Why the COI chose 1991 as a starting point for its unprofessional report

The three man Commission of Inquiry at a press conference in Geneva

Why the COI chose 1991 as a starting point for its unprofessional report

By Bereket Kidane

If you ever needed any proof that the UN Commission led by Mike Smith was directly targeting Eritrea’s sovereignty, you can find it in the date that he picked for his bogus investigation. The UN Commission announced to the world that they were only interested in crimes against humanity committed in Eritrea since 1991. One might ask why 1991? What’s the significance of 1991? Where there crimes against humanity committed on the Eritrean people before 1991?

It just so happens that 1991 is when Eritrea’s sovereignty begins. Before 1991, there were unspeakable atrocities committed on the Eritrean people that would qualify not only for crimes against humanity but also war crimes. And yes they were widespread and systematic. What did the United Nations do when those crimes against humanity and war crimes were being perpetrated on the Eritrean people in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! The UN was completely oblivious and uninterested in the suffering of the Eritrean people.

When Eritreans were being lynched in public squares in towns like Agordat and Keren in the 1960s and 1970s by successive Ethiopian governments, how many commissions did the United Nations set-up to look into “human rights abuses” that were being perpetrated on the Eritrean people? None! When Eritrea’s civilian populations in towns like Sheeb were rounded up in mosques and summarily executed before driving over their bodies with tanks, how many commissions did the United Nations set-up to investigate human rights abuses? None! When the Ethiopian Air Force was wiping out entire villages in the lowlands and highlands of Eritrea by targeting civilian populations using the banned Napalm bombs, how many commissions did the United Nations set-up to investigate those crimes of war? None! When the banned cluster bombs rained on Massawa shredding Eritrean civilians into pieces, how many commissions did the UN set-up to investigate the war crimes that were being committed on the Eritrean civilian population? None! When Eritrean mothers were having their breasts torn-off causing the floor to be awash in blood allegedly because their wombs were producing offspring to fight for Eritrea’s independence, how many commissions did the United Nations set-up to investigate the widespread and systematic human rights abuses? None!

And when the Ethiopian government sent its troops to dissolve the Eritrean Parliament on November 14, 1962 and illegally annex Eritrea, how many commissions did the United Nations set-up to investigate the illegal annexation of Eritrea in direct contravention of UN Resolution 390-A(V)? The answer is None! Nada! Zilch! In the years following the illegal annexation of Eritrea, countless pleas were made to the United Nations by the liberation fronts, friends of Eritrea and global organizations for the United Nations to assume its duty, reverse the illegal annexation of Eritrea and bring an end to the suffering of the Eritrean population. They all fell on deaf ears.

Since Eritrea became a sovereign state, however, the United Nations has been busy setting-up bogus commission after commission to try to undermine, demonize and delegitimize the State of Eritrea with the ultimate aim of stripping its right to defend itself.

And now we are told the United Nations is only interested in human rights abuses beginning with the year 1991. Again, the question becomes why 1991? Where was the UN before 1991? Where was the UN in 1990, for God’s sake, when civilian populations of Massawa were being shredded to pieces with the banned cluster bombs? The answer is obvious.

1991 is when Eritrea’s sovereignty begins. First, there was the SEMG, which despite coming to the conclusion that Eritrea is not providing any support to Alshabab is continuing unabated. Then there were sanctions passed on Christmas Eve without due process accorded to Eritrea and are continuing despite there being no evidentiary support for the claims made by the Sanctions Committee. Sanctions are supposed to be an extreme measure and yet the UNSC refuses to lift the unfair and unjust sanctions eventhough there is no legitimate reason to continue to impose them on Eritrea. Now the COI has produced an unprofessional report, which lacks rigor and verifiability, in addition to being riddled with elementary methodology problems that a fifth grader can pick apart. For this witch hunt, the COI is telling us that its starting point is going to be 1991. By this point you may have noticed a pattern and might be asking yourself: “What is this 1991 business all about? Is this the latest UN plot to undermine and reverse Eritrea’ s sovereignty one UN commission at a time?” Hey, is the Pope Catholic? The answer is yes.

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