Reporter, Saturday, 19 March 2011
The Ethiopian government has urged the UN and the US government to take appropriate action against Eritrea to stop it from destabilizing the Horn of Africa and warned that it would take unilateral action if the Eritrean regime were to continue with its policy.
Briefing local journalists about his recent visit to New York, Hailemariam Desalegn, Deputy Prime Minister and Minster of Foreign Affairs, said that the Ethiopian government has changed its long standing policy on Eritrea that had been entirely based on defensive measures. He indicated that he discussed issues regarding regional peace and security with pertinent UN and US state department officials. According to him, the Ethiopian government urged these officials to immediately implement the previous sanctions imposed on Eritrea by the UN Security Council.
He added that the Eritrea government is still pursuing its previous strategy of destabilizing the region as a whole and particularly Ethiopia. “We are already aware that the Eritrean regime has plans to cause mayhem in Addis Ababa through insurgent groups it is arming. That has been the main preoccupation of the regime. We need the world to know this.”
Hailemariam went on to say that the first step of his government’s new strategy is to urge the international community to take urgent action against the rogue state to force it to desist from its terror activities. “We hope the world will implement its previous sanction and take unequivocal measures” the minister added.
“Should the world fail to act and the government of Eritrea persist in its policy of destruction, the Ethiopian government will be compelled to defend Ethiopia’s national security. The government has the right to take decisive steps on its own in discharge of its obligation to safeguard the country’s sovereignty. We can not go on adopting a defensive strategy. We need to be proactive”, he strongly noted.
Seeye Abraha, a former minister of defense and presently an executive committee member of the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity forum (Forum), however, questions the motive behind the change in government policy.
He said that the government is well awake of the behavior of the Eritrean regime, including its avowed desire to destabilize Ethiopia. “When the regime waged a war on Ethiopia in May 1998, Some members of the EPRDF leadership said that the regime should be removed from power. However, our call was not heeded because it was deemed to be “irrational” the government is trying to divert attention from the internal economic and social problems gripping the country by playing the Eritrea card,” he said adding this ‘play’ was prompted by the uprising sweeping North African countries.
He pointed out that the government has been saying all along that it is not Ethiopian’s concern whether the government in Eritrea is a ‘monkey’ regime or otherwise and that it is up to the people of Eritrea to change their government. “This departure from the long-held policy is nothing more than a strategy to deflect public anger against it,” he underscored.
The Ethiopian government has urged the UN and the US government to take appropriate action against Eritrea to stop it from destabilizing the Horn of Africa and warned that it would take unilateral action if the Eritrean regime were to continue with its policy.
Briefing local journalists about his recent visit to New York, Hailemariam Desalegn, Deputy Prime Minister and Minster of Foreign Affairs, said that the Ethiopian government has changed its long standing policy on Eritrea that had been entirely based on defensive measures. He indicated that he discussed issues regarding regional peace and security with pertinent UN and US state department officials. According to him, the Ethiopian government urged these officials to immediately implement the previous sanctions imposed on Eritrea by the UN Security Council.
He added that the Eritrea government is still pursuing its previous strategy of destabilizing the region as a whole and particularly Ethiopia. “We are already aware that the Eritrean regime has plans to cause mayhem in Addis Ababa through insurgent groups it is arming. That has been the main preoccupation of the regime. We need the world to know this.”
Hailemariam went on to say that the first step of his government’s new strategy is to urge the international community to take urgent action against the rogue state to force it to desist from its terror activities. “We hope the world will implement its previous sanction and take unequivocal measures” the minister added.
“Should the world fail to act and the government of Eritrea persist in its policy of destruction, the Ethiopian government will be compelled to defend Ethiopia’s national security. The government has the right to take decisive steps on its own in discharge of its obligation to safeguard the country’s sovereignty. We can not go on adopting a defensive strategy. We need to be proactive”, he strongly noted.
Seeye Abraha, a former minister of defense and presently an executive committee member of the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity forum (Forum), however, questions the motive behind the change in government policy.
He said that the government is well awake of the behavior of the Eritrean regime, including its avowed desire to destabilize Ethiopia. “When the regime waged a war on Ethiopia in May 1998, Some members of the EPRDF leadership said that the regime should be removed from power. However, our call was not heeded because it was deemed to be “irrational” the government is trying to divert attention from the internal economic and social problems gripping the country by playing the Eritrea card,” he said adding this ‘play’ was prompted by the uprising sweeping North African countries.
He pointed out that the government has been saying all along that it is not Ethiopian’s concern whether the government in Eritrea is a ‘monkey’ regime or otherwise and that it is up to the people of Eritrea to change their government. “This departure from the long-held policy is nothing more than a strategy to deflect public anger against it,” he underscored.
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