Eritrea: US officials attempt to prevent good relations with Obama team
December 11, 2008 (ASMARA) — Asmara denounced today efforts exerted by some US official in the outgoing administration to declare Eritrea as state sponsor of terrorism. It further accused them of trying to tie the hands of the incoming administration.
Last August, Jendayi Frazer, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs said the US official were compiling evidence of Eritrean backing to the Somali extremists. The case intends to designate the Red Sea state of Eritrea a “state sponsor of terrorism” for its alleged support of al-Qaeda-linked Somali insurgents Al-Shabab.
The Eritrean foreign ministry accused some US officials of “making a last-ditch attempt to tie beforehand the hands of the incoming administration in the strategic Horn of Africa region.”
The ministry said Thursday in a statement released Thursday that the Americans official had failed to achieve their objective in the past months because many in the US administration were unconvinced by the accusation.
Eritrea further said that the motives of the US officials go beyond the blame game. It further said their ” intention, at this late hour, and the outcome can only be to obstruct any move to bring US-Eritrea relations back on track.”
The “state sponsor of terrorism” designation is rarely used and represents a near death sentence for diplomatic relations with the United States. Those on the list are banned from receiving all non-emergency U.S. aid and subject to a host of financial sanctions. It also penalizes people, firms and third countries that engage in trade with designees.
The U.S. officials believe the Somali militants have close ties to al-Qaeda and are harbouring several suspects wanted for the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
A U.N. report released last July says the Islamist insurgents in Somalia have enough surface-to-air missiles, suicide vests and explosives to sustain their war against the internationally backed Somali government, largely due to secret shipments from Eritrea.
The report further says Eritrea has shipped a “huge quantity of arms” to the insurgents, known as the Shabab. The shipments continued despite U.N. efforts to bring peace to Somalia and the deployment of African Union peacekeepers.
But the statement said that Eritrea has a clear position based on its opposition to foreign intervention and to allow Somali to find solutions to their problem.
It also reaffirmed Asmara opposition to the “US-Ethiopian military adventure in December 2006.” The Eritrean government also blasted the distinction made between the Somali opposition Islamist “to moderates and extremists adding it had encouraged the Somali to establish an inclusive and broad alliance to reconstitute their country.
“Our perspective has been proven right on all accounts.”
In a massage dated of 5 November the Eritrean president conveyed “ardent hope that US policy in our region will indeed change under your Excellency’s presidency to pursue a constructive path to advance the causes of regional peace, justice and legality.”
Eritrea accuses the outgoing administration of backing its arch-foe Ethiopia in a long-running border dispute. Bush Administration complains that Eritrea playing a destabilizing role in the Horn of Africa through its continued animosity with regional foe Ethiopia.
(ST)