizing impact on Somalia and the region.” Interestingly, it seems Eritrea’s own diplomats have apparently given up trying to defend their master’s troublemaking. During his recent appearance at the opening of the 64th session of the UN General Assembly in New York last month, Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh avoided any discussion of regional issues, devoting his entire address to histrionic denunciations of the “prevailing world order” and the “culture of ‘politics of fear’ and ‘management by crisis’” and criticisms of the United Nations as unable to “realistically cope with the exigencies of the 21st century.”

On the other hand, to be fair to the Ban and the UN, others are likewise guilty of burying their heads in the sand. In June, Representative Ed Royce, a California Republican who chaired the House Africa Subcommittee for eight years and is currently the ranking member on the Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade Subcommittee, offered an amendment to the foreign operations bill that would urge the Secretary of State to declare Eritrea a “state sponsor of terrorism” on account of the country’s well-documented record in the matter in general and, more specifically, its support for al-Shabaab (“the youth”), an al Qaeda-linked Somali group that was already formally designated a “foreign terrorist organization” by the U.S. Department of State last year. As the congressman noted in his foreign policy blog, the proposal was rejected on a party-line vote of 245 to 183, with some of its opponents defending their stance by arguing that “Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki sent a letter to President Obama expressing the desire to engage on these issues” (!). The majority thus chose to ignore the May Senate testimony of Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson that “we have clear evidence that Eritrea is supporting these extremist elements, including credible reports that the Government of Eritrea continues to supply weapons and munitions to extremists and terrorist elements” including al-Shabaab and the Hisbul Islam (“Islamic party”) group of Sheikh Hassan Dahir ‘Aweys, a figure who appears personally on both United States and United Nations antiterrorism sanctions lists and who was based in Asmara from January 2007 until April of this year when he returned to Somalia to carry on the fight to turn the country into a militant Islamist state (for a look back at Eritrea’s sponsorship of ‘Awey’s activities, see my report two years ago on the establishment of the insurgent alliance in the Eritrean capital).

Nor is it the case that the charges of Eritrean support for Islamist extremists in Somalia is merely American propaganda, as the regime in Asmara and its dwindling band of apologists have been wont to claim. The most recent report of the UN Security Council’s Monitoring Group and Panel of Experts on Somalia was especially damning in its detailed chronicling of Eritrea’s critical role in enabling the insurgency:

The Eritrean Government continues to provide financial support to ARS/Asmara, to deliver occasional consignments of weapons to its forces and their allies inside Somalia, and to provide Eritrean travel documents for some of its senior leaders. At the same time, the Eritrean Government has begun to develop linkages with a more diverse array of armed groups inside Somalia.

The Monitoring Group has received numerous credible reports from governmental sources and Somali eyewitnesses that Eritrea provides military training to armed Somali opposition groups…

The Monitoring Group has continued to receive information indicating that deliveries of arms and ammunition by small boat, originating in Eritrea, continue to occur on a fairly regular basis. A far greater proportion of Eritrean assistance, however, now takes the form of contributions in cash or kind. The purpose of the new emphasis on cash contributions is not only to arm the opposition, but to also disarm Transitional Federal Government and Ethiopian forces by enticing them to sell their weapons, ammunitions and uniforms, or to defect entirely…

According to multiple sources, some with first-hand knowledge of the procedure, cash is either made available from an Eritrean embassy bank account in one of these locations or hand-carried by courier from Asmara to the destination. The cash may then be sent in small amounts via Western Union or Somali hawala agencies to Somalia. Increasingly, cash is handed over to sympathetic businessmen, who use it to procure foodstuffs, second-hand clothing or electronic goods for export to Somalia. Once in Somalia, the goods are then resold to finance the armed struggle.

The Monitoring Group believes that Eritrean arms embargo violations take place with the knowledge and authorization of senior officials within the Eritrean Government and the ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). Operational responsibility, however, lies with the Eritrean intelligence services.

(Of course, Eritrea denies all of this. In fact, the Ministry of Information in Asmara recently even put out a statement shamelessly advocating “an end all the foreign interferences in Somalia” and declaring that “the sole solution…is to respect the wishes of the Somali people, and withdraw and stop any foreign involvement in Somalia.”)

If Eritrea’s support of the insurgency in Somalia were not bad enough from the point of view of the United States and other countries with interests in the Horn of Africa, there is also the worrisome evolution of Asmara’s relations with another pariah state with longstanding ties to international terrorism, the Islamic Republic of Iran. Last year, at about the same time he was drawing opprobrium for his aggression against the neighboring Djibouti, Eritrea’s Isaias Afewerki signed a series of trade and investment deals with Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. These May 2008 accords were followed by an October 2008 memorandum of understanding to boost cultural, scientific, and educational exchanges cooperation between Asmara and Tehran. The relationship quickly became something of a whirlwind romance, its intensity quickly ratcheting up. On May 6, 2009, Radio France Internationale (RFI) published a report that, since last December, Iranian Revolutionary Guard units had been secretly deployed to the Eritrea port of Assab where they were strategically positioned astride the vital Bab-el-Mandab straits – 2-mile-wide Bab Iskender and 16-mile-wide Dact-el-Mayun, connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden – through which nearly 10 percent of the world’s maritime commerce passes each day. RFI’s Olivier Rogez suggested that an anti-Western regional alliance of Eritrea, Iran, and Sudan was emerging “whose sole logic is to counter internal destabilization, real or imagined, by the major Western powers.” While a spokesman for the Eritrean regime denied the report, barely two weeks later Isaias Afewerki was calling on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the Iranian capital and the Tehran Times, the mullahs’ English-language mouthpiece, was headlined “No Limit for Iran-Eritrea Cooperation: President.”

Beyond the direct consequences of continued failure to deal with the multiple challenges presented by the Eritrean regime, one must consider the wider implications of the international community not responding to what have been rather unprecedented appeals from the subregional grouping of states as well as the African Union as a whole. At the very least, the United States and the other permanent members of the Security Council have to be perceived as giving serious consideration to the sanctions request lest an unintended “chilling effect” discourage African leaders from again assuming the initiative in reining in other spoilers among their homologues and taking ownership of the management of security and stability on the continent.

One month ago, I warned here that “the situation across the territory of the onetime Somali Democratic Republic remains precarious, continuing to pose a threat not only to Somalis and their neighbors, but to international security as a whole.” That assessment remains unchanged, especially when one notes incidents like the threats made just this week by al-Shabaab to launch attacks against Kenya and the arrest on Monday by Kenyan authorities of yet another U.S. citizen of Somali descent trying to make his way to join the extremists in southern Somalia. While the root causes of Somalia’s problems are internal – the fact that the current head of the TFG, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has been outside the country for a month (last week he was touring Somali diaspora communities in Minnesota, Illinois, and Ohio) hardly helps with expand governance on the ground, although one would be hard-pressed to blame the man for preferring a Midwestern idyll to war-ravaged Mogadishu – external meddling has certainly fueled the conflict. Isaias Afewerki effectively wagered that he could stoke the fires of Islamist extremism and yet maintain control of the flames, which he hoped to direct at his longtime Ethiopian rival, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Before the entire neighborhood and areas beyond are consumed in the conflagration unleashed by the increasingly erratic Eritrean despot, the international community needs demonstrate in no uncertain terms that his dangerous gamble is a sure loser.

FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor J. Peter Pham is Senior Fellow and Director of the Africa Project at the National Committee on American Foreign Policy in New York City. He also hold academic appointments as Associate Professor of Justice Studies, Political Science, and African Studies at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and non-resident Senior Fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies in Washington, D.C. He currently serves as Vice President of the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA).

Reader Comments: Submit Your Comment (48)

Who are you trying to fool? Its very obvious that your bias crap article does'nt tell the whole truth. How come you left out that Badme, the town that Ethiopia and Eritrea went to war for was awarded to Eritrea, and that Ethiopia is occupying Eritrean land?
Tell the whole truth please!

posted by : C'mon
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 05:40 AM

Thank you for writing a well documented fact about the Eritrean meddling in the Horn of Africa affairs. You said it right and I add it is a spoiler from the beginning of its inception. There is more to come unless early intervention is taken.

posted by : Tadele
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 09:03 AM

Eritrea triggered the border war with Ethiopia when it attacked its neighbour in May 1998, an international commission in the Hague has ruled.

Djibouti has accused Eritrea of violating its border by sending troops into its territory.

Eritrea invaded the Hanish islands of Yemen, Sudan blamed Eritrea for attacks in Eastern Sudan, UN commission accused Eritrea for invading Ethiopia and Djibouti officials accused Eritrea for shelling towns in Djibouti in 1996.

Eritrea is the parasite & cancer of East Africa.

posted by : Response to "Cmon/Eritrean/Shabia/Tadele"
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 09:23 AM

what a nonsence blog pff. Come to the point. Eritrea have accept the UN desicion but Ethiopia still refuse to accept it and occuping our land. Second they need to pay us billions for 30 years killing raping discriminating Eritrean familys

posted by : dan
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 09:33 AM

You are out of your mind again with nonsense articles time after time about Eritrea. We don't have money we can't pay you to write nonsense. Our truth will set us free, God willing!!!!!!!!God is good.
You know well the current transitional gov. of Somali leader is about one year ago was called a terrorist by western countries including you but, he was welcomed in Asmara, Eritrea. Now you are lecturing us he is a good guy. Eritrea’s stands on Somali is from the beginning the same and it will stay the same unlike some of the countries involved in Somalis affair. Eritrea’s stand on Somali is the Somalis have to choose their own leader by themselves not from outside appointed a puppet leader. What sheik sheriff did is a pure treason. History will judge him.
Now who is the terrorist? you are Mr. writing all this nonsense trying to confused people.

posted by : mg
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 11:56 AM

I belive you must be an ediot or dumb to wrigt this article eritrea was fighting terrorist since 1993 go back and refresh your dirty filty brain i fill sorry for you that you try to twist the truth you better serve your masters with a differnt version pls!!!!!!!!!!!

posted by : bj
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 12:54 AM

When Bin Laden was in Sudan Eritrea and President Issayas were the once who used to fight him while the US did nothing. Infact the reason all terrorists are around and become powerful is because of the problem the US created. You write your article not to speak the truth but to make a buck.

posted by : Keeping them honest
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 12:56 AM

YOu are a small minded selfish and the article you wrote is baseless lie and you must be hired by big bosses.

posted by : Amanuel
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 01:18 PM

Somalia: USA and UN disagree on talks with Al Shabab

Sep 17, 2009 - 8:38:55 AM

Conflicting UN and Us policies partly fuel the Somali crisis, argues Liban
Ahmad

For the first time in the history of Somali conflict, external actors have
openly clashed over policies aimed at talks with Somali Islamist militants
groups such as Al Shahab. In an interview with the BBC radio 4 flagship
today programme, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah the UN Special Representative to
Somalia said he supports the idea of talks with any Somali.
" I invite any Somali, whatever he is, extremist or not, to make the first
step to rebuild his country. I am open to all of them, any Somali who needs
to make peace, my door is open, my telephone lines are open, I am ready to
call them and I call them. We should not raise the level of the discussion
to US. US has nothing to do with it.
" The US Ambassador to Kenya, Michael Ranneberger ddisagrees: " No,
definitely not. The Al Shabab lacks any legitimacy in Somalia. I mean, they
are an extremist group with significant outside support. I think that is ,
by and large, something anathema to the Somali people. I know what our
position is. It is not appropriate for us or for the TFG to be talking to
the Al Shabab. They don't have the legitimacy that entitles them to be
talked to," he told Mike Thompson of the BBC.
The Current TFG president, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed and expanded Somali
transitional parliament are result of negotiations with the Alliance for the
Reliberation of Somalia. The United States supported the talks facilitated
by the UN but now opposes any talks with Al Shabab, and seems to be
discouraging the TFG from talks with moderate members of Al Shabab.
The Somali crisis has entered new stage in which the impact of the external
actors' policies on the Horn Africa country's troubles is becoming clearer.

posted by : the truth
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 01:19 PM

Is this moron for real or perhaps he is just writing this garbage under the command of the people who write his check?
If it is the former, lets this Mr pham know this facts.

1) Eritrea was the first country to face the rage of bin ladin and fall victim to the horrendous atrocities of his network in the early 90th. and with out, neither the financial nor moral support, the tiny nation was able to uproot the organization and confront its backers [namely Sudan]
That is also why, the former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld acknowledged the role Eritrea played to track and demolish al-Qaida net work and stated that Eritrea could teach the US how to combat terror.
Link from the pentagon

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=42407

posted by : Wedi-Ferej
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 01:21 PM

you are a complete lier. I just wanted to know who is paying you to write such full of lies. Is it the CIA or the Ethiopian regime or maybe it is the UN?
The reason you write such lies about Eritrea is, because the Eritrean government has refused to be like most of the African nations who have been addicted to western handouts. African nations and so called African leaders should learn from Eritrea. Eritrea is way ahead of all Africa, look at its health care system, its contract with foreign companies and much much more. So please stop spreading such lies. What you are saying is a crime against humanity.

posted by : etesfay
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 01:26 PM

wow it seem Americans are being lie to again by their government first fact is Eritrea has no al-Qaeda-links to terrorists second fact is Eritrea is half Muslim half Christian third fact is Eritrea’s president is Christian fourth fact is Eritrean government does have connections Somalia political groups but that has nothing to do with harming America . why does Eritrea have links with Somalia groups because first it’s a regional country i.e. both countries are in east Africa so we have national interest second Somalia was invaded by Ethiopia .Eritrea didn’t support this invasion because it’s illegal under UN rules and so reacted by helping the ousted government of Somali which is referred to as Islamic union by giving them sanctuary in Eritrea. The Somalia government is Muslims and so is 90% of the population of Somalia therefore they use Islam to unite there divided population by creating some kind of consensus which they all have Islam the religion.

Sheikh Sharif Ahmed elected Somali President

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRmZuHtfOZA

If you wish to learn more about Eritrean government its official website is

http://www.shabait.com/staging/index.html

Another fact is Eritrea poses no threat to America at all the only reason why American government is mad at Eritrea is because we supported the ousted Somalia government while they supported Ethiopia and the invasion there are no al-Qaeda in Somalia and if there was it would be a insignificant number and would still pose no threat to America full stop

Christianity came off the shore of Eritrea the red sea and Ethiopia so please stop lying by saying Eritrea is a Muslim state because its a secular one Eritrea has been fighting terrorism way before America has the conflict between the two states is political nothing more or less i.e. America wants a American Somalia government formed with Ethiopia’s help Eritrea arch enemy

Why is there so much misinformation on the internet i thought this stop with Iraq , weapons of mass destruction which was never there and George bush

No links between Somali pirates, al Qaeda - U.S.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LP667541.htm

the link above is by Africom commander General William

Somalis reject Bin Laden threats

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7954670.stm

the facts are NO group in east Africa poses a threat to America security or has the means to let alone Eritrea the truth is America poses a threat to east Africa security not yours all in the names of securing resources any way that’s my opinion but my conclusion is closer to the truth than this papers headline

American military/ CIA need to Stop creating fake terrorist wherever you have interest i.e. resources in round the world because we are going to create real terrorist in the process how despise American government for invading their country and killing their people.

Colin Powell Saying He Was Misled Before UN Speech on WMDs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZTLmOoPzjs&feature=channel_page

Wilkerson on his collaboration on WMD presentation at UN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwdsm-Oux4o&feature=channel_page

Famous example when America went to Iraq to find bombs but found nothing remember they use terrorist also as a excuse to enter war but found at the beginning of the war only the Iraq government forces fighting them now its 2009 and we have multiple militia clans made up of Sunni and shai forces some really claiming al qade really fighting you this was American made terrorist get it America government make terrorist by entering other countries stop that and you stop making them

US role in planning Ethiopia's invasion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VJka6q16Os

Human Rights Watch at Chatham House-A Peddlers Event

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/100657

The above website reflects the many, contradiction in America policy towards Eritrea

posted by : Truth
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 01:52 PM

"Eritrea Could Teach U.S. Much to Combat Terror"

How does the good senator care to explain the statement made by the previous Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld when he was in Eritrea, when he said : "Eritrea Could Teach U.S. Much to Combat Terror"

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=42407

For your information Senator, before America woke on 9/11 to the horrific terrorist attacks, Eritrea on its own was fighting terrorists and frustrating OBL when he was hiding in Sudan and trying to spread his Jihad. That is why Secretary Rumsfeld was compelled to make that strong appreciative comment about Eritrea.

What the good senator does not mention is , how much contribution money he has received from the lobbyists hired on behalf of the butcher of the horn of Africa Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, to raise the falsified amendment against Eritrea and write this unsubstantiated accusation .

This concerted mud slinging is nothing new. Ethiopia diverts/wastes millions of aid money meant to feed the hungry people, instead a huge chunk of it ends up as a payment to lobbyists like DL Piper to salvage its image, who in turn lobby the good Congressmen.

http://www.thelawyer.com/dla-piper-focus-of-ethiopian-hate-campaign-in-us/1000492.article

If the good congressman has any credibility left, does he care to explain what happened to the previously falsified "UN monitoring report" that accused Eritrea of landing 2000 of its special forces before the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia, yet to their embarrassment, not a single Eritrean was found dead or alive in Somalian soil ? Another WMD ?

But I can give you a substantiated evidence upon evidence from the international media that accused The Bush administration for allowing Ethiopia to divert American aid money to purchase a massive armaments from North Korea breaking American and UN sanctions. But there are evidence upon evidence of US, Ethiopia and AU peace keepers running arms in Somalia.

Here are few links from Reuters incase you have forgotten.

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN0728288520070407

Similarly Ethiopia, Uganda, Djibouti and other peace keepers were accused of gun running.

http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSL24158241._CH_.2400

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7417435.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8073407.stm

Senator, by writing this unsubstantiated article, you only lowered your credibility. If you have any left, you should be asking why America is giving Ethiopia at least $1.5 billion a year in aid and other grants inspite of horrific human rights abuses, and Ethiopia occupying Eritrean sovereign land refusing UN/Hague ruling.

Is this how democracy is spread these days ?

193 Protesters Said Killed in Ethiopia election fraud

http://tinyurl.com/og52nu

Illegal invasion of Somalia with UN and US complicity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VJka6q16Os

Somalia Crisis worse than Darfur, says UN

http://tinyurl.com/cern3e

Ethiopia’s ‘own Darfur’ as villagers flee government-backed violence

http://tinyurl.com/ysmvtc

Ethiopia: Army Commits Executions, Torture, and Rape in Ogaden Donors Should Act to Stop Crimes Against Humanity

http://tinyurl.com/cg4ygx

http://www.slate.com/id/2178793/

posted by : no more lies
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 02:06 PM

Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
By Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Jun 26, 2009, 22:49

The Spokesman of the State Department announced yesterday that the United States will deliver a new consignment of arms to a "government" that is devoid of any legitimacy and whose control does not extend beyond few neighborhoods in Mogadishu.

The Spokesman also alluded, in a passing remark, to his "concerns" on the role of Eritrea in Somalia.

These pronouncements do not contain novel or substantive elements. Nonetheless, the Government of Eritrea is obliged to repeat well-known facts on the situation in Somalia in order to put the record straight.

The crux of the problem underpinning the crisis in Somalia does not, and has never revolved around, the issue of extremism or non-extremis. It squarely revolves around the overarching issue of the existence or non-existence of a sovereign Somali State. Oversimplification of the problem and its wrong portrayal as a contest between extremist and non-extremist forces is thus neither sincere nor warranted by the facts on the ground.

To accept a fragmented Somalia as an accomplished fact and to forcibly install, without the consent and choice of the Somali people, "governments" who bear various labels and mantels, in the neighborhoods of "Mogadishu" and "Baidoa" cannot be legal by any standards. These approaches will not also contribute to a solution of the fundamental problem. As it is patently clear, no power in the world is above the rule of law. As such, no one can forcibly install a government of this nature in contravention of international law and the Charter of the United Nations. Furthermore, and as it is sadly attested by events in the past years, this course of action is fraught with destructive consequences.

These are the indelible facts. In the event, the Government of Eritrea has not recognized in the past "governments" imposed through external interferences and that ran counter to the legal and political realities in Somalia. And, it shall not do so in the future. In our view, if the yardstick is legality and accepted legal norms, no other government can indulge in unwarranted recognition of such "governments".

The Government and people of Eritrea have the right and obligation to extend their moral and political support to the people of Somalia on the basis of these standard legal principles; and, in order to advance the choice of the Somali people, the continued existence of a sovereign Somalia and to put an end the enormous suffering of the Somali people. To distort the stance of the people and Government of Eritrea, and to use it as a pretext for illegal acts, will not only aggravate the crisis in Somalia but it will also be futile and counterproductive.

US misguided acts of intervention and supply of weapons have not, in the past years, advanced the cause of stability in Somalia. A repeat of those measures will not produce positive results but only aggravate and prolong the crisis.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Asmara
26 June 2009

http://www.shabait.com/staging/publish/article_0010083.html

posted by : so no to geroge bush poltics
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 02:25 PM

Wow what a garbage thing! You see Mr Pham, you are nothing but lier! You can write and talk but please don´t forget that you are messing with Eritrea and Eritreans. The only one pride Africans who don´t give a dam*n about scums like you. We walk the walk, can´t you see it Mr Lier. Eritrea will kick terrorists like she will kick greedy westerners far to the shame corner. Your Blabla is bouring at all. Now let me curse you, for every lie should die your beloved ones!

posted by : Curse
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 02:26 PM

This article is null and void . It is full of bias, half truths and out right lies. It amazes me that you can gloss over Ethiopia's disproportionate response and long stated aim to control Eritria's coastline and shameless occupation of Eritrean land with out a peep from the UN and those nations that vowed to enforce the border comission's ruling. You also forgot to mention Ethiopia invaded Somalia with the support of many nations. Your article is dishonest and inaccurate. You have no integrity. Shame on you!

posted by : Yonatan
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 02:29 PM

www.youtube.com/trulife

http://www.youtube.com/user/AfriSynergy

posted by : ashame of american poltics full of liers
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 02:34 PM

Mr. Pham:

Although, the people above said everything that needed to be said, let me add a few more points.

When you mention the recent Sec. Clinton's rant in August, you forgot to mention the Somalia-Contra project where the US tax payers are forced to finance both side of the warring factions in Somalia. It would be a deservice to your audience to just only give them half fact, while hiding the rest just because it has more incriminating power than the lies you spread against Eritrea.

Frmr. Asst. Sec. Bureau of African Affairs Ms. Jendayi Frazer admitted that US was funding the war lords against the Somali religious movement, and now the religious movement is divided into two and the US is equipping one side against the other. The funny thing is the Somali fighters continue to circulate between factions on a daily basis and they do it with their American taxpayer paid weapon.

That is what is the problem is, not when the Eritreans are being the good Samaritan of the region by giving the Somalis a room to make peace amongst each other. Thanks to the recent announcement of shipping 80 tons of weapons to Somalia, weapons produced in one of your Heritage Foundation friendly factories, Madam Clinton has promised for more weapons to be shipped to Somalia till all them Somali babies own two weapons each when they play house. Today in Somalia everyone has two weapons each kind, one small and one big. I guess you care for American families while killing Somali families, what a way to be good citizens of the world.

I like your one sided article, come to a website masquerading family oriented yet its true mission is eradicating non-white families of the less fortunate. I guess this is one of those 'dog eat puppy' philosophy you people follow to the tee in bad side of America. All I say is keep up the good rant, the Obama administration is far better informed than you guys give him credits for. By the way, did you know that Obama is half African? He is not going to employ all his power to eradicate African families in the remotest areas of Africa like you people have been doing for a while. I invite you to please check youtube.com: "America's new frontline, diplomats or warriors? Part 4"

-----------------//--------------

Thanks for giving us the chance to cast our opinion.

posted by : Important for a scholar not to mis-inform students
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 02:46 PM

You should be a shamed for writing this article. U.S.A and Ethiopia are the ones causing problems in the Horn. U.S.A encourages Ethiopia to attack Eritrea during the border war by giving over three billion dollars in military and allowing Ethiopia to buy weapons from North Korea in 2007 even though U.S.A had put sanctions on North Korea for exposing an atomic bomb.

Furthermore U.S.A is the one putting war lords and gangster in position of power in Somali.

And where was the AU during Rwandan genocide, Ethiopian election and darfur genocide? And why did the U.S.A stop Canada from intervening in the Rwandan genocide?

And next time you write, tell the whole truth!

posted by : Yapi Yapo
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 03:12 PM

For every lie you get paid and possion artical, your body organs would be affected, fool!

posted by : peac in the name of family
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 03:54 PM

For every lie you get paid and poison artical you write, your body organs would be/should be affected and for every crime is commetted with artical death to your love one...

posted by : peace is coming in East Africa
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 04:02 PM

i have never readed such stupied story ever he men wake up nobady wil be ful with artikel this is to old try men. try samething beter. be fair wright samething which make you respected wrighter its good for your self.

posted by : Semere
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 05:05 PM

First, to the writter it is a good analysis,and its true,but apeople like semere and others not gonna agree with any truth because the have deep hated of Africans, they put themself different race,the have identity crisis. Why fight with all their neighbors, and friend the most dangerous groups in the world, so act now before too late for our region,don`t rely on the Ethiopian government the fertilizers of Eritrea,( meles`s mother is from Eritrea )thats why complicats the whole situation.

posted by : to any one
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 05:29 PM

Youe are an intelectual Garbage. No doubt you were paid to write this piece of junk. An unknown person said little knowledge is very dangerous, that applies to you. You could make a differece if you put your mind to good use. What a waste.

posted by : Habteab
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 07:02 PM

Mr OPham ! you think , that you know the east african Problem ?Where did you get all the lies.you sound Ph lier..open your eyes. Do not pray lies.

posted by : Ertrawi
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 07:35 PM

I have never come to any piece of article so biased. You as an author of this garbage analysis and report shows that how bucks could corrupt elites. You sell your integerity and your intellect for money.

Why did you fail to mention the EBBC decision; and the invasion of Somalia by Ethiopia in 2006. Such sellout intellectuals are common, even the advisers of Hitler in Germany were corrupted intellectuals like you who can`t be guided by truth. Despite your misguided and garbage analysis Eritrea will prevail

posted by : Amman
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 08:17 PM

frist to mr. to any one let me tell you we eritreans do not have identity crisis we know we are part of africa and that why we are africans we are a unique people because i can bring so many facts however one thing we eritrean have a pride we do not wait for hand out from your master for the last century as an african i have never seen other african nations go for ward only back ward sometimes i am so asheimed been an african and yet like you no brain to talk about eritrea and eritreans look ethiopia as legend 3000 years freedom still wait for handout so sad!!! wake up eritrea is way ahead of other african nation even nigerian news on the head line mention to learn from eritrea

posted by : warsay
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 09:41 PM

These untouchables sometimes amaze me. Look at how their network functions. They are out to totally annihilate anything against them. While sometimes I admire their ant hill build up character, trying to adhere to whatever looks like a theoretical perfection is a futile and illogical attempt in terms of coexisting with others who have accepted with their prolonged experience that it doesn't pay to act as a self made extraterrestrial that has a magic solution for all ills. Read carefully what the foreign ministry statement says. It never denied any of the claims against its government. It also clearly stated its stand on the Horn of Africa affairs specially the politically sensitive and easily destabilizing situation in Somalia. It is easy to identify who is contributing to the trouble by using it as a tool for vengeance for allegedly an entirely different issue the Ethiopian government has already made clear that it is Eritrea that is not cooperating to resolve the Badime case(I know because I read through all aspects of issues). And yet they have the courage to accuse the writer as a lier. What a distraction from the real issue?

posted by : Meslosh
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 10:36 PM

What a professor! Where did
you receive your PHD form?
It is a shame for a scholar to write an article with no facts or biased.
Pham, proud Eritreans do not need your endorsement or approval to survive for they did it without any ones support.If you think a sanction will scare the Government and people of Eritrea, please go back and read history.Shame on you.

posted by : Eritrawit
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 11:10 PM

to Meslosh you are totally wrong

the facts are when america and ethiopia invaded somilia in 2005 there were no terriost found

its 2009 they have said to found 400 foreign soilders just in this 4 mounth but it took 4 years before any real terriost arrive in somilia

leads to the big question why did ethiopia and america invade somilia in the first place

answer resources / interst / greed

posted by : to Meslosh
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 11:22 PM

For some reason, there is a missing dimension here. What about the role of the US in the invasion and ocupation of Somalia? What about the role of the CIA in the formation of and financing of the warlords that prevented the the TNG (the one formed in Kenya)from relocating to Somalia? What about the arms embargo violations by the US and Ethiopia…not to mention the arms brought into Somalia by dealers such as Victor Bout who was on the US payroll until his arrest last year?

Just want kind of “evidence” is out there that can prove Eritrea’s involvement in Somalia?
The so-called “U.N. Monitoring Group” report has already shot itself on the head by detailing the involvement of “2000 Eritrean soldiers in Somalia” during the 2005 naked Ethiopian invasion.

After such a naked lie designed to cover-up on a naked invasion, no amount of “evidence” can convince any sane person about Eritrea’s non-political involvement.

So no amount of accusation against Eritrea can save such a gigantic, endless debacle.

The question should be what is best for Somalia….Clearly, for there to be peace; Somalis must decide what is best for them. To date there have not been any transitional government of Somalia that allowed all parties and people to participate in forming their own government. Every transitional government that came was formed in exile and it was dictated by special interest groups. Eritrea, however, is advocating for a approach that is inclusive of all groups and political affiliations and thus it has nothing to gain by militarily supporting any group. Ethiopia and America for that matter have been fueling that flame by calming this group is linked to terrorist and that group is radical and thus causing the suffering of the peoples continue without an end in sight. And that is the truth.

Typical American concocted propaganda to hide their own involvement and Ethiopia’s crimes.

The sad thing is AU and UN are being used as a rubber stamps for few countries adventures.

But there are evidence upon evidence of the US, Ethiopia, AU peace keepers running arms in Somalia. Here are few links from Reuters incase you have forgotten.

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews /idUSN0728288520070407

http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageC risis/idUSL24158241._CH_.2400

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/741743 5.stm

Africans are fed with all the cover ups of foreign interference using vassal countries and institutions that act as their rubber stamps.

posted by : Please read the facts
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 11:28 PM

By Ibrahim A Ibrahim

October 14, 2009 — Recently, British ambassador to the UN has accused Eritrea of intervening in inter Somalia issue. His comment brings some critical issues forward relating Eritrea and British historical relations.

ERITREA BRITISH RELATION:

British forces defeated the Italian army in Eritrea in 1941 and placed Eritrea under British military administration until its fate is determined. In the absence of agreement amongst the Allies concerning the status of Eritrea, British administration continued for the remainder of World War II and until 1950.

At the time, the British military administration proposed a poisons idea that leaves Eritrea divided along religious lines (which was not scientifically verified) that the lowlands be united with Sudan and the highlands united with Ethiopia. If it was the far sighted and united citizens of Eritrea, the determination of British was to delete Eritrea once and for all out of the world map.

During their stay in Eritrea, the British administration also has done a great damage to the well being of Eritrea and Eritreans. Poised by the above stated idea, animosity among Muslims and Christians was ignited. Eritreans did not bow to this evil idea that divides them. The plan did not succeed, instead were confronted by wiser and more civilized people fending their historic unity.

What the British military administration accomplished though a full destruction looting and stealing the infrastructure and industries of Eritrea. The industrial machineries were literally dismantled and shipped to Kenya, Pakistan, India and Sudan among other countries. The writer will leave the full detail of the looting stealing and dismantling for a future time.

Currently, the British government does not have any power to sway the Eritrean government due to obvious reasons. As its allies the British government uses stick and carrot system to impose its national interest on some countries. Eritrea definitely is not one of them. The sole means of penalizing Eritrea if it disavows policies that contradict its national interest is to use the UNSC. The British government is doing nothing but that.

Eritrea, since its inception is striving to uplift the standard of living and wellbeing of its citizens. Unfortunately, unwanted war has been imposed to it, and several archaic methods of defamation and lie have been employed against it.

BRITAIN’S ACCUSATION OF ERITREA:

Britain’s U.N. Ambassador John Sawers unfounded and unsubstantiated accusation of Eritrea’s support to opponents of the so called government of Somalia, is nothing but open aggression against the peace loving hard working people of Eritrea.

The Ambassador based his accusation on the so called “report by U.N. experts monitoring the arms embargo,” should be flatly rejected for the reasons the same experts report that was unable to provide a single proof to its prior reports of the same that Eritrea has more than 2000 soldiers helping the then “Islamic Court” who was headed by the current President of Somalia.

The current President of Somalia was also accused of being an Islamist who treated attacking Ethiopia.

History is repeating itself. These same countries who are insisting on harming Eritrea are also the same countries who crowned themselves at the helm of UNSC to decide the fate of the people of Eritrea on uniting them without taking into consideration the will of the citizens. The organization that once closed its eyes and deafen its ears when the Eritreans were suffering under the rulers of Ethiopia, by all means of illegal weapons that include napalm and nerve gases, are keen to accuse the peace loving hard working principled people of helping terrorists.

Accusing Eritrea to bow to the orders of countries like British is illegal by all means. If British indeed is unable to furnish a genuine proof, then accusation without verification is nothing but a diplomatic ploy.

posted by : Sanction without verification against Eritrea?
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 11:35 PM

The Eritrean policy on foreign affairs and relations is often misunderstood. To those who do not follow its developments regularly this is not a surprise as the tenets of the policy are paradigm shifting. As much of the world has done since the seventeenth century, the balancing of power has be the diplomatic policy of choice. But today the Government of Eritrea has pursued a policy based on equality for each. This policy, particularly applied in a recent case has confused another blogger, and the following I hope will serve as a clarification.

Eritreo-Persian relations are by no means based on military convenience, in fact, there is little to no defense relationship between the two. Rather, the warming of relations seems to be based on the idea of equitable economic benefit. This is clearly an example of south-to-south development.

Any insinuation that there would be a negative influence on Israel caused by the expansion of economic relations between Eritrea and Iran is irresponsible. Furthermore, to disparage Persians as Neo-Nazis is not only poor form, but a gross injustice. Rather than preaching genocide of Israelis it would seem that the Iranian leadership advocates the dissolution of the Jewish state. Whether or not this is just however, is outside of the scope of Eritrea’s relationship with Iran.

To more simply frame the context of the what this author infers from the expansion of economic ties between Eritrea and Iran is that has the economic center of the world migrates East (or West, whatever your perspective), it is incumbent upon the creators of economic policy to shift their own policies to adjust to the new realities. One would rather not be caught in a situation similar to that of the much maligned George W Bush who last weekend stood before the Israeli Knesset and "criticized those who would negotiate with those whom he labeled 'terrorists and radicals'."(Israel Holds Peace Talks With Syria) Shortly thereafter it was disclosed that the Government which he stood before was very much engaged in negotiation with a nation who had been labeled as "radical" and "extreme" by his Government.

Adding insult to injury, the author of this article claims that PressTV, an Iranian news organization, “falsely claimed that civilians had been extradited from Puntland to Ethiopia.” The justification for the claim being identified as false was that the "ONLF terrorist organization itself admit[ed] that ONLF military leaders were extradited to Ethiopia..."(Eritrea's President Praises Nazi Iran Policy on "Zionist") Of particular concern is the blatant disregard for the distinction between a terrorist and a resistance fighter. At the very least, when commenting on the extradition of a resistance fighter from one internationally unrecognized de facto state to another state, it is important to recognize. The ONLF is also not an internationally recognized terrorist organization (US:Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), EU:"Terrorist organisations" and individuals outside the EU) Clearly the intent of the Ethiopian Government's suggestion that they are a terrorist organization has not met with any credibility on the international stage. Of particular interest in this case will be whether those extradited by Ethiopia will be tried in military courts, or civilian courts. It is also of note that Ethiopia’s allegations with regard to international law have been less than credible as numerous recent examples have shown. The most jarring of examples are:

• Contempt for the Permanent Court of Arbitration, and the 2000 Algiers Agreement, of which particular contempt has been reserved for Article 4 Paragraph 15: "The parties agree that the delimitation and demarcation determinations of the Commission shall be final and binding."

• The slitting of throats in a Somalia mosque by Ethiopian occupiers (Killing of civilians now routine in Somalia)

• Providing arms to militants in Somalia (Peacekeepers sell arms to Somalis)
• etc.,

Since George W. Bush and his Administration came to power in the United States, the importance of the word "terrorist" has been degraded to the point where it has almost lost its significance. It is critically important that its degradation be reversed and the first step towards this would be to resist its use in reference to Eritrea. It is indeed ironic that Eritrea is referred to as terrorist state as it has suffered at the hands of terrorists numerous times since Independence, not mention suffering state sponsored terrorism during its war of Independence. In fact, immediately after 9/11 the Government of Eritrea offered its services and cooperation to the US administration to aid America's war on terrorists.

As regards Eritrea's relations with neighbors, Eritrea has played an important role in mediation. From the crisis in Eastern Sudan, to efforts in Darfur, even as far away as Somalia. In fact, at Independence, Eritrea was born into a neighborhood which had shirked homegrown regional organizations and worked to strengthen them, such as IGAD. Today however, these efforts have seemed to be for naught as the region descended once more into the breech. Sudan's fragile peace between the North-South is showing signs of fracture, the coals of Darfur are red-hot once more and Ethiopia's invasion of Somalia has returned that country to anarchy.

At the crux of the matter is that unilateral action and jungle tactics are ill-suited for the world of partnership. It is evident, from numerous recent interviews with international press that the leadership of Eritrea strongly values partners in economic development. (Eritrean president urges more economic cooperation) This policy coupled with the expansion of ties eastward, with China and Iran, is a paradigm shift for developing nations to become the masters of their own destiny

posted by : Rationalization of Eritreaâ€™s Expanding Relations
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 11:41 PM

Dr. Pham, don't you have article to write about your origion, south east asia. where did you get your garbage PHD? please don't put yourself low talking about a country that does not concern you. Do you know the struggle of Eritreans? If you knew you would not write this garbage article. Belelive Eritreans will never kneel down from any threat. It is obvious from your article I concluded you are a paid agent.

posted by : Awate
Friday, October 16, 2009 at 00:21 AM

J Peter Pham and then PhD. I wonder what your PhD is in. Probably the art of confusion, deception, money making by trashing your commonsense ethics.

Please do us all a big favor and stop writing and hibernate into a soul searching pilgrimage. May be the world will have something rosy for you by next summer.

posted by : mindsoul
Friday, October 16, 2009 at 01:12 AM

Mr Pham, Thank you for you excellent analysis on the current situation in my country Eritrea. As you can see all the comments are coming from the regimes' puppets..they are nothing but a bunch of lapdogs ready for orders from thier master, esayas. By exposing the evil dictator you are doing a great service to eritreans everywhere. Please keep it up. Thank you and God Bless you.

posted by : Dawit
Friday, October 16, 2009 at 08:39 AM

Thank you again Mr Pham, thats a good analysis and saves the East African countries from furher distraction, but most the comments written above seems deny the naked truth, why because, almost all Eritreans put themself supper human, they blame any body for their fault, like UN, AU, EU, USA, EGAD,they blame who ever tell them what they doing is wrong, with evidence, they don`t accept, how in earth any body with the right mind oppose all the World organization and side with the terrorists like Al-shabab the one has link with the Al-kaida also be friended with Iran (holocustdenayer gov) and try to gave lease them Assab port.The Ethiopian government can not do any thing to avert the sutiation because they facilitate Eritrea to become a terrorist country by ceded,Eritrea was one of Ethiopia province a very small state, if we call it a state.So we have to focus to the problem its not good for every one to deny the truth every thing is in the open field, The important thing is Isreal government can not see what is happning in Eritrea all the connection with Iran government, the holocust denayer,so i am not rely on ethiopian gov. the fertilizers of Eritrean gov..

posted by : To any one
Friday, October 16, 2009 at 10:37 AM

Selam Alikum,

Thank you Mr. Pham, you have exposed the evil regime of my country who brutalizes its own citizens and ignore our human rights.

please ignore the pdjf dogs who are barking they are brainwashed by Isayas and live comfortable life in the west where their human rights is respected and they are spying on the Eritrean community.

Thanks so much from Eritrean refugee everywhere.

posted by : Mohammed Yusuf
Friday, October 16, 2009 at 11:20 AM

Hi!

Your article does not tell the whole truth. This is deliberate distorting the facts, and continuation of vilifying campaign you started during George Bush time. Get you facts right.

African Union (AU) embracing of Zimbabwean Robert Mugabe is not a surprise. Robert Mugabe in joys the support of Southern Africa nation. As to Eritrea rejection by AU, it is nothing to do with Somalia. This is Ethiopian way of settling a score on Eritrea on the name of AU and solution to Somalia problem. Organization of African Union (OAU) and UN denied our right for self-determination from Ethiopia. Currently Ethiopia illegally occupies Eritrean territory. It is unfortunate AU turning against Eritrea in spite of all the past and present injustice. History is repeating itself. African Union (AU) needs to stand up against the challenge that Africa facing today. Turn against member nation is not a solution; it is extinguishing a fire with gasoline.

posted by : Abraham G
Friday, October 16, 2009 at 12:48 AM

enough is enough!!!!!!! cuold write about what happen in south east asia instead eritrea.live alone eritrea anderitrea brothers and sisters. i am an ethiopian,living in adis abeba and we know who is spoiler,and we know the horn is going to preveil with help of eritrean government.so enough is enough please!!!!!!!!

posted by : atlabachew
Friday, October 16, 2009 at 01:11 PM

I have never seen such an idiot sold out doctor. guys if you read his article, it is a carbon copy of Woyane/Ethiopia. Why is so much hate and obssesion about Eritrea. Does he know Eritrea is a country fought hard against Alqida? What type of syupidity is this. Why is the world is watching when such people use their doctorate to defame a country. what type of human being is he, selling himself for cheap dollors. Onething is true you are ignorant of the reality. you are very cheap. You don't know Eritreans. We are a proud nation.

posted by : Asmara
Friday, October 16, 2009 at 01:38 PM

Dr Dr. J. Peter Pham when was the last time you have been to Eritrea, in fact have you ever been to Eritrea? Armchair experts are abound here in the West and what is sad about it is, often times their words are taken to be an authoritative narrative for a so called “subject” and Dr. J. Peter Pham is called upon by the US congress repeatedly to give his “expert opinion” on Eritrea and the other Horn countries. And yet by his own admission Dr. Pham gets his information from what he calls “open source”, to see the evidence of that check all his articles they are fraught with lengthy quotations from reports filed by news wire services and documents out there.

But what makes his opinions on Eritrea different is the tone of his articles, he does not seem to hide the hate (which is apparent) he harbors towards the Eritrean government, and in comparison he has openly endorsed the Ethiopian government and its Ethnocentric federal system and he applauded Ethiopia’s strategic partnership with the US. So his so called analysis of Eritrea and the Eritrean government can’t be considered “objective” at all, he is clearly engaged on pure denigration and vilification.

He calls Isaias Afewerki a former”gorilla” leader, belittling a whole movement for freedom into a mere gorilla activity. He calls supporters of the Eritrean government “apologists” showing callous disregard to other voices. He faults Eritrea for having bilateral relationship with Iran and its leadership and quotes a farfetched story spread by shoddy sources, I wonder what the good Dr. is going to make of the recent high level contact between the US and Iran?

posted by : Amazed
Friday, October 16, 2009 at 02:58 PM

This letter was written to in response to Dr? Pham's previous article blindly accusing Eritrea for destabilizing the Horn of Africa "Descouraging News From the Troubled African Horne, June 2008".
Here comes the good Dr? again with his lies about this beautiful and stable East African nation who seem to love to hate.
It's quite interesting that Dr. J. Peter Pham on his editorial " More
disco=
uraging News From Around The troubled African Horn"
makes=A0unsubstantiated=
allegation against Eritrea in its military confrontation with a neighborin=
g Djibouti in an attempt to tarnish the country's image around the world.
I=
ronically, while the good Doctor wrote in details about the situations in S=
udan/Darfur and Somalia, he barely mentioned Ethiopian regime's role in
wha=
t he called "More Discouraging News". What does Dr.=A0Pham have to
say to t=
he independent news coming out of the region that Ethiopian regime is invol=
ved in major atrocities against civilians in Somalia and the Ogaden Region?=
What about Ethiopia's defiance to the international law and refusal for
th=
e implementation of the boundary rulings between Ethiopia and Eritrea? Why =
did the US government, as one of the Peace Guarantors, failed to meet its o=
bligation under the Algiers's Agreement and pressure Ethiopia to abide
by it? What about the May 2005 so called "Democratic" election in
which th=
e EPRDF regime stole the election in its favor and killed so many innocent =
people and detained most of the members of the opposition.=A0It seems that,=
according to you and the Bush Administration, it's OK for Ethiopia to
beha=
ve in such manner as long as it's cooperating in the fight on terror. In
co=
ntrary to what you're trying to convey to your readers about Eritrea, Bush
=
Administration's disenchantment about Eritrean government has nothing to
do=
with human rights issue or lack of governance. It's mainly because the
lat=
ter was vocal and insisted on the implementation of the rule of law with re=
gard to border issue with Ethiopia, and rightfully so. Unfortunately, this =
was misinterpreted by the US administration as a sign of defiance and, thus=
carryout a defamation campaign against Eritrea as an undemocratic, religio=
us intolerant etc..., in order to cover up for its own mistakes.
As with regard to military confrontation with Djibouti, I would not be surp=
rised if there is an involvement of other actors, more particularly Ethiopi=
a under the guidance of the Bush administration, to engage Eritrea with ano=
ther unnecessary war so as to ease the pressure it's under in domestically
=
and in Somalia.
In order for peace to reign in the=A0Horn Africa, the USA, as a major power=
, must play a constructive role. It can do so by having a core understandin=
g of the issues and deal with them accordingly. Terrorism can not and wil
l not defeated in the Horn under the current policy whereby the parties who=
take the issue of terrorism at heart and have been fighting against it for=
years are treated unfairly. Whether one would like to admit or not, Eritre
a has been at the forefront in the fight against terrorism way before 911.
It does not need US recognition for it. It did so because terrorism in any =
shape or form threatens ones security and sovereignty and must be defeated.=
There is no reason for the Bush Administration to alienate Eritrea and, to=
astonishment of many who know the country, threaten to list it with nation=
s that harbor terrorism. The Bush administration has envoys in the Horn who
are so incompetent, by sending false report about the region to the
State Department, they are partly to blame for the chaos and destruction t
he Horn of Africa is experiencing.
Lastly, thanks to advancement in cyberspace, people are more informed about
the world's sociopolitical affairs without depending on certain western
me
dia which are usually biased and designed to serve the interest of the ve
ry few.

posted by : AT
Friday, October 16, 2009 at 06:46 PM

There are those writers who try to bring about peace between enemies through their factual and wise reports. And, there are also those like Dr? Pham who don't blink an eye to entice violence and anger through their false and illconceived report out of either greed or personal hatred towards certain group. Dr. Pham may have earned a Ph.D. academically but he is clueless when it comes to what the people and government of Eritrea are all about. Shame on you, Sir!!!

posted by : AT
Friday, October 16, 2009 at 08:58 PM

Every body should know Eritrea is not against any one execpt against injusties made by the so called superpowers. The article we have seen here is the continuation of injusties continued by Unkle Sum. Eritrea never invaded Yemen,Sudan,Ethiopia and Djibuti. As a new nation it was her duty to clarify its borders. but it recieved first violent answer from the Yemens in Hanish. Sudan was the hub of al Qida and was sending Al Qida merceneries to Eritrea. Eritrea had no chioce but to fight al Qida and break diplomatic reletions with Sudan. Despite the Hague version it was the Weyane who started the war in Badme and beyond badme in Asab and Tserona. It was Weyane who declared war against Eritrea for the small conflict happened in Badme. Eritrea was calling for peaceful settlment. But Weyene was declaring war against Eritrea. If they had a claim in Badme they should have stoped fighting in badme. Why was the Weyane started war near Assab after the eruption a small conflict around Badme. This is clear what the Weyane regim was on their mind. They tried to capture Port of Assab but they were deafted for ever. The problem in Somalia is the misguided policy of the USA. It was the US which armed the Somalia Worlords to fight the Islamisted who controled the whole Somalia. Being a muslim is not a crime. Because on is Islamic government is not to be Al Qida. but this is the on goining policies of the USA. Instead one think what is the easiest way to stabilize Somalia you try to find your interest. Sheik Sherif was al Qida but the next day he became democrat after he accept the American offer. This is what is goining on Somalia. Eritrea position is clear Unity of Somalia people without the intervention of foreigh hands. We are small country we stood for juistice. All those payed agents of Weyane and disgraced Bush administration official will try black our name but the truth is comming slowly.

posted by : Germay Yemane
Saturday, October 17, 2009 at 00:10 AM

It would be fair game to insult your intelligence but your shame would put the educated once in doubt of what they have archived.For all the scholarly merit you have attained what you have put forward was point blank incorrect.Yes we have problems,yes we are underdeveloped to the mark of of what developed is,But never had lack of awareness."Betri haqi teqeten ember aytesebren" eritrean saying which roughly mean the wand of truth my be slim but will never break.When consequence for the ongoing outcome was conveyed years before it was to happen the powers be ignored.So when things started to unfold as it was foretold the powers blamed Eritrea.Don't they know the peace and stability of the region is as important to the national security,and agian the old saying " Divide and Rule" is at play.In Due time it will settle and it will be for history to judge.As for you Sir whom so ever is feeding your perception about what you think is going on, better reexamine your facts.i bet you will differ from what you have put forward that is if you are doing it unbiased,i doubt that would for i think your coffers are replenished by non well wishers to the eritrean and africans in whole.Sad with all the accolades you have you fail to see the facts.

posted by : Berqi
Saturday, October 17, 2009 at 11:22 AM

To: to meslosh

Some countries that are young like Eritrea shape their security plans out of insecurity. When peaceful Somalis were in neighboring countries forming a UN/AU sponsored government in exile, the reason behind it was lack of security. Then all of a sudden to counter the newly formed government, UIC was established by those who chose to introduce a sharia law and a fundamentalist system of government entirely based on a religion. Somalia was known to have been a secular society with less emphasis on their on religion as a tool for using a a system of government. Fundamentalists, with their own agendas about dealing with neighboring countries, specially Ethiopia openly declared Jihad showing their clear regional danger in the coming. One of the dangers is its potential to be a safe heaven for terrorist organizations like Alqida that would use the unstable Somalia to launch their attacks. The main reason for all these regional conflicts was the lawlessness of Somalia where there hasn't been a functioning government for almost two decades now. The vacuum created by the lack of authority can be of a tremendous danger for the region.
What you are saying is the Somalis were doing fine right until the UN sponsored government was "imposed". Does that mean you don't know why Somalia needed a government urgently or you think it is in Somali's peaceful people's interest to live without a government that can protect them? It looks like you stand for those ideas that have long been proven to be irresponsible. It is like you and your cronies that like to worship whatever the Eritrean government wants you to believe, mainly because you may have been investing for something that is proving to be delusional by now. Only a delusional government designs its political agenda out fear and insecurity. And you badly want to have a good return on your investment by all means. I understand but have you been listening about what happened to bad investments in US and elsewhere lately? There is nothing you can except get yourself ready for the next round with a clearer mind.

posted by : Meslosh
Saturday, October 17, 2009 at 04:18 PM

dear dr. pham,
it is about time you let go off the bow tie and get laid with michelle malkin another nut writer like you. you both deseve each other making south east asians look bad.

please act like most disciplined descent south east asian.

posted by : mg
Saturday, October 17, 2009 at 09:02 PM

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