Eritrea Liberty Magazine Issue No. 30
Written by EPDP Information Office
Hani - Mihreteab Embaye - ሰዓት ኣኺሉ | Time is up!
Written by Hani MehreteAb Embayeኣለኻ 'ዶ ወዲ ኤረ - by Hani MehreteAb Embaye
Written by Hani MehreteAb Embayeኣብ ባህልና ሓደ ሰብ ክገብሮ ዘይክእል ክገብሮ ከም ዝኽእል መሲሉ ክቐርብ እንከሎ ትግረም እሞ “ኣየ ኣለኹ ማለት” ኢኻ እትብሉ። ኣብ ሓደ ሓደ ግዜ ድማ “ተረቲዕና ከይብሉስ እግባይ ይብሉ” ዝበሃለሉ ኣጋጣሚ ኣሎ። እዚ ክብል እንከለኹ “መሲልካስ እንታይ ኣምጻእካ” ክበሃል ምዃነይ ኣይሰሓትኩን። ስለዚ ነዚ ተተርኢሰ ዝብሎ ስለ ዘለኒ እየ ናብዚ ምስላታት ዘድሃብኩ። ሓንቲ ምስላባ ክደግም “ይበሃል ኢላ ድሙ ተዃሒላ” እትብል። ሕጅስ ምስላታት ይኣኽለኒ እሞ ናብቲ ዘምጸኣኒ ናይዚ ቀረባ ግዜ ቃለ-መሓትት መራሒ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ኣቶ ኢሳይያስ ኣፈወርቂ ክኣቱ። ኣብ ኤርትራ ኣብ ወረዳ ዓረዛ ምክትል ወረዳ ኣፈልባ እትርከብ “ኣይቀበጹ” እትበሃል ቁሸት ኣላ። ሰለምንታይ እዚ ስም ከም ዝተዋህባ፡ ምስ ዝርዝሩ ደቅቲ ከባቢ እዮም ዝፈልጥዎ። ሓፈሻዊ ትሕዝቶኡ ግና ምስ ኣብ ግዜኡ ዝሓለፈ ጉዳይ ጭልም ምባል ዝዛመድ እዩ።
ኣቶ ኢሳይያስ ተስፋ ዘለዎ ዘረባ ከምጽእ ከም ዘይክእል ካብ ዝረጋገጽ ነዊሕ ግዜ ኮይኑ እዩ። ንሱ ግና ወዮ ከምቲ “ኣየ ኣለኹ ማለት” ዝበልናዮ ግዲ ኮይንዎ መዓልቲ ቆጺሩ ኣብ ሓድሽ ዓመት ወይ ኣብ መዓልቲ ነጻነት ሃለው ምባሉ ኣይገደፈን። ካብዚ ውሽጡ ተሓይኹ ተወዲኡ ደጊኡ’ውን ዘሰንብድ ሰብኣይ፡ ሓድሽ እሞ ድማ ኣውንታዊ ሓሳብ ክመጽእ ዘይትግምቶ ክነሱ፡ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ግና ኮንደኾን ብዝብል ሰዓት ቆጸራ ኣኽቢሩ፡ ክሰምዖ ምጽባዩ ነክዩ እንተዘይኮይኑ ፈጺሙ ኣየቋረጸን። ኣነ እውን ሓደ ካብኣቶም ዝተጸበይዎ ስለዝኾንኩ ንዕኡ ክሰምዕ ካብቲ ናይ ድቃሰይ ግዜይ ክልተ ሰዓት ተለጢጠ። ንዛንታ “ኣይቀበጹ” ካብ ዝደገሙ ድማ ሓደ ኮይነ። እንተኾነ ሰባት ሰሚዖም ከምቲ ኢሳይያስ ዝበሎ ዘይኮነስ ከምቲ ዝደልይዎ ሕብርታት ቀቢኦም ካብ ዝሕብሩኻ ባዕልኻ ምስማዑ ስለ ዝምረጽ ምስማዐይ ዳርጋ ኣየጠዓሰንን። ንግሆ ምስ ከማይ ነቲ ቃለ መሓትት ዝሰምዕዎ ኣካላት ምስ ተራኸብና ከዓ “ናይዚ ሰብኣይ ቃለ መጠይቕ ዓጀውጀው እምበር ሓድሽ ነገር ኣይነበሮን” ኣብ ዝብል መድምደምታ ክንበጽሕ ግዜ ኣይወሰደልናን።
ካብቲ ዝበሎ ምስ ህልዊ ኩነታት ኤርትራን ህዝባን ዝዛመድን ዘዛርብን ስለ ዝሰኣና ዕላልና ናብ ኣከዳድናን ኣካላዊ ኩነታትን ናይ ኢሳይያስ ከዘንብል ግድን ኮይኑ። ኣቀማቅማ ጨጉሪ ርእሱ ተመዛቢሉ፡ ንገጹ ማዳ ዓንድሪሉ፡ ብኣካዳድናኡ ጀልፊፉ ስለ ዝተራእየ፡ ናይዚ ኩነታቱ ምኽንያት ንምግማት፡ መንሽሮ እዩ ሓሚሙ፡ ኩሊቱ ተቐይሩ እዩ፡ ጠንቁ ክቱር መስተእዩ … ወዘተ ዝብሉ ናይ ተዓዘብቲ ግምታት ይቐርቡ ኣለዉ። የለን እቲ ኣብ ገጹ ዝረአ ዘሎ ማዳ ዘይኮነስ ሰኺሩ ምስ ወደቐ ዝገደፈሉ በሰላ እዩ ዝብሉ እውን ሰሚዐ። እዚ ግምታት እዩ። ብሓፈሻ ሕማቕ ከም ዘሉ ግና ኩሉ ዝረኣዮ እዩ። እንተ’ቲ ሓቐኛ ምኽንያት ናይ ምጉስቛሉ ግና እግዚኣብሄር ዋንኡ። ሓደ ሰብ ደጋዊ መልክዑ ከምዚ ናይ ኣቶ ኢሳይያስ ኮይኑ፡ ውሽጣዊ ትሕዝቶኡ ግና ጠቓሚ ሓሳብ ዘመንጩ እንተኾይኑ “ ገጽ ኣይትርአ” ኢልካ ትከላኸለሉ ኢኻ። ንሱ ግና ውሽጡ እውን ካብ ደጊኡ ከም ዝኸፍእ ካብቲ ተጻዒሩ ዘውጸኦ፡ ክሓብኦ ተፈተነ ዝስዕሮ ዝነበረ ቃላት ተረዲእናዮ ኢና።
ብዛዕባቲ ኣብ 1997 ዝጸደቐ ቅዋምን መጻኢ ዕድሉን እንተተሓተስ ጉልባቡ ቀሊዑ፡ጐልሓጥሓጥ እንዳበለ፡ ዓይኑ ብጨው ተሓጺቡ፡ “እቲ ሰነድ ከይተኣወጀ ዝሞተ እዩ።” ኢሉ ነቶም ውሽጡ ከይፈለጡ ንኢሳይያስ ንክከላኸሉ፡ ንዘይምትግባር እቲ ቅዋም ምኽንያታት ክኹምሩ ዝጸንሑ ግሩሃት እቲ ሰቲርዎ ዝጸንሐ ሓቂ ደርጒሕሎም። ነዓና ግና እቲ ሓድሽ ካብ ኣፉ ምውጻኡ ተዘይኮይኑ እዚ ሓሳብ ኣብ ውሽጡ ጠኒስዎ ዝጸንሐ ምዃኑስ ዘይተጸበናዮ ኣይኮነን። ኩሉ ነገር እንተላይ ህልውና ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ኣብ ቀጻሊ መስርሕ እዩ ዝነብር። እቲ ዘይተርፍ ጉዕዞ እምበኣር ከከም ባህሪ ናይቲ ተጐዓዚ ገሊኡ ናብ ልምዓት እዩ፡ ገሊኡ ድማ ናብ ጥፍእት። ብናትና ሚዛን ጉዕዞ ህግደፍ ኣብዚ ዝሓለፈ 15 ዓመታት ንቑልቁል እዩ ዝንህል ነይሩ። እዚ ድማ በቲ ኣብ ኤርትራ ኣብ ኩሉ እቲ ብሰንኪ መሪሕነት ህግደፍ ዝረአ ዘሎ ህውቱት መነባብሮ ዝተረጋገጸ እዩ። መራሒ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ግና “ ሰማዒኸ እንታይ ይብለኒ” እኳ ከይበለ “ኣብ’ዚ ዝሓለፈ 15 ዓመት ብዙሕ ነገር ተማሂርና ኢና።ኣ ካይዳናን ፖለቲካዊ ብስለትናን ኣማዕቢልናን ብዙሕ ነገር ተማሂርናን ኢና።” ክብል ሰሚዐናዮ። ከምዚ ምባሉ ንእዝነይ ምእማን ስኢነስ ንካለኦት ምስ ሓተቱ’ውን “እወ ሓቅኻ ከምኡ እዩ ዝበለ” ምስ በለ፡ ወዮቲ ናይ ቀደም ሃተፍተፉ ተሓዲሱኒ “ደጊም ቶባ” ክብል ተገዲደ። በዚ ተዝውድእከ፡ ነቲ ብውልቃዊ ውሳነኡ ብናቱ ምሩጻት ሰባት፡ ውድድር ኣብ ዘየፍቅድ ጸቢብ ፖለቲካዊ ሜዳ ባዕሉ ነዲፉ ባዕሉ ዘጽደቖ ናይ 1997 ተወሊዱ ዘይተጠመቐ ቅዋም “መን ነዲፍዎ? ከመይ ገይሩ ተነዲፉ? ናበይ ገጹ እዩ? ኣብ ዝብል ዛዕባ ኣብ’ዚ 15 ዓመት ብዙሕ ነገር ተማሂርና ኢና።” ከምቲ ንሱ ዝብሎ ሓድሽ ቁንቁኛ ኣምጺኡልና። እዚ እሞ ድማ ምስላታት ደኣ ኣብዚሐልኩም እምበር “ባዕላ ሰቒላቶስ ረሓቐ፡ ባዕላ ሰንኪታቶስ በሓቘ” ዘብል እዩ።
ብዛዕባ ዓለማዊ ኩነታት፡ ብዛዕባ ጠንቂ ማዕቀብ ኣብ ልዕሊ ኤርትራ፡ ብዛዕባ ዋሕዚ ኤርትራውያን መንእሰያት ናብ ስደት፡ ብዛዕባ መጻኢ ናይ ልምዓት መደባቱ፡ ብዛዕባ ዝምድና ኤርትራ ምስ ጐረባብታ ሃገራት …… ወዘተ ተሓቲቱ ዝህቦ ዝነበረ መልሲ፡ ካብ ሓደ ጥዑይ ኣእምሮ ዘለዎ፡ እሞ ድማ ንሃለዋት ኤርትራ ብደረጃ መራሒ ካብ ዝፈልጣ ሰብ ዘይኮነስ፡ ንኤርትራ ብሓላፍ መንገዲ ድረጃ እውን ካብ ዝፈልጣ ሰብ እትጽበዮ ኣይነበረን። ኣቶ ኢሳይያስ ግና ወዮ “መራሒ ኤርትራ” ተባሂሉ እንድዩ መድረኽ ተፈጢሩሉስ ተኾዲጩ ከይሓፈረ ደርጒሕዎ። ብዛዕባ ዘየሎ ግና ድማ ዓቕሊ ጽበት ዝወለዶ ጉዳያት ይዛረብ ከም ዝነበረ ግና ካብቲ ናይ ኣዒንቱ ጐልሓጥሓጥን “ዳሕራይ ክንምለሶ ኢና” ዝብል ሃዳሚ ስልቱን ምርድኡ ዘጸግም ኣይነበረን። ብዛዕባዚ ጉዳይ ቃለ መጠይቕ ኣቶ ኢሳይያስ ከነዕልል እንከለና እዚ ሰብኣይ ጽቡቕ ናይ ምግባርን ሓቂ ናይ ምዝራብን ዓቅሚ እንዳሃለዎ እዩ “ኮነ ኢሉ ዝጽይቕ ዘሎ” ዝብሉ ኣሕዋት ረኺበ። ኣነ በቲ ጽቡቕ ይዛረብን ይገብርን ከም ዘየለ ምእማኖም ንኢደዮም። ነቲ “ከጸብቕ እንዳኸኣለ እዩ ዝጽይቕ ዘሎ” ዝበልዎ ግና ኣይተቐበልኩዎምን። ምኽንያቱ ኣቶ ኢሳይያስ ድሕሪ ሕጂ ዝሓበኦ ጽቡቕ ሓሳብን ናይ ምትግባር ዓቕምን ከም ዘየብሉ ዕጉብ ስለ ዝኾንኩ። እቲ ዝርካቡ ሓሳቡን ዓቕሙን እቲ ክንሰምዖ ዝቐነና ሓሶትን ዕንወትን ጥራይ እዩ ዝብል እምነት ስለ ዘለኒ።
እስኪ ንተዓዘብ፡ እዚ ሰብኣይ ከይሓፈረ፡ ማሽነሪ ውሒዱና እምበር ኤርትራ ንምልማዕ ዘኽእል ዝሰልጠነ ምሉእ ዘይጉዱል ሓይሊ ሰብ ኣለና ክብል እንከሎ፡ ብዓብይኡ ንዕኡ ንዓናውን ከም ኤርትራውያን ዘሕፍር ኮይኑ ኣይስመዓኩምን። ነቶም ኣብ ኤርትራ ኣብያተ ትምህርቲ ክሳብ ዩኒቨርስቲ ተዓጽዩ ዝርካቦም ተመሃሮ ኣብ ሳዋ ጅሆ ተታሒዞም ከም ዘለዉ እንርዳእ፡ ኣብ መዓልቲ ኣስታት 500 መንእሰያት ካብ ኤርትራ ናብ ጐረባብቲ ሃገራት ይስደዱ ከም ዘለዉ እንፈልጥ እኮ’ዩ ዲክታትር ኢሳይያስ ከምዚ ዝብለና ዘሎ። ወረ ነቲ እንዳንቀጥቀጠ ነተን ተጻሒፈን ዝተዋህበኦ ሕቶታት ዝሓቶ ዝነበረ ጋዜጠኛ ነታባይስ ተኣምራታዊ ልምዓት ኣብ ኤርትራ ንምርኣይ ናይ ሰለስተ ኣዋርሕ ቆጸራ እዩ ሂብዎ ዘሎ። ንከምዚ ዓይነት እንዳኸፈአ ዝመጸ ናይ ብደዐ ኣበሃህላኡ ኣቲ ቀደም “ ኣብ ልዕሊ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ንዘለዎ ንዕቀት ዘንጸባርቕ’ዩ” ኢና ንብሎ ኔርና። ናይ ሎሚ ግና ካልእ ሓረግ እንተዘይረኺብናሉ በቲ ናይ ቅድም ኣበሃህላ ዝግለጽ ኣይኮነን። ምኽንያቱ ንሱ ካብዚ ኣበሃህላ ናብ ዝዓሞቐ ጽላለ የንቆልቁል ስለ ዘሎ።
ኢሳይያስን ንሱ ዝመርሖ ጉጅለ ህግደፍን ድሕሪ ሕጂ ናብ ልቦም ናይ ምምላስ ድሌት የብልምን። ክምለሱ እንተደለዩ እውን መምለሲ መንገዲ የብሎምን። ኣቲ ጻዕሪ ነቶም ብሓሳዊ ስብከቱ ተሰሊቦም ምስኡን ጉጅለኡን ናብ ጥፍእት ዝጐዓዙ ዘለዉ ናይ ለውጢ ተረባሕቲ ወገናት ከተድሕን ምኽኣልን ዘይምኽኣልን እዩ። ኢሳይያስ ከም ኩሎም ዲክታተራት በይኑ ኣይኮነን ዝጽለል ዘሎ። ምስኡ ሓቢሮም ናብ መቓብር ዝወርዱ፡ ዝሓዝካዮ መንገዲ ቅኑዕ እዩ እንዳበሉ፡ ዘስክርዎን ዘሻድንዎን ኣካላት ክህልዉዎ ናይ ግዳን እዩ። ካብዚኣቶም ሓደ እዩ ኢልካ ክትወስዶ እትኽእል ሓደ ኤርትራዊ እየ ዝብል፡ ኣብዚ ቀረባ መዓልታት “ህ.ግ.ደ.ፍ ታሪኽ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ አዩ። ህላወ ኤርትራ ምስ ህላወ ህ.ግ.ደ.ፍ ዝተኣሳሰረ አዩ። ዝኾነ ሓይሊ ንህ.ግ.ደ.ፍ ዝጻባአ ንታሪኽ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ናይ ምድምሳስ ድልየትን ሕልምን ዘሎዎ አዩ።” ንዝበሎ እንተ ኣስተባሂልና እዚ ዕኑድ ሰብኣይን መዳመቕቱን ናበየናይ ጸድፊ የምርሑ ከም ዘለዉ ምርዳእ ዘጸግም ኣይኮነን። እምበኣር ወዮ ደኣ ርኢኻን ሰሚዕካን ስቕ ኢልካ ዘይሕለፍ ኮይኑና ንዛረበሉ ኣለና እምበር እዚ ብዱዕ ኣበሃህላታት ናይ ኢሳይያስ ሓድሽ ኣይኮነን። ትንፋሱ ክሳብ ዘላ’ውን ቀጻሊ እዩ። ደጊም ቀዳምነትና ናቱ ጸሓይ ዝወቐዖን ዓለም ዝፈለጦን ኣበሳ ምዝርዛር ዘይኮነስ ኣብ ቅድሚ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ካብኡ ብተግባር ዝሓሽካ ምዃንካ ምርግጋጽ ምዃኑ ኣይንዘንግዕ ንብል።
6 ጥሪ 2015
A Critique by Afar Compatriots to Recent EPDP Editorial
Written by The Eritrean Afar State in Exile (EASE)Dear EPDP Editorial team,
This response is in relation to your article posted on your editorial section of your website, http://harnnet.org/index.php/news-and-editorial/epdp-editorial/item/1186-state-failure-and-identity-politics-in-eritrea-is-regional-mobilization-the-answer-1
Titled: “State Failure and Identity Politics in Eritrea: Is Regional Mobilization the Answer?
Dear compatriots,
Our response will be from the viewpoint of Afar and Afar only. This is not to say we are not concerned about the wellbeing of fellow Eritreans. This will allow for concerned Eritreans to respond from their respective responsibilities and viewpoints.
Let me begin by saying the views expressed in this article is very troublesome. It’s a huge setback for those of us moderates who strive to reach out across ethnic, religious and regional divide to restore our people’s dignity. The views expressed in EPDP article maybe popular in some corners or websites, but it’s unjust and divisive. It goes against the principle of strengthening the unity and diversity of Eritrea which you claim to defend.
If the intention to write this article was to provoke a thought, or speak about the main source of division among Eritrean opposition groups, or to find lasting and viable solution to Eritrea’s problem going forward, then it has missed its target. Your article and views expressed in it are against peaceful coexistence and building of diversity in Eritrea. It is downright offensive for us, Eritrean Afar.
The case of Eritrean Afar
Like many self governing indigenous peoples in the world, historically the Afar have been attached to their land and region. And historically those who want to exert their power “land-grab” over Afar territory and its people have attempted their ambition to justify their political dominance. Today’s rulers in Eritrea are no exception. What is different here is that, the ruling class in Eritrea and the opposition are in agreement to subdue the Afar indigenous fight to self rule themselves. The only difference is the State of Eritrea is using violent means to remove the Afar, while the opposition uses the scare tactics and demonization using populist propaganda machine.
Failed Ideology and Policy
To find the root cause of today’s Eritrean political reality, and the underlying issues for regional, ethnical political divides one can look no further than the ideology of “Dear-Leader/Afwerki”, (“Nehnan-Elamnan), the Elitist, the supremacists, and the so called oppositions that looks down on Afar and other marginalized groups. What make the Afar less patriotic or less Eritrean than those in the highlands, or the authors of this EPDP article? The Afar and the Kunama have been called the traitors, not committed to the sovereignty of Eritrea, those who want to break up the nation of Eritrea, just based on our geographical locations. We have been called the backwards and the uncivilized since the time of Emperor Haile-Sellasie down to today’s rulers. Our communities have been victimized both during independence struggle and during the last war between the two Tigrignas (EPLF-TPLF).
The Tigringanization of Afar must be stopped
Today, as a result of this racist ideology, the Afar are being systemically removed from their homeland in Dankalia and the regime is colonizing the area with others. To remove the Afar, Eritrea is using mass murder, terror, intimidation and other forms of violence, and is destroying the basis of the Afar economy.
Afar are fleeing Dankalia by the 10’s of thousands. The Eritrean government’s settlement agenda is politically and financially backing the influx of highland-Tigrigna investors to take up businesses, trades, fishing and other traditional afar economic activities to further press forward with its agenda of Tigringanization of Afar people.
There is official government policy to settle thousands of highlanders to areas of Dankalia near Galalu and other areas of the sea in Afar territories. This is underway as we speak. The excuse is that highlands can no longer support a large population, so people are being taken to Dankalia coast. The Afar people have been violently forced out of their homes and businesses because of the widespread aggressive government policy.
The Term “Equal opportunity Oppressor”
The EPDP article mentions, “The regionalists tend to blame the victim (the region that they claim has an upper hand in the current system) for their own political weaknesses.” referring to the Tigrigna suffering under Afwerki’s rule. No one is questioning the Tigringas are not suffering too.
This notion or term, the Afwerki regime being an “equal opportunity oppressor” doesn’t fly with Dankalia’s Afar population. Say what you want to say about the current regime, the Language of Tigrigna still flourishes, the culture and the way of life of Tigrigna ethnic groups still thrives. The government sponsored Tigrigna print media, TV and radio programs are bombarding Dankalia and Afar people daily. The Afar are losing their Language, their culture, their identity, and the means to survive from their local economy and they’re under constant threat of extinction for their ancestral land. Say what you want to say my compatriots from Tigrigna ethnic group you do not have the threat of extinction looming over your heads. And the suffering is not the same.
You may classify Eritrean Afar as those who promote their ethnic aspiration “Tribalism, Ethno fascist or regionalist”, say what you want to say, the Afar aspiration for self-rule is not the impediment for building united democratic Eritrea. The Afar are the critical component and critical jigsaw puzzle for Eritrea’s social fabric and nation building. What will destroy Eritrea is the out dated ideology of supremacy and looking down on other minorities as untrustworthy and incapable, and the hegemonic policies that are put in place as a result of these ideologies. Both by the dictator himself and the support base in Diaspora.
The good example of these policies, are the Eritrea’s land proclamation of 1994, “All Land and Resources belong to the State”, which subsequently found itself in the texts of now defunct 1997 Eritrean constitution. I understand EPDP favors to implement this constitution immediately if they were to rule Eritrea tomorrow.
Let me explain, why Eritrea's unimplemented 1997 constitution is at odds with Afar vision. It excludes minorities from effective participation in reformed Eritrea. It suffocates them in institutions that will be dominated by the Tigrigna. It confiscates Afar lands to be disposed of by the dominant large nationalities. All of this is contrary to international law respecting minorities and indigenous peoples (the Afar are both).
The 1997 Constitution contains no provision for the protection of minority rights. The rights of the national communities are nowhere guaranteed. The Constitution neither provides for any measures for autonomy or self-government of the nationalities (including the Afar), nor does the Constitution provide for guarantees for the small nationalities to participate in the central institutions of the state. We believe without these guarantees, implementation of the constitution will lead to another form of Eritrean conflict, between smaller nationalities and the large. http://ease.dankalia.org/petition_info
The Afar are simply advocating for their rights, dignity and their rightful place in the country. In no way that should be considered harmful to Eritrea’s sovereignty. I don’t know where that leaves us, as regionalist or tribalist, in the case of Afar, we could be classified as both. The Afar have clearly defined region and a home territory that spans from the tip of Mossowa and stretches down to heart of the Sultanate of Rihayta near Djibouti border. Up until the escapade of Afwerki and his military junta this region was predominantly occupied by one ethnicity, The Afar people. We were not called Eritreans then. But we choose to call ourselves Eritreans because we believe Eritrea can be salvaged from dictatorship and extremist ideology. The afar history in this region predates modern day Eritrea and Ethiopia put together. We have lived in this territory since the time of Mosses (Peace be upon him). If this makes us regionalist, Tribalist or Indigenous, then, so be it. Afar people did not prevent Eritrea from becoming independent state. Afar people’s role during the independence struggle is missing from the history books of Eritrea today. People like Ahmed Hilal, Ibrahim Shehem, Idriss Bolo and others.
No Eritrea without Danaklia and Afar people
The Afar have made their vision known to the world from day one. Dankalia is no small fish in Eritrea’s context. Without Dankalia and Eritrean Afar, there won’t be any Eritrea. Let’s make no mistake about it. http://ease.dankalia.org/downloads/ease_policy.pdf
If EPDP considers itself the flip side of current regime in Eritrea and really cares about the future of Eritrea, then it should go back to drowning board and abandon the ideology of Afwerki “all embracing one super ethnic identity” and get in touch with modern reality of the world, the world of Pluralism, diversity, federalism, mutual respect and coexistence.
End Institutional racism against Afar in Eritrea. For the sake of Eritrea, stand up with Afar people; don’t push them down when they are in need. Afar people are under threat in Eritrea; this threat is coming from one quarter, the Tigrigna expansionism project. The Afar are committed to seeing a strong, sovereign nation of Eritrea. The name calling must stop. Long live the spirit of the marginalised and the despised Eritreans.
Let’s work diligently to build mutual respect and understanding. Let’s work together to end the brutality against all of our Eritrean people. Let’s open up a dialogue on constitution of Eritrea. Let’s open real heart-to-heart discussions. Let’s together bring about real, sustainable and meaningful democratic change in Eritrea. The road to victory against dictatorship leads out of Dankaila.
May the year 2015 bring peace, prosperity and justice to Eritrean people.
The Eritrean Afar State in Exile (EASE)
ኣብዚ ሓዲሽ ዓመት 2015 እንኣትወሉ ዘሎና ፣ እቲ ቀንዲ ኣብ ልዕሊ ህግደፍ ክዕውትና ዝክእል መንእሰያትና ኣብ ውሽጥን ኣብ ወጻእን ክውደቡ እንተ በቂዖም ጥራሕ እዩ። ምክንያቱ ከይተወደበ ዝተዓወተ ምንቅስቓስ የለን ። ውደባ ክብሃል እንከሎ ግን ኣብ ልዑላዊ ራኢ ሕመረት ዝገበርን ብቁጠባዊ ዓቅሚ ዝተሃንጸን ሓጺናዊ ዲሲፕሊን ክውንን እንከሎካ ጥራሕ እዩ ። ሃገራዊ ዕማም ናይዚ ውደባ እዚ ንጉጂለ ህግደፍ ኣወጊድካ ፍትሕን ማዕርነትን ዝነገሳ ዲሞክራሲያዊት ኤርትራ ምህናጽ እዩ ።ውደባ ብኣውራጃ ፣ ውደባ ብሃይማኖት፣ ወደባ ብብሔር ፣ ውደባ ንጥቅምን ረብሓን ኩሉ ናይ ትሕቲ ሃገራውነት ንዝተቀበለ ዜጋ ጥራሕ እዩ ።
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TV Demtsi Hezbi w/ Ms, Saba Tesfaselassie
Reverse-Engineering Regionalism/Identity Politics in Eritrea: Is the Medicine Worse than the Disease?
Written by EPDP Editorial Board
EPDP Editorial
Eritrea is a plural society characterized by diverse social cleavages that go along linguistic, religious, cultural and regional/geographic divisions. During the long political evolution of Eritrea as a nation-state, these diverse social groups coalesced into one entity in search of freedom, liberty and national sovereignty. Eritreans fought successive colonizers, finally ousted the last vestiges of colonialism, and secured national sovereignty in 1991 after 30 years of bloody war. Not only the prices Eritreans paid during the 30 years active armed struggle was high, but also the loss and suffering that successive Eritrean generations endured before the liberation era and after our independence in search of their nationhood was unparalleled by any account. Sovereign Eritrean is not just a country to an Eritrean, but rather it is the result of the sacrifices of each and every Eritrean family - more than 80,000 martyrs, as well as the complete destruction of villages/properties, infrastructure, and livelihood of every Eritrean. Without distinction of linguistic, cultural, religious, or regional identities, Eritrean lives were sacrificed in search of their sovereign and independent country.
Hence, the most challenging issues that post-independent Eritrea faces concerns the proper management of Eritrea’s diversity, which is a critical determinant factor for the continued existence and sustainability of Eritrea as a nation-state. These include: One, the establishment of effective and good governance that allows access to fair and equitable socio-economic development as a necessary condition for ensuring a peaceful coexistence among Eritrea’s diverse groups. Two, organization of government institutions and structures that can effectively manage and accommodate the diversity of Eritrea’s social groups in a manner, for example, that defines the relationship between the national government and its local government bodies is another crucial element. Instead, what we see in Eritrea today under the PFDJ regime is a “failed/failing state phenomenon” with dire consequences to the survival of Eritrea as a nation state and as a society. The post-independent Eritrean state turned from an intrusive state into an absentee state. Using repressive ideology, policies, and laws, the despotic regime maintains its dominance and controls all aspects of life (political, social, economic, cultural, etc.) in Eritrea, which overtime evolved to become an absolutist and extractive entity. Such a dictatorial power structure continues suffocating the political space in Eritrea and eliminating many political figures, including internal dissents such as G15 who called for political pluralism and constitutional governance in Eritrea. After shelving the 1997 Constitution for the last 15 years, Issaias in his 2015 New Year interview has finally declared that the constitution is dead before even being promulgated( ---እቲሰነድከይተኣወጀሞይቱእዩ።). By killing the constitution before its arrival, Issaias and his regime have been continuing to effectively deny the Eritrean people their rights to have a constitutional government, rule of law, and social and economic prosperity.
The basic economic resources, such as land, labor, capital and natural resources, are mainly under the control of the dictatorial regime in Eritrea. The vast PFDJ’s parastatals, such as construction companies, financial enterprises (insurance, banks, foreign exchange bureaus, smuggling networks, etc.), and trading firms, such as Red Sea Trading Company, are mainly dependent on “forced labor”. Issaias determines who has power in Eritrea and to what ends that power can be used. Hence, for the last two decades, Issaias presided over an extreme set of extractive institutions and runs Eritrea as his own private property; hands over favors and seeks patronage and ruthlessly punishes for any lack of loyalty. There are no formal institutions that place restrictions on politicians’ actions and make them accountable to citizens.
Extractive economic institutions thus naturally accompany extractive political institutions and there is a strong synergy between the two. Furthermore, this synergetic relationship introduces a strong feedback loop: political institutions enable the PFDJ elites controlling political power to choose economic institutions with few constraints or opposing forces. They also enable PFDJ elites to structure future political institutions and their evolution. What Issaias has announced in his recent interview about the secret committee that is mandated with the preparation of “his new constitution” is in line with these kinds of efforts (---- በዚ መሰረት ድማ ንዕኡ [ቅዋም] ክዓምም ዝቖመ ሓደ ኣካል ኣሎ). Extractive economic institutions, in turn, enrich PFDJ elites, and their economic power and wealth that helps consolidate their political power and dominance. Eritrea has suffered heavily under this kind of vicious cycle for the last 24 years.
Today, the Eritrean state has failed and is absent from the lives of the Eritrean people in the sense of providing public goods (protection/security, education, health, justice, welfare, and national identity). When the state fails to provide basic public goods and continues to pursue reckless policies that transfer a large fraction of resources from the population to the ruling cronies (becomes a kleptocratic state), people look for support from neighbors, friends, families, local groups (communities). It is also widely known that the Eritrean Diaspora population is the main provider of livelihood in Eritrea (remittances cover a large part of household budgets for the majority of Eritrean families back home). Even with such generous help from its Diaspora population, the average household per capita consumption expenditure in Eritrea has been deteriorating for the last two decades (see the table below). And such a failed state phenomenon breeds a monolithic narrative that believes that the crisis created by PFDJ regime is part of some wicked scheme directed against certain region (s), which we know is not true. Yet, in this kind of space, regionalists are hoping to nurture, deepen, take a more rigid form, accelerate their regional politics, and strengthening parochial consciousness at the expense of national consciousness.
The major culprit for generating regionalism and identity politics in the Eritrean political landscape is primarily the undemocratic nature of the Eritrean regime, which suffocates the political space. The irony is just as the PFDJ regime continues to mete out injustices to the Eritrean people, few people are jumping on their high horses, promoting regionalism instead of being involved in a constructive partnership with the forces of change and advocate for democracy and rule of law in their country. Indisputably, the solution for Eritrea’s ills squarely lies in dismantling the kleptocratic regime and replacing it with a democratic system of governance in which real power lies in the hands of the people of Eritrean and in which justice and rule of law with all its features become the solid foundation of Eritrean life. One can argue about how best this noble aim can be achieved. A good starting point in the search for solutions to this problem is to initiate a discussion among Eritreans about the dynamics and viability of “regional mobilization” as an answer to the quest for democracy and justice in Eritrea.
Let’s start with asking the right question: What would have to be true for regionalism or regional mobilization to be the right and viable answer to the quest for democracy and justice in Eritrea? What would have to be true for regional or identity politics to be the right “medicine for the disease”? The different assumptions that are made by “regional entrepreneurs” in promoting regional mobilizations and the respective validities of the assumptions have been presented in the 25 December 2014 Editorial of EPDP titled: State Failure and Identity Politics in Eritrea: Is Regional Mobilization the Answer? Here, let’s reverse-engineer “Regionalism” and see if it is the right medicine for the disease (decay and disintegration of the Eritrean State). For regionalism or regional mobilization to be the right medicine, it would have to be true that regional or identity politics should promote nationalism, national unity, rule of law, democracy and social cohesion in Eritrea.
History is awash with evidence (Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Mali, Lebanon, Iraq, etc.) that strong regional identification often results in the exclusion and marginalization of some other groups from the mainstream of national politics and the economy. Different groups compete for the control of key political and economic machineries, and once in power they adopt policies and provisions that empower and favor some groups at the expense of others. In the absence of well functioning democratic institutions, the groups that are excluded may engage in violence in an attempt to enter into both political and economic market. The first group may feel threatened with the loss of the previously acquired privilege, may engage in counter violent behavior – the cycle of violence and counter violence continues. Consequently, regional hatred, regional cleansing, and genocide may ensue. In this context, regionalism embraces particular identity and becomes a deeply emotional basis of mobilization that not only distinguishes one group from another, but also demonizes other groups.
Regionalism also promotes regional outbidding and threatens the unity of the nation-state. Since regional identities tend to be invested with a great deal of emotional and symbolic meanings, regional entrepreneurs have strong incentive to harness such identities as a political force, and to use regional demands as the base instigator of constituency mobilization. This often results in the failure of democratic politics because regional outbidding creates centrifugal forces that overwhelm the moderate political center. Moreover, regionalism could act as an instrument of group consciousness (primordial or instrumental) that promotes one’s sense of being and pride over others, which in turn may lead to regional tensions and conflicts. This may increase the regional sensitivities that in turn threaten the harmonious inter-regional relations, the national unity and harmony, progress and the integrity of Eritrean nationhood.
The bases for regionalism or regional groupings in Eritrea are the Italian colonial legal administrative regions that had been developed solely to serve Italian interests. Thus, the basis for the creation of communality is a set of beliefs instead of a biological trait or differences in ancestry, religion or language. There is also a significant crosscutting among the different segmental cleavages (linguistic, religious, and cultural) of Eritrea due to the assimilative power of complex population movements, displacements, and intermingling effects of modernity. What we have in Eritrea today is a mosaic and mixed plural society. Only very few people can claim that they are 100%, say, Serewetay, Akeleguzetay, Hamasienetay, Barketay, Senhitetay, etc. It is difficult to specify boundaries that demarcate regional territories on the basis of these ascriptions. The extent and intensity of regional self-awareness and the level of external ascription also vary a great deal across the different administrative regions (Awrajatat) of the country. Hence, regional mobilization could not be an effective tool to bring justice, rule of law and democracy in Eritrea. Instead, it may endanger peaceful coexistence and proper management of diversity. On a similar note, many of the ethno-linguistic cleavages of Eritrea are too small polities to serve as optimal unity of collective choice. According to the CIA Factbook Demographic Statistics (2010 estimate), the ethno-linguistic composition of Eritrea is as follows: Tigrinya 55%, Tigre 30%, Saho 4%, Kunama 2%, Rashaida 2%, Bilen 2%, others (Afar, Beni Amir, Nara) 5%.
The exercise of reverse-engineering regionalism leads to the conclusion that regional mobilization is a wrong medicine to the disease that is crippling Eritrea and its future. Eritrea is bleeding to death by the day at the hands of a ruthless dictatorial regime. In order to design an appropriate and winning strategy to avert this danger and to reverse the process of societal decay, it is imperative for Eritreans to fully understand the nature and characteristics of the PFDJ regime. The synergies between extractive political and economic institutions of PFDJ have created a vicious cycle, which seems to persist. Breaking this vicious cycle and replacing it with a “virtuous cycle” – synergies between inclusive political and economic institutions – is the solution. EPDP strongly believes that the fundamental contradiction that should take precedence in our struggle for justice, rule of law and democracy in Eritrea is the one between those who want to continue to promote the “vicious cycle” and those who want to break the “vicious cycle” and replace it with a “virtuous cycle” – between the dictatorship and injustice, and pluralism and justice, respectively. Differences that emanate from other societal cleavages, such as religion, culture, language, region, historical background and memories, etc, do not and should not constitute as basic contradictions in the Eritrean society. Since inclusive and plural political and economic institutions allow and encourage the participation of the great majority of the people, and also distribute power broadly in society, such issues (differences) are addressed by the normal process of the democratic transition under the “virtuous cycle”. EPDP wants to underline that the solution to the Eritrean quagmire is to dismantle the dictatorial regime and to replace its absolutist and extractive political and economic institutions by a pluralistic and inclusive political and economic institutions by establishing a united front of the democratic forces of Eritrea, both inside the country and in the Diaspora. No democracy is possible in Eritrea if people associate themselves only with the same region or identity; democracy is possible when we establish a struggle that cut across all forms of regional or tribal or religious identities. Let’s “play to win” instead of “playing to play”.
Reverse-Engineering Regionalism/Identity Politics in Eritrea: Is the Medicine Worse than the Disease?
Written by EPDP Editorial Board
EPDP Editorial
Eritrea is a plural society characterized by diverse social cleavages that go along linguistic, religious, cultural and regional/geographic divisions. During the long political evolution of Eritrea as a nation-state, these diverse social groups coalesced into one entity in search of freedom, liberty and national sovereignty. Eritreans fought successive colonizers, finally ousted the last vestiges of colonialism, and secured national sovereignty in 1991 after 30 years of bloody war. Not only the prices Eritreans paid during the 30 years active armed struggle was high, but also the loss and suffering that successive Eritrean generations endured before the liberation era and after our independence in search of their nationhood was unparalleled by any account. Sovereign Eritrean is not just a country to an Eritrean, but rather it is the result of the sacrifices of each and every Eritrean family - more than 80,000 martyrs, as well as the complete destruction of villages/properties, infrastructure, and livelihood of every Eritrean. Without distinction of linguistic, cultural, religious, or regional identities, Eritrean lives were sacrificed in search of their sovereign and independent country.
Hence, the most challenging issues that post-independent Eritrea faces concerns the proper management of Eritrea’s diversity, which is a critical determinant factor for the continued existence and sustainability of Eritrea as a nation-state. These include: One, the establishment of effective and good governance that allows access to fair and equitable socio-economic development as a necessary condition for ensuring a peaceful coexistence among Eritrea’s diverse groups. Two, organization of government institutions and structures that can effectively manage and accommodate the diversity of Eritrea’s social groups in a manner, for example, that defines the relationship between the national government and its local government bodies is another crucial element. Instead, what we see in Eritrea today under the PFDJ regime is a “failed/failing state phenomenon” with dire consequences to the survival of Eritrea as a nation state and as a society. The post-independent Eritrean state turned from an intrusive state into an absentee state. Using repressive ideology, policies, and laws, the despotic regime maintains its dominance and controls all aspects of life (political, social, economic, cultural, etc.) in Eritrea, which overtime evolved to become an absolutist and extractive entity. Such a dictatorial power structure continues suffocating the political space in Eritrea and eliminating many political figures, including internal dissents such as G15 who called for political pluralism and constitutional governance in Eritrea. After shelving the 1997 Constitution for the last 15 years, Issaias in his 2015 New Year interview has finally declared that the constitution is dead before even being promulgated( ---እቲሰነድከይተኣወጀሞይቱእዩ።). By killing the constitution before its arrival, Issaias and his regime have been continuing to effectively deny the Eritrean people their rights to have a constitutional government, rule of law, and social and economic prosperity.
The basic economic resources, such as land, labor, capital and natural resources, are mainly under the control of the dictatorial regime in Eritrea. The vast PFDJ’s parastatals, such as construction companies, financial enterprises (insurance, banks, foreign exchange bureaus, smuggling networks, etc.), and trading firms, such as Red Sea Trading Company, are mainly dependent on “forced labor”. Issaias determines who has power in Eritrea and to what ends that power can be used. Hence, for the last two decades, Issaias presided over an extreme set of extractive institutions and runs Eritrea as his own private property; hands over favors and seeks patronage and ruthlessly punishes for any lack of loyalty. There are no formal institutions that place restrictions on politicians’ actions and make them accountable to citizens.
Extractive economic institutions thus naturally accompany extractive political institutions and there is a strong synergy between the two. Furthermore, this synergetic relationship introduces a strong feedback loop: political institutions enable the PFDJ elites controlling political power to choose economic institutions with few constraints or opposing forces. They also enable PFDJ elites to structure future political institutions and their evolution. What Issaias has announced in his recent interview about the secret committee that is mandated with the preparation of “his new constitution” is in line with these kinds of efforts (---- በዚ መሰረት ድማ ንዕኡ [ቅዋም] ክዓምም ዝቖመ ሓደ ኣካል ኣሎ). Extractive economic institutions, in turn, enrich PFDJ elites, and their economic power and wealth that helps consolidate their political power and dominance. Eritrea has suffered heavily under this kind of vicious cycle for the last 24 years.
Today, the Eritrean state has failed and is absent from the lives of the Eritrean people in the sense of providing public goods (protection/security, education, health, justice, welfare, and national identity). When the state fails to provide basic public goods and continues to pursue reckless policies that transfer a large fraction of resources from the population to the ruling cronies (becomes a kleptocratic state), people look for support from neighbors, friends, families, local groups (communities). It is also widely known that the Eritrean Diaspora population is the main provider of livelihood in Eritrea (remittances cover a large part of household budgets for the majority of Eritrean families back home). Even with such generous help from its Diaspora population, the average household per capita consumption expenditure in Eritrea has been deteriorating for the last two decades (see the table below). And such a failed state phenomenon breeds a monolithic narrative that believes that the crisis created by PFDJ regime is part of some wicked scheme directed against certain region (s), which we know is not true. Yet, in this kind of space, regionalists are hoping to nurture, deepen, take a more rigid form, accelerate their regional politics, and strengthening parochial consciousness at the expense of national consciousness.
The major culprit for generating regionalism and identity politics in the Eritrean political landscape is primarily the undemocratic nature of the Eritrean regime, which suffocates the political space. The irony is just as the PFDJ regime continues to mete out injustices to the Eritrean people, few people are jumping on their high horses, promoting regionalism instead of being involved in a constructive partnership with the forces of change and advocate for democracy and rule of law in their country. Indisputably, the solution for Eritrea’s ills squarely lies in dismantling the kleptocratic regime and replacing it with a democratic system of governance in which real power lies in the hands of the people of Eritrean and in which justice and rule of law with all its features become the solid foundation of Eritrean life. One can argue about how best this noble aim can be achieved. A good starting point in the search for solutions to this problem is to initiate a discussion among Eritreans about the dynamics and viability of “regional mobilization” as an answer to the quest for democracy and justice in Eritrea.
Let’s start with asking the right question: What would have to be true for regionalism or regional mobilization to be the right and viable answer to the quest for democracy and justice in Eritrea? What would have to be true for regional or identity politics to be the right “medicine for the disease”? The different assumptions that are made by “regional entrepreneurs” in promoting regional mobilizations and the respective validities of the assumptions have been presented in the 25 December 2014 Editorial of EPDP titled: State Failure and Identity Politics in Eritrea: Is Regional Mobilization the Answer? Here, let’s reverse-engineer “Regionalism” and see if it is the right medicine for the disease (decay and disintegration of the Eritrean State). For regionalism or regional mobilization to be the right medicine, it would have to be true that regional or identity politics should promote nationalism, national unity, rule of law, democracy and social cohesion in Eritrea.
History is awash with evidence (Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Mali, Lebanon, Iraq, etc.) that strong regional identification often results in the exclusion and marginalization of some other groups from the mainstream of national politics and the economy. Different groups compete for the control of key political and economic machineries, and once in power they adopt policies and provisions that empower and favor some groups at the expense of others. In the absence of well functioning democratic institutions, the groups that are excluded may engage in violence in an attempt to enter into both political and economic market. The first group may feel threatened with the loss of the previously acquired privilege, may engage in counter violent behavior – the cycle of violence and counter violence continues. Consequently, regional hatred, regional cleansing, and genocide may ensue. In this context, regionalism embraces particular identity and becomes a deeply emotional basis of mobilization that not only distinguishes one group from another, but also demonizes other groups.
Regionalism also promotes regional outbidding and threatens the unity of the nation-state. Since regional identities tend to be invested with a great deal of emotional and symbolic meanings, regional entrepreneurs have strong incentive to harness such identities as a political force, and to use regional demands as the base instigator of constituency mobilization. This often results in the failure of democratic politics because regional outbidding creates centrifugal forces that overwhelm the moderate political center. Moreover, regionalism could act as an instrument of group consciousness (primordial or instrumental) that promotes one’s sense of being and pride over others, which in turn may lead to regional tensions and conflicts. This may increase the regional sensitivities that in turn threaten the harmonious inter-regional relations, the national unity and harmony, progress and the integrity of Eritrean nationhood.
The bases for regionalism or regional groupings in Eritrea are the Italian colonial legal administrative regions that had been developed solely to serve Italian interests. Thus, the basis for the creation of communality is a set of beliefs instead of a biological trait or differences in ancestry, religion or language. There is also a significant crosscutting among the different segmental cleavages (linguistic, religious, and cultural) of Eritrea due to the assimilative power of complex population movements, displacements, and intermingling effects of modernity. What we have in Eritrea today is a mosaic and mixed plural society. Only very few people can claim that they are 100%, say, Serewetay, Akeleguzetay, Hamasienetay, Barketay, Senhitetay, etc. It is difficult to specify boundaries that demarcate regional territories on the basis of these ascriptions. The extent and intensity of regional self-awareness and the level of external ascription also vary a great deal across the different administrative regions (Awrajatat) of the country. Hence, regional mobilization could not be an effective tool to bring justice, rule of law and democracy in Eritrea. Instead, it may endanger peaceful coexistence and proper management of diversity. On a similar note, many of the ethno-linguistic cleavages of Eritrea are too small polities to serve as optimal unity of collective choice. According to the CIA Factbook Demographic Statistics (2010 estimate), the ethno-linguistic composition of Eritrea is as follows: Tigrinya 55%, Tigre 30%, Saho 4%, Kunama 2%, Rashaida 2%, Bilen 2%, others (Afar, Beni Amir, Nara) 5%.
The exercise of reverse-engineering regionalism leads to the conclusion that regional mobilization is a wrong medicine to the disease that is crippling Eritrea and its future. Eritrea is bleeding to death by the day at the hands of a ruthless dictatorial regime. In order to design an appropriate and winning strategy to avert this danger and to reverse the process of societal decay, it is imperative for Eritreans to fully understand the nature and characteristics of the PFDJ regime. The synergies between extractive political and economic institutions of PFDJ have created a vicious cycle, which seems to persist. Breaking this vicious cycle and replacing it with a “virtuous cycle” – synergies between inclusive political and economic institutions – is the solution. EPDP strongly believes that the fundamental contradiction that should take precedence in our struggle for justice, rule of law and democracy in Eritrea is the one between those who want to continue to promote the “vicious cycle” and those who want to break the “vicious cycle” and replace it with a “virtuous cycle” – between the dictatorship and injustice, and pluralism and justice, respectively. Differences that emanate from other societal cleavages, such as religion, culture, language, region, historical background and memories, etc, do not and should not constitute as basic contradictions in the Eritrean society. Since inclusive and plural political and economic institutions allow and encourage the participation of the great majority of the people, and also distribute power broadly in society, such issues (differences) are addressed by the normal process of the democratic transition under the “virtuous cycle”. EPDP wants to underline that the solution to the Eritrean quagmire is to dismantle the dictatorial regime and to replace its absolutist and extractive political and economic institutions by a pluralistic and inclusive political and economic institutions by establishing a united front of the democratic forces of Eritrea, both inside the country and in the Diaspora. No democracy is possible in Eritrea if people associate themselves only with the same region or identity; democracy is possible when we establish a struggle that cut across all forms of regional or tribal or religious identities. Let’s “play to win” instead of “playing to play”.
ክብሮም ግረነት
ኣብዚ ሓዲሽ ዓመት 2015 እንኣትወሉ ዘሎና ፣ እቲ ቀንዲ ኣብ ልዕሊ ህግደፍ ክዕውትና ዝክእል መንእሰያትና ኣብ ውሽጥን ኣብ ወጻእን ክውደቡ እንተ በቂዖም ጥራሕ እዩ። ምክንያቱ ከይተወደበ ዝተዓወተ ምንቅስቓስ የለን ። ውደባ ክብሃል እንከሎ ግን ኣብ ልዑላዊ ራኢ ሕመረት ዝገበርን ብቁጠባዊ ዓቅሚ ዝተሃንጸን ሓጺናዊ ዲሲፕሊን ክውንን እንከሎካ ጥራሕ እዩ ። ሃገራዊ ዕማም ናይዚ ውደባ እዚ ንጉጂለ ህግደፍ ኣወጊድካ ፍትሕን ማዕርነትን ዝነገሳ ዲሞክራሲያዊት ኤርትራ ምህናጽ እዩ ።ውደባ ብኣውራጃ ፣ ውደባ ብሃይማኖት፣ ወደባ ብብሔር ፣ ውደባ ንጥቅምን ረብሓን ኩሉ ናይ ትሕቲ ሃገራውነት ንዝተቀበለ ዜጋ ጥራሕ እዩ ።
እቶም ክሳብ ሕጂ ዝተካየዱ ዝተፈላለዩ ኮንፈረንሳት ኣብ ደምበ ተቓውሞ ፣ ኤርትራዊ ሓድነት ይትረፍ ካብቲ ዝነበሮም ናይ ቅድሚ 3 ዓመታት ምፍሕፋሕ ኣብ ዝገደደ እዩ ኣድይብዎ ። ብፍላይ ብወገን መንእሰያት ኣብ ዝተፈላለዩ ኮማት ተመቓቂሎም ወግሔ ጸብሔ ከምተን ውድባት ክባዝሑን ክራብሑን ይርኣዩ ኣለዉ ። እቲ ጽገም እዞም መንእሰያት ብፋናንስያዊ ዓቅሞም ክውድብዎ ዘይከኣሉ ኮንፈረንስ ዋናታቱ ክኾኑ ኣይክእሉን እዮም ።ከም ኣብነት መገለጺ ኣቶ በረኸት ካብ ሳውዝ ኣፍሪቓ እቶም መወልቲ እንታይ ተጽዕኖ ከም ዝገብሩ ንእዝኒ ዘለዎ ክሰሚዕ ዝክእል እኩል መረዳእታ እዩ። እቲ ሓደ ግዜ ብባዕላዊ ዓቅሚ EYSC ኣብ ዲሲ ዘካየድዎ ኮንፈረንስ ናይ ብዙሕት ኤርትራውያ ኣድናቆት ኣትሪፉ ነይሩ ። እንተኮነ እቲ ኮንፈረንስ ቀለሙ ከይነቀጸ በቶም ሓድነትናን ልዑላውንትና ዘይተዋሕጠሎም ናይ ደገን ናይ ውሽጥን ሓይልታት ኣብ ቅድሚ ዓይኒና ክፈርስ ተዓዚብና ። እዚ ኣብ ውሽጢ መንእሰያትና ዝርኤ ዘሎ ዘይስጥመት ኣብ ታሪክ ህዝብና ሓዲሽ ኣይኮነን ። እተን ዝበዝሓ ውድባት እውን ካብ ተጽዕና ግዳማዊ ሓይሊ ነጻ ክሳብ ዘይኮነ ኪዳን ይበላ ባይቶ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ክዓስለን ምጽባይ ማና ካብ ሰማይ ክወርድልካ ምጽባይ ይቀልል። መንእሰያትና ነዚ ክፈልጥዎን ክርድእዎን ይግባእ።
እዞም መንእስያት ተወዲቦም ሓድነቶም ከደልድሉን ነቲ ኣብ ባነርት ህግደፍ ዝነብር ዘሎ መንእሰይ ኣርእያ ንምዃን ነጻ ውደባ ጥራሕ ተሪፍዎም ኣሎ ። ምክንያቱ ነቲ ኣንጻር ህግደፍ ዝሰላሰል ዘሎ ዲምክራሲያዊ ቓልሲ ልዑል ኣስተዋጽኦ ገይሮም ኣለዉ ። ስለዚ ነዚ በሲሉ ዘሎ ወድዓዊ ኩነታት ተጥቂሞም ሓደ ድልዱልን ስጡምን ናይ መንእስያት ማሕበር ንዲሞክራሲያዊ ለውጢ ክሃንጹ እንተኮይኖም ነጻን ልዑላዊ ተበግሶ ክወስዱ ይግባእ ።
እምበኣር ነዚ ነጻን ልዑላዊ ዝኮነ ማሕበር ንምህናጽ ክሕግዘኩም ቁሩብ ዝኮነ ኣካል ሓደ ሰልፊ ደሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ እዩ ምክንያቱ ሰዲህኤ እቲ ሓደ ሕብረብሔራዊ ሰልፊ ኮይኑ ፣ ኣብ መንጎ መንግስትን ሃይማኖትን ምትእትታው ዘየፍቅድ፣ ኣብ ዓውዲ ቓልሲ ንዲሞክራሲያዊ ለውጢ ብምትእማምን ነብሱ ክእሉ ዝቓለስ ዘሎ እዩ ። ልዑላዊ ክብል እንከሎኩ እቲ ሰልፊ ብዓቅሚ ኣባላቱን ደገፍቱን ዝምወልን ኣብ ጉባኤታቱን ብሓንጸጾም መትከላት ተቀይዱ ዝነጥፍ ፣ ካብ ዝኮኑ ናይ ደገ ሓይልታት ምትእትታው ነጺጉ ናጽነቱ ዘውሓሰ ሰልፉ እዩ ። ሰልፊ ዲምክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ቀጻልነት ናይ ሃሳብን ግብሪን ልዑላዊት ኤርትራ እዩ ።
ኣብ ታሪክ ሰውራ ኤርትራ እቶም ቀዳምት ተጋደልቲ ብረት ዝዕጥቆም ደጋፊ ህገር ስለ ዘይነበሮም ነቲ ገድሊ ከቛርጽዎ ኣይሓሰቡን ። በተን ዝተዋህበኦም 10 ብረት ነቲ ኣብ ጸሊም ኣፍሪቓ ዝሓየለ ሠራዊት ክብድህዎ ተላዕሉ ። እዚ ስለ ዝኮነ ኣብ ግዜ ኹናት ኣንጻር ጸላኢ ናይ ዝተሰወኤ ብጻዮም ብረት ንጸላኢ ከይገድፉ ከሳብ 5 ተጋደልቲ ከምዝትሰውኡ ታሪክና ዝምስክሮ ሓቂ እዩ ። እዞም ገዳይም ተጋደልቲ መዓስከራት ጸላኢ እናኣጥቁዑ ብረት ይዓጥቁ ነይሮም ። ኣብ ሰብዓታት ከኣ ህግሓኤ “ ንጻላኢ ብብረቱን ብጥይቱን “ ክብሉ እንከሎዉ ናይ ደገ ሓገዝ ስለ ዘይነበሮም ፣ እቲ ፍታሕ ንጸላኢ ብብረቱን ብጥይቱን ጥራሕ ነበረ። ነዚ ሕቅነት እዚ ዘረጋግጾ መንግስቱ ሃይለማርያም ባዕሉ “ ንሕና ብረት ንገዝእ ምስ ወምበዴ ከኣ ንማቀሎ ኣሎና “ ዝበሎ ። ስለዚ እዚ ዘመዝገብናዮ ሃገራዊ ነጻነት ውጽኢት ናይ ኤርትራዊ ሓቦን ቖራጽነትን እምበር ናይ ደገ ሓይልታት ተለኣኣክቲ ብምዃን ኣይነበረን ። እምበኣር መንእሰያትና ነዚ ሃገር ዝጥፍእ ዘሎ ሰርዓት ንምምሓው ፣ ሎሚ ብረትን ጥይትን ዘይኮነ ድሲፕሊን ዘለዎ ልዑላዊ ውደባ የድሊኩም ኣሎ ።
ኣብ ጉዳይ ኤርትራ ሎሚ ክልተ ተመሳሰልቲ ጉጂለታት በብዝጥዕሞም እናተበራረዩ ንመንእሰይ ኤርትራ ክጽንትዎን ከዳክምዎን ይቓለስዎ ኣለዉ ። ሓደ ጉጂለ ህግደፍ ክከውን እንከሎ ፣ እቲ ሓደ ከኣ ብሽም ደምበ ተቓውሞ መእሰይ ከይውደብን ሓድነት ክይገበር ካብ ቁሸት ህገረ ኤርትራ ጀሚሮም ክሳብ ኤውሮፓን ሰሜን ኣሚሪካን ጸቢብን መርዛም ዝኮነ ኣውራጃዊ ምትእክካብ ንምፍጣር ክቓለሱ ጸኒሖምን ኣለውን። ነዚ ዝከየድ ዘሎ ስውር ቓልሲ ንምፍሻልን መንእሰያትና ኣብ ውሽጥን ኣብ ወጻእን ብንቅሓት ክምክትዎ ክዕወቱሉን ናይ ግድን ይኽውን ።
ሎሚ ኣብ ዝኮነት ኤርትራዊት ስድራ ቤት ፣ተግባራት ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ተነቂሒሉን ተነጺጉን እዩ። እቶም ነቲ ጉጂለ ብዝተፈላለዩ ምክንያት ከተሓባበርዎ ዝጽንሑ ደገፍቱ ፣ሎሚ ንሳቶም እውን ነቲ ለውጢ ደለይቱ ምዃኖም ብዘይ ጥርጥር ክዘረቡ ንሰሚዕ ኣሎና ። እምበኣር ነዚ ህሉው ኩነታት ካብ ተነቓሓሉ፣ ነዚ በሲሉ ዘሎ ክውንነት ኣብ ግብሪ ንምውዓል ነጻ ዝኮነ ሕጹጽ ውደባ የድሊ ኣሎ ። መንእሰያትና ሕሰምን መከራን ካብ ዝኮነ ኤርትራዊ ንላዕሊ ዝሰሓንዎ ስለ ዝኮኑ ፣ ርጊኦም እቲ ዓወት ኣብ ልዕሊ ጉጂለ ህግደፍ ስለ ምንታይ ክንዲዚ ግዜ ይወስድ ኣሎ ክብሉን ካብቲ ኤርትራዊ ክብሪን ልዑላውነት ሀገረ ኤርትራ ዘውሕስ ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ክመሃሩ ይግባእ ። ምክንያቱ ሰዲህኤ ኣብ ጉዑዞ ሓድነት ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ሓዲሽ ምዕራፍ ዘበሰረ ሰልፊ እዩ ። እቶም ዝሰመሩ ውድባት ብማዕረ ነቶም ኣግደስቲ ኣርእስትታት ብሓባር ዘትዮም ክሰግርዎም በቂዖም እዮም ።
መራሕ ጉጂለ ህግደፍ ንመንእሰያት ስራሕ ክፈጥረሎም ስለ ዘይደለየ ኣብ ከተማ ምህላዎም ከኣ ስለ ዘስጎኦ ኣብ ግዱድ ዕስክርና ብዘይ ግቡእ ዓስቢ ክምዝምዞም ይርከብ ኣሎ ። እዚ ዳርጋ ንርብዒ ዘመን ዝተናወሔ ባርነት ኣብ ልዕሊ ህዝቢ ከብቅዕ መንእሰያት ክኣምኑዎ ዘለዎም “ ቅድሚ ኩሉን ልዕሊ ኩሉን ኤርትራውያን ምዃኖም ክኣምኑን” ንኩሉ እቲ ዝጸንሖም ሕብረተሰብኣዊ ሕማማት ከራግፍዎን ክነጽሕሉን ይግባእ ። ኣብ መትከል ዝተሰረተ ፖለቲካዊ ዝምድናታት ክሃንጹን ነቲ ቓልሲ ኣብ ዝለዓለ ደረጃ ከደይብዎ ከኣ ንጽበዮም ።
ኣብ መወዳእታ
ኣብ ወሳኒ መድረክ ምርብራብ ስለ ዝኣቶና ፣ እቶም ኣብ ዝተፈላለየ ከባቢታት ዝርከቡ መንእሰያት ክውደቡን ክጥርናፉን ይግባእ ። ሓደ ከም እብነት ክውሰድ ዝግብኦ መንእሰያት ንለውጢ ላስቬጋስ ኣብ ቶጎርባ ዘውጽእዎ መግለጺ እዩ። እዞም መንኣሰያት ኣብቲ መግለጺኦም ዘቀመጥወን ኣርባዕተ ንጥብታት ብዝያዳ ክጸፋን ክምዕብላን ዝክእላ እየን ። መንእሰያትና ከም ባህሊ ክወስድወን ዝግባኣ ጉዳያት ልዑላውነትን ግሉጽነትን ሓቀኛ ሓበሬታ ንህዝቢ ኤርትራ ምቅራብ ይግብኦም ።
ርሑስ ሓዲሽ ዓመት 2015 ይግበረልና
ክብሮም ግረነት ።
12/31 /2014
