Continued unjust Sanctions against Eritrea in 2017.

31 dec. 2017.

Continued unjust Sanctions against Eritrea in 2017.

By John Graversgaard, Member of The Eritrean Support Group of Denmark.

Western Imperialism continues to use UN to demonize Eritrea with no substantial and valid arguments. With sanctions in the Security Council(UNSC) the masters of the universe and their fellow-travellers hope to cripple this proud and independent nation. But in vain.

On the 14 Nov 2017 the UNSC again voted to continue the sanction regime. 11 affirmative and 4 abstained( Bolivia, Egypt, Russia and China): Resolution 2385.

The tool behind is The Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group(SEMG). SEMG has for its 4th consecutive mandate not found any conclusive evidence of support by Eritrea to Al-Shabaab in Somalia. They have never produced any evidence for this, and supporting an islamist group using terrorism goes all against the values of secular Eritrea. Eritrea must be punished even as innocent. Read again: 4 times SEMG have confirmed there is no evidence, first time in 2012, it is like an obsession.

The sanction regime was imposed on Eritrea on the 23 dec. 2009 in Resolution 1907. Eritrea condemned the resolution, calling it "shameful" and a "fabrication of lies" by the United States and "Ethiopian regime", and stated it would not affect the country. Eritrea denied the support of Somali militants, stating that "Somalis are our brothers". Eritrea has worked for peace and against foreign interventions in Somalia. The liberation movement EPLF that liberated Eritrea has always been vehemently fighting ethnic and religious divisions. EPLF after liberation established a secular government opposed to any kind of fundamentalisms, here also political Islam.

The most shameful was that African countries(except Libya) supported the sanctions, which was a clever and cynical manouvre by the US proxy regime in Ethiopia, a regime that has attacked and occupied both Eritrea and Somalia. Ethiopia has turned things totally round accusing Eritrea for its own crimes with the full support of US. This has been done with intensive lobbying and expensive international PR campaigns. Eritrea a country thirsty for peace after 30 years war with Ethiopia of course acted vehemently against this unjustice and withdrew from the African Union in protest.

The tactic of the enemies of Eritrea finding that the accusations for support to the islamist Al Shabaab no longer was a useful fabrication, has been to make new accusations. Moving the focus from the fact, that it is Ethiopia that violates the UN and AU supported Algiers Agreement by occupying Eritrean sovereign territory for more than 15 years. UNSC knows that Ethiopia has indeed violated the Algiers Agreement and the related border decision (EEBC) but accepts the occupation. With a permanent pressure from the US, the UNSC has chosen to close its eyes to to this violation of international law. Maintaining sanctions of Eritrea deflects attention from Ethiopia’s violations of peace and stability in the region.

Eritrea is a sovereign national state that commands its own economy and resources and this is unacceptable to Washington and Wall Street. This kind of “ressource nationalism” runs against the interests of the global investors. States with publicly-owned economies are threatened either directly or by proxies. Blocking access to neocolonial exploitation and not bowing to the demands of IMF and The World Bank is regarded as a threat to “free enterprise”. Only imperialists have interests beyond their own border, enforced through threat and coercion. An independent state like Eritrea working in the interests of its own people, is in a perverse way regarded as a threat.

The use of the media to stigmatize and victimize Eritrea is also useful and blocks for people to study and understand Eritrea`s real problems and challenges: Problems like poverty, trafficking and the conflict with Ethiopia. Eritrea`s policy of self-reliance and the struggle against the recolonization of Africa is a history excluded in the false narrative about Eritrea.

Sources:

Lasst uns in Frieden leben. Für Gerechtigkeit, Aufhebung der UN-Sanktionen und ein Ende der Diffamierungskampagne gegen Eritrea
http://www.eritrea-hilfswerk.de/index_htm_files/Broschuere_2015.06.30.pdf

Shabait:
http://www.shabait.com/editorial/press-release/25191-unwarranted-sanctions-on-eritrea-must-be-rescinded

Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_Resolution_1907

UN Resolution 1907: Text of the Resolution at undocs.org

BBC News: "UN sanctions shameful, says Eritrea". BBC News. December 24, 2009.

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