Subscribe to this RSS feed
Friday, 16 September 2016 22:58

Eritrea: 15 years later still no information on jailed senior politicians and independent journalists

Written by

GENEVA (16 September 2016) – The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea, Sheila B. Keetharuth, today called on the Eritrean Government to urgently provide information on the whereabouts and state of health of senior government officials and independent journalists arrested on 18 September 2001 and in the following days.

Fifteen years ago, the Eritrean authorities arrested and detained a group of senior cabinet ministers, members of parliament and independent journalists without charge or trial. To date, the Government has refused to share any information on their whereabouts and state of health.

“The Eritrean Government has denied those arrested their fundamental right to liberty and security of the person, right not to be subjected to torture, right to a fair trial as well as right to freedom of expression and opinion,” Ms. Keetharuth said ahead of the anniversary on Sunday. “Those arrested have been detained incommunicado and in solitary confinement. Even family members have never been allowed to have any contact whatsoever with them.” 

“The 2001 clampdown set in motion a chain of egregious, widespread and systematic human rights violations that continues to this very day, including arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detention, denial of the right to a fair trial within a reasonable time, right not to be subjected to torture, and disappearances, among others,” the Special Rapporteur said. “In addition, the right to freedom of opinion and expression as well the right to freedom of the press has since then, also been negatively impacted.”

Earlier this year, the UN Commission of Inquiry on human rights in Eritrea* –of which Ms. Keetharuth was also a member- concluded that “there are reasonable grounds to believe that Eritrean officials have committed among others the crime of enforced disappearance, a crime against humanity.”

The Government of Eritrea said that the arrests and detentions of September 2001 were in response to national security threats posed by the prominent politicians and independent journalists. However, the expert stressed that “invoking national security as the main reason to violate basic fundamental human rights of Eritreans cannot be perpetual.”

“All those arrested in September 2001, as well as of all other detainees, including those arrested in the aftermath of the 2013 ‘Forto’ incident should either be brought to court or released unconditionally and immediately if not charged,” she said. “Furthermore, the Eritrean authorities should allow independent monitors to have unhindered access to all detainees in the country as a matter of priority.”
The Special Rapporteur recalled that Eritrea is party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights since 2002, to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights since 1999 and to the Convention against Torture since 2014.

“However, it has consistently failed to give effect to their provisions guaranteeing universal fundamental human rights to its people,” Ms. Keetharuth noted. “It is time to reverse this trend and ensure accountability for past and ongoing crimes.”

(*) Check the Commission of Enquiry’s report: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/CoIEritrea/Pages/2016ReportCoIEritrea.aspx

Ms. Sheila B. Keetharuth was appointed as the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Eritrea during the 21st Session of the UN Human Rights Council in September 2012.  She took her functions on 1 November 2012 and was member of the Commission of Inquiry on human rights in Eritrea (COIE) from June 2014 to June 2016.  As Special Rapporteur, she is independent from any government or organization and serves in her individual capacity.  A lawyer from Mauritius, she has extensive experience in monitoring and documenting human rights violations, advocacy, training and litigation in human rights in Africa. Learn more, log on to: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/SP/CountriesMandates/ER/Pages/SREritrea.aspx

The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

UN Human Rights, country page – Eritrea: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/AfricaRegion/Pages/ERIndex.aspx

For press inquiries and additional information, please contact Ms. Françoise Mianda (+41 22 917 92 50 / ) or write to

For media inquiries related to other UN mandates:
Xabier Celaya, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9383 / )

For your news websites and social media: Multimedia content & key messages relating to our news releases are available on UN Human Rights social media channels, listed below. Please tag us using the proper handles:
Twitter: @UNHumanRights
Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
Instagram: unitednationshumanrights
Google+: unitednationshumanrights
Youtube: unohchr

- See more at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=20515&LangID=E#sthash.3ktPpURp.dpuf

Source=http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=20515&LangID=E

Friday, 16 September 2016 10:28

ሶሻል ዲሞክራስያዊ ሰልፊ መአከቢ ቦታ ናይ ማሕበር ኤርትራውያን ተጠቒሙ

Written by

14 መስከረም 2016

ሶሻል ዲሞክራስያውያን ዞባ ሶልና ናይ መፈለምታ (kick off) ርክቦም ኣብ ክለብ ናይቲ ንስርዓት ኤርትራ ዝድግፍ ማሕበር ገይሮም። ብኡ ምኽንያት ድማ ይንቀፉ ኣለዉ። ኣባል ሽማግለ ተቓዋሚ ሰልፊ ሶሻል ዲሞክራሲ ኣብ ሶልና ዝኾነ ኣርነ አበርይ ይብል ንሕና ብጣዕሚ ተሪር ዝኾነ ነቐፌታዊ ኣረኣእያ ኣብ ልዕሊ ናይ ኤርትራ ዲክታቶር ኣሎና።

ሶሻል ዲሞክራስያውያን ናይ ዞባ ሶልና ብዕለት 5 መስከረም ሰልፋዊ ኣኼባኦም ንኽገብሩ ናይ ማሕበር ኤርትራውያን መአከቢ ቦታ እዮም ተለቂሖም። ኣብቲ ኣኼባ ዝተቐረበ መግቢ በቲ ኤርትራዊ ማሕበር ኢዩ ተዳልዩ። ነዚ ኣገባብዚ ብኣባል ባይቶ ሽወደን (ኣባል ዓቃባዊ ሰልፊ) ዝኾነ ሓኒፍ ባሊ ተሪር ነቐፌታ ተገይሩሉ። እቲ ማሕበር ሰዓቢ ናይቲ ኣብ ኤርትራ ዘሎ ስርዓት ኮይኑ መሳርሒ (extended arm) ናይቲ ዲክታቶር ኢዩ ይብል ሓኒፍ።

ሽወደናዊ–ኤርትራዊ ኣርሀ ሓምድናካ፡ ሶሻል ዲሞክራስያዊ ኣባል ባይቶ ሽወደን እውን እቲ ማሕበር ደጋፊ ስርዓት ኤርትራ ምዃኑ እዩ ዝገልጽ። እቲ ማሕበር ኣብ ዝሓለፈ ዓመታት ልክዕ ከም ካልኦት ተመሳሰልቲ ማሕበራት ካብ ከተማ ሶልና ፋይናንስያዊ ሓገዝ ክግበረሉ ጸኒሑ ኢዩ። ይኹንምበር ቅድሚ መአከቢ ቦታ ምሓዝ ቁሩብ ምርምር እንተዝግበር ኔሩ ምሓሸ። እዚ ካብቶም ነቲ ስርዓት ዝነጽጉ ናይ ሶልና ብጾተይ ዝተረኽበ ስሕታን ኢዩ።

እቲ ክለብ ንዝተፈላለዩ ተጠቀምቲ ኣገልግሎት ዝሃበ ኢዩ

ኣባል ሽማግለ ተቓዋሚ ሰልፊ ሶሻል ዲሞክራሲ ኣብ ሶልና ዝኾነ ኣርነ አበርይ፣ እቲ ክለብ ብዙሕ ግዜ ብዝተፈላለዩ ምኽንያታት ክግልገለሉ ከም ዝተጸንሐ ይነግር።

እቲ ክለብ ዝተፈላለዩ ተጠቀምቲ ቀጻሊ ክግልገሉሉ ጸኒሖም እዮም። ሶሻል ዲሞክራስያውያን ንኣባላትና መግቢ ኣዚዝና። ኣባላት ኤርትራዊ ማሕበር ካብ ነቲ ዝርዝር መግቢ (menu) ምግላጽ ሓሊፎም ኣብቲ ኣኼባና ኣይተሳተፉን።

ደጊሙ  ብምምልካት ድማ ሶሻል ዲሞክራስያውያን ዞባ ሶልና ነቲ ኣብ ኤርትራ ዘሎ ስርዓት ከም ዝነጽጉ ይነግር። ዳዊት ኢሳቕ ብቕጽበት ነጻ ክልቀቕ ንዝግበር ጠለባት ከም ንድግፍ ከኣ ብሩህ ኢዩ።

ቅርሕንቲ ኣብ መንጎ ደገፍቲ ስርዓትን ተቓወምትን

ኣብ መንጎ ደገፍቲ ስርዓትን ተቓወምትን ሰፊሕ ዘይምቅዳው ኣሎ። ብኣባሃህላ ውድባት ሰብኣዊ መሰል፡ ኣብ ኤርትራ ኣሽሓት ናይ ፖለቲካ እስረኛታት ከም ዘለዉ ይግለጽ፣ ኤርትራዊ–ሽወደናዊ ጋዜጠኛ ዳዊት ኢሳቕ ሓደ ካብኦም እዩ። ብዙሓት ኤርትራውያን ስደተኛታት ተደናገጽቲ ናይ ሰበ ስልጣን ኤርትራ ግን ደሪቖም ምጽላም ሃገር ኢዩ ይብሉ።  

Thursday, 15 September 2016 20:46

S bokade Eritreanska föreningens lokal

Written by

Hanif Bali (M) kritiserar arrangemanget. Foto: Olle Sporrong

Hanif Bali (M) kritiserar arrangemanget. Foto: Olle Sporrong
 
Socialdemokraterna i Solna hade sin kickoff i en lokal som tillhör Eritreanska föreningen, som enligt kritiker stöttar regimen.

Nu får de kritik för sitt samarbete.

– Vi är väldigt tydliga med att vi är starkt kritiska till diktaturen i Eritrea, svarar Arne Öberg (S), oppositionsråd i Solna stad.

 

Eritrea

* Från 1889 var Eritrea en italiensk koloni, men efter andra världskriget blev det enligt ett FN-beslut en del av Etiopien. När etiopierna 1962 upphävde det självstyre som utlovats bröt ett befrielsekrig ut som varade i tre årtionden.

* År 1991 intog rebellgruppen EPLF huvudstaden Asmara. Eritreanerna kunde 1993 utropa sin egen stat, med stöd av en ny regering i Etiopien. 1998-2000 rasade ett gränskrig mellan de båda länderna. Konflikten har förblivit olöst.

* Makten är koncentrerad till president Isaias Afwerki och hans parti PFDJ.

* När organisationen Reportrar utan gränser listar pressfriheten i världen hamnar Eritrea på 180:e plats, efter Nordkorea.

* Amnesty pekar på att tusentals politiska fångar sitter fängslade, ofta utan vare sig åtal eller dom. Den svensk-eritreanske journalisten Dawit Isaak sitter fängslad i Eritrea sedan 2001.

* Befolkningen är ungefär jämnt fördelad mellan muslimer och kristna.

Källa: Nationalencyklopedin, Utrikespolitiska institutet

När Socialdemokraterna i Solna stad skulle ha partimöte den 5 september lånade partiet Eritreanska föreningens lokal. Maten som serverades hade föreningen lagat. Arrangemanget får stark kritik av riksdagsledamoten Hanif Bali (M).

– Föreningen är trogen regimen i Eritrea och fungerar som diktaturens förlängda arm, säger han.

Även Arhe Hamednaca, svensk-eritreansk regimkritisk riksdagsman (S), beskriver föreningen som regimvänlig.

– Föreningen har tidigare år fått bidrag från Solna stad som vilken förening som helst. Men det hade varit bra om man gjort research innan man bokat lokal. Det var en miss av mina kolleger som tar avstånd från regimen, säger han.

Source=http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/s-bokade-eritreanska-foreningens-lokal/

 

 

Wednesday, 14 September 2016 21:53

ኩሉ ማዕረ ኣብ ቅድሚ ሕጊ

Written by
ኩሉ ማዕረ ኣብ ቅድሚ ሕጊ

ርእሰ-ዓንቀጽ ሰዲህኤ

ኣብ ሕብረተሰብና ሓደ ሰብ “ዝባን ሕጊ” ኢልካ ኣንተ ገዚዝካዮ ካብታ ዘለዋ ክንቀሳቐስ ኣይክእልን እዩ። እዚ ናይ ሕጊ ሓያልነትን ቀያድነትን ካብ ዘርእዩ ብዙሓት ኣብነታት እዩ። ካብዚ ሓሊፉ” ንሺሕ ፈልጺ መእሰሪኡ ልሕጺ፡ ዳኛ ዘየብሉ ጉዳይ ጥፉእ፡ ማሕለኻ ዘየብሉ ጸባ ድፉእ ..” ዝብሉ ኣብነታዊ ኣዘራርባታት እውን መልእኽቶም ልዕልና ሕጊ ምንጽብራቕ እዩ። ካብዚ ሓሊፉ፡ ግዚ ተተጣሒሱ፡ ዳኛ ተበዂሩን ማሕለኻ ተተፈቲሑን ዝስዕብ ጉድኣት ከኣ ሃሳዪ እዩ።

ሕጊ ንሓንሳብ የርውየካ ንሓንሳብ ድማ የገድደካ። ስለዚ ሕጊ ተመቀረካ ትልሕፎ ተመረረካ ከኣ ትተፍኦ ዘይኮነስ፡ እንተመረካ’ውን ጥዒምካ ትገድፎ ዘይኮነስ ተገዲድካ እትውሕጦ እዩ። ኩሉ ግዜ ሕጊ እንዳረገጸ ብዝጠዓሞን ዝኣምኖን ጥራይ ዝኸይድ ከኣ በይኑ ዝነብር እዩ። ምኽንያቱ ቀንዲ ተልእኮ ሕጊ በበይኑ ናይ ብዝሑነትን ሓሳብን ፍልልይ ዘለዎም ወገናት ንናይ ሓባር ህልውነኦም ጠሚሩ ዘኽይድ ናይ ምግዳድ ባህሪ ዘለዎ መሳርሒ ስለ ዝኾነ። ሕጊ ካብ ተፈጥሮኣዊ ጀሚርካ ክሳብ ሰብ ሰርሖ ብዙሕ ባህርያት ዘለዎ እዩ። ሕጊ ኣኽቢርካ ምኻድ ድሌትካ ዝግድብ ስለ ዝኾነ ምትግባሩ ቀሊል ኣይኮነን። ምእንቲ እዚ እዩ ከኣ ናይ ሕጊ ግዙእን ቅዩድን ክትከውን ዋጋ ከም ዘኽፍል ዝግለጽ።

ናይ ሕጊ ስፍሓትን ዕምቆትን ከከምቲ ዝግልገለሉ እኩብ ኣካል ዝፈላለ እዩ። ፖለቲካዊ ትካላት ዝመሓደርሉ ሕጊ ናቱ ስፍሓት ኣለዎ። በርገሳዊ ኮኑ ናይ ንግዲ ማሕበራት ዝምሓደርሉ ሕግታት’ውን ነናቶም ስፍሓትን ዕምቆትን ኣለዎም። ብባህሪ ደረጃ ግና ነቲ ዝተፈላለየ ድሌታት ኣዕጊስካ ኣብ ሓደ ማእከላይ ነጥቢ ናይ ምርግኡ ኣገዳዲ ተልእኮ ኣለዎም። ናይ ሓንቲ ሃገር ሕገ-መንግስቲ ኣብ በሪኽ ዝስራዕ ናይ ሕግታት ጐብለል እዩ። ብሳላ ዳንነት ናይዚ ሕጊ እየን ድማ ብኹሉ መለክዕታት ብዙሕነት ዘለወን ሃገራት ህዝበን ኣሳንየን ዘንብራ። ብፍላይ ኣብ ፖለቲካውን ምምሕዳራውን መዳይ ክንመጽእ እንከለና ሕጊ ኣገዳሲ ናይ ኩሉ ምዕባለታት መቆጻጸሪ ቀጥዒ እዩ። ብመንጽር እዚ መዕቀኒ እዚ ኢኻ ድማ ንሰባት ምእዙዝ ወይ ብኣንጻሩ ፍኑው ክትብሎም እትኽእል። ካብዚ ነቒልና ኢና ድማ ሕጊ ልዕሊ ሰባት እምበር ሰባት ብውልቂ ይኹን ብሓባር ልዕሊ ሕጊ ክስርዑ ኣይክእሉን እንብል። እዚ ክበሃል እንከሎ ግና ሰባት ብዛዕባ’ቲ ሕጊ ዝግድቦም ጉዳያት ክሓስቡ ኣይክእሉን ማለት ኣይኮነን። እቲ ዝትግብርዎ ግና እቲ ሕጊ ዝፈቕዶ ጥራይ እዩ።

ብኩራት ሕጊ ክሳብ ክንደይ ከም ዝሃሲ ዝያዳ ኩሉ ንዓና ንኤርትራውያን ብሩህ እዩ። ሃገርናን ህዝብናን ብሰንኪ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ሕገ-መንግስቲ ኣብ ዘየብሉ ብምንባሮም ዝወርዶም ዘሎ ጉድኣት ስለ እንርዳኣ። ኣብ ኤርትራ ልዕልና ውልቀሰብ እምበር ልዕልና ሕጊ የለን። ኣብ ኤርትራ ዘሎ ጸገም ናይ ሕጊ ኣቀማምጣ ዘይኮነ ብመሰረቱ’ውን የለን። ኣብ ኤርትራ ዝቐትልን ዝምሕርን ባዕሉ ልዕሊ ሕጊ ገይሩ ዝሰኣለ ሰብ እምበር ሕጊ ኣይኮነን። ብመሰረቱ ማእከላይ ነጥቢ ናይዚ ነካይዶ ዘለና ቃልሲ ብግብሪ ኩሉ ትሕቲ ሕጊ ዝኾነሉ ስርዓት ንምምጻእ እዩ። ሕጊ ልዕሊ ሰባት ዝኾነሉ ስርዓት  ክትክል ግና ቅድሚ ኩሉ ብንጹርን ብቐጻልን ንነብስኻ ትሕቲ ሕጊ ምዃንካ ከተእምን ናይ ግድን እዩ። ነዚ ክትበቅዕ ከኣ ካብ ውልቅኻ ጀሚርካ ክሳብቲ ከም መቃለሲ ዝመረጽካዮ መድረኽ ውሽጣዊ ቃልሲ ኣካይድካ ድሌትካን ስምዒትካን ክትገንሕ ምብቃዕ የድሊ። ሕጊ እንታይ ከም ዝብል ምርዳእን በቲ ትረደኦኻ ቅዩድ ምዃንን ከኣ ካልእ ጸገም እዩ። ብሓፈሻ ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ንዓለምና የናውጽዋ ካብ ዘለዉ ክስተታት ሓደ ሰባት ልዕሊ ሕጊ ክኾኑ ዝገብርዎ ፋሕተርተር እዩ።

ሕጊ ይንኣስ ይዕበ ብዙሓት ጉዳያት ስለ ዝድህስስ ከከም ባህሪ ናይቲ ዝትግበረሉ መድረኽ ዝርዝራት ኣለዎ። ንኣብነት ኣብ ጉዳይ ፖለቲካዊ ትካላት ክንመጽእ እንከለና፡ ሓደ ሰብ ሓደ ድምጺ፡  ውሑዳት ብውሳነ ብዙሓት ይምእዘዙ፡ ታሕትዎት ብውሳነ ላዕለዎት ይቕየዱ .. ዝብሉ ዓንቀጻት ወሰንቲ ናይ ቅዋም ኣዕኑድ እዮም። ኣብዚ እቶም ክምእዘዙ ይግበኦም ንብሎም ዘለና ታሕተዎት ወይ ውሑዳት ኣብቲ ዝምእዘዝሉ ዕጉባት ዘይምዃን ከጋጥም ይኽእል እዩ። ኣብ ጽላል እዞም ወሰንቲ ኣዕኑድ ክትነብር ዘይዕግበትካ ምውሓጥ ግድን እዩ። ኣብ ንከምኡ ዘብቅዕ መድረኽ ዘይዕግበትካ ምስ ምኽንያቱ ክትገልጽን ደገፍ ረኺብካ ኣብዘሓ ክትከውን ምጽዓርን ብሕጊ ዝተሓለወ መሰል እዩ። ሎሚ ደገፍ ብዙሓት ዘይረኸበ ሓሳብ ጽባሕ ናይ ብዙሓት ናይ ምዃኑ ዕድሉ ክፉት ስለ ዝኾነ ከኣ ቀጻሊ ቃልሲ ይሓትት። ኣብዚ ሓደ ክንጸር ዝግበኦ እቲ ናይ ውሑዳት ወይ ታሕተዎት ሓሳብ ካብቲ ናይ ብዙሓት ወይ ላዕለዎት ሓሳብ ዝያዳ ቅኑዕ ክኸውን ይኽእል እዩ። ናይ ሕጊ ደገፍ ክሳብ ዘይረኸበ ግና ዝስማዕ’ምበር ዝትግበር ክኸውን ከቶ ኣይክእልን እዩ።

በብናይ ገዛእ ርእስኻ ውሳነን ምርጫን ብሓባር ክትቃለስ እንከለኻ ኣቶም ተዋሳእቲ ብብዙሕ መዕቀንታት ዝተፈላለዩ ባህርያት ዝውክሉ እዮም። እቲ ብዙሕነት ኣብ እምነት፡ ጾታ፡ ዕድመ ተመኩሮ ወይ መጻኢ ራኢ ዘትከለ ክኸውን ይኽእል። ዝያዳ ድማ ኣብ ብቕዓት። ኣብዚ እቶም ዝያዳ ብቑዓት ዝጻወትዎ ግደ ጸብለል ዝብል ከም ዝኸውን ርዱእ እዩ። ጉዳያት ብሕጋዊ ዓይኒ ክምመ እንከሎ ግና ኣብ ቅድሚ ሕጊ ኩሉ ማዕረ እዩ።

Published in EPDP Editorial
Read more...
Wednesday, 14 September 2016 20:30

Seminar on The Importance of Rule of Law in a nation

Written by

Seminar

Tuesday, 13 September 2016 21:40

ሰዲህኤ ንዑደት ልኡኽ ኤርትራ ናብ ጀርመን ተቓዊሙ

Written by
ሰዲህኤ ንዑደት ልኡኽ ኤርትራ ናብ ጀርመን ተቓዊሙ

ቤት ጽሕፈት ዜና ሰዲህኤ

ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ናብ ሚኒስተር ወጻኢ ጉዳይ ጀርመን ኣቶ ፍራንክ ዋልተር ስተኢንመየር መዘክር ልኢኹ። ኣብዚ መዘክሩ መንግስቲ ጀርመንን መሪሕነቱን ብዛዕባቲ ኤውሮጳ ንመንግስቲ ኤርትራ እትህቦ ሓገዝ የጋግዩ ከይህልዉ ዘለዎ ስኽፍቲ ገሊጹ። እቲ መልእኽቲ፡ እቲ ብመንግስቲ ጀርመን ዝተዓደመ ልኡኽ ኤርትራ እንተላይ ብገበን ግህሰት ሰብኣዊ መሰል ዝጥርጠሩ ገበነኛታት ከም ዘጠቓለለ’ውን ኣመልኪቱ።

News Item 13092016 1

እዚ ተሪር መልእኽቲ ዝሓዘ መዘክር ሰደህኤ፡ ናብ ናይ ጀርመን ኣቦመንበር ፓርላማ፡ ናብ ሚኒስተር ቁጠባን ዕቤትን ከምኡ እውን ነተን ኣብዚ ዝሓለፈ ዓመታት ጸረ-ህዝብነቱ ምስ ዝተረጋገጸ ስርዓት ኤርትራ ብዛዕባ ምምሕያሽ ዝምድና ምስ ሓጋጊ ኣካልን ላዕለዎት ሓለፍትን መንገስቲ ጀርመን ክዘራረብ ዕድል ዝፈቓዳ ዓበይቲ ሰልፍታት ብመልክዕ ቅዳሕ ተላኢኹ።

.መዘክር ሰዲህኤ መልእኽቱ ብምቕጻል፡ ሓለፍቲ ጀርመን ምስቲ ኣብ ዝሓለፈ ዓመት ኣብ ልዕሊ ዜጋታቱ ገበናት ብምፍጻሙ ዝተኾነነ መንግስቲ ዝዘራርብሉ ቅቡል ምኽንያት ከምዘይረኣዮ ገሊጹ። እዚ ኣብ ከተማ በርሊን ብ8 መስከረም 2016 እቲ ጫካን ኣማኻሪ ፕረሲደት የማነ ገብረኣብ ምስ ዝርከቦ ልኡኽ ዝተኻየድ ርክብ ዝወደበ፡ ጀርመን- ኣፍሪቃ ፋንደሽን ዝበሃል ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ብወይዘሮ ኡርሱላ ኢድ ካብ ሓምላይ ሰልፊ ዝምራሕ ዘሎ እዩ።

The  EPDP memorandum also stated as follows:  

እቲ ብሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ዝቐረበ መዘክር እዚ ዝስዕብ እውን ጠቒሱ። “መንግስትን መብዛሕትኡ ህዝብን ጀርመን ኣብ ኤርትራ ዘሎ ኩነታት ዘይጽወርን ብሰብኣውነት ክትዕገሶ ዘይከኣልን ምዃኑ ይፈልጡ እዮም። እዚ ጥራይ ኣይኮነን ናይቲ ኣብ ኤርትራ ዘሎ ኩነታት መሰረታዊ ምኽንያት፡ ምንፋግ መሰልን ብኩራት ቅርዑይ ምምሕዳር እዩ። እዚ ድማ ኣብ ከምቲ ኣብ ኤርትራ ዝረአ ዘሎ ምልካዊ ስርዓት ብምቅብጣር ዝፍታሕ ኣይኮነን። ብኣንጻሩ ከምዚ ዝኣመሰለ ምልስላስ ኣብ ኣተሓሕዛ ሰብኣዊ መሰልን፡ ደሞክራስን ፍትሓውነትን ኣብ ኤርትራ ኮነ ኣብ ካልእ ከባቢብታት ናብ ከዚ ኣብ ሱርያ ዝረአ ዘሎ ኩነታት ዘምርሕ እዩ።

ካብዚ ሓሊፉ፡ ኣብ ሕቡራት መንግስታት ኣቦመንበር ኮሚሽን ሰብኣዊ መሰላት ኤርትራ፡ ኣብ 21 ሰነ 2016 ንባይቶ ሰባኣዊ መሰል  “ሕገመንግስቲ ኮነ ሃገራዊ ፓርላማ ክሳብ ዘየለ፡ ኣበይ’ዩ ብዛዕባ ሃገራዊ ሕቶታት ዝዝተ? መወዳእታ ዘየብሉ ግዱድ ኣገልግሎት ክሳብ ዘሎ፡ ነጻ ፕረስ ኣብ ዘየብሉ፡ ብዘይካቶም ብመንግስቲ ዝሽየሙ፡ ናጻ በርገሳዊ ማሕበራት ኣብ ዘየብሉ፡ ህዝቢ ኣብ ስግኣትን መንግስታዊ ቁጽጽርን ኣብ ዝነብረሉ፡ ብግቡእ ምኽባር ሰብኣዊ መሰላትን ሓቀኛ ዕቤት ህዝቢ ኤርትራን ክህሉ ኣይክእልን እዩ።” ኢሎም። ናይ ሕቡራት ሃገራት ኮሚሽን ሰባኣዊ መሰል ንኤርትራውያን ገበነኛታት ኣብ ፍትሒ ምቕራብ ዝብል መደምደምታ ዝበጸሐ፡ ምእንቲ እቶም ግዳያት ህግሰት ዝኾኑ ዘለዉ ኣእላፍ ኤርትራውያ ጥራይ ዘይኮነ፡ ኣብ ዝኾነ ኩርናዕ ከምዚ ኣብ ልዕሊ ኤርትራውያን ዝፍጸም ዘሎ ክረአ እንከሎ ቅቡል ከምዘይኮነ ንምምልካት’ውን እዩ”

ኣብ መጠቓለሊ እቲ መዘክር ዕላምኡ ሓድሽ ዘይኮነስ፡ ቅድሚ ሕጂ ኣብ ወርሒ ሰነ 2015 ናብዚ ክቡር ቤት ጽሕፈትኩም ቀሪቡ ዝነበረ ጥርዓን ደጊምካ ንምዝካኻርብ ምዃኑ ብምጥቃስ፡ እዚ ዝስዕብ ነጥብታት ኣስፊሩ

  1.   ፈደራላዊ መንግስቲ ጀርመን ብዘይዝኾነ ቃለዓለም ዲክታቶርያውን ስርዓት ኤርትራ ካብ ምሕጋዝ ንኩቐጠብ ብትሕትና ንሓትት።
  1. ጀርመን ምስ ኣብ ወጻኢ ዝርከቡ ዘይመንግስታዊ ተዋሳእቲ ርክብ ክኸፍት እሞ ኣብ ሃገሮም ኣብ ዝግበር ደሞክራሲያዊ ምስግጋር ተሳተፍቲ ክኾኑ ከተባብዖም
  2. ፈደራላዊ መንግስቲ ጀርመን ነቶም ኣብ ምብራቕ ሱዳንን ሰሜን ኢትዮጵያን ዘለዉ ኤርትራውያን ስደተኛታት ዝምልከት ዝተጸንዓ መደባት ብምሕንጻጽ ኣብቲ ብትካላት ሕብረት ኤውሮጳን ሕቡራት መንግስታትን ዝግበር ሓገዝ ንክሳተፍ ንጽውዕ። እዚ ከምዚ ዝኣመሰለ ብዙሕ ዕማምን ሰፊሕ መደባት ዘለዎ ዕማም ኣብ ብቕራብ መግቢ፡ መጽለሊ፡ ጥዕናን ድሕንነትን ጥራይ ከይተደረተ፡ ነቲ ገዚፍ ብዝሒ ዘለዎ ኣብ ቀርኒ ኣፍሪቃ ዝርከብ ኤርትራዊ ስደተኛ ስሩዕን ክኢላውን ትምህርቲ’ውን ዝህብ ክኸውን።

                           

Tuesday, 13 September 2016 21:17

መላኺ ስርዓት ኢሳያስ ህዝቢ ዘደናግረሉ ጥበብ

Written by
መለኽቲ ስርዓታት ንህዝቢ ኣብ ትሕቲ ቁጽጽሮም ኣእትዮም፥ “ሕራይ” ኢሉ ከም  ዝግዘኡሎም ንምግባር ዘይፍሕትርዎ መሬትን ዘይፍንቅልዎ እምንን የለን። ኩሎም መለኽቲ ስርዓታት ምናልባት ብገለ ደርጃታት ይፈላለዩ ይኾኑ እምበር ዝጥቀሙሉ ሜላታት ዳርጋ ዝመሳሰል እዩ። ቀንዲ መደቦም ከኣ ህዝቢ ንክርዕድን ንኽፈርህን ሓበረታ ሰኒዖም ከም ዝንብርከኽ ምግባር ዝጥቀሙሉ ሜላ ዓመጽ እዩ። ስለዚ ህዝቢ ኮንዶኾን ይሓልፍ ይኸውን ብምባል ነቲ ኩሉ ኣደራዕ፡ ሽግር፡ ጸበባን ከርፋሕ ናብራን ንገለ ግዜ ክጻወርዎ ይኽእሉ እዮም። ኣብ ውሽጦም ኣዝዩም ስሱዓትን ተበለጽትን ስለዝርከብዎም ከኣ ነቲ ስርዓት ተዋሳኺ ሓይሊ ኢዮም ዝኾንዎ’ሞ ብኣኣቶም ኣቢሉ ከኣ ብዙሕ ክዝረግሓሉ ዝደልዮ ተንኮላት የዋፍሮም።
 
ስለዚ መለኽቲ፡ እቲ ህዝቢ ተንበርኪኹ ሕራይ ኢሉ ከም ዝኣምኖም ንምግባር ዝሕግዞም ቀዳማይ ነጥቢ ፍርሒ እዩ። እቲ ህዝቢ ኣብ ፍርሕን ራዕድን ምስ ዝኣቱ እቲ መላኺ ስርዓት ዕድመ ስልጣኑ ናይ ምንዋሕ ቀንዲ ረቛሒ ይኸውን። ብተወሳኺ ከኣ ወግሐ ጸብሐ ናይ ጥበራ ኣገባብ እውን ይጥቀም። ንኣብነት  መላኺ ስርዓት እሰያስ ኣብ ፈቐዶ ሓጽብታትን ሕርሻታትን ንይምሰል ዝንቀሳቐሶ ንሱ ጥራሕ ነታ ሃገርን ህዝባን ዝሓሊ ኮይኑ ንኽረአ ዝገብሮ ጉርሒ እዩ። እዚ ከኣ ነቲ ኣጠማምታን ቀልብን ናይቲ ህዝቢ ንምስላብ ዝገብሮ ትያትሮ እዩ።
 
መለኽቲ ነቲ ጭቡጥ ዝኾነ ህዝቢ ብቐሊሉ ክኣምነሉ ይኽእል ኢሎም ዝግምትዎ ጉዳያት እንድዮም ሃሰስ ኢሎም ዝጥቀሙ። ንኣብነት እቲ መንግስቲ ኣመሪካ ኣብ ሓምሳታት ንመሰል ርእሰ ውሳኔ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ጎስያ ምስ መንግስቲ ኢትዮጵያ ዘሻረወቶ ጥራሕ ዘይኮነስ እቲ ንሰላሳ ዓመታት ዝወሰደ ውግእ ብሰንካ ምዃኑ እቲ ህዝቢ ስለዝፈልጥ ክሳብ ሎሚ ይምዝምዝዎ። ንዝኾነ እቲ ዝቃወሞ ኣካል ድማ ብእኩብ ይኹን ብውልቀ እንታይ እዩ ንዕኡ ከፍሽል ዝኽእል ብዝብል ሃሰውሰው ኢሉ ኣብ ቅድሚ ህዝቢ ዘእምን ዝመስል ሓሳባት ወይ ነጥቢ የቐልቅል። ንኣብነት ሃይለ ድሩዕ ኣብቲ  ኣብ መንጎ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ዝነበረ ውግእ “ተጠላቒና” ኢሉ ኣብ እኩብ ህዝቢ ምዝራቡ፥ ኢሰያስ ነቲ ባዕሉ ዝጻሕተሮ ውግእን ሃገራት ካብቲ ኤርትራ ሒዛቶ ዘላ መሬት ክትለቅቅ ተባሂሉ ምእባዩን ህዝቢ ከይፈልጦ ንኽዓባብጥ፥ ግርም ገይሩ ተጠቒሙላ እዩ። በዚ ዝኣክል ከኣ ንጉጅለ 15ን ካልኦትን ከም ከዳዕቲ ሃገርን ምስጢር ንወያኔ ዝሃቡን ኣምሲሉ ኣብ ህዝቢ ከቕርቦ ከሎ ዝተወሰነ ካብ ህዝቢ ንግዜኡ  ካኣምኖ ክኢሉ እዩ።
 
ካልኣ ጉዳይ እቶም ከሎ ጋና ድሕሪ ናጽነት ኤርትራ ካብ 1991 ኣትሒዞም ነቲ ስርዓት ብግቡእ ዝፈለጥዎ ሃገራውያን ሓይልታት ኤርትራ “ደጊም ናይ ውድባት ሓሸውየ የለን” ክብል ከሎ፥ ነቲ ህዝብና ኣብ ግዜ መግዛኣቲ ዘሕለፎ ስቓይን መከራን ሕጂ ሰላም ብምርካቡ ንሰላሙ ይዘርጉ ኣለዉ ከብል ከኣ ተጠቂምሉ። ሕጂ እሞ ከኣ ብዝገደደ መልክዑ ወዮ ንሱ ምስ ወያኔ ኮይኑ ሃገራዊ ሓይሊ ከምዘየጥፈኣን፥ ንዝቃወምዎ ባይታ ከምዘይከልአን፥ ተመሊሱ ነተን ውድባት ኣብ ኢትዮጵያ መቃለሲ ባይታ ክኾነን ዝመረጻ ከም መጋበርያ ወያነ፡ ወይጦታት፡ ከዳዓት ብማለት ንሱ ዝገብሮ እኩይ ተግባራት ህዝቢ ከየስተብህለሉ ንምኽዋል፡ ነተን ውድባት ብሰንኪ እቲ ብመንግስቲ ኢትዮጵያ ነቲ ዶብ ዘይምሕንጻጽ ግርም ገይሩ ንህዝቢ መተኣማመኒ ጭብጢ ተኾነኒ ኢሉ የደናግረሉ ኣሎ። ካብዚ ሓሊፉ በቶም ንዕኡ ከም ኣምላኽ ዘምልኽዎ ዝጽሕፍዎ ጽሑፋትን ዝዝርግሕዎ ኣዕናዊ ፕሮፓግንዳን ኣቢሉ ንሓይሊ ተቓውሞ ክበታትኖ ዝገብሮ ጻዕርን ፋሕተርተርን ብዙሕ’ዩ። ሓደ ካብቶም ዕሉላት ደገፍቲ እዚ ዝስርዓት ኣቶ ተስፋማርያም ሓጎስ ብ 21-05-2016 ኣብ ተስፋ ኒይውስ ዝጸሓፎ ሓደ ብሓደ ንእንታይነት እቲ ስርዓት ኣብ ጥበራን ፈኸራን ይገብሮ ዘሎ ጽሑፍ ከኣ ከምዚ ዝስዕብ ንረክብ።
 
‘’ወያነን ኣሜሪካን ሰዓብታን መዓርን ጠስምን ሒዞም ናብ ኤርትራ ከምዘይመጹ ርዱእ ኢዩ። እቲ ዝገርም ግን ናይቶም ከዳዓት መጋበርያ ጸላኢ ዝኾኑ ተቓወምቲ ዝብል ስም ዝተጠመቑ ወይጦታት እዩ ። እዞም ህዝቦምን መንግስቶም ዝኸሓዱ ኣብ ጥላም ሳእኒ ወያነ ዝተንበርከኹ ወይጦታት እቲ ባህጎምን ትምኒቶምን ኤርትራ ከም በዓል ዒራቕን ሊብያን ክትድምሰስን ክትዓኑን ህዝባ ክሃልቕን ድዮም ዝምነዩ ዘለዉ ?’’ ኢሉ ብሕቶ መልክዕ ዝዓጸዋ ጽሕፍቲ እንተተዓዚብና ባዕሉ እቲ ስርዓት ንህዝብና ዘጽንትን ህዝብና ቀሲኑ ንኸይነብር ዝገብርን ዘሎ እቲ ምዃኑ ጠፊእዎ ዲዩ ነቲ ጉዳይ ናብ ካልኦት ከሳብቦ ዝጽዕር ዘሎ። እዝስ ከምታ ናይ ሂትለር ባዕሉ ዝኾዓቶ ጐዳጉዲ ሃዶሽዶስ ምስ በሎ ጀርመን ኣብ ዓቢ ሽግር ምስ ወደቐት ናብቶም ኣይሁድ ዘሳበቦዶ ኣይመስልን። “ንሰላሳ ዓመታት ደምና ከም ውሕጅ ዛርዩ ዓድታትና ዓንዮም ህዝብና ናብ ፈቐዶ ሃገራት ከም ዝስደድ ኮይኑ። እዚ ኹሉ ብሰንኪ ኣሜሪካ እዩ። እነሆ እዚ ሰብዓ ዓመታት ኣቝጺሩ ይርከብ። ኣብዚ ሰብዓ ዓመታት ህዝብና ካብ ምዕባለ ተሓሪሙ ዕጭኡ ውግእን ሞትን ህልቂትን ስደትን ኮይኑ ተሪፉ። ዘዝተወልደን ዘዝጎበዘን ኲናትን መቝሰልትን ስንክልናን መስዋእትን ኮይኑ ዕጭኡ” ከኣ ይብል ከይሓፈረ። እዚ ከኣ እሞ ነቲ እተን ኣብ ውሽጢ 25 ዓመታት ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ናጽነት ረኺበ ኢሉ ክርህዎ ዝተጸበዮ እሞ ኣብ ክንድኡ ማእሰርትን መቕተልትን ጭቆናን ራዕድን በቲ ስርዓት ክፍጸም ከሎስ መንግስቲ ኣመሪካ ዲያ “ከምኡ ግበር” ዝብል ትእዛዝ ሂባቶ እሞ ንመንግስቲ ኣመሪካ ዝኸሳ ዘሎ፥ ፈጺሙ ምስ ሓሳባቱን ምስቲ ዘሎ ክውንነት ዝራጸም እዩ።
 
‘’መንግስቲ ኤርትራ ንርእሱ ክመስልን ጉዳይ ሃገሩ ብዘይ ናይ ማንም ተጽዕኖ ክኣልን ክመርሕን ዝደሊ ኣብ ነብስኻ ምኽኣል ዝብል ቅኑዕ መትከል ረጊጹ ንህዝቡ ለይትን ቀትርን ኣስሚሩ ዝሰርሕ መንግስቲ እዩ። ኣብ ትሕቲ ዝኾነ ይኹን ኩነት ናይ ማንም መንግስቲ ተለኣኣኽን ከዳምን ክኸውን ኣይመረጸን እዩ። ከምዚ ዓይነት መንግስቲ ኣብ ኣፍሪቃ ንሃገራት ምዕራብ ብፍላይ ከኣ ንኣሜሪካን ሰዓብታን ሓደገኛ ኢቦላ ቫይረስ እዩ።” ይብል! እዚ’ሞ ኸኣ ዓቢ ናይ ሓሶት ቆፎ ጥራሕ ዘይኮነስ ንህዝቢ ኤርትራ ያኢ ነፍስኻ ምኽኣል እናበልካ ክጠምን ናይ ቁጠባዊ ናጽነት ምኽልካልንሲ ከም ዓቢ ቁምነገር ወሲዱ ህዝቢ ንኽጥብር ዝብሎ ዘሎ እምበር፡ ህዝቢ ኣቲ ጉዳይ መሪርዎን ደም ጥዒምዎን ከምዘሎስ ብሩህ ከም ብርሃን ጸሓይ እዩ።
 
“መንግስቲ ኤርትራ ዝበሎ እንተ ደኣ ሃልዩ፣ መትከልና ርእስኻ ምኽኣል፣ ነብስና እንበር ንኻልኦት ክንመስል ኣይንደልን ኢና፣ ናይ ማንም ሃገር ጽግዕተኛን ተለኣኣኽትን ክንከውን ኣይንደልን ኢና ፣ ብጽፍርና ጻሕቲርና ክንነብር እምበር ኣእዳውና ንልማኖ ኣይንዝርግሕን ኢና ፣ ዝኾነ መዘዝ ሒዙ ዝመጽእ ዓይነት ሓገዝ ኣይንደልን፣ ኣብ ናይ ማንም ሃገር ውሽጣዊ ጉዳይ ኢድና ኣይነእቱን” ዝበሎ’ውን ኣሎ። እዚ ክብል ከሎስ ተስፋምርያም ንመን እዩ ከደናግርን ከዕሹን ዝሓስብ ዘሎ ፈጺሙ ኣይርደኣካን እዩ። ኣጽፋር እናኸራተምካስ ብጽፍርና እንነብር። 
መትከል ርእስኻ ምኻልዶ ነፍስኻ ምቕታል ከም ቁምነገር ድዩ ቆጺርዎ። ደሓርከ ኣብ 1994 “ንመንግስቲ ሱዳን ክንቅይሮ ኢና” ብማለት ኣብ ጉዳይ ህዝቢ ሱዳንዶ ኢዱ ኣየእተወን ድዩ? እቲ ምስ የመን፥ ጂቡቲ፥ ኢትዮጵያ ዝጻሕተሮ ኲናትሲ ጣልቃ ኣታውነት ኣይኮነን ክብለና ድዩ ዝፍትን ዘሎ? እንተኾነ እዚ ክሳብ ሕጂ ኣብ ዓመጽ፡ ጥበራ፥ ስለያን፥ ሓሶትን ዝነብር ስርዓት ዝገበረ እንተገበረ ናብ ምህሳሳን ምስባር’ቶም ደው ኣቢሎሞ ዘለዉ ኣዕኑድ ገጹ እዩ ዘንቈልቅል ዘሎ።
 
Tuesday, 13 September 2016 20:51

EPDP Deplores Invitation of Eritrean Regime Delegation to Germany

Written by
EPDP Deplores Invitation of Eritrean Regime Delegation to Germany

In a memorandum addressed to German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the Eritrean People's Democratic Party (EPDP) expressed "deep disappointment and frustration" with the Government of Germany and its "leading (rather, misleading) Europe towards supporting the wrong side in Eritrea." The message hinted that the delegation could include suspected perpetrators of "crimes against humanity."

German Authorities

Recipients of the EPDP Memo: Steinmeier; Gauck; Mueller and Ursula Eid.

 

The strongly-worded memo, also copied to the president of the German Parliament (Budestag), the minister of economic cooperation and development as well as to the major German parties, regretting the giving of "unmerited opportunity" to the repressive Eritrean regime to talk to German legislators, government officials and parties with the aim of 'improving' Germany's relations "with that autocratic system that has proven its incorrigibility in the past two decades".

The EPDP further stated that it could not find a rational explanation to the for talking with German officials as well as to Bundestag members "who last year condemned that regime for its brutalities against its own people". 

 

The discussion forum held in Berlin on 8 September for three Eritrean high officials including the notorious presidential advisor, Yemane Ghebreab, was organized by the German Africa Foundation, currently headed by Ms Ursula (Uschi) Eid of the German Green Party.

 

The EPDP memorandum also stated as follows:

"The German Government and the majority of your people know too well that things are intolerable and humanly inacceptable in Eritrea. Yet, the problem of migration, whose root cause in Eritrea and elsewhere is the denial of human rights and bad governance, cannot be addressed with appeasement and bolstering dictatorships like the one in Eritrea. In fact, this kind of compromise of well established values and old commitments to promote human rights, democracy and justice will lead to worse situations in Eritrea and in other places, as Syria has already exemplified it.

 

"And as the chairman of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea told the Human Rights Council on 21 June 2016, " So long as there is no constitution, so long as there is no parliament where you can debate national questions, so long as there is an abusive national service which is unending, so long as there is no free press, so long as there are no civil society organizations apart from government-appointed ones, so long as people are living in fear and controlled by the State, there will be no full enjoyment of all human rights and no real progress for the Eritrean people." The UN Commission's conclusion to collectively bring the Eritrean perpetrators of crimes to justice "is not only for the sake of the countless number of Eritrean victims but to demonstrate that such behaviour is simply unacceptable anywhere in the world today."

 

"In concluding this appeal, Sir, we can only repeat the appeal what we made in our June 2015 memorandum to your esteemed office:

  1. The Federal German Government to kindly oppose any gesture of appeasement and support to the Eritrean dictatorship;      
  2. Germany to start an open engagement with Eritrean non-state actors in the diaspora with the aim of empowering them to take part in a democratic transition in their country;
  3. The Federal German Government to kindly initiative the establishment of a solid programme for Eritrean refugees in Eastern Sudan and Northern Ethiopia by involving the support of EU and UN agencies. Such a multi-purpose and wide programme for thousands of desperate refugees should include not only the provision of adequate food, shelter, health facilities and security, but also give basic academic and vocational education to the big number of young Eritrean refugees in the Horn of Africa".

                          

Tuesday, 13 September 2016 20:47

Germany and Eritrea – friends again?

Written by

Eritrea is often in the limelight for all the wrong reasons. Scores of young Eritreans have fled human rights abuses in their country. A recent high-level panel tried to charter new ways for an Eritrean-German dialogue.

Poster in Asmara reading - welcome to Eritrea. Next to it, a man standing alone

"To compare Eritrea with North Korea is the most inaccurate thing I have heard in my life. It is totally wrong," Uschi Eid, a seasoned politician and president of the German-African Foundation said.

Eid, a long-time observer of Eritrean politics, made the remark at the opening of a panel discussion on the current political and economic situation in Eritrea and the future of German–Eritrean relations. The discussion, co-hosted by DW, brought together Eritrean delegates, including Yemane Gebreab, head of the ruling (and only party) People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) and a number of high ranking German officials, media professionals and representatives of NGOs working in Eritrea.

For some of the experts gathered in Berlin, the often-cited comparison between Eritrea and North Korea was not too far-fetched. Eritrea's clandestine foreign policy agenda, a forced military service, alleged human rights violations and ongoing cross-border skirmishes with arch-enemy Ethiopia, but mostly the exodus of young Eritreans applying for asylum in Germany, have set alarm bells ringing.

When it gained independence in 1993 Eritrea was paraded as a beacon of hope for Africa. But critics point to the fact that the Eritrean government has still not implemented the constitution drafted in 1997, thus setting the newly-independent country on a path towards the authoritarian, one-party state that it is today.

Eritrea Podiumsdiskussion Yemane Gebreab

Gebreab: "We want to build a political system that is suited to our own situation"

In response, Yemane Gebreab, Eritrea's head of political affairs and a close advisor to President Isaias Afewerkitold DWthat many African countries have dysfunctional multi-party systems and constitutions that only exist on paper. He argued that Eritrea is simply pursuing its own, unique governance approach.

National Service: 'a very important project'

On of the main reasons for young people to leave Eritrea is said to be its forced conscription to the military or "national" service, which can take 10 years or more. The country is listed among the world's top 10 source countries of migration. In late 2015, the Eritrean government pledged to shorten its national service to its original 18 months. One year later, very little has changed on the ground and youngsters continue to flee in droves.

Undeterred by the criticism, Gebreab told the Berlin panel that for the sake of nation-building and in the light of persistent threats from its neighbor Ethiopia, his country "should be commended" for its national service. He also said that it secured much-needed job opportunities for young people. It's a "very important project" and has "proved its value," he told DW later.

In an emotional challenge to Gebreab's argument, Almaz Zerai, a representative of the diaspora Network of Eritrean Women, said the reality on the ground totally contradicted the statements made by the Eritrean government. She said it was high time for them to "go out of the state of denial." The announcement of the government to increase the payment to conscripts holds little value for the activist: "They tell us that now that the salaries are increasing, the problem is going to be solved," she told DW. "No. It [should be] about letting the youth live their lives - to let them live free as they want to," she argued.

Eritrea Bisha Mine bei Asmara

Eritrea's Bisha Mine is supposed to be the first of four mines in the country

War economy

Eritrea today receives very little foreign assistance. Official development aid stood at $83.3 million (74 million euros) a year in 2014, according to the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (DCD-DAC).

Although agriculture takes the first position as a driver of the GDP, the country is said to have huge natural resources, including gold, copper, zinc and potash. It currently has one new mine and three more are expected to be working by 2018. However, for Gebreab the current cash flow from mining "cannot even cover the bill."

To keep the economy afloat, cash-strapped Eritrea greatly depends on remittances sent home from exiled citizens around the world. It has been alleged that the government, desperate for money, turns a blind eye to the mass exodus in expectation of euros and dollars.

Where to go from here?

Eritrea Podiumsdiskussion Christoph Strässer

German MP Christoph Straesser says Germany needs guarantees that rights are respected

So where does that leave future relations between Germany and Eritrea?

The reported human rights violations have so far made German officials reluctant to engage publicly with Eritrea. "We cannot give development assistance to any country, be it Eritrea or any other, without any guarantees that political and civil rights will be respected," Christoph Straesser, a German MP and former Special Rapporteur on Human Rights for a parliamentary group of the Social Democtrats (SPD) party, tells DW on the sidelines of the conference.

The recent EU decision to award an additional 200 million aid package to Eritrea to stem the wave of refugees has been questioned by many. Critics argue that the allocation of funds could result in strengthening the Eritrean government's muscle in silencing dissent, thus increasing the magnitude of the migration crisis.

Straesser, who led a group of German MPs on a recent fact-finding mission to Eritrea, asserted that the fund should be channeled to fight the cause of migration rather than supporting the regime.

Echoing his sentiments, the exiled campaigner Zerai told the panelists that pouring millions of dollars would not change anything unless the regime "diagnosed itself and was ready for treatment."

Georg Schmidt, the Foreign Affairs Office's Sub-Sahara representative, summed up the state of affairs: The Eritrean people have a "hunger for bread and a hunger for justice," he said. What this means for Germany's re-engagement with Eritrea is something that needs careful consideration.

Source=http://www.dw.com/en/germany-and-eritrea-friends-again/a-19548631

Monday, 12 September 2016 23:28

Nevsun ships first zinc concentrate from Bisha mine in Eritrea

Written by
12 September 2016

Canada-based Nevsun Resources has sold and shipped the first zinc concentrate product from its Bisha mine in Eritrea, East Africa. 

Nevsun loaded a 10,000t lot at the Port of Massawa and sold the concentrate on the spot market.

Zinc flotation plant expansion at the Bisha mine was completed earlier this year. 

The company noted that the plant will allow the mine to produce separate copper and zinc concentrates simultaneously from processing primary ore from the Bisha open-pit mine.

"Bisha is the only significant new zinc concentrate coming to market in 2016." 

Nevsun Resources CEO Cliff Davis said: “We are pleased to have a high-quality zinc product coming to market in an environment of rising zinc prices. 

“Bisha is the only significant new zinc concentrate coming to market in 2016 and we are being aggressively courted for offtake by various customers.

“We would like to congratulate our partner, the State of Eritrea, for adding another export product to the economy and thank them for their support.”

The company plans to load additional shipments soon and is in the process of ramping up to commercial production, which is forecast for the fourth quarter of this year.

Nevsun owns 60% of the Bisha mine, which has nine years of reserve life and generates revenue from both copper and zinc concentrates containing gold and silver by-products. 

The State of Eritrea owns a 40% stake in the mine through the Eritrean National Mining Company (ENAMCO), with 30% of this bought from Nevsun before initial construction. 

Source=http://www.mining-technology.com/news/newsnevsun-ships-first-zinc-concentrate-from-bisha-mine-in-eritrea-5002673

Page 502 of 641