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
Comments
I don’t put much faith in what the Ethiopian government says. A lot of what they say is NOISE. Much like the 2, 000 Eritrean soldiers in Somalia written up on the UN report only to disappear, never to be mentioned again by neither Ethiopia nor the UN. Much like the Eritrean general captured in the Somalia Theater, and yet no evidence; Ethiopia would surely have paraded the general. As much as they have tried, they have found it hard to provide evidence that implicates Eritrea.
Another round of Ethio/Erit war will have an outcome like before… unless the US gets involved-highly unlikely. Stalemate.
Posted by: Eritus at March 14, 2007 9:39 PM
Dear Andrew,
Is there anything in the air besides these comments to make you "feel that something is building up?" Hasn't there been talk like this from the Ethiopian government for years?
Thanks for the dispatches!
Pat
http://eurolikeme.blogspot.com
Posted by: pat blashill at March 15, 2007 1:51 PM
Tigray for Democracy & Justice Party is better than TPLF
Posted by: TDJPfan at March 16, 2007 2:43 AM
You might think It's just noise,but Ethiopia has the right and the might to take out any government or group that posses any threat to it's security in this region.Last time I checked the Ethiopians were only 90 km from Asmara(eritrean capital)before turning back,and the Islamic Union in Somalia... they declared jihad on Ethiopia next thing they are scattered all over after being annihilated by the Ethiopian defence forces,so THAT'S NOT JUST "NOISE".If you're an Eritrean I would start worrying,because this time there won't be any turning back...like Meles Zenawi said it's going to be all out war.Once Ethiopia rids it's self of regional nuisances it can concentrate on development and poverty reduction THE END
Posted by: Yared at March 16, 2007 6:26 AM
The government should really keep quite so that the remaining kidnapped can safely return home. However, I fear that TPLF does not really care about the welfare of the kidnapped (or most other Ethiopians for that matter) so this will only aggrevate the situation. Meles should stop talking and start acting at some point: "Put up or shut up".
Posted by: Yonas Tibebe at March 17, 2007 7:40 AM
Yared, late is better than never I suppose….
What you call ‘right and might’, and ‘regional nuisance’ as far as the Horn of Africa goes, are beyond my comprehension. If the region’s history is any indication, I think it is, the nuisance you speak of will be with the Horn now and then, as before. The war you advocate for will only create more irresolvable issues as the last war and the one before and before did… deeper than before. Peace and stability and development through right and might? I think you are in for a nasty awakening. Look back to your own history and try to find examples of right and might and its outcome. The many things that make one successful are will, determination, persistence, and patience. I think that is where right and might is, rarely with these who carry a big stick.
Posted by: Eritus at March 22, 2007 7:38 PM
Hey isn't it ironic that once the Europeans were freed in the recent abduction in the Afar region,that is...the whole western media outlets hushed-up no news no nothing??..,kudos to the Brits who held a vigil for our country men who are still being held "captive" in Eritrea,but I guess that tells you how little significance the abduction of a bunch of Africans somewhere in Africa has huh?Of course there are better news about earthquakes and tidal waves in other parts of the world,figures....oh well.
Posted by: EthioMan at March 26, 2007 10:41 AM
A government thats been shown over and over does not care about its people, accuses others for not caring for the very people that falls unders it care. May be after you work on your hypocrisy, you can expect others to value African life as much as they value European life.
Posted by: Eritus at March 27, 2007 12:38 PM