The US along with the UN has expressed concern about the worsening situation in the eastern Ogaden region where the Ethiopian government is battling insurgents amid reports of human rights abuses. Ethiopia is starving and killing its own people in its attempt to defeat the Ogaden insurgents. It seems Ethiopia wants to abuse the backing it got from Washington to invade Somalia to topple a fundamentalist Islamic regime there.
What’s interesting is that Jendayi E. Frazer, assistant secretary for African affairs at the US State Department, volunteered to apologize to Ethiopia and excuse it from responsibility for what is going on in eastern Ogaden region. “We urge all governments to respect the human rights, but it is difficult when you are fighting an insurgency,” said Jendayi Frazer.
It is difficult for Ethiopia to respect human rights or avoid killing civilians. That’s because the Ethiopian government — according to Frazer — is fighting an insurgency in Ogaden. Civilians are always the worst affected in such conflicts, but she asked the Ethiopian government to avoid casualties.
However, the same principle is not applicable to Sudan, which is currently fighting rebellious gangs at every corner of the country. They are being financed, armed and encouraged by well-known countries including Zionist organizations and proselytizing societies in the US. It’s not enough that they pressure the American Congress and government; they also incite people to rebel and reject making peace with the government. They are orchestrating smear campaigns against the Sudanese government and accusing it of genocidal crimes. The media is also contributing to spreading rumors damaging the reputation of Sudan.
The League of Arab States warned against offering any chance to international organizations to deal and interfere in the Darfur crisis in Sudan. In a press statement after US President George W. Bush announced tightening sanctions against Sudan, the league’s Secretary-General Amr Moussa said this was not a time for sanctions, but one for dialogue and talks to settle disputes.
Regional and international efforts have helped reach agreements on peacekeeping forces in Darfur, political aspects of the dispute and enlisting the help of neighboring nations, he explained.
A major crisis like Darfur requires time to build trust among the various parties involved, he noted.
Moussa said that sanctions against Sudan reminded one of previous fruitless US sanctions against other Arab nations.
Ethiopia invaded Somalia with US connivance and support. Ethiopia announced withdrawal of its troops from Somalia within a few weeks of the operations, but is bringing troops home only now — one year after the war — and that too only to reinforce its military presence in Sudan.
A new element in the situation is US Defense Ministry’s plan to offer security support to a number of African countries. The US claims that this would help these countries build their military forces and fight any invasion.
US Defense Department officials say the US Africa Command’s foremost mission is to help Africans achieve their own security. The operation was called AFRICOM and it will start in Stuttgart, the capital of the state of Baden-Wurremberg in southern Germany. AFRICOM will need almost a year to shift into six locations in Africa that are not specified yet.
What are the real goals of offering help and security to Africa?
American policies in Africa have already started many fires in Sudan and Somalia. Does the US contemplate more invasions and more destruction? Or is this a new tactic to implement old colonialism and control the natural resources of the African continent? Does this confirm what many American leaders have been saying all these years that US forces would never withdraw from Iraq? That they will remain there — though with reduced numbers — for the next fifty years to say the least?
