The Soviet Union and Its World Influence Part XII

The solidarity of the Somali people and government with the Eritrean struggle goes back decades. Given its limited resources, Somalia’s aid to the Eritrean revolution is significant. It also maintains a close relationship and all sided cooperation with EPLF. The EPLF strive to strength and further develop its relation with Somalia, because it supports the stand of the Somali people and government on the right to self determination of the Somali people in the Ogaden, condemns the Dergue’s invasion of Somali territory, and cooperatives in Somali’s efforts for freedom and stability in the Horn of Africa.

Strategically, Eritrea is part of the Middle-East. It also has historical ties with the region. For these reason, developments in the Middle East significantly influence the Eritrean people’s struggle.

This is the reason where the Eritrean revolution has been active and had initially received support and sympathy from. But in the last ten years, this support has generally declined. For several reasons.

First of all the region is extremely divided, beset by crisis and highly influenced by outside forces. The division was further aggravated when Egypt signed the Camp David Treaty with Israel. Egypt as the decisive force in the region had played a major role in support of the Palestine struggle for self-determination and the united struggle of the Arab Front created vacuum. Subsequent attempts to heal the division failed because many foreign powers have an interest in the instability of the region and due to the many contradiction among the Arab regimes. The contradiction manifest themselves in the different stands that Arab regime take on the Palestine question. Lebanon and the trade-Iraq war. The weakening of the Arab national movement which had developed in the sixties also contributed to the fragmentation of the region. All these developments have negatively affected the Eritrean revolution.