By Sophia Tesfamariam
It is rather
interesting that Tekeda Alemu would today feign concern and call on Eritrea to
show a “pacific disposition” towards Djibouti, Somalia and Ethiopia[i]. As this
author recalls, it was Tekeda Alemu that asked the US to break the otherwise
amicable and neighborly US-Eritrea relations. How can Eritrea have a “pacific
disposition” to Ethiopia when for over a decade Ethiopia has been occupying its
sovereign territories in violation of the Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary
Commission’s (EEBC) final and binding delimitation and demarcation decisions,
international law, the United Nations and African Union Charters? As for
Somalia, no one tried harder to “isolate” Eritrea from playing any meaningful
role in Somalia than did the regime in Ethiopia and its handlers. Now that they
have managed to create an intractable desperate situation in a dismembered and
weak Somalia, don’t expect Eritrea to burn in that self created quagmire. Allow
me to remind the good Ambassador of a few facts about Djibouti-Eritrea
relations.
In 2006,
Djibouti-Eritrea relations were improving steadily even as the situation in
Somalia was taking a turn for the worse. A 14 September 2006 cable[ii] from the Embassy of France reports on a September 7-8 meetings with
U.S. Ambassador to Djibouti W. Stuart Symington and French officials, Helene Le
Gal and desk officer Francois Gautier; President Chirac's Africa Advisor Michel
de Bonnecorse and his deputy Jacques Champagne de Labriolle. According to the
cable:
“… Djibouti had
managed to maintain a balanced relationship with Ethiopia and Eritrea … The
French noted that the possibility of social unrest existed in Djibouti, in part
because income from the bases was not necessarily being distributed broadly…The
widespread use of khat, a stimulant imported mainly from Ethiopia, was a
significant factor in Djiboutian society. It had generally negative effects on
the political process and economy. Social unrest was always possible when
supplies of khat dwindled…Increasing numbers of Somalis, Eritreans, and
Ethiopians were in Djibouti , attracted by Djibouti 's port and the illusion
that it would always provide more jobs, which was not the case. Ethnic tensions
were growing in Djibouti …”
In mid October
2006, when the Sudanese Government of National Unity and the East Sudan Front
signed the historic peace agreement in Asmara, Eritrea’s capital, Djibouti’s
President Ismail Guelleh was present and Djibouti-Eritrea relations were good.
The author traveled to the Djibouti-Eritrea border in 2007 and there were no
problems between the two brotherly nations and the relationship was developing
on several fronts.
Djibouti was
opposed to military intervention in Somalia and did not support IGASOM, the
proposed IGAD peacekeeping mission. Ethiopia decided to use the US to pressure
Djibouti to come on board. Ethiopia also wanted Djibouti to sever its brotherly
relations with Eritrea and as we shall see later, it also provided the “faulty
intelligence” to inflame the President of Djibouti in mid 2009 and coerce him
into asking for sanctions against Eritrea. US and Ethiopia encouraged Djibouti
to escalate the already resolved border issue (according to the French Foreign
Ministry). With the help of Susan E. Rice and others in the US Administration
pushed for “stand alone for sanctions against Eritrea”. Suffice it to
mention a few key cables that illustrate Ethiopia and US deliberate escalation
of a non-existent Djibouti-Eritrea issue and complicating its peaceful
resolution.
1. September 2006 cable “ETHIOPIA: DEPUTY
MINISTER TEKEDA TALKS SOMALIA, REGIONAL ISSUES WITH DAS YAMAMOTO”, details the
conversation between the then Deputy Minister Tekeda Alemu and US Ambassador
Donald Yamamoto. The cable says:
“…The Government of
Djibouti’s opposition to IGAD actions in Somalia are the result of its fear of
Eritrean President Isaias, Tekeda said, as well as President Guelleh’s personal
business interests with Eritrea. The Deputy Foreign Minister speculated that
the Djiboutian leadership was worried that Eritrea would support Afari
separatist movements, as Isaias had done successfully in Sudan, if Djibouti did
not follow Eritrea’s lead in Somalia. Tekeda also told Yamamoto that Aweys and
other CIC leaders had stopped in Djibouti to meet with President Guelleh on
their way back from Libya the week before. Tekeda maintained that the GOD was
“on the wrong path,” and added that Djibouti was not strong enough to take Ethiopia’s
continued friendship and forbearance for granted…”
But that was not
all. Here is the rest of it:
“…Tekeda urged that
the USG speak frankly with Djibouti about its role in the region. He said that
President Guelleh would pay attention to U.S. concerns given the importance to
him of the U.S. military base in Djibouti. “He must be told to choose” whose
side he wanted to take…”
I don’t know what
Donald Yamamoto’s response was to Tekeda Alemu’s request to break up
Djibouti-Eritrea relations.
Ethiopia and its
myopic handlers sought to isolate Eritrea and prevent Eritrea from having any
role in Somalia. They accused Eritrea of supporting Al Shabbab and labeled
Eritrea a “spoiler”. The election of President Barack Obama brought Meles
Zenawi’s “skirted friends” to the new US Administration. One of them was Susan
E. Rice, the US Ambassador to the United Nations and the record will show her
role in escalating the Djibouti-Eritrea conflict in her aggressive quest to get
sanctions against the State of Eritrea. Suffice it to present a brief
chronology of events:
According to the American Embassy
cables, the Djibouti-Eritrea issue was presented to the Americans in early
April 2008. According to a 17 April 2008 cable[iii]
reporting on James Knight’s visit to the region, Djibouti ’s Foreign Minister
Mahmoud Ali Youssouf delivered the protest. According to the cable:
“…GODJ had, on April 15, protested
Eritrean military presence at Doumeira, on the Djibouti-Eritrea border. He said
that the Eritrean military had set up several tents "well into"
Djiboutian territory…”
The 17 April 2008 cable also stated
the following
“…Djiboutian Foreign Minister
Mahmoud Ali Youssouf contacted Charge on the afternoon of April 17 to protest
what he characterized as an escalation by Eritrea , and to urge that the USG
and France use its good offices to raise concern with the Eritrean government
(GSE). FM Youssouf said he was informing the USG and France of the
following…According to FM Youssouf, some 20-25 Eritrean troops were manning the
post, which he asserted was on Djiboutian territory… Furthermore, the Eritrean
ambassador had reportedly stated that the GSE was "upset with U.S. military
maneuvers with Djibouti", and that the USG was seeking to destabilize
Eritrea… FM
Youssouf first raised concern about the Eritrean military post on Djiboutian
territory in an April 16 meeting with AF/E Director James Knight…”
The cable also noted:
“…French Ambassador to Djibouti
Dominique Decherf said that while he had to take note of the assertions by
Djibouti's Foreign Minister, French military observers in the field had not/not
seen any concentration of Eritrean troops along the border with Djibouti . He
said French fixed-wing aircraft dispatched to the area on April 17 "did
not see anything conclusive," and did not/not see massive troop
concentrations along the border…”
For some reason, the Djibouti
Foreign Minister was hell bent on escalating the issue and internationalizing
it. Djibouti decided to complain to the UN Security Council and with the help
of the US Mission addressed the Security Council. Eritrea chose to handle the
issue quietly and bilaterally, but Djibouti was being advised to make a lot of
noise and it did. During one of its many visits to Turtle Bay, Inner-city Press
in its report[iv] revealed inconsistencies in Djibouti’s
account of events. Here is an excerpt from that report:
“…Inner City Press asked Minister
Youssouf about Eritrea's claim that French helicopters landed on or near its
territory, and that an Eritrean speedboat was recently sunk, allegedly by
non-Djiboutian forces. To his credit, Youssouf did not dodge these questions…
He acknowledged that a French helicopter had carried him, his President and
Prime Minister Dileita Mohamed Dileita to the disputed area, so they could see
for themselves. He agreed that an Eritrean speedboat was recently sunk, but
said that Djibouti itself has been responsible. He said that a Velo-bound,
hundred-some page pamphlet prepared for submission to the Security Council on
Tuesday afternoon contained proof and even photos of all this…”
Hundred-page pamphlet? Let us see
what Inner-city reported next:
“…Inner City Press obtained a copy
of the pamphlet, which strangely is dated February 2008, before the conflict at
issue…”
So who prepared the pamphlet and why
was it dated before the conflict? Judging from the events that have occurred
since, it is not hard to decipher who the culprits are. Djibouti’s Foreign
Minister may have been a willing victim (desperate to please the US), but I
doubt that it was Djibouti’s creation.
In addition, the Djibouti delegation
always made its presentations in French, but on the issue of Eritrea it read
from a prepared English statement. Why was that and who prepared the Statement
used by the Djiboutians? Anyway let us move on…
US bias against Eritrea was evident
from day one. The cable[v] issued on 20 April 2008 shows
that Eric Wong, the US Charge D’Affaires in Djibouti had accepted the Djibouti
Foreign Minister’s account and was already blaming Eritrea without ever
providing any evidence for the allegations being made. Here is a comment that
was added at the end of the cable and it clearly shows that the US was using
the Djibouti issue to punish Eritrea for what it perceived as being Eritrea’s
“intransigence” on the UNMEE issue:
“…FM Youssouf noted that no public
statements from the USG were needed yet, as Djibouti sought to press Eritrea
through "quiet diplomacy." Should these talks fail, however, the
international community will have to weigh what actions, if any, would be
effective in reversing the Eritrean incursion. The recent withdrawal of UN
peacekeeping forces from the Temporary Security Zone, following more
than two years of increasing restrictions on the UN Mission in Ethiopia and
Eritrea (UNMEE), highlight the GSE's intransigence in the face of international
pressure…”
US officials, including those at the
UN appear to be applying double standards when it comes to Eritrea. The UN
Security Council had remained silent for the last 10 years as Ethiopia occupied
sovereign Eritrean territories, including Badme, with US acquiescence and
support. Exaggerating the Djibouti-Eritrea issue and trying to divert
attentions away from Ethiopia’s intransigence, the UN US mission stated the
following:
“…there can be no link between the
crisis on the border between Djibouti and Eritrea and the Ethiopia-Eritrea
border impasse. Eritrea cannot be allowed to use its invasion of its sovereign
and peaceful neighbor to affect settlement of another dispute…”
It was agreed that Eritrea would not
be allowed to raise the Eritrea Ethiopia border issue, yet the same officials
had no qualms about raising the issue of UNMEE in order to make their case
against Eritrea and what they consider to be Eritrea ’s affront on the
authority of the Security Council. If the Eritrea Ethiopia border issue is
unrelated to the Djibouti-Eritrea issue, then why mention UNMEE in relation to
the Djibouti-Eritrea issue?
With the gullible western media in
tow, the orchestrated vilification of Eritrea began with this 20 April 2008
report from AFP[vi] which said:
"…Eritrean soldiers made an
incursion into Djibouti territory two or three days ago in the Ras Doumeira
area," an official who did not want to be identified said in a telephone
interview…A military source said French forces based in Djibouti had carried
out a reconnaissance on Thursday at the government’s request but had not been
able to confirm an incursion…”
Reuters, in its 22 April 2008 news
with a glaring headline, "UN council angered at Eritrea over border
force" reported a threat made by Alejandro Wolff, Deputy Permanent U.S.
Representative to the United Nations:
"…U.S. envoy Alejandro Wolff
said there was "a mood in the council of great, great dissatisfaction at
the manner in which Eritrea has handled this," and accused the Eritreans
of "shooting themselves in the foot…In the long term Eritrea will pay a
big price for this misjudgment," he told reporters, without
elaborating…"
In May 2008, as far as the French
were concerned, the situation between Djibouti and Eritrea was resolved and did
not need to be “internationalized”. A 2 May 2008 cable[vii],
“Djibouti/Eritrea: Mfa Says Not to Internationalize Border Incursion”, reported
the following:
“…Helene Le Gal said on May 2 that
the French were not in favor of Djibouti 's bringing Eritrea 's recent border
incursion before the African Union , Arab League, or UN Security Council,
despite the fact that the Arab League is going to discuss the matter on May 4. She
said that doing so would only create tensions over an issue that had already
been resolved, de facto, by Eritrea 's withdrawal from Djiboutian territory.
Le Gal confirmed that France had been supplying air reconnaissance imagery to
Djibouti , and that this imagery originally showed a slight but definite
incursion by Eritrean forces into Djibouti . The Eritreans used earth-moving
equipment to dig a trench in Djiboutian territory. However, subsequent imagery,
"which is very precise," showed that the Eritreans had withdrawn….”
The cable goes on:
“…Le Gal added that Eritrean
military units remained near the border, confronted by some 1,000 Djiboutian
troops (two-thirds of all of Djibouti 's military, Le Gal said). In these
circumstances, which could well indicate that the Eritreans had mistakenly
advanced into Djiboutian territory, Djibouti would have little to gain by
raising this incursion at an international level.
But Djibouti insisted on blowing the
issue out of proportion and insisted on the US helping it “internationalize”
the issue and proceeded to condemn Eritrea in the media and through the UN
Security Council.
On 12 May 2008, France’s position on
the issue remained the same. A cable[viii] from the US
Embassy in Paris reported the following:
“…Le Gal said the Djiboutians had
been phoning her "three times a day" and that her message to them was
to avoid raising tensions in the region over an incident that had resolved
itself peacefully. She repeated that, while Ethiopia's border dispute with
Eritrea was long-standing, there appeared to be no historical basis for a
border dispute between Eritrea and Djibouti, which was another reason that both
sides should avoid turning this episode into a real problem…”
On 27 May 2008, USLO-Djibouti Chief
accompanied two staff directors from the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of
Africa (CJTF-HOA) on a site visit of the disputed Djibouti-Eritrea border at
Ras Doumeira on May 27. According to the cable, “DJIBOUTI-ERITREA: U.S.
OFFICERS VISIT RAS DOUMEIRA”[ix], the USLO Chief was
invited to attend by MAJ Youssef Abdullah, the Djiboutian liaison officer to
CJTF-HOA. The party traveled via Djibouti Air Force fixed-wing aircraft to
Moulhoule (the site of the Djibouti Army command post), received a briefing,
and then proceeded by ground to the border site, approximately 15K to the
north. The cable also stated that all “U.S. military personnel were in civilian
clothes”
“…The military situation at Ras
Doumeira appears largely static, with neither side willing to back off the
ridgeline. As reported earlier (ref A), the Eritrean military presence has also
extended to Doumeira Island , claimed by Djibouti as wholly Djiboutian
territory. The most likely scenario for an escalation to violence may be
tensions related to the issue of Eritrean deserters and defectors fleeing to
Djibouti . Another potential flashpoint is the continued construction by
Eritrean troops of fortifications on Ras Doumeira, using heavy machinery (such
as bulldozers). Neither side is well-supplied, but both seem committed to
maintaining their positions. Post strongly urges public statements in
international fora in support of Djibouti, and in support of seeking a peaceful
resolution to reverse Eritrea's militarization of the Bab-al-Mandeb strait…”
The US State Department upon
recommendation from its Embassy in Djibouti obliged and on 11 June 2008, the US
State Department issued a statement[x] on the
Djibouti-Eritrea border condemning Eritrea. The Statement said:
“…The United States condemns Eritrea
’s military aggression against Djibouti in the vicinity of the border between
the two countries at Ras Doumeira. These hostilities represent an
additional threat to peace and security in the already volatile Horn of Africa
. We understand that at least nine Djiboutians have been killed and over
60 injured as a result of the Eritrean attacks…We call on both sides to cease
all military hostilities immediately and to reduce tensions by withdrawing
troops from the border area. The United States calls on Eritrea and
Djibouti to move forward at once to resolve border issues peacefully, in
accordance with international law, and for Eritrea to accept offers of third
party mediation in this regard…”
AFP reporting from Djibouti on 12 June 2008[xi] conveyed
the sentiments of US officials at the UN who had already decided that Eritrea
was at fault:
“…The UN Security Council on
Thursday expressed its concern over recent clashes on the border between
Eritrea and Djibouti, even as Washington accused Asmara of inflaming
tensions…Council members "express their deep concern with the situation
and reported violence between Eritrea and Djibouti forces and call on both
parties to exercise maximum restrain," said the council president for
June, US deputy permanent representative to the United Nations Alejandro
Wolff…Wolff - speaking as the US representative, and not as the Security
Council head - then blamed Eritrea for causing trouble…”
A November 2008 cable, “Djibouti:
Senator Feingold Discusses Region, Security, And Good Governance with Godj”[xii], sheds some light into the psyche of the Djiboutian
leaders and their American interlocutors. On December 18-21 visit to the region
and Djibouti; Senator Feingold discussed Djibouti, Somalia, and regional
concerns with Djiboutian officials. President Guelleh, Foreign Minister
Youssouf shared their insights with the visiting US Senator. On the
Djibouti-Eritrea issue, according to the cable:
“…Guelleh told the Senator that
there had previously been "good relations" between Djibouti and
Eritrea, and said that he attributed the June flare-up at the border to three
factors: 1) Eritrea's misguided perception that the U.S. military presence in
Djibouti threatened Eritrea; 2) Eritrean concerns that Djibouti's helpful
involvement in orchestrating Djibouti Process talks between Somalia's
Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of
Somalia (ARS) was harmful to Eritrean interests; and 3) Economic rivalry linked
to the announcement of an ambitious project to build a bridge between Djibouti
and Yemen, to include construction of a new economic hub city at the bridge's
terminus in Djibouti in the vicinity of Moulhoule, near the Djibouti-Eritrea
border…”
It is really sad to read such
childish and myopic statements from these so-called leaders. Parroting
Ethiopia’s spills only shows how shamefully emasculated they have become.
There is more. This time it is from
the Djiboutian Foreign Minister and this is what the cable reported:
“…Youssouf agreed that Eritrea might
have been motivated by jealousy over the Port of Djibouti's economic success as
Ethiopia's main lifeline to the sea, a false fear that the U.S. was using
Djibouti as a "Trojan horse" to conspire with Ethiopia against Eritrea,
and a desire to thwart the TFG-ARS Djibouti Process…”
A 15 January 2009 cable[xiii] shows the close coordination between the US and
Djibouti and the agenda vis a vis Eritrea.
“…Foreign Minister Mahmoud Youssouf
called Ambassador January 15 to express thanks for UNSCR 1862 regarding the
Djibouti/Eritrea border dispute. Youssouf said the GODJ was pleased with the
outcome. Ambassador responded that we, too, thought it was a strong resolution
-- one that had resulted from a collaborative effort, including close
consultation with Djiboutian PermRep Roble Olhaye. Separately, the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs circulated the text of UNSCR 1862 via diplomatic note to all
foreign missions in Djibouti , highlighting that "the Security Council
placed responsibility for the aggression on Eritrea and demanded that it
withdraw its troops from Ras Doumeira and Doumeira Island within five
weeks." Admitting it was unlikely that the GSE would respond positively
to the resolution, the Foreign Minister commented that the GODJ must now begin
to develop a strategy for "the next stage," after the five-week
deadline has elapsed. This is a point that Embassy Djibouti has made repeatedly
over the past two monts to senior GODJ contacts, including Youssouf, National
Security Advisor Hassan Said Khaireh, and Presidency Secretary General Ismail
Tani. Ambassador offered to work closely with Youssouf as the GODJ develops its
strategy…”
In March 2009, the US Ambassador to
Djibouti visited the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). The US
Embassy in Djibouti posted the following on its website:
“…The Ambassador of the United
States of America to Djibouti , H.E. Mr. James C. Swan has made a courtesy
visit to the office of the Executive Secretary of IGAD, Eng. Mahboub Maalim…”
In early April 2009, although the
Djibouti-Eritrea situation had remained “static”, in violation of Eritrea’s
rights to resolve its dispute with Djibouti in a manner of its choice, the US
insisted on pushing for Security Council action against Eritrea. According to
the cable:
“…In a brief Security Council
session on April 7, Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe
described developments in the ongoing border dispute between Eritrea and
Djibouti . Council members voiced unanimous support for the Secretary-General's
good offices efforts but only Costa Rica seconded the U.S. in pressing the
Council to consider future action should Eritrea continue to fail to comply
with UNSC resolution 1863… Amb. DiCarlo said that Eritrea's contempt for the Council's
authority must not be allowed to set the agenda, and stressed that the Council
would need to consider its options for future action should Eritrea continue to
fail to comply with its obligations…”
A 4 May 2009 cable[xiv]
shows that the US was behind the push to adopt UN Security Council Resolution
1862 in 2008. According to the cable authored by James Swan, the US Ambassador
to Djibouti:
“…the U.S. had worked closely with
the GODJ and PermRep Robleh Olhaye on the UNSC Presidential Statement of June
12, 2008 and on UNSCR 1862, both of which were highly favorable to the GODJ…
On Eritrea, we recommend
consultations through State/AF and USUN with Djiboutian PermRep Roble Olhaye --
double-tracked by Embassy Djibouti with Foreign Minister Youssouf -- to develop
a coordinated diplomatic strategy to mobilize UNSC members to apply greater
pressure to Eritrea to implement UNSCR 1862. Measures could include targeted
sanctions aimed at travel by GSE leadership and at financial transactions
involving parastatal enterprises and firms affiliated with the GSE ruling
party…”
James Swan’s pro-Ethiopia stance is
well established. Frequent visits by Ethiopia’s lobbyists to his office at the
Bureau of African Affairs are also well recorded. So it comes as no surprise
that he would be pushing to strangulate Eritrea’s economy without any just
cause.
An excerpt from the 29 May 2009
Wikileak cable, “Djiboutian Fm Reports IGAD Seeks More Aggressive Mandate for
Amisom”, shows Ethiopia as being behind Djibouti’s anxiety and need for further
action at the UN. Here is an excerpt from that cable:
“…According to Youssouf, on
May 25, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin had raised with Kenyan Foreign
Minister Moses Wetangula the need for a concerted approach by IGAD members to
the AU and to the UN Security Council, in support of such measures, as well as
the need to apply greater pressure on Eritrea… Eritrea also continued to seek
to destabilize Djibouti , Youssouf said. He reported that Ethiopian FM Seyoum
had informed him on May 24 of Ethiopian intelligence that more than 200 rebel
fighters (presumably ethnic Afars), who had been trained in Eritrea, had
infiltrated Djibouti via Ras Doumeira-which has been occupied continuously by
Eritrean troops since at least March 2008. Youssouf said Djibouti responded to
the report by putting Djiboutian troops on alert, and activating additional
forces along the border with Eritrea…”
How can Ethiopia provide information
on these “rebels” when Ethiopia does not even have borders with Eritrea at Ras
Doumeira? So what happened to those troops? Or did they vanish like the “2000
Eritrean forces fighting alongside the UIC” did in 2006?
Of course the minority regime’s
modus operandi is always the same…repeat the accusations as many times to as
many people as possible (preferably Americans and Europeans) and Meles Zenawi
did not disappoint as this cable illustrates, he repeated the same spill to
Johnnie Carson, the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs:
“…Meles cautioned A/S Carson about
Eritrea's efforts to recruit and train Afari rebels and infiltrate them into
Djibouti to undermine Djiboutian authority and create instability through
terrorism and military action. If Eritrea succeeds in destabilizing Djibouti,
it would destabilize the region and add to Ethiopia's insecurity along the
border. With a sizable Afari population in Ethiopia, Eritrea's activities would
also directly contribute to creating potential instability within Ethiopia…”
Susan E. Rice’s visit to Ethiopia on
19 May 2009 and her six-hour long tete a tete with Meles Zenawi, her close
friend and confidante that the aggressive push to sanction Eritrea began in
earnest. With Ethiopia chairing both bodies IGAD on 21 May 2009 and AU on 22
May 2009 adopted resolutions calling from sanctions against Eritrea. The
US-Ethiopian initiative would be cloaked with an “African Face”.
The 13 June 2009 cable[xv] shows the collaboration between Tekeda Alemu and
Susan Rice and their intentions to hoodwink Africans and the Security Council
by presenting their initiative as an “African Initiative”:
“…A delegation from the Inter
Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) met with Amb. Rice on June 10 to
press for UNSC implementation of sanctions against Eritrea as called for by
recent communiques of IGAD and the African Union (AU). The delegation, led by
Ethiopian State Minister Tekeda Alemu and Somali Foreign Minister Mohammed
Omaar, agreed that action needed to be taken against Eritrea. Omaar told Amb.
Rice that IGAD was only asking for a relatively minor sanctions regime, a
travel ban, and asset freeze to give a political signal from the Council as a
warning to Eritrea, while Tekeda said that the Somali Transitional Federal
Government (TFG) could imminently collapse if the Council did not act more
forcefully. Rice told the group that the U.S. was still evaluating the IGAD
proposal, and advised them to present a united African front to the Council…”
Today, Tekeda Alemu wants to defend
Susan Rice and extricate her from Horn issues, but he didn’t think about that
while he and other TPLF cadres were using her in their plot against the State
of Eritrea. Even though Rice claimed that it was an “African Initiative”, it is
the Ethiopian cadres that are calling the shots and advising her on actions
against Eritrea. Let us take a look at what else the cable aid:
“…Tekeda made a case for more
forceful sanctions, claiming that the TFG faced imminent collapse, and implying
that only Ethiopian assistance had helped it survive thus far. (NOTE: While
Omaar was titular head of the IGAD delegation, Tekeda paid him little
deference. End note.) In Ethiopia's view, Tekeda said, "we don't have much
time" to enact sanctions against Eritrea, adding "we want to see
results within a week." (C) Amb. Rice advised the group to reach agreement on a
specific package of measures and counseled that the initiative would be more
viable in the Council, if packaged as an African consensus proposal rather than
one driven by Eritrea's estranged neighbors Ethiopia and Djibouti…Rice also
urged the group to draw a link to the situation in Djibouti when drawing up its
proposal to sanction Eritrea…”
In September 2009, Ambassador Susan
Rice, now personally and deeply involved in the push for sanctions against
Eritrea accused Eritrea of “invading neighbors with impunity”[xvi]
. The cable, “UGANDA TO CONSIDER ERITREA SANCTIONS RESOLUTION WHICH COVERS
DJIBOUTI; REMAINS COMMITTED TO AMISOM”, details a conversation Susan Rice had
on 20 September 2009 Yoweri Museveni, the President of Uganda:
“…Rice emphasized that the U.S.
strongly supports a resolution addresses the issue of Eritrea invading Djibouti
. It is a matter of principle that the U.S. cannot ignore, which puts UNSC
credibility at stake, and would make Eritrea feel it can continue to invade
neighbors with impunity, she said. Museveni expressed concern that references
to both Somalia and Djibouti in the draft UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctions
resolution might jeopardize its adoption chances. Rice said that she
believes there is only one chance to secure a resolution, so Djibouti must be
included, and noted that the international community has never effectively
confronted Eritrea for invading neighboring countries on five occasions (Yemen,
Sudan, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Somalia). She noted that in January, the UNSC
gave Eritrea a deadline of six weeks to leave Djibouti or face sanctions…”
Rice was not interested in providing
evidence to support her allegations against Eritrea and her remarks about the
members of the UN Security Council shows her that she was willing to deceive
the Council to advance her agenda:
“…Rice reminded Museveni that past
experience suggested that the UNSC would not block a resolution led by African
members and supported by the African Union . She shared the U.S. read that, if
Burkina Faso and Uganda co-sponsor this resolution, the British will support,
the French will "keep their heads down" and will not block. FM Kutesa
noted that Uganda had no substantive concerns over including Djibouti in the
resolution. His concern, he said, was that because the AU had never passed an
actual resolution that included Djibouti , the Russian and Chinese delegations
would have to consult with their capitals before agreeing to it. Rice advised
Kutesa not to be overly cautious, and reasserted that a resolution perceived to
be African-led would not fail. She noted that, if it became clear during
consultations that Russia and China had insurmountable concerns about including
Djibouti, they could be dealt with before the issue came to vote…”
James Swan, the US Ambassador in
Djibouti, was only happy to report of the “effusive” gratitude the Djiboutian
leaders showed for US Government help in getting sanctions against the State of
Eritrea. The US Ambassador reported the following in the cable[xvii]:
“…The GODJ is pleased with UNSCR
1907 and takes pride in its diplomatic success in securing sanctions against
Eritrea…”
This author asks once again…How does
servitude translate into diplomatic success? How does whining and crying foul
in order to appease Meles Zenawi and his thugs become diplomatic success?
Obviously, Swan holds Africans to a lower standard as he would not have called
it “diplomacy” if any European had done what these lawless regimes did to one
of their own. He would have rightly called it treachery, as that is what it
was, from the beginning to the end.
So Tekeda Alemu can stop the
hypocrisy. The Djibouti-Eritrea issue was a fabrication of Ethiopia and its
handlers. If Djibouti really wants to resolve its issues with Eritrea today, it
can. Both Eritrea and Djibouti agreed to Qatari mediation, so why not let them
work it out without further interference? After all, the two nations were doing
well until he personally asked the US officials in Ethiopia to help break up
the friendship…
The rule of law must prevail over
the law of the jungle!
