Over the last few years, the list of so-called “pariah states” blamed for stirring up trouble and supporting terrorism has been shrinking Following Libya's efforts to eliminate weapons of mass destruction and cut support for terrorist groups, major powers including the United States and Britain lifted sanctions and trade embargoes which had been in place for yearsIraq also bowed out of the “rogue state” ranks following the toppling of Saddam Hussein and establishment of a democratic government in the country. A similar development happened in Afghanistan and that country has been welcomed back to the international community. Other governments, such as North Korea, Iran and Myanmar, are engaged in dialogue with major powers that they hope will result in the lifting of sanctions against them.Reducing the number of states isolated by the international community is beneficial to global stability and should be encouraged. But it appears that the government of Eritrea is determined to buck this trend, especially now that the United Nations Security Council has imposed sanctions on the country.Indeed, the small nation on the Horn of Africa, which won worldwide admiration in 1991 for winning independence from Ethiopia is now well on its way to becoming the world's newest rogue state. This is a regrettable development and more efforts must be made to prevent the situation from degenerating further. But given the recent actions of the Eritrean government, the international community has had no choice but to impose an arms embargo and trade sanctions against the country.According to the resolution passed by the United Nations Security Council, Eritrea has regularly supplied arms and aid to al-Shabaab rebels in Somalia who are waging a civil war against the internationally recognized government in Mogadishu.The Somalian rebels, aided by Eritrea, have direct links to the al-Qaida organization of Osama bin Laden and have constantly frustrated the international community's efforts to stabilize Somalia, which has lacked a functioning central government since 1991.The U.N.'s move against Eritrea marks a rare occasion where a government is being punished for violating an arms embargo against another government, in this case Somalia. Eritrea has constantly denied aiding the Somalian rebels and playing any role in destabilizing the region. According to the Eritrean government, the sanctions were drummed up by the country's arch foe, Ethiopia, and the United States, whose aid workers were expelled from the country in 2005.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Eritrea joins the ranks of 'pariah states'
Over the last few years, the list of so-called “pariah states” blamed for stirring up trouble and supporting terrorism has been shrinking Following Libya's efforts to eliminate weapons of mass destruction and cut support for terrorist groups, major powers including the United States and Britain lifted sanctions and trade embargoes which had been in place for yearsIraq also bowed out of the “rogue state” ranks following the toppling of Saddam Hussein and establishment of a democratic government in the country. A similar development happened in Afghanistan and that country has been welcomed back to the international community. Other governments, such as North Korea, Iran and Myanmar, are engaged in dialogue with major powers that they hope will result in the lifting of sanctions against them.Reducing the number of states isolated by the international community is beneficial to global stability and should be encouraged. But it appears that the government of Eritrea is determined to buck this trend, especially now that the United Nations Security Council has imposed sanctions on the country.Indeed, the small nation on the Horn of Africa, which won worldwide admiration in 1991 for winning independence from Ethiopia is now well on its way to becoming the world's newest rogue state. This is a regrettable development and more efforts must be made to prevent the situation from degenerating further. But given the recent actions of the Eritrean government, the international community has had no choice but to impose an arms embargo and trade sanctions against the country.According to the resolution passed by the United Nations Security Council, Eritrea has regularly supplied arms and aid to al-Shabaab rebels in Somalia who are waging a civil war against the internationally recognized government in Mogadishu.The Somalian rebels, aided by Eritrea, have direct links to the al-Qaida organization of Osama bin Laden and have constantly frustrated the international community's efforts to stabilize Somalia, which has lacked a functioning central government since 1991.The U.N.'s move against Eritrea marks a rare occasion where a government is being punished for violating an arms embargo against another government, in this case Somalia. Eritrea has constantly denied aiding the Somalian rebels and playing any role in destabilizing the region. According to the Eritrean government, the sanctions were drummed up by the country's arch foe, Ethiopia, and the United States, whose aid workers were expelled from the country in 2005.
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