March 14, 2007
"Victims of terrorism"
As soon as the freed Europeans were safely out of Eritrea, Ethiopia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs put out a statement headlined Kidnapped Ethiopians and Europeans, Victims of Terrorism. [The link will take you to the full Word document. I added the bold below.]
Here are a few extracts:
No doubt the crime of abduction was masterminded and executed by the Eritrean Government...Undoubtedly, this criminal act is part and parcel of the terrorist activities the Eritrean Government has been undertaking...The anti-peace activities conducted in Somalia by the Eritrean regime in collaboration with Afghan trained al-Qaeda extremists, the like of Colonel Hassan Dahir Aweys, Abdellah Al-Sudani, Adan Hashi Ayro, Muktar Robo and other extremists was thwarted by the Ethiopian Defense Forces. It is clear that the Eritrean regime is bent on reorganizing the remnants of the Islamic Courts in order to send them in yet other terrorist missions. Thus, it has become manifestly evident that the Eritrean regime not only supports and propounds terrorism but is also directly involved in active terrorism.
Unless timely action is taken, the destructive activities of the Eritrean regime would further undermine regional and international peace and security.
It should be underlined here that the Ethiopian Government has the legal basis, relying upon all the human and material evidence at its disposal, to make the Eritrean regime account for its deeds in the appropriate fora. As the terrorist acts of the Eritrean Government claiming lives and causing damage to property were committed in broad day-light, they will be corroborated beyond any doubt.
You don't have to be much of an expert on the Horn of Africa to feel that something is building up.
Posted by aheavens at March 14, 2007 4:33 PM