Ethiopia masterminded the trilateral alliance against Eritrea, Eritrea’s FM
By Eritrean News Agency
ASMARA, Nov. 8, 2003 (ERNA) — Eritrea’s Foreign Minister, Mr. Ali Seid Abdalla said that the so-called “trilateral alliance” is the Ethiopian regime’s delirium of a stillborn singular axis which features none other but the regime itself.
Speaking to Shabait.com [Eritrean ministry of information web site], Mr. Ali Seid Abdalla underlined that the “alliance”, assembled in haste by the regime in Ethiopia, pursues a contorted agenda under the mask of “boosting bilateral and trilateral relations, cooperation in the political, economic, security and military affairs?etc.” The regime’s main agenda embodies other points with the aim of spicing up its sinister ploys of regionally isolating Eritrea, assisting foreign fundamentalist entities, and devising sinister design on the Eritrean people and the nation’s sovereignty. The Foreign Minister further indicated that it remains crystal clear for anyone that the TPLF regime’s agenda also goes to the extent of toppling the Government of Eritrea in the name of the alliance solely to serve its narrow interests and by bringing to power fundamentalists, traitors and defeatists.
In response to a question whether the alliance had taken on this agenda under the false claim that Eritrea had a row with member states of the alliance, Mr. Ali Seid underscored that the alliance is an entity piled up and created by an Ethiopian regime that is utterly incapable of responsibly and realistically tackling the country’s internal problems. He further pointed out that this is “a regime that suffered humiliating defeats both militarily on the ground and legally in an international court besides being a regime that has not refrained at all from coming up with different evil plots against Eritrea to realize its hostile agenda. This is, therefore, the main reason behind the regime’s futile attempts to win the favuor of both Yemen and Sudan, neither of which has any row with Eritrea. Eritrea’s dispute with Yemen over the delineation of territorial waters in connection with the Hanish islands has long been settled legally and is now a closed chapter for over the past two years.
As for the Sudan, the ideologies of importing terrorism including notorious terrorists like Osama Bin Laden and Carlos and fundamentalism pursued by the Islamic Front regime currently in power is an issue that raises serious concern not only for Eritrea but the world at large. And it remains quite obvious that Eritrea has been pushing and continues to push for a comprehensive political settlement to the crisis in the Sudan. Hence, Yemen and the Sudan have no reason whatsoever or even any intentions to align with the minority regime in Ethiopia in an unholy mini-axis that openly violates international laws. What remains to be in the best interests of both the peoples of the Sudan and Yemen is to maintain their long- standing ties with Eritrea”, Mr. Ali Seid emphasized.
Replying to a question by Shabait.com for clarification on the point raised by the alliance referring to ‘coordination of standpoints regarding the Somali reconciliation issue’, Mr. Ali Seid stated that all three countries have conflicting interests and perspectives this issue. “Ethiopia wants a Somalia that is submerged in bloody civil wars and it has absolutely no desire whatsoever to see a peaceful and stable Somalia with its sovereignty and territorial integrity safeguarded,” he underscored. The Foreign Minister went on to say that this point was raised as a pretext for the regime to conceal its true colours.
Sources reveal that the Ethiopian regime is conducting campaigns aimed at making other nations join the alliance. On this point, Mr. Ali Seid stated: “we are not only fully aware of such campaigns but also know which particular countries are being asked to join the so-called alliance and we continue to follow up the developments. To join such an unholy alliance assembled by the regime in Ethiopia would mean nothing but spoiling one’s history as far as the countries being called upon are concerned.”