Sunday, 14 August 2011, The Observer)--The Horn of Africa’s belligerent leader, Isaias Afewerki, is set to visit tomorrow as he tries to mend fences and end his country’s isolation.
According to a news release from State House dated August 11, “President Afewerki, who will arrive in the country on August 16, [tomorrow], will visit various business and trade centres in Uganda before meeting with the Eritrean community resident in Uganda.”
The Eritrean leader, who will be in Uganda for a three-day state visit, is accused of supporting the al Shabaab militants in Somalia, who were forced to abandon Mogadishu at the end of July.
In hosting Afewerki, Uganda will have scored a diplomacy coup as the visit entrenches President Museveni’s position as the anchorman of stability in the volatile region.
“The more territory we capture, the more we are exposed, so if we can stop the funding, then it’s an advantage,” commented Dr Philip Kasaija, a lecturer of International law at Makerere University.
Kasaija agrees that the isolated leader is perhaps trying to make peace overtures in the region.
“Eritrea does not have friends. He could be attempting to mend fences,” Kasaija said.
Afewerki is also desperate to placate the West with UN sanctions on his regime looming. The United States and the United Nations accuse the Red Sea country of funneling weapons to Islamist fighters in Somalia, an accusation Afewerki rejects.
To compound Eritrea’s problems, On July 30, the UN authored a report accusing Eritrea of planning to make Baghdad-style bomb attacks on Addis Abba to disrupt the African Union summit in January this year.
The report by the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea accused the Eritrean spy agency and the Oromo Liberation Front (a rebel group fighting for the independence of the Oromo people against Meles Zenawi’s government) of complicity in the foiled attack.
In January, during the AU summit, Ethiopia claimed to have thwarted a terror plot by Eritrea to cause large-scale collateral damage during the conference. Security agencies recovered a huge cache of ammunition, sniper rifles plastic explosives, gas cylinders, and detonators.
Denial by Asmara and the subsequent spar between the countries at that time prompted the UN group to investigate the accusation.
In the report, Eritrean intelligence services were accused of planning an operation in league with Ethiopian rebel groups to detonate a car bomb close to the AU headquarters, where 30 African heads of state were attending the summit aimed at bringing peace and prosperity to the continent. Read More from The Observer »
According to a news release from State House dated August 11, “President Afewerki, who will arrive in the country on August 16, [tomorrow], will visit various business and trade centres in Uganda before meeting with the Eritrean community resident in Uganda.”
The Eritrean leader, who will be in Uganda for a three-day state visit, is accused of supporting the al Shabaab militants in Somalia, who were forced to abandon Mogadishu at the end of July.
In hosting Afewerki, Uganda will have scored a diplomacy coup as the visit entrenches President Museveni’s position as the anchorman of stability in the volatile region.
“The more territory we capture, the more we are exposed, so if we can stop the funding, then it’s an advantage,” commented Dr Philip Kasaija, a lecturer of International law at Makerere University.
Kasaija agrees that the isolated leader is perhaps trying to make peace overtures in the region.
“Eritrea does not have friends. He could be attempting to mend fences,” Kasaija said.
Afewerki is also desperate to placate the West with UN sanctions on his regime looming. The United States and the United Nations accuse the Red Sea country of funneling weapons to Islamist fighters in Somalia, an accusation Afewerki rejects.
To compound Eritrea’s problems, On July 30, the UN authored a report accusing Eritrea of planning to make Baghdad-style bomb attacks on Addis Abba to disrupt the African Union summit in January this year.
The report by the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea accused the Eritrean spy agency and the Oromo Liberation Front (a rebel group fighting for the independence of the Oromo people against Meles Zenawi’s government) of complicity in the foiled attack.
In January, during the AU summit, Ethiopia claimed to have thwarted a terror plot by Eritrea to cause large-scale collateral damage during the conference. Security agencies recovered a huge cache of ammunition, sniper rifles plastic explosives, gas cylinders, and detonators.
Denial by Asmara and the subsequent spar between the countries at that time prompted the UN group to investigate the accusation.
In the report, Eritrean intelligence services were accused of planning an operation in league with Ethiopian rebel groups to detonate a car bomb close to the AU headquarters, where 30 African heads of state were attending the summit aimed at bringing peace and prosperity to the continent. Read More from The Observer »
1 comment:
Shame on Uganda!!! This shameful dictator, Isayas should not be allowed anywhere in Africa.
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