http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-12-02/eritrea-s-afwerki-unable-to-get-visa-to-address-un-on-sanctions.html
Eritrea’s
Afwerki Unable to Get Visa to Address UN on SanctionsDecember 02, 2011,
11:06 AM EST
By Flavia Krause-Jackson
Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki is unlikely to be
able to travel to New York in time to address the United Nations Security
Council on the day it will vote on sanctions on one of the poorest African
nation.
The president has yet to be granted a visa, Eritrea’s Ambassador to the UN,
Araya Desta, said in a telephone interview. To be able to address the
council at 10 a.m. on Dec 5, he would have to leave no later than tomorrow,
he said. The vote is scheduled for the Dec. 5 in the afternoon.
Eritrea has requested a postponement on the vote to allow Afwerki to plead
his case, Desta said. While Russia, which holds the rotating presidency of
the council, has been sympathetic, the U.S. is insisting the vote must go
ahead on that day, according to Desta.
UN member states “shall undertake appropriate measures to promote the
exercise of vigilance” in their dealings with Eritrea’s mining industry,
according to a copy of the draft resolution, which adds to 2009 sanctions
that included an asset freeze and a travel ban on government leaders.
The current text was watered down from an October draft that banned
companies from investing in mineral resources and prohibited the payment of
a remittances tax.
The resolution now “condemns” the use of a 2 percent tax paid by Eritreans
abroad “for purposes such as procuring arms and related materiel for
transfer to armed opposition groups” and “decides Eritrea shall cease these
practices.”
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson at
fjackson_at_bloomberg.net
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Received on Fri Dec 02 2011 - 13:38:15 EST