Page 168 - The Winter of Islam and the Spring to Come

THE WINTER OF ISLAM AND THE SPRING TO COME
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lowed a policy of violence throughout his own period of rule. He did
not limit himself to murdering those whose views differed from his
own, but eliminated a large part of the population at large during his
17 years in power. The anti-Islamic line pursued in the region was con-
tinued by Mengistu, who spread terror through the whole country.
During Mengistu's rule, 10,000 mosques were demolished, and a half-
a-million Muslims were forced to seek shelter in neighboring Sudan. A
similar number sought asylum in Somalia. In May 1991, power again
changed hands in Ethiopia, although Mengistu had left a terrible toll in
his wake:
- Sixty thousand children were left crippled and 45,000 or-
phaned.
- Some 750,000 people became refugees, of whom 500,000 are still
living on the edge of hunger in Sudan.
- Some 80 percent of the population were living in malnourish-
ment or near-famine, in need of food aid.
- There was but one doctor per 48,000 people, and the average life
expectancy in the country was 46.

Israeli Support for the Ethiopian Regime
One of the reasons for the endless conflict, anarchy and war in
Eritrea, one of the poorest regions in the world despite its socio-eco-
nomic and geo-strategic importance, is the strategy of countries that
dominate regional policies there, which is based on their own interests,
totally ignoring the needs and demands of the people living in this re-
gion. Israel comes first among these countries.
In his book The Israeli Connection: Who Arms Israel and Why?
Professor Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi of Israel's Haifa University charac-
terizes the activities by his country all over the world as "Israel's world
war." As prominent Israeli newspaper columnist Nahum Barnea has
noted, "Israel will become the Western vanguard in the war against
the Islamic enemy.'" 38
Israel still has two exceedingly important strategic bases in Eritrea,