The Eritrean Government has accused Qatar of plotting schemes to destabilise the country, claiming that the Arab nation is using neighbours, Sudan, to achieve their agenda.
Following a statement released by the Eritrean Ministry of Information in November 28, 2019, the Government said the Qatari Government was deploying religious, political and guerrilla tactics to achieve its aim of destabilising Eritrea. The statement read in part that Qatar was using Sudan as a ‘springboard’ to accomplish the evil plans.
Critics have approached this accusation with caution because this is not the first time that Eritrea’s president, Isaias Afwerki has accused other nations of plotting against Eritrea and responsible for the hardship experienced in the country.
Eritrea has also accused Al Jazeera, the Qatari-based news network in the past for biased and unprofessional reportage on the country.
In the statement, the Eritrean Government raised a 10-point scheme of subversion that Qatar has mapped to destabilise the country; they are:
- To regroup Eritrean opposition political leaders; unify their associations and extend requisite support to the latter;
- To give special focus to Eritrean youth; unify their associations and incite them to engage in acts of rebellion against the Eritrean Government;
- To instil religious extremism on Eritrean Islamist opposition elements and thereby induce an uprising of Eritrean Muslims against their compatriots;
- To sow the seeds of ethnic cleavage and hatred among the Eritrean people;
- To launch efforts to induce protests and demonstrations in Eritrean cities against the Government;
- To give military training (in Sudan) to “Muslim Brotherhood” opposition elements in the planting of landmines, ambushes and assassination of prominent government officials; to facilitate their infiltration into Eritrea to conduct these operations;
- To assassinate influential Eritrean leaders;
- To conduct acts of economic sabotage in Eritrea;
- To intensify hostile propaganda;
- To publicise human rights violations in Eritrea in international organisation and foreign countries; to disseminate documents and videos to that effect.
The Ministry said the points raised were in “brief and skeletal form.” Asmara holds, however, that Qatar and its unnamed sponsors and minions continue to see their chances of success growing slimmer.
