Allamagan Posted October 30, 2006 Meles addressed Ethiopia's relationship with its neighbours, especially Somalia and Eritrea. Regarding the question raised by some parliamentarians that Ethiopia's relationship with Somalia is not quite good at the moment, Meles refuted the allegation and, in fact, reiterated that the country had a good contact with the internationally recognized Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia based in Baidoa. He said that Ethiopia had no ill-will towards the Somali people as they were brothers and their neighbours. "If there is a bad relationship, it is with the Somali jihadists. Although the jihadists are mainly composed of Somalis, they also have members ranging from Indonesia, Pakistan, and the Arab world including many African countries," Meles said. He told parliament that Ethiopia's relation with these groups can be labled "inamicable" as they had repeatedly declared jihad against Ethiopia. Regarding the presence of Ethiopian soldiers in Somalia, Meles said that these troops were there to help train the fledgling army and police force of the transitional government. "Of course, these trainers being soldiers, they carry arms to protect themselves. Otherwise, there is no combat force," Meles stressed. Meles also explained the circumstances under which Ethiopian military personel entered Somalia. The decision taken by both IGAD and AU to send peacekeepers from neighbouring countries can be taken as a basis, according to Meles. He noted that the government need not to have the endorsement of parliament to send peacekeeping mission abroad. Only when there is a need to enter into war will parliamentary endorsement be needed. Because the jihadists did not take practical step to wage war on Ethiopia, the government refrained from taking military action, Meles explained. But he pointed out that the level of threat from the jihadists is increasing, i.e. the jihadists are amassing their forces along Ethiopia's border. He stressed that if the situation continued to pose an increased threat to Ethiopia's security, the armed forces have the right and duty to defend the country. Despite this, Meles said that that didn't mean that Ethiopia was declaring an open war. He told parliament that he cannot give assurance that Ethiopia won't go to war. With respect to relations with Eritrea, Meles said the Eritrea openly violated the Algiers Agreement by sending troops and tanks into the demilitarized zone. "At this moment, the Transitional Security Zone does not exist in practice as Eritrean military personel backed by tanks moved into the area," he said. Meles accused Eritrea of mocking the UN which requested a pullout by saying that the soldiers entered the demilitarized zone to collect harvest. Meles said that the Ethiopian government had been aware of similar violations, albeit discreetly, before. He noted that Ethiopia was ready to defend itself, and there won't be any more increased military preparation as Ethiopia was always ready to stop any aggression. Meles said that despite the violations of the Algiers Agreement by Eritrea, Ethiopia was ready to peacefully solve the problem. He recalled that the five-point peace proposal, which was offered by Ethiopia in 2004, still stood and the country was ready to pay any sacrifices to reach a peaceful settlement. Source: AllAfrica.com ------------------ if all these forces from UICs, ONLF, OLF, Eritrea join together and effectively wage war on Ethiopia from all sides, then the Tigray regime's days are numbered and then for sure there will be new breeze in east africa. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
N.O.R.F Posted October 30, 2006 if all these forces from UICs, ONLF, OLF, Eritrea join together and effectively wage war on Ethiopia from all sides, then the Tigray regime's days are numbered and then for sure there will be new breeze in east africa Thats why they are bluffing saxib. They simply can't afford to go to war with UIC as the other groups will pick-up arms. A pandoras box is awaiting if they do. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Allamagan Posted October 30, 2006 ^^^ yeah you right sxb!. Hope they do so Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
