Sanctions against Eritrea: A blessing in disguise

By S. Marcos 
02 December 2009


I have not seen so much anger being vented by Eritreans all over the world since the days of Weyane’s invasion of Eritrea in 2000. The sanctions that the UN Security Council is considering against Eritrea are seen by the vast majority of Eritreans as unjust and irresponsible. They have every right to be furious.

A member of the Security Council and others have accused Eritrea of supplying weapons to Somali insurgents fighting against the Transitional Federal Government in violation of a U.N. arms embargo. The government of Eritrea has denied these allegations and asked repeatedly for the accusers to present their evidence. The draft resolution calls for arms embargo, freezing of assets and travel ban for members of the Eritrean government. It is ‘drafted’ by none other than Uganda.

It is now widely known the UN Monitoring Group for Somalia fabricated and presented discredited evidences when they accused Eritrea of sending 2000 soldiers to fight alongside the Islamic Courts Union. Their lie was exposed when Ethiopia invaded Somalia and to their dismay, the UN or any other party could not find a single Eritrean soldier – dead or alive. The famous plane that was reported to have been transporting weapons from Eritrea to the ICU was ironically found crashed in Uganda. Afterwards, it was discovered the plane belonged to Dyncorp, a contractor for the US military and Intelligence service. What is more - the UN Envoy for Somalia had admitted that despite the talk about Eritrea supplying arms to Somalia, there was no hard evidence to link Eritrea with these accusations. 

The British government announced in June and July 2009 that it was waiting for the UN Monitoring Group to present its new evidence before it made a move. Over five months have elapsed and the public is yet to see any evidence. Yet, John Sawers, the British Ambassador to the U.N., called for sanctions against Eritrea on October 08, 2009, again without credible evidence.

The same UN Security Council was mandated to take “the necessary political, diplomatic, economic and military measures” against Ethiopia in line with Chapter 7 of the UN charter for violating the ruling of the independent boundary commission and refusing to be bound by international law with respect to the boundary conflict. Because they have not been able to shoulder their responsibility, Eritrean sovereign land is still occupied by Ethiopia and many displaced Eritreans cannot return to their villages. The Security Council is now quick to consider taking action against Eritrea on extremely dubious grounds. Can anyone blame Eritreans for being very angry about the unfair and unjust move by some Security Council members to impose sanctions against Eritrea?

By trying to stop Eritrea from importing weapons and spare parts at a time when its territory is occupied and there is a risk of resumption of hostilities, they have made the reasons behind the move for the sanctions glaringly apparent. The pushers behind the sanctions have done everything in their power to assist Ethiopia get away with the flagrant violations it has been committing over the last decade. With their support, Ethiopia has managed to occupy Eritrea’s land and invade Somalia with impunity causing incalculable damage. For the deaths and destructions Ethiopia and its allies have caused, Eritrea now stands to get the blame. What a topsy turvy world.

Smart or stupid, targeted or indiscriminate, justified or unjustified, all evidences suggest that sanctions will always hurt innocent people. Eritreans will no doubt suffer if these sanctions are imposed. It is therefore only natural for Eritreans to strongly oppose it with all their might and defend their right to live in peace.

One would be pushed hard to find any country in this world that has been subjected to so much injustice and cruel treatment by the UN and the major powers than Eritrea. Eritreans have paid immeasurably for over 50 years in rectifying the mess that Britain, the US and the UN created. It has been proved time and again that Eritreans will not just lie flat and take it. The vast majority of Eritreans want to live in peace and do not want to see any sanctions against their country. However, the injustices that we are about to witness today, will only test their resolve, strengthen their unity, drive their spirit, and make no mistake that their perseverance will not be in vain. If the sanctions are unjustly forced upon them, it could be a blessing in disguise as all Eritreans will rally behind a cause and prevail against all odds as they have always done in the past. Sponsored Ads