From: Er-News (er_news@dehai.org)
Date: Wed Dec 16 2009 - 22:23:42 EST
U.N. Council to put sanctions on Eritrea - diplomats
Wed Dec 16, 2009
By Louis Charbonneau
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Security Council members have agreed
to impose an arms embargo on Eritrea this month, as well as travel
bans and asset freezes for government and military leaders aiding
Somali insurgents, diplomats said.
The United States and other council members accuse Eritrea of
supplying Islamist rebels with money and weapons in their fight to
topple the fragile U.N.-backed transitional government in Somalia, a
virtually lawless Horn of Africa nation.
Western diplomats on the 15-nation Security Council said most members
of the panel have agreed to support a Ugandan-drafted resolution to
punish Eritrea and that they hoped to approve it by next week.
Reuters obtained the latest draft resolution on Wednesday.
In addition to imposing sanctions on Eritrea, the resolution orders
Asmara to end all support to "to armed groups and their members,
including al Shabaab," which is battling to oust Somali President
Sheikh Sharif Ahmed.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the diplomats said they were not
expecting a unanimous vote, as Libya has made clear it would vote
against the resolution. But they said they were ready to make further
revisions to secure Tripoli's vote.
Russia and China, which are generally reluctant to back sanctions,
came around after it became clear the overwhelming majority of
African Union members support taking the action against Somalia's
neighbour, diplomats said.
"We've got a balanced resolution that is tough, which imposes
sanctions on Eritrea and the key elements in Eritrea who are
supporting the Somali rebels," a diplomat said. "I think we'll get 14
votes."
LIBYAN OPPOSITION
Western Security Council members had originally expected negotiations
on the resolution to run into next year. But diplomats said an
agreement had emerged after Russia and China took an "unusually
cooperative" stance on the resolution.
They said the opposition of Libya, currently the chair of the African
Union, was somewhat puzzling since the AU officially supports the
idea of U.N. sanctions against Asmara.
The measures spelled out in the latest draft resolution are
essentially the same as in the original text circulated to Security
Council members last month.
They include a ban on sales of "arms and related materiel of all
types" to Asmara, as well as arms sales by Eritrea. They also
authorise U.N. member states to inspect cargo and seize any banned
items being transported to or from Eritrea.
Once the resolution is passed, the council's Somalia sanctions
committee will have to designate which individuals and firms will
face U.N. travel bans and asset freezes.
Some Somali rebels took refuge in Eritrea after being ousted from the
Somali capital Mogadishu when Ethiopian troops entered Somalia in 2006.
The Security Council, African Union and United States have all warned
Asmara against destabilizing Somalia. Eritrea denies supporting al
Shabaab and says there is no justification for imposing the sanctions.
A U.N. arms monitoring body, which was set up to record violations of
a 1992 arms embargo on Somalia, has said Asmara was flying and
shipping munitions to Somali rebels, as well as providing them with
logistical support.
Somalia has been mired in chaos for nearly two decades and there is
little sign the latest attempt to establish a central government is
proving any more successful than the 14 previous efforts since a
dictator was ousted in 1991.
(Editing by Paul Simao)
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