Eritrea: Ethiopia Hosts a Secret Rapid Support Forces Base
As usual, Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel said, the Ethiopian Potemkin party continues to oscillate between two contradictory and extreme positions. On the one hand, it adopts a provocative and aggressive rhetoric, punctuated for over two years by continuous threats to “control the sea.” On the other hand, it simultaneously seeks to present itself as the “oppressed party” and a “victim of internal and external conspiracies.”
He added in a press release that this contradiction formed the core of the lengthy speech delivered by the Ethiopian Prime Minister before the House of Peoples’ Representatives earlier yesterday.
He continued, “Regardless of the exaggerated and dramatic language that accompanied the speech, the facts on the ground remain clear and undeniable.”
The unfortunate reality is that unnecessary and avoidable tensions in the region have been ignited and continue to be fueled by the reckless ź of the ruling party of President Potemkin in Ethiopia.
He stated that the current tension with Sudan stems directly from the involvement of Potemkin’s party in the Sudanese conflict, through hosting a secret camp and military base for the Rapid Support Forces in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, at the instigation of external parties. The government asserts that the evidence of this is publicly available.
He continued, saying that the memorandum of understanding secretly signed by the party with Somaliland several years ago was an illegitimate and reckless step that provoked widespread resentment in the region. According to this position, it remains a violation of the founding documents of the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), as well as principles of international law concerning the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.
He added that for more than two and a half years, the party has pursued a policy described as hostile, openly threatening to invade or seize the port of Assab and its coastal areas under the banner of what it calls “sovereignty over the sea.”
The Minister of Information pointed out that the repeated reference to “conspiring forces disappointed by the Pretoria Agreement and seeking to undermine it” is, according to this position, misleading and unacceptable. For Eritrea, the Pretoria Agreement remains an internal Ethiopian matter. The government also points out that the facts revealed by Getachew Reda in multiple statements confirm that Potemkin’s party was planning hostile acts against Eritrea, including secret meetings held in Djibouti and Seychelles, months before the negotiations and signing of the Pretoria Agreement.
In conclusion, the pursuit of lasting peace and stability in the Horn of Africa, which the people of the region aspire to and deserve, has been and continues to be jeopardized by the policies adopted by Potemkin’s party.