ADDIS ABABA, NOVEMBER 13, 2021 — The Government of Eritrea said "the United States' (US) new, unwarranted, “sanctions” on Eritrea as a continuation of its misguided and hostile policy". While Ethiopia defended its neighbor saying "if
the purpose of sanctions is to compel parties to cease their
destabilizing actions, the Ethiopian Government strongly believes that
the real target for sanctions and further tougher actions by the US
Government and the greater international community should be directed
towards the TPLF".
The US on Friday, November 12, 2021,
designated six targets associated with the Eritrean government and
ruling party pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14046, which the US President signed in September.
The US Treasury Department said, in a statement, it blacklisted Eritrea's
ruling political party the People's Front for Democracy and Justice
(PFDJ), the party's economic adviser and the head of the Eritrean
national security office, accusing them of contributing to the conflict
in neighboring Ethiopia.
"This unilateral sanction, that shifts blame to and scapegoats Eritrea on the basis of spurious allegations, is in contravention of international law, and constitutes a flagrant breach of the sovereignty, independence and liberation of peoples and nations," Eritrea's Ministry of Information responded.
Eritrea said the aim of the sanction is to "obstruct enduring solutions that promote sustainable stability in the Horn of Africa in general and Ethiopia in particular and to stoke and perpetuate a vicious cycle of chaos that it will then manage".
"That the primary aim of the illicit and immoral sanctions is to inculcate suffering and starvation on the population so as to induce political unrest and instability is patently clear. But adding insult to injury, its architects unabashedly maintain that 'the sanctions are not aimed at harming the Eritrean people'. No one can really be deceived by these crocodile tears," added the statement.
"The people and Government of Eritrea deplore, in letter and spirit, the illicit and unilateral 'sanctions'. They urge all peace and justice loving, sovereign and independent peoples and forces, to lend their support to Eritrea," concluded the statement from Eritrea's Ministry of Information.
Meanwhile, the Ethiopian government not only denounced the US sanctions as misplaced but it also called on the US administration to rescind its decision to impose sanctions on the State of Eritrea and to
take actions against the real root cause of the current challenges in
Ethiopia, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).
The the Government of Ethiopia released a statement explaining five points the US government failed to consider.
First, read the statement, the TPLF fired rockets at a sovereign
country, Eritrea, following its unprovoked attack on the Northern
Command of Ethiopia’s National Defense Forces on November 3, 2020.
Second, it is the sovereign right of the Eritrean Government to respond to imminent danger to its territorial integrity and security.
Third, the Government of Ethiopia has never lodged any grievances to the international community regarding the initial presence of Eritrean forces on its soil in defense of their territorial integrity. The prerogative to put forth such a complaint lies with the Government of Ethiopia and not any other country.
Fourth, the Government of Eritrea has evacuated its military forces from Ethiopia following the declaration of the Unilateral Humanitarian Ceasefire by the Government of Ethiopia at the end of June 2021.
Finally, the statement read, the Government of Ethiopia does not believe that the State of Eritrea is an impediment to sustainable peace in Ethiopia. The real and present threat to peace in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa Region is the continued belligerence and aggression of the TPLF.
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