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Thursday, 02 September 2021 20:29

Ethiopia’s Civil War Is a Disaster That’s Only Getting Worse

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SEPTEMBER 2, 2021  ETHIOPIA, NEWS, TIGRAY

“The only way to avoid a humanitarian calamity is for the West to lean harder on Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed… Abiy, refused even to meet with USAID chief Samantha Power when she visited Addis Ababa last month. Just in case Joe Biden missed this demonstration of defiance, Abiy also snubbed the U.S. special envoy to the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman, who flew to the Ethiopian capital the following week.”

Source: Bloomberg

Ethiopia’s Civil War Is a Disaster That’s Only Getting Worse

The only way to avoid a humanitarian calamity is for the West to lean harder on Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

By
1 September 2021, 05:00 BST
Long confined to Tigray, the conflict in Ethiopia has recently spread to neighboring regions Afar and Amhara.
Long confined to Tigray, the conflict in Ethiopia has recently spread to neighboring regions Afar and Amhara.Bobby Ghosh is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He writes on foreign affairs, with a special focus on the Middle East and Africa.

As the world is transfixed by the tragedy playing out in Afghanistan, another humanitarian catastrophe is getting little scrutiny.

In Ethiopia, a conflict with roots in a dispute between the central government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and authorities of the northern Tigray region has spilled into neighboring provinces and metastasized into a full-blown civil war — one fueled as much by ethnic enmities as by political grievances. It’s time for the West to pay attention and get tougher on the government in Addis Ababa.

International rights groups are seeing an all-too-familiar pattern repeat itself in Ethiopia: There’s the weaponization of rape and hunger, the use of child soldiers, reports of ethnic cleansing and warnings of genocide. The death toll from the fighting is thought to be in the tens of thousands, and millions have been displaced.

Worse is to come: Hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians face famine, according to United Nations agencies. The fighting is preventing food aid from reaching people in the greatest need. Abiy, a Nobel Peace laureate, has ignored appeals from the international community to halt the fighting. With the Tigray People’s Liberation Front having inflicted a series of defeats on government forces, the prime minister has called on civilians to join the army and militias, stoking fears of a wider conflagration.

Inevitably, the crisis has resurrected memories of Ethiopia’s previous experience with famine. In the 1980s, an estimated 1 million people died from starvation and malnutrition. Comparisons are also being drawn to Africa’s other cataclysmic ethnic conflicts, including the Rwandan genocide.

Ethiopia is Africa’s second-most populous nation and was, until the civil war broke out last fall, held up as a beacon for the rest of the continent: Its recent economic success was cited by investors and aid donors alike as an example for other developing countries.

That success is now imperiled as the conflict exacts a heavy toll on the economy. The risk premium on Ethiopia’s dollar debt has almost doubled this year. The ardor of investors has cooled with the government’s pleas for a debt restructuring. As Bloomberg News has pointed out, the premium demanded to hold Ethiopia’s 2024 Eurobonds instead of U.S. Treasuries has climbed to 987 basis points, the highest in Africa after Zambia, which is in default. The average spread for African dollar bonds is 541 basis points.

And yet neither economic nor humanitarian considerations carry much weight with Abiy. The prime minister seems to have taken an election triumph in June — his party won a large majority in parliament — as an endorsement of his no-compromise posture in the war against the Tigrayans.

But the conflict has grown more complicated since then. Insurgents from the Oromo, Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, have formed an alliance with the Tigrayans against the government.

Who can stop Ethiopia from the coming catastrophe? The African Union is too beholden to the government, which provides its headquarters in Addis Ababa, to have much sway over Abiy, and it doesn’t inspire trust among the rebels. The UN’s pleas for a ceasefire have gone unheeded by both sides.

The Biden administration, on the other hand, has some leverage. Ethiopia is sub-Saharan Africa’s largest recipient of American foreign aid, amounting to about $1 billion last year. The European Union is another significant donor and trading partner. Some U.S. and EU assistance has been suspended or postponed, but this has not had any restraining effect on Abiy, who refused even to meet with USAID chief Samantha Power when she visited Addis Ababa last month.

Just in case Joe Biden missed this demonstration of defiance, Abiy also snubbed the U.S. special envoy to the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman, who flew to the Ethiopian capital the following week.

With shuttle-diplomacy and mild financial restrictions having failed, Western governments will need to lean more heavily on the prime minister to pause the fighting and allow humanitarian supplies into the war zone. The Biden administration can lead the way by suspending all nonessential aid to Addis Ababa, as well as blocking assistance from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Washington should also follow through on its threat to cancel duty-free access for Ethiopian exports to the U.S. market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act.

Having already announced some restrictions on visas for Ethiopian government and military officials involved in “perpetrating the conflict,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken should now impose harsher sanctions, including freezing any assets these officials hold in the U.S., and pressing the Europeans to do likewise.

Anticipating a ratcheting up of Western pressure, Abiy is seeking support elsewhere: He got some from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on a visit to Ankara earlier this month. But the combined clout of the U.S. and Europe remains substantial, and it should now be deployed to save millions of Ethiopians from calamity.

Thursday, 02 September 2021 12:05

Twenty years on: imprisoned without trial but never forgotten – Feron Woldu

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SEPTEMBER 2, 2021  NEWS, POLITICAL PRISONERS

In the wake of the tragic failure of Eritrea’s 1998-2000 border war with Ethiopia, senior members of the Eritrean government began a campaign to bring about the democracy that the 30 year war of liberation had been fought for.

They formed the G-15: men and women who challenged President Isaias to give the Eritrean people the freedoms they had been promised. In dawn raids on 18 and 19 September 2001 the president’s notorious security forces rounded them up and jailed them. None have ever been taken before a court or convicted of any crime. They have rotted in prison ever since.

At the same time independent newspapers were closed and journalists arrested. The nightmare of repression which has hung over Eritrea ever since had begun.

Now, on the 20th anniversary of these terrible events, we recall those who have been in Eritrea’s jails ever since. Their families have been deprived of them; their friends have lost them. But they have never been forgotten. Nor has the flame of hope that they ignited – of a proud, free and democratic country.

We have profiles of these brave men and women – and will share them daily.

In 1976, Feron joined the EPLF. After receiving political and military training, he was assigned to the frontline where he was wounded and subsequently spent months in hospital. On recovery from his injuries, he was posted to work at the Research and Information Centre of Eritrea (RICE).

Feron was frank and spoke his mind. In 1978, he was imprisoned by the EPLF for “asking too many questions” about various malpractice committed in prisons and suppression of freedom of expression. He used to ask: “Until when are we supposed to keep our mouths shut?”. Feron “was always an open book,” says a friend who used to work with him at RICE. “If he finds something funny, he laughs from the heart,” says another friend. “He is always happy or tries to change anxiety into happiness. He speaks his mind openly”.

Feron found it hard to adopt to the social and political situation that prevailed after the independence of Eritrea and said: “The sacrifices of our heroes will be meaningless if the EPLF cannot change to a much more liberal system suitable for this nation”. He added: “if we cannot fix matters quickly, there is a high probability for the current joy and laughter to turn to tears and grief.” When disabled Eritrean veterans were shot and killed in Mai Habar for demanding better living conditions, Feron said “Unless the Eritrean people fight back and do something to change the system, they will soon be in a state of misery they cannot escape.”

When the border war between Eritrea and Ethiopia broke out in 1998, Feron hoped that President  Isaias Afeworki would be able to prevent escalation and avoid further damage, saying, “Now is the time for Isaias, as an individual and a country leader to sit down with his closest colleagues to solve this serious situation and be tested for their fitness and potential.  Isaias, who declared, ‘Let the Sun never shine!’ would allow the war to escalate and cause the death of thousands of young Eritreans and the destruction of the country.”

In 2001 and a few months after the end of the border war, Feron was imprisoned by members of the security services ‘for not keeping his mouth shut’ and criticising the government. He has not been seen or heard since.

Thursday, 02 September 2021 09:58

Liberty Magazine Nr.70

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Thursday, 02 September 2021 09:42

LIberty Magazine Nr.70

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LIberty Magazine Nr.70
Published in Magazine
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Wednesday, 01 September 2021 10:06

ዓውደ-መጽናዕቲ ኤርትራውያን ምሁራትን ክኢላታትን

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ዓውደ-መጽናዕቲ ኤርትራውያን ምሁራትን ክኢላታትን

ኤርትራውያን ምሁራትን ክኢኣታትን፡ ብዛዕባ መጻኢት ኤርትራ ዝግደስ ትካል፡ ፖሊስን ምምርማርን መሰረት ንምንጻፍ ብ14 ነሃሰ 2021 ኣብ ከተማ  ዋሽንግተን ዲሲ ዓወደ መጽናዕቲ ኣካይዶም። እዞም 150 ዝኾኑ ኣብ ዋሽንግተን መእከቢ ኣዳራሽ ካቶሊካዊት ዩኒቨርስቲ ዝተራኸቡ፡ ድሕሪቲ ዓውደ መጽናዕቶም ጋዜጣዊ መግለጺ  ኣውጺኦም። ናይዚ ዓወድ መጽናዕቲ ዓላማ ብዛዕባ ህልዊ ኩነታት ኤርትራን  ጽልዋኡ ኣብ ዞባ ቀርኒ ኣፍሪቃን ንምምይያጥ ምንባሩ ኣብቲ ጋዜጣዊ መግለጺ ተጠቒሱ። ብዛዕባ ድሕሪ ውድቀት ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ዝምልከት ኣቐዲምካ መደባት ምትላም ዝምልከት’ውን ቀንዲ ኣካል ናይቲ ኣብቲ ዓውደ መጽናዕቲ ዝተዘርበሉ ዛዕባታት ነይሩ። ኣብዚ ብኤርትራዊ ትካል ምምርማር ንፖሊስን እስትራተጀን ድሕሪ ውድቀት ግዝኣት ኢሳያስ  ዝተዳለወ ዓውደ-መጽናዕቲ እቶም 150 ምሁራትን ክኢላታትን ብኣካል ዝተሳተፉ ክኾኑ እንከለዉ፡ 5 ደርዘን ዝኾኑ ከኣ ብመንገዲ ዙም ተሳቲፎም። ብኣሸሓት ዝቑጸሩ ካለኦት ድማ ብዝተፈላለዩ መሕበራዊ መራኸብታት ካብ ሕቡራት መንግስታት ኣሜሪካ ወጻኢ ከይተረፈ ከም ዝተሳተፍዎ እቲ ጋዜጣዊ መግለጺ ሓቢሩ።

ካብቶም ኣብዚ ዓውደ-መጽናዕቲ መጽናዕታዊ ጽሑፋት ብምቕራብ ኮነ ምይይጥ ብምክያድ ዝተሳተፉ፡ ፕሮፈሰር በረኸት ሃብተስላሴ ካብ ዩኒቨስርሲቲ ሰሜን ካሎሮና፡ ፕሮፈሰር ኪዳነ መንግስተኣብ ካብ ዩኒቨርሲቲ ፐንሲልቫኒያ፡ ፕሮፈሰር ኣርኣያ ደበሳይ ካብ 1970 ጀሚሮም ኣብ ኤርትራዊ ጉዳይ ንጡፍ ተሳቲፊ፡ ዶ/ር ሳባ ኪዳነ ናይ ማሶን ዩኒቨርሲቲ ምርቕትን ኣቶ ኑረዲን ዓብደልቃድር ካብ 1970ታት ጀሚሮም  ኣብ ማሕበረ ኮማዊ ንጥፈታት ህዝቦም ኣብ ምልዕዓል ናይ ነዊሕ ግዜ ተመኩሮ ዘለዎምን ከም ዝርከብዎም ካብቲ ጋዜጣዊ መግለጺ ምርዳእ ይከኣል።

እቶም ኣቕረብቲ ጽሑፋት ብዛዕባ ኣብ ኤርትራ ዝርአ ዘሎ፡ ፖለቲካዊ ዘይምርግጋእ፡ ግርጭታትን ቁጠባዊ ውድቀትን፡ ገንዘባዊ ዘይህድኣት፡ ድሕንነት፡ ትሑት ትሕተ-ቅርጻ፡ ዝለዓለ ሸቕለተ-ኣልቦነት፡ ዋሕዚ ናብ ስደትን ሰብኣዊ ቅልውላውን፡ ግዱድ ውትህድርና፡ ጨካን ኣገባብ ማእሰርትን ስነ-ኣእሙራዊ ጸገማትን ዝምልከቱ ዝርዝራት ንምይይጥ ኣቕሪቦም። ምስዚ ብዝተተሓሓዘ ከኣ ናብ ደሞክራስያዊ ስርዓት ኣብ ምስግጋር ከጋጥሙ ዝኽእሉ ብደሆታትን  ወተሃደራት ዝነበሩን ኣብ ስደት ዝጸንሑን ኤርትራዊ ዜጋታት ምስቲ ሕበረተሰብ ከም ዝውሃሃዱ ምኽኣልን ዝያዳ በዳህቲ ዛዕባታት ከም ዝኾኑ ጠቒሰምዎም።

እቶም ተሳተፍቲ ምሁራት ኣብቲ መድረኽ ከም ዝገለጽዎ፡ ስርዓት ኢሳያስ ኣፈወርቂ ኣብ ኤርትራ ቅቡል ዲሞክራስያዊ ስርዓት ከይትከል ዓንቂጹ ከም ዘሎ ጠቒሶም። ካብዚ ነቒሎም ከኣ ኣብ ኤርትራ ሰላማዊ ምስግጋር ናብ ዲሞክራስያዊ ስርዓትን እቲ ዝምስረት ዲሞክራስያዊ ስርዓት ዳግማይ ከይጭወን ምጥንቃቕ ከም ዘድሊ ኣዘኻኺሮም። ተሳተፍቲ ኣብ መጻኢ ንብልጽግና ኤርትራዊ ዜጋ ቀዳምነት ዝህቡ ኣካላት ብመንገዲ ምርጫ  ፈሊኻ ምፍላጥ ዘኽእል ኣገባብ ካብ ብሕጂ ክሕንጸጽ ከም ዝግባእ ኣስፊሮም።  ምስዚ ኣተሓሒዞም ንተሳትፎ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ኣብ መስርሕ ምስግጋር ናብ ዲሞክራሲ ኣጉሊሖም ጠቒሰምዎ።

ካልእ ተሳተፍቲ ምሉእ ብምሉእ ዝተረዳድእሉ፡ ነዚ ኣብ ኤርትራ ጥራይ ዘይኮነ ኣብ ዞባና ጠንቂ ዘይምርድዳእ ኮይኑ ዘሎ ጉጅለ  ህግደፍ ንምብዳህ፡ ሓድነትን ውህደትን ህዝቢ ኤርትራን ፖለቲካውን ሲቪካውን ማሕበራቱን  ንምርግጋጽ ናይ ሓባር ኣበርክቶ ኣገዳሲ ምዃኑ እዩ። ነዚ ኣተግቢርካ  ናብ ሸቶ ንምብጻሕን ከኣ ሰፊሕ ስሙር ግንባር ወይ ጉባአ ምክያድ ከም ዘድሊ ተሳተፍቲ ኣስፊሮም።

ናይ ኤርትራ ኣገዳሲ ክሳዳዊ ኣቀማምጣን ብዙሓት ኤርትራውያን ምሁራት ኣብ ወጻኢ ምህላዎምን ንመጻኢ ቁጠባዊ ወፍሪ ኣብ ኤርትራ ኣብ ዞባና ሓጋዚ ስለ ዝኸውን፡ ድሕሪ ውድቀት እቲ ጉጅለ ቁጠባዊ ዋዕላ ምክያድ ከም ዘድሊ ኣዘኽኺሮም። እቲ ጉጅለ ምስ ጐረባብቲ ክፈጥሮ ዝጸንሐ ህውከት፡ ሓደ ብደሆ ኮይኑ፡ ነዚ ብዝምልከት ምስሊ ኤርትራ ንምዕራይ፡ ቀጻሊ ህንጸትን ምትእምማን ናይ ምፍጣር ስረሓት ንምትግባር ኤርትራውያን ምሁራት  ንሰላም፡ ጸጥታን ምርግጋእን ኣዞባ ቀርኒ ኣፍሪቃ ዝምልከት ኣስተዋጸኦ ከበርክቱ ትጽቢት ከም ዝግበረሎም ጠቒሶም።

Tuesday, 31 August 2021 10:30

ኤርትራ 60 ዓመታት ኣብ ቃልስን ዓወትን

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ኤርትራ 60 ዓመታት ኣብ ቃልስን ዓወትን

ርእሰ-ዓንቀጽ ሰዲህኤ

ኣብ መፋርቕ ናይ 1880 ኤውሮጳውያን ገዛእቲ ከከም ዝጥዕሞም ንኣፍሪቃ ከም ስጋ ጉዚ ምስተመቓቐልዋ፡ ኤርትራ ብጽሒት ግዝኣት ጣልያን ኮይና። መግዛእቲ ኢጣልያ ግዝኣቱ ኣብ ምብራቕ ኣፍሪቃ ንምስፍሕፋሕ ንኣስመራ ከም ቀንዲ መንበሪ ከተምኡን መወንጨፊቱን ገይሩ መስረታ። ነዚ ዝገበሮ ብዋጋ ናይቶም ደቀባት ጉልበት ኢዩ ነይሩ። ናይ ሕርሻ መሬቶም መንዚዑ ጉልበቶም ምዝሚዙ ሰብኣዊ መሰላቶም ገፊፉ ግዙኣቱ ብምግባር ነይሩ። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ምስቲ ኣብቲ እዋንቲ ዝነበሮ  ውሱን ዓቕሚ ንፋሽስታዊ መግዛእታዊ ምምሕዳር ኢጣልያ ብቐሊሉ ኣይረዓሞን። ኣብ ዝተፈላለየ ቦታታት መጠኑን መልክዓቱን ዝፈላለ ይኹንምበር ተቓውሞ ኣርእዩ እዩ።

ድሕሪ መወዳእታ 2ይ ውግእ ዓለም ስዕረት ናይቲ ኢጣልያ ዝነበረቶ ወገን ምግጣሙ፡ ኤርትራ ሓያላት ሃገራት ስለ ዝዘረይዋ፡  ከምተን ካለኦት ኣብ ትሕቲ ኣርዑት መግዛእቲ ኤውሮጳውያን ዝጸንሓ ብቐጥታ ኣኽሊል ናጽነት ክትደፍእ ኣይከኣለትን። ብኣንጻሩ እቶም ናይ ምውሳን ስልጣን ዝነበሮም ሓያላት ሃገራት ኣብ ጉዳይ ሃገርና ኣብ ሕድሕዶም’ውን ምርድዳእ ምስ ሰኣኑ፡ ኤርትራ ካብ ድሌት ህዝባ ወጻኢ ን10 ዓመታት ኣብ ትሕቲ መጉዚትነት ዓባይ ብሪጣንያ ክትጸንሕ ተወሰነ።

ኤርትራ ኣብ ትሕቲ ምምሕዳር ዓባይ ብሪጣንያ ኣብ ዝወደቐትሉ ግዜ፡ “መጻኢ ዕድል ኤርትራ” ንምውሳን ኣዝዩ ጽዑቕ ፖለቲካዊ ላዕልን ታሕትን ተኻየደ። ምምሕዳር እንግሊዝ ምስ ኩሉቲ ጨቋንን ፈላሊኻ ግዛእ ኣመሓዳድራኣን  ንህዝቢ ኤርትራ ዘየርብሕ ቁጠባዊ ፖሊሲኣን፡ መሰል ምውዳብን ሓሳብካ ምግላጽን ስለ ዘፍቀደት ኤርትራውያን ከከም ዝንባለኦም ተወዲቦም  መጻኢ ዕድል ሃገሮም ክውስኑ ተንቀሳቒሶም። እንተኾነ እተን ኣብቲ ግዜቲ ዝተፈጠራ ኤርትራዊ ፖለቲካዊ ማሕበራት ብሓፈሻ፡ ካብ ናይ ወጻኢ ሓይልታት ተጽዕኖ ብፍላይ ከኣ ካብ ኢድ ኣእታውነት መንግስቲ ኢትዮጵያ ናጻ ሰለ ዘይነበራ መሰረታዊ ባህጊ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ኣይተረጋገጸን። ኣብ መውዳእታ ከኣ እቲ ካብ ትጽቢት ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ወጻኢ ዝተደኰነ ፈደረሽን ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን እውን ሰንከልከል ክብል ምስ ጸንሐ፡ ብ14 ሕዳር 1962 ብኢደወነናዊ ውሳነ ንጉሰ ሃይለስላሴ ብወገዒ  ፈረሰ።

ህዝቢ ኤርትራ፡ ኩሉቲ ብሕቡእን ብግሁድን ናጽነቱ ንምውሓስ ዘካየዶ ፈተነታት ምስ መኸነን እቲ ካብ ድልየቱ ወጻኢ ዝተደኰነ ፈደረሽን እውን በቲ ዝወሰኖ ውድብ ሕቡራት ሃገራት ከይተረፈ ተጠሊሙ ምስ ፈረሰን፡ ኣብ ቅድሚኡ“ንመግዛእቲ ክርዕም ወይ ድማ ካልእ ኣገባብ ቃልሲ ክኽተል”  ምርጫታት ቀረበሉ። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ  ኣብ ትሕቲ መግዛእቲ ምንባር ስለ ዘይመረጸ፡ ከም መቐጸልታ ናይቲ ከካይዶ ዝጸንሐ ሕጋውን ፖለቲካውን መኸተ ንናጽነት፡ ካልእ ኣገባብ ተኸቲሉ ቃልሱ ክቕጽል ናይ ግድን ኮነ። በዚ መሰረት ከኣ ብ1961 ኣብ ሜዳ ኤርትራ ብረታዊ ቃልሲ ተበሰረ። ምጅማር ብረታዊ ቃልሲ ወድዓዊ ኩነታትን ድሌት ህዝቢ ኤርትራ  ንናጽነትን ኣንቢቡ ኢዩ ተበጊሱ። ንኤርትራ ልክዕ ከምተን ኣብቲ እዋንቲ ናጽነተን ዘውሓሳ ሃገራት ኣፍሪቃ ንምግባራ ዝዓለመ ነይሩ። ኣብቲ ፖለቲካዊ ቃልሲ ዝተመኮሩ ኤርትራውያን ሓርበኛታት ኣብ ውሽጥን ወጻእን ሓሲቦምን ምስቲ ዝነበረ ዓለማዊ ኩነታት ኣገናዚቦምን ምስ ዝተወሰነ በዓል ቤታዊ ሕጽረታት   ዝኣተዉዎ ምርጫ’ዩ  ነይሩ።

ቅድሚቲ ስዉእ ሓምድ እድሪስ ዓዋተ ዝመራሒኦም ብባሕቲ መስከረም 1961 ኣብ ሜዳ ኤርትራ ብረታዊ ቃልሲ ምብሳሮም፡ ነዚ ብዝምልከት ኣብ ሃገር ግብጺ፡ ብ7 ሓምለ 1960፡ እድሪስ መሓመድ ኣደም፡ ጠሃ መሓመድ ኑር፡ ሰይድ መሓመድ ሑሴን፡ እድሪስ ዑስማን ገላዴዎስ፡ ሰይድ ኣሕመድ መሓመድ፡ መሓመድ ሳልሕ ሑመድ፡ ሱሌማን መሓመድ ኣሕመድ፡ ኣደም መሓመድ ዓልን ሑመድ ሰይድ ኣንታታን ዝርከብዎም ኣብ ዝተፈላለዩ ደረጃ ትምህርትን ስራሕን ዝነበሩ ንኣጀማምራ’ቲ ብረታዊ ቃልሲ ኣብ ዝምልከት ተኣኪቦም  ምዝታዮምን ኣብቲ ዓመት ብ10 ሓምለ 11 ዝኣባላታ መሪሕነት ምምራጾምን ድማ፡   እቲ ብረታዊ ቃልሲ ብሃንደበት ከም ዘይተጀመረ ዘረድእ እዩ።

ብረታዊ ቃልሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ከምቲ ገለ ወገናት ዝብልዎ ዕላማኡ እንታይ ምዃኑ ከይተረደአ ዝነቐለ ዘይኮነ፡ ኣብ 5 ጉዳያት ዘተኩር 14 ዓንቀጻት ዝሓዘ መበገሲ ሰነድ ከም ዝነበሮ ብዛዕባኡ ዓሚቕ መጽናዕቲ ዘካየዱ ተመራመርቲ ዘረጋገጽዎ እዩ። ኣብቲ መበገሲ ሰነድ፡ ሰውራ ንምሕያል ከከም ኩነታቱ ብግሁድን ብስዉርን ሰፊሕ ህዝባዊ ውደባ ምክያድ፡ ሓድነት እቲ ዝምስረት ሰውራን ህዝቢ ኤርትራን ምዕቃብን ጉዳይ ኤርትራ ኣብ ሕቡራት ሃገራትን ካለኦት ዝምልከቶም ኣካላትን ግንዛበ ክረክብ ጻዕሪ ምቕጻልን ዝብሉ፡ ኣይኮነንዶ ኣብቲ  እዋንቲ ሎሚ እውን ኣገዳስነቶም ህያው ዝኾኑ ሓሳባት ነይረምዎ። ከም ኣካል ናይዚ ሰነድዚ ተሳትፎ ኣብቲ ቃልሲ ንዝኾነ 18 ዓመትን  ካብኡ ንላዕልን ዝዕድሜኡ ኤርትራዊ ክፉት ምንባሩ ከኣ ክሳብ ክንደይ ኣህጉርዊ ሕጊ ውትህድርና ኣብ ግምት ዘእተወ  ከም ዝነበረ ዘመልክት እዩ።

ሰውራ ኤርትራ ብባሕቲ መስከረም 1961 ብመሪሕነት እቲ ብ1915 ተወሊዱ ብ1962 ዝተሰወአ ሓምድ እድሪስ ዓወተ ምስ ተበሰረ፡ ብዙሓት ወተሃደራዊ ተመኩሮ ዝነበሮም ኤርትራውያን ክኽተልዎ ግዜ ኣይወሰደሎምን። ኣብ ከባቢ ኣቑርደት ተወሊዱ፡ ብ1934 ኣብ ሱዳን ወተሃደር ዝኾነ፡ ኣቡ ርጀላ ነዚ ብዝምልከት ኣብ ሓደ ኣጋጣሚ ከም ዝገለጾ፡ ኣብ ወርሒ ለካቲት 1962 ንሱ ዝርከቦም 20 ሃብታም ወተሃደራዊ ተመኩሮ ዝነበሮም ኤርትራውያን ናብቲ ዕሸል ሰውራ ከም ዝተጸንበሩ ይገልጽ። እቲ ዋሕዚ ተሳትፎ ድሕሪኡ’ውን  ቀጺሉ።

እቲ ብኸምዚ ዝሃብተመ ሰውራ፡ ኣብቲ መስርሕ የጋጥሞ ንዝነበረ  ውሽጣዊ ምፍንጫላትን መግዛእታዊ ተጻብኦታትን በዲሁ፡ ናይ ኣእላፍ ጀጋኑ ህይወት ገቢሩ ድሕሪ ናይ 30 ዓመታት ናይ ቃልስን ዓወትን ጉዕዞ  ብ1991 ናጽነት ኤርትራ፡ ድሕሪኡ ከኣ ብ1993 ብመንገዲ ረፈረንደም ልኡላዊት ኤርትራ ኣውሒሱ። እዚ ዓውትዚ ናይቲ ቃልሲ ናይ መጀመርያ ምዕራፍ መዛዘሚ እምበር፡ ናይ መውዳእታ ኣይነበረን። ምኽንያቱ “ልኡላዊት ኤርትራ ከመይ ትመሓደር?” ዝብል መሰረታዊ ሕቶ ዝመለሰ ስለ ዘይነበረ። ብመሰረቱ እውን ናይቲ ቃልሲ መበገሲ ናይ ባዕዳውያን ገዛእቲ ኣብ ኤርትራዊ ኣካላዊ ህልውና ጥራይ ዘይኮነ፡ ምረት ናይቲ ብኣታቶም ዝወርድ ዝነበረ ወጽዓ እዩ ነይሩ። ድሕሪ ናጽነት እውን ንኤርትራ መን ይምረሓያ ብዘየገድስ እቲ መግዛእታዊ ወጻዒ ኣተሓሳስባ ክሳብ ዘይተወገደ፡ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ቃልሱ ክቕጽል ግድን ነይሩ። ስለዚ እዩ ከኣ ንምውጋድ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ዝግበር ቃልሲ ክቕጽል  ባህርያዊ ዝኸውን።

ባሕቲ መስከረም እዚ ን60 ዓመታት መልክዓቱ እንዳቀያየረ ጌና ዘይዓረፈ ዘሎ ቃልሲ በቲ ዝበለሐ መልክዑ ዝተጀመረላ ስለ ዝኾነት ክንዝክራ ግቡእ እዩ። ኣብቲ ዝኽራ ኣብ ጸልማት ኮይኖም ብርሃን ከም ዝመጽእ ተኣማሚኖም ቃልሲ ንዝጀመሩ ሓርበኛታትና ገድሎም ከነዝንቱ ግድን እዩ። እቲ ቀንዲ ቁምነገርና ግና “ንሳቶምስ ግቡኦም ፈጺሞም ኣረኩበሙና ንሕናኸ ናበይ ገጽና ኢና?” ዝብል ንቕድሚት ዘማዕዱ ሕቶ ምምላስ እዩ ክኸውን ዝግበኦ። እቶም ሓርበኛታት ግቡኦም ፈጺሞም ኣረኪቦም ስለ ዝሓለፉ ዘይተኸፍለ ዕዳ ዘብሎም ቅሱናት’ዮም። ንሕና ግና እቲ ሓላፍነት ጌና ኣብ እንግደዓና ስለ ዘሎ ሰብ ዕዳ ኢና። ንተካኢና ወለዶ ከነረክብ ባህርያዊ ስለዝኾነ፡ ኣብቲ ምርኽኻብ ድማ “እዚ ዓሚምና ኣለና ንስኻትኩም ከኣ መልእዎ” እንብለሉ ስራሕ ዝዓመምና ክንከውን ይግበኣና።  ኣብ ከምዚ ዝኣመሰለ ታሪኻዊ ዕለት፡ መንእሰይ ወለዶ ተኸኣኢሉ፡ ተጸዋዊሩን ተመላሊኡን፡ ትርጉም ፍልልያዊ ሓድነት ተረዲኡ ብሓባር ዝቃለሰሉ ባህሊ ከነውርሶ  ግበኣና። ከምዚ ክንገብር እንተዘይበቒዕና ግና እቲ ዝትከኣና ወለዶ ጥራይ ዘይኮነ፡ ታሪኽ እውን ክተሓሳሰበና እዩ።

Tuesday, 31 August 2021 10:26

ሓደ መስከረም ንዘልኣለም ትኽበር

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ናጻ ኤርትራ ነይሩ ድሌትና ባህግና

ብውዱብ ምንቅስቓስ ስለዝተቓወምና

ክሃድኑና ብሓይሊ ክቕንጽሉና

ብውዲት ብዓመጽ ጸኒሖም ክገዝኡና

ብሓደ መስከረም ጠበንጃ ኣልዒልና

ናይ ዕጠቕ ነጋሪት ተዅሲ ከፊትና።

ተዘከር ጅግና ሓምድ እድሪስ ዓዋተ

ጋንትኡ ወዲቡ ኣብ ጎቦ ኣዳል ዝኸተተ

ብሓደ መስከረም ተዅሲ ዝኸፈተ

ንቕሎ ሰውራ ብኤርትራዊ መኸተ

 ናብ ምሉእ ሃገራዊ ናጽነት ዝኣንፈተ።

ጓሶት ሃገርና ኣሕኦም ጠንጢኖም

ሓረስቶት ማሕረሶም ገዲፎም

ሰራሕተኛታት ናውቶም ደርብዮም

ተመሃሮ ማህደሮም ኣቐሚጦም

ወዶም ጓሎም ንናጽነት ሃገር ተሰሊፎም

ማእለያ ዘይብሉ መስዋእቲ ከፊሎም።

ብዝተናውሐ ውግእ ብተወፋይነት

ተጋዲልና ንሰላሳ ዓመታት

ተኸፊሉ መስዋእቲ ብኣሽሓት

ብህዝባዊ መኸተ መንዚዕና ናጽነት

ጨቢጥና’ወ ሃገራዊ ልዑላውነት።

ንጹር መደብ ዕዮ ሓንጺጽና

ከነረጋግጽ ኵሉ ዓይነት መሰላትና

ክንነብር ብሰላም ፍትሒ ብልጽግና

መግዛእቲ ተደምሲሱ ጨቢጥና ናጽነትና

ዓገብ’ዩ ብኢሳያስ ተጠሊምና

ስርዓት ምልኪ ሳዕሪሩ መሪሩ ጭቆና።

ሕቶና ኣይረኸበን ግቡእ መልሲ

ንሕሙም ስርዓት ኣለዎ ፈውሲ

ብህዝባዊ ማዕበል ካብ ሱሩ በንቋሲ

ክትካእ’ዩ ብፍትሓዊ ደሞክራሲ

ክንበጽሖ ናይ ግድን ብቐጻሊ ቃልሲ።

ጻውዒት ሓደ መስከረም ዝተቐበሉ

ንናጽነት ሃገር ሂወቶም ዝኸፈሉ

ተወጊኦም ኣካሎም ዝሰንከሉ

ንሓርነት ህዝቢ ዝቃለሱ ከይተሓለሉ

ሞያኦም ይዘከር ተሰኒዱ ተጸንቢሉ።

ባሕርና ብሂጎም ንዝምህዝዎ ናይ ፈጠራ ክትዓት

ኤርትራ ከም ኵለን ግዙኣት ሃገራት

ንጹር ዶባታ ስኑድ ኣብ ኣህጉራዊ ትካላት

ናጽነታ ብመስዋእቲ ደቃ ዘረጋገጸት

ህያው’ዩ ቲ’ቀያድን መወዳእታን ኣህጉራዊ ምስክርነት

ዋጋ-ዕዳጋ ዘይኣቱ ስጡም ልዑላውነት።

ሓድነትን ማዕርነትን ህዝብና ብብዙሕነት

ወከልቲ ህዝቢ ብደሞክራስዊ ምርጫታት

ይቑም ህዝባዊ ባይቶታት ኣብ ኩለን ዓድታት

ኣብ ኵሉ ከተማታት ወረዳታት ኣውራጃታት

ሃገራዊ ሓጋግን ፈጻምን ፈራድን ብቕዋማዊ ስርዓት

ዝምረጽ ካቢነ ሚኒስትራት ብሞያዊ ብቕዓት

እዚ’ዩ ነይሩ ናይ ሓደ መስከረም ዕላማታት።

ምስጢር ዓወትና፣ ሓሳብና ይስመር

ሓድነትና ከም ሓጺን ይትረር

ብህጹጽ ብዘይ ውዓል ሕደር

ስርዓት ምልክን መሓውራቱን ንስበር

ብሰላምን ፍትሕን ብልጽግናን ኣብ ሃገርና ክንነብር !!

 

ክብርን ዝኽርን ንሰማእታትና

ሓደ መስከረም ንዘልኣለም ትኽበር።

Monday, 30 August 2021 13:46

Twenty years on: imprisoned without trial, but never forgotten: Germano Nati

Written by

AUGUST 29, 2021  NEWS, POLITICAL PRISONERS

In the wake of the tragic failure of Eritrea’s 1998-2000 border war with Ethiopia, senior members of the Eritrean government began a campaign to bring about the democracy that the 30 year war of liberation had been fought for.

They formed the G-15: men and women who challenged President Isaias to give the Eritrean people the freedoms they had been promised. In dawn raids on 18 and 19 September 2001 the president’s notorious security forces rounded them up and jailed them. None have ever been taken before a court or convicted of any crime. They have rotted in prison ever since.

At the same time independent newspapers were closed and journalists arrested. The nightmare of repression which has hung over Eritrea ever since had begun.

Now, on the 20th anniversary of these terrible events, we recall those who have been in Eritrea’s jails ever since. Their families have been deprived of them; their friends have lost them. But they have never been forgotten. Nor has the flame of hope that they ignited – of a proud, free and democratic country.

We have profiles of these brave men and women – and will share them daily.

Germano Nati became a clandestine member of the ELF and was arrested by the Ethiopian security services and detained in Sembel Prison, Asmara. He was tortured; his finger and toe nails were pulled out with pincers, given electrical shocks to get him reveal ELF secrets. In 1975, he and some fellow inmates were freed from prison by a daring and heroic ELF operation.

Following his release from prison, Germano joined the EPLF and received military training and then assigned to the Department of Political Awareness – Research Branch, where he wrote articles in the Kunama language. Later he was assigned to the Department of Public Administration in Barka (now Gash Barka) and he worked hard to strengthen the participation of the Kunama people in the armed struggle, as well as helping to resolve conflicts between the Kunama and Nara ethnic groups on the one hand and the Kunama and Tigrinya on the other.

After independence in 1994, Germano was elected member of the PFDJ Central Committee and then a member of the Eritrean National Assembly. He was posted as Administrator of the Gash-Setit, Barka region. He, like most young people of his generation, had a vision that after Eritrea independence the country would be democratic, governed by a constitution and rule of law. They wanted to see the people freely and regularly elect their representatives, from local levels to the highest organs in government. He wanted them to enjoy press freedom, have the right to assembly, peaceful protest, organise and form political parties.

In September 2001, while working in Denkel province, he was arrested along with the G-15 for demanding change to create a democratic and constitutional administered Eritrea. They were taken to the infamous Ira-Iro prison and have not seen or heard since.

In an article published on Awate.com under the title ‘Release our fathers’, one of Germano’s children wrote ‘While many people chose to ignore the corruption and injustice they saw, you did not ignore it and spoke and opposed it openly. Wherever I go, I remember you, and you are always with me. I named my son after you.  I feel your spirit following me wherever I go. I know that you are human and will pass away as everyone will someday. You, and the other G-15 who signed the letter demanding President Isaias to convene a special meeting of the Eritrean National Assembly have been imprisoned and are wasting away in the solitary cells in the infamous Ira-Iro jail. I feel proud of you for I know that you will be proudly remembered forever. But I feel sorry for the loser, President Isaias Afwerki who ignored your just calls and demands. I know history will not remember nor forgive Isaias.’

Monday, 30 August 2021 13:36

Press Release: Eritrea Scholars and Professionals Gather to Devise a Roadmap for the Country’s Future

Written by

AUGUST 29, 2021  NEWS

Press Release: Eritrea Scholars and Professionals Gather to Devise a Roadmap for the Country’s Future

Eritrean Research Institute for Policy and Strategy

Washington – More than 150 Eritreans gathered on August 14, 2021 at the Catholic University in the Eritrean Scholars and Professionals Workshop to discuss the current situation in Eritrea and its impact on the Horn of Africa, as well as begin planning for the time after the regime of Isaias Afwerki has ended.  The event, organized by the Eritrean Research Institute for Policy and Strategy (ERIPS), was attended by more than 150 scholars and professionals in person, five dozen participating on Zoom live and an untold number otherwise online, including those from outside the United States.

150 Eritreans gathered on August 14, 2021 at the Catholic University in the Eritrean Scholars and Professionals Workshop to discuss the current situation in Eritrea and its impact on the Horn of Africa,

Numerous scholars made presentations or participated in the discussions, such as Prof. Bereket Habte Selassie, a retired professor from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who is a leading scholar on African law and government; Professor Kidane Mengisteab, an African Studies professor at Pennsylvania State University who has conducted research on traditional institutions in African governance, Professor Araya Debessay, an active participant in the Eritrean affairs since 1974, Dr. Saba T. Kidane, a Ph.D. graduate of the George Mason University School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, who is a conflict resolution expert and  Mr. Nureddin Abdulkadir who has served his country as an activist and community leader since the early 1970s.

The experts laid out the disastrous situation facing Eritrea at this time which includes political instability, conflicts and state collapse with a failed economy, financial instability, poverty, poor infrastructure, high unemployment, mass migration, refugee crisis, forced conscription, indiscriminate imprisonment and mental health problems that include post-traumatic stress disorder. Participants also highlighted the challenges of transitioning to a democratic governance and the imperatives of reintegrating soldiers and refugees back into the Eritrean society.

The Isaias regime has prevented the establishment of genuine democracy in Eritrea and has stunted its growth among succeeding generations. Therefore, participants called for the education of Eritreans on proper democratic discourse to ensure a smooth and stable transition and to prevent the democratic process from being hijacked once a new government is installed. Participants recommended that a process must be devised early on to identify qualified individuals through elections in their local communities whose main priority is the welfare of Eritrean citizens. They also highlighted approaches for encouraging mass participation in transitioning the country to democracy.

To successfully change the regime in Eritrea, which has not only caused the myriad of problems facing Eritrea itself but also the entire Horn of Africa region, the workshop consensus was that efforts must include building trust and cohesiveness among Eritreans, human and institutional capacity building, and united effort of all Eritrean political and civil society organizations for the primary goal of bringing swift and sustainable change in Eritrea. To effectively implement such a singular goal, participants called for a united front or congress.

The strategic location of the country and a vast number of Eritrean professionals in diaspora will aid Eritrea’s potential for being a hub of investments in the region.  However, because of Eritrea’s ruined economy under the current government, participants recommended that the fall of the regime should be followed by an Economic Forum with business leaders, investors, economists, and experts from international financial institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the African Development Bank, etc. This can be a starting platform to adopt a solid policy for economic recovery and reconstruction of the country.

To recover from the negative impact in the region caused by the Isaias regime’s instigation and involvement in conflicts with its neighbors, participants recommended the formation of an alliance and collaboration with regional stakeholders to ensure peace, security and stability.  Participants further believe there must be work done on effective diplomacy with the United States, the European Union and other entities in the international community to secure peace in Eritrea and the Horn of Africa.

Participants of the workshop discussed in detail four highly important and timely topics in a roundtable format and presented their recommendations. The topics focused on the challenges and opportunities Eritrea will face post-PFDJ; the roles and responsibilities of Eritrean intellectuals in contributing towards the effort for political change; the challenges of reconstruction and social-economic developments; the mandate of Eritrean intellectuals in building trust and harmony amongst the Eritreans; and the need for Eritrean intellectuals in contributing towards peace, security and stability in the Horn of Africa. Participants of the workshop were also updated by ERIPS member Dr. Astier Alemseged about the Isaias regime’s refusal to collaborate with the WHO and the COVAX program and its refusal to the Eritrean public the protection that could be gained by the freely available CIOVD-19 vaccines. Participants of the workshop noted the atrocious and irresponsible acts of the Isaias regime as this is yet another harm it is inflicting to Eritreans.

ERIPS plans to take a leading role in furthering the discussions begun during this event to successfully press for bringing socio-economic and political change and to create an Eritrea that allow its more than five million people to enjoy justice, experience prosperity and exist peacefully and harmoniously with its neighbors.

-End-

Saturday, 28 August 2021 21:36

Dimtsi Harnnet Sweden 28.08.2021

Written by
Dimtsi Harnnet Sweden 28.08.2021
Published in Radio
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