From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Wed Dec 23 2009 - 12:37:58 EST
UN council sanctions Eritrea over Somali rebel aid
Wed Dec 23, 2009 4:57pm GMT
* Council members say Eritrea aids Islamist rebels
* Measures include arms embargo, asset freeze, travel ban (Updates after
resolution passed)
By Patrick Worsnip
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 23 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council imposed
sanctions on the Horn of Africa state of Eritrea on Wednesday because of aid
that council members say it has given to Islamist insurgents in nearby
Somalia.
A resolution supported by 13 of the 15 council members slapped an arms
embargo, asset freezes and travel bans on Eritrea and individuals and firms
to be designated by an existing sanctions committee. Those hit would include
members of the country's leadership.
The United States and other nations accuse Eritrea of supplying al Shabaab
rebels with funds and arms as they fight to topple a fragile U.N.-backed
transitional government in Somalia, a state that has been virtually lawless
for 18 years.
Eritrea has repeatedly denied the allegation.
Libya, which has no veto in the council, voted against the resolution, while
veto-holder China abstained.
Wednesday's resolution demands that Eritrea "cease arming, training, and
equipping armed groups and their members including al Shabaab, that aim to
destabilize the region" and also resolve a border dispute with Djibouti.
It says "Eritrea's actions undermining peace and reconciliation in Somalia
as well as the dispute between Djibouti and Eritrea constitute a threat to
peace and international security."
It's the first time U.N. sanctions have been imposed on Eritrea. The last
country to be sanctioned by the United Nations for the first time was Iran
in December 2006.
Council members say Uganda originally drafted the resolution after the
African Union called on the 15-nation body in May to punish Eritrea over its
role in Somalia. But Eritrea has charged that its true author is the United
States.
'CYCLE OF CONFLICT'
In a letter to the council last week describing the sanctions as "ludicrous
punitive measures," Eritrea's U.N. ambassador, Araya Desta, warned that the
move risked "engulfing the region into another cycle of conflict as it may
encourage Ethiopia to contemplate reckless military adventures."
Eritrea's regional rival, Ethiopia, invaded Somalia in 2006 with tacit U.S.
backing to rout an Islamic courts movement from Mogadishu. It withdrew its
troops earlier this year.
In Wednesday's council debate, Libyan envoy Ibrahim Dabbashi said the
resolution took an "unrealistic point of view" and that sanctions were not
the way to resolve the problems in the region.
Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yesui said sanctions "should not replace diplomatic
efforts to resolve disputes through dialogue and negotiations." China is
traditionally leery of sanctions although it has voted for them in some
cases.
But British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said Eritrea had violated a U.N.
arms ban on Somalia.
In a telephone interview with Reuters last week, Desta insisted that "many
African nations do not support the idea of sanctions." He said Eritrea was
urging the AU to hold another meeting next year to discuss the sanctions
issue.
A U.N. arms monitoring body, set up to record violations of a 1992 arms
embargo on Somalia, has said Eritrea was sending munitions and giving
logistical support to Somali rebels.
There is little sign the latest attempt to establish a central government in
Somalia is proving any more successful than previous efforts since a
dictator was ousted in 1991. (Editing by Eric Beech)
C Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved
FACTBOX-Key facts about Eritrea
Wed Dec 23, 2009 12:43pm GMT
Dec 23 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council was set to impose sanctions on
Eritrea on Wednesday because of allegations by council members the Horn of
Africa state is aiding Islamist insurgents in Somalia. [ID:nN22127592]
Here are some key facts about the country:
* THE ECONOMY:
-- Eritrea's agriculture-based economy has suffered from irregular rains in
recent years and from the global economic downturn. In October, President
Isaias Afwerki told Reuters in an interview programmes were in place to move
the economy away from its dependence on rainfall, but that "it will take a
long time". [ID:nLL474000]
-- Earlier this month, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report said the
economy had sharply contracted in 2008, while inflation surged to double
digits. Humanitarian groups fear this led to widespread hunger and food
shortages, though travel restrictions have limited their ability to verify
estimates.
-- Better rains during 2009 will likely see a rebound, the IMF said, with
growth expected to be around 3.5 percent this year. But it warned that the
exchange rate was overvalued and that domestic and external debt levels were
unsustainable.
-- Remittances from the diaspora in Europe, the United States, the Middle
East and other African nations are Eritrea's biggest source of foreign
exchange, but the global economic crisis has slowed the flow of funds.
-- Eritrea is seen on the threshold of a mining boom with more than a dozen
foreign firms now exploring or about to explore in a country that geologists
say has vast unexploited potential. But experts say the government will not
see a return on its investment in the sector before 2012 and Isaias has
dismissed suggestions a mining boom was about to boost the economy and
change the lives of most Eritreans. [ID:nLL161440]
-- Trade is very limited in Eritrea and Asmara's main brewery often lacks
glue to stick the labels to its beer bottles, locals say. Industrious
Asmarinos make common items like stoves, crucifixes and hair combs out of
scrap metal from Soviet tanks rotting in the capital since independence.
* SOME HISTORY:
-- Eritrea's sense of tough self-reliance -- traditionally shunning outside
aid and assistance - was forged during its 30-year independence struggle
against an Ethiopian military bankrolled by both the United States, then the
Soviet Union.
-- Eritrea feels that its plight during "the Struggle" was ignored by the
international community, which it accuses of turning its back on decades of
persecution and brutality at the hands of occupying forces -- from colonial
power Italy to Second World War liberator Britain and fierce regional rival
Ethiopia.
-- A 1998-2000 border war with Ethiopia -- Washington's chief ally in the
Horn of Africa -- that killed at least 70,000 people, combined with
mandatory national service and ongoing sabre rattling with Djibouti, Yemen
and others has left Eritreans with the sense that they are always on a war
footing.
-- Since independence in 1993, critics of Isaias say the former rebel has
used the country's violent history and simmering regional hostilities as an
excuse to curb civil liberties and shut down any independent media. Others
say he is a visionary leading a proud nation that has bucked African trends
of endemic corruption and ethnically-fuelled bloodshed.
* COUNTRY DETAILS:
POPULATION: Hard figures are difficult to come by, but the population is
estimated at between 3.5 and 5 million.
ETHNIC GROUPS: Eritrea is home to several ethnic groups. Prominent among
them are Tigrinya, Tigrayan, Saho and Afar.
CAPITAL: Asmara, which sits at some 2,300 m (7,546 ft) above sea level.
LANGUAGE: English and Tigrinya are widely spoken in Asmara and the highlands
in general, as well as Italian among older Eritreans. Arabic is widely
spoken in the lowlands, towards the border with Sudan and along the
country's Red Sea coast.
RELIGION: The population is split between various Muslim and Christian
groups. The government has not yet implemented a 1997 constitution that
provides for religious freedom, and in 2002 it forced religious groups to
register. A recent U.S. report said hundreds of people had been detained in
2009 for their beliefs.
LAND MASS: 117,600 square km (45,406 square miles). (Writing by Jeremy
Clarke; editing by Daniel Wallis and Philippa Fletcher)
C Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved
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