Eritrea: evidence of CIA direct intervention revealed

The Eritrean Ministry of Information has published extracts from the subversive operation undertaken against Eritrea by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch in 2011. The proceedings were published on the Ministry’s website (www.shabait.com) as follows.

Today, we present condensed reports of:

1.    A subversive scheme mapped out by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to instigate turmoil and upheaval in Eritrea to precipitate “regime change”;

2.    A confidential report circulated by the Israeli Intelligence Agency (MOSSAD) with malicious intent of demonizing the Government of Eritrea by falsely associating it with “terrorist organisations” in the Middle East.

These outlandish schemes were hatched in the second half of 2011.  In terms of purpose and intent, they were intertwined with numerous other acts of hostility pursued by various powers with much frenzy in those times.

As it will be recalled, acts of hostility perpetrated against Eritrea in the past 20 years, purportedly to advance certain “global strategies”, were numerous indeed.  Some of these reprehensible acts include:

•    The blatant act of aggression launched from 1998 until 2000 under the pretext of a border dispute;

•    The various subterfuges peddled to obstruct implementation of the ‘final and binding” EEBC Arbitral Decision;

•    Baseless accusation levelled against Eritrea at the UNHRC in 2013 and thereafter;

•    Organized human trafficking and youth migration pursued for the purposes of “strategic depopulation” and downgrading of Eritrea’s defense capabilities; etc.

All these hostile acts were frustrated and ultimately overcome through the resilience and steadfastness of the people and government of Eritrea; even if they had incurred much cost to the country.   To a large extent, those unwarranted hostilities against Eritrea constitute inexcusable episodes and vestiges of the past with little consonance to current realties.   Still, past history is relevant both for drawing appropriate lessons as well in the interpretation and analysis of current and future events with greater depth and wider perspective.  The condensed reports of hostile CIA/MOSSAD acts committed in 2011 are being published today within this framework; as a reminder of what had transpired in the past.

• 1.    CIA’s Subversive Scheme

This highly condensed report is culled from the minutes of a secret meeting held by CIA agents in Nairobi, Kenya, on 4 June 2011 and other related confidential information.  The agenda of the meeting was to chart out a plan “to topple the Government of Eritrea” in a short time.  The participants of the meeting were:

1.    Joey Hood – former Political Officer in the Embassy of America in Eritrea, and at the time,  Top Advisor on Eritrea and Afghanistan in the State Department;

2.    Mathew A. Bokner – Second Secretary, Kenya;

3.    Lisa Davis – Freedom House, Deputy Director, New York;

4.    Jay Zimmerman, Regional Refugee Coordinator, US Embassy Kenya; and,

5.    Three other CIA officers who used aliases

• Excerpts:-

•    These are critical times.  We are in the midst of executing an organized and well- coordinated operation against the Eritrean government just as what we have accomplished in Libya.

•    It is not only the US which is vehemently pursuing the policy of regime change in Eritrea.  The European countries which were reluctant before are fully on board now.

•    European countries are furious because the NGO’s they have been sponsoring were asked to cease operations and leave the country.

•    Our original expectation was for regime change from within through some elements in collusion with the US and its allies.  But this is not going to work; people’s uprising is unthinkable in Eritrea.  This has zero possibility.  So the only option we have is to use an external power which has an intimate knowledge of the military capabilities of the Eritrean regime.  The external power that meets these requirements is the TPLF regime.

•    The full report the TPLF has submitted to us on the structure, military capabilities and nature of the Eritrean regime is based on factual analysis and gives hope for accomplishing the mission in a short time.  They were intent on launching a second war after the 1998 war.  They refrained from doing so because we advised against a hasty move.  Now they are prepared to launch war against Eritrea aimed at regime change.  And they have secured the full support of the UN and partners.

•    In tandem with this, the implementation and enforcement of the sanctions, which has remained nominal so far, must be ensured.

•    Other tasks are being planned and coordinated to instigate the people’s uprising and internal turmoil.

•    This will be followed by the intervention of an African Peace Keeping Force in response to the demand of the Eritrean people.

•    The task of brainwashing Eritrean youth, especially inside the country, is progressing well.  In the Diaspora, those who wish to see change have lent 100% support to our scheme.  Some of these are academicians, some are businessmen and some religious figures.

•    Therefore, a mechanism has been put in place to remove the Eritrean government from power.  It will be either through the pressure of sanctions and people’s rising as a first choice, or through the military intervention of the Ethiopian government with the international community being behind them.

•    Parallel with these activities, the Pastor we have recruited in Nairobi is preaching for unity between Eritreans and Ethiopians.  The plan consists of recruiting other Pastors too.  We are sponsoring funding of these activities through Freedom House

•    We are also working to ensure special handling of Eritrean refugees and facilitate the processing of their cases.  UNHCR have been instructed accordingly. All necessary preparations for giving asylum, for the second time, to the National Eritrean Football Team in Nairobi have been completed.

•    Ambassador Claude Heller, Chairman of the UNSC Somalia Eritrea Monitoring Group, and who had visited Eritrea in April 2010, is working on indicting the Eritrean Government at the ICC.

• (Full list of Eritrean quislings, and, foreign individuals and organisations hired for this subversive scheme is spelled out in the documents.   This has been omitted in this report for obvious reasons.)

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• 2.    Defamatory Circular by MOSSAD

At about the same time when the CIA was involved in mapping out a subversive agenda of regime change in Eritrea, MOSSAD circulated a confidential report entitled: “Eritrea’s involvement in Weapons Smuggling in the Gaza Strip”.
Main Contents of the allegations

•     According to our information, some of the weapons smuggled into the Gaza Strip originate from Eritrea. These are surplus from the Eritrean military, and hence, originating from its procurement and build-up channels. The weapons arrive in Sudan via the border area between the countries.

•    We assess that ties with the military attaché at Iran’s Embassy in Asmara, are being exploited to promote Iranian interests in the region, including transferring quality Iranian weapons to Eritrea, and from there to Sudan and to the Palestinian Organizations in the Gaza Strip. (Note; Iran does not have, never had, an Embassy in Eritrea).

•    Sudanese Weapons Smugglers with links to smuggler infrastructures in the region are in contact with weapons smugglers on the Eritrean side of the border. The strength of these ties stem from common financial motives and tribal links.

•    The border area between the two countries, particularly the area of the towns Kasssala in Sudan and Tesseney in Eritrea, is a centre for the smugglers, most of whom belong to the Rashaida tribe.

•    According to corroborated but not up-to-date information, an Eritrean company is promoting weapon smuggling from Eritrea. In 2008-2009 many reports were received linking this company to weapon smuggling.

•    We also know that representatives of the Rashaida tribe, who operate in Eritrea, established direct links with Palestinian organizations in the Gaza Strip and mostly with Hamas elements.

(The Confidential Circular contains names and other particulars of Eritrean and Sudanese Government officials whom it falsely accuses of involvement in this operation)

Ministry of Information
Asmara
1 November 2019