The smell of animal waste and feed fill the air and almost makes one gag, but after a while, their little noses become deadened to the smell and they stop noticing it. That is how I have become-deadened- to the reports and endless faulty “analysis’ coming from the western mainstream media today, hence my deliberate and measured decision to wait until the dust has settled to respond to the erroneous US-UN led propaganda that we have been subjected to for over 14 days, on the issue of the United Nation’s Mission to Eritrea and Ethiopia. I did not want common sense to get in the way of the spin doctoring and wanted to let Ban Ki Moon and his cohorts complete this propaganda cycle without interruption. Now that they have totally embarrassed themselves, allow me weigh in on the discussions (if we want to call them that) and add my two cents worth.

So is it over yet? What did it accomplish? I am talking about the latest hysteria, the flurry of baseless, deceptive, diversionary, shameless, not to mention irresponsible "alerts", "warnings", "calls" etc. etc. concerning the United Nations Mission to Eritrea and Ethiopia (UNMEE). The UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, with the frenzied western media in tow, first told us that Eritrea was depriving the peacekeepers of fuel, next they told us that they were running out of food, next they told us that they were relocating to Ethiopia, then they told us that they were being prevented from leaving for Ethiopia, and the last thing we heard is that they were re-grouping in Asmara, the Eritrean capital, and that Eritrea was not interfering with their “regrouping”. Why were the people and Government of Eritrea needlessly attacked and harassed about a dead and moot issue, while there are more serious issues that need the Security Council’s immediate attention and actions?

From where I sit, and judging by the Security Council’s actions on the Eritrean Ethiopia issue for the last 10 years, I am inclined to believe that the latest ill-advised propaganda antic by the UN was nothing more than a futile and childish ploy to skirt its legal and moral responsibilities under the UN Charter, international law, the Algiers Agreements and the Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commision’s (EEBC) delimitation and demarcation decisions of 13 April 2002 and November 2007 respectively. The two week long propaganda campaign was transparent from day one, noone was fooled, least of all the Eritrean and Ethiopian people.

This shameless time buying gimmick designed by its handlers to appease the belligerent mercenary minority regime in Ethiopia and prolong its illegal occupation of sovereign Eritrean territories, including Badme, came as no surprise but what was surprising is to see the Seretary General undermining his own neutrality and credibility as an honest broker for peace between Eritrea and Ethiopia, and engaging in activities unbecoming of a Secretary General of the United Nations. Ban Ki Moon allowed himself to be railroaded and totally lost his “exclusively international character” as called for in Article 100 of the UN Charter that he is supposed to uphold. He is now acting, much like his predecessor Kofi Annan, as an apologist and spokesperson, not to mention a covert military strategist, for the minority regime in Ethiopia.

Ban Ki Moon led the western mainstream media in an unprecendented, unwarranted and ill-advised propaganda campaign making baseless allegations against the people and Government of Eritrea for aboslutely no reason-they neither resolved the cardinal issues at hand, Ethiopia’s act of aggression, the continued occupation of sovereign Eritrean territories, nor did they enlighten their readers on the facts. Ban Ki Moon and his cohorts had no qualms about insulting an entire population who have been, not just hospitable, but very magnanimous with the UN peacekeepers considering the many crimes (paedophilia, murder, pornography, defacing the national currency, prostitution, human traficking etc. etc.) committed against them in the last 8 years. But let’s leave that to history and experience, and look at how Ban Ki Moon handled the sordid UNMEE saga, by taking a closer look at the timeline and events and decisions that contributed to the total unraveling of UNMEE.

30 January 2008
The Security Council adopted resolution 1798 in which it deliberately chose not to endorse the EEBC’s Final and Binding demarcation decision and bring the 10 year border issue to an end. In what can only be seen as a politically motivated, and dangerously irresponsible move, knowing full well that the Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commision (EEBC), after waiting patiently for over 51/2 years for Ethiopia’s compliance and acceptance of the delimitation decision delivered on 13 April 2002, having fulfilled its mandate in acordance with the Algiers Agreements to delimit and deamarcate the Eritrea Ethiopia border, had closed its offices and left the area, the SC called on the parties to :

“… take immediately concrete steps in order to complete the process launched by the Peace Agreement of 12 December 2000 (S/2000/1183) by enabling physical demarcation of the border, and urges them to normalize their relations…”

Why was the Security Council calling for “physical demarcation” at this late hour? Why did it not take any punitive actions against the belligerent minority regime in Ethiopia for over 51/2 years as it created obstacles to the physical demarcation of the Eritrea Ethiopia border, forcing the EEBC to seek other approaches in fulfilling its sole mandate under the Algeirs Agreements to delimit and demarcate the Eritea Ethiopia border? Is the Secruity Council telling us that the “virtual demarcation” of the Eritrea Ethiopia border is not legal? Is the Security Council insinuating that the Eritrea Ethiopia border is not legally demarcated? Of course its not, it can’t. It knows very well that the Eritrea Ethiopia border is legally demarcated.

The Security Council has in the past endorsed “virtual demarcation” as being legal. One such recent case is the demarcation of the Iraq-Kuwait border in 1993. The final output of the United Nations Iraq-Kuwait boundary commission is the list of geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude) of the 106 boundary pillars, 28 intermediate boundary markers and the 56 points defining the position of the low-water line and the median line at sea. The Security Council endorsed the “virtual demarcation” and called for the inviolability of the Iraq-Kuwait internationally recognized border. Placing markers or pillars on the ground is merely a technical matter; the coordinates on maps are the legally and politically accepted demarcation that must be enforced and respected. Burying its head in the sand and pretending that the Eritrea Ethiopia border is not demarcated will not absolve the Security Council of its moral and legal obligations and it will be held responsible for any and all consequences that will result from its ostrich-ity.

31 January 2008
Ban Ki Moon went to Addis Ababa to attend the African Union meeting and it was while he was there that the clandestine plan to “relocate” UNMEE to Ethiopia was hatched. A quick look at the African Union roster and it will not be hard to decipher who else participated in putting together this illegal plan, which I will refer to as the Addis Ababa Plan (AAB). One thing is for sure-Eritrea was not included, even though UNMEE was operating entirely on sovereign Eritrean territories.

4 February 2008
Ban Ki Moon returned to Turtle Bay to put the Addis Ababa plan into action. UN media reported that Ban Ki Moon wrote a letter to the Security Council saying he was “compelled to instruct UNMEE to begin relocating the mission personnel and equipment from Eritrea”. I wonder who was compelling the Secretary General.

“…the Secretary-General is deeply concerned about the critical crisis facing the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) as a result of the stoppage of diesel fuel supplies… 6 February 2008, he will be compelled to instruct UNMEE to begin relocating the Mission's personnel and equipment from Eritrea, on a temporary basis… that the temporary relocation of the Mission's personnel is a contingency measure… and is without prejudice to the any provisions of the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities of 18 June 2000, including on the Temporary Security Zone…

The peacekeepers who are supposed to be monitoring the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) are being relocated, but the TSZ should remain intact. Now that made a lot of sense-NONSENSE!

Ban Ki Moon must know that the EEBC’s delimitation decision on 13 April 2002 rendered the issue of the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) moot and academic, and now his compromised peacekeeping mission is too. In the meantime, the UN dispatches a technical assessment team to Ethiopia to work out the details of the AAB for the covert relocation of UNMEE from Eritrea to Ethiopia. .

14 February 2008
Ban Ki Moon announced that the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) had begun the “temporary” relocation of personnel and equipment from Eritrea to sites on the Ethiopian side of the border. Over the weekend, behaving like thieves in the night, instead of the experienced international diplomats that they are suppposed to be, Ban Ki Moon and his cohorts attempted to sneak UNMEE out of Eritrea and into the waiting arms of Meles Zenawi, the leader of the minority regime in Ethiopia, at some undisclosed destination. Ban Ki Moon’s notice to Eritrea, at the very last hour of 12 February 2008, after UNMEE’s advanced unit had already started crossing the border illegally, was an assurance that Eritrea could do nothing to prevent it…turns out, he was dead wrong.

Makes you wonder if the western diplomats are there to ensure peace or create and perpetuate conflicts. Eritrea was not trying to take UNMEE’s equipment or supplies and these nameless, faceless cocktail diplomats know that, but for some reason they can plant erroneous stories and are never held accountable for the disastrous consequences. If they have such disdain for the people of Eritrea, what are they doing in Eritrea? What kind of diplomatic relations are they trying to foster with hate and fear mongering?

UNMEE has been in Eritrea for over 8 years, and the Government and people of Eritrea have not taken a single item from these peacekeepers, why do so at the last hour? To what end? Eritreans are not known for stealing or robbing and the attempt to portray the hospitable and magnanimous people of Eritrea in this manner is not only cruel but says a lot about the mainstream media, their idea of fair and accurate reporting and most of all, it says a lot about Ban Ki Moon, his integrity and credibility, and those irresponsible self serving lazy western diplomats who seem to have nothing to do except to wonder around Asmara’s boulevards, planting seeds for discord and divisions in Eritrea’s otherwise harmonious population. Unlike the covetous western cocktail diplomats, Eritrean soldiers are disciplined and have never wanted or taken what did not belong to them.

On the issue of moving to Ethiopia, the UN did not publicly state where UNMEE was heading, just that they were heading to the “Ethiopian side”-that would be south of the delimitation and demarcation line…right? The fact that Ban Ki Moon and his cohorts kept UNMEE’s final destination a secret makes me wonder if they did not have other devious ulterior motives…I would not be surprised considering Woyane’s history and the UN’s history of duplicity and hypocrisy on the issue of Eritrea and Ethiopia

21 February 2008
The UN reported that Eritrea was “blocking” UNMEE’s regrouping. Eritrea was not blocking anything. Eritrea wanted to know what the UN was doing. Eritrea wanted to be consulted and involved in the planning of activities within Eritrean territories, including moving the peacekeepers to Asmara. What was wrong with that? Is Eritrea not a sovereign nation with sovereign rights? Can the UN unilaterally move peacekeepers in sovereign nations without the expressed consent and approval of the hosts? NO-so why do that in Eritrea? It’s really quite transparent. Provoke Eritrea and then use Eritrea’s reactions as a reason for skirting your own responsibilities and obligations. We have seen a lot of that in the last 10 years. Ban Ki Moon should check with Kofi Annan for a list of the tried and failed shenanigans…

22 February 2008
No illicit propaganda campaign is complete without the topping, and for that we got a doze of Seyoum Mesfin’s ignominy and frothing. Not sure what the shameless Foreign Minister of Ethiopia thought he would gain by writing to the Security Council about violations of the UN Charter, the rule of law, Agreements signed and the credibility and integrity of the UN being compromised, when it has been Ethiopia and the lawless mercenary minority regime led by Meles Zenawi, a loyal U.S. ally in the “war against terror” (including, torturing suspects at Washington's behest in one of its many secret prisons), that:

• Continues to violate international law, the EEBC delimitation and demarcation decision and the UN Charter by militarily occupying sovereign Eritrean territories;
• Has violated over 2 dozen Security Council resolutions on the Eritrea Ethiopia border issue;
• Has intimidated, harassed and forced the EEBC to close its offices and leave the area;
• Has refused to allow for the physical demarcation of the Eritrea Ethiopia border in accordance with the EEBC’s 13 April 2002 delimitation decision and its demarcation directives and orders;
• Labels the legal virtual demarcation of the Eritrea Ethiopia border as being “legal nonsense” and refuses to accept it.

But far be it from me to try and understand Woyane’s warped and crooked thinking…

Ban Ki Moon attempted to blemish Eritrea’s image for being asked, politely and in a timely manner, what the Security Council intended to do with the peacekeepers now that the demarcation of the Eritrea Ethiopia border was completed, as their mandate was tied to the completion of the demarcation process. That is clearly what the President of Eritrea was asking the Security Council in his 15 January letter to the Security Council. That letter was much publicised and unfortunately also deliberately taken out of context by Ban Ki Moon and his cohorts. Here is an excerpt from H. E. President Isaias’ 15 January 2008 letter that deals with UNMEE:

“…the Boundary Commision exhibited the utmost patience and persistance for more than five years after rendering its “final and binding” Award. Unable to secure the support and backing of the UN Security Council, the Boundary Commision has now terminated its functions and closed its offices by completing its work through unambiguos “virtual demarcation…For our part, prompted by the hope and belief that UNMEE could contribute to the final process of demarcation, we continued to reiterate our readiness to facilitate its role and have repeatedly communicated our wish to the Boundary Commsion until the point that it disbanded…As emphasized above, the matter has now to to conclusion. The boundary is demarcated. In the event, UNMEE has noon left, after five and a half years, with no option than “maintaining occupation”. My Government accordingly urges the Security Council to compel the evacuation of the army and instituions of the Ethiopian regime that are occupying our sovereign territories to prevent other unnecessary developments…”

Instead of responding to the many letters and requests from the Office of the President of Eritrea, Moon chose to compromise the dignity of the UN peacekeepers by making them party to his clandestine and illegal operations to violate Eritrea’s sovereignty and teritorial integrity. He used UNMEE as a pawn in his dirty political game.

Ban Ki Moon’s orchestrated and shameless time buying ploy, “relocating UNMEE to Ethiopia”, and the weak pretext “no fuel”, “no food”, has left him with egg on his face and the Security Council scrambling to find a face saving “solution” (gimmicks and intrigues), all the while UNMEE is sitting in Asmara, the Eritrean capital, with a compromised mandate and a ticket to nowhere-yet.

I hope he is satisfied and I hope he got rewarded for his servantry, but now it is time to face the facts. His peacekeepers can go, anywhere he wants them to go… but they have to leave in the same manner that they came in…in broad day light and with all their materials accounted for-lest the western diplomats accuse Eritrea of stealing UNMEE equipment and supplies- and with all their papers in order… with respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the host country, Eritrea. and most importantly, the dignity of the UN peacekeepers who are victims of the very system they are supposed to be supporting.

Allow me to end with this quote from one of Ban Ki Moon’s Statements about the UN’s role for 2008 to urge him to uphold international law and the UN Charter:

“…If I were to sum up my view of the United Nations and its work today, it would be a spirit of principled pragmatism. By virtue of its charter and its calling, the UN must be a voice of moral conscience in the world. Part of that moral duty is to make good on the hopes and expectations vested in us—to deliver results, not mere promises… the UN must rediscover the pragmatism of its principles…”

Ban Ki Moon and the Security Council need to rediscover the principles enshrined in the UN Charter for the UN to “rediscover the pragmatism of its principles”.

The rule of law must prevail over the law of the jungle!

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