By TesfaNews,
President Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea has sent a letter dated July 31, 2011 to President Obama to bring his kind attention on some urgent matters that have grave implications for peace, security and stability in Eritrea, Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa region. Some of the topics he mentioned on his letter include Ethiopia’s hysterical campaign of unfounded accusations and fabrications to impose economic sanctions on Eritrea; Ethiopia’s threat of using military force; and the issue of Ethiopian occupation of sovereign Eritrean territories by force.
The following is the full content of the letter:
Asmara, July 31, 2011
His Excellency Barack H. Obama
President of the United States of America
Excellency,
I write you today to bring to your kind attention an urgent matter with grave implications for peace, security and stability in Eritrea, Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa region.
As Your Excellency is well aware, the Government of Ethiopia continues to occupy sovereign Eritrean territory in flagrant violation of a “final and binding” international arbitration, international law and several resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. It has also publicly and repeatedly stated that its official policy is to use military force with the express purpose of overthrowing the government in Eritrea. Its illegal occupation of Eritrean soil and its threat to use force constitutes a declaration of war against Eritrea, a threat to regional peace and security. Yet, this dame government is now undertaking what can only be described as a hysterical campaign of unfounded accusations and fabrications to impose economic sanctions – with a particular focus on contributions of the Eritrean Diaspora and the mining sector – against Eritrea through the UN Security Council.
The obsessive campaign of the Ethiopian government seeks to deflect African and international attention away from its many transgressions against the UN Charter and the
Constitutive Act of the African Union. Its second major objective is to stop Eritrea’s economic progress and thus impose severe hardship on its people.
This reprehensible drive to impose sanctions on Eritrea runs counter to the decisions of the African Union as expressed in its latest Summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, where the AU discussed the Eritrea-Ethiopia border issue, affirmed that it will shoulder its responsibility on the matter and called on both countries to cooperate with it. Exasperated by the position of the AU, the Ethiopian government has decided to take its campaign directly to the United Nations Security Council.
Excellency,
I intend to send a delegation to your esteemed country to provide Your Excellency further information and for me to benefit from your views and advice.
In the meantime, and given the urgency and gravity of the matter, allow me to urge your valuable role in preventing unwarranted measures that can only further complicate an already complex situation and pour more oil on a raging fire, particularly at a time when the Horn of Africa is facing an acute drought that has led to massive suffering and displacement as well as the deaths of hundreds of people. May I also appeal for your esteemed support for African and international efforts to ensure that Ethiopia complies with its legal treaty obligations and withdraw its occupation army from Eritrean soil.
Accept, Excellency, my highest respects.
Sincerely,
Isaias Afwerki
President of the State of Eritrea
