Former Assistant Secretary of State, Herman Cohen, wrote an op-ed piece a few months back suggesting that since there is no evidence tying Eritrea to Alshabab in Somalia, the Europeans should sponsor a resolution to lift sanctions on Eritrea while the United States abstains from vetoing it. That sentiment was echoed days later by former Ambassador to Ethiopia, David Shinn, in another opinion piece. Italy is now the current European Union's Chair for the next six months. As per Deputy Foreign Minister Lapo Pistelli's comments last week on his visit to Eritrea, Italy wants to "start over" and work for an improvement to its relationship with Eritrea. If that's the case, then there is no better opportunity for Mr. Pistelli and Italy to put their money where their mouths are than by showing some leadership on the sanctions issue and sponsoring a resolution to lift the illegal and unjust sanctions that were passed on fraudulent grounds. If Italy, the former
colonial power in Eritrea, truly wants to jump start its relationship with Eritrea and work on issues of mutual concern in regional peace and stability, there is no better place to start than by using its current chairmanship and bringing along its fellow European Union members on lifting the sanctions. Current US Permanent Representative to the UN, Samantha Power, is reportedly not passionate about keeping the sanctions on Eritrea and doesn't have the political and personal baggage that Susan Rice did. Italy has its own self-interest in trying to do this. Since the fall of Muamar Qaddafi, who was seen as a "dictator" by the West, Italy has been swamped by African, Syrian and Iraqi boat migrants crossing the Mediterranean through Libya. Italy is paying for the absolute breakdown in security and complete lawlessness that has engulfed post-Qaddafi Libya and allowed human smuggling to flourish in that country. Many of those African boat migrants claim to
be from Eritrea eventhough they have never set foot in Eritrea because they know it is easier to get political asylum as an Eritrean. If Italy is to stem the flow of boat migrants onto its shores, it has to work to improve conditions in the Horn of Africa that are leading to the migration. At the heart of the Horn's instability is the Ethio-Eritrean relationship and Ethiopia's continued illegal occupation of sovereign Eritrean territory in defiance of international law and its refusal to abide by the Hague decision combined with the illegal and reverse-logic sanctions that have been passed on fraudulent grounds to try to punish Eritrea. Italy can use its current chairmanship of the European Union to show some leadership on the sanctions issue and bring stability to the Horn countries.
Received on Tue Jul 08 2014 - 03:44:52 EDT