The Total Capitulations of UNSC in Eritrea

Now it is very clear that after years of appeasing and submissions, The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) finally capitulated to the blackmail of the Eritrean regime.   Given the actions and reactions of the UNSC over the years on the issues of Eritrea, the total capitulation is not surprising.  Eritrea has broken all the rules and treaties and faced no sanctions of any kind from UNSC or other international entities. Although the crimes and violations of the regime is glaring and numerous, to date UNSC spared Eritrea from any kind of punishments and sanctions and instead complied with its illegal and cruel demands.

The mishandling of UNMEE on various occasions, the expulsions of  UNMEE staffs and stiff restrictions on movement and the deployment of troops in TSZ are only some of the violations directly affected the authority of UNSC and undermine the Algiers treaty.  Depriving food, fuel and forbidding UNMEE to vacate from Eritrea draws only a simple condemnation. Now the Eritrean regime is effectively holding UNMEE as a hostage and not only UNSC but the whole international community is dead silent over this horrendous crime. The complete silence and capitulations of UNSC and the international community which includes the media, NGOS, human rights organizations and various governments clearly show lack of commitment and care for the people of Ethiopia and Eritrea.  This is not the first time UNSC failed the people of Ethiopia and Eritrea.

When the Eritrean regime invaded Ethiopia the UNSC went out of its way and imposed military embargo both on the aggressor and the victim alike.  It chose to punish the victim instead of coming into defense and taking severe actions against aggressive regime.  The lack of fairness and injustices from UNSC and international community forced the government and the people of Ethiopia to take defensive actions to repel the aggressor and recover invaded territory.  The loss of thousands of lives and billions of property can be directly attributed to the lack of actions and carelessness of UNSC and international community.  After Ethiopia successfully defeated and removed the aggressor from its territory, once again the international community rewarded the Eritrean regime by giving the lands it invaded illegally. The injustice to Ethiopia is never ending and the patient of its people and government is coming to an end.

In numerous occasions the government of Ethiopia avails itself for peaceful end of the conflict and constructive dialogue to settle all issues amicably and without prejudice.  But the Eritrean regime refused face to face dialogue and continues to arm itself and undermine all efforts for peace by turning Eritrea in to the hub of terrorists.  The Eritrean regime openly hosts, arms and harbors all violent and armed groups to destabilize Ethiopia. That action by itself can negates the Algiers agreement and should have galvanized the UNSC and international community into actions against Eritrea. But no action is taken and Ethiopia left to fend for itself.

When the Eritrean regime broke the arms embargo and flooded Somalia with all kind of armaments and allied with terrorists, no one has taken any kind of actions. The UNSC and the international community simply allowed the regime to play its dirty crimes without impunity on the people of the Horn.  Some like EU security chief prized the leader of the tyrant regime as peace maker and the great leader. Donald Payne and Chris Smith of American congress come into the defense of the dictator and set to punish Ethiopia. The International media cheered and continue to champion the dictatorial regime and work over drive to hide his crimes. Countries such as Egypt, Qatar, and Norway by vigorously defending and protecting the dictator they are prolonging the suffering of the Eritrean people and the region. In Sudan the regime setup all kind of armed groups and problems and expected to be rewarded for it as peace maker. Why is it that the UNSC and the international community is supporting and defending such criminal regime? Are they mocking the people of Africa?

The destructive nature of the Eritrean regime is well tolerated and rewarded by the international community as the cost and interest of the people of the Horn. International entities become liability, problem and obstacle to peace, security and development of the region. Their deliberate silence and outright capitulations to the Eritrean regime, appeasement of Islamic Courts and lack of support for peace building mechanisms in the regions become determinant to the stability of the region. The total failure of the UNSC and international community in Darfur and Somalia shows the disinterest of the parties on African concerns. Their reluctance to provide troops, financial and political support for the people of Somalia allowed the situations to become desperate. At this moment and time the people of Ethiopia and the greater horn lost all hopes and confidence on the UNSC and international community.

The government of Ethiopia appealed to the UNSC and the international community in numerous occasions to rectify the problems and to take corrective actions to restore peace and stability in the region. However and unfortunately there is no response. Sooner or later, lack of actions and responses for these serious violations would only lead to dangerous crises. Once again the people of our region will bear the burden and suffer the consequences as before.  Therefore the people of Ethiopia and the government need to weigh their options and prepare to take corrective actions to ensure peace, stability and development to reign in the region. It is prudent and good governance to wage effective diplomatic campaigns to isolate and minimize the impact of crises caused by the Eritrean regime on our people and the region. While we are ultimately responsible for our security we must  ensure that the UNSC and the international community is also doing the fair shares and take corrective actions against aggressive  Eritrean regime. The UNSC must earn the trust of our people by coming on side of justice and sparing our region from another catastrophic event.

Thanks

Abdel 02/26/08