On September 12, 2006 Mr. Ghirmai �Santim� Ghebremariam provided his credentials to President George W. Bush, formally becoming Eritrea�s Ambassador to the United States. 

However, the Eritrean government does not even have the routine ceremonial picture that is provided to all ambassadors, like the one that was given to the incoming Ethiopian ambassador Dr. Samuel Assefa a few months earlier. (See picture on the left)

 This is because, according to our sources, the White House, which provides final approval on all images, would not allow the release of the ceremonial picture of President Bush accepting the credentials of Mr. Ghirmai, which left the Eritrean government no choice but to release the headshot of the ambassador in its website announcing the news.

This says volumes about the relationship between the United States and the government of Isaias Afwerki, which were once considered close allies. It also says something regarding the standing of Mr. Ghirmai Ghebremariam, in the eyes of the United States Department of State. This report will attempt to shed light on both.

 
The Long Precipitous Decline

There was a time, not too long ago, when the regime of Isaias Afwerki was considered a model African state by the United States. Isaias Afwerki and his representatives have stated that since his regime has not changed its policies since the period when it was seen as an �African renaissance� state, then the change can only be the result of a change in US policy.  There is some truth to this claim, albeit for absolutely opposite reasons: the Isaias Afwerki regime has always been thuggish even during the so-called renaissance period and never deserved the �renaissance� label.  There were hundreds of disappeared Eritreans at the time President Clinton was praising Isaias Afwerki.  The difference is that the regime used to care about its reputation and hide its excesses whereas nowadays, it doesn�t.

There are also other contributing factors to the change. During the 1998-2000 Eritrea-Ethiopia border wars, the antagonists regularly accused the United States of taking sides and favoring the other.  The Ethiopian government was more tactful and circumspect in its accusation; the Isaias clique, on the other hand, went to the extent of accusing an American envoy, Mr. Anthony Lake, of being a spy and a destabilizing agent.   

Following the end of the war, the ruling parties of both Eritrea and Ethiopia underwent a massive shakeup with dissidents questioning the manner in which the war was initiated and executed.  In both cases, the dissidents questioned the too-cozy and secretive relationship between Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and President Isaias Afwerki that had blinded both nations to the deteriorating condition prior to the ignition of the war.  Regarding the war, the Ethiopian dissidents argued that Meles Zenawi had aborted the war too early; the Eritrean dissidents argued that Isaias Afwerki had accepted the peace treaty too late.  The Ethiopian dissidents were dismissed from the ruling party; the Eritrean dissidents were arrested and accused of joining an American conspiracy to overthrow Isaias Afwerki.

The crackdown on the dissidents included two US embassy employees who remain in jail without charges for over 5 years now. 

In mid-April 2004, the FBI raided the offices of Himbol, housed at the �Eritrean Civic and Community Center� in Washington, DC.  In keeping with the ruling party�s shady business ethics, Himbol was not registered with the Department of Homeland Security, nor was it licensed to operate in Washington, DC. Subsequently, the manager of Himbol in the United States, Mr. Kesetbrhan M. Keleta, was convicted of running an illegal business in violation of Section 1960 of Title 18 of the United States Code.  

While following the money trail (Himbol wired over 8 million USD in 2001-2002), the FBI ended up at the Eritrean Embassy in Washington, DC.  The Eritrean government has complained that the US seized nearly a million USD; what is unclear is how the US entered the embassy, which is legally considered sovereign Eritrean territory.  The most likely explanation is that Ambassador Girma Asmerom waived Eritrea�s rights. 

 
The relationship between Eritrea and Ethiopia went from bad to worse shortly following Ethiopia�s disputed elections of May 2005. The Isaias Afwerki regime openly accused the US State Department of facilitating an electoral fraud on behalf of the Ethiopian government. This was not registered in discreet communiqu�s or diplomatic channels but in an open address by Isaias Afwerki, including in the presence of the American ambassador to Eritrea, Scott Delissi.

Eritrea and the United States are also on opposing sides regarding the Sudan and Somalia. 

In short, ever since Isaias Afwerki started to believe that the United States is not an honest broker in the Eritrea-Ethiopia peace agreement and that it will not pressure Ethiopia to comply with the Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) ruling, it seems that he has taken a contrarian view to any position advocated by the United States.  At times, this has resulted in a complete reversal of policy:  the same Isaias Afwerki who was considered a strong �ally in the war against terror�; who declared that he shares America�s strategic view of the region; and endorsed the Iraq war to the extent that he once argued that the United States should not have gone to the United Nations to get a resolution authorizing the war, now regularly rails against America�s hegemonic ambitions.

The Ambassadors

Although there is a difference in style between the quiet Ghirmai �santim� and the pea cocked Girma Asmerom, there cannot be a difference in the expectation of results.  This is because, despite their accreditation, they do not represent Eritrea to the countries they are accredited to; rather, they represent the ruling party, PFDJ, to the Diaspora Eritreans who support the party.

The ambassadors do not spend any time meeting with American officials, American civil society groups or businessmen; instead, they regularly call for �public meetings� to regurgitate information that is already published and aired in the government controlled media; and to heighten the �us� vs �them� siege mentality that permeates the Diaspora for purposes of extending its chokehold on power and collecting hard currency.  It is the politics of desperation and self-reference.

True to this form, Ambassador Ghirmai Santim made two announcements on October 21^st that perfectly illustrated his government�s policy of desperation politics. He issued a press release denying an accusation that is common knowledge to the entire world (that his government is arming Somalia�s Islamic Courts), and another one calling on DC residents to a �town hall meeting� on October 29^th which is, coincidentally or not, scheduled on the eve of an opposition demonstration scheduled for October 30^th.  

The �town hall meetings� generally serves as a means to stroke the anger of the party loyalists by placing all the failures of the government on a long list of enemies.   �Town hall meetings� are used to condemn enemies, to establish task forces whose sole function is to spy on, blackmail and intimidate those who dare to oppose the ruling party. 
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Mr. Ghirmai Santim�s record in this regard is blemished: he was Eritrea�s ambassador to the UK and it was his mob which disrupted the first and well-attended meeting of an opposition figure, Mr. Mesfin Hagos. And it is this record that had resulted in a four-month delay of his accreditation as Eritrea�s ambassador to the USA.