Eritrea: the US Sanctions Yemane Ghebreab, the Most Trusted Advisor of President Isaias Afwerki, for Sponsoring Terrorism in Somalia

Yemane Ghebreab is the Head of the Political Affairs of People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), the ruling party in Eritrea. The PFDJ is a well known terrorist organization, famous for sponsoring terrorism throughout the region. Given that it is the source for all kinds of destabilization in all the neighboring nations, by arming, training and financiering all kinds of insurgent groups, it is no less terrorist than Hizbul Al Islam or Al Shaaab.

As the most trusted senior member of the government, Yemane has been doing Isaias’ bidding in imprisoning the G-15, in misleading the public, in organizing Diaspora supporters, in soliciting illegal money from abroad and in recruiting young Eritreans overseas for his well-known terrorist activities. He has been using these recruits, both young and old, to terrorize the Diaspora community, with the aim of cowing them to silence and making them pay up “protection money”, which come in the form of “2% tax”, donations and other mafia-like schemes. Recently, he has been in Italy and Germany, leading the YPFDJ (Young PFDJ) meetings. These young recruits are known as Isaias-Youth, in an unabashed admiration and imitation of Hitler Youth.

As recent as two months ago, Ali Abdu, Eritrea’s Minister of Information, Yemane Gebreab, Head of the Political Affairs of the ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), and Colonel Teame “Mekele”, a member of the Internal & Foreign National Security Office and other officials of PFDJ were in the German city of Frankfurt organizing a subversive rally against the US and UN in many western cities (Look at Eritrea’s ruling party’s PFDJ Officials Travel to Europe. for more on this).

Yemane is also known to have master-minded, together with Minister Ali Abdu and Colonel Teame “Mekele” – the sponsorship of terrorism throughout the region: Sudan, Ethiopia, Yemen and Somalia. But it is in his involvement in the ongoing destabilization of Somalia that the US has finally targeted him. No one knows why the other two are not included, even though the UN monitoring group doing ground work in Somalia recommended that the trio be sanctioned.

Below is the executive order of the US President Barack Obama:

Executive Order 13536 of April 12, 2010

Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Conflict in Somalia

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) (NEA), section 5 of the United Nations Participation Act, as amended (22 U.S.C. 287c) (UNPA), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,

I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, find that the deterioration of the security situation and the persistence of violence in Somalia, and acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia, which have repeatedly been the subject of United Nations Security Council resolutions (including Resolution 1844 of November 20, 2008; Resolution 1846 of December 2, 2008; Resolution 1851 of December 16, 2008; and Resolution 1897 of November 30, 2009), and iolations of the arms embargo imposed by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 733 of January 23, 1992, and elaborated upon and amended by subsequent resolutions (including Resolution 1356 of June 19, 2001; Resolution 1725 of December 6, 2006; Resolution 1744 of February 20, 2007; Resolution 1772 of August 20, 2007; Resolution 1816 of June 2, 2008; and Resolution 1872 of May 26, 2009), constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, and I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat.

I hereby order:

Section 1. (a) All property and interests in property that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the
possession or control of any United States person, including any overseas branch, of the following persons are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in:
(i) the persons listed in the Annex to this order;
and
(ii) any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State:

(A) to have engaged in acts that directly or indirectly threaten the peace, security, or stability of Somalia, including but not limited to:

(1) acts that threaten the Djibouti Agreement of August 18, 2008, or the political process; or
(2) acts that threaten the Transitional Federal Institutions, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), or other international peacekeeping operations related to
Somalia;

(B) to have obstructed the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Somalia, or access to, or distribution of, humanitarian assistance in Somalia;

(C) to have directly or indirectly supplied, sold, or transferred to Somalia, or to have been the recipient in the territory of Somalia of, arms or any related materiel, or any technical advice, training, or assistance, including financing and financial assistance, related to military activities;

(D) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, logistical, or technical support for, or goods or services in support of, the activities
described in subsections (a)(ii)(A), (a)(ii)(B), or (a)(ii)(C) of this section or any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order;
or

(E) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order.

(b) I hereby determine that, among other threats to the peace, security, or stability of Somalia, acts of piracy or armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia threaten the peace, security, or stability of Somalia. (c) I hereby determine that, to the extent section 203(b)(2) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(2)) may apply, the making of donations of the type of articles specified in such section by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to subsection (a) of this section would seriously impair my ability to deal with the national emergency declared in this order, and I hereby prohibit such donations as provided by subsection (a) of this section.

(d) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section include but are not limited to:

(i) the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order; and

(ii) the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.

(e) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued
pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the effective date of this order.

Sec. 2. (a) Any transaction by a United States person or within the United States that evades or avoids, has the purpose of evading or avoiding, causes a violation of, or attempts to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.

(b) Any conspiracy formed to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.

This order is effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on April 13, 2010.

BARACK OBAMA