SEPTEMBER 7, 2020  NEWS

Prosecutors appeal acquittal of men who lynched migrant mistaken for terrorist

Supreme Court to discuss case of IDF soldier and Prisons Service officer filmed beating Eritrean man Haftom Zarhum in aftermath of 2015 terror attack in Beersheba

Security camera footage showing an Eritrean man being shot in the Beersheba central bus station on October 18, 2015, after he was thought to be a terrorist. (screen capture: Channel 2)

Security camera footage showing an Eritrean man being shot in the Beersheba central bus station on October 18, 2015, after he was thought to be a terrorist. (screen capture: Channel 2)

State prosecutors on Sunday appealed a July court decision that acquitted two men, Israel Defense Forces soldier Yaakov Shimba and Israel Prisons Service officer Ronen Cohen, over their roles in the 2015 lynching of an Eritrean migrant who was mistaken for a Palestinian terrorist.

In the minutes after a terror attack at the Beersheba bus station on October 18, 2015, Haftom Zarhum, 29, an innocent bystander, was shot by two soldiers and a security guard who thought he was the perpetrator. As he lay bleeding on the ground, a crowd of angry passersby — believing him to be the terrorist — beat him, some of them delivering powerful blows to his head and pummeling him with a metal bench. He died hours later in a hospital, and an autopsy ruled that the primary cause of death was the gunshot wounds.

The attack was carried out by Muhanad Alukabi, 21, from an unrecognized Bedouin village in the Negev. He first opened fire with a pistol, killing IDF soldier Omri Levi, then took Levi’s service rifle and used it to wound 11 others. He was killed in a shootout with police after holing up in a bathroom.

Citing reasonable doubt, the Beersheba District Court in July accepted the argument presented by Shimba and Cohen that they had genuinely thought Zarhum was the terrorist.

On Sunday, the prosecution appealed the district court’s decision, taking the matter to the Supreme Court.

The reasoning for the appeal must be submitted to the country’s top court within 15 days.

Shimba, Cohen and two other men, who were caught on security cameras beating Zarhum, had been accused of “causing injury with grave intent,” an offense potentially carrying a punishment of up to 20 years in jail. Unlike the two other defendants, they did not agree to a plea deal that would downgrade the charge and offer a relatively lenient punishment.

The indictment said that in the aftermath of the attack, Shimba kicked Zarhum in the head and upper body with force. It said Cohen threw a bench onto him, and after another man removed the bench he took it and again dropped it on the prone man.

Cohen also shoved a civilian who asked him to stop his attack, according to the charges.

Haftom Zarhum, 29, died of his wounds on October 19, 2015, a few hours after he was shot and beaten by a mob that mistook him for an assailant in the terror attack in Beersheba on October 18, 2015. (Courtesy)

Despite the fact that Zarhum was already critically injured, Justice Aharon Mishnayot ruled that the pair’s argument — that they beat him because they genuinely thought he was the terrorist — was enough to merit an acquittal.

Cohen’s attorney, Zion Amir, called him a “hero.”

Commenting on the ruling, Amir said: “There is no doubt that this is a big day for an officer who acted heroically during the incident, and instead of an award got an indictment. I am glad that the court acquitted him after an almost five-year legal battle.”

The two other defendants in the lynching, Evyatar Dimri and David Muial, were convicted in 2018 in plea bargains that downgraded their charges to “abusing the helpless,” a lesser crime carrying a maximum prison sentence of seven years.

Dimri was sentenced to four months in prison and Muial got 100 days of community service and eight months of probation and was ordered to pay NIS 2,000 (approximately $550) compensation to Zarhum’s family.

Zarhum’s family has sued the state for damages, claiming negligence and failure to follow proper procedure caused his death.

The lawsuit, filed in 2017 at the Beersheba District Court, demanded NIS 3 million ($780,000) in compensation and that the National Insurance Agency recognize Zarhum as a victim of terror, entitling his family to additional state benefits.

The National Insurance Agency rejected recognizing Zarhum as a terror victim because the Eritrean had entered the country illegally.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

ፈጻሚ ሽማግለ ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ (ሰዲህኤ) ብ5ን 7ን መስከረም 2020 ብኣቦ-መንበሩ ብጻይ ተስፋይ ወልደሚካኤል (ደጊጋ) ተመሪሑ ስሩዕ ኣኼባኡ  ኣካይዱ፡ ናይ  2020-2021 ዓመታዊ ናይ ስራሕ ትልሚ ኣጽዲቑ ። ኣብዚ ኣኼባዚ ብዛዕባ ዝተፈላለዩ ሰልፋዊ፡ ምምሕዳራውን ከባብያውን ዝኣመሰሉ  ጉዳያት  እውን ሰፊሕ ምይይጥ ድሕሪ ምክያድ ኣገደስቲ ውሳነታት ኣማሓላሊፉ።

ፈጻሚ ሽማግለ ነቲ ዓመታዊ ትልሚ ሰልፊ ዘጽደቐ ኣቐዲሙ ብኹለን ኣብያተ-ጽሕፈት ፈጻሚ ሽማግለ ንድፊ ዓመታዊ ትልሚ ምስ ቅረበሉ እዩ፣ እቲ ብኣብያተ-ጽሕፈት ምስ ቀረበ ዝጸደቐ ንድፊ ነቲ ማእከላይ ባይቶ ሰዲህኤ ብ15ን 16ን ነሓሰ 2020 ኣብ ዘካየዶ ስሩዕ ኣኼባኡ ዓመታዊ ጸብጻብ ስራሕ መዚኑ ዝሃቦ ሓፈሻዊ ኣንፈት መሰረት ብምግባር እዩ። ኣብዚ ብፈጻሚ ሽማግለ ጸዲቑ ናብ ኣባላት ማእከላይ ባይቶ ዝቐርብ ዓመታዊ ትልሚ፡ ምስፋሕን ምሕያልን ትካላዊ ኣሰራርሓ ሰልፊ ኣብ ኩሉ መዳያት፡ ተስፋ ኣብ ዝህብ መስርሕ ዘሎ ናይ ፖለቲካዊ ሓይልታት ኤርትራ ሓቢርካ ኣንጻር ጉጅለ ህግዲፍን ጸረ ህዝቢ ኣተሓሳስባኡን ናይ ምቅላስ ንቕሎ ምሕያልን ብሓፈሻ፡ ኣብ ከባቢና ዝረአ ዘሎ ፖለቲካዊ ምዕባለታት ብፍላይ ከኣ ንኤርትራን ጐረባብታን ዝምልከት ለውጥታት ምክትታልን በብግዜኡ ኣድላይ ውሳነታት ምውሳድን ቆላሕታ ተዋሂብዎም።

ካብዚ ሓሊፉ እዚ ኣኼባ ፈጻሚ ሽማግለ ብዛዕባ ኣገደስቲ እዋናውን ምምሕዳራውን ጉዳያት ውሳነታት ኣመሓላሊፉ፡ ነቲ ዝጸደቐ ትልሚ ኮነ ዝተወሰነ ውሳነታት ኣብ ግብሪ ንምውዓል ኣባላት ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ከምቲ ናይ ቅድሚ ሕጂ ብትግሃት ንክቃለሱን ተሳትፈኦም ንከስፍሑን መጸዋዕታኡ ኣቕሪቡ።

It is two years since the Joint Declaration of Friendship and Peace was signed in Asmara, Eritrea on July 9, 2018, and the Peace, Friendship and Comprehensive Cooperation agreement, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on September 16, 2018. However, instead of withdrawing troops, exchanging trade, and allowing free movement of their citizens, Eritrea and Ethiopia are now in a very complicated relationship that may lead to armed conflict. The government of the Tigray region of Ethiopia, which rejected the agreement, has now decided to hold the  regional  election in Sep 09 in defiance of the of the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia to postpone elections (the NEBE’s decision has been approved by the  parliament ). Ethiopia’s House of Federation on press statement issued on 05/09 considered Tigray regional election unconstitutional. In additional to internal differences with it, Tigray region is accusing the federal government of Ethiopia of preparing to attack it in cooperation with Eritrea.

How has what the world considers a peace agreement caused tensions that may lead to a new war in the two countries’ territories?

Background

War erupted between Ethiopia and Eritrea in 1998 over a border issue and lasted for two years. It caused the loss of about 100,000 lives, and after mediation by the then Organisation for African Unity (OAU) and other international organisations and states, the two countries made peace in 2000. The border issue was referred to the International Boundary Commission, which awarded most of the disputed territory to Eritrea. However, Ethiopia rejected the arbitration decision, and for nearly 18 years the two countries continued to fight each other through proxies.   

Change from inside Ethiopia

In March 2018, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) lost its hold on power when Abiy Ahmed was elected to succeed Haile Mariam Desalegn as chairman of the ruling party, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).

Abiy Ahmed, who served as an intelligence officer in the Eritrean-Ethiopian war, has a deep knowledge of the conflict between his country and Eritrea, which had its roots in the conflict between the TPLF and Eritrea’s ruling party, the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF). Despite huge internal problems, Ahmed made reconciliation with Eritrea his priority. Days before he became prime minister, he tweeted that he wanted to build ‘bridges of love’ with Eritrea and confirmed it in his inaugural speech to the parliament on April 2. On June 5, the EPRDF executive committee announced its readiness to implement the Boundary Commission decision.

Isaias Afwerki, president of Eritrea, who had previously refused to negotiate with Ethiopia until it withdrew its troops from the disputed territory, responded quickly to Ahmed’s initiative.  He announced in a Martyrs' Day speech on June 20 that he would send a delegation to Ethiopia to assess developments and set a plan for future action. Ahmed made his historic visit to Asmara on July 8.

Quick process on a big decision

Events moved quickly: just a month after the EPRDF’s announcement of its acceptance of the of the Boundary Commission’s decision, Afwerki and Ahmed signed the Joint Declaration of Friendship and Peace in Asmara on July 9. Later, the role of outsiders emerged when Saudi Arabia hosted the signing ceremony of the Friendship and Comprehensive Cooperation agreement in Jeddah on September 16 and pledged with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to pay Ethiopia $3 billion. They may also have pledged an amount to Eritrea, but that remains a secret.

A common enemy

Ahmed’s accession to the Ethiopian premiership came after wide-spread demonstrations against government policies and corruption, for which the people held the TPLF responsible. Ahmed, who comes from the Oromo, the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, moved quickly to establish his authority and implement the protesters' demands. He released political prisoners, allowed a free press, reconciled with opposition groups in exile and allowed them to return home. However, the fact that he did not seek the approval of the TPLF, suggested that the reconciliation with Eritrea might have been designed to weaken the TPLF.

Tigray leaders accused Ahmed of preparing war against their region in cooperation with Eritrea. In a TV interview with Ahmed on 27 July in Tigrinya, he denied it saying, ‘The Eritrean government at present is a force for peace, and this is not only known by Ethiopia, but also by the whole world’. However, describing the Eritrean government as a ‘force for peace’ may have been counter-productive, as the Eritrean government is widely thought to have been a cause of wars with almost all its neighbours. When the TPLF and the EPLF were allies in the 1970s and the 1980s, they fought with the Ethiopian government. Now old friends have become enemies, and old enemies have become friends. And if a new war erupted, the EPLF would likely fight alongside the Ethiopian government against its previous ally.   

Potential causes of war

There are several scenarios in which war could occur between them. For example, if after its regional election, the Tigray government takes more provocative steps, the federal government could decide to impose its authority on the region by force. In this case, Eritrea could intervene to assist the federal government under the pretext of regaining the disputed territory.

In a second scenario, war could occur if the Tigray government, driven to protect its backyard under growing pressure from the federal government and Eritrea, decided to attack Eritrea, perhaps using Eritrean opposition troops. In this event, the federal government would come to the aid of its Eritrean ally to prevent Tigray from establishing a sympathetic regime in Eritrea.

In the third scenario, the least likely, Eritrea could feel threatened by Tigrayan activities and attack Tigray to draw the federal government of Ethiopia into the conflict.

Tigray is betting on the weakness of Eritrea after hundreds of thousands of civilians and soldiers have fled the country in the past 20 years, and opposition to the regime’s policies is growing.  Eritrea sees its alliance with Ethiopia as a guarantee of victory. It may also consider the geopolitical situation of Tigray region as a weakness: Afwerki’s recent efforts to mediate between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt in the dispute over the Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam (EGRD), could have been aimed at preventing the Tigray region from accessing aid from Sudan and Egypt. And Ahmed could justify war against the Tigray government as a mission to guarantee national unity.

The international community has been preoccupied in the last few months with the dispute between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt, and has made determined efforts to prevent it from turning into armed conflict. However, I believe that the conflicts between the Ethiopian federal government and the Tigray regional government, and between Eritrea and the Tigray have even greater potential for leading to war and require urgent attention from the international community.

Yaseen Mohmad Abdalla

ሃገርና ኤርትራ ብዙሕነታዊት እያ። ብዙሕነታ ብብዙሕ መልከዓት ይግለጽ። ሃይማኖት፡ ቋንቋ። ብሄር፡ ዕድመ፡ ጾታ፡ መልከኣ ምድራዊ ኣቀማምጣን ኩነታት ኣየርን ኩሎም ናይ ብዙሕነታ መግለጺታት እዮም። እዚ ጥራይ ዘይኮነ ኣተሓሳስባ  እውን ኣብቲ ኤርትራዊ ብዙሕነት ቦታ ኣለዎዩ።

ኩሉዚ ብዙሕነት ካብ ሕቑፊ ኤርትራውነት ክሳብ ዘይወጸን ብምክእኣል ክሳብ ዝተመሓደረን መልክዕናን ጸጋናን ምዃኑ ፍሉጥ እዩ። ብግብሪ እውን እዚ ብዙሕነትና ኤርትራ ብግብርን ብሕግን ልኡላዊት ክትከውን ናይ ዘኽኣለና ዓቕሚ ምንጭን ምስጢርን እዩ። “ሓድነትና ከም መርዓት ዓይንና ይተሓሎ” ክንብል እንከለና እዞም መርኣያ ብዙሕነትና ኣብ ክሊ ሕቑፊ ኤርትራውነት ብማዕረ ክመሓደሩ ኣለዎም ማለትና እዩ። “ሓድነት ኤርትራ ኣብ ሓደጋ ከይወድቕ እሞ መፍቶ እቶም ብሓድነትና ዘይሕጐሱ ወገናት ከይንኸውን” እንጥንቀቕ ከኣ ወይ ሓደ ካብዞም መግለጺ ሓድነትና ካብ ሕቑፊ ምዕሩይ ኤርትራውነት ወጺኡ ጸብለል ክብል ክፍትን እንከሎ፡ ወይ ድማ ሓደ ወገን ነቲ መግለጺ ብዙሕነትና መዝሚዙ ምክብባር ኣህሲሱ “መን ከማይ” ብዝብል ኣብ ጸቢብነት ከኹድድ ክፍትን እንከሎ እዩ።

ነቲ ኣብ ሕቑፊ ኤርትራውነት ኣሳንዩ ክመሓደር ዝግበኦ ሃይማኖት፡ ቋንቋ፡ ብሄርን ዝኣመሰለን መጢጥካ ዝፍጠር እሞ ብሚዛናዊ ምክእኣልን ምጽውዋርን ዘይምሓደር ናይ ኣተሓሳስባ ብዙሕነት ምርባሕ ኣብ ፖለቲካዊ ተመኩሮና ኣብ ዝተፈላለዩ  እዋናት ክረአ ከም ዝጸንሐን ሎሚ እውን ጌና ምሉእ ብምሉእ ቦታ ከምዘይለቐቐን ኩልና እንፈልጦ እዩ። ኣብ ግዜ ቃልስና ምእንቲ ናጽነት ብሰንኪ ዘይውሕሉል ኣተሓሕዛ ናይ ኣተሓሳስባ ብዙሕነት ክሳብ ክንዳይ ዘይኣድላይን  ኣዝዩ ክቡርን ዘኽፈለን ምንባሩ ዝዝንጋዕ ኣይኮነን። እቲ ዝተኸፍለ ዋጋ ዝያዳ ዝኸበደ ዝኸውን ከኣ ሎሚ’ውን ነቲ ናብኡ ዘብጸሐ ተመኩሮቲ ክንመሃረሉ እንተዘይክኢልና እዩ።

ከምቲ “እታ ኣደ ትብል ንጐይበይ፡ እታ ጓላ ከኣ ንገዝመይ” ዝበሃል፡ ብዘይካ ውሱናት ሕድሪ ህዝቦም ዝጠለሙ፡ ኩልና ኤርትራውያን፡ እንውደቦ፡ እንቃለሶ፡ እንውስኖ፡ እንእውጆ ኮነ እንጭረሖ፡  ምእንቲ ኤርትራን ህዝባን እዩ። ናይቶም ተወዲብና እንቃለስ ዘለና ረብሓ እውን ኣካል ናይ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ረብሓ   እዩ። እዚ መሰረታዊ ዕማም ዝዕወትን መሰረታውን ቀጻልን ራህዋ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ዝረጋገጽን ከኣ እቶም ኣብ መስርዕ ቃልሲ ንለውጢ ተሰሊፍና ዘለናን መላእ ህዝብናን “ንሕና ሓቢርና ንህዝብናን ሃገርናን” ዝብል ዘይኣግላሊ መትከል ኣብ ሕቑፊ ኤርትራውነት ኣብ ጽኑዕ መሰረት ክትከል እንከሎ እዩ።

ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ኣብ መስርዕ ኤርትራዊ ናይ ለውጢ ቃልሲ፡ ምብዛሕ ውድባት፡ ሰልፍታት፡ ማሕበራትን ህዝባዊ ምንቅስቓሳትን ንህዝቢ ኤርትራ ካብ ዘሰክፍዎ ተረኽቦታት ሓደ እዩ። ቀንዲ ምኽንያት መሰከፊኡ ከኣ እቲ ሓቢሩ ለውጢ ከምጽእ ዝግበኦ ዓቕሚ ተኸፋፊሉ ንከይደክም እዩ። ብውዳበ ደረጃ ምብዛሕና ጌጋን ናይ ምድካምና መሰረታዊ ጠንቅን ክኸውን ናይ ግድን ኣይኮነና። ኣብ ከም ኤርትራ ዝኣመሰለት ሃገር ካብቲ ብዙሕነት ዝነቅል ናይ ኣተሓሳስባ ብዙሕነት ክፍጠርን እዚ ናይ ኣተሓሳስባ ብዙሕነት ዝፈጥሮ ብዝሒ ውዳበታት ክረአን እምብዛ ዘሰክፍ ኣይመኾነን። እዚ ክበሃል እንከሎ ግና እቲ ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ኣብ ኤርትራ ዘሎ ብዝሒ ውዳበታት ርትዓዊ እዩ ንምባል ኣይኮነን።  እምበኣር እቲ ቀንዲ ዘሰክፍስ እቲ ናይ ኣተሓሳስባ ኮነ ናይ ኣወዳድባ ብዙሕነት ካብ ሕቑፊ ኤርትራውነት ምስ ዝወጽእን ኣብ ምክእኣልን ምትሕልላይን ዘትከለ ዝምድና ክበኩርን እንከሎ እዩ። ካብ ሓደ ውደባ ንላዕሊ ምዃንን በዚ ኣገባብዚ ተቓሊስካ ምዕዋት ከም ዝከኣልን ብናይ ብዙሓት ሃገራትን ህዝብታትን ተመኩሮ ዝተረጋገጸ ምዃኑ ምስትውዓል እውን ኣገዳሲ እዩ።

ተኸኣኢልና ብሓባር እንተዘይሰጒምና ናይ ዝተወሰነ ውዳበ ኣተሓሳባ ወይ ዓቕሚ ዘይኮነ፡  ናይ ኩልና ኤርትራዊ ዓቕሚ ከም ዝደክም ምስትውዓል የድሊ። በዚ መስረት ኢና ከኣ ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ብሓባር ምቅላስ ናይ ምርጫ ዘይኮነ ናይ ህልውና ጉዳይ እዩ እንብል። ብሓባር ዘይምስጓምና ዓቕምና ዘዳኽም ጥራይ ዘይኮነ፡ ነቶም ካብ ምፍልላይና ዝዕንገሉ ኣፍረስቲ ኣካላት ዕድል ዘስፍሕ እዩ። ሎሚ ሃገርና ኣይኮነንዶ እንዳተመናጨትናን እንዳተነዓዓቕናን እንዳሳነናን እንዳተኸኣኣልና እውን ምብድሁ ኣብ ዝኸብደና ወጥሪ እያ ዘላ። እቲ ሎሚ እውን ንድሕሪት ዘይምለስ፡ ግና ካብ ውሽጥን ወጻእን ተጻባእቲ ዝበዝሕዎ ዘለዉ ልኡላውነትና ናይ ምሕላው ሓላፍነትና፡ ምስቲ ለውጢ ናይ ምምጻእ ዕማምና ተደሚሩ ኣብ ቅድሜና  ተገቲሩ ንዘሎ ብደሆ የኽብዶ።

ብሰንኪ ኢሳያስን ገለ ካብ ተለኣኣኽቱን በብግዜኡ “ኢስያስ ኣፈወርቂ፡ ናይ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ምፍልላይ ይድግፍ እዩ ዝብል እንተልዩ ኣትሪረ ክካተዖ ድልዊ እየ (ኣቶ ካሳ ከበደ ሓደ ካብ ላዕለዎት ሓለፍቲ ኢትዮጵያ ኣብ ግዜ ደርጊ)፡ ኣቶ ኢሳይስ ካብ ቀደም ጀሚሮም ሓንቲ ኢትዮጵያ ክትህሉ እዮም ዝድግፉ ነይሮም (ኣቶ ለንጮ ለታ ሓደ ካብ ነባራት መራሕቲ ግንባር ናጽነት ኦሮሞ)፡ ድሕሪ ሕጂ ህዝቢ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ክልተ ህዝቢ እዩ ዝብል ነቲ ሓቂ ዘይፈልጥ ጥራይ እዩ …….. ኣነ ብተደጋጋሚ ኢለዮ ኣለኹ፡ ድሕሪ ሕጂ ንስኻ ዶር ኣብይ ኢኻ ትመርሓና፡ እዚ ዘረባ ከጸብቕ ኢለ ዝብሎ ዘለኹ ኣይኮነን።. ኣነ ከኣ ኣብ ጐኑ ኣለኹ (ኢሳያስ ኣብ ብሄራዊ ቤተመንስቲ ኣዲስ ኣበባን ኣዳራሽ ሲዳማ ኣዋሳን)፡ ንሕና ክልተ ህዝቢ ዘይኮነ ሓደ ህዝቢ ኢና …….. ዶር ኣብይ ኣሕመድ ከኣ ምቕሉል መራሒ ረኺብና ኣለና። (ሚኒስተር ወጻኢ ጉዳይ ኤርትራ ዑስማን ሳልሕ ኣብ ኣዲስ ኣበባ)” ዝብሉ ኣበሃህላታት ንዘስተውዓለ ኣብ ቅድሜና ዘሎ ብደሆ ክሳብ ክንደይ ከቢድን ውሁድ ናይ ሓባር ስጉምቲ ዝሓትትን ምዃኑ ምርዳእ ኣይጽገምን። ናይ ኣግኣዝያንን ካለኦት ሓድነት ህዝብን መሬትን ኤርትራ ክቖራርሙ ዝደልዩ ወገናትን ጠልቆምቆም እንተወሲኽካሉ ከኣ መሊሱ ይኸብድ። እንተኾነ ኣብ ክሊ “ኩሉ ኣብ ሕቑፊ ኤርትራውነት” ክሳብ ዝጸናዕና ንኹሎም ክንስዕሮም ናይ ግድን እዩ።

Saturday, 05 September 2020 22:36

Radio Dimtsi Harnnet Sweden 05.09.2020

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ርእሰ-ዓንቀጽ ሰዲህኤ

“ጉጅለ ህግዲፍ ምስዚ ኩሉ፡ ሕገ-መግስታዊ ምምሕዳር፡ ህዝባዊ ምርጫ፡ ምኽባር ሰብኣውን ዲሞክራስያውን መሰል፡ ትካላላዊ ኣሰራርሓ፡ ልዕልና ሕጊ፡ ዝያዳ ኩሉ ከኣ ምዕቃብ ልኡላዊ ሃገር ዘይቕበልን ዘየኽብርን ክነሱ፡ ብምንታይ ተኣምርዩ ዳርጋ ን30 ዓመታት ኣብ መንግስታዊ ስልጣን ተኾዲጩ?” ዝብል ናይ ብዙሓት ሕቶ እዩ። እዚ ሕቶ ናይቶም ጉዳይ ኤርትራ ዘይዋኒኖም፡ ካብ ርሑቕ ዝዕዘብዎ ጥራይ ዘይኮነ፡ ናትና ናይቶም ሰብ ዋኒን እውን እዩ።

ንሕና እቶም ሰብ ጉዳይ ግና ሕቶ ጥራይ ዘይኮነ፡ ናይቲ ሕቶ መልሲ እውን ኣለና። መልስና “ዲክታተር ኢሳያስ ምስዚ ኩሉ ክፋኡ ንክንድዚ ዓመታት ዝኣክል ግዜ ኣብ ስልጣን ዝጸንሐን ዘሎን፡ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ኣገናዕ ሕራይ ገበርካ ስለ ዝበሎ እዩ” ዝብል ከምዘይኮነ፡ ኣተሃላልዋና ንገዛእ ርእሱ ህያው መስካሪ እዩ። ባህጊ ናጻነት ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ክሳብ ክንደይ ሰማይ ዝዓረገ ከም ዝነበረ’ውን፡ ኣይኮነንዶ ንዓና ንኤርትራውያን ንህዝቢ ዓለም እውን ብሩህ ነይሩን እዩን። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ምብሃግ ናጽነት ጥራይ ዘይኮነ ንህያውነት ባህጉ ዝኸፈሎ፡ ብደረጃ ግዜ፡ ንዋት ኮነ ክቡር ህይወት ክምዘን እንከሎ መወዳድርቲ የብሉን። ካብ መግዛእቲ ተቓሊሱ ናጻ ዝወጸ እሞ ክንዲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ዋጋ ዝኸፈለን ዝተጸመመን ህዝቢ የለን። ነዊሕ ግዜ ወሲድካ ኣዝዩ ክቡር ዋጋ ከፊልካ ንዘውሓስካዮ ልኡላውነት ፍሉይ ክብሪ ክትህቦን ከም ብሌን ዓይንኻ ክትሕልዎን ከኣ ግድን እዩ።

ኣብ መሪሕ ቦታ ደረጃ ቃልሲ ኮይኑ፡ ክንዲ ናጽነት ዝኣክል ክብደት ዝወሃቦ ኣኽሊል ንዘድፍኣልካ ኣካል ፍሉይ ግምት ምሃብ ንቡር እዩ። ኣብ ባህልና እውን “ንዝገብረልካ ወይ ግበረሉ ወይ ንገረሉ” እዩ ዝበሃል። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ንግደ ኢሳያስን ደቂ መዛምርቱን ኣብ ምምራሕ ህዝባዊ ግንባር ሓርነት ኤርትራ ንዝነበሮም ቦታን ኣበርክቶን ዝሃቦ ክብደት ፍሉይ ምዃኑ ኣብ ብዙሕ መድረኻት ኣንጸባሪቕዎ እዩ። ነቲ ዝተረፈ ናይ ድሕሪ ናጽነት ቀጻሊ ኩለ-መዳያዊ ኤርትራዊ ረብሓን ቀጻልነትን ከውሕሱለይ እዮም ዝብል እምነት እውን ኣንቢርሉ ነይሩ። ህዝብና ምህናጽ ናይ ድሕሪ ናጽነት ኤርትራ ቀሊል ከም ዘይነበረ ተረዲኡ፡ ክንድቲ ቃልሲ ንናጽነት ዝወሰዶ 30 ዓመታትኳ እንተዘይኮነ፡ ናይቲ ቀዳማይ ምዕራፍ ቃልሲ ቁስሊ ኣሕዊኻ፡ መሰል ህዝባ እተኽብር ኤርትራ ናብ ምህናጽ ምስግጋር ግዜን ትዕግስትን ከም ዘድሊ እውን ኣብ ሕልና ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ዝነበረ እዩ። ጉጅለ ህግዲፍ ከኣ ብድሕሪ መጋረጃ ዲክታተርያዊ ባይታኡ እንዳጣጠሐ፡ ናብ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ በብግዜኡ  ናይ “ግዜን ዕድልን ሃቡና፡ ዓዲ ኣብ ባዶ ካዝና ኢና ተረኪብናያ፡ ካብ መግዛእቲ ዝወረስናዮ ዓንቃፊ ባህሊ ኣይሓወየን” ዝብሉ  ዕባራ ምኽንያት እዩ ዝስንዕ ነይሩ።

እቲ ካልእ ዲክታቶር ኢሳያስ ህዝቢ ንምድንጋር ዝጥቀመሉ ዝነበረ፡ ናይ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ክደራረቡ ዘይግበኦም ጉዳያት ደዋዊስካ ናይ ምርዳእ ጸገም እዩ። በቲ ሓደ ወገን ሓደ ዘይጥዑይ ውድብን ህዝቢ ኤርትራን ምድውዋስ ተራእዩ። እቲ ኢሳያስ ቅድም ከም መሕብኢ ዝጥቀመሉ ዝነበረ፡ ሎሚ ግና ዝጠለሞ ጉጅለኡ እንተ ተተንኪፉ ኤርትራ ከም ሃገር ኣይክትህሉን እያ ዝብል ኣብ ልቢ ገለ ኤርትራውያን ቦታ ረኺቡ ነይሩ እዩ። ካብዚ ሓሊፉ ናጽነት ኤርትራ ብዝለዓለ ወሳኒ ተሳትፎ  ህዝብን ተወፋይነት ሰማእታቱን ዝተረጋገጸ ክነሱ፡ ንግደ  ዲክታተር ኢሳያስ ኣብዚ መስርሕ ልዕሊ ክኾኖ ዝግበኦ መጢጥካ ምቕራቡ ነቲ ዲክታተር ካብ ዘሻደንዎ ሓደ እዩ። እቲ ብግሩሃት “ወዲ ኣፎም ብሪየ ንሱ ኣንበሳ፡ ዓሻክሩ ነብሪየ” ዝተደረፈሉ ሎሚ ክትዝክሮ እንከለኻ ዘሕፍር እዋን’ውን ነይሩ’ዩ፡ ጥራሕ ኢልካ ዝሕለፍ ዘይኮነስ፡ ለካ ናብዚ ንምብጻሕ ዝጽረግ ዝነበረ ዘይተሓስበሉ ወፍሪ እዩ ነይሩ።

ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ኣብቲ ናይ መጀመርያ ዓመታት ድሕሪ ናጽነት፡ ኣብ ከምዚ ዝተጠቐሰ ናይ ትጽቢት ህሞት እንከሎ፡ እቲ ጉጅለ ደቂሱ ኣይሓደረን። ምናልባት ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ሓደ እዋን  እቲ ሓቂ ተረዲእዎ፡ “ናብ ናይ መሰል ምሕታት ኣተሓሳስባ ከይብርኽ”፡ ብዓንተብኡ መሕለውታ ውዲታት ካብ ምጽዋድ ዓዲ ኣይወዓለን። ሰባት ኣንጻሩ ኣፍ ኣውጺኦም ኣብ ምንቃፉ ከይበጽሑ፡ “ኣንጻረይ ይሓስቡ ከይህልዉ” እንዳበለ ይኣስር ምንባሩ ክሳብ ክንደይ ብንግሆኡ ካብ ህዝቢ ይፈርሕ ከም ዝነበረ ዘመልክት እዩ። ህዝቢ ኣብ ሕድሕዱ ከይተኣማምን እሞ ሓቢሩ ንከይለዓሎ ዝተፈላለዩ መልከዓት ዝነበሮ መርበባት ስለያ  ዘርጊሑ። ካብቲ እዋንቲ ጀሚሩ ኤርትራውያን “ሰብኣይን ሰበይትን ወይ ወላድን ውሉድን” ኣብ ዘይምትእምማን ደረጃ ምብጸሖም ተዓዚቡ “ኣቤት ሕማቕ ዘበን በጺሕና” ዝብል ዝነበረ ኤርትራዊ ብዙሕ እዩ። እዚ ኩነታትዚ ሎሚ እውን መልክዑ ደኣ ቀይሩ ይኸውን እምበር ብትሕዝቶኡስ ኣይተለወጠን። ምናልባት እውን ይገድድ ይህሉ።

እቲ ጉጅለ ሓሓሊፉ ካብ ተዓዘብቲ ንዝቐርበሉ ሕቶታት ዝህቦ ዝነበረ መልስታት፡ ዕዳጋ ወሪዱ ዓዳጋይ ምስ ሰኣነ፡ “ካብኡ ኣይትሕለፉ” ብዝብል ባህ ኣይበሎ፡ “ምርጫ ናይ ዲሞክራሲ መርኣያ ኣይኮነን፡ ዘጽደቕኩምዎ ሕገ መንግስቲ ኣገልግሎት ከይጀመረ ኣበርዒኑ እዩ፡ ብዘይሕገ-መንግስቲ ምምራሕ ኣባና ዝተጀምረ ኣይኮነን” ብኣኡ  ኣቢሉ ከኣ እነሆ መጀመርታኡ እምበር መዓርፎኡ ናብ ዘይፍለጥ መደናገሪ መንገዲ ይጐዓዝ።

ካብዚ ሓሊፉ እዚ ጉጅለ ኣቐድም ኣቢሉ፡ ኣታሃራሪፍካ ናይ ምድዕዓስ መንገዲ እውን ነይርዎ እዩ። ንሓንሳብ ኣብ ጥራይ ጐልጎል ንኤርትራ ከም ሲንጋፖር ክንገብራ ኢና ኢሉ ይሓልም። ንሓንሳብ ድማ ኣብ ዘይተጨበጠ ሓቂ ኤርትራ ካብኣተን ከም እትሕይል ኣምሲሉ ብምቕራብ፡ ምስተን ኣብ ኑክሌራዊ ደረጃ ዝበጸሓ ሃገራትን ዞባዊ ትካላትን ክጻረፍን ክወዳደርን ይውዕል ነይሩ። ኣብዚ ሓደ ዘገርም ዛንታ ክንጠቅስ።

ሓደ ኣብ ስርዓት ደርጊ ስልጣን ዝነበሮም ኤርትራዊ ድሕሪ ናጽነት ኣብ ጸጸራት ይእሰሩ። ሓደ ካብቶም ዝሕልዉዎም ዝነበሩ  ብናይ ኢሳያስ ሓሶት ዝሰኸረ እሞ እቶም ዝሕልዎም ዝነበረ  እሱር ምሁርን ፈላጥን ምዃኖም ዝተነግሮ፡ ”ኣቦይ እገለ ኣብዛ ዓለምናስ ከም ኤርትራ ዝኣመሰለ ሓያልን ሃብታምን ሃገርዶ ትህሉ?” ይብሎም። ወዮም ናይቲ ስኻር ጠንቂ ዝተረድኡ ኤርትራዊ እሱር ከኣ እቲ ሓላዊኦም ከሕጐስ እሞ ክተሓባበሮም ስለ ዝደለዩ፡ “እንድዒ ምናልባት ኣሜሪካ እምበር ንኤርትራ ትወዳደር ሃገር ዘላ ኣይመስለንን” ኢሎም መለስሉ። እቲ ወዲ ሓደ ድኻ ኤርትራዊ፡ ገርሂ ልቡ ወታደር ከኣ፡ እንዳተሓጐሰ ከደ  ዝብል ዘገርም ዛንታ ኣሎ። እዚ ኢሳያስ ከምቲ ዝተጸበዮ ደኣ ኣይኮነሉን እምበር ክሳብ ክንደይ ንህዝቢ ኤርትራ መጻወቲ ክገብሮ ይህቅን ከም ዝነበረ ዘርኢ እዩ። ሕጂ እውን ኣብ ናይ ምትእምማን ዘይኮነ፡ ኣብቲ ናይ ምድንጋርን ምትሕብባእን ቦታኡ ምህላዉ ከኣ “ኣመል ምስ መግነዝ” ዘብል’ዩ።

Thursday, 03 September 2020 20:16

Radio Dimtsi Harnnet Kassel 03.09.2020

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Tuesday, 01 September 2020 18:28

Israel and the US seek African allies

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Snubbed by Sudan, Pompeo and Netanyahu scour Africa in search of support ahead of US election.

Despite months of lobbying, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has failed to convince the president of Sudan’s Sovereign Council to recognise Israel or support the Middle East peace plan concocted by Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. This has US and Israeli diplomats busy scrambling for support from other African countries.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, 24 August 2020.US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, 24 August 2020. ©Reuters Marketplace – Latin America News Agency Pictures

It is the diplomatic trick that has eclipsed the opening of embassies in Taiwan by nations looking to reap financial and diplomatic benefits. In an effort to garner as much support as possible for their Middle East peace plan, US President Donald Trump, his son-in-law Jared Kushner and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are searching for countries willing to recognise Israel and its new capital, Jerusalem. And time is running out: the US presidential election is three months away and if, as the polls suggest, the Democratic candidate Joe Biden wins, the Kushner initiative will be quickly forgotten and back to square one.

After securing the United Arab Emirates’ recognition of Israel on 13 August, the US and Israeli diplomats sought the same from Sudan. The transitional government in Khartoum relies heavily on Emirati support and has been lobbied by Israeli envoys since its arrival in power. Alas, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo‘s visit to Khartoum on 25 August was a letdown. Pompeo failed to win round Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who called on the transitional nature of his administration to explain his refusal to take sides in a diplomatic matter of this magnitude.

This resistance from Hamdok and the main figures in the coalition of parties he leads caught Washington and Tel Aviv off guard. The two countries bet everything on the military component of Sudan’s Sovereign Council to get on board, wagering this would be enough to rally the rest. In February, Netanyahu met with General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the president of the Sudan Sovereign Council, in Uganda to lay the groundwork for the country’s recognition of Israel. And less than a fortnight before the Hamdok-Pompeo meeting, General Mohamed Hamdan Dalgo, aka Hemeti, the vice-chair of the transitional government, had met with Israeli emissaries in London.

DRC takes care of diplomatic and financial worries in one fell swoop

To date, the only African leader who has taken the plunge is Congolese president Felix Tshisekedi, who, three months after Kushner presented his peace plan, announced the DRC would be opening an embassy in Tel Aviv and a liaison office in Jerusalem (Africa Intelligence18/03/20). This in effect put an end to the diplomatic and financial problems that the DRC had accrued with the Trump administration under President Joseph Kabila. And the move has left Tshisekedi unscathed on the domestic front: in a predominantly Christian country such as the DRC, the general public is relatively indifferent to Israeli-Palestinian relations. This is also the case for Togo and Cameroon, Israel’s two main allies in Africa.

For his part, Idriss Deby got on board too early in the day to reap the full benefits of opening an embassy in Tel Aviv. The Chadian head of state renewed ties with Israel in January 2019, a year before Kushner’s peace plan was presented. He has now found himself under renewed pressure to announce his support for the initiative and make its most controversial component, namely the appointment of Jerusalem as the capital of the Hebrew state, more pliable. He has yet to make any commitment. Deby’s spymaster General Ahmed Kogri, the head of the national security agency, the ANS, likes to present himself when talking to overseas diplomats as the United States and Israel’s best friend, as detailed by our sister publication Intelligence Online on 22/07/20. This diplomatic posturing is intended to make up for his relative isolation from Chad’s internal affairs, which are overseen by the deputy head of the ANS.

Mauritania refuses to budge

Further to the west, Washington and Israel are still hoping for a turnaround from Mauritania, which had an embassy in Tel Aviv for many years before severing all relations in 2009. Just as the UAE has been able to pressure Sudan, Saudi Arabia, which has shown support for the Kushner peace plan but refuses to recognise Israel, strongly urged President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani to reopen Mauritania’s representation in the Hebrew state (Africa Intelligence13/05/20). However, these efforts were in vain. As an Islamic state, Mauritania feels it has too much reputation to lose and not enough to gain if it were to follow Saudi Arabia’s lead. Its relations with Washington remain strong: in February the country hosted the annual US military exercise Flintlock (Africa Intelligence18/12/19).

The Trump administration’s latest target has been Morocco. Rabat has been historically well disposed towards the Hebrew state but does not have an embassy there. Moroccan-born Israelis are one of the main groups in the country and the kingdom is home to the largest Jewish community of the Maghreb region. King Mohammed VI, like his father Hassan II before him, chairs the Al-Quds Committee of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, which ensures the preservation of Jerusalem’s Arab-Muslim identity: getting him to change track would be a decisive victory for Israel. To tip Rabat in his favour, Kushner was willing to throw in the recognition of Western Sahara as Moroccan territory. Yet Rabat sees Kushner’s offer, which he has repeated several times in recent months, as mere smoke and mirrors. The Western Sahara issue is being overseen by the United Nations and while the US does have a say in the matter it cannot resolve the conflict on its own. Not being able to call all the shots has not stopped a good number of self-appointed “shadow” diplomats from putting forward proposals, some more fanciful or self-serving than others. The latest of these was presented by the French-Moroccan businessman Yariv Elbaz, who has a very small and distant connection to Kushner: Trump’s son-in-law lives in a house in Washington D.C. that was previously occupied by a close friend of Elbaz, the Beninese national Maixent Accrombessi (Africa Intelligence29/06/20).

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