It took two weeks for the legal department of the Ministry of Foreign affairs to come up with this:
In a statement issued Friday, the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry acknowledgedRead article 8 of resolution 1718 and you will know how the lawyers came up with that.
that it had received a cargo shipment from North Korea on Jan. 22, but asserted
that it did not include prohibited items like tank parts. “This shipment
contained spare parts for machinery and engineering equipment and raw material
for the making of assorted ammunition for small arms,” the Ethiopian statement
read. “The United States Embassy in Addis Ababa might have been aware of
Ethiopia’s importation of the said cargo from North Korea. “However, the fact is
that Ethiopia did not purchase arms or any other item covered by Resolution 1718
under the contractual agreements,” the statement read, referring to the Security
Council measure.
“8. (a) all Member States shall prevent the direct or
indirect supply, sale or transfer to the DPRK, through their territories or by
their nationals, or using their flag vessels or aircraft, and whether or not
originating in their territories, of:
(i) any battle tanks,
armoured combat vehicles, large calibre artillery systems, combat aircraft,
attack helicopters, warships, missiles or missile systems as defined for the
purpose of the United Nations Register on Conventional Arms, or related materiel
including spare parts, or items as determined by the Security Council or the
Committee established by paragraph 12 below (the Committee);
(ii) all
items, materials, equipment, goods and technology as set out in the lists in
documents S/2006/814 and S/2006/815, unless within 14 days of adoption of this
resolution the Committee has amended or completed their provisions also taking
into account the list in document S/2006/816, as well as other items, materials,
equipment, goods and technology, determined by the Security Council or the
Committee, which could contribute to DPRK’s nuclear-related, ballistic
missile-related or other weapons of mass destruction-related
programmes;
(iii)luxury goods;
(b) the DPRK shall cease the
export of all items covered in subparagraphs (a) (i) and (a) (ii) above and that
all Member States shall prohibit the procurement of such items from the DPRK by
their nationals, or using their flagged vessels or aircraft, and whether or not
originating in the territory of the DPRK;
I all
Member States shall prevent any transfers to the DPRK by their nationals or from
their territories, or from the DPRK by its nationals or from its territory, of
technical training, advice, services or assistance related to the provision,
manufacture, maintenance or use of the items in subparagraphs (a) (i) and (a)
(ii) above;
(d) all Member States shall, in accordance with
their respective legal processes, freeze immediately the funds, other financial
assets and economic resources which are on their territories at the date of the
adoption of this resolution or at any time thereafter, that are owned or
controlled, directly or indirectly, by the persons or entities designated by the
Committee or by the Security Council as being engaged in or providing support
for, including through other illicit means, DPRK’s nuclear-related, other
weapons of mass destruction-related and ballistic missile-related programmes, or
by persons or entities acting on their behalf or at their direction, and ensure
that any funds, financial assets or economic resources are prevented from being
made available by their nationals or by any persons or entities within their
territories, to or for the benefit of such persons or
entities;
(e) all Member States shall take the necessary steps to
prevent the entry into or transit through their territories of the persons
designated by the Committee or by the Security Council as being responsible for,
including through supporting or promoting, DPRK policies in relation to the
DPRK’s nuclear-related, ballistic missile-related and other weapons of mass
destruction-related programmes, together with their family members, provided
that nothing in this paragraph shall oblige a state to refuse its own nationals
entry into its territory;
(f) in order to ensure compliance with
the requirements of this paragraph, and thereby preventing illicit trafficking
in nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, their means of delivery and related
materials, all Member States are called upon to take, in accordance with their
national authorities and legislation, and consistent with international law,
cooperative action including through inspection of cargo to and from the DPRK,
as necessary;
“
Classic stuff. Read the law and look for the loopholes to cover your rear. Too bad that they are so late. There reaa has already been exposed. If they would start asking advice from their lawyers before they are in mire, all these scandals wouldn't have happened. What serious lawyer would have advised Meles to charge political opponents with genocide?
8 comments:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/04/16/MNGB9P9C5H1.DTL
Human Rights Abuses in Ethiopia and Amazing hypocracy from the Bush Administration
Reports of torture in Ethiopia are widespread
Bush says prime minister is committed to human rights
Nick Wadhams, Chronicle Foreign Service
Monday, April 16, 2007
(04-16) 04:00 PDT Ghimbi, Ethiopia -- First, the police threw Tesfaye into a dark cell. Then, each day for 17 days, it was the same routine: Electric shocks on his legs and back, followed by beatings with rubber truncheons. Four or five officers would then surround and kick him. At last, a large bottle of water would be tied around his testicles. He'd pass out.
Tesfaye's crime? Maybe it's that he refused to join the ruling party of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. He was accused of organizing street protests in late 2005. Police suspect he's a member of a rebel group called the Oromo Liberation Front. Tesfaye doesn't know for sure because no court ever charged him with a crime.
"They took us turn by turn to a dark place, and they would shock us and say, 'What do you think now? You won't change your ways now? Do you want to be a member of our party now?' " Tesfaye recalled of his time in prison early last year. He refused to give his last name for fear of being rearrested.
Accounts like this are common in today's Ethiopia. Interviews with dozens of people across the country, coupled with testimony given to diplomats and human rights groups, paint a picture of a nation that jails its citizens without reason or trial, and tortures many of them -- despite government claims to the contrary.
Such cases are especially troubling because the U.S. government, a key Ethiopian ally, has acknowledged interrogating terrorism suspects in Ethiopian prisons, where some detainees were sent after being arrested in connection with Ethiopia's invasion of Somalia in December. There have been no reports that those jailed have been tortured. The invasion ousted an Islamic movement accused of having ties to al Qaeda that threatened to topple an interim Somali government struggling to control the country.
The Bush administration maintains that Meles' government, a leading partner in its war on terror in East Africa, is committed to democratic and human rights reform. The government was severely criticized for a 2005 crackdown that saw tens of thousands of opposition members jailed and nearly 200 people killed following elections in which the opposition made major gains.
People across Ethiopia recounted stories of a government backsliding on human rights issues. They told of confinement for days in tiny, dark cells with their hands bound 24 hours a day; electric shocks; beatings with rubber clubs; police who held guns to prisoners' heads; mutilation or pain inflicted on the genitals.
"If you think differently, that is enough to put you on the side of the opposition," said 34-year-old Teferi, who recently was released from prison after two months without being charged with a crime. "If you say, 'This is not right, this is right, it's good to rule peacefully,' if you talk something fair, it's over for you because there is no fairness from them."
Teferi said a police source told him that he was arrested because he played too much pingpong -- and that police suspected he was recruiting people to a rebel group while he played. He said he was imprisoned at a police training camp called Sankele outside the city of Ambo, which the International Committee of the Red Cross has been barred from visiting.
Ethiopian officials dismiss stories of torture as lies, and have taken the further step of expelling everyone from foreign journalists to representatives of human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Ethiopian reporters for the U.S.-financed Voice of America must work in secret for fear of harassment.
Bereket Simon, a top adviser to Meles, said it's in the interests of rights groups to lie about the situation, and he rejected the idea that torture occurs in Ethiopia.
"No way. No way. No way. I think you know, these are prohibited by laws, by Ethiopian laws -- torture, any human treatments," Bereket said. "In fact, we have been improving on our prison standards. We've been working hard to train the police forces, the interrogators."
U.S. officials say Washington's close alliance with the government in Addis Ababa allows it to raise concerns about Ethiopia's record privately. The State Department is requesting more than $500 million for Ethiopian aid in fiscal 2008, almost all of it for HIV/AIDS relief. The United States trains Ethiopian troops, and the two governments have shared intelligence about Somalia.
U.S. Ambassador Donald Yamamoto said he wants to investigate claims of abuse, but warned against making allegations about Ethiopia's actions without proof.
"There's a lot of misinformation about Ethiopia -- I mean, it's amazing," Yamamoto said. "The problem comes in trying to divide or separate what is fact and what's fiction, and trying to keep an open mind on every issue. ... There are problems, and we're free to admit that, and the Ethiopians are open to admitting that as well."
Ethiopia's critics are skeptical of the government's promises to improve its human rights record.
"Over the years, the more I see, the more I become convinced that not only does the government tolerate it, but I think they direct this kind of behavior," said Ethiopian-born Theodros Dagne, a senior aide to Rep. Donald Payne, D-N.J., a leading critic of Ethiopian practices on human rights.
European diplomats and employees of Western aid groups, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they keep quiet about abuses because they fear the government will freeze them out of aid work. About 2.8 million of Ethiopia's 75 million people depend on foreign food aid.
Washington's steadfast support has led some Ethiopian opposition leaders to assert that Meles' government has only been emboldened.
"We fully believe that the international community is not going to democratize this place -- it's going to be the tough task of the Ethiopians," said Beyene Petros, a lawmaker and leader of the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces, a coalition of opposition groups. "Simply, the U.S. State Department's or the U.S. government's position on Ethiopia is that it's a friendly government, and how can you go and quarrel with your friend because somebody told on him?"
Zoe Alsop contributed to this story, which was reported with a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting
You hate everything and anything about this government and anything Ethiopia right now. According to you, ETHIOPIA IS THE HELL OF THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. IT IS AMAZING HOW YOU SURVIVE DAY TO DAY, LIVING IN THAT GOD FORBIDDEN HELL HOLE YOU CALL ETHIOPIA! I JUST HOPE PEOPLE LIKE YOU DON'T TAKE OVER ETHIOPIA. BECAUSE JUST LIKE MENGISTU YOU WILL DESTROY WHAT IS ETHIOPIA TO AVENGE YOUR ANGER. GOD SAVE US! I KNOW YOU WILL DELETE THIS COMMENT TOO..
If you had understood the article by Nick Wadhams, it is clear that your Woyanie is no different than Mengistu (and in fact worse) as Mengistu did not operate along ethnic lines. It is you and the likes of Meles who are destroying Ethiopia becuase of their complex and hatred against all other ethnic groups. Except for those like you, Ethiopia is the HELL HOLE for all other Ethiopians. Maybe you think they will delete your comment because it is so stupid and does not deny the facts of Mr. Wadhams report. Thank God for honest foreigners who are not afraid to report the truth.
I quote part of the Ethiopian government statement below:
"This shipment contained SPARE PARTS (my emphasis) for machinery and engineering equipment and raw material for the making of assorted ammunition for small arms, the Ethiopian statement read."
I wonder what the government means by "small arms" do they mean those that kill Ethiopians only? Well, I have news for them - whether large arms or small - all are prohibited!
Is the Ethiopian government trying to tell us that certain machinery and engineering equipment etc. for making of assorted ammunition are permitted?
The Ethiopian government thinks it can outsmart anyone as usual through lying. I think the UN Security Council is very clear in that it specifically says:
(i) any battle tanks, armoured combat vehicles, large calibre artillery systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, missiles or missile systems as defined for the purpose of the United Nations Register on Conventional Arms or related materiel, including SPARE PARTS (my emphasis),...".
The US Administration continues to allow the tyrannical governments they support to break all international laws. I wonder if the US Administration would have given the same special privileges to the Cuban or Iranian governments to buy "spare parts" from the DPRK.
So What? Ethiopia buys ARMS? We know EVERY COUNTRY in the world is doing some under hand deal. We know Bin Laden was supported by U.S, while U.S was condemning "Terrorism", we know Russia are helping Iran. We know China is buying and selling goods and Arms to North Korea... So really the gullible are the ones who go crying. If you ask how many of the Weapons in Africa are illegally bought, we know the answer to be almost ALL of them.
Anonymous hat gesagt...
"So What? Ethiopia buys ARMS? We know EVERY COUNTRY in the world is doing some under hand deal. We know Bin Laden was supported by U.S, while U.S was condemning "Terrorism", we know Russia are helping Iran. We know China is buying and selling goods and Arms to North Korea... So really the gullible are the ones who go crying. If you ask how many of the Weapons in Africa are illegally bought, we know the answer to be almost ALL of them. "
Dear Sir/Madaam,
the TOPIC of this artikel, we are commenting to the Violation of Meles's regime on the UN-Profilation(Imbargo)on DRNK . We are not talking about the Tit or Tat of other nations. Meles has offended the UN-decission as he always breached Human rights in ethiopia.
Thank you very much for the insider, who made it public.
Meles is not bold enough to do this on his own. Believe it or not, his independent actions are only limited to Ethiopians he can terrorize everyday. To do anything of this magnitude, he needed American help. Perhaps this was the price for some concession that the Americans wanted out of the NKorea - they allow this transaction and the North gives up something of interest. It would be interesting to know where the money for buying these "spare parts" came from to begin with.
The anonymous above who said "So WHAT? Ethiopia buys ARMS? EVERY COUNTRY in the world is doing some under hand deal..." etc. First of all you need to read and write proper English - the word is written "under-handed" deal. You have also missed the point of my comment. EZ's report says that Meles' Foreign Ministry is denying that it has breached the Security Council sanctions against buying or trading of certain items with the North Koreans, which may warrant punitive action on the part of the International Community. Although some armament buying may be considered under-handed, as long as it does not breach a Security Council resolution, it is not considered as flouting international law.
Gebeyehu above also asked "where the money for buying these 'spare parts' came from to begin wih." The US is one of the major funder of the Melese regime. If you recall the EU, the World Bank, the African Development Bank and some European countries this year decided to donate the aid money back to Meles as "Budget Support". This means he is free to use the aid donated for whatsoever he wishes and he is not obliged to spend it on development or any other social services. This shows how much they are concerned with the poverty in Ethiopia!
God save Ethiopia from these vultures!
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