I came back to Washington in time to attend the 11 March 2008 Senate Hearing "Evaluating US Policy Options on the Horn of Africa", and listened as Jendayi E. Frazer, the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs whitewashed and down played Ethiopia´s Meles Zenawi´s violations international law and attempted to present US policy in the Horn as being a "success". I asked an Eritrean colleague if he was going to respond to her lazy "cut and paste" Statement, which was the same old "repackaged" spill used by James Swan Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs and James Knight, Director, Office for East Africa in their presentations at US institutions. My friend told me that he had decided not to respond to Frazer´s latest attempt to cover-up the un-coverable. He said "n´eQeya"-that said a lot. It meant that she was a hopeless case, not worth the time or energy. That she was incapable of learning from her mistakes and her arrogance prevented her from seeing the truth.
I sat there listening to her lopsided testimony, as she shamelessly whitewashed and down played Meles Zenawi´s criminal activities and misrepresented and contradicted widely reported and documented facts about the Horn region, and as she attempted to present the genocidal vote-rigging minority regime in Ethiopia led by her Horn advisor Meles Zenawi, as a democratic, peace loving, law-abiding regime, knowing full well that the facts spoke otherwise, and as she hurled unwarranted attacks on Eritrea-her favorite scapegoat for all her failures- I found her presentation to be not just desperate, deceitful and distorted but also dishonest.
Her futile attempts to paint a rosy picture of Ethiopia reminded me of the early 80s when the prominent international journalist and writer Robert Kaplan, in his best selling book "Surrender or Starve", expressed his frustration with "experts" at the State Department who under the pretext of "strategic ally" and "Ethiopia is a big country" etc. were looking the other way and remaining silent when successive Ethiopian regimes were violating the human rights of the Ethiopian people and international law. Kaplan exposed the hypocrisy and duplicity of the US State Department when it came to Ethiopia and the US policy flaws at that time. Kaplan wrote about the Ethiopian people and how the US State Department, its many tentacled organizations and US allies ignored the plight of the people in their efforts to "prop up" illegitimate regimes. Kaplan wrote:
"…If the Ethiopian government does away with tens of thousands of people nobody is interested, while if the South African government does away with thousands of people over a period of several years you can´t keep the media away…actually got the feeling that Europeans wanted it all swept under the rug. They didn´t even want to investigate… It came through pretty clearly that their attitude was, "What´s all the fuss about? This is the way the Ethiopian government has treated its people for centuries…"
Today, it´s Frazer who is shamelessly white washing Meles Zenawi´s crimes of genocide and massacres in Ethiopia and his aggressive warmongering policies, his invasion and occupation of sovereign Eritrean and Somali territories, and the rapes, tortures and massacres of thousands in Somalia… Déjà Vu!
Senator Russ Feingold, in his opening statement echoed the views and sentiments of many Horn observers who were not buying Frazer´s version of the truth. Fenigold´s constituents were not going to remain silent about the massacres in the Ogaden, where Ethiopians are burnt alive, hanged from trees, tortured, raped and displaced and forced to "surrender or starve´. Feingold contradicted Frazer´s distorted and deceptive version of the truth and said:
"…Since I visited that region just over a year ago, the situation has gone from bad to worse… Today´s hearing is an effort to examine the United States government´s policy towards the Horn – specifically Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia – and to assess what we´ve done right, what we´ve gotten wrong, and most importantly, what we need to do going forward to reconcile what appears to be – by most accounts – a failing policy in a very critical part of the world… This committee has sought to understand and address the escalating deterioration of security, political, and humanitarian conditions on the Horn… This part of the world is far too important for us to rely on narrow, feeble policies or half-hearted ad-hoc measures…"
The audience of ordinary Ethiopians, Eritreans and Somalis were not fooled by her biased accounts of the facts on the ground. Her glaring omissions, exaggerations, and deliberate fabrications undermined her credibility, integrity and neutrality. Her demeanor spoke louder than her words. She was noticeably uncomfortable; she must have known that no body was buying her rehearsed spill, least of all the distinguished, experienced lawmakers she was desperately attempting to hoodwink.
I doubt that the suffering people of Ethiopia, Kenya, or Somalia would tout her policies as "making progress"… but for the record, let us take a look at what Jendayi E. Frazer´s idea of "improved stability and governance" in the Horn of Africa entails.
ETHIOPIA
With thousands of aid workers living in Ethiopia (in luxury I might add), while every imaginable UN entity resides in the Ethiopian capital, with the British Council and other foreign government institutions running the institutions of government in Ethiopia, with billions of US tax-payers monies being funneled into Ethiopia, Ethiopia under Meles Zenawi´s rule remains a "beggar nation", the "shame of Africa" and "the poster child-case of Third World misery". Ethiopia, which received more than 35 billion dollars in grants for development and loans, in spite of all the West´s attention and largesse, Ethiopia under Meles Zenawi´s minority regime:
Ranks at the bottom of the index -United Nation´s Human Development Report
Is a country where between 6 and 13 million people are at risk of starvation each year and depend on food handouts
Is a country which is locked in poverty and gripped by debilitating, systemic and rampant corruption
Is a country where over 9 million will need food aid in 2008.
Is a country where 80% of the nearly 77 million people live below a poverty line of $2 a day
Is unlikely to meet ANY of the Millennium Development Goal targets by 2015
Is a country where 80% are illiterate
Is a country where 4.4% of the population (1.5 million people) live with HIV and AIDS
Is a country where over 75% of its national budget is subsidized by donors
Is a country where 75% of the population has NO access to safe and clean water
Is a country where citizens are dying of treatable illnesses because of lack of basic health care
Is a country where the population is threatened by frequent outbreaks of Cholera and meningitis
Is a country whose capital Addis Ababa has been ranked as the world´s dirtiest capital cities.
Is a country where there are over 200,000 beggars nationwide, with 90,000 in the capital Addis Ababa.
Is a country where thousands of people, many of them children, are homeless in Addis Ababa, begging on the streets and slipping in sewer system and shaky tents on the pavements
Etc. etc.
But that is not all. Had Frazer checked with her own office, she would have received the 2007 US State Department Human Rights Report on Ethiopia, which sums up the human rights situation in Ethiopia quite well:
Limitation on citizens' right to change their government during the most recent elections;
Unlawful killings, and beating, abuse, and mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters by security forces;
Poor prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention, particularly of those suspected of sympathizing with or being members of the opposition or insurgent groups;
Detention of thousands without charge and lengthy pretrial detention; infringement on citizens' privacy rights and frequent refusal to follow the law regarding search warrants;
Use of excessive force by security services in an internal conflict and counter-insurgency operations; restrictions on freedom of the press; arrest, detention, and harassment of journalists for publishing articles critical of the government;
Restrictions on freedom of assembly; limitations on freedom of association;
Exploitation of children for economic and sexual purposes;
Trafficking in persons;
Government interference in union activities, including killing and harassment of union leaders…"
Etc. etc.
This of course does not cover the regime´s violations of international law, numerous violations of the African Union and UN Charters, over two-dozen Security Council resolutions on Eritrea and Ethiopia, and international war crimes being committed in Somalia. It also does not cover the ongoing genocides in Gambela and Ogaden regions of Ethiopia. This report also does not address the occupation of sovereign Eritrean territories and refusal to accept the Final and Binding delimitation and demarcation decisions of the Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC). Despite all these abuses, excesses, corruption and mismanagement, according to Frazer, Ethiopia is a success story. Go figure!
SOMALIA
Since the US-backed illegal Ethiopian invasion of Somalia in December 2006, over 6000 innocent civilians have been massacred, over 2 million people have been displaced, creating the largest humanitarian emergency in the history of Somalia, women have been raped, tortured and abused, thousands of children are at risk, many are dying because of lack of adequate food, water and shelter, and vital infrastructures such as hospitals, schools and markets have been looted and destroyed. Jendayi E. Frazer´s attempts to "prop up" the illegitimate Transitional National Government of Somalia (TNG) led by Ali Mohammed Ghedi and Abdulahi Yusuf against the wishes and aspirations of the Somali people has spelled disaster for the Somali people and also the Ethiopian people. Ethiopia´s sons are being needlessly sacrificed by the mercenary minority regime in its aggressive wars of invasion and occupation of neighboring states, effectuating racist and incoherent foreign agendas and policies.
With Ali Mohammed Ghedi gone (he is now living in the United States under arrangements made in exchange for his resignation), his successor Nur "Adde" Hassan Hussein has been unable to muster the political will and courage to call for the removal of the invading Ethiopian forces from sovereign Somali territories, to give peace and reconciliation a chance, thus compromising his own integrity and credibility in the eyes of the Somali people who continue to suffer at the hands of Meles Zenawi´s marauding forces. No matter how much support he receives from Frazer and the mercenary Meles Zenawi, it will amount to nothing without the support of the Somali people. It will bring nothing but more bloodshed, more destruction, which will inevitably spill over into Ethiopia and the rest of the Horn region.
Despite her persistent lies in front of lawmakers and in her public statements about advising Meles Zenawi not to attack Somalia, the record is clear, Frazer knew about and planned the invasion of Somalia. Instead of taking advantage of the relative peace achieved in Somalia by the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) and promoting an "all inclusive dialogue", Frazer chose instead to oust the UIC and install the illegitimate puppet transitional National Government of Somalia led by the two corrupt warlords Ali Mohammed Ghedi and Abdulahi Yusuf after preventing them from establishing the TNG in Somalia by funding the warlords known as Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT), which included individuals who are now not surprisingly members of the TNG.
As the UN memo discovered by Jon Snow of Channel 4 news in the UK showed (a fact she did not deny), she was present at the meeting in Addis Ababa where the plan for the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia was hatched. Labeling the UIC as "extremists", "jihadists" and "fundamentalists", she carried out an unprecedented and vile public vilification and defamation campaign against the UIC and its leadership, paving the way for a December 2006 US-backed Ethiopian invasion of Somalia. She also ordered all US media to refrain from calling it an invasion and a violation of international law. Today, the carnage in Somalia with over 10,000 people dead and wounded, with over 2 million in desperate need of humanitarian aid is not just an example of Frazer´s incompetence and ignominy, it is also an international crime that both Frazer and Meles Zenawi must be held accountable for.
ERITREA
Instead of addressing the core issue, which is the Ethiopian invasion and occupation of Somalia, which she personally helped plan and execute, Frazer chose to divert attention away from Ethiopia by blaming Eritrea. Exposing her condescending attitude towards the over 400 educated professional Somali men and women who converged in Asmara to discuss issues of importance to the Somali people, and in a futile and outrageous attempt to undermine their independence and credibility, unable to acknowledge her failures in Somalia, and seeking a convenient scapegoat, she told the audience that the group of professional Somalis who form the Association for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARC) who have taken refuge in Eritrea, were being "held hostage", and that Eritrea was preventing them from participating in the US sponsored and guided reconciliation talks with the illegitimate TNG.
Judging from the various reports and interviews, these individuals are independent personalities that are freely globe trotting and bringing attention to the Somali cause, and can hardly be labeled as "hostages". Frazer knows, and has been told several times that the ARC is willing to talk to any and all Somali groups, including the illegitimate TNG once Meles Zenawi´s destructive invading forces vacate from sovereign Somali territories. Instead of calling for the restoration of Somali´s sovereignty and territorial integrity and an end to the deaths and destructions wrought on Somalia by Meles Zenawi´s marauding forces, Frazer chose to insult the ARC by insinuating that they were being blindly led by Eritrea.
Having met many of the participants of the Asmara group, I can assure the readers that they, unlike the illegitimate TNG in Somalia, are all very capable independent individuals who are there to serve no other interests than that of their long suffering people. With their own brothers and sisters being tortured and abused in Somalia under the TNG and the US-backed mercenary minority regime in Ethiopia, I think they are better poised to decide what is good for Somalia, and not Frazer, who shares in, and is complicit in, the suffering of the Somalis as well as the international crimes that are being committed by her Horn confidante Meles Zenawi. Frazer and Meles own the carnage in Somalia.
From her deceptive distortions of the facts, to her futile attempts to cover up her own failures, Frazer lashed out at Eritrea for everything that ails the Horn region today. She also attempted to feign concern for the people of Eritrea, the very same people that are victims of Meles Zenawi´s lawlessness, belligerence and occupation. Contrary to Frazer´s second hand representation (as she has NEVER visited Eritrea) of Eritrea and its people and leadership, the facts speak otherwise. Her "cut and paste" statement from laundered information provided to her by the so called "Eritrean opposition" also known as Eritrea´s "Chalabis", that she, along with Meles Zenawi and Donald Yamamoto, the US Ambassador to Ethiopia have been courting in yet another attempt to overthrow the government of Eritrea, is not only filled with lies and distortions, it is an insult to the US lawmakers and the American public to present such garbage for fact.
The groups and individuals who make up part of the Addis based and financed coalition of mercenaries include the Afghan trained terrorist groups, the Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement (EIJM) and the Eritrean Islamic Islah Movement (EIIM), individuals and groups hired foment dissent and create religious and ethnic conflicts in Eritrea; individuals involved in human trafficking and providing false immigration testimonies for asylum seekers; and individuals with dubious and criminal backgrounds, which include crimes such as pedophilia, torture and rape can hardly be considered credible sources. Frazer was better of getting her information elsewhere.
While there are hundreds of thousands of Eritrean Americans who can speak for their country and people, Frazer has chosen to align herself with criminal groups and individuals who are considered Eritrea´s worst enemies, individuals who are parading as "human rights" and "democracy" advocates when in reality they are nothing but a bunch of criminal information launderers, greedy runaway ex-diplomats who have abandoned their responsibilities, betrayed not just the trust of their comrades in arms and the people of Eritrea, but the thousands who died to liberate Eritrea and could care less about the people of Eritrea.
Frazer accused the Government of Eritrea of saying one thing in public and doing something else. Obviously, she knows nothing about the Government of Eritrea or the people of Eritrea for that matter. The magnanimous Government and people of Eritrea can tolerate many things, accept those who make mistakes, but abhor liars and lies. The truth means everything to Eritreans. They have sacrificed and died for truth and justice. Unlike Frazer and the mercenary Meles Zenawi, the Government of Eritrea does not carry its diplomacy through the press and in public.
The caliber of the leadership in Asmara, its knowledge, experience and history in the region, its intellectually superior, low-key and visionary stances are no match for the junior diplomat and her short sighted confidante in Addis. Whilst she is comfortable with those who lie, those who break the law, those who massacre, those who rig elections, those who engage in corrupt and underhanded deals, etc. I can see why she would not fit in Eritrea, as those traits are absent there. As they say, you are who your friends are.
The very few and far between public statements reflect its principled, mature and reserved nature. Unlike Frazer and the mercenary Meles Zenawi, the Government of Eritrea does not engage in deceptive childish propaganda, an act perfected by Frazer and the minority regime in Ethiopia. As for saying one thing and doing another, I believe the record is clear-Frazer and her mercenary Meles Zenawi have the monopoly on that. Allow me to refresh her memory with some facts:
While professing to respect the rule of law and for all her talk about stability and peace, no other US officials has done more to destabilize the Horn of Africa than Frazer and her surrogates. Instead of sticking with the stated US policy on the Eritrea Ethiopia boundary issue, and respecting the Final and Binding decision of the independent Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission´s (EEBC) delimitation and demarcation decisions, John Bolton, the former US Ambassador to the UN, on page 347 of his book "Surrender is not an option", wrote that in February 2006 Frazer informed him that she wanted him to "reopen" the 2002 EEBC decision, "which she had concluded was wrong, and award a major piece of disputed territory to Ethiopia". Lying to cover up for Meles Zenawi´s lawless minority regime at the Senate hearing comes as no surprise considering she was willing to compromise the integrity, credibility and efficacy of the UN system and international law, to give Meles what he did not get in a neutral and independent court of law.
Frazer arrogance in claiming the moral high ground and passing judgment on Eritrea is another example of her hypocritical attitude and ignominy. Frazer who has allowed the massacre of thousands at the hands of Meles Zenawi´s forces in Ethiopia and Somalia, who has enabled extra-judicial killings of "extremists", "fundamentalists" and "insurgents" and the snatching of individuals and illegally transporting them to unknown secret prisons in Ethiopia and elsewhere, does not have the moral authority to talk about human rights anywhere, let alone about human rights in Eritrea. This vindictive individual that has covered up for Meles Zenawi´s crimes of rape and torture in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia is in no position to judge Eritreans.
While the Government of Eritrea takes its responsibilities to the people of Eritrea seriously, the minority regime in Ethiopia has relegated its responsibilities to the hundreds of international NGOs who live and work in Ethiopia to feed its people, build its infrastructures, provide health care for its people, run its Universities and schools, train its civil servants and military, make its foreign and domestic decisions etc. etc. In Frazer´s eyes, that is considered progress and Eritrea´s self-reliant attitude is not. Frazer and her partners also continued to misrepresent the circumstances under which USAID left Eritrea. There was no surprise there, to do otherwise would be to admit their own incompetence, illegal and illicit agendas, and mistakes and worse they would have to admit that Eritrea´s self reliant economic stance is correct, that Eritrea´s culture of religious and ethnic tolerance is exemplary, and that Eritrea is a threat of a good example.
Despite what Frazer writes about Eritrea´s economy, even though Eritrea is a young nation which inherited a debilitated infrastructure at independence in 1991, surprisingly, it is one of a handful of sub-Saharan states that is on track to meet 5 out of the 8-Millennium Development Goals (MDG) relating to gender equality in primary education, child health, maternal health, HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, including access to safe water-I doubt that Frazer can say the same about Ethiopia under Meles Zenawi´s reign of terror and destruction. Allow me to share some basic facts about Eritrea and Eritrea´s economy and allow the readers to judge for themselves:
Eritrea inherited approximately 534 schools at independence (in 1991) and today there are 1548 schools throughout the country giving access to more school age children than in 1991.
Eritrea inherited only one technical school at independence (The Eritrean People´s Liberation Front (EPLF) ran the Winna technical School in Sahel) Today there are 7 technical and vocational schools, which offer free education, room and board to students from all of Eritrea´s nine nationalities. At the National Center for Vocational Education in Sawa, thousands are taking courses in building technology, commerce and business management, hotel catering and management, agricultural technology, machinery operations, ICT and more.
Eritrea´s achievements in the health sector are exemplary even at the global level. Since independence in 1991, 13 new hospitals, 19 new health centers and 112 new health stations have been constructed throughout Eritrea, an increase by 56%, 61%, and 156% respectively over what Eritrea inherited at independence. Doctor to population ratios has increased by 100% from 1:37500 in 1991 to 1:15000 nurse to patient rations have also increased from 1:9500 in 1991 to 1:3400 today.
In 1984, the Eritrean People´s Liberation Front established an underground (to hide it from aerial bombings) pharmaceutical facility, which manufactured 44 items including tablets, capsules, IV fluids and ointments. These fulfilled 40% of local needs. Today, the Azel Pharmaceutical Company produces 32 products covering 12 therapeutic ranges. The Fred Hollows Intraocular Lens (IOL) Laboratory established in 1994 produces high quality lens that meet local needs and are in compliance with the highest European and International Standards for the manufacture of medical devices.
Eritrea has reduced incidents of malaria by 90% and has eradicated polio and tuberculosis. Eritrea is also reversing and halting the spread of HIV/AIDS though its multi-pronged vertical programs (even though Frazer cut US-funding to Eritrea in 2006). Given the Government of Eritrea´s commitment to child and maternal health in Eritrea, Eritrea is poised to not only achieve the stated UN targets, but also do much better.
Today, all Eritrean cities, towns and villages are accessible by road. Since independence, the Ministry of public works has built and rehabilitated roads allover Eritrea. The over 8000 kilometers of new and rehabilitated major highways and feeder roads are contributing to the fast economic development of the rural areas as new markets for products open up and populations take advantage of the increase in transportation services throughout the country. Today there are over 160 route destinations in Eritrea, which originate in Asmara with about 1460 buses providing inter-urban services.
Over 15 new bridges have been constructed to connect previously hard to access rural villages and the Asmara-Massawa railway is expanding to Keren. Port expansions in Massawa and Assab are underway and in addition to the Asmara International Airport, new airports have been constructed and refurbished in Assab, Massawa, Sawa, Tessenei and Nakfa.
Dams, wells and canals have been constructed throughout the country ensuing preservation of rainwater, and for providing access to clean drinking water and water for agricultural irrigation. Housing projects are underway throughout the country and nomadic populations are being encouraged to settle down and take advantage of the public services-such as schools, healthcare centers etc. that are now available to them.
In the last 16 years, in addition to the introduction of mobile telephone services in 2004 with about 67000 customers to date, digital switches have been installed for about 40,000 fixed line customers, and about 11 major towns and villages have been connected by microwave links to Asmara, the Eritrean capital. 4 remote towns including Assab and Tessenei have been linked through a domestic satellite system.
Internet service was first introduced to Eritrea in November 2000 and today there are about 6 Internet service providers and 80-cyber café´s in 5 major cities across the country. There are about 71 postal offices providing services throughout the country and the Eritrean Postal Service has received three international awards for excellence since its formation.
Etc. etc.
Frazer´s well-known and disastrous incompetence has led lawmakers to call for Special Envoys to clean up after the diplomatic mess she created in Sudan and Somalia (against her wishes). At the State Department, her actions reflect her vindictive attitude towards all that disagree with her. It should be recalled that Michael Zorick a U.S. diplomat based in Nairobi, Kenya, had sent word back home that it was a mistake to fund warlords in Somalia. Zorick was pushed aside to a different assignment (I believe it was to Mali), but he turned out to be right. He was awarded the "Constructive Dissent" award given out by the U.S. State Department's professional union in June 2007. As in Somalia, Frazer´s diplomacy in the Sudan was described as being "marked by dishonesty, incompetence, ignorance, and expediency".
Eritrea´s desire and commitment to peace and stability in the region and beyond is not going to be undermined by the likes of Jendayi Frazer who have worked so hard to destabilize the entire region. Unlike the US-backed and financed Ethiopia, Eritrea has not invaded or occupied any territories of neighboring states. Eritrea has brought conflicting parties from neighboring states to Asmara and provided them with a venue for peaceful dialogue. Eritrea´s contributions to peace in Sudan are a matter of public record and one that all sides to the conflict in Sudan can attest to. The positive role the government of Eritrea is playing in the Horn of Africa and beyond will not need the stamp of approval or certification from the likes of Jendayi E. Frazer. Lawmakers in Washington should take Frazer´s analysis with a grain of salt and rely on better data and analysis to formulate US policy for the Horn of Africa, if the US is serious about peace, security and stability for the Horn region.
Coupled with her obvious incompetence, as evidenced by her poor contributions on the Darfur issue in Sudan, the Ethiopian invasion and occupation in Somalia, the vote rigging and post election violence in both Ethiopia and Kenya, it is Frazer´s lack of personal integrity, that has contributed to the erosion of Eritrea´s confidence and trust in the US as a neutral and impartial broker, and the souring of US-Eritrea relations. Instead of engaging in senseless, childish and myopic propaganda, and using our hard earned tax monies to fund dubious groups and individuals to wreck havoc in Eritrea and the region, she should have endeavored to learn more about the people and government of Eritrea instead of relying on defectors and seditious individuals with dubious and even criminal histories for information on Eritrea.
I have always maintained that Jendayi Frazer had long abandoned all acceptable norms of behavior for a US envoy, that she was incapable of being an honest broker for peace in the Horn region, that her neutrality was severely compromised, that she was incapable of admitting her mistakes, that she was arrogant and unwilling to learn, that her knowledge of Africa and its people is very limited, and that neither her short stint as an Ambassador in South Africa, nor her skin color, nor her special relations with African leaders, qualified her for a position that requires a great deal of personal integrity, humility and of course, an in depth knowledge of the area of responsibility-all of which, Frazer desperately lacks. Listening to her speak at the hearing, my previous opinions were reaffirmed. The US State Department should seriously consider replacing her lest she creates more intractable disasters for Africans.
The rule of law must prevail over the law of the jungle!