Calls for tougher Eritrea 'terror' sanctions at UN
09 August, 2011 | AFP
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UNITED NATIONS — Ethiopia and Djibouti are leading East
African nations pressing the UN Security Council to step up sanctions
on Eritrea over terror accusations, diplomats said.
Pressure for action has mounted since a UN monitoring group said
last month that the Eritrean government was behind planned bomb
attacks in the Ethiopian capital during an African Union summit in
January.
The UN experts also said Eritrea was arming and supporting
insurgents in Somalia, including the Shebab group linked to Al-Qaeda.
"If the Security Council is serious about fighting terrorism, then we
should expect it to discourage Eritrea from taking its dangerous
positions," Ethiopia's Ambassador to the United Nations Tekeda
Alemu told AFP.
"African representatives are lobbying but we believe this is the
responsibility of the entire Security Council."
A summit of the Inter-Government Authority on Development --
which includes Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and
Uganda -- last month called for toughened UN and African Union
sanctions against Eritrea.
The summit, which condemned Eritrea for its "active part in
destabilizing the region", was held just before the release of a damning
report by the UN Somalia-Eritrea monitoring group.
The report said Eritrea was giving financial and logistical support to
armed opposition groups in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Sudan and possibly
Uganda.
Eritrea was also behind a failed plot to disrupt an African Union
summit in Addis Ababa that had planned to bomb several civilian and
government targets, it added.
The country gets most of its money from the two percent "diaspora
tax" reportedly imposed by diplomatic missions around the world. Its
growing mining sector, especially for gold, is soon expected to
become a major source of revenue in the impoverished company.
A number of political, military and intelligence officials involved in
"people smuggling, arms trafficking, money laundering and extortion"
were responsible for "systematic subversion" of the Eritrean
government and ruling party, according to the UN report.
The experts said all East African governments had to be on guard
against the growing Eritrean threat and that the Security Council
should order greater international surveillance of Eritrean banks and
diplomatic missions.
Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1991 after a 30-year
war. Ethiopia has since accused its neighbor of aiding rebel groups
such as the Oromo Liberation Front and Ogaden National Liberation
Front.
A border war between the countries in 1998-2000 left some 80,000
dead. In April, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said his
country was ready to help the people of Eritrea topple Issaias
Afeworki's regime.
The UN Security Council imposed one round of sanctions against
Eritrea in December 2009 over its support for insurgents in Somalia.
US President Barack Obama's administration has since faced calls to
add Eritrea to its list of state sponsors of terrorism.
"These new sanctions may be difficult to carry out but there is
certainly agreement on the Security Council now that something has to
be done about Eritrea," said a Western diplomat at the UN.
Courtesy
09 August, 2011 | AFP
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UNITED NATIONS — Ethiopia and Djibouti are leading East
African nations pressing the UN Security Council to step up sanctions
on Eritrea over terror accusations, diplomats said.
Pressure for action has mounted since a UN monitoring group said
last month that the Eritrean government was behind planned bomb
attacks in the Ethiopian capital during an African Union summit in
January.
The UN experts also said Eritrea was arming and supporting
insurgents in Somalia, including the Shebab group linked to Al-Qaeda.
- An East African regional group
called for sanctions against Eritrea's
mining interests and banning a tax
the radical government puts on
remittances sent back by Eritreans
abroad.
- Ethiopian and Djibouti envoys have
been lobbying the 15-member
Security Council on the case, which
could raised Wednesday at a council
meeting on Somalia.
"If the Security Council is serious about fighting terrorism, then we
should expect it to discourage Eritrea from taking its dangerous
positions," Ethiopia's Ambassador to the United Nations Tekeda
Alemu told AFP.
"African representatives are lobbying but we believe this is the
responsibility of the entire Security Council."
A summit of the Inter-Government Authority on Development --
which includes Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and
Uganda -- last month called for toughened UN and African Union
sanctions against Eritrea.
The summit, which condemned Eritrea for its "active part in
destabilizing the region", was held just before the release of a damning
report by the UN Somalia-Eritrea monitoring group.
The report said Eritrea was giving financial and logistical support to
armed opposition groups in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Sudan and possibly
Uganda.
Eritrea was also behind a failed plot to disrupt an African Union
summit in Addis Ababa that had planned to bomb several civilian and
government targets, it added.
The country gets most of its money from the two percent "diaspora
tax" reportedly imposed by diplomatic missions around the world. Its
growing mining sector, especially for gold, is soon expected to
become a major source of revenue in the impoverished company.
A number of political, military and intelligence officials involved in
"people smuggling, arms trafficking, money laundering and extortion"
were responsible for "systematic subversion" of the Eritrean
government and ruling party, according to the UN report.
The experts said all East African governments had to be on guard
against the growing Eritrean threat and that the Security Council
should order greater international surveillance of Eritrean banks and
diplomatic missions.
Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1991 after a 30-year
war. Ethiopia has since accused its neighbor of aiding rebel groups
such as the Oromo Liberation Front and Ogaden National Liberation
Front.
A border war between the countries in 1998-2000 left some 80,000
dead. In April, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said his
country was ready to help the people of Eritrea topple Issaias
Afeworki's regime.
The UN Security Council imposed one round of sanctions against
Eritrea in December 2009 over its support for insurgents in Somalia.
US President Barack Obama's administration has since faced calls to
add Eritrea to its list of state sponsors of terrorism.
"These new sanctions may be difficult to carry out but there is
certainly agreement on the Security Council now that something has to
be done about Eritrea," said a Western diplomat at the UN.
Courtesy
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