Illegal and
Immoral UN/US Sanctions on Eritrea, Fail
Amanuel
Biedemariam
During
an interview, April 7/2014, RT, former US Congressman and presidential
candidate Ron Paul said that US imposed sanctions are in fact an “act of war.”
He states,
“If
two countries get in war, one of the most important things that they do is that
they put down blockade – they prevent trade so the various countries can’t get
their raw products. So, in that sense, the economic sanctions is doing
something that happens in wartime, and that is preventing a government from
getting certain things that are needed for the war.”
The
US, using a client state Ethiopia, has been waging wars against Eritrea for
decades. The aim, to kill nationalism,
dissolve Eritrea, integrate Eritreans and make them Ethiopia nationals by any
means in order to dictate regional and global terms.
Contrary
to these sinister motives however, the trajectories always favored the people
of Eritrea. Then as in now, Eritrea has been able to unshackle Eritrea from US
and Ethiopia-set-trap and freed Eritrea. That is what makes Eritrea’s freedom
unique because Eritrea is the only country in Africa that earned freedom with
blood against the will of US after defeating successive Ethiopian regimes.
Furthermore,
Eritrea understood, to ensure freedom she must follow an independent path, work
towards complete emancipation based on the mindset of Self-Reliance, and use
all challenges as pedestal to the next step; hence, embarked on nation
building-process that prioritizes on human capacity building.
The
self-reliance-mindset-based progress is what successive US administrations
tried to stop. The war that Ethiopia started in 1998 aimed to
stop Eritrea from seeding foundation, However, Eritrea kept marching. What they
believed will last 6 months have gone-on for 17 years. In the process Eritrea
managed to peel-off-all hurdles and is seeding stronger foundations that will
serve generations of Eritreans.
What
they tried to achieve militarily failed. As a result new mechanisms to isolate
Eritrea and weaken her into submission were put forth. Initially there was an
attempt to place Eritrea in the list of nations that sponsor terror. That was
defeated by the hard work of Eritreans and late Congressman Donald Payne.
When
that failed, illegally conceived UNSC Resolution 1907 (2009) sanction was
levied to weaken Eritrea economically and militarily. The sanctions are illegal
for many reasons but mainly because Eritrea was not even allowed to make her case.
They denied President Isaias entry visa into the US until the very last minute when
the decision was to be rendered.
Sanctions
are as Congressman Ron Paul stated
an act of war. The arms embargo that the UNSC Resolution 1907 (2009) levied
was designed to tie the arms of the people Eritrea so Ethiopia can have its way
militarily. Hence, the sanctions are a continuation of the war agenda, evidence
that the US agenda have not changed and that the machinations continue
unabated.
However,
to their dismay, what remains constant is the resilience of the people of
Eritrea and their ability to outmaneuver the machinations and come out on top.
Why US/UN Sanctions on Eritrea
failed
The
sanctions are integral part of the regime change agenda. The arms embargo is
designed to deny Eritrea the ability to defend herself. The economic sanctions
were designed to hasten hardship and arouse social upheaval. The sanctions are
on their fifth year, but did it achieve what they intended?
In
2009, at the time that the UN announced the sanction, President Isaias Afewerki
made simultaneous announcement that made the sanction dead on arrival. He said
Eritrea has achieved food security with reserve.
When
a nation fails to feed its people then that nation is prone to social
upheavals. Considering where Eritrea started, achieving food security with
reserve is a major achievement particularly relative to the African continent
that is dependent on handouts for survival. Food aid is a tool that the West
uses to control poor nations. The sanctions failed specifically because:
·
The sanctions are supposed to create a wedge between the people and the
government. However, the UN process and the unfair ways the US maneuvered the
sanction incensed the people of Eritrea that protested worldwide to express
their discontentment and affirmed solidarity with their government. The people
and government came closer and dealt a blow to their agenda.
·
The illegal arms embargo is designed to deny Eritrea the ability thus
her inalienable right to defend herself. Did that work? The people of Eritrea
are capable to defend their sovereignty no matter the circumstance or
shortages. No sanction will stop them from defending Eritrea. After the
imposition of the sanction, Ethiopia has in a number of occasions used force
and was repulsed. To the contrary the minority regime is crumbling, leading
Ethiopia towards instability and social unrest. Ethiopia is no position to
threaten or wage wars against Eritrea. Direct result of Eritrea’s efforts that
turned the table.
·
The sanction’s initial intent was to take control of Eritrea’s mining
revenues. Controlling the revenue stream means controlling the governance
of the nation. Where is that agenda now? No sanction can deter Eritrea’s
directions primarily because of the way Eritrea manages her resources and the
economy, which is far sighted, meticulous and places capacity building in the
center.
·
Global appetite for resources is huge and Eritrea possesses amongst the
most important resources the word needs today making enforcement impossible.
·
The sanctions levied on Eritrea failed because it is unjust,
illegal, politically motivated, agenda driven and does not serve the greater
good. Moreover, sanctions overall have become tool used by the US to further
its global agenda. This limits its effectiveness because it works counter the
interests of all nations except EU/West.
Key
The
sanctions fail because Eritrea is willing and able to pay the price and endure.
The regime change agenda’s first target was Eritrea. The unofficial arms
embargo and sanctions levied on Eritrea after the war with Ethiopia were
so-severe that if it had been applied on any other nation that nation would
have buckled.
Eritrea
was encircled on the South by Ethiopia, across the Red Sea by Yemen and on the
North-West by Sudan, nations that made security-pact to isolate and deny Eritrea her natural
trading paths. These neighboring countries placed the stringiest form of
economic and arms embargo to suffocate Eritrea into submission. However, in a
short time, Eritrea brilliantly managed to break through the threats and
reestablished strategic relationship with the Sudan and Yemen.
Today,
Sudan and Eritrea have opened their borders with free trade agreements. Yemen
is in chaos and, Ethiopia is on the brink. The architects:
Meles Zenawi is dead; Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen was ousted after being burned
by demonstrators and under UN sanctions. President Omar Al Bashir of Sudan is
being hunted by the ICC.
Eritrea
was amongst the first recipients of US engineered sanctions and machinations.
These sanctions are far-sighted and part of ill-conceived agenda designed to
undermine Eritrea’s sovereignty by any means. Evidences are abundant on how
successive US administrations abusively manipulated UN systems and regional
actors to gain upper hand on Eritrea.
It is
however a contradiction to see US and the so called “humanitarian
organizations” proclaiming ad-nauseam Eritrea’s demise. They call Eritrea,
“tiny, frail, hungry and inferior-to-her-gigantic neighbors etc...” While
devoting tremendous attention and resources at the highest levels to bring her
to her knees.
What
this shows however is Eritrea’s strength. Eritrea is always able to meet these
challenges and defeat their agendas. Before any country, Eritrea was able to
stand up against these machinations and exposed it. Ironically, the
countries that once cooperated to levy the ill-conceived sanctions are on the
receiving-end. In fact, just three years ago Russia was pondering whether to
vote or reject Eritrean sanctions. Today Russia and Eritrea are on the same
boat-both under US engineered sanctions.
Eritrean Sanctions within the Global
Context
One
of the reasons why UN/US sanctions are-no longer effective is because it does
not serve the greater good. The UN is not the custodian of global interest; it is a tool the US uses
to further its interests at the expense of all others.
Recently,
when the US and EU failed to maneuver sanctions through the UN; US and the West
imposed their own sanctions on Russia. The question, how will these sanctions influence
Russia and, what are the global implications? What does it mean to the
viability of the UN?
Russia
is nuclear power with resources and veto power. The US and Russia have
competing strategic interests. What the US does against the national interests
of Russia is perceived as an act of war and part of a regime change strategy.
That suggests a split at the UN and return to the Cold War like
environment.
On
the East, US policy “Asia Pivot” means amped-up challenge on China and its
interests worldwide. While, at the same time China has expanded its economic sphere of influence using its financial upper-hand. The US
is working with its EU allies in pursuit of these agendas. This juxtaposition
has brought China and Russia closer. India, Brazil and South Africa have found
an alternative (to the West that historically marginalized them,) and joined
the alliance, BRICS. And the BRICS as a whole are looking to expand their
sphere of influence globally.
Furthermore,
the UN’s work focused more on humanitarian and human rights issues that the
West and their agencies exploit to further their agendas. The UN failed to work
on agendas that foster development, partnerships and cooperation. The UN
essentially became a tool of the West. Hence, the new multi-polar world found
alternatives to US led UN because the UN failed to serve as a vessel for
greater cooperation and international relations.
As a
result China and Russia specifically and, the BRICS as a whole have become
alternatives to the US and the West. The BRICS are vocal and intent to
challenge the West. For example, on May 20, 2014, Russia and China released a
joint statement,
“Moscow and Beijing have rejected the imposition of sanctions
as political tools and condemned attempts at “encouraging and financing” regime
changes in other countries.”
Conclusion
Sanctions
are in fact an act of war. The first major step Ethiopia took against Eritrea
was reject Eritrea’s ports and stopped all trades with Eritrea. Eritrea in
effect was under unofficial sanctions for a long time. But when that failed
they legitimized the sanctions through the UN. The pressures on Eritrea have
been consistent. Eritrea however, was able to withstand the punishments and
managed to lessen the impact of these sanctions because of the unity of the
people and their willingness to endure with an eye for a brighter future and
knowing that victory is a must. The global geopolitical juxtaposition will
ultimately neutralize the UN and mitigate US hegemonic agendas worldwide. But
what the people of Eritrea did is demonstrate to the world that they need-no
power to baby their nation and that they are in fact the true custodians of
their sovereignty. Nothing or no one can
change that.
Awetnayu_at_hotmail.com
http://rt.com/news/207927-russia-europe-business-usual/
http://rt.com/news/160128-russia-china-sanctions-rhetoric/
Received on Sat Nov 22 2014 - 20:19:13 EST