Shaibya Warns TPLF not to Play with Fire! What Fire?

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Aigaforum
Sep 2, 2006

The Shaibya government in Eritrea never ceases to amaze us. Its latest foray into Somali politics is one of the many blunders it is committing. As readers recall, it has been bashing the United States Government as if Eritrea needs more enemy. Eritrea has been told it is too weak, too small and too poor by many westerners. It has also been told by Ethiopia many times. Ethiopia has told the Shaibya government its best option is to live as a neighbor even with all its mischief. The only caveat in this offer is Shaibya needs to pay more attention to its own internal peace and its poverty instead of meddling in other countries’ internal matters. Ethiopia has been doing just that, launching all its forces to development with a goal of freeing Ethiopia from poverty. It is in such spirit Dr Addis Alem Balema, a high ranking official in the TPLF led government in Tigray, recently told Ethio-American of Tigrean origin that Eritrea's internal issue is for Eritreans to solve and that Ethiopia has no intention in deposing the Shaibya government or starting a fight with it. In fact he told the audience that as long as Shaibya does not stand on the way to Ethiopia’s fight against poverty the Shaibya government could stay as long as it wants to in Asmara.

Reading Shaibya's latest statement on Somalia and Ethiopia; Shaibya Eritrea does not seem to have grasped the reality that it is weak, poor and small. It is projecting itself to be a peacemaker. It has warned the EPRDF regime not to play with fire. Who is playing with fire? What business does Shaibya have inside Somalia? Ethiopia has all the reasons to be worried since it has thousands of kilometers of porous border with Somalia. Ethiopia has seen terrorist cells operating from Somalia thus disturbing its peace. Ethiopia is justified to be mindful on the latest Somalia development but what is in it for Shaibya?

Shaibya also tried to educate the world that international border conflicts must be resolved according to international and colonial rules and treaties. Have we not heard this before? Instead of resolving the border issue with Ethiopia it is playing with semantics making a futile attempt that Somali Islamic Court will help. International rule is good so far it helps to have peace and not the other way around. Forced demarcation will not solve the border issue. Dialogue is the very basic vocabulary in international dealings and it is exactly peaceful dialogue that Ethiopia is asking. Shaibya better get this right!

The Shaibya government is a one-man government. Eritrea is a one-man nation so to speak. However, Ethiopia as a multi ethnic society has established a federal government. In its zeal to please its terrorist surrogates in Somalia and the ONLF/OLF, the Shaibya government condemns TPLF for standing for the unity of Ethiopia. Little did this one-man government know that its lieutenants were cajoling with CUD elements that were known for their atrocities to keep Eritrea within Ethiopia proper in Asmara! In a way it is good to see Shaibya realize TPLF was not and has not been against Ethiopian Unity.

Instead of allying itself with questionable characters in Somalia and elsewhere Shaibya Eritrea better realize that its future is best served by Ethiopia’s good neighborliness. Ethiopia has all the reasons to want Somalia establish a working government. To that end it is doing all it can to nip the growing anti peace forces in Mogadishu!

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