In a news conference he gave here on Thursday to local reporters, Meles said the sanction was an appropriate response to the destabilization policy of the Eritrean government.

Meles further said the sanction imposed by the UN Security Council if implemented effectively and wholly would limit the destructive mission of the Eritrean regime.

Prime Minister said the sanction is the first not the last and added that the sanction would be lifted if Eritrea behave well if not it would be kept intact.

Meles said the sanction includes arms embargo and travel bans on Eritrean officials. These would limit Eritrea's subversive activities bent on destabilizing the peace and security of the sub-region.

Prime Minister Meles further said the sanction will also limit Eritrea's military and political activities.

He said the travel ban would limit Eritrean high ranking military officials who travel abroad to export terrorism and subversive mission as well as sow seeds of discord among countries in the region.

It would also limit their move to solicit remittance that is usually collected by Eritrean officials from Eritreans in Diasporas for destructive missions.

In response to the allegation that the sanction was imposed not based on the interest of Ethiopia but on that of Somalia and Djibouti, Meles said the sanction was imposed based on the interest of Somalia and Djibouti and added that If Eritrea wants to destabilize Ethiopia, it would get appropriate response form the latter. Therefore there is no need to make pressure in th is regard, Meles added.

Concerning the position of China, Meles said China has the tendency of not supporting the sanction on Eritrea but did not use its veto power to turn down the sanction.

Prime Minister said what was surprising the position of Libya concerning the sanction. Meles said though Libya didn't want the sanction to be imposed on Eritrea right from the beginning but has accepted when the majority of the AU member countries passed decision on the sanction in Sirt Summit.

Asked the sanction would have negatively affect the Eritrean people, Meles said it is not the UN sanction that would affect the Erfitrean people but the sanction imposed by the Eritrean regime itself.

Meles elaborated that the Eritrean government has condemned its own people to live under strongholds and work without payment.

It is Eritrean government which closed the Asmara University and establish instead military colleges, Meles said. It is the Eritrean regime that also forced students to serve military service with out completing their 11th grade education and forcing parents to pay 50,000 nakfas if their children leave the country and stay abroad.

Regarding the Copenhagen Climate Conference, Meles said Africa still has benefited from the climate deal in Copenhagen by speaking in one voice.

Concerning drought, Meles said the capacity of the country has increased more than ever before to mitigate drought due to the increase in the national economy.

The growth of the national economy has also enabled us to absorve the existing drought change, he added. Whenever there was drought the price of grain and domestic animals used to increase in the past, Meles said, adding that this situation has not surfaced presently.

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