The role played by the Zimbabwe military and security forces shows that how much the military leadership who led the downfall of the Mugabe dictatorship were professional and preserving national interests instead of serving the dictatorship. This shows that Zimbabwe military was not corrupted by bribes, spoils of office, ethnic manipulation of appointments and promotions. Comparing the Eritrean military and security forces with that of Zimbabwe, the Eritrean military is not professional but enforced paramilitaries loyal to the regime or serving the interests of the regime.

When one country's military is less professional, it is less likely to act in pursuit of national interests and distance itself from the regime. Zimbabwe's military action was not coup but was very skilled and wise peaceful method of toppling the regime of Mugabe unlike many of  the previous coups in African countries.

It is essential that the Eritrean Democracy Activists be concerned on the relation between the civil society movements and the military in Eritrea because several studies pointed that the coercive strength of the military is a great hinder for democratization.

 One of the most important aspect of the struggle from dictatorship to democracy is to subordinate the military under civilian rule and be under democratic rule. The military's role is to make the process of democratization peaceful and guarantee security and stability of the people.

The great majority of the post -colonial African states began by constituting states based on constitution and election but later transformed to dictatorship, but in case of Eritrea, after independence is unique than the other post-colonial states of Africa, the EPLF/PFFDJ failed in all aspects to fulfil the criteria of state building based on constitution and institutions.

Under what conditions can the military in Eritrea facilitate a democratic transition like that of Zimbabwe? When can it happen? How can it happen?

In this article I will attempt to focus on the above mentioned questions. The regime in Eritrea is weak in all aspects of governance, its only institution is the military and security to unite and control the country through the methods of repression. Both the military and the civilians have been suffering under the authoritarian rule of the regime. In the past years the military and security in Eritrea have been opposed to democratic change and taken side with the dictator like many other African countries, for example in Togo, Zaire, Congo, and Niger.

Among many other reasons, the main condition was that the popular movements for democratic change was lack of policy and no attention given to the military and security forces in Eritrea. According to Luckham, the military establishment and other repressive organs in any dictatorship are the single most important obstacle to democratisation, and Monshiopouri argues likewise that, " the active support or acquiescence of the military is the key to any viable and sustained political transition to democracy." Hutchful argues that, paying to little attention to the military dimension of democratisation might prove " a crucial and potentially costly omission." There can be no transition or consolidation of democracy unless the military takes the side of the democratic transition. As in our case, both the military and the security forces, through their current control over the state's coercive apparatus are the necessary means to carry out its political agenda.

In case of the Eritrean military, it is equally oppressed and is suffering under crisis for so many years and in this situation it can be motivated to work for democratic transition in Eritrea. For example in 1994, in Malawi the military joined the forces for democratic change, and in Benin in 1990, the military refused to face down popular protests against the authoritarian regime. In Mali, a reform- minded faction of the military even decided to intervene actively to terminate the regime itself and facilitate the transition to democracy. The common condition in all these countries' is the same like that of our Eritrea. It is oppression in all spheres of their lives. What the Eritrean forces for democratic change need is to prepare for creating conditions where the military and security forces in Eritrea can facilitate democratic transition like that of Zimbabwe or other like the Benin or Malawi methods of transition.

ሃገረ-ስብከት ኤውሮጳ ጀርመን

ኮለኔል ጸጉ ፍስሃየ ኣብ ዕለት 11/11/2017 ምስ ረድዮ-ኤሬና ዘካየዱዎ ቃለ-መሕትት፥ ኣነ’ውን ከም ሕዝበይ ተኸታቲለዮ እየ። ጉዳይ ቤተ-ክርስቲያን ተዋሕዶ ካብ ዝግድሶም ሓደ ስለ-ዝኾንኩ ድማ፥ ንኣበሃህላ’ቶም ኮለኔል ተገዲሰ ክከታተሎ ግድነት ኮይኑኒ። ከመይሲ ንሶም እዞም ስሞም ዝተጠቕሱ ኮለኔል፥ ሓደ ካብቶም ነቲ ፖለቲካዊ ሥርዓት ብምውካል፥ ኣብ ውሽጢ ቤተ-ክርስቲያን ተዋሕዶ፥ ብብዙሕ ክዋስኡ ዝጸንሑ ምዃኖም ስለ-ዝፈልጥ’የ።

ስለዚ’ውን ንሶም ዝብሉዎ ምስማዕ፥ ንዓና ነቶም ብጉዳይ ቤተ-ክርስቲያን እንቕንዞ ኦርቶዶክሳውያን፥ ዓቢይ ኣገዳስነት ዘለዎ ክኸውን ግድነት እዩ። ከመይሲ ከምቲ ዓደቦና “-መን ይንገር ዝወዓለ፥ መንከ የርድእ  ዝቐበረ-” ዝብሉዎ። ካብቶም ኣብቲ መድረኽ ቤተ-ክርስቲያንና ደይቦም ክዋስኡ ዝጸንሑ ንላዕሊ፥ ክዛረብ ዝኽእል ኣሎ ስለ-ዘይበሃል፥ ነዚ ዝተገብረ ቃለ-መሕትት’ዚ ንምስማዕ ሕንጡያት ኮንና እንተ-ተረኸብና፥ ዘገርም ኣይኮነን።

ከመይሲ ኮለኔል ጸጉ መን ምዃኖምን፥ ሓደ ካብቶም ነቲ ፖለቲካዊ ሥርዓት ብምውካል፥ኣብ ጉዳይ ቤተ-ክርስቲያንና ብብዙሕ ክዋስኡ ዝጸንሑ ምዃኖም’ውን ስለ-ዝፍለጥ። ብዛዕባ’ቲ ኣብ ደምበ-ተዋሕዶና ብቐጻሊ ክፍጸም ዝጸንሐ ግህሰተ-ሕጊ፥ ካብኦም ንላዕሊ ዝፈልጦን ክዛረብ ዝኽእል’ውን፥ ክህሉ ይኽእል’ዩ ኢልካ ኣይሕሰብን። እቲ ብኣይ ወገን ዝነበረ ትጽቢት’ውን እዚ’ዩ ነይሩ። እቲ ንሶም ዝገበሩዎ ቃለ-መሕትት ምስ-ሰማዕኩ ግና፥ ኮለኔል-ጸጉ ነቲ ዝነበረ ሓቂ ክገልጹ ከም-ዝተጸገሙ፥ ወይ ድማ ትብዓት ዝወሓዶም ኮይኖም’የ ረኺበዮም።

ከመይሲ ንሶም ኮለኔል-ጸጉ ኣብ ሃይማኖታዊ-ጉዳያት ኣብ ዝነበሩሉ ግዜ፥ ኣብ ቤተ-ክርስቲያን ተዋሕዶ ብዙሕ ዝተፈጸመ ግህሰተ-ሕጊ እናሃለወ፥ ንሶም ግና ዋላ ሓንቲ ክብሉ ዝደልዩ መሲሎም ኣይተራእዩን። ስለ-ምንታይ’ውን እቲ ኩሉ ዝተፈጸመ ናይ ሕጊ ግህሰታት፥ ተዓባቢጡ ክተርፍ ከም-ዝደለዩዎ ንኽትርድኦ ዘጸግም’ዩ። እቲ ሓቂ ግና ከምቲ ኮለኔል-ጸጉ ዝገለጹዎ ከም-ዘይኮነ፥ ንሕና እቶም ደቂ ቤተ-ክርስቲያን ተዋሕዶ ኣረጋጊጽና እንፈልጦ ሓቂ እዩ።ስለዚ ድማ’ዩ ኣበሃህላ’ቶም ኮለኔል፥ ሓቂ’ዩ ኢልና ክንቅበሎ ከቢዱና ዝርከብ ዘሎ።

ንኣብነት ኢልካ ካብ ዝጥቀስ ሓደ፥ ማለት እቲ ጋዜጠኛ ዮሓንስ ተስፋ-ማርያም፥  ብዛዕባ ዮፍታሔ ዲሜጥሮስ፥ ናብ መንበረ-ፓትርያርክ ክመጽእ ዝኸኣለሉ ጉዳይ ኣመልኪቱ ዘቕረቦ ሕቶ’ዩ። ኮለኔል-ጸጉ ነዚ ሕቶ’ዚ ክምልሱ ከለዉ “...ክሕግዝ ተባሂሉ’ዩ ተመዲቡ። እዚ’ውን ክሥርሓሉ ዝጸንሐ ልሙድ’ዩ፥ ቅድሚኡ’ውን በዓል መምህር ደሴን፥ ሃለቃ ግደይን፥ መምህር ፍስሃየን ነይሮም’ዮም...” ዝብል መልሲ ክህቡ’ዮም ተሰሚዖም። እዚ ኸኣ ነቶም ነቲ ጉዳይ ብቐረባ ንፈልጦ ደቂ ቤተ-ክርስቲያን፥ ኣዚዩ ዝገርመና ስለ- ዝኾነ፥ ንኣበሃህላ’ቶም ኮለኔል ብዓይኒ ትዕዝብቲ ክንጥምቶ ካብ ዝገብረና ሓደ’ውን እዚ’ዩ።

ከመይሲ መምህር ደሴ ብርሃነን ሊቀ-ኅሩያን ግደይ ገብረን፥ ብመንበረ-ፓትርያርክ ዝተመደቡ ሕጋውያን-ጸሓፍቲ ክኾኑ ከለዉ፥ ዮፍታሔን ዲሜጥሮስን መምህር ፍስሃየ ተስፋ-ሥላሴን ግና፥ ብጸቕጢ ፖለቲካ ኣብ ዝባን ቤተ-ክርስቲያን ዝተቐመጡ ዕዳ ምንባሮም እናተፈልጠ ከሎ፥ ናይዞም ኣርባዕተ ኣስማቶም ዝተጠቕሱ ሰባት፥ ከም ናይ ኩሉ ግዜ ልሙድ ኣመዳድባን፥ ሕጋዊ መሥርሕ ዝተኸተለ ኣገባብን ገይሮም ከቕርቡዎ ምፍታኖም፥ ንመንነቶም ኣብ ምልክት ሕቶ ዘእቱ ጌጋ፥ ከም-ዝፈጸሙ ኮይኑ’ዩ ንዓይ ዝርድኣኒ።

ብዝተረፈ ምንም’ኳ ቤተ-ክርስቲያንና፥ ካብ 1983 ዓ/ም (1991 ኣትሒዛ ኣቶ ጴጥሮስ ሰሎሞን ብዝኸተሙዎ ደብዳቤ፥ ኣብ ትሕቲ ፍጹም ምቁጽጻር-ፖለቲካ ኣትያ ትርከብ እንተ-ነበረት። ኣብ 1985 ዓ/ም (1997) እቲ ንሶም ብኣባልነት ዝርከብዎ ዝነበሩ ሃይማኖታዊ-ጉዳያት ብዝወሰዶ ስጉምቲ ግና፥ እቶም ኣብቲ ግዜ’ቲ ዋና-ጸሓፊ ዝነበሩ፥ መሪጌታ ይትባረክ በርሀ ብግፍዒ ከም-ዝተኣስሩ ዝፍለጥ’ዩ።

 እቲ ኮለኔል-ጸጉ ዝነበሩዎ መስርያ-ቤት ብዝመሃዞ ተንኮል ድማ፥ ኣብ መንጎ ኣቡነ-ፊልጶስን ኣቡነ-ያዕቆብን ምስሕሓብ ከም-ዝፍጠር ስለ-ዝተገብረ፥ ብድሕር’ዚ እዩ “...ንስኻትኩም ክትሰማምዑ ካብ-ዘይትኽእሉ...” ዝብል ሰበብ ምኽንያት ብምግባር፥ ብውሳኔ ሃይማኖታዊ-ጉዳያት፥ መምህር ፍስሃየ ዋና-ጸሓፊ ኮይኖም ክመጹ ዝኸኣሉ። እዚ መሥርሕ’ዚ ከኣ፥ እቶም ኮለኔል ዝተዋስኡሉ ጉዳይ ክኸውን ከም-ዝኽእል፥ ዓይንኻ ተዓሚትካ’ውን ክግመት ዘይከኣል ኣይኮነን። ብዛዕባ’ዚ ጉዳይ’ዚ ገለ ክብሉ ዘይምድላዮም ግና፥ እቲ ምስጢሩ ብቐሊል ክርድኦ ዝኽእል ኮይኑ ኣይረኸብኩዎን።

ብዝተረፈ መሪጌታ ይትባረክ፥ ዋላ ሓንቲ ናብ ማእሰርቲ ዘብጽሕ ምኽንያት ከም-ዘይነበሮም ፍሉጥ’ዩ። ሃይማኖታዊ-ጉዳያት ኣብ ውሽጢ መንበረ-ጵጵስና፥ ብቀጥታ ጸብጻብ ዝህቦ ናቱ ኣንቴና ክተክል ስለ-ዝደለየ ግና፥ ብዘይ ዝኾነ ይኹን ምኽንያት ንመሪጌታ-ይትባረክ በርሀ ኣብ ትሕቲ ቀይዲ ኣእትዩ፥ ንመምህር ፍስሃየ ዋና-ጸሓፊ ገይሩ ከቐምጦም ምኽኣሉ፥ ኩሎም ደቂ ቤተ-ክርስቲያን ኣረጋጊጾም ዝፈልጡዎ ሓቂ’ዩ። እዚ  ሓቂ’ዚ ከኣ ካብ ኮለኔል ጸጉ ዝተኸወለ’ዩ ነይሩ ክንብል ኣይንኽእልን። ስለ’ዚ ከኣ’ዩ እቲ በቶም ኮለኔል ዝተባህለ ኣበሃህላ፥ ሕልናና ኣሚኑ ንኽቕበሎ ዝኸብዶ ዘሎ።

ብዝተረፈ ክሳብ ምሻም እቶም ቀዳማይ-ፓትርያርክ ዝነበረ ግዜ፥ ንመምህር ፍስሃየ ዋና-ጸሓፊ  ጌርካ እቲ ጉዕዞ ክኽየድ ምስ-ጸንሐ። እቶም ሓዲሽ-ፓትርያርክ ማለት ኣቡነ-ፊልጶስ፥ ንሶም ኣኅቲመዮ ዝብሉዎ መጻሕፍቲ፥ ብሃይማኖታዊ-ጉዳያት ምስ-ተሃገሮም፥ ሕነ ክፈዲ ኣሎኒ ኢሎም ስለ-ዝተላዕሉ፥ ንመምህር ፍስሃየ ተስፋ-ሥላሴ ካብቲ ሂቦሞም ዝነበሩ መንበሪ-ቤት ኣውጺኦም፥ ካብ ሥራሕ’ውን ከም-ዝሰጎጉዎም ዝፍለጥ’ዩ። እዚ ሓቂ’ዚ ከኣ ካብ ዝኾነ ሰብ ንላዕሊ ኮለኔል-ጸጉ ከም-ዝፈልጡዎ፥ ምንም ዘጠራጥር ኣይኮነን።

ከምዚ ኢሎም መምህር-ፍስሃየ፥ ብውሳኔ እቶም ፓትርያርክ ምስወጹ ድማ፥  ዮፍታሔ ዲሜጥሮስ ብውሳኔ ፖለቲካ፥ ዋና-ኣማሓዳሪ ቤተ-ክርስቲያን ተባሂሉ፥ ከም ዕዳ ኣብ ዝባን ቤተ-ክርስቲያን ክቕመጥ ምግባሩ፥ እዚ ምስጢር’ዚ ንኮለኔል ጸጉ ክጠፍኦም ይኽእል’ዩ ክንብል ኣይንኽእልን። ግዳስ እቲ ዮፍታሔ ናብ ቤተ-ክርስቲያን ተዋሕዶ ክኣቱ፥ ዝነበረ ፖለቲካዊ-መሥርሕ እዚ ምዃኑ እናተፈልጠ ከሎ፥ ኮለኔል-ጸጉ ግና ስለምንታይ ካብቲ ናይ ካልኦት ጸሓፍቲ ኣመዳድባ ዝተፈልየ ኣይኮነን ብምባል፥ ኣብ ባይታ ዘየሎ ሓቂ ክነግሩና ይደልዩ ከም-ዘለዉ፥ ክንርድኦ እንተደለና’ውን ምርድኡ ዝከኣል ኮይኑ ኣይንረኽቦን ዘሎና።

ብዝተረፈ ናይ ዮፍታሔ ኣብ ቤተ-ክርስቲያን ተዋሕዶ፥ ዋና-ኣማሓዳሪ ጌርካ ምሻም፥ ነታ ቤተ-ክርስቲያን ኣብ ትሕቲ ፍጹም ፖለቲካዊ ምቁጽጻር ንምእታው ዝዓለመ ደኣምበር፥ ከምቲ እቶም ኮለኔል ክብሉዎ ዝተሰምዑ፥ ምስ ኣመዳድባ ሊቀ-ኅሩያን ግደይ ገብረን መምህር ደሴ ብርሃነን ዝመሳሰል ኣይኮነን። ከመይሲ ንሳቶም ብመንበረ-ፓትርያርክ ዝተመደቡ ሕጋውያን ክኾኑ ከለዉ፥ ዮፍታሔ ግና ብማዕበል-ፖለቲካ ተደፊኡ ዝመጸ ‘ዩ ነይሩ። እዚ ታሪኽ እናተዛረበሉ ክነብር ዘለዎ፥ ኣብ ቤተ-ክርስቲያን ተዋሕዶ ዝተፈጸመ  ዓቢይ ናይ ሕጊ ግህሰት’ዚ ከኣ፥ ኮለኔል-ጸጉ ከም-ዘየዛርብ ኣርእስቲ ጌሮም ክሓልፉዎ እንተደለዩ ናቶም ምርጫ’ዩ። ንሕና እቶም ደቂ’ታ ዓባይ ኦርቶዶክሳዊት ቤተ-ክርስቲያን ዝኾንና ግና፥ ነዚ ኣበሃህላ’ዚ ፈጺምና ክንቅበሎ ንኽእል ኣይኮናን።

ኮለኔል-ጸጉ ኣብቲ መንበረ-ፓትርያርክ ስምምዕ ከም-ዘይነበረ ዝገለጹዎ’ውን ኣሎ። ኣብዝስ ኣይተጋገዩን። ኣብቶም ጳጳሳት ስምምዕ ከም-ዘይነበረስ ንሕና እቶም ደቂ ቤተ-ክርስቲያን’ውን ንፈልጥ ኢና። ይኹን እምበር እዚ ዘይምስምማዕ’ዚ ካብቲ ኮለኔል-ጸጉ ዝነበሩዎ ሃይማኖታዊ-ጉዳያት ዝነቅል ደኣምበር፥ ካብ ውሽጢ መንበረ-ፓትርያርክ ዝብገስ ነገር ኣይነበረን። ነዚ ከም ምኽንያት ካብ ዝጥቀስ ሓደ ከኣ፥ እቲ ኣቡነ-ያዕቆብ ኣብ 1989 ዓ/ም (1997) ናብቶም ርእሰ-ብሔር ዝጸሓፉዎ ደብዳቤ’ዩ።

እዚ ማለት ድማ፥ እቲ ንመሪጌታ ይትባረክ ኣሲርካ፥ ንመምህር ፍስሃየ ዋና-ጸሓፊ ጌርካ ንምእታው፥ ብሃይማኖታዊ-ጉዳያት ዝእለም ዝነበረ ረቂቕ ተንኮል፥ ጽቡቕ ጌሮም ይከታተሉዎ ስለ-ዝነበሩ። ኣብቲ ነዚ ኣመልኪቶም ናብቶም ርእሰ-ብሔር ዝጸሓፉዎ ደብዳቤ “...ሓደ ዋና-ጸሓፊ ኣብ ምምዳብ፥ ኣብ መንበረ-ጵጵስና ስምምዕ ከምዘየሎ ዘምስል፥ ዝናፈስ ዘረባ ምህላዉ ይስማዕ’ዩ። እንተኾነ እቲ ስምምዕ ንኸይርከብ ጠንቂ ኮይኑ ዝርከብ ዘሎ፥ ሃይማኖታዊ-ጉዳያት ባዕሉ ደኣምበር፥ ካብዚ ካብ መንበረ-ጵጵስና ዝብገስ ጽልኢ የልቦን...” ዝበሉዎ ኣበሃህላ፥ በዚ ጉዳይ’ዚ ተሓታቲ ሃይማኖታዊ-ጉዳይ ደኣምበር፥ እቲ ብሳምቡእ-ፖለቲካ ከተንፍስ፥ ተፈሪዱዎ ዝነበረ መንበረ-ጵጵስና ከም-ዘይኮነ፥ መስክሩለይ ምባል ዘየድልዮ፥ ከም ማይ-ንግሆ ዝጸረየ ሓቂ’ዩ።

እታ ቤተ-ከርስቲያን ምሉእ ብምሉእ፥ ፖለቲካ ዝተቘጻጸራ ክትከውን ስለ-ዝተደልየ ግና፥ ኣብቲ ሲኖዶስ ስምምዕ ከም-ዘይርከብ ንምግባር፥ በቶም ሰብ-ፖለቲካ ብቐጻሊ ይሥረሓሉ ከም-ዝነበረ፥ ካብቶም ኣብቲ መንበረ-ፓትርያርክ ዝነበርና ዉሉደ-ክህነት ዝተሓብአ ምስጢር ኣይነበረን። እቲ ዝነበረ ሓቂ ከምዚ ዝተባህለ ካብ ኮነ ከኣ፥ ሰላምን ስኒትን ዝነበሮ መንበረ-ፓትርያርክ ክርከብ፥ ትጽቢት ክግበረሉ ዝከኣል ኣይነበረን። እዚ ኩሉ’ዚ ከኣ፥ ካብቶም ኣብ ሃይማኖታዊ-ጉዳያት ወሰንቲ ዝነበሩ ኣካላት ሓደ፥ ማለት ኮለኔል-ጸጉ ኣይፈልጥዎን’ዮም ነይሮም ክበሃል ዝከኣል ኣይኮነን።

ብጀካ’ዚ እውን እቲ መንግሥቲ፥ ገንዘባዊ ሓገዝ ይገብር ከም-ዝነበረ፥ ኣብቲ ኮለኔል-ጸጉ ዝሃቡዎ ቃለ-መጠይቕ ተጠቒሱ ኣሎ። እዚ ዝተባህለ ሓገዝ ግና፥ ብመሠረቱ ቤተ-ክርስቲያን ተዋሕዶ ዝሓተቶ ናይ ገንዘብ ሓገዝ’ውን ኣይነበረን። እቶም ብልቦና ዝፍለጡ ዝነበሩ መጋቤ-ሥርዓት ሉቃስ ገብረ-ሚካኤል፥ ብመንገዲ ኣቶ ጴጥሮስ ሰሎሞን ኣቢሎም፥ ናብቶም ርእሰ-ብሔር ቀሪቦም ኣብ ዝነበሩሉ ግዜ ግና። “...እንታይ ክንሕግዘኩም ትደልዩ-?...” ተባሂሎም ምስ-ተሓተቱ።

“...ንሕና ከም ቤተ-ክርስቲያን ተዋሕዶ መጠን፥ ገንዘባዊ ሓገዝ ኣይንሓትትን ኢና። ከመይሲ ማኅበረ-ምእመናን ተዋሕዶ ኣብ ዝሓተትናዮ ግዜ፥  ኩሉ ክገብር ዝኽእል ኣማኒ ሕዝቢ’ዩ ዘሎና። ዝከኣል እንተደኣ ኮይኑ ግና፥ ንሕና ንሓቶ ሓደ ነገር ኣሎ። ንሱ ድማ መንፈሳዊ-ኮለጅ’ዩ። ከመይሲ ምስዚ ሕጂ ዘሎናዮ ብምዕባሌ ዝፍለጥ ዓለም፥ ሓቢርና ክንጐዓዝ እንተደኣ ኮንና፥ ብደረጃ ኮለጅ ዝተመረቑ ዉሉደ-ክህነት ከድልዩና’ዮም። ስለዚ ንሕና ኣብዚ እዋን’ዚ፥ ቅድሚ መንፈሳዊ-ኮለጅ ንሰርዖ ካልእ ምርጫ ክህልወና ኣይክእልን’ዩ...”ብምባል’ዮም መጋቤ-ሥርዓት ሉቃስ መልሲ ዝሃቡ።

እቶም ሰብ-ፖለቲካ ግና፥ እዚ ኩሉ’ዚ ምስቲ ሕቡእ ኣጀንዳኦም ተሳንዩ ክኸይድ ዝኽእል ስለ-ዘይነንበረ፥ እንኳንዶ ክገብሩዎ ክሰምዑዎ ዝደልዩ’ውን ኣይነበሩን። ብመሠረቱ’ውን ኣብ ቤተ-ክርስቲያን ተዋሕዶ፥ ምሁራን ክህልዉ ይድለ ከም-ዘይነበረ፥ ክጥቀስ ዝኽእል ብዙሕ ኣጋጣሚታት ኣሎ። ንኣብነት እቶም ሠለስተ-ካህናት መካነ-ሕይወት፥ ከምኡ’ውን መሪጌታ ይትባረክ፥ ንዓሠርተ-ሠለስተ ዓመት መመላእታ ተመቝሖም ዝርከቡ ዘለዉ፥ ምሁራን ኮይኖም ብምርካቦም ደኣ’ምበር፥ ዝፈጸሙዎ ገበን ስለ-ዝተረኽቦም ኣይኮነን። ብኣውርኡ እቲ ኣብ መካነ-ሕይወት ዝነበረ ቤት-ትምህርቲ-ሰንበት፥ ዕላማ ኮይኑ  ክጠፍእ ዝተገብረ’ውን፥ ኣብቲ ደምበ-ተዋሕዶና ምሁራን ከይፈርዩ ስለ-ዝተሰግአ ደኣምበር፥ ካልእ ምኽንያት ስለ-ዝነበሮ ኣይኮነን።

ብዝተረፈ እቲ ሕንፃ መንበረ-ፓትርያርክ ንኽሥራሕ፥ እቲ መንግሥቲ ስለ-ዝደለየ ደኣምበር፥ ብወገን ቤተ-ክርስቲያን ዝቐረበ ሕቶ ኣይነበረን። ከመይሲ እቲ ዝዓበየ ትዅረት ሰብ ኣብ ምሕናፅ ክቕድም’ዩ፥ ናይ ብዙሓት ውሉደ-ክህነት ድሌት ዝነበረ። ብጀካ ሓደ ሚልዮንን-ፈረቓን ገንዘብ የብልናን ተባሂሉ’ውን ተነጊሩዎም ነይሩ’ዩ። እቶም ሰብ-ፖለቲካ፥ ደሓን ዝተረፈ ባዕላትና ክንምልኦ ኢና ስለ-ዝበሉ ግና፥ እቲ ዕዮ ሕንፃ ክጅመር ክኢሉ። ኣብ ፍርቂ ምስ-በጽሐ ግና፥ እቶም ቻይናውያን በቲ ውዕል መሠረት፥ ዝተወሰነ ገንዘብ ክኽፈሎም ሓቲቶም።

እዚ ከኣ ነቶም ሰብ-ፖለቲካ ክግለጸሎም ግድነት’ዩ ነይሩ። እቲ ምስ ሥነ-ምግባር ዝፋለጥ ባህርያት ነይሩዎ ዘይበሃል ናይዝጊ ክፍሉ ግና፥ ናብ መንበረ-ፓትርያርክ ብምምጻእ፥ “...ንሕና ከም መንግሥቲ መጠን፥ ናይ ኩሎም ሃይማኖታት መንግሥቲ ኢና’ምበር፥ ናትኩም ናይ ተዋሕዶ መንግሥቲ ጥራይ ኣይኮናን። ስለዚ ዕዳኹም ባዕልኹም ኢኹም ክትከፍሉዎ ዘለኩም እምበር፥ ዕዳና ክፈሉልና ኢልኩም ናባና ዘመላልስ ምኽንያት የብልኩምን...” ብምባል፥ ብሁልን ዘይብሁልን ኢሉ ምስከደ፥ ኣብቲ መንበረ-ፓትርያርክ ዓቢይ ምስንባድ ፈጢሩ ከም-ዝነበረ፥ ኣብ ተዘክሮ ብዙሓት ውሉደ-ክህነት ከም-ዝህሉ ርግጽ’ዩ።

እንታይ ደኣ’ዩ ክግበር-? ብምባል፥ ህጹጽ ኣኼባ ከም-ዝጽዋዕ ምስ-ተገብረ ከኣ፥ ባዕላቶም’ዮም ዘበገሱዎ እምበር፥ ንሕና ሕንፃ ክንሠርሕ ዝብል ሓሳብ ኣይነበረናን። ሕጂ ድማ እንሆ ግምጥል ኢሎም፥ ዕዳኹም ባዕልኻትኩም ክፈሉ ይብሉና ኣለዉ። ስለዚ እንታይ’ዩ ክግበር-? ብምባል ነዊሕ ሰዓታት ዝወሰደ ዘተ ምስ-ተገብረ። መወዳእታኡ እቲ ኣኼባ ንማኅበረ-ምእመናን ጸዊዕና፥ እቲ ዘጋጠመ ጸገም ነካፍሎም ብምባል ስለ-ዝተሰማምዐ፥ ናብ ሕዝቢ መጸዋዕታ ከም-ዝዝርጋሕ ተገይሩ።

ይኹን እምበር እቲ መጸዋዕታ ንሰንበት ስለ-ዝነበረ፥ ኣብቲ ቅድሚኡ ዘሎ ሣልስቲ ማለት ዓርቢ፥ ናይዝጊ ክፍሉ ናብ መንበረ-ፓትርያርክ ብምምጻእ፥ “...እዚ ናብ ሕዝቢ ዘርጊሕኩሞ ዘሎኹም መጸዋዕታ፥ ኣብ ምንታይ ኣጀንዳ ዘተኮረ’ዩ-? ዝብል ሕቶ ኣቕሪቡ። እቶም ነቲ ናይ ሕንፃ ዕዮ ዝመርሑ ዝነበሩ ኣቡነ-ያዕቆብ ድማ “...ዕዳ ከካፍሉና ብምባል ኢና፥ ማኅበረ-ምእመናን ዓዲምና ዘሎና...” ዝብል መልሲ ሂቦሞ። ንሱ ድማ “...ሕዝቢ ክትጽውዑ ኣየድልየኩምን’ዩ። እቲ ዕዳ ባዕላትና ክንከፍሎ ኢና። በዚ ጉዳይ’ዚ ድማ ሰብ ክትእክቡ የብልኩምን...” ብምባል፥ ነቲ ምስ ሕዝቢ ክግበር ተመዲቡ ዝነበረ ኣኼባ ከም-ዝስረዝ ገይሩዎ ምኻዱ’ዩ ዝፍለጥ።

እዚ ኩሉ’ዚ ከርእየና ዝኽእል ድማ፥ እታ ቤተ-ክርስቲያን ናይቲ ፖለቲካ ጸጋዕተኛ፥ ወይ ተመጽዋቲት ኮይና ክትነብር ካብ ዝነበሮም መደብ ደኣምበር፥ እቲ ሓገዝ ዝበሃል ንሓልዮት ተባሂሉ ዝግበር ዘይምንባሩ’ዩ። ብዝተረፈ እታ ቤተ-ክርስቲያን “...ርእስኺ ክኢልኪ ንበሪ ንዓና’ውን ኣይትጸበዪ..” ዝብል መግናሕቲ ተቐቢላ ከተብቅዕ። ምስ ሕዝባ ተራኺባ ውራያ ከተሳልጥ እንተደለየት ድማ፥ “...ምስ ሕዝቢ ክትራኸብስ ኣይንፈቕደልክን ኢና...”ዝብል ኣበሃህላ ምስ ሓልዮት ድዩ፥ ወይስ ምስ ሓገዝ ክቑጸር-? እምበኣር እቲ ኮለኔል-ጸጉ ንቤተ-ክርስቲያን ተዋሕዶ ሓገዝ ይግበረላ ነይሩ ዝበሉዎ፥ ነዚ’ዩ ዝመስል።

ኣብ መወዳእታ ክብሎ ዝደሊ፥ ብዛዕባ’ቲ ኮለኔል-ጸጉ “ፓትርያርክ” ተመሪጾም ዝበሉዎ ኣበሃህላ’ዩ። እቲ ፓትርያርክነት’ቲ ግና፥ መንግሥቲ ሸይሙ ክበሃል እንተ-ዘይኮይኑ፥ ቤተ-ክርስቲያን መሪጻ ዝበሃል ኣይኮነን። ከመይሲ ነቲ ብሕጊ ዝካየድ ዝነበረ ምርጫ፥ ሃገራዊ-ድሕነት ወይ ጀረናል ኣብርሃ ካሣ መጺኦም፥ “መንግሥቲ ከይካየድ ኣጊዱዎ’ዩ” ብምባል እቲ መሥርሕ ምርጫ ከም-ዘቋርጽ ምግባሮም ዝፍለጥ’ዩ። እዚ ክገብሩ ዘገደዶም ምኽንያት ድማ፥ እቲ ንሱ እቲ መንግሥቲ ፓትርያርክ ክገብሮም መዲቡዎም ዝነበረ ጳጳስ፥ ካብቶም ሠለስተ ንመወዳእታ ውድድር ዝሓልፉ ጳጳሳት ኮይኖም ክርከቡ ብዘይ ምኽኣሎም፥ ነቲ  ስዕረት ክጻወሮ ብዘይ ምኽኣሉ እዩ። 

መወዳታኡ ድማ ነቲ ጉዳይ ንሓደ-ዓመት ዝኸውን ግዜ፥ ብውንዙፍ ሒዙዎ ድሕሪ ምጽንሑ። ብዘይ ዝኾነ ይኹን ምርጫ ባዕሉ እቲ መንግሥቲ፥ ካይሮ ወሲዱ ደኣ ኣቕቢኡዎም እምበር፥ እታ በዓልቲ ውራይ ክትከውን ዝነበራ ቤተ-ክርስቲያን ተዋሕዶ፥ ኣብዚ ሽመት’ዚ ኢድ ኣለዋ ዝበሃል ታሪኽ የልቦን። ስለዚ እቲ ኮለኔል-ጸጉ ፓትርያርክ ተመሪጾም ዝበሉዎ ኣበሃህላ፥ ፖለቲካዊ-ሽመት እምበር፥ ብቀኖና ዝተፈጸመ ምርጫ ስለ-ዘይኮነ፥ ኣብ መንጎ ሽመትን ምርጫን ዘሎ ፍልልይ ምርዳእ ከም-ዘድሊ፥ ንእግሪ መንገደይ ንኮለኔል ጸጉ ከተሓሳስቦም እደሊ።

ብዝተረፈ ሓሳባተይ ኣብ ምጥቕላል ክብሎ ዝደሊ። ኮለኔል ጸጉ ሓደ ካብቶም ኣብ ሃይማኖታዊ-ጉዳያት፥ ብዝለዓለ ናይ ሓላፍነት ጽፍሒ ክዋስኡ ዝጸንሑ በዓል-ሥልጣን ‘ዮም። እቲ ኩሉ ኣብ ልዕሊ ቤተ-ክርስቲያን ተዋሕዶ ዝተፈጸመ ናይ ሕጊ ግህሰት ከኣ፥ በቲ ንሶም’ውን ኣባሉ ኮይኖም ዝጸንሑ ሃይማኖታዊ-ጉዳያት ኣቢሉ ክፍጸም ዝጸንሐ ምዃኑ ዘከራኽር ኣይኮነን። እምበኣር እዚ ቤት’ዚ፥ ማለት ሃይማኖታዊ-ጉዳያት፥ ከም ሰብ ኣካል ሰሪዑን ሕይወት ሰዅዑን፥ ደው ክብል ዝኽእል ነይሩ እንተ-ዝኸውን። ኣብ ቅድሚ ካህን ቀሪቡ ክንሳሕ ዘገድዶ፥ ብዙሕ ጾር ተሰኪሙ ከም-ዘሎ ምርድኡ ዝጽግም ኣይኮነን።

ከመይሲ ንቤተ-ክርስቲያን ተዋሕዶ ብዝምልከት፥ ብሃይማኖታዊ-ጉዳያት ኣቢሉ ኣብ ልዕሊኣ ዘይተፈጸመ ግፍዕን ዓመጽን ኣሎ ክበሃል ኣይከኣልን። ብግዳም ክርአ ከሎ እዛ ቤተ-ክርስቲያን’ዚኣ፥ ፓትርያርክን ሲኖዶስን ዘለዋ ነፃ መሲላ ክትርአ ትኽእል’ያ። እቲ ሓቂ ግና ከምኡ ኣይኮነን። ከም ሓንቲ ትካል መንግሥቲ ተቘጺራ፥ ዝተኣዘዘቶ እትፍጽም ናይ ፖለቲካ መጋበሪ ኮይና ትርከብ ምህላዋ፥ እቲ ኣብ ባይታ ዘሎ ህልው ኩነታት ባዕሉ ከረጋግጾ ዝኽእል ሓቂ’ዩ።

እሞ እዞም ኣብ ደምበ ደለይቲ ፍትሒ፥ ተሓዊሶም ዝርከቡ ዘለዉ ኮለኔል-ጸጉ ደኣ፥ እንታይ’ዮም ክነግሩና ዝደልዩ ዘለዉ-?! በየናይ መዐቀኒ ኢናኸ ነቲ ዝበሉዎ ኩሉ፥ሓቂ’ዩ ኢልና ኣሚና ክንቅበሎ ንኽእል-?! ከመይሲ ብዛዕባ’ቲ ክፍጸም ዝጸንሐ ናይ ሕጊ ግህሰታት፥ ዝኾነ ነገር ክብሉ ኣይሰማዕናዮምን። ከም ሓቂ ክዝረብ እንተደኣ ኮይኑ፥ ንቤተ-ክርስቲያን ተዋሕዶ ንምድኻምን ንምጥፋእን ዝዓለመ፥ ብዙሕ ነገር ነገራት ክፍጸም ምጽንሑ ዝፍለጥ’ዩ። እዚ ኩሉ’ዚ ከኣ ካብ ኮለኔል-ጸጉ ዝተሓብአ’ዩ ነይሩ ክንብል ኣይንኽእልን።

ንሶም እቶም ኮለኔል ግና፥ ብዛዕባ’ቲ ዝተፈጸመ ግፍዕታት ኩሉ፥ ዋላ ሓንቲ ክብሉ’ኳ ኣይተሰምዑን። ብዝተፈልየ ድማ እቲ ዮፍታሔ ዲሜጥሮስ ናብ መንበረ-ፓትርያርክ ንምእታው ዝተኸተሎ ኣገባብ። ከም ልሙድን ቅቡልን ኣሠራርሓ ጌሮም ዝሃቡዎ መግለጺ። ነቲ ሕጂ ዘለዎም ኣቕዋም ኣብ ምልክት ሕቶ ከእትዎ ዝኽእል ምዃኑ ብምርዳእ፥ ሓደ ብሩህን ንጹርን መግለጺ ክህቡሉ፥ ትጽቢት ይግበረሎም ከምዘሎ ክርድኡዎ ይኽእሉስ’ዮም ዝብል ተስፋ ኣሎኒ።

ክብሪ ንኣምላኽ-!

ሰላም ንደቂ-ሰብ-!

ካህን ተክለማርያም ምርካ-ጽዮን

ሃገረ-ስብከት ኤውሮጳ

Seyoum's  schoolmates in May 1962 included: Woldedawit,

Michael Ghaber, Mussie Tesfamichael, Haile  and Isaias.

As we, old comrades-in-struggle of Patriot Seyoum Ogbamichael (Harestai) solemnly mark today, 17 December 2017, the 12th year  of his sudden and untimely passing away in a poorly-equipped Addis Ababa hospital, we do remember him for so many vividly memorable deeds and events, some of them resonating well with the Akriya of 31 October 2017. Martyr Seyoum was present with his schoolmates at a meeting of student demonstrators in Akriya 55 years ago!! And, ironically, those schoolmates of Seyoum included Eritrea's autocrat, Isaias Afeworki, who is today against everything that his generation dreamt of.

As every genuine patriot worth his/her salt would confirm it - and forgetting the bla bla of revisionists of history and facts - Akriya was always a hotbed  of nationalist politics inside Asmara, and a hiding place for  freedom fighters. Even Martyr Seyoum Harestai  spent a couple of nights in an ELF urban hideout rented inside Akriya in August 1965 upon his (and Woldedawit Temesghen's) return to the city to organize people. (This writer, who attended the Mai Anbessa meeting of  55 years ago, also had the honour of spending a night with the two ELF fighters in Akriya precisely 52 years ago). Hajji Mussa M. Nur, co-organizer with Martyr Tuku Yihdego and group of the ELM/Mahber-Shewate demonstration over a year earlier, and who provided shelter and logistics to heroic Saeed Hussein and his ELF Fedayeen team for the successful airport operation of 1963, was for sure in Asmara/Akriya in May 1962 and was no doubt proud of what the young students were doing. One would hope he will survive the PFDJ prison of today and tell us how he would compare the 31 October 2017 demonstration with the demonstration of May 1962!

Ustaz Beshir School/Akriya-inspired demonstration of 31 October 2017 and the

Prince Mekonnen Secondary School-initiated demo of May 1962

had similar messages: Natsinet/Harnet Delina, Hagizuna!

Sadly, we are in a period forcing one to say with absolute certainty that our Asmara of the 1960s was better in many ways than Isaias Afeworki's Asmara of 2017 where a 93-year-old grandfather, Hajji Mussa, is incarcerated simply because his speech allegedly "incited" students to try to demonstrate in a nation that has been obliged to delete the word "demonstration" from its dictionary. 

For the sake of the new generation that may know very little about Seyoum Harestai and his era of student militancy, who are a tiny minority today, I will write a few more lines about who he was and why he was at that the Mai Anbessa/Akriya meeting of students way back in May 1962!!

Seyoum Harestai

Seyoum Ogbamichael, one of Eritrea's strong-willed generation of freedom fighters, died on 17 December 2005 at the age of 59 reportedly of heart failure while serving as chairman of the Eritrean Liberation Front - Revolutionary Council (ELF-RC) and while discussing issues related to the formation of the present-day EPDP. Seyoum joined the armed struggle in March 1965 following a big student demonstration and after six months returned to Asmara clandestinely to give organizational shape to  urban sympathizer of the nationalist cause. On 31 August 1965, Seyoum and Woldedawit were arrested by the Ethiopian security while meeting people in a hiding place near Kidane Mihret at a tailor's shop of a son of Akriya, Siraj Ahmed, the martyr of Barentu in 1978. 

Between their arrest in August 1965 and February 1975, Seyoum and Woldedawit spent ten years in prison until the ELF liberated them together with other 1,000 Adi Qualla prisoners. Seyoum was at one time chairman of the General Union of Eritrean Peasants during which he led ELF's land distribution plan to landless peasants, and thus earned the nick-name of "Seyoum Harestai." Needless to say, he was among those patriots who were denied  the return back home after liberation in 1991. When he died while on mission in Addis, his remains were brought to Europe for burial in the Netherlands.

Now Back to the Story of Demonstrations..

In Eritrea's pre-liberation era, what became impossible after 1991 was to some extent possible and safe. During Emperor Haile Selassie's reign in the 1960s, people did not face what EPLF freedom fighters faced in 1993 when they  asked for minimum rights for daily survival. Student protesters in the 1960s were not shot at or killed like what happened to the disabled EPLF veterans in 1994 for voicing for attention and minimum care. Nor were prisoners of that era condemned to "detention until death", as UN's Sheila Keetharuth would put it, bringing to one's mind the situation of G-11 prisoners and many of their likes who are languishing in regime dungeons for decades without a day at court.

Ethiopia's or any alien occupier's abuses and absolute denial of rights could have been considered normal, and not normal by a government of independent Eritrea. But PFDJ's lawless Eritrea is not a normal state. As noted, PFDJ is against almost everything that Seyoum Harestai and his generation's demonstrators stood for.

Student demonstrations were frequent in the Asmara of the '60s, but those demonstrators did not at anytime face death intimidations in the form of massive live gunshots as what happened on 31 October 2017 for very simple demands: the right to continue their normal school life started way back in 1967.

On the other hand, Asmara demonstrators of half a century ago raised much bigger political issues than the demands of the attempted demonstration of last October that started from Akriya. The issues raised by the Asmara demonstrators of May 1962 were challenges to the Eritrean Assembly and to  the Emperor of Ethiopia.

As my references show, the Eritrean Assembly was to meet in the third week of May 1962 to resume discussion started the previous year about one 1 million birr grant by the Emperor to cover a deficit in the Eritrean Government budget of 18 million birr for the year 1960/61. Some members of the assembly, the like of Misghina Gebrezghi and Estifanos of (Decamere), were rejecting the Emperor's grant. They were arguing that Ethiopia had to pay to the Eritrean Government the sum of 72 million birr  as unpaid arrears in  the form of customs and federal levies. Seyoum Harestai and schoolmates in the then Prince Mekonnen Secondary School believed and hoped - understandably, quite naively - that their demonstration during the Assembly's meeting would influence the 68 Eritrean legislators towards changing the status of Eritrea, including the return of young students' favourite Blue Flag that was lowered down in the autumn of 1958.

They were big, big demands by student demonstrators! Yet, no live shots were directed to intimidate Seyoum and his co-demonstrators of 23 May 1962 who passed running near the Eritrean Assembly building in the then  'combishtato' (Campo Citato),  singing 'we ask freedom, help us' - Tigrilgna:

                   Natsinet Delina,

                   Hagizuna"!

Again, unlike what happened on 31 October 2017, there was no single gunshot heard that day 55 years ago except the threats of horse-riding police (Bolis Abay) carrying black rubber sticks. Some students were, for sure arrested, but the rest of them were scattered to northern directions, up to Akria and Biet Giorghis.

Mai Anbessa Meeting of Student Demonstrators

The issue for the next day's demonstration was the demand for the release of detained students. To organize it, students agreed to meet at short distance north of Akriya.  We later learned that the location of the meeting place was called Mai Anbessa.

My classmate Seyoum and I were among those who attended that meeting at which a few students made "speeches" encouraging each other against the police threats and their use of the rubber batons. I vividly recall that one of the speakers at Mai Anbessa  was a girl by the name of Minnia (whose name I retained for always because she carried the name of my sister). Seyoum, the latter-day eloquent orator, was not among the speakers; instead, it was me, whose Tigrigna was still Kerenite, that counted among those who said something  related to the demonstration. After a while, policemen were seen heading towards the meeting place brandishing their rubble sticks - no guns!! For sure, there were police beatings. Many took shelter in Akriya homes while others continued the run towards city centre, making sort of a successful second-day "running demonstration",  and partly achieving  the objective of Mai Anbessa gathering. On the fourth day (or may be the fifth day), all students previously detained were released.

Naturally, the May 1962 demonstration did not bring immediate changes - and of course no restoration of the Blue Flag ... kkkkk .... yet, that event sent its big message across the land!!

Together with the student demonstrations of those years, including the remarkable March 1965 demonstration in the city and later beyond it, the May 1962 chant of demonstrators calling the people for action - Natsinet Delina, Hagizuna -  was gradually received well and influenced many citizens' nationalist awareness. Young students started joining the liberation struggle, as Seyoum and Woldedawit did in early 1965.

They say that no one can stop an idea whose time has come. A momentous start or re-start can be initiated by anyone, anywhere - say by Seyoum and his schoolmates in  May 1962, or by the young Akriya boys and girls of 31 October 2017 from Ustaz Beshir Private School.

Today's call from Ustaz Beshir School is Harnet Delina, Hagizuna. And it is  loud and clear. This renewed message for action will  gradually but surely reach every corner of the nation, including Eritrea's hapless diaspora dispersed all over the globe. This new momentum from student demonstrators in Asmara will hopefully realize the much deferred dreams of so many Eritrean generations.

Thank you Akriya of the old good days of Seyoum and his generation that helped awaken thousands for national struggle, and thank you Akriya of today - Akriya of Hajji Mussa M. Nur,  Akriya of so many great patriots of this nation with unfulfilled dreams.

May your soul rest in peace, Seyoum, and may Hajji Mussa and co-prisoners survive their ordeal in PFDJ prisons and be able to see the realization of the deferred dreams of our countless martyrs, both fighters and civilians!!

December 15, 2017 (ADDIS ABABA) – A new report released by the New York-based press freedom group revealed that Egypt and Eritrea are Africa’s leading jailers of journalists in 2017.

Egyptian anti-government protesters celebrate at Cairo’s Tahrir Square after president Hosni Mubarak stepped down on February 11, 2011 (Getty Images)

According to Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) report Egypt and Eritrea take the first and second spot, with 20 and 15 cases respectively.

The report showed a record number of jailed journalists for the second year across the world.

CPJ said the number of journalists imprisoned for their work hit a historical high, as the U.S. and other Western powers failed to pressure the world’s worst jailers—Turkey, China, and Egypt—into improving the bleak climate for press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists found.

As of December 1, 2017, CPJ found 262 journalists behind bars around the world in relation to their work, an increase on last year’s historical high of 259. Turkey is again the worst jailer, with 73 journalists imprisoned for their work as the country continues its press freedom crackdown. China and Egypt again take the second and third spot, with 41 and 20 cases respectively. The worst three jailers are responsible for jailing 134—or 51 percent—of the total.

Following Eritrea Azerbaijan and Vietnam are also on the top list with 10 cases each.

“In a just society, no journalist should ever be imprisoned for their work and reporting critically, but 262 are paying that price,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “It is shameful that for the second year in a row, a record number of journalists are behind bars. Countries that jail journalists for what they publish are violating international law and must be held accountable. The fact that repressive governments are not paying a price for throwing journalists in jail represents a failure of the international community.”

According to CPJ’s census 194 journalists, or 74 percent, are imprisoned on anti-state charges, many under broad or vague terror laws. In Turkey, every journalist on the census is either accused of or charged with anti-state crimes. Although many journalists cover multiple beats, politics was the most dangerous, covered by 87 percent of those jailed. Nearly all the jailed journalists are local and the percentage of freelancers is higher this year, accounting for 29 percent of cases.

The international community has done little to isolate repressive countries and U.S. President Donald Trump’s nationalistic rhetoric and insistence on labelling critical media “fake news” serves to reinforce the framework of accusations and legal charges that allow such leaders to preside over the jailing of journalists. CPJ’s 2017 census found the number of journalists jailed for “false news” doubled this year, to 21 cases.

Poor prison conditions is another issue this year, with two journalists jailed in China, including Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, dying just weeks after being released on medical parole, and several others seriously ill. In Egypt, CPJ found over half of the jailed journalists have health conditions.

The prison census accounts only for journalists in government custody and does not include those who have disappeared or are held captive by non-state groups, such as several Yemeni journalists CPJ believes to be held by the Ansar Allah movement, known as the Houthis. These cases are classified as “missing” or “abducted.” CPJ has been conducting an annual survey of journalists in jail since the early 1990s.

CPJ’s list is a snapshot of those incarcerated at 12:01 a.m. on December 1, 2017. It does not include the many journalists imprisoned and released throughout the year; accounts of those cases can be found at https://cpj.org. Journalists remain on CPJ’s list until the organization determines with reasonable certainty that they have been released or have died in custody.

CPJ is an independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide.

(ST)

Source=http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article64273