From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Wed Apr 21 2010 - 19:23:00 EDT
Allegations that there exist foreign military camps in Eritrea are totally
baseless: The Gulf News
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http://www.shabait.com/images/stories/--------------------------------------
-------gulfnews2.jpgAsmara, 21 April 2010 - Gulf News newspaper dismissed as
unfounded repeated baseless allegations on the part of western media outlets
claiming that there exist Israeli or Iranian military camps in Eritrea.
In an article it published under the title "Eritrea: In pursuit of the
truth," the newspaper with wide circulation in the Middle East indicated
that its correspondent was given unlimited opportunity to visit different
parts of Eritrea, including military facilities. It elaborated that the
allegations made by western media outlets which were also echoed by some
Middle East media organs contain no element of truth whatsoever.
The Gulf News reporter asserted: "We could not see any Iranian soldiers.
There were also not any sophisticated weapons or latest technological
devices pointing to the presence of any troops from Iran or any other
foreign countries in these camps contrary to the allegations made by the
Western media."
The newspaper further explained that its correspondent conducted a tour to
Sawa, Kiloma, Assab, Harena, Ras-Dumera, Haleb Island, Ras Darma, the Dahlak
Islands, Gash-Barka and other places. The correspondent explained that it
could not witness any foreign military base in Eritrea, be it Israeli,
Iranian or any other country.
In this respect, the Gulf News correspondent asserted that the report
published on 2 April 2009 by the Israeli Maariv daily claiming that 'Iran
has already finished building a naval base at a desert area near the
Eritrean port of Assab' is but a totally baseless allegation.
http://www.shabait.com/images/stories/--------------------------------------
--gulf-news.jpgAlso in the course of a tour in connection with the claim
that Eritrea is 'training opposition forces from neighboring countries', the
correspondent team visited sites alleged to be camps, and found out that
there exist no evidence at all attesting to this. The Gulf News went on to
indicate that its correspondent toured both by vehicle and on foot to Sawa
claimed to be 'training center of opposition forces of neighboring
countries,' but it did not witness any evidence of the presence of such
forces. On the contrary, its correspondent found Sawa to be center of human
resource development in which thousands of Eritrean students complete their
secondary education and receive various types of vocational training, the
paper elucidated.
It went on write: "During the tour, both by vehicle and on foot lasting for
nearly two hours, we did not see any evidence or indication of the presence
of any foreign forces, be it Somalis, Ethiopians or Iranians."
The Gulf News further pointed out that its correspondent climbed the Ras
Dumera mountain on Eritrean-Djiboutian border and confirmed that there
exists no confrontation between the armies of the two countries. In this
connection, the paper underscored that the baseless anti-Eritrea allegations
emanate from the country's strategic importance.
The paper cited that in a reply he gave to questions whether there exists
Israeli or Iranian military presence in Eritrea, President Isaias Afwerki
repeatedly underscored that any one can visit and personally witness the
fact on the ground. Accordingly, Gulf News noted that it sent a team which
conducted a tour of different parts of Eritrea through land, sea and air,
and it did not come across any Israeli or Iranian military base, not even
Eritrean armed forces in
the so-called oil refinery facility where Iranian presence is alleged.
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