From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Sun Jul 13 2008 - 13:00:50 EDT
ACTION GROUP FOR ERITREA (AGE) - for peace nd development
British government's support to Meles regime continues
July 2008
Dear members and non-members,
You may have seen DFID’s Press Release (
<http://www.dfid.gov.uk/news/files/pressreleases/aid-ethiopia-20m.asp>
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/news/files/pressreleases/aid-ethiopia-20m.asp)
made public yesterday regarding the release of additional £20 million in
aid to Ethiopia.
On 9 June 2008, DFID announced a £10 million emergency response to the
Ethiopian government’s humanitarian appeal, in addition to the £5
million of relief aid provided the previous month.
On 21 of November 2007, DFID announced a £75 million assistance to be
spent on 'water and sanitation projects'. DFID has been looking for
every excuse to provide Ethiopia with large financial aid.
DFID has to spend the budget allocated to them within the budget year to
be able to continue to get the same level of funding from the Treasury
and Ethiopia is a country that they have chosen to spend a large amount
of money on regardless of whether or not the money makes a difference to
the lives of Ethiopians.
The Ethiopian government announced that they have increased their
military budget by £50million a year to £400 million on the same day
that the British government pledged to increase the aid given.
Ethiopian government has only been able to finance its invasion of
Somalia and threaten neighbouring countries through the large financial
assistance it has been receiving from the British government and others.
As has been proven time and again, no amount of money pumped into
Ethiopia will make an iota of a difference unless peace is given a
chance.
DFID admits this fact. Clause 55 of DFID’s three years plan for
Ethiopia states the following:
“Conflict in the Horn of Africa has caused considerable suffering to
large numbers of people and greatly contributed to current poverty
levels. Greater effort is needed from all stakeholders in the region to
put an end to conflict in the Horn. If that does not happen, there is a
high risk that poverty reduction in Ethiopia will be seriously impeded.”
Unfortunately, we have not seen the British government lift a finger to
prevent conflicts in the Horn of Africa.
To the contrary, the British government has been adding fuel to the fire
by providing Ethiopia the financial and political backing knowing well
that it has violated
international laws and many UN resolutions.
It is this unjustifiable support that is encouraging Ethiopia to defy
the rule of international laws and continue with its intransigence,
which in turn has created the
instability that we are witnessing in the whole region.
It is important that people of the Horn of Africa and other peace loving
individuals continue to protest against the destructive policies of the
British government by contacting their respective MPs.
To protest against the increase in financial aid, please contact DFID’s
Amy Wright on 020 7023 0423 or 020 7023 0600, or send your e-mail at
<mailto:pressoffice@dfid.gov.uk> pressoffice@dfid.gov.uk.
Regards,
AGE
EDM1700: Ethiopian government encouraged and financed by the US and UK
governmentsDear members and non-members,
Thank you to all who have responded to our call. The number of MPs who
have signed EDM1700 is increasing gradually.
Some of them have signed it as a direct result of requests by their
constituencies. Below are the 26 MPs who have signed the Early Day
Motion
which expressed disapproval of the Ethiopian government being encouraged
and financed by the US and UK governments.
If your MP is not listed below, please spend 5 minutes of your time and
send them a letter using the brief detail and sample letters given
below.
Cohen, Harry
Hoyle, Lindsay
Hopkins, Kelvin
Drew, David
Wareing, Robert N
Durkan, Mark
Russell, Bob
Meale, Alan
Hancock, Mike
Breed, Colin
MacNeil, Angus
Simpson, Alan
Llwyd, Elfyn
Borrow, David S
Bottomley, Peter
Vis, Rudi
Dobbin, Jim
Weir, Mike
Wishart, Pete
Hosie, Stewart
McDonnell, Alasdair
Buck, Karen
Efford, Clive
Cryer, Ann
Galloway, George
Etherington, Bill
Regards,
AGE
http://www.eritrea.co.uk/
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