Eritrea: Congress Participants Reject Jendayi Frazer's Allegation as Naked Act of Defamation
Shabait.com (Asmara)
10 September 2007
Posted to the web 11 September 2007
Asmara
Participants of the Somali Congress for Liberation and Reconstitution stated that the statement made in Addis Ababa by the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Jendayi Frazer, alleging Eritrea as hosting 'terrorists', for the simple reason that they are holding the Congress in Asmara, is a naked act of defamation and expressed surprise.
The participants also called on the international community to positively assess the Congress and enhance its contribution.
In a statement they sent to the US State Department, the African Union, the UN Security Council, the Arab League and the European Union, the Congress participants underscored that Eritrea should not be criticized or accused for sympathizing with and supporting the Somali people as a neighbor. They further stressed that in view of the historic ties between the peoples of Eritrea and Somalia, the Government of Eritrean should not be subjected to slander for standing alongside the Somali people in times of adversity. The participants expressed conviction that the Eritrean government, unlike the TPLF regime, is extending humanitarian assistance to the Somali people and has no hidden agenda whatsoever, besides not interfering in the internal affairs of the country.
Stating that the Somali people are victims of the TPLF regime's invasion and not terrorists, the Congress participants emphasized that the Somalis, in view of the silence of the international community, are fully entitled to fight for restoration of their nation's sovereignty.
Moreover, the participants called on the US Administration to put an end to its interference in Somalia's internal affairs and the support it continues to extend to the TPLF regime. They also urged the international community to back up the just struggle of the Somali people.