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By Balcha Hurresa The peace and security in the Horn of Africa has remained being volatile for years. It has lingered being a vicinity where lasting peace is hardly flourished, which placed inhabitants in a dire situation. As a result, the upheaval of the socio-economic and political situation has been consistently threatening the stable and secure life of the people. Despite some prospects for peace to flourish in the Horn region, state terrorists, little attention of international community, aggravating roles of the media and lack of political commitment for peace are some among other impediments to lasting peace and stability in the region. Available documents witnessed that some states have directly or indirectly involved in terrorist activities. Having fully sponsored al-Qaeda and its East Africa Wing, al-Shabab, these states have been making their way to destabilize the region, which is one of the major challenges of the peace in the Horn of Africa. This didn’t come out of the blue rather it remained being a case for so long despite all the efforts exerted to resolve the problem.
The bone of contention of this piece is indicating the miss link in addressing the peace and security problems in the Horn of Africa and the little attention given to it by the international organizations and the developed countries.
In this regard, all the efforts exerted towards solving the problem in the region put aside the countries that have been involving directly and those acting behind the curtain. According to reliable sources, the number of states sponsoring terrorism is significant. This is not only regional but world peace challenge. Eritrea is one among those states that have been openly sponsoring the al-Qaeda wing in the Horn of Africa. Despite the good will the Eritrean people have for peaceful and stable life, the state in Asmara has been continuing exerting its peace poisoning efforts. Asmara has allocated a huge sum of budget and manpower on purpose ignoring the suffering of people. Araya,45, is an Eritrean migrant in Ethiopia. He expelled from his motherland three years ago. He has no words to describe the ill situations in his country. He said, “The governing system is absolutely dictatorship and the socio-economic situations of the country has deteriorated. As a result, the people of Eritrea were coerced to live in an abject poverty. Government officials gave deaf ears to the sufferings of the people having engaged in their warmongering activities.” Eritrea has been adding fuel to the fire in Somalia and continued poisoning the peace in that war torn country. Despite Asmara’s negative roles against peace, stability and development in the entire region, no one dared to punish it. The Eritrean State has not only rejected the efforts made to bring lasting peace and stability in Somalia but also coordinated the terrorist attacks in Uganda, Kampala. Eritrea strongly condemned all the efforts made by the United Nations (UN), African Union (AU) and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to resolve the bloody conflict in Somalia. The official report by the Eritrean government emphasized that the decision made by IGAD to deploy additional troops is not only illegal but also futile. Following that decision, the Eritrean government coordinated the terrorist attacks in Kampala in which more than seventy people were killed. The State in Asmara has been working in a very formal and organized way in sponsoring and training terrorist groups in the horn of Africa. According to reliable source, many generals have assigned in this task and report their daily activities to the president every day. The consistent Eritrea’s intervention in neighboring countries in general and Somalia in particular aggravated conflicts in the region. Besides, it speeded up severe clan conflicts and abject humanitarian crises in the war torn Somalia; thereby, it created a safe haven for terrorists to reorganize in the region. The peace-poisoning strategy of the state in Eritrea coupled with lack of harmony and commitment of the Somali clan leaders coerced the country to remain being a battleground for years. The conflict between those who have been attempting to ensure the Islamic extremists’ dominance and the Federal Transitional Government of Somalia has never got an end as countries like Eritrea continued their aggravating roles.
Eritrea’s denunciation of the decision made by the Head of States and Governments of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development is one of the indications that the stance of the state in Asmara is poising peace and stability in the region. IGAD is a regional bloc working towards ensuring peace and stability. It has been cooperating with the Federal Transitional Government of Somalia to end the bloody conflict in that country. In its 15th Extraordinary Summit Meeting in Addis Ababa on 5th July 2010, it decided to deploy additional peace keepers to Somalia. That decision becomes a severe headache to the Eritrean despot Issayas Afeworki as his country has been playing a significant role in poising the peace in that copuntry. Its negative activities have even continued after the lull sanction imposed on Eritrea, which has only remained in black and white.
Some responsible political leaders both from the Horn and other parts of the world need a serious action upon the Eritrean State. According to a recent report by AFP, US lawmakers also asked the United States to include Eritrea in a terrorism blacklist over its support for an Al-Qaeda-linked group tied to the deadly bombings in Uganda. The Horn of Africa has consistently been the most conflicting corner of the world. Peace and security have almost remained being volatile for years. In countries like Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia, there is no internal stability as well. Despite the miserable life the people in these countries have been leading, neither the international community nor the African Union dared to pay attention and take an appropriate measures to ease their sufferings.
The United Nations and other international organizations are driven by the interests of developed countries. As a result, the attention they give to the Horn of Africa is by far inconsiderable compared to those countries in the other parts of the globe. The reason is that the developed countries like the United States of America are usually reading their interests for any action they take and any support they offer. This conscious silence coupled to the negative roles of the states backing terrorists aggravated the conflicts in the Horn of Africa and coerced the people to lead stingy life. Although some responsible personalities like Ed Royce, one of the top Republican on a House subcommittee on terrorism, urged the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to designate Eritrea a state sponsor of terrorist, the state in America paid little attention to it as America usually worries about those terrorists targeting only at America paying little attention to those targeting other countries. Eritrea is playing a destructive role in the Horn of Africa. It has been poisoning the peace in the area as state sponsor terrorist. However, this could be tolerable to America because it doesn’t directly focus at it.
The strikes in Uganda were the deadliest attacks in the region. At least 73 people were killed. Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack, which was coordinated by the State in Eritrea.
Lack of leaders’ commitment to ensure peace in the conflicting countries is another serious challenge to the peace in the Horn. The political leaders in Somalia have been aggravating the situation in their country for years.
If there is need to bring peace and stability in Somalia in particular and the region in general, it is essential to deplore the core causes for the escalation of the conflicts in the region. It is crucial to focus on those countries aggravating conflict in the region and sponsoring the al-Qaeda east African wing. It will be a wise approach for all peace loving countries to validate an appropriate measure on the rogue state of Eritrea and other countries behind the curtain of the conflicts in Somalia in particular and the region in general as part and parcels of the peace ensuring strategy. |
