UN Sanctions against Eritrea will continue

Tigrai Online, October 23, 2015

The United Nations Security Council released the much anticipated report regarding Eritrea’s destabilizing actions in Ethiopia and the greater Horn of Africa.

The Report of the Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea pursuant to Security Council resolution 2182 (2014): Eritrea was presented to the Sanctions Committee of the United Nations Security Council.

In the massive 93 page report the  Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group (SEMG), the Committee found Eritrea violated most of the UN Security Council resolutions1862 (2009), 1907 (2009), 2023 (2011) and 2182 (2014): all the above UN Security Council resolutions basically ordered the Eritrean government form involving itself in destabilizing action against any nation including Ethiopia.

The Eritrean government knowingly violated all of the resolutions as if it wanted the sanctions to continue. The UN Security Council committee found absolute clear evidence Eritrea is actively working to destabilize Ethiopia by supporting all armed and terrorist groups.

“The Monitoring Group found no evidence that Eritrea was supporting Al-Shabaab. It did, however, find that Eritrea was continuing to support and harbour some regional armed groups, including a newly formed unified front of armed Ethiopian opposition groups, the Tigray People’s Democratic Movement (TPDM) and the military leader of Ginbot Sebat.

TPDM remains the most significant armed Ethiopian group being trained, financed and hosted inside Eritrea. The Monitoring Group understands that a contingent of TPDM fighters is stationed in the western region of Eritrea, near the Sudanese border, as well as in and around Massawa. Moreover, TPDM has joined the newly formed unified front of armed Ethiopian opposition groups. In September 2015, it witnessed its highest-level defection to date when its Chair, Mola Asgedom, escaped to Ethiopia following political disagreements with the leader of the unified front.”, the report said.

The Eritrean government does not and cannot deny it is working day and night to fragment and destroy Ethiopia, but Eritrea said the UN Security Council has no business of monitoring Eritrean actions towards Ethiopia.

The reason is Eritrean regime fully knows as long as the Arabs keep financing its terrorist actions, the UN sanctions will not stop it.

Year after year Eritrea continues its flagrant violations of the Security Council resolutions and the UN does not does not much, but adopt more resolutions.

We know the UN sanctions are taking a toll on the tiny economy. The Eritrean army is working without pay and the military hardware is as old as the president himself because the Eritrean government cannot afford to buy new armament.

The only practical way-out of this situation is for Ethiopia to take more firm actions because the Security Council more than any other international body knows what Eritrea is doing to create mayhem in Ethiopia and the region and if Ethiopia takes military action there will not be any meaningful negative reaction from the UN.

Mean while the sanctions will continue which are suppose to hurt the Eritrean government and make it stop its terrorist acts, however the Eritrean government supported by Ethiopian enemies continues to stagger until Ethiopia takes a bold action and do the final push.

After the formalities are done the sanctions will be adopted and they will continue for yet another year and the suffering of the Eritrean people continues at the hand of their own government.