What can We Expect from the Monitoring Group Report?
Not Facts, not Fairness, but Trumped-up Stories
July 6, 2012
"The moral law is written on the tablets of eternity. For every false
word or unrighteous deed, for cruelty and oppression, for lust or
vanity, the price has to be paid at last." -- J. A. Froude
It is expected sometime in July 2012 the Somalia-Eritrea Monitoring
Group will issue its yearly report on Eritrea and Somalia. What can
one expect from a Monitoring Group devoid of moral authority or
integrity? Not much. It cannot be expected to write a report that is
accurate, fair, or just. This means no one is hopeful to read a
balanced or an accurate report. But if the US reaction from July 5,
2012 is an indication, may be the MG, no matter how much it likes to
fabricate and trump-up stories, couldn't get the smoking gun that
links Eritrea to Somalia. It is to be noted the two Eritreans the US
is sanctioning is for "alleged connections" that happened before 2009.
We do expect the report to be a cut and paste, garbage in- garbage
out (GIGO). The two sanctions imposed on Eritrea, 1907(2009), and 2023
(2011) were based on such false accusations labeled against Eritrea
by Ethiopia and its handlers. Nothing that touches the hands of
Ethiopian officers can be taken as credible information. Of course
Matt Bryden and Co., will assemble false reports gathered from
Ethiopian agents, phantom "credible witnesses", and defectors who are
not shy to concoct stories to trump-up their case for asylum. Once
again the MG is going to accuse Eritrea for not complying with the
sanctions regimes! It will accuse Eritrea of violating the arms
embargo, supporting Somali factions, and, get this, "destabilizing
its arch-destabilizer: Ethiopia"! It might not read any different
than the previous reports, where we had phantom armies, identity
rigged officers, and other fanciful stories.
Obviously Matt Bryden "as an active advocate and Lobbyist for the
recognition of Somaliland as an independent country" cannot be
expected to be an impartial monitor on the future of Somalia. He is
expected to go after anyone or country he remotely thinks is against
his agenda. As he has openly advocated for the independence of
Somaliland, his interest lies not in the reconstitution of Somalia
but its fragmentation. Don't get me wrong; I have no qualm with his
stand on Somaliland. It is his right. But the UN shouldn't have
appointed him to monitor events in Somalia in the first place and if
he had an ounce of integrity, he would have recused himself of the
job of Monitoring Somalia. More importantly the people of Somaliland
have long been victims of aggression; they deserve peace and whatever
they wish for their future. They have been left in a limbo for far
too long. I am in support of the opinion that says: "Leave the Somali
alone. Let them decide for themselves. If they want one nation well
and good; if they want half a dozen mini nations: Somaliland,
Puntland, Banaadir, Azania, Jubbaland, Shebelle land ... out of their
own will, that is fine too. Just leave them alone. U.S., your hands
off Somalia; Ethiopia: your hands off Somalia; African Union, your
hands off Somalia; Uganda: your hands off Somalia, and everybody,
your hands off Somalia!"
For how long is the future of Somalia be based on Sodore, Eldoret, or
Djibouti negotiations; Kampala, London, Ankara or Asmara
declarations; or Cairo, Khartoum declarations? As there are countries
who do not want to see a united Somalia, it is natural some will wish
the reconstitution of Somalia; nobody should choose for the Somali.
They know what is better for themselves; leave them to decide for
themselves.
It is clear Eritrea had no love for and does not support Al-Shabab or
any religious extremist factions in the region. More revealing is
that the extremists themselves have no love for the avowedly secular
government of Eritrea. In fact, their hate to government of Eritrea
is very clear. That was why they boycotted the Somali conference in
Asmara. Eritrea also knows well the harm of religious fanaticism.
Long before the phrase "religious terrorism" became fashionable in
western capitals, and before the name Bin Laden was a household name,
Eritrea was his victim. He, along with his international terrorists,
including those that are now hosted in Addis Ababa, and the U.S. is
doing business with, had hopes of creating an East African Islamic
Emirate starting with the Sudan and encompassing Eritrea, Djibouti,
Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, all the way to Tanzania. He chose to attack
young Eritrea, six months after it officially became independent.
Luckily Eritrea was capable of defending itself and the rest is
history. So, no one worthy of a pinch of credibility will accuse
Eritrea, a nation that has tasted both Christian and Islamic
terrorism. Yes, in the 1940s, Ethiopia-armed and trained Orthodox
Christian gangs were terrorizing pro-independence Eritreans. That is
why we are saying no body can lecture Eritrea about the dangers of
religious fanaticism, be that waves a cross or a crescent moon.
Eritrea is only being punished for not kneeling down to Ethiopia. It
would have been beneficial to both countries to make peace with each
other. As neighbors, they are destined to live side by side. But for
peace to come, Ethiopia needs to vacate sovereign Eritrean
territories it is illegally occupying. It needs to unequivocally
implement the "final and binding" demarcation decision of the Eritrea
and Ethiopia Boundary Commission. Without taking these basic baby
steps to peace, there cannot be normalization. You cannot normalize
relations with a group that is not willing to abide by agreements it
signed to be final and binding. What guarantee do you have it would
not refuse the next agreement. In other words, there cannot be
positive or constructive relationship, negotiation or dialogue on a
closed case. The government in Addis Ababa knows this, its Washington
handlers also know this. That is why they are throwing side issues to
help Ethiopia get away from its treaty obligation.
The Monitoring Group and its sponsors might turn a blind eye and a
deaf ear to the real cause of problem in the region, but they can't
gloss over the root cause of the "no peace, no war" situation between
Eritrea and Ethiopia forever. Ignoring the root cause of all the
instability in the Horn of Africa, the Group is expected to repeat
Ethiopian lies by making it look like every ailment in the Horn of
Africa is due to Eritrea. The false premise is that: Eritrea is the
"spoiler". If it was not for Eritrea Ethiopia would be able to feed
its people, South Sudan would not have seceded from the North,
Somalia would have been free of pirates and terrorists, Yemen would
have not hosted AQAP, Djibouti would not have needed the protection
of French and American troops, even rain would have been in
abundance. That is exactly what they are making it look like.
Ethiopia has long been manipulating the African Union, and the
Intergovernmental Agency for Development (IGAD) by supplying them
false information and accusations against Eritrea. This was done in
coordination with the US UN Mission in New York. AU and IGAD members
have been deceived, duped, and rushed to support unjust, illegal and
unfair sanctions on Eritrea. The case of Uganda, and how the US
Ambassador to the UN twisted its arm to sponsor 1907(2009) is a case
in point. How Kenya was deceived to echo about three phantom planes
that landed at Baidowa that even the MG is claiming attesting it
never happened. According to the Secretary General's Report, the MG
has been waiting from Kenya for seven months. I guess the Ethiopians
are still working on that and might show in one of the annexes of the
SEMG’s Report. Be ready one of the pilots might be a Feyissa, another
Demeksa, the third Bedassa (three more Oromo names passed as Eritreans).
We do know the United Nations does not function outside the whims and
wishes of the United States! According to John Bolton, a former US
ambassador to The UN, the United Nations functions by the orders of
the US and the US alone! The recent deletion of the Secretary
General's report on Eritrea is a good example of who is in command at
the UN! The Security Council has also become a theatrical place where
the United States is the sole actor. If there is an undemocratic
institution in the planet it must be the UN Security Council, a body
where one of 5 countries rules supreme over the whole world body with
their veto. Currently the UN has 193 full members, and all of them
are dummies except the five countries with a veto power. This means
one out of the P5 (permanent five) can legally hold off a unanimous
wish by the other 192. Such has been the history. Since its first
veto in 1970, on the issue on Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), by
far the U.S. has been the most frequent user of the veto. Between
1970 and 2012, the United States used its veto power more than all
other countries have used their veto on all other issues combined.
Before 1965 the Soviet Union (no more in existence) was the vetoing
Champion. It still holds the record of 119, almost all before 1965.
In short, the two, the US and the USSR are responsible for 205 vetoes
out of a total of 263. If the United Nations would work out of moral
conviction, respect of international law, justice, and fairness, we
would not have all of the political conflicts, wars, destructions,
and dislocation of civilians in several places of the world.
We have read lots of Wikileaks cables that exposed the coordinating
of activities of the Ethiopian and American diplomats and their
sinister plans to sanction and destabilize Eritrea, and how they came
up with phantom witnesses or stories to drum up the two sanctions. We
should not expect anything new or tangible evidence to come out of
the MG whose main creation was to be a partner in this crime against
Eritrea.
Unfortunately, Eritrea has a neighbor that does not want o live in
peace with Eritrea but more importantly with itself, a country that
does not respect international agreements! Ethiopia is the source of
all instability in the Horn of Africa! Ethiopia was the one that
needed to be restrained and sanctioned for its wanton manipulation of
the Somali crisis. It is a day light fact, yet is Ethiopia is being
protected and Eritrea is the sacrificial lamb.
Whether the MG writes a false report or not, peace-loving people
should not be deterred from calling for the lifting of the illegal,
unjust, and unfair sanctions against Eritrea. We should not leave any
stone unturned to have the sanctions repealed and annulled without
any delay or equivocations. We need to continue supporting Eritrea,
the only principled country in the region. It is morally correct and
just to stand with those who are unwilling to become pawns of
political manipulations, and machinations at the theatre of UN
headquarters.
Again all what we can expect from the MG report is a lot of what the
English call "cock-and-bull stories": "exaggerated and fanciful
stories". Enough is enough! Let international justice prevail at the
corridors and hallways of the UN!
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Received on Fri Jul 06 2012 - 23:53:05 EDT
