Vol 16. No. 101Saturday, 20th of February, 2010Pages 8, Price 1.50 NFA
The Sudan Tribune in its Wednesday 17 February 2010 edition quot-ing the Kiev Times reported that a Ukrainian company Ukrspetsexportsupplied artillery systems and small arms to the rebels in Chad throughthe territory of Eritrea. The story picked by Sudan Tribune is an outrightlie and a fabrication without any shred of truth whatsoever.This irresponsible and poisonous report is part and parcel of the end-less campaign of lies and deceptions being perpetrated by some quarters,designed to tarnish the image of Eritrea and furthermore, a futile attemptto sow seeds of discord to the warm and brotherly relations betweenEritrea and Sudan.Eritrea’s territory has never been used as transit to supply arms to any-one group in the Sudan or any other place in the region. Eritrea enjoysexemplary warm relations with the government and people of Sudan.Despite the disseminations of lies and deceits by forces with subterrane-ous motives and who aspire to bene
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t from instability and chaos in ourregion, Eritrea
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rmly reiterates that it will relentlessly strive for peaceand stability in the Sudan and the region at large.
A MEDIA CAMPAIGN OF ENDLESSLIES AND DECEPTIONS
The Head of Orga-nizational Affairs atthe PFDJ, Mr. AbdallaJabir, delivered a mes-sage from PresidentIsaias Afwerki to Su-danese President OmarHassan Al-Beshir.The message focusedon bilateral relations,as well as regional andinternational issues of mutual concern to bothcountries.At meetings they conducted indifferent parts of the United States,members of various Eritrean com-munities reiterated readiness toback up the national resolute re-buff.In their meetings in Seattle, LosAngeles, Orange and Riversideand environs, the Eritrean com-munity members condemned theUS sanctions resolution adopted inthe name of the Security Council,in addition to expressing readinessto participate in the forthcomingworld-wide demonstration againstthe resolution. In the course of themeeting, the nationals contributedabout USD15,000 and said that theywould continue such donation.It is to be noted that Eritreancitizens in different parts of theworld are making preparations forthe staging of world-wide demon-stration on February 22 in Wash-ington D.C., USA, Geneva at theEuropean level and in the City of Canberra, Australia, and call for theannulment of the illegal US sanc-tions resolution through echoingthe voice of truth and justice.In a meeting it conducted in Bei-rut, Lebanon, the World Federa-tion of Democratic Youth (WFDY)condemned the US sanctions reso-lution against Eritrea adopted inthe name of the Security Council.In a statement it issued, theWFDY denounced the sanctionsresolution which is based on fabri-cated lies and allegations. It notedthat the prevailing economic cri-In an eye-witness report, the Ku-wait newspaper, Al-Anbbae, wroteextensively about Eritrea sayingthat the country is heading to abright future.In a 3-page coverage of the in-terview the paper conducted withPresident Isaias Afwerki, it high-lighted the President’s assertionthat is not at all inclined to sell aninch of its territory to Iran or Israel.Al-Anbbae particularly disclosedPresident Isaias’ dismissal of base-less allegations claiming that thereexist Israeli and Iranian militarybases in Eritrea, and that suchsmear campaign is part and parcelof attempts being made to tarnishEritrea’s image.In the extensive interview fo-cusing on domestic, regional andinternational issues, the Presidentexplained that the turmoil and di-saster in Somalia, Sudan, Kenyaand others are an outcome of thegimmicks employed in the nameof so-called democracy. In this re-
MR. ABDALLA DELIVERS PRESIDENT’SMESSAGE TO SUDANESE LEADER
ERITREAN COMMUNITIES IN US, SOUTH AFRICA,ZAMBIA AND ITALY REITERATE COMMITMENT TOLIVE UP TO NATION’S EXPECTATIONS
In related news, in continuationof the meetings being held by Er-itrean nationals in different parts of the world, Eritrean citizens livingin South Africa, Zambia and Italyreiterated readiness to back up thenational resolute rebuff drive.In meetings conducted in Johan-nesburg and Lusaka, the nationalsexpressed readiness to take activeparticipation in the worldwide dem-onstration scheduled to be stagedon February 22.The Eritrean Charge D’Affairesto South Africa, Mr. Khalid Abera,and the Head of Consular Affairsin the Embassy, Mr. Tewolde Mi-hreteab, gave brie
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ngs on the ob- jective situation in the Homelandand the national resolute rebuff drive. The participants of the meet-ing expressed conviction that suchtemporary challenges would be metthrough the Eritrean people’s
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rmunity and steadfastness.Meanwhile, Eritrean communitiesin the Italian cities of Bologna andFirence expressed determination toenhance contribution towards thesuccess of the national develop-ment drive. They denounced theUS-engineered Resolution 1907adopted in the name of the Secu-rity Council that has no evidencewhatsoever. In this connection, thenationals reiterated commitment toback up development programs.In a seminar he conducted for thenationals, the Eritrean Ambassadorto Italy, Mr. Zemede Tekle, gavebrie
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ngs on the objective situationin the Homeland and the programsenvisaged for implementation thisyear.sis in the industrialized Westerncountries is the outcome of innercontradictions and the exploitativenature of the capitalist system.The Federation went on to em-phasize that the same forces inthe Western world are enhanc-ing exploitation over the peopleincluding the youth. The victimsare suffering from unemployment,poverty, violation of human rightsand the consequences of war. Inthis respect, the WFDY under-lined the need to mount struggle atvarious level against the prevail-ing international order. It furtherunderlined that there exists grossexploitation of resources in Africa,the Middle East, Latin Americaand others.The WFDY noted that the recentClimate Change Conference inCopenhagen, Denmark, empha-sized that little attention is beingpaid to the sad plight of peoplesaround the world suffering acutepoverty and the consequence of war mainly resulting from thegreedy and exploitative behaviorof the industrialized countries.
WFDY CONDEMN UNJUST SANCTIONS RESOLUTION
spect, he pointed out that the term‘democracy’ is currently being ap-plied as a tool for inciting con
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ictamong peoples and the like.Replying to a question whetherEritrea accepts ‘mediation towardsresolving the problem with Ethio-pia’, President Isaias declared:“We don’t have any problem withEthiopia. As the border issue hasreached legal conclusion, there isno need for any mediator and thatthere is no option other than accept-ing the EEBC ruling adopted in ourfavor.” In this connection, he un-derlined that Eritrea’s concern hasto do with the United States itself,and that the TPLF regime is butonly an appendage.President Isaias went on to saythat in view of the fact that Wash-ington has not yet learnt from itsgross past mistakes, thus puttingitself in a situation of quagmire.He further emphasized that such anadventurous course of action hasits own limits.
ERITREA HEADING TO A BRIGHTFUTURE: AL-ANBAE NEWSPAPER
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Eritrea Pro
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le, Saturday 20th of February, 2010
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Saturday & Wednesday
Managing Director
Azzazi Zeremariam
Editor in Chief
Yishak Yared
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Ghenet TeweldemedhinSamrawit Ghide
By: Amanuel Mesfun
It is to be recalled that commemo-rative events marking the 20
th
an-niversary of Operation Fenkil thattook place in the port city of Mas-sawa from February 12 to 14 un-der the theme: “Bequeathment forFull Emancipation” concluded in acolorful manner last week. Duringthe celebrations various programs,including artistic and cultural per-formances, seminars, exhibitionshighlighting the potentials of thesub-regions, arts exhibition depict-ing the activities of EDF members,sports competition, sea carnival andothers added color to the event. Aspart of the celebrations PresidentIsaias Afwerki conducted extensiveinterviews with different media out-lets on the occasion of the Fenkil Op-eration regarding domestic, regionaland international issues. We got achance to talk to some of the jour-nalists who conducted interviewswith President Isaias Afwerki.Mr. Mohammed Kraza is a seniorphotographer in the Libyan OEAnewspaper. He was one of the pho-tographers who were able to takephotographs of the early stage of the Eritrean armed struggle with thepopular forces in the 1970s. “I dohave wonderful memories to recallabout Eritrea. I was here in Eritreaback 40 years ago during the earlystage of the liberation struggle. I ar-rived from Libya to Beilul and trav-
FENKIL: ‘Bequeathment For Full Emancipation’
Eritrea Through The Eye Of Foreign Journalists
el to Suduh Ela, Denkel, where thepopular forces started to mobilizein the 1970,” said Mr. MohammedKraza recalling memories of theearly stage; and added, “I alwaysremember the dedication of the
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ghters of the armed struggle andtheir visionary perception that theywould attain their freedom. Andwhen Eritrea got its independenceI was really happy; it was like anoccasion of my own family. I wasthere in the celebrations of indepen-dence but not as a journalist but asan Eritrean who is celebrating his orher freedom.” he noted that the mostinteresting thing that impressed himis the existing peace and tranquilityand unity of the Eritrean people.Regarding the celebrations of the20th Fenkil operation Mr. Moham-med said, “First I would like to paytribute to those martyrs who gavetheir lives so that this sweet taste of freedom will be enjoyed. This cel-ebration is a festivity of the publicand they are celebrating it with greatenthusiasm.” He concluded wish-ing good health for His ExcellencyPresident Isaias and prosperity forthe Eritrean people.Mohammud Al-Yosi
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, is also theEditor-in-chief of the Libyan OEAnewspaper. “It is my
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rst time to behere in Eritrea but I do know closelythe revolutionary struggle of theEritrean people. Being from a revo-lutionary country we do have simi-larity in many areas. I do had link-age back during the armed struggleabout the battle
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eld and I have al-ways dreamed of coming here andlooking it with my own eyes andhere now I am lucky to be here andto witness the existing peace andprosperity of the Eritrean people,”he said.Expressing his feeling; “Whatimpressed me most is the strongfeeling of the people and their dedi-cation for their country. The feelingand happiness I saw during the cel-ebrations was really amazing whichmakes the festivity more vibrant.I witnessed a strong coexistencewhich is based on unity and devo-tion.”“It is the third time that I got achance to interview President IsaiasAfwerki regarding different issuesof the horn of Africa region in gen-eral and Eritrea in particular. Dur-ing the interviews I have conductedthe president was very clear for hisanswers and he was very transpar-ent and answered all questions withgreat con
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dence and it is going tobene
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t my newspaper. And we arereally pleased to have this chancefor the third time. Through this in-terview people will be able to knowthe reality about Eritrea and alsothe region,” said Afkar Ali Abdulla,senior reporter at the Khalij Timesnewspaper based in Dubai express-ing his moment with the President.Regarding her visit to Eritrea shesaid, “It is my
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rst time to be here inthe country. During these two daysI went around all the cities and Iwalked in the streets of Asmara, itwas actually great and I loved it andit was amazing.”Expressing her impression Ms.Afkar stated “The people are verynice, very welcoming, generous,kind and helpful. The thing what Iliked about Eritrea is the total free-dom they give to women. Genderquality is not an issue in Eritrea. Ithink women in Eritrea succeededand exceed it beyond the limit thatof any other women in the regionor in the world. You
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nd Eritreanwomen everywhere in every
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eld.Women are given all the rights here.I got chance to meet with womenministers, administrators and may-ors; that is really amazing. Womenhere don’t have to worry about any-thing, nobody bothers them what towear, what to eat or where to go? InEritrea women are really enjoyingtheir freedom completely. No wom-en in the region or around it can dowhat Eritrean women are doing.”About the celebration of Fenkilshe said; “First of all I would liketo thank the Ministry of Informationfor inviting me here to attend the20th anniversary of Massawa cityliberation and also for the hospital-ity that they have offered us dur-ing these days and the chance theygave us to interview the president. Iwould like to thank them very muchfor that. Massawa is a very beauti-ful city and it deserves to
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ght forit. The celebration was very wellorganized and there were so manyprograms and I really loved itShe is one of the journalists whoclosely follow the affairs of theHorn. She wrote an article about thedemonstrations by Eritreans fromall over the world that are scheduledto be held on the 22nd of Februarydenouncing the unjust sanctions res-olution on her news paper the KhalijTimes. Asked on the Security Coun-cil resolution passed against Eritrea;Ms. Afkar noted, “President Isaiasmade it clear what the truth is. Thissanction made by the UN SecurityCouncil is baseless and they don’thave evidences and they don’t haveany arguments to impose a sanctionagainst Eritrea. So as media peopleit is our duty to convey the truth toour readers in the Gulf countries,Asian readers or any where else.”Articulating her impression shesaid, “I like Eritrean people verymuch and I wish them all the bestin the future. The thing also I likedabout Eritreans is their dedication.In our way from Asmara to Mas-sawa we took the Serejeka Shebahroad- the Eastern Escarpment-Fahad, a journalist from the Minis-try of Information who is accompa-nying me told me that this road inthe mountains, very high hills, wasbuilt relying domestically throughthe Warsai-Yekaalo developmentcampaign by the members of thenational services just for nothingbut only for the faith they have intheir heart, mind and for the love of their country. I am really so muchimpressed by this.”Adnan Khalifa Al-Rashid is alsoone of the journalists and the as-sistance editor in the Al-Anbbae’Kuwaiti newspaper. It is his
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rsttime to be here in Eritrea with hiscolleague Mohammed Al-Hussieni,Managing Director in the newspa-per. “We witnessed a positive de-velopment drive of the country andespecially when we met with HisExcellency President Isaias, we areable to grasp a clear picture of howthis small nation is striving to de-velop and strengthen its economiccapability. We found the president avery transparent, visionary enoughto imagine the economic drive of his country and who deeply knowthe socioeconomic and political af-fairs of the region. And he really an-swered all of the questions we askedhim.”Concerning his perception aboutEritrea, “We are friends of the Er-itrean people and the armed strug-gle that they waged. And when wecome we observe the prevailingpeace and security in Eritrea and wewitnessed the existing strong unityamong the different ethnic groups inthe country.”“I have been able to know that Er-itrea is diligently working to devel-op its infrastructure, social services,human resources development andother facilities relying only frominternal resources. This is a greatexperience that must be shared withother people of this region or evenelse where,” said Mr. Adnan Khalifaimpressed by the development driveEritrea is marching.Saif Adeen Al-Bashir is alsoone of the journalists who cometo attend the 20th Fenkil Anniver-sary. He is the editor-in-Chief of the Khartoum based Sudan Visionnewspaper. “I found the presidentthe same revolutionary, simple, or-dinary Eritrean person. Still he isthat man since 20 years I have seenhim. He is a deeply visionary leadernot only talking about the Eritreanissues but also regarding the region,the cooperation inside the region,how to achieve peace and work notonly for the welfare of the people inEritrea but also for the people of theregion. For that reason I believe thathe has very remarkable stories hecan tell not only about the neighbor-ing countries but even regarding thewhole African and I do appreciate
Continued on Page 7
President Isaias with Journalists from the Al-Anbbae’ Kuwaiti newspaper Mr. Mohammed Kraza giving a four decades old photographs of the popular forces to President Isaias Afkar Ali Abdulla, senior reporter at the Khalij Times newspaper Saif Adeen Al-Bashir editor-in-Chief of the Khartoum based Sudan Vision Mohammud Al-Yosi
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, Editor-in-chief of the Libyan OEA newspaper
3
Eritrea Pro
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le, Saturday 20th of February, 2010
By: AmanuelEvery time Eritreans come acrosstheir Ethiopian counterpart, thefavorite statement of Ethiopiansis that we are friends. We arebrothers. Well, here is your timeto prove it! Prove it by standingwith your brothers and sisters.Prove it by standing for justice.Prove it by showing your supportand readiness for a new beginning;a beginning towards mutual trust,cooperation, understanding andlove for each other for the goodof the people in the region. Everything has a beginning. Elias Ki
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e,
Why March With Eritreans
Sileshi Tilahun and Demise Beleteamong others made the initiative tovisit Eritrea and to talk to PresidentIsaias Afwerki, a controversial
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gure in Ethiopian circles andreturned with a different attitude.They were determined to exposethe Eritrean perspectives. Theywanted to tell Ethiopians thatEritrea was not the enemy but atrue friend of Ethiopia. That Eritreaseeks Ethiopian unity, peace,cooperation and partnership. Mr.Elias and his partners sacri
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ced agreat deal; they were ridiculed andcalled traitors but they stood theirgrounds and pursued what they feltwas the right thing.They are not ridiculed anymore.In fact, they are regarded veryhighly. The price they paid and theirdetermination paid off big time.The interview with President Isaiaswas a success. It changed the waymany viewed the Eritrean presidentand, as a result, many Ethiopiansare working with Eritreans now.The chance they took became aplatform for the stage we are intoday, a stage where many areopenly saying: “We want to marchalongside our Eritrean brothers andsisters and express our solidaritywith them on the incoming world-wide demonstration against theunjust UN imposed sanctionslapped on Eritrea. In fact, we wantto work with Eritreans in manyother
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elds of mutual concern” andare doing so.Likewise, we, Eritreans, want tobe part of a new beginning, to leavethe history of hate and bloodshedbehind-us and start anew. Thisdemonstration is the
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rst occasionwhere Eritreans and Ethiopians areto stand together side by side for apurpose in DC and tell the worldthat we are not enemies; and wewill never be. We are brothers andsisters capable of working together.We are united for a purpose and thatpurpose is to live together side byside as partners; for our successesand interests and not at the expenseof each other. That is what we aredetermined to achieve; what weare striving for and, that is what wewant to tell the world.We need to march in unity tochange perceptions. For centuriesthe West were relaxed because theycan take for granted the fact that wewill kill one another for no reason.We will march to change that. Weneed to show the enemies of ourpeople that we can be smart andstand united in order to challengetheir evil ways. We need to marchto set example to others that peaceis the way. But most importantly,we need to march to set a goodexample for future generations.We need to be the
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rst, so we cansay; we are amongst those whomarched
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rst for unity, for peace,cooperation between Eritreans andEthiopians for a new beginning.We need to march togetherbecause we have a much bigger
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sh to fry. To get rid of a despot,a master of genocides, a thief anda mercenary. To put in jail a personresponsible for so much bloodshed,destruction and displacement of millions; and a criminal whosemurderous troops shot at point-blank and killed many youngsterswho dared to stand up for freedom.We need to stand together andto march in unity to tell ourdetractors propping-up despots isnot acceptable and their ways arehurting the future of our peopleand killing progress. Because if wedon’t, they will think and believe,they are doing well by abusingour peoples. And unfortunately,the people they care most arethe handful that are bene
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tingat the expense of millions whilethe millions are condemned forhandouts. We are marching tobreak that cycle.We need to march to annulthe illegal, immoral and UNjustsanction imposed on Eritrea:Firstly, because as SamuelJohnson English author, critic,& lexicographer once said “Aninjustice anywhere is an injusticeeverywhere”! They sanctionedEritrea unjustly because they have abully pulpit, ownership of a defunctworld body, the UN. Meles, who isa party to the mischief, has beendirectly responsible for the armsand the bloodshed in Somalia.Eritrea is in no way capable of shipping arms or providing anyother logistical support when theUS is controlling the Indian Ocean,the land and air and anything inbetween. Furthermore, Eritreadoesn’t have the resources. WhatEritrea did is stand for justice forthe Somali people by asking theworld community to allow themto resolve their issues withoutoutside meddling. Eritrea took a moral stand just as many Arabstates do on Israel by notrecognizing Israel so longas the Palestinian issueremains unresolved.The UN had absolutelyno evidence to back up USand Meles Zenawi’s claimsabout Eritrea’s support forarmed groups in Somalia.South African Ambassadorto the United NationsDumisani Kumalo, whoserved as chairman of theU.N. Security Council’sSomalia sanctionscommittee, speaking of Somalia, said that 80% of ammunition available atthe Somali arms marketswas supplied by TFG andMeles Zenawi’s troops.Kumalo also said that thecommittee had received details of some 25 military
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ights sent byMeles Zenawi into Somalia andknew that Meles Zenawi’s troopshad brought military equipmentinto the country to arm “friendlyclans.” The UN Envoy for SomaliaAhmedou Ould-Abdallah also saidthat there was no evidence to provethe allegations made against Eritreaare correct.The US does not care about theSomalis’ well being, because if itdid, it wouldn’t have supportedMeles in his quest for Somaliblood. If the US truly was for justice, human rights and the ruleof law, it would have supported theSomali freedom
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ghters instead of encouraging and abating the Meles’and Museveni’s to help createmayhem in that lawless land. But,then again, who exonerated the US?We all know the US is a party tothe con
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ict as well. I guess “Mightis right” as the saying goes.Secondly, the sanctions intendedgoal is to boost Meles Zenawi,weaken Eritrea (the only countrystanding on his ways) and renderEthiopians at the mercy of MelesZenawi for decades without anyserious challenge to his reign. Isthat what you want? A murderousthief who is selling Ethiopia toindividuals, entities and countriesthat will not have the best interestfor Ethiopia. He is selling Ethiopiapiece by piece with the hopes thathis investors will keep him inpower in order to maintain theirinvestments. Therefore to losefocus at this point is irresponsible.We need to march together to stopthis madness.Thirdly, we need to marchbecause success means the defeatof Meles Zenawi and his gang. Oneof the intended goals of the sanctionis to reverse the momentum thatis ready to engulf the Ethiopiannation; the undercurrent that hasbeen building due to hatred of thedetested Meles’s regime. It is byfar the most crucial moment in thehistory of Ethiopian struggle. Thisis a moment that will de
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ne history.Because if Meles is allowed to win,the bloodshed will continue for along time because, the change hismasters seek are dangerous andwill mire the region into bloodycon
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icts worse than what we arewitnessing in Somalia.This is a time when Ethiopiansneed to take a
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rm and clear standand decide whether they wantMeles and the TPLF gang gone.There is no need for those whotake a hesitant position and fearfulto show that they are working withEritrea because they are afraid of a backlash. No need for those whowant to stay in the backgroundafraid to be in a weaker positionif Eritrea loses. No need for thosewho want to put themselves in afavorable position by taking themiddle ground in order to switchsides when convenient. Thesepeople or groups have no stand andcan not lead. Do you want Weyanegone? Then take a stand. Show thepeople of Ethiopia that you canstand against Weyane and lead.Often, we Eritreans refer to times in which our country was made avictim of the hideous policies of American administrations to guaranteetheir global interest as ‘Ethiopian colonization’. Although in truth, thecolonization of Eritrea for the past 40 years by Ethiopia has been UnitedState’s colonialism by proxy.Taking the essential factors into account, Ethiopia, that was by far lessdeveloped, was neither capable nor had the required resources to takeEritrea as a colony. In their entire history, Ethiopian leaders could neverbe regarded as capable colonizing entities let alone pose a formidableanti-colonization force. When the Italians annexed Ethiopia in 1935,Emperor Haileslassie, incapable of rallying the public chose to cede histhrone and abandoned his country and sought asylum elsewhere. Finally,he was carried back to his throne by the might of foreign forces and wasawarded Eritrea as a colony. The Derg also more or less followed thesame subservient route until its eventual demise in 1991. The currentregime due its unprecedented character is engaged in acts of servitudeby far from the past two regimes.As is it known, the strategic national interest of the US in its dealingswith Africa seeks to divide the continent into four controllable parts. Toattain such a goal, the administration always attempts to destabilize na-tions of the Horn in order to bene
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t from the aftermath of the turmoil.The ill mission of the US administration is to destabilize Somalia, Su-dan to become unstable and con
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ict torn, make Eritrea abandon its freepolitical course, Kenya to become a failed state, and IGAD, which isresponsible for the Horn to become an instrument through the in
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ltrationof the CIA under the guise of AfriCom.Hence, Resolution 1907 does not only target Eritrea. It is a ploy cre-ated to destabilize the Horn region. The people of the Horn of Africashould
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ght against a resolution that seeks to destabilize their region sothat their region will not become like Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan andthe Balkan nations. The struggle against such unjust resolution shouldbe harmonized, continuous and inclusive; and one that perfectly under-stands the strategy of the American Administration. As regarding theservant regime, is only an addendum.
Resolution 1907: An AdventurismTargeted To The Horn Of Africa
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