[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 9, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E162]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      CRISIS IN THE HORN OF AFRICA

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JIM SAXTON

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 9, 1999

  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, if permitted to escalate, the mounting 
crisis in the Horn of Africa will have dire ramifications on the 
strategic posture of the United States. Presently, there is no end in 
sight, other than war, in this Ethiopia-Eritrea conflict. The mediation 
of Assistant Secretary of State Susan Rice and former National Security 
Advisor Anthony Lake have so far failed to reverse the slide toward 
war. Vital interests of the United States, Israel and the West are 
jeopardized, particularly if the Islamist-supported further break-up of 
Ethiopia is permitted to occur.
  A unified Ethiopia is vital to the regional security and economic 
structure. If Ethiopia were to become fragmented, as Sudanese leaders 
seek, then Israel's economic and military security, as well as its 
access to the Red Sea would be jeopardized. Instability in Ethiopia 
would destabilize Egypt and Saudi Arabia and the vital Red Sea-Suez 
trade link.
  The key to the reversal of the Ethiopia-Eritrea conflict and the 
ensuing fragmentation of Ethiopia lies in the rejuvenation of 
Ethiopia's national identity. Toward this end, the US needs to help 
Ethiopia find the unifying symbols to strengthen the country and ensure 
its commitment to moderation. Until 1974, Ethiopia, the region and the 
US benefitted greatly from the statesmanship and friendship of Emperor 
Haile Selassie. Ethiopia has since declined into ethnic enclaves and 
divisiveness, and lays open to Eritrean, Sudanese and irridentist 
attacks.
  The Ethiopian Crown today is a Constitutional Monarchy, ready to 
return home to provide the inspirational symbolism under which elected 
day-to-day government can emerge and flourish. Moreover, the stature of 
the Crown throughout the Horn of Africa makes the Crown uniquely 
capable of mediating an indigenous solution to the building crisis and 
slide toward a regional and fratricidal war. The President of the 
Ethiopian Crown Council and grandson of Emperor Haile Selassie is 
Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie, who has repeatedly exemplified the 
capable, unifying symbolism which Ethiopia desperately needs. By 
encouraging Prince Ermias's use of the prestige of the Crown and 
Ethiopia's traditional elders and institutions to resolve conflict, we 
can help heal the rifts which are a legacy of decades of civil strife.
  Mr. Speaker, I therefore urge Ethiopia's civil government to allow 
the Crown's return to help unify and stabilize the State, and thereby 
help preserve Ethiopian, regional and Western security and economic 
interests.

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