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The Third Sanction
Desta Hailu
Sanction is not a new thing to Eritrea, a country that is led by the iron fit of one man. The mounting of sanctions is nothing to the Ato Isaias led party PFDJ (Peoples front for democracy and justice) whose acts go against its name. Although the international community has imposed two sanctions on the regime, it seems as if the regime is proud of the sanctions. Thus, doing what it is told not to do; the regime trains, arms and infiltrates terrorists and anti-peace forces into neighboring countries in order to destabilize its neighboring countries. It also transfers arms to terrorists and quench its militaristic thirst by buying arms on the back of deteriorating economy.
Looking at these antics of the Asmara administration, one can see that the regime not only is in the total opposite to the “principles” that it claims to the have fought for, but also that the armed struggle the regime talks abut repeatedly did not bring anything benefits to the people of Eritrea – although I know that its undemocratic behaviors we see today are learned from those armed struggle days in the Sahel mountains. Thinking the ‘laws of the jungle’ it used during its Sahel days still works today, the regime is not willing to listen to the international community.
Shabiya is always violating the bans that were levied on it by the international community on arms trading, movement of its officials and its two percent tax on remittance money. However, the monitoring group that is sanctioned by the United Nations to monitor the Eritrea and Somalia case closely has last month made official a new report to the UN.
The document confirms that the Eritrea government has bought military equipment from North Korea by violating the ban on arm trading that was imposed on it by the UN. The document says that the military radio equipments Eritrea bought from North Korea through China are aimed to be used by its navy. The equipments were bought in 2016 and it is not the first time for Eritrea to buy military equipments from North Korea according to the report.
Based on this document, recently US President Donald Trump has imposed a third sanction on Shabiya that states no relation to be had with Shabiya’s navy. Although it is not thought that this sanction would bring any change, but I think it is one step on itself that sanction is imposed on the Eritrea government. Although sanctions don’t faze Shabiya as I have mentioned on my introductory part, however it shows that the recent effort of the Eritrea regime to lobby the new US president through lobbyists has failed. This is huge failure for the regime.
This negative response Shabiya got for its effort to lobby the Washington administration by posing a fake persona is angering to the regime. I think the response will deeply anger and infuriate the Asmara administration. It is obvious the gloom it will create in the Asmara and Mesewa palaces. The international community knows the Eritrea government based on the regime’s antics at various times. Indeed! Shabiya’s nature or character is not new for the international community including the US – it’s thoroughly known by them.
The international community is well aware of the fact that the regime makes its people suffer; buys arms to quench its militaristic adventures; disturbs the east Africa region; has episodes of violating the sovereign border an disturbing the peace of countries in the region like Ethiopian and Djibouti by showing disregard to the international law; disturbs the people of Somalia by supporting terrorists groups like Al-Shabaab through finance and logistics despite not having any border link with them; and that the regime also do destabilizing works in South Sudan by meddling in the country’s internal affair.
Considering that Shabiya limits the activities of diplomatic communities in Asmara, prohibits the private Media, it imprisons dissidents inhumanely in containers and lets them die in a cruel way, and that it doesn’t allow for constitution to be ratified in the country, it shows that there is no rule of law in the country but the law of one man above all – making the regime secretive and unpredictable.
As a result to this, many political analysts call Eritrea that is led by the iron fist rule of Ato Isaias Afewerki ‘Africa’s North Korea’. Based on this, readers of this article may say that ‘the Trump administration imposed sanction on Africa’s North Korea for buying military equipments from the real North Korea’, or that ‘North Korea is sanctioned for buying arms from itself’ and so on… All in all, Shabiya’s contest against the past two sanctions and the recent sanction of Washington’s administration came with straight face lies. Despite the fact that its illegality is getting worse day by day and it can be seen plainly, the regime contested the recent sanction imposed by US labeling it an “injustice”. Although it is not clear what he term ‘injustice’ means in the dictionary of the Eritrea government, but for the rest of us it means that judging or deciding with own impunity. Then in that case, if the question who is the “injustice” one is raised, the answer can only be the regime that is buying and stocking up arms by violating the international law with impunity. If it is injustice to control the illegality of Shabiya, not being unjust is the same as contradicting legality? …
In our world where there are rules of laws, such impunity for the law doesn’t have any place. Nevertheless, if validity for Africa’s North Korea means buying military equipment illegally, then legality will have to mean violating the things the international community banned on its two sanctions.
However, this type of mentality doesn’t have a place in the world where rules and laws work; and can only work for a group that operates under the laws of the jungle. Thus, instead of contesting this issue with a lies, I believe it will be helpful for the regime if it starts to work with the international community in agreement. However, looking at the truth from the respective the militaristic an undemocratic nature of the regime, the Ato Isaias government can’t be able to do this. This is because; Shabiya has the experience of using all of its resources that it has (that it collects from its poor peoples’ hand and receives from the Arabs through rent-seeking) to buy arms, and stopping this behavior would be like losing itself for the regime. It cannot leave or put aside the undemocratic behaviors it used since its Sahel days.
In general, no matter the change the third sanctions levied by the Trump administration can bring, what the sanction by itself says is that Shabiya is a group that operates in an illegal manner and doesn’t abide by any of the international laws. Therefore, notwithstanding the separate defensive measures the regional countries take to protect their peace, development and democracy against the militaristic tendencies of Shabiya (like the new policy the FDRE government said will follow on Shabiya), the international community should take strong measure on the Eritrea government by going more than issuing reports on the regime. That might bring change by mounting pressure on Shabiya and supporting the regional countries’ effort to break free from poverty.
