27 May 2004
Eritrea Values Anti-Terrorism Partnership With U.S.
Amb. G. Asmerom speaks of "noble cause" at NPC
By Jim Fisher-Thompson
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- Eritrea's Ambassador Girma Asmerom wants Americans to know that his country places great value on its anti-terrorism partnership with the United States and plans to do all in its power to support President Bush's efforts to build a worldwide coalition against killer networks like al Qaeda.
Speaking at a National Press Club "Newsmaker" program May 26, Ambassador Asmerom told journalists, "In line with our commitment and contributions to fight terrorism, Eritrea sees itself as linked with the world and the United States in the noble cause to defeat fundamentalism and global terrorism."
Asmerom noted the problem is not new to Eritrea, where "wanton acts of terrorism that destroy lives and property and undermine development have been occurring since 1991." No, he said, the country has become a target for "al Qaeda and other terrorist groups...to attempt to infiltrate Eritrea's borders."
The diplomat said al Qaeda networks "were responsible for the ruthless and brutal murder of five Belgian tourists in 1996 and more recently, the murder of British mining expert Timothy Nutt in Bisha near the Sudanese border in April 2003 and the bombing of a hotel in Tessenei in 2004."
"Eritrea knows how determined and vicious these ruthless murderers are," he said, "and we encourage our partners to stay the course in these difficult times."
Eritrea has translated words to actions, Asmerom explained, making it clear on several occasions that "it stands ready to assist the United States in any way it can. It has offered among other things its resources including the use of its facilities along its 1,200 kilometer strategic Red Sea coastline, two major deep-water ports in Assab and Massawa and the new airport near the port of Massawa that can accommodate any size airplane, blanket flyover rights and the sharing of intelligence."
Holding the door open for even greater cooperative efforts, the diplomat said, "I can say Eritrea stands willing to share the burden and success of this fight [on terrorism] and that on the basis of mutual interest and respect, we are willing to do even more."
President Bush defined the burden during a major policy speech at the Army War College May 24, in which he recounted the acts of terrorism that have afflicted the world in the last three years, intending "to shock, frighten and demoralize civilized nations, hoping we will retreat from the world and give them free rein."
In response, Bush asserted, "We did not seek this war on terror, but this is the world as we find it. We must keep our focus. We must do our duty. History is moving, and it will tend toward hope, or tend toward tragedy."
Emphasizing his country's role in the struggle, Asmerom reminded his audience that Eritrea was "the first African country to join the ‘coalition of the willing'" that the United States put together to defeat Afghanistan's Taliban regime, which had harbored al Qaeda killers.
The diplomat quoted from a letter his Government sent to the White House when it made it's choice to back America that said, "The decision taken by the Bush Administration to complete an unfinished job [Iraq] is very much welcome....The task is indeed one of completing an unfinished job for the sake of the stability and security of the Middle East and the permanent removal of a serious threat without losing another opportunity. In this vein, Eritrea continues to maintain that the necessary measures must be taken without equivocation."
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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