From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Tue Aug 04 2009 - 09:06:21 EDT
INTERVIEW-Eritrea wants peaceful Somalia, denies meddling
04 Aug 2009 11:43:49 GMT
Source: Reuters
* Sanctions threat against Eritrea will not work * Somali government doomed
to fail
* Now is the time for inclusive political dialogue
By David Clarke
NAIROBI, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Eritrea wants a peaceful and united Somalia and
believes now is the best time in nearly two decades to foster genuine
political dialogue involving all in the Horn of African nation, Eritrea's
information minister said.
Washington's new top diplomat for Africa has been seeking to engage with
Eritrea, and met the country's foreign minister in Libya last month, but has
also blamed Asmara for fuelling conflict that has plagued Somalia since
1992.
Eritrea has repeatedly denied it is helping arm al Shabaab insurgents
fighting Somalia's latest transition government and bristles at calls for
U.N. sanctions against the small nation that borders Ethiopia, Djibouti and
Sudan.
"I don't think that in this 21st century the philosophy of carrot and stick
will work," Information Minister Ali Abdu told Reuters, when asked what his
message to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would be during her visit
to Africa this week.
"In this 21st century, people could have differences but they can agree to
disagree and respect each other, instead of using the carrot and stick," he
said in a telephone interview.
Eritrea's arch foe in Horn of Africa is Ethiopia -- Washington's main ally
in the region.
Ali said Ethiopia, rather than Eritrea, should be sanctioned for meddling in
Somalia. U.N. and U.S. accusations against Asmara originated from retrograde
"interest groups", and probably did not reflect Obama administration policy,
he said.
The two nations are embroiled in a border dispute that has been rumbling
since Eritrea won independence from Ethiopia in the early 1990s after a
30-year war.
Some analysts and diplomats believe Eritrea and Ethiopia are fighting a
proxy war in Somalia -- with Asmara backing rebels who want to impose their
own harsh version of sharia law and Addis Ababa supporting pro-government
militia.
DOOMED TO FAIL
Ali said the latest Somali transition government, born out of a U.N.-hosted
peace process in Djibouti in January, was doomed to fail because it was
imposed by foreign powers.
"The Eritrean objective is to see a peaceful, stable and united Somalia. You
can't do this by imposing external governments against the choice of the
Somali people," he said.
"And whatever might, and whatever power, and whatever money you have, you
can't impose your liking on the entire people. That's why the Somali people
are going from war to war."
The government, led by former Islamist rebel Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, only
controls a few blocks of the capital Mogadishu and some towns in central
Somalia. Al Shabaab and allied militias hold sway in the south and parts of
the capital.
President Ahmed is supported by African Union troops in Mogadishu and his
own forces are being armed by Washington. The United States fears Somalia
will become a safe haven for al Qaeda-linked militants if the government
collapses.
"I don't think it will survive, because it's not legal," said Ali. "Let us
support a genuine political process that is not encumbered by external
interference and that respects the choice of the whole Somali people.
"The best time to allow Somalis to have a genuine political process was 18
years ago. The second best time is now. Otherwise, we will have the same
regrets after 18 years." (Additional reporting by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing
by Andrew Cawthorne)
----[This List to be used for Eritrea Related News Only]----