The Spokesman of the State Department announced yesterday that the United States will deliver a new consignment of arms to a "government" that is devoid of any legitimacy and whose control does not extend beyond few neighborhoods in Mogadishu.

The Spokesman also alluded, in a passing remark, to his "concerns" on the role of Eritrea in Somalia.

These pronouncements do not contain novel or substantive elements. Nonetheless, the Government of Eritrea is obliged to repeat well-known facts on the situation in Somalia in order to put the record straight.

The crux of the problem underpinning the crisis in Somalia does not, and has never revolved around, the issue of extremism or non-extremis. It squarely revolves around the overarching issue of the existence or non-existence of a sovereign Somali State. Oversimplification of the problem and its wrong portrayal as a contest between extremist and non-extremist forces is thus neither sincere nor warranted by the facts on the ground.

To accept a fragmented Somalia as an accomplished fact and to forcibly install, without the consent and choice of the Somali people, "governments" who bear various labels and mantels, in the neighborhoods of "Mogadishu" and "Baidoa" cannot be legal by any standards. These approaches will not also contribute to a solution of the fundamental problem. As it is patently clear, no power in the world is above the rule of law. As such, no one can forcibly install a government of this nature in contravention of international law and the Charter of the United Nations. Furthermore, and as it is sadly attested by events in the past years, this course of action is fraught with destructive consequences.

These are the indelible facts. In the event, the Government of Eritrea has not recognized in the past "governments" imposed through external interferences and that ran counter to the legal and political realities in Somalia. And, it shall not do so in the future. In our view, if the yardstick is legality and accepted legal norms, no other government can indulge in unwarranted recognition of such "governments".

The Government and people of Eritrea have the right and obligation to extend their moral and political support to the people of Somalia on the basis of these standard legal principles; and, in order to advance the choice of the Somali people, the continued existence of a sovereign Somalia and to put an end the enormous suffering of the Somali people. To distort the stance of the people and Government of Eritrea, and to use it as a pretext for illegal acts, will not only aggravate the crisis in Somalia but it will also be futile and counterproductive.

US misguided acts of intervention and supply of weapons have not, in the past years, advanced the cause of stability in Somalia. A repeat of those measures will not produce positive results but only aggravate and prolong the crisis.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Asmara
26 June 2009