19.
The Connection
By
Dr. Yohannes Kiros
March
15, 2000
Introduction:
Against
countries, which bathing in their petrodollars think that they can
formulate or remake the course of events, especially considering the
volatile sub-region of the Horn of Africa. These countries thinking of
their ego be it in the form of their zealous nature, strategic interest or
wealth to become the “owners of everything money can buy” have never
left the people of the Horn of Africa to decide their own fate and
destiny. At one time they ally themselves with those who fight terrorists,
while at the same time they show their true nature as terrorists by
allying themselves with the most retarded and obscure figures of the
region.
We
know that Al-Shabab of Somalia is designated as terrorist and the Eritrean
government is to be soon enlisted among these terrible groups by the US
government. Although it was clear that the menace to peace and progress is
not only the works of these
simple
messengers but is dependent on the deep-rooted intrigues of the countries
around. Self-interest, misconception about Ethiopia spread by the hate
mongers inculcated in their own minds for years against “the Christians”,
though the Ethiopian people has all the representatives of the major
religions, makes the fight against terrorism extraneous if those funding
and protecting them are not prevented through joint collaboration. The
work of Qatar as a peace broker nation between Eritrea and Sudan, Sudan
and Egypt, Eritrea and Djibouti way back during the Eritrean invasion in
2000. After that period Qatar has been on the offensive by laying and
winning the bid for the Port of Djibouti and immediately letting to
skyrocket the tariffs for import and export commodities to Ethiopia. Here
is follows an article, which appeared in March 2000 in Ben’s homepage
and refused by Walta information center about the regional interplay among
the prominent members of our Arab neighbors and financers. This point
makes even more fastidious in view of the current shipment of weapon to
the odious regime in Zimbabwe by China. Mind you Djibouti port or Port
Sudan owned by private entrepreneurs owned by these murky and hateful
regimes in our region! “
As
the title would imply, this is not a spy thriller or a new cold war era
with ballistic missiles directed at each other with one or the other
superpower nestling up with modern technology to undermine and destabilize
the internal security of one or the other block. It is neither a paranoid
nor a wishful thinking from my side to create confusion about the culprit,
intrigues, mysticism and complicated state of affairs in the conflict or
any mischievous behavior of other states. It is not a fiction either,
written to entertain the readers, but a phenomenon that needs vigilance
and clear observation in order to see the connection among the various
actors of the Horn Africa meddlers, who would like to bring about
unmitigated disasters. It does not need a great deal to look into and
resolve the essence of this connection. It can be as naive or as hard as
solving the riddle of the Gordian knot, when Alexander the Great lastly
cut the rope with his sword. I am not an expert in international relations
or on strategic studies given my background of another avocation. But, one
cannot stop wondering if there are forces behind the Ethio-Eritrean
conflict that want to keep it going on and why its immediate resolution
did fade away.
Are
the Ethiopian peoples fighting against the only enemy-the outlaw regime in
Eritrea
or against forces, whose interest is beyond the scope and dimension of our
imagination? We cannot dismiss the facts and the whole bag of tricks as
simple babble but people have to reconsider all sorts of credible
information to the best of our recollection for understanding the root
causes behind the curtain. Although my assertions can be taken as
simplistic or provocative, depending on the parts involved, I have found
some of the arguments circumstantial and some of them interestingly
cogent. Most of the countries, mentioned here can deny categorically their
direct involvement in this war and can try to hide themselves behind the
facade of finely formulated phrases of cordial relations and innocence.
Let’s see candidly the concatenation of events, describe them in an
apple-pie order and find out the exit to the labyrinth or the clues to the
knot to be untied. I would like in relation to this article to mention
that whether this article has veracious or preposterous ideas,
controvertible or incontrovertible facts, reliable or unreliable
arguments, it is of utmost importance for Ethiopians to be conscious about
and have a look into the volatility of our sub-region and how small
“border” issues can lead into a vicious circle of negotiations and
deliberate delaying mechanisms. This article is not a rumor, which is
based on tabloids and narrated by the uniformed, but depends entirely on
accounts of serious news media and reflective analyses there within.
We
know that the tyrant from
Asmara
and his pariah state has been involved since its very inception as a newly
formed nation in various activities both legal and illegal as if it were
the focal point or center of attraction. The thug regime in
Asmara
has triggered off conflicts with all the neighbors excepting
Saudi Arabia
, which due to its enormous oil wealth and supplier to the West is
protected from external attack.
Saudi Arabia
being the special case is one of the few countries, where the menace is
still accepted with open arms in meetings during state or working visits
or funerals. And it was here, while on a state visit (he has made several
trips since then), Issayas launched his aggression against
Ethiopia
. He was neither informed nor knew how his intrusion into Ethiopian
territories could take place! While in
Saudi Arabia
, where different spy organizations are swarming, the timing and plot of
unleashing the war could have taken place in consultation with somebody.
We
know that
Ethiopia
had good relations with the Sudanese government and
Ethiopia
was busy mediating peace between the combatants, i.e.; the Sudanese
Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) and the central government. This was a
genuine and honest attempt from the part of
Ethiopia
to contribute to internal peace and harmony in its neighbors. The civil
war in the
Sudan
has claimed and is still claiming hundreds of thousands of victims not
only through ambushes and counterattacks but also by famine.
The
experiences and convulsions
Ethiopia
had undergone have similarities with the nature and character of this
terrible conflict among brothers of the same country and continent. Thus,
if there is any possibility of genuine and lasting peaceful settlement
between the parties in the
Sudan
, then accommodating ones office for this noble cause is an act to be
praised by all peace loving peoples. But for circumstances unknown to us,
terrorist squads were sent to Addis to assassinate the Egyptian President
Hosni Mubarak, while on his way to the OAU Summit. Suddenly a diplomatic
row was created and the UN decided on sanctions against the
Sudan
.
The
US
, which has now established a policy, (when the cold war era has gone
forever) has decided and devoted its force to fight against a new targeted
enemy the so-called Islamic fundamentalism. It got its revenge (the
Sudan
was one of the countries which openly supported Saddam Hussein) and pushed
for the resolution of sanction in a matter of a day. The government in the
Sudan
was isolated and especially countries such as
Eritrea
and
Uganda
were at the forefront of
US
policy to fight and overthrow the Islamic government in the
Sudan
. Especially
Eritrea
was believed to be the country to confront the regime in the
Sudan
and went to the extremes by severing its diplomatic ties and handing over
the Sudanese Embassy in
Asmara
to the opposition groups. That is why Benjamin Gilman made an ass of
himself by barking at the wrong tree, when he praised and thanked
Eritrea
for “containing Islamic fundamentalism” and accused
Ethiopia
for sabotaging the common fight to act as the barking dog in
Asmara
. In the mean time, a modern military training camp with an airstrip was
built in the desert at Sawwa with American taxpayers’ money in the close
vicinity to the Sudanese border. Issayas was talking big when he asserted
that it was a matter of few days to overthrow the Sudanese government and
replace it by the opposition groups and started launching several times
cross-border attacks and intrusions with financial, military and moral
support of the Americans. How can a small country with no resource of its
own harbor a large opposition group, supply arms, support with military
logistics, and train its own citizens for more than 12 months in several
rounds? Inexhaustible natural resources is not what Eritrea is known for
the world and can hardly bear the economic burden to indulge in such
levels of “public” spending. Eritrea as its symbol of nation the
dromedary or camel (nothing to be ashamed of because they are also
resources) shows is a very poor country with a large population of nomads
and herdsmen, who are crossing borders in search of pastoral and grazing
lands for their animals and food for the people.
Eritrea
therefore, should have vicarious rulers, who assist forces by pouring huge
pecuniary and military support.
The
Sudan, being isolated by the rest of the world started its first mission
by surprising politicians, when President Bashir and Egyptian President
Mubarak, who within an awe of being killed in Addis met in Cairo, the
second headquarter of the Sudanese opposition groups. They were seen in a
cordial welcome and smile and promised each other to normalize the
relations between their countries (the first time after the UN sanction
and the start of the Ethio-Eritrean conflict). This visit might have also
opened the reconciliatory step between
Khartoum
and
Asmara
. A little country
Qatar
with the city of
Doha
, never known to play an independent role in world politics, came to the
forth to broker peace between the
Sudan
and
Eritrea
. The leaders of the two countries were then summoned, acquiesced and all
of a sudden any bitterness was forgotten with full restoration of the
diplomatic ties by praising each other about their longstanding
brotherhood and good neighborliness. Although
Doha
is neither directly nor indirectly influenced by the conflict between
these two countries we can see the contours of its performance as a peace
broker and its errand to bridge the chasm between
Eritrea
and the
Sudan
.
Issayas
was also involved at this time in shuttle traffic (more than seven times
and by this time more than a dozen) to Libya by defying the flight ban
imposed by the UN against Libya (not yet uplifted by the OAU an was
awarded medal for his “bravery”). Their conversations or any official
statements were not known and Issayas was re-routing his trip several
times to meet high officials of
Egypt
. According to well-informed sources, most of his anti-personal mines,
which are placed all over the occupied territories were made and obtained
from
Egypt
and some high military advisers have been coming back and forth to
Eritrea
. The chartered ships of
Egypt
were the ones used for transportation to Assab of the seized Ethiopian
goods, which were worth several millions of dollars. This redirection of
goods was also well known to Americans. In view of this,
America
’s belated statement after 20 months cannot be credible. If the
Americans instead of turning blind eye did want to stop the larceny, they
would have discouraged or coerced both the thief and the accomplice.
Egypt
, which already takes the highest American aid per capita, compared to the
crumbs thrown away to other African countries, was blessed to incorporate
into its armed forces a military shipment, worth 6 billion dollars of aid.
This was the largest shipment ever seen on the African continent. Parts of
the shipment which the Americans cannot or will not specify its destiny,
could have taken the shortest path possible to end up in the hands of the
gangster regime in
Asmara
and
Somalia
. Can there be any explanation for this huge amount of military support
and its intention? Was it aimed to defend Egypt from any Israeli military
aggression or other neighboring countries threatening the existence of
Egypt or is it to make Egypt the mini-superpower of our continent and by
so doing become the prolonged arm and serve the interests of America by a
meek and complaisant assistant under the control of Washington? The double
moral of the
US
was revealed when it in the UNSC urged “countries not to sell arms to
Ethiopia
and recommended it to feed its own people.”
When
a country is aggressed by another, it has the supreme right to self-defense.
The implication of this meaning is, although poor countries are
“symbolically” represented as member states in the UN, the right of
self-defense is only and always reserved to the wealthy few. This is an
arrogance and offence to all the countries, which are supposed to have
equal representation according to the Charters of the UN. Instead of
weapon delivery to
Egypt
, the Egyptians as all third world countries would have dearly appreciated
economic incentives to ameliorate their living conditions.
Egypt
, as a country has had a long range of plans if we are to look into some
historical perspectives to control the Nile even at the cost of colonizing
Ethiopia
. But it was repelled and failed time and again by the resistances of
Ethiopians. I suspect that the reasoning in
Egypt
might go this way. In order to secure the flow of the Nile and its
tributaries,
Ethiopia
has to be trapped in a conflict for a long time by a mercenary army
without having any possibility or means of building dams for the
hydroelectric power generation or irrigation. There is a long-range plan
by
Ethiopia
to exploit this untapped resource. Therefore, those who have interest in
bolstering this plot are intent on prolongation of this conflict.
The
rouge regime in
Eritrea
was once again involved in the supply and shipment of loads of weaponry to
the heads of the chiefdoms of
Somalia
. And by so doing the aim was to destabilize and terrorize the Southern
and South Eastern parts of
Ethiopia
by arming terrorist groups and bandits, involved in cattle rustling,
kidnapping, killing the local people and the militia. This was done
deliberately and in defiance of the UN resolution against the supply of
arms to the Somali warlords with full knowledge of the “guardians of law
and order” or the “combatants of global terrorism.” Where did the
weapon and all the defrayment come from? Was it from poor
Eritrea
or was
Eritrea
only serving as a frontrunner or messenger for someone else? When the
indefensible became apparent and the collapse was nearing its end, thanks
to the valiant fighters of Ethiopia, a rescue group consisting of Libya
and Egypt entered the arena in the name of mediators to save the pockets
of the clan leader Aidid and his main supplier of arms, Issaias. Where
were these countries and others when the war raged at its worst? Why were
African countries through the OAU not ready to condemn the involvement of
Eritrea
, in a country without a central government and a people whose tragedy for
the last ten years is really painful?
Djibouti
, which is a small country never heard of or expected to threat any
country had to suffer constant harassment by the pugnacious regime of
Asmara
. But now the mending process of diplomatic relations is set up by the
same designers as above. It is not that I have anything against living in
peace and it is the only way out from the vicious circles of war. But
sometimes we have to see the actors behind and what their purposes are.
The
US
without any pretence knew from the very beginning, I even presume earlier
than the invasion, when the Eritreans committed their unprovoked invasion
of Ethiopian territories by rolling into Badme. The African Secretary of
State Susan Rice in a Senate Committee hearing has confirmed this fact.
She was also one of the first mediators together with
Rwanda
, who proposed the so-called US-Rwanda peace proposal. When the proposal
was discarded by the boorish Issaias as rubbish, formulated by a callow
girl (according to Issaias), the
US
began to insist on and has consistently since then demanded “both
countries to show restraint”. When some countries wanted to take a stand
and fully condemn the barbaric act of aggression, they were asked to stay
put, because it could damage the
US
mediator’s role and the chance to broker peace would vanish forever. But
what do we have now? Is it peaceful settlement or constant appeasement of
the regime in
Asmara
? The regime is still there in the occupied territories except Badme with
his hubris, war-drums, slanders, imbroglio, etc. to play the devil and to
create more havoc than a year ago.
The
US
foreign policy is as slippery as an eel. There is no consistency on
principles. When the Eritrean troops were entrenched in Badme, believing
that it could not be dislodged easily, the Americans changed their mind
and urged
Ethiopia
to skip its stand and negotiate with
Eritrea
. The crux of the matter is that the problem of “border issue” has
been bedeviled by Issaias’ refusal to sincerely co-operate with either
the mediators or
Ethiopia
. If the Americans are serious in their attempt to settle this conflict,
then they should give warning signals to the regime to abide by
international law. Nothing less nothing more can convince a regional
menace and hawk.
When
the OAU Heads of State and Government endorsed the Framework agreement and
Modalities for its implementation, there was a sudden change in the
subsequent document of the so-called Technical arrangement, presented to
the Parties after the meeting. The document was said to be
“un-amendable” as if it were Gods word and work. The
US
and Current OAU Chairman, the President of Algeria with the extreme rights
reserved to them, authored it without the prime consultation of the
Parties. Was the deviation from the original document intentional? Was
this document readymade to untie the knot or to let this conflict tied up
eternally?
If
the sources describing Issaias as a link to the CIA, which both appeared
on Walta Information Center, “Issaias exposed” by Iyob Nerayo on Oct.
12, 1999 and “Issaias’ role as the player of the US plot against the
Sudan” by Al-Rai Al Aam on Oct. 23 1999, are reliable, then the role of
the US as a mediator in this conflict has to be questioned and
reconsidered. When the
US
is giving Issaias the benefit of doubt and some journalists wittingly or
unwittingly (most of them in the
US
) are twisting the facts as if
Ethiopia
were the aggressor, then the facts intended to show who the aggressor is,
have been intentionally withheld. There were many opposition politicians,
who got killed by the Eritrean dead-squad in
Ethiopia
, in the field and abroad, when Issaias applied his so-called “dead men
tell no tales” principle to eliminate those who were at the meeting
during his recruitment by the CIA. I believe this can explain the case why
Issaias is appeased the whole time by the
US
, although their mediators are being mistreated and scoffed at.
Secondly,
when the “first lady” and attendants (bodyguards and CIA members) were
there to visit him and were welcomed by the traditional African style
dancers (Look at these Africans, their dance is in their blood is the
usual comment in the West! I really hate this), she praised him as a man
of vision leading a democratic country! What? Is it a joke? This is an
unfair judgment of the situation and introduction of the real life of the
Eritrean peoples.
Thirdly,
when Issaias was in the US, one can recall what he said to the gathered
journalists on Aug. 21, 1999 and I was perplexed at the news “Eritrea is
determined to make its contribution, not only to the realization of the
African objective…., but also in keeping alive US interests in a
constructive engagement with Africa”. Viola! Fourthly, the Annual US
State Department Human Rights Report for 1999 is very revealing on how the
US
describes the situation in
Eritrea
and
Ethiopia
. Almost the whole report on
Eritrea
is positive, describing the threat of the “Eritrean Islamic Salvation”
and how the Eritrean government is dealing with it and the improvements of
human rights record! In every part of human right abuses against Eritreans
and Ethiopians suffering at the hands of the regime in Asmara, the report
ends up now and then by the nonsense argument “local and foreign
officials (who else the CIA) revealed no evidence to substantiate the
charges.” (italics mine). The despot has got a great friend and it is
not the first time the
US
allies itself with dictators. The report on
Ethiopia
is dark with no improvements of whatsoever as if
Ethiopia
has to consult every move to get every blessing from
Washington
. This is the attitude and justice delivered by the world’s most
democratic country!
While
the Eritrean dictator is playing the buffoon to the applause and
admiration of those in Diaspora, who know nothing about the causes and
effects of this conflict, the Eritrean people at home are living in
despair and desolation. A “border issue” is not what we have on our
table. It is rather a big and complicated issue.
Now,
when we have seen the different actors of this tragic and complicated
conflict with a set of strange collection and connection of countries,
Ethiopia has to continue the path of finding on its own the remedy as in
the adage “you can take out the thorn by a thorn”. When you are bitten
by a snake (Issaias), you cannot go to a charlatan or a quack doctor,
because he/she can do more harm than good. Instead you have to cauterize
the infected part on place and hunt the snake so that it does not bite
anyone anymore. You have to search after it, dig it out from its holes
(trenches) and give it a crack on the head never to appear again.
|
