J. Peter Pham is Director of the Africa Center at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC and is a longtime TPLF mouthpiece
The government in the United States changed on January 20th 2017 at 12:01 p.m. Unlike the Obama administration the new Trump Administration foreign policy is anchored on two major Pillars: fighting terrorism and none interference in domestic affairs of other countries. Donald Trump’s inaugural speech:
“We will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world. But we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first. We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone but rather to let it shine as an example. We will shine for everyone
to follow.”
asserts that the new administration will cooperate with other countries to fight terror and bring economic development by will, not by questioning the legitimacy of governments and imposing its way of life on them.
It is in the back drop of the current U.S. administration’s openly stated foreign policy that the Director of Atlantic Council Africa Center, longtime confidant of Susan Rice, a lobbyist for Ethiopia and current contender for the State Department Position of Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs has questioned the legitimacy of the government of a stable and terror fighting East African country, Eritrea. As quoted by the Ethiopian regime financed California based propaganda website, Aiga forum, in his contribution to a new Ethiopian Foreign Ministry sponsored journal, Mr. Pham openly challenged the legitimacy of the Eritrean government by saying “I think one has to also look…. the formal legitimacy of the regime”. Thus, Mr. Pham’s action of questioning the legitimacy of the Eritrean government goes counter not only to the new U.S administration’s policy of noninterference in other countries internal affairs, but also U.S. interest in fighting terrorism in the Red Sea and Horn of Africa region. The latter is important because currently Eritrea is fighting terrorism in multiple fronts.
1. Eritrea is fighting Ethiopia Sponsored, Armed and Financed Islamic Fundamentalist Terrorist groups.
In addition to occupying Eritrean sovereign territories, in contravention to the Ethio-Eritrea border commission’s decision, the Ethiopian minority regime that claims fighting Al-Shabaab in Somalia is hosting, training, financing and arming at least four Al Shebab like Eritrean Radical Islamic subversionist groups. These groups are Eritrean National Salvation Front-ENSF (Eritrean Islamic Jihad), Eritrean Islamic Party for Justice and Development-EIPJD, Eritrean Islamic Congress-EIC, and Eritrean Nahda Party-ENP. Although the organizations operate under different names and covers, all of them agree on the promotion of the Islamic religion in Eritrea, establishment of an Islamic State in Eritrea and overthrow of the circular Eritrean government by force. To achieve their objective, they conduct killings of innocent civilians, foreigners and off course destroy public institutions. Since their inception the subversionist groups have conducted many terrorist activities inside Eritrea and the few that gained media attention are:
A. “Eritrean National Salvation Front (ENSF) in a statement said its armed wing has carried out the attack on Wednesday at the garage located in Qohawta neighbourhood in Asmara” Sudan Tribune, By Tesfa-Alem Tekle March 15, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA).
B. “April 12, 2003: Timothy Nutt, a 49-year-old British geologist was murdered in western Eritrea allegedly by ERIJ. Nutt's throat was cut and his vehicle had been burned. His body was found in a dry stream-bed near the village of Bisha. Nutt reportedly worked for the Canadian firm Nevsun Resources, a mineral exploration company specializing in gold and diamond mining”.
C. August 10, 2003: Two aid workers were killed and another injured when their vehicle was attacked by gunmen in Northern Eritrea. The victims worked for Mercy Corps, a US charity, which has long had a presence in the region. Eritrean authorities suspect Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement (ERIJ).
Christina Lee, indicates that the Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement is rumored to be an Al Qaeda affiliate and supports Al Qaeda's mission of establishing a worldwide Islamic theocracy. All groups are sponsored, financed and armed by Ethiopia and have offices in Ethiopia’s regions bordering Eritrea.
2. Eritrea is a member of the Gulf States Cooperation Council that is Currently Fighting Terrorism in Yemen.
As a continuation to its long standing history of fighting Terrorism, currently Eritrea is not only supporting the Gulf states’ force that is fighting terrorism in Yemen, but also allowing its second biggest port “Assab” to be used for military and logistics support purposes. The fact that “Assab” is located only 95 miles away from Yemen’s Ta`izz city, currently besieged by Houthi terrorists, and about 150 miles away from the capital city of Sanaa, its support and service is crucial to the success of the Gulf states army fighting terrorism in Yemen.
3. Eritrea is working to Protect the Red Sea from any Terrorist and Trafficking activities.
The Red Sea is bordered by Egypt, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Eritrea and Djibouti. Eritrea shares about 1000 k.ms sea cost in the Red Sea. As a result, it does not take to be a rocket scientist to know the importance of Eritrea to the security of the Red Sea and Babel Al-Mendeb straight, which is a maritime life line for many countries in the region and beyond. Currently Eritrea is cooperating with the aforementioned countries to guarantee the safety and security of the Red Sea.
It is true that, blinded by long standing personal grudge against the Eritrean government, Susan Rice and her confidant Peter Pham were able to cook false information about Eritrea’s Support to Somalia’s Al-Shebab and get it sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council on Christmas Eve unfairly. Since then, although the monitoring group said there is no evidence that Eritrea supports Al-Shebab, Susan Rice and her allies refused to lift the sanctions until they left office on January 20th, 2017.
Conclusion
By challenging the legitimacy of the Eritrean Government, It is clear that Peter Pham, Susan Rice’s longtime confidant, a lobbyist for Ethiopia, and current contender for the U.S. Assistant Secretary of state for African affairs does not have any interest in the critical role Eritrea could play in fighting terrorism, which is a corner stone of the new U.S. Administration’s foreign policy. Hence it is high time for the Trump administration to Vet Mr. Pham carefully and make sure that if he is given the position he is not going to work against the U.S. interest in Africa and possibly gravitate towards his old Job of lobbying on behalf of minority regimes and dictators in Africa.
