Eritrea’s information minister, Yemane G. Meskel has reiterated his country’s position on sanctions imposed by the United Nations in 2009, tweeting that ‘they were not based on fact and law’.
Eritrea has long dismissed accusations of human rights abuses by the U.N., including alleged extrajudicial killings and torture, as “totally unfounded and without merit.”
The sanctions including an arms embargo, travel restrictions and asset freezes for some of the country’s top officials, were also rooted in allegations that it provided support to militants in Somalia and for failing to pull troops out of disputed territory with Djibouti.
Eritrea cannot assume that by saying wonderful things and opening good relations with the neighbors that will automatically lead to sanctions relief.
While Eritrea has in recent months normalised realisation with Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti, a top U.S. diplomat told a congressional hearing on Wednesday that it was too soon to talk about lifting the sanctions.
“Eritrea cannot assume that by saying wonderful things and opening good relations with the neighbors that will automatically lead to sanctions relief,” said Tibor Nagy, the U.S. State Department’s assistant secretary for Africa.
Meskel on the other hand believes any arguments for the ‘continued maintanance’ of the sanctions ‘can only be seen as a travesty of jutsice’.