From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Fri Jun 26 2009 - 13:41:30 EDT
Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
By Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Jun 26, 2009, 22:49
The Spokesman of the State Department announced yesterday that the
United States will deliver a new consignment of arms to a "government"
that is devoid of any legitimacy and whose control does not extend
beyond few neighborhoods in Mogadishu.
The Spokesman also alluded, in a passing remark, to his "concerns" on
the role of Eritrea in Somalia.
These pronouncements do not contain novel or substantive elements.
Nonetheless, the Government of Eritrea is obliged to repeat well-known
facts on the situation in Somalia in order to put the record straight.
The crux of the problem underpinning the crisis in Somalia does not, and
has never revolved around, the issue of extremism or non-extremis. It
squarely revolves around the overarching issue of the existence or
non-existence of a sovereign Somali State. Oversimplification of the
problem and its wrong portrayal as a contest between extremist and
non-extremist forces is thus neither sincere nor warranted by the facts
on the ground.
To accept a fragmented Somalia as an accomplished fact and to forcibly
install, without the consent and choice of the Somali people,
"governments" who bear various labels and mantels, in the neighborhoods
of "Mogadishu" and "Baidoa" cannot be legal by any standards. These
approaches will not also contribute to a solution of the fundamental
problem. As it is patently clear, no power in the world is above the
rule of law. As such, no one can forcibly install a government of this
nature in contravention of international law and the Charter of the
United Nations. Furthermore, and as it is sadly attested by events in
the past years, this course of action is fraught with destructive
consequences.
These are the indelible facts. In the event, the Government of Eritrea
has not recognized in the past "governments" imposed through external
interferences and that ran counter to the legal and political realities
in Somalia. And, it shall not do so in the future. In our view, if the
yardstick is legality and accepted legal norms, no other government can
indulge in unwarranted recognition of such "governments".
The Government and people of Eritrea have the right and obligation to
extend their moral and political support to the people of Somalia on the
basis of these standard legal principles; and, in order to advance the
choice of the Somali people, the continued existence of a sovereign
Somalia and to put an end the enormous suffering of the Somali people.
To distort the stance of the people and Government of Eritrea, and to
use it as a pretext for illegal acts, will not only aggravate the crisis
in Somalia but it will also be futile and counterproductive.
US misguided acts of intervention and supply of weapons have not, in the
past years, advanced the cause of stability in Somalia. A repeat of
those measures will not produce positive results but only aggravate and
prolong the crisis.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Asmara
26 June 2009
http://www.shabait.com/staging/publish/article_0010083.html
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