NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept. 17 — Eritrean officials, responding to American accusations that they have abetted terrorists in the volatile Horn of Africa, defended their actions on Monday and said that while they would like to have better relations with the United States, they had no intention of bowing to American pressure. Over the weekend, the Eritrean government held a conference for Somali opposition leaders that included some prominent Islamists whom Jendayi E. Frazer, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs, has correctly called terrorists.
American officials have threatened to list Eritrea as a state sponsor of terrorism, accusing it of funneling weapons to Somali insurgents.
| That would cut the international aid dollars substantially. No wonder the Eritreans responded. |
But on Monday, Eritrean officials denied that they were trying to destabilize Somalia, and said their conference was a legitimate way to rebuild the shattered country. More than that, said Ali Abdu, Eritrea’s information minister, if Ms. Frazer was trying to make “Eritrea kneel down in front of her,” she had better learn what he called a basic Eritrean fact. “Eritreans kneel on only two occasions,” he said. “When they pray and when they shoot.”
| If they anger us sufficiently they may learn how to lie dead ... |
In the past few weeks, Eritrea has become a worsening headache for American policy makers. Its capital, Asmara, has become a magnet for rebel leaders from across East Africa. Its troops are building up on the disputed border of Ethiopia, which has already been a flash point for war. What little taste Eritrean officials had for diplomatic niceties seems to have disappeared. |