Kibaki message to Eritrea on Independence Day

By David Ochami, in Asmara, Eritrea

President Kibaki has congratulated Eritrean President Isaias Afeworki as the country prepares to mark 18 years of independence from Ethiopia.

And Mr Afeworki has rejected Western criticism of his administration’s human rights record and political conduct and criticised the international community’s response to piracy off the Somalia coast.

Afeworki said piracy off the coast and the Gulf of Aden could not be solved by multinational military deployment "as long as its basic remains unresolved."

Meanwhile, State media have launched attacks against Uganda’s, Burundi and Ethiopia’s troop deployment and involvement in Somalia and also rejected Somalia’s weak Transitional Federal Government (TFG) as an "imposition," several days after the United Nations and US accused Asmara of aiding TFG’s armed opponents- the radical Al Shabaab Islamist militants, which the Foreign ministry here rejects.

Eritrea is preparing to mark this day, achieved after 31 years of liberation struggle, with massive carnivals and displays of nationalism culminating in an address to the nation by Eritrean leader at the national stadium in Asmara.

Widely aired

Kibaki’s message has widely been aired on EriTV, the national television station and published in the Government Eritrea Profile.

A report in the ‘Eritrea Profile’ quotes Kibaki’s message wishing "President Afworki good health and peace, as well as prosperity to the Eritrean people."

Other messages were from India, Germany and UK.

Afworki, who led the liberation struggle and has been in power since independence, has been giving interviews with foreign journalists, responding to Western criticism of his government’s human rights record, political pluralism and treatment of the free Press.

He has also commented on what he describes as "nominal democracy’ referring to several African nations that have had elections that have resulted in a "handful of individuals monopolising economic resources, while the majority of citizens lead a life of servitude."