http://www.eritrea.co.uk/letters/letter_to_unsc_members
Dear Sir****
Re: Sanctions against Eritrea
We write to express our deep concern regarding the draft resolution being
circulated at the UN calling for further sanctions against Eritrea. We are
an organization with members from the British Eritrean community and
friends of Eritrea aiming to promote peace and development in Eritrea.****
Primarily, we believe that an imposition of economic sanctions against
Eritrea will have dire consequences on the ordinary people of Eritrea who
have already suffered a great deal for far too long. Eritreans have been
victims of war as well as other natural and environmental calamities such
as drought in the past and subjecting them to further misery will not only
be unethical but also an abuse of their basic human rights to live in peace
and prosperity. ****
** **
Prior to independence, Eritrea was devastated by years of war which led to
extensive impoverishment of its people and destruction of vital
infrastructure. The country is only now beginning to rebuild and any
sanctions will surely destroy the progress it has managed to achieve so
far. While we believe Resolution 1907 (2009) has been unfair, we are
therefore deeply concerned by the extent of damaging impact that any
additional economic sanctions will have on the encouraging developments
that have been achieved in Eritrea during the last twenty years. ****
Furthermore, Eritrea is well on its way to achieving food security at a
time when the whole region is affected by severe famine. Whenever there is
a shortfall, Eritrea has been able to import food using its meager hard
currency reserve without relying on outside help. The country has also made
great strides in meeting most of the Millennium Development Goals.
Education is available in all corners of the country and the number of
children attending school has increased significantly. Child and mother
mortality have been slashed and some communicable diseases almost
eradicated. Imposing sanctions against Eritrea will severely affect this
progress and its impact will be devastating for the most vulnerable members
of the society.****
Sanctions on Eritrea will also limit the ability of the country to import
basic materials including medicines, agricultural products, machinery,
industrial spare parts, fuel and educational materials, etc. Eritrea’s
economy will be so badly damaged because of lowered economic activity, loss
of trade partners, decreased export revenue, chronic unemployment and sharp
decline in GDP and GNP per capita income. This will create instability and
the economic, social and political repercussions will set the country years
back. ****
At a time when Eritrea’s territory is occupied by Ethiopia in direct
contravention of various UN resolutions and the final and binding ruling of
the Eritrea Ethiopia Border Commission, imposing sanctions on Eritrea based
on trumped up evidences is a travesty of justice. Sanctions on Eritrea will
not bring peace to the region - if anything, the action will inflame the
fires of conflict that have been raging in our area for a very long time.
Cornering Eritrea based on highly suspect set of evidences will create
anger and desperation leading to further regional turmoil which our people
can do without. ****
History is rife with examples of countries that have been left destitute as
a result of sanctions. All evidences suggest that sanctions never produce
positive results and we are of the view that imposing them on Eritrea will
literally starve its people and will be seen as a form of wanton violence
by the UN aimed at humiliating all Eritreans. We therefore ask you to
consider your actions carefully and understand the agenda behind why some
countries are pushing for further and tougher sanctions.****
Notwithstanding the above, we are far from convinced that the charges
leveled against Eritrea have been substantiated. The Monitoring Group had
accused Eritrea of sending 2000 soldiers to Somalia in 2006 which was later
confirmed to be false. The evidence provided for the accusation that
Eritrea was plotting to blow up the AU conference in Addis Ababa would not
stand a chance in a court of law. It has been reported in the past that the
Ethiopian government resorts to such acts with a view of incriminating
Eritrea for political gain. A report revealed by Wikileaks has disclosed
that the bomb detonated in Djibouti city railway was the work of the
Ethiopian government. The American Ambassador in Ethiopia also revealed
that bombs exploded in Addis Ababa could have been planted by Ethiopia’s
security forces. Ethiopia has a vested interest in drumming up such
accusations against Eritrea.****
Recently, Eritrea has been accused of flying three planeloads of weapons to
the Somali town of Baidoa in support of Al Shabab. Again, no evidence has
been presented to prove the accusation. It defies logic how Eritrea could
fly three planes crossing the air space of third countries or the Red Sea
and avoid interception in a region that is under heavy surveillance by
international forces. ****
We call upon all Security Council members to hear the plea of Eritreans and
their friends across the world to review the case and study the evidences
presented very carefully before making any decision. We appeal to your
conscience to allow the people of the region to live in peace and
prosperity asjustice and fairness dictate that our voices be heard.****
** **
We thank you.****
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Received on Wed Nov 16 2011 - 14:36:52 EST