European Parliament Adopts a Historic Resolution on Eritrea
Written by IDN
STRASBOURG (IDN) - The European Parliament has adopted a resolution on Eritrea, which sends a strong signal to the European Commission, the EU Council, member states and the Eritrean government that human rights violations in the country need to be addressed.
The resolution approved on March 10 clearly identifies that Eritrean refugees are fleeing serious human rights violations and an indefinite national service which constitutes slavery.
The resolution also addresses the systematic extortion of refugees, a concern expressed earlier in resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council.
The European Parliament expressed concern that the EU Council had adopted a € 200 million aid package without reference to the Parliament’s negative advice.
Several Eritrean representatives, Nobel Prize Nominee Mussie Zerai, an Eritrean Catholic priesr, former Eritrean Vice Minister of Finance Kubrom Dafla Hosabay and a former refugee, Zekarias Kebreab, met with Parliamentarians.
The Eritrean representatives asked members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to oppose the European aid package, which will not benefit the Eritrean people, according to them, and will not alleviate the root causes of the refugee crisis but aggravate the causes of why people are fleeing the country.
MEPs spoke with a uniquely united voice cutting across the political spectrum during the debate on Eritrea prior to the vote.
MEPs stressed that giving aid to Eritrea, characterised as the “North Korea of Africa”, will not benefit the Eritrean people. On the contrary, it will make life harder for them, they argued.
The European Parliament resolution urges the EU to continue supporting Eritrea, but its aid must meet the needs of Eritrean people and should be conditional upon putting an end to human rights violations, enacting reforms and improving economic governance in the country.
The Parliament urges the government of Eritrea to put an end to the system of indefinite national service, which can be compared to a "form of slavery".
Indefinite National Service, combined with forced labour and shoot-to-kill policy at the border, may constitute "crimes against humanity", currently being investigated by the UN Commission of Inquiry.
The resolution addresses the ‘long arm of the Eritrean regime’. It pays particular attention to the role of the embassies and the youth wing of the Eritrean government party outside of Eritrea.
Refugees who flee Eritrea are pressured to pay 2% tax to the country. Critics are threatened – the resolution names as example the myriad of court cases which started in the Netherlands by regime supporters against the media, presumably to silence criticism.
The European Parliament urged the EU Council and Commission to deliberate with the European Parliament on any next steps on allocation, and reminded the EU institutions of its powers on Budget Control.
In a press conference organised by Marie-Christine Vergiat, Mussie Zerai stated: “there is no rule of law in Eritrea”. Eritrean catholic priest Zerai and defender of refugees said: “Europe is ready to pay a dictator in order to stop migration, no matter how dangerous the dictator is.”
The former Vice Minister of Finance of the Eritrean regime, Kubrom Hosabay, stated: “The problem is not economic, it is not about money, the problem is about the rights; where are the Eritrean fundamental rights?”
Dutch professor and human rights activist, Mirjam van Reisen, spoke about the broken promises of the Eritrea government. “Eritrea will continue with the indefinite National Service”, she said, “despite promising the EU that it will limit it.” [IDN-InDepthNews – 10 March 2016]
الرئيس يجتمع بفرع أستراليا
Written by اعلام حزب الشعب الديمقراطي الارتري
في الثالث عشر من مارس 2016م وخلال اجتماعٍه بفرع حزب الشعب الديمقراطي الارتري بأستراليا عبر البالتوك شرح رئيس الحزب الأخ/ منقستئاب أسمروم للمجتمعين الأوضاع الراهنة علي صعيد الوطن عامة ومعسكر المعارضة والحزب بصفة أخص.
وبعد الشرح المفصل الذي استغرق ساعة كاملة تفاعل الحضور مع المطروح وقدموا الأسئلة والآراء والمقترحات والتوصيات البناءة لمدة ساعتين من الزمن.
الأخ/ دستا تخلي أعرب نيابة عن الفرع عن شكره لقيادة الحزب علي اهتمامها بالفرع وتخصيصها له جزءاً مقدراً من وقتها الثمين، وبهذه المناسبة أعلن تبرعه بمبلغ ألف دولار أسترالي دعماً لخزينة الحزب.
هذا وقد تعهد المجتمعون بتكثيف جهودهم لتوسيع عضوية الحزب ونشر مبادئه وسط الارتريين هناك.
EU aid to repressive Eritrea indefensible
Written by MUSSIE HADGU and BJORN TUNBACK
The UN Human Right Council Special rapporteur on Human Rights in Eritrea will present her latest report this week.
In June, the report from the Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea stated that the situation was so grave in the country that they believed crimes against humanity were being committed. No good news is expected this week.
All good forces are needed to help ease the situation for the Eritrean people. Therefore, it is a great disappointment for us to see the attitude from the European Union in connection with its latest aid-programme.
Core values
Human Rights are said to be core values of the EU, but their reply to our questions was most disheartening.
Before Christmas, EU decided to give Eritrea $228 million (200m Euros) in development aid. The amount was considerably more than the earlier programme of $133 million (120 million Euros). And it was done at a time when the consequences of the human rights situation in Eritrea was clearly visible in Europe.
During 2015, refugees from Eritrea were one of the bigger groups reaching Europe.
Mass exodus
The mass exodus of Eritreans was due to the deplorable situation in the country, where the regime holds thousands of political prisoners. Another strong driving force is the unlimited mandatory national service.
Nominally, the service is 18 months. In reality, it lasts for years, even decades, on less than subsistence pay. There are innumerable reports of physical and sexual abuse during the service. The evidence has been shown both by the special United Nations Commission of Inquiry for Eritrea, Amnesty International and others.
At a time when the influx of refugees has caused great political strain in the EU, one would have thought that human rights in Eritrea would be central in discussing more aid to that very country.
Special conditions
It is natural to expect that special conditions for human rights are included in the agreement.
Reporters without Borders wrote to inquire from the European Commission.
The Directorate General of the International Cooperation and Development replied: “The Cotonou Partnership Agreement, which Eritrea is a signatory to, remains the framework agreement for our cooperation and political dialogue [- -]. A political dialogue as stipulated in art.8 of the Cotonou agreement takes place on a regular basis between the EU and Eritrea.”
That was stating the obvious. The Cotonou Agreement is the framework for EU aid. Of course its guidelines should be followed. The reply implied that no special heed was taken and that the discussions with Eritrea followed standard procedure.
Deserve more
The people of Eritrea definitely deserve more than standard procedure.
Furthermore, we note with sadness that the EU failed to protect the freedom of expression in those discussions.
Eritrea is ranked below even North Korea with regard to freedom of expression by both Reporters without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists.
That should be of direct concern to the EU as one of its own citizens risks dying in the hands of the Eritrean regime: Swedish-Eritrean journalist and playwright, Mr Dawit Isaak. He is the only EU-citizen and journalist who has been adopted as a prisoner of conscience by the Amnesty International.
Many journalists
Sadly, he is but one of many journalists detained since the Eritrean regime closed all independent media in 2001. Some of his imprisoned colleagues have died already. The journalists are held without sentence or charge. They are isolated.
Mr Isaak has not seen his wife or children since 2001. Nor is he allowed to see a lawyer or an EU diplomat. The EU should stand up for him, if not for all the political prisoners.
We asked the European Commission if his case was mentioned in the discussions about the multimillion aid to Eritrea. Their reply: “Not specifically but the EU regularly discusses human rights concerns with Eritrea—“
A bit further down in the text, Commission spokesperson points to a statement given more than a year before the development aid decision; “On Dawit Isaak, note that the EU issued a statement on his case and that of the other political prisoners on 18 September 2014 http://eeas.europa.eu/statements/docs/2014/140918_02_en.pdf).”
Most unflattering
Referring to a statement given a year before does not imply making any great efforts. There is a point - most unflattering for the EU - to be made here. Mr Isaak is African-European. We believe that his case would have been treated with much more dedication if he were a white, well-known journalist writing for a major European newspaper.
Eritrea has refused to cooperate with, and denied entry to the UN Special Rapporteur and Commission of Inquiry. Instead, Eritrea was engaged in undermining the work of the Special Rapporteur and the Commission.
Under such circumstances, it appears as if the EU was rewarding the Eritrean government’s actions. The EU seems content with issuing regular, similar statements, paying little attention to whether Asmara was making efforts to heed these statements and calls for respect of human rights.
The regime
As the years pass, Mr Isaak’s family keeps waiting for him in Gothenburg, Sweden. His three children have been forced to grow up without their father.
There should be no time to lose for the EU. To hand out 200 million Euro to the regime responsible for this without even mentioning his name is outrageous, not to say heartless.
And it is even worse as he is not alone.
Mussie Hadgu is an Eritrean journalist in exile and Björn Tunbäck is a member of Reporters without Borders/Sweden
Children Flee Eritrean Conscription Threat, UN Rights Envoy Says
Written by Samuel GebreUnaccompanied children are fleeing Eritrea to avoid conscription, putting them at risk of abduction and abuse as they seek shelter in places including Europe, a United Nations rights envoy said.
There’s been a “steady influx of Eritrean unaccompanied and separated children” into Egypt and neighboring Ethiopia and Sudan since 2008, Sheila B. Keetharuth, the UN’s special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Eritrea, said Monday in Geneva. She said rights violations were the main reason young people flee, with unaccompanied children citing a fear of forcible conscription into the army.
“In leaving Eritrea, the unaccompanied children are subjected to an array of protection risks” that include “trafficking, abduction for ransom, sexual violence, torture and other cruel and inhuman treatment,” Keetharuth said, according to an online transcript. Eritrea’s representative, Tesfamicael Gerahtu, described the report as “baseless” and a bid at “seeking regime change.”
Eritreans constituted the largest group of unaccompanied children arriving in Italy last year, making up 3,092 of a total of 12,360, according to Keetharuth. The World Bank estimates Eritrea’s population at 6.33 million.
Government Service
The Horn of Africa nation, which gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, has a system obligating adults to perform 18 months of government service. Amnesty International says this period is extended indefinitely for a “significant proportion” of people, fueling a wave of migration.
Eritreans are the fourth-biggest group risking their lives to cross the Mediterranean, after Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis, according to the UN. Eritrea’s government says national service is necessary to defend itself from Ethiopia, which it fought in 1998-2000. It’s described those fleeing overseas as economic migrants, not refugees.
The European Union last week passed a resolution that included a call for Eritrea to reform and shorten the service period. Keetharuth said she hadn’t received “any conclusive sign” that it had been reduced “following initial indications that this could be the case.”
Togoruba's Call Today to the Eritrean Defense Force and All Compatriots
Written by EPDP Information Office
From Nharnet Archives
(Today, 15th of March 2016 is the 52nd anniversary of the Battle of Togoruba. For those who have not read the article below when it was published 11 years ago, we are posting it also at this 52nd commemoration of Togoruba. By the way, the other historic and decisive Battle of Afabet of 1988 was also fought in the month of March - and maybe Eritrea can one day combine the two and celebrate the heroisms of ELA and EPLA in one day!! Happy 52nd Anniversary of Togoruba, and good reading).
Eritrea’s combined forces of liberation constituted a formidable army that scored great achievements and paid dearly for the independence of the country and the liberation of its people. The memorable battles fought at the historic Togoruba, at Tessenei, in Agordat, Keren, Nacfa, Massawa, Dekemhare and Mereb, to mention only a few, do tell the great story of our liberation struggle days. And it was to honour the great deeds of the liberation fighters that the Revolutionary Council of the ELF designated the Battle of Togoruba of 15 March 1964 as an event annually marked under the name of Liberation Army Day.
Togoruba is situated near Adal in western Eritrea where the first shots of the liberation struggle were fired three years before the battle at Togoruba. At Togoruba, the pioneer fighters of the liberation army confronted for the first time a relatively well equipped Ethiopian regular army and defeated it. The regular occupation army, that was deployed after the police and special forces failed to crush the liberation struggle, suffered 87 killed against 17 martyrs on the Eritrean side. Units of the Eritrean Liberation Army (ELA) were poorly equipped. Yet, they possessed a just cause and unflinching commitment to it.
Units of Eritrea’s liberation army between 1961 and 1991 were made up of fighters absolutely committed to the cause and the well-being of their people. Selflessness characterized the Revolution and its members. Self-sacrifice prevailed in every aspect of life in the liberation struggle. That high spirit of camaraderie and love of the other more than oneself was the secret of its final victory. But, today, all those great qualities have become things of the past about which we may, occasionally, hear a talk on the Radio/TV and read in the media. Selfishness has overcome the great altruistic qualities of the pre-1991 period. The interest of the entire people has been replaced by unbridled individualism and insatiable personal interests. All the promises to the people were forgotten. Defending the truth and promoting justice and equality were thus buried deep in the ground when the new motto has become: “why should I care about others”. This new situation suited the one-man dictatorship that could easily impose itself through a divide and rule mechanism and the control of selfish individuals through material benefits.
Yet, the day will come when those who betrayed the cause of the martyrs of the ELA and the EPLA will have to answer for their wrongdoings and crimes against their own people. They will not be able to feign ignorance of all what has been going on in front of their eyes. They will have to answer to the gross mistakes that caused endless suffering, death and destruction in our land and people like:
- The hardship and impoverishment that has befallen the entire people
- The violation of human, civil and political rights and the denial of the rule of law
- The ongoing rape, and displacement of families
- The exile and death on the desert and the high seas of our youth forced to flee the situation created at home
- The corruption that has turned the conscripted youth into a slave-labour working for the benefit of the generals and seniour army officers
- The total collapse of the economic and social system that has led to a dangerously high level of malnutrition and starvation.
It is incomprehensible to see some veteran fighters of the liberation struggle continuing to watch idly by the sad state of affairs in Eritrea today. It is difficult to explain how on earth they fail to react to the death of a cause for which they sacrificed so much.
At this 41st anniversary of the Battle of Togoruba, which is known as Eritrean Liberation Army Day, we call on the Eritrean Defense Forces (EDF) to stop serving the wrong force and instead support and promote the aspirations of our people for peace, justice, equality and prosperity. We also find it opportune moment to say this : If the EDF fails to join hands on time with the democratic forces of the opposition and help remove the dictatorship, Eritrea will be exposed to grave dangers.
The wrong policies and actions of the dictatorial regime in Asmara has caused Eritrea’s isolation from our neighbourhoods and the world at large. All Eritrean patriots within and outside the regime are called upon now to coordinate their actions in order to remove the evil regime and avert all possible dangers to our hard won nationhood.
We are aware that many compatriots within the EDF and other organs of the regime, who are opposed to the policies and deeds of the one-man dictatorship, are putting some struggle against PFDJ. However, much more is expected of them today. The great spirit of selflessness and love of the people that prevailed in the liberation struggle days must revisit the hearts of many Eritreans who are not contributing enough to deliver the promises of our Revolution to the still suffering people. Altruism and the best service to one’s people was one of the great values cultivated in our years of struggle and we need to keep it up until the great promises to the people are fulfilled..
All Eritreans, and in particular the members of the EDF, are called upon today to heed to the call of their brothers and sisters in the opposition to help in removing the destructive regime and in its place establish democratic governance in which Eritreans live in peace, security, social justice, equality and prosperity.
The 41st anniversary of the Battle of Togoruba is an excellent occasion to renew our resolve to succeed by once again committing ourselves to repeat the heroic deeds that led to our final victory at the end of the end liberation struggle.
Glory and eternal memory to our martyrs!
ሳላ’ቲ ነዊሕን ተኸታትልን ቃልሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ምእንቲ ነጻነትን መሰልን፡ ብዙሓት ከባብታት ሃገርና ነናተን ዝናን ቅያን ኣለወን። ካብዚኣተን ሓንቲ ተጎሩባ እያ። ተጎሩባ በቲ ዘለዋ እስትራተጂካዊ ናይ ኣቀማምጣ ጸጋ ብዙሕ ቅያ ዝተሰርሓላ ኮይና እቲ ዝያዳ ዝነኣ ዝገነሉ ግና በቲ ናይ 15 መጋቢት 1964 ቅያኣ እያ። ኣብዛ ቦታ እዚኣ ቅድሚ 42 ዓመታት ጀጋኑ ኤርትራውያን ተጋደልቲ፡ ንመጀመርያ ግዜ ኣንጻር ናይ ጸላኢ ምሩጽ ሓይሊ ፊትንፊት ገጢሞም ንደንበ ሰውራ ዝኾለዐ፡ ንደንበ መግዛእቲ ድማ ዘርዓደ ጅግንነት ዘመዝገቡላ ዕድለኛ ቦታ እያ። ኣብዚ ውግእ እዚ ወተሃደራዊ ጅግንነት ጥራይ ኣይኮነን ተፈጺሙ። ቀንዲ ኣርሒቑ ዝጥምት ናይ ዘይተንበርካኽነት ረዚን መልእኽቲ እዩ ናብ ፈታውን ጸላእን ተመሓላልፉ። ኣብዚ ውግእ’ዚ ጸላኢ ሓይልሰብን ኣጽዋርን ጥራይ ኣይኮነ ከሲሩ፡ ቃልሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ኣንዊሑ ዝጠመተን ዘይሰዓርን ምዃኑ እዩ ተነጊርዎ።
ነዚ ታሪኻዊ ፍጻመ ሎሚ ክንዝክሮ እንከለና ኣብ ክንዲ ንቕድሚት ምጥማት ንድሕሪት ንምምላስ ኣይኮነን። እንታይደኣ ኣብቲ ንቕድሚት እንገብሮ ስጉምቲ ካብዚ ቅያዚ ዝርከብ፡ እሞ ሎሚ እውን ዘይበለየ ንያትን ፍናንን ንምውራስ እዩ። ናይ ሎሚ ኮነ ናይ ሽዑ ቃልሲ ኩሉ ማእከሉ ረብሓ ህዝቢ ኮይኑ ዋሕስ ዓወቱ ድማ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ እዩ። እዚ ንክልቲኡ የመሳስሎ። ዘለናዮ ዓለማዊ ኩነታት፡ ከባቢያዊ ምዕባለ፡ ናይ ሓይልታት ኣሰላልፋን እቲ ክረጋገጽ ዝድለ ማእከላይ ዕላማን መሰረት ጌርና ክንመዝኖ እንከለና ግና ፍልልይ ኣለዎ። ምእንቲ እዚ ኢና ከኣ ነቲ ናይ ሽዑ ተመኩሮ ከም ዘለዎ ክንወስዶ ዘይንኽእል። እቲ “ክዕወት እየ” በሃልነት፡ እቲ በጃ ህዝቢ ቅሩብነት፡ ህዝቢ ዝዋንኡ ቃልሲ ናይ ምዕዋት ግድነት ግና ሕጂ እውን ምስ ግዜ ዘይኣርግ ርዝነት ስለ ዝኾነ ሎሚ’ውን ክንወስዶ ዝግበኣና ኣብነት እዩ።
ብስርሒት ተጎርባን፡ ድሕሪኡ ዝተፈጸመ ቅያታትን ዘይሕበን ኤርትራዊ የለን። ከምኡ ስለ ዝኾነ ድማ ቅያን ኣስማትን ነቲ ስርሒታት ዝፈጸሙ ጀጋኑ ወርትግ ተጻሓፍናሉን ተተዛረብናሉን ኣይምኖን። እዚ ድማ ነቶም ጀጋኑ ናይ ዘለና ክብሪ መግለጺ ምዃኑ ብሩህ እዩ። እዚ ግና ንዓኣቶም እኹል ካሕሳ ኣይኮነን። እቲ ቀንዲ ካሕሰኦም ንሳቶም ክቡር ዋጋ ከፊሎም ዝኣመምዎ ዕላማ ኣብ መፈጸምታኡ ብምብጻሕ እዩ ዝግለጽን ዝዕቀንን። ሎሚ ነዚ ጉዳይዚ መልዓሊና ቀንዲ ምኽንያት ድማ ኣብዚ ቅያዚ ተመስሪትና ኣብ መጻኢ እንታይ ክንገብር ከም ዝግበኣና ግዜ ሂብና ንክንሓስብ ንምዝኽኻር እዩ።
ኣብዚ ንዛረበሉ ዘለና ንብዙሓት ተኣምራታዊ ስርሒታት ኣፍደገ ዝኸፈተ ፍጻመ ዝወዓሉ ጀጋኑ ሎሚ ብኣካል ኩሎም ሓሊፎም እዮም ዝብል ግምት ኣለና። ተግባሮም ግና እነሆ ሕጂ’ውን ከም ኣገዳሲ ኣብነት ንዛረበሉ ኣለና። ምዝራብ ጥራይ ዘይኮነ እቲ ሎሚ እውን ዝሕግዘና ሸነኹ፡ ማለት ነቲ ትብዓትን ተስፋ ዘይምቑራጽን ክንወርሶ ኢና። እዚ እዩ ከኣ ብእትሓልፍ ህይወት ዘይሓልፍ ታሪኽ ምስራሕ ማለት። ታሪኽ ኣብ ሓደ ቦታ “ደጊም ኣኺልዎ እዩ” ኢልካ ዓጺፍካ እተቐምጦ ዘይኮነስ ወለዶታት እንዳሕደስዎ ዝነብሩ ቀጻሊ ዋሕዚ እዩ። ናይቶም ተተኻኻእቲ ኣካላት ንባብ ኣብቲ ታሪኽ ግና ክፈላለ ይኽእል።
ታሪኽ ተጎርባን ካልኦት ታሪኻዊ ፍጻመታትን እውን ምስ ምሕላፍ ፈጸምቱ “ደጊም ኣኺልዎ” ተባሂሉ ዝስገር ዘይኮነስ፡ እቶም ተካእቲ ኣብ ጀግንነት ቀዳሞት ተሓቢእካ ንምንባር ዘይኮነ፡ ነቲ ሕጂ ንዋሰኣሉ ዘለና መድረኽ ብዘሰውድ መልክዑ ከነሕድሶ ዝግበኣና እዩ። ሎሚ ነዚ ጉዳይ’ዚ ኣብቲ ዕለቱ ናይ መዘከሪና ምስጢር ከኣ እዚ እዩ። ከምቲ ኣቀዲሙ ዝተገልጸ ናይ ሎምን ናይቲ ቅድሚ 42 ዓመት ዝነበረን ብደሆ ብዙሕ ዝፈላለየሉ ኣሎ። ግና ድማ ዝመሳሰለሉ እውን ብዙሕ እዩ። ብቐንዱ እቲ ናይ ሽዑ ቃልሲ መሊኡ ኣብቲ ክበጽሖ ዝሓለኖ ቦታ ስለ ዘይበጸሐ ኢና ንቃለስ ዘለና። እዚ ቃልስና ናቱ መቐጸልታ’ምበር ምስኡ ርክብ ዘየብሉ ሓድሽ ምዕራፍ ኣይኮነን። ብሰንኪ ኣብ ዝተፈላለየ መድረኻትን ፍሉይ ናይ ሓይልታት ኣሰላልፋን ዝካየድ ብምዃኑ ከኣ ፍልልይ ኣለዎ። በዚ ይኹን በቲ ግና እቲ ናይ ሽዑ ንያትን ሓቦን ሕጂ’ውን የድልየና’ዩ እሞ ንዓቅቦ።
International Women’s Day Celebrated in the Bay Area
Written by Department of Information North America
On Saturday March 12, 2016, the Bay Area Eritreans for Democratic Change hosted International Women’s Day and Togorba Day combo celebration. Although mother nature was not cooperative, many citizens managed to attended the celebration. A testament that echoes the commitment of the members.
The board Chairman opened the celebration with a welcome message followed by Freweini Gerghis,member of the board, with contribution of Eritrean women for independence message and an emotional poem. Habtna Asgedet Mehreteab eloquently presented global women’s struggle against double oppression and specifically Eritrean women’s contribution to independence. She detailed the treatment of Eritrean women under PFDJ rule and the crimes they encounter by human traffickers to reach freedom.
On his part Haw Tekie Woldemariam briefly presented the history of Togorba and what it stands for. He underscored that Togorba was the beginning of Eritrean independence waged by the Eritrean people. Everything that followed was built on Togorba’s spirit, complete Eritrean independence and liberty.
DJ Solomon rocked the house with selective songs of tigrina and tigre that made attendees to dance until end of night. The board did a very good job in planning the celebration.
EPDP Chairman Holds Meeting for Party Members in Australia via Social Media
Written by EPDP Information Office
On Sunday, 13 March 2016, chairman of the Eritrean People's Democratic Party, Menghesteab Asmerom, held a special meeting with party members in Australia and briefed them on the situation in Eritrea, the status of the opposition camp and activities of various organs of the party since its second congress of July 2015.
EPDP members are located in the environs of Brisbane in the east, Melbourne in the south and Perth in western Australia. Due to time differences, most party members in Australia do not take part in the periodical briefings given by the chairman and other executive committee members.
Chairman Menghesteab took one hour to cover the main issues in his presentation and members extended the meeting by several hours to ask and discuss issues of the current period in the struggle for change and democratization in Eritrea.
Branch members in Australia are among the most committed party members whose material contributions have been notable. Continuing the tradition, the veteran freedom fighter Desta Tekle opened a new wave of contribution by paying Australian $1000 at the end of the meeting.
The branch members commended the briefing session granted them by the party chairman and recommended that such meetings be continued in the future.
ብሰንበት ዕለት 13 ሚያዝያ 2016 ኣቦ መንበር ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ፡ ሓው መንግስተኣብ ኣስመሮም፡ ምስ ጨንፈር ኣውስትራልያ ኣብ ዘካየዶ ናይ ፓልቶክ ኣኼባ፡ ንህልዊ ኵነታት ሃገር፡ ሃለዋት ደምበ ተቓውሞን ንጥፈታት ሰዲህኤ ኣመልኪቱ ንሓደ ሰዓት ዝኸውን ሰፊሕ መብርሂ ሂቡ።
ኣኼበኛታት ንዝተዋህበ መግለጺ ብጽሞና ድሕሪ ምስማዕ ሕቶታት፡ ርእይቶታትን ለበዋታትን ብምቕራብ ነቲ ኣኼባ ብዅሉ መዳያቱ ሃብታምን ውዕውዕን ኰይኑ ንልዕሊ ክልተ ሰዓታት ዝኸውን ግዜ ከይሰልቸዎም ተኸታቲሎሞ።
ኣብ መወዳእታ፡ በቲ ሰዲህኤ ዘካይዶም ዘለዉ ንጥፈታት ዝተሓጐሰ፡ ሓው ደስታ ተኽለ፡ ናእዳኡን ማዕዳኡን ድሕሪ ምሃብ ንሰልፋዊ ስርሓት ዝውዕል 1,000 (ሽሕ) ናይ ኣውስትራልያ ዶላር ኣወፍዩ።
ኣኼበኛታት፡ ነቲ ከካይድዎ ዝጸንሑ ቃልስታት ብተዓጻጻፊ ደረጃ ንምብራኹ መብጽዓ ብምግባር ኣኼባ ተዛዚሙ።
ምሸታዊ መደብ ኣብ ሎንዶን - ዓባይ ብሪጣንያ።
Written by ኣዋሃሃዲት ሽማግለተቃወምቲ ሓይልታትን፡ በርጌሳዊ ማሕበራትን ኣብ ዓባይ ብሪጣንያ
ኣብ ሎንዶን ንርከብ ተቃወምቲ ሓይልታትን በርጌሳዊ ማሕበራትን ብምኽንያት
>>ዝኽሪ ኣህጉራዊ መዓልቲ ደቀንስትዮ 8ተ መጋቢት
>>ዝኽሪ ኩናት ቶጐርባ 15ተ መጋቢት ፤
ብሓባር ንምብዓል ምሸታዊ መደብ ኣዳሊና ኣሎና።
ዝካየደሉ ዕለት፡20th March 2016
ሰዓት፡ 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm
ቦታ፡
The Pepper Pot Centre, 1A, Thorpe Close
Ladbroke Grove, London W10 5XL
Nearest Station:Ladbroke Grove Station (Hammersmith &City Line)
ኣብዚ መደብ ምሳና ሓቢርኩም ንኸተምስዩ ብኽብሪ ንዕድም።
ብደሓን ምጹ ።
ኣዳለውቲ፡
ኣዋሃሃዲት ሽማግለተቃወምቲ ሓይልታትን፡ በርጌሳዊ ማሕበራትን ኣብ ዓባይ ብሪጣንያ
The Eritrean opposition groups and civic society organisations have jointly organised an Evening get together to commemorate:
- International Women's Day March 8
- The Battle of Togoruba March 15
Date: Sunday 20th March 2016
Time: 5:00 pmto 9 pm
Venue:
The Pepper Pot Centre, 1A, Thorpe Close
Ladbroke Grove, London W10 5XL
Nearest Station: Ladbroke Grove Station (Hammersmith & City Line)
Joint UK Group – (Events Co-ordinating Committee)
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ርእሰ-ዓንቀጽ ሰደህኤ
ኣባላት ዝተፈላለያ ሰልፍታትን ኣባላት ፓርላማን ዓዲ እንግሊዝ ሓደ ንኤርትራ ዝምልከት ኣካል ከም ዝመስረቱ ብ9 መጋቢት 2016 እቶም ኣብ ዝዘርግሕዎ ጋዜጣዊ መግለጺ ሓቢሮም። እዞም ኣባላት ፓርላማ ነዚ ስጉምቲ ዝወሰዱ እቲ ኣብ ኤርትራ ዘሎ ብሓፈሻ እዚ ይጐድሎ ዘይበሃል በደል፡ ብፍላይ ድማ ብኩራት ደሞክራስን ግህሰት ሰብእዊ መሰል ስለ ዘሻቐሎ ምዃኖም ኣብቲ መግለጺኦም ጠቒሶም ኣለዉ። እዚ ኣካል ኣብቲ መግለጺኡ “ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ኣብ ትሕቲ ናይ ስግኣትን ግዱድ ምእዙዝነትን ባህሊ ክነብር ተገዲዱ’ሎ” ምስ በለ፡ ካብቲ ነዚ ንኤርትራ ዝምልከት ኣካል ክምስረት ዘገደደ ምኽንያታት ክገልጹ ከለዉ ድማ “ቀንዲ መመስረቲና ብዛዕባቲ ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ኣብ ኤርትራ ዝፍጸም ዘሎ ግህሰት ሰብኣዊ መሰል እቲ ጉዳይ ኣብ ዝምልከቶም ኣካላት ግንዛበ ንምፍጣር፡ ነቲ ዝፍጸም ዘሎ በደላት ንምምሕያሽ መጽናዕትን ልዝባትን ምክያድን መንግስታት ኣብዚ ጉዳይ ተገዳስነት ከም ዝሓድሮም ንምግባርን’ዩ” ይብል።
እዚ ኤርትራውያን ብዘይኮኑ፡ ግና ድማ ንሓልዮት ኤርትራውያን ዝውሰድ ዘሎ ስጉምቲ እዩ። እዚ ስጉምቲ ንጉጅለ ህግደፍ እቲ ኣብ ቅድሚ ዝተፈላለዩ መንግስታት ናይ ሓሶት ምስሊ ሒዙ ንምቕራብ ዝገብሮ ዘሎ ምትላል ዘቃልዕ እዩ። ነዓና ነቶም ምእንቲ ደሞክራሲ፡ ፍትሕን ክብሪ ሰብኣዊ መሰልን ንቃለስ ዘለና ከኣ ኣዝዩ ኣገዳሲ መተባብዒ ስጉምቲ እዩ። ናይ ብሓቂ መተባብዒ ስጉምቲ ዝኸውን ግና በዚ ተተባቢዕና ዝያዳ ክንስጉም ተኽኢልና ጥራይ እዩ። ካብዚ ሓሊፉ ኣብቲ ጉዳይና ካልኦት ክሻቐሉን ስጉምትታት ክወስዱን እንከለዉ ዘይግዳድና ተዓዘብቲ እንተኾይና ግና ትርጉም ኣይክህልዎን እዩ። ምኽንያቱ ናይዞም ዘይኤርትራውያን ወገናት ጻዕርን ተገዳስነትን ብናትና ቃልሲ እንተዘይተመሪሑን ተደጊፉን ውጽኢት ስለ ዘይህልዎ። ናትና ጻዕርን ናታቶም ኣብርክቶን ነናቱ ቦታ ዘለዎ ዝደጋገፍ እምበር እቲ ሓደ ነቲ ካልእ ዝትከኦ ስለ ዘይኮነ።
እዚ እዞም እንግሊዛውያን ኣባላት ፓርላማ ወሲደምዎ ዘለዉ ግዱስ ስጉምቲ መልእኽቱ ናብ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ እንታይ ምዃኑ ንጹር እዩ። ብዘይፍርዲ ትኣስርን ብግዲ ተስርሕን ተዕስክርን ኣለኻ፡ ኣብ ዝሓለፈ 25 ዓመታት ምርጫ ኣየካየድካን፡ ዝጸደቐ ቅዋም ጠሊምካ፡ መሰል ምሕሳብ፡ ምግላጽ ሓሳብ፡ ምውዳብን ምጽሓፍን ነፊግካ …. ወዘተ። ስለዚ ኣብዚ ጉዳያት ዘይተዕሪ እንተኾንካ ክትእለ ይግበኣካ። ንሕና ድማ ኣብ ምእላይካ እጃምና ከነብርክት ኢና ዝብል እዩ። እቲ መልእኽቲ ናብ ህግደፍ ጥራይ ኣይኮነን። ናባና ናብቶም ንህግደፍ ኣወጊድና ብደሞክራሲያዊ ስርዓት ክንትክኦ እንሕልን ዘለና እውን እዩ። ንሕና እዚ ክንገብር ኢና ንስኻትኩምከ እንታይ ትገብሩ ኣለኹም እንተነፊዕኩም ኢደኢደይ ኢልና ለውጢ ነምጽእ ዝብል መልእኽቲ። መልሲ ህግደፍ እንታይ ይኸውን ንዓኡ ይምልከት። መልስና ነዚ ጻውዒትከ እንታይ እዩ ክኸውን። እዚ ክንብል እከለና ንመጀመርያ እዩ ከምዚ ዓይነት ተበግሶ ዝውሰድን ናባና መልእኽቲ ዝመሓላለፍ ዘሎን ማለትና ኣይኮነን። ናይ ክሳብ ሎሚ መልስና ንከምዚ ዓይነት መልእኽቲ ከኣ ዝነኣድ ኣይጸንሐን። ሕጂኸ ገለዶ ተጣዒና ንኸውን እሞ “ ካልኦት’ኳ ካብ ሰብእውነት ነቒሎም እዚ ስጉምቲ ዝወስዱ ዘለዉስ፡ ንሕና ሰብ ጉዳይ’ሞ ነራጥጠሉ ኣይኮነን” ደኾን ንብል ንኸውን? ክብል ከኣ ይግበኣና።
እቶም ኣዒንቶም ብጨው ተሓጺቦም ኣብ ኢርትራ፡ ተገዲዱ ዝዕስከር፡ ጉልበቱ ዝምዝመዝ፡ ብዘይፍርዲ ዝእሰር፡ መሰል ምዝራብ፡ ምጽሓፍን ምውዳብን ዝተኸልከለ፡ ብሰንኪ ወጽዓ ዝስደድ … ወዘተ የለን ዝብሉ ወገናትና፡ ምሕረት ይኣዝዘሎም ኢልና፡ ክሳብ እቲ ሓቂ ካብ ውሽጦም ገንፊሉ ዝወጽእ ንግደፎም። እዚ ዝኾነሉ ግዜ ከኣ ርሑቕ ኣይክኸውንን’ዩ። ናይቶም እዚ ዝተዘርዘረ ገበናት ኣብ ልዕሊ ዜጋታትና ይፍጸም ከም ዘሎ እንኣምን፡ እሞ ብኣኡ እንሓዝን ናይ ለውጢ ሓይልታት ግብረመልሲ እንታይ ክኸውን ከም ዝግበኦ ከኣ ክንሓስበሉ ይግበኣና። ቀዳሞት ተሰልፈቲ ኣብ ምምጻእ መፍትሒ ከኣ ንኹን። ክንድዚ ዝኣክል ህዝባውን ሃገራውን ሕድርን ዕዳን ኣቐሚጥና ኣብ ሕድሕድና ምምንጫት ኣዝዩ ዘተዓዛዝብ እዩ። ነቲ “ዝገበረኒያ ክገብር ዓዲ ነየጋብር” ዝብል ለባም ኣበሃህላ ወለድና ዘንጊዕና ኣብ ክንዲ ንቕድሚት ምምዕዳው ንድሕሪት ምርኣይ እንዳሰለጠና ክሳብ መዓስ። ስለዚ ሰልፊ ደሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ፡ ኣብዚ ሃለዋት ህዝብናን ሃገርናን እምብዛ መሪሩ ሕብረተሰብ ዓለም እተእውየሉ ዘላ ግዜ፡ መፍትሒ ኣብ ምርካብ፡ ንሕና ሰብ ጉዳይ ቅድሚት ክንስራዕ እምበር ብድሕሪት ተዓዘብቲ ክንከውን ክም ዘየብልና ይኣምን። ከም ወትሩ እጃሙ ከበርክት ድማ ቅርቡነቱ የረጋገጽ።
11 መጋቢት 2016
EPDP Radio Demtsi Hizib Kassel, Germany
Written by EPDP Radio Demtsi Hizib Kassel, Germany
ባይቶ ኤውሮጳ: ኤርትራ ንኤርትራዊ ሽወደናዊ ጋዜጠኛ ዳዊት ኢስቕን ካልኦት እሱራትን ክትፈትሕ ስምዕታ ሂቡ። ኣብቲ ትማሊ ሓሙስ ባይቶ ኤውሮጳ ዝወሰዶ ውሳኔ በቲ ኣብ ኤርትራ ዘሎ ግህሰት ሰብኣዊ መሰላት ዓሙቕ ስክፍታ ከም ዘለዎ ብምግላጽ: ንናይ ኤውሮጳ ኮሙሽን: እቲ ንኤርትራ ዝውሃብ ሓገዝ ኣብ ጁባ መንግስቲ ኤርትራ ክኣቱ ከምዘይብሉ ክሰርሕ ኣገንዚብዎ። ኣብ ወርሒ ታሕሳስ ክሳብ 1,9 ምልያርድ ክሩኖር ንምዕባለን ምቅላስ ድኽነትን ኣብ ኤርትራ ተባሂሉ ክሳብ ዓመት 2020 ክወሃብ ወሲኑ ከምዝነብረ ዝዝከርዩ።
ጽሑፍ ተለቭጅን ሽወደን 10 መጋቢት 2016
Launch of All-Party Parliamentary Group on Eritrea
Written by Sagal Ali
Press release
For immediate release
Wednesday 9 March 2016
New group gives key outlet in UK Parliament for debate and inquiry into human rights abuses in Eritrea
A cross-party group of Parliamentarians today formed the new APPG on Eritrea. Matthew Pennycook, MP for Greenwich and Woolwich, was elected Chair at an inaugural meeting and AGM. Four Parliamentarians were elected Vice Chairs, specifically Ann Clwyd MP, Patrick Grady MP, Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead, and Jeremy Lefroy MP. Lord Alton of Liverpool and Fiona Bruce, MP for Congleton, were also present.
An estimated 5,000 people leave Eritrea every month and almost as many men, women and children left that blighted country last year as fled from Syria. It is a human exodus that is all the more staggering when one considers that it is from a country of just 6 million people and one that is not presently at war.
No elections since 1993, no independent press since a government clampdown in 2001, pervasive and ongoing restrictions of all freedoms, movement, expression and association, arbitrary arrest with no fair trials or no trails at all, indefinite compulsory military conscription, forced labour, and torture including widespread sexual violence against women and girls. That is Eritrea today.
It is a far cry from what so many Eritreans fought for, heroically, for decades, and from the hopes of those who supported the struggle for liberation. Instead of democracy and the rule of law, Eritreans are ruled by a culture of fear and absolute obedience.
The new APPG has been created to raise awareness of the human rights abuses which are taking place in Eritrea today, to examine and debate how the situation in the country could be improved and to raise matters of concern with, and make representations to, government and other policy makers.
Commenting on the establishment of the new APPG, Matthew Pennycook MP said:
“Eritrea is a central battleground in the global struggle for human rights. Our own national interest, as well as our credentials as a bastion of human rights, demand that we give the victims of the Afwerki regime not only our solidarity but also clear and unequivocal support to alleviate the very real suffering they face. The new APPG will provide a valuable forum for raising awareness about the human rights abuses taking place in Eritrea and for debate about how the situation in the country can be improved”.
The APPG's newly elected officers are:
· Chair: Matthew Pennycook MP (Labour, Greenwich and Woolwich)
· Vice Chair: Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Labour)
· Vice Chair: Jeremy Lefroy MP(Conservative, Stafford)
· Vice Chair: Ann Clwyd MP (Labour, Cynon Valley)
· Vice Chair: Patrick Grady MP (SNP, Glasgow North)
ENDS
Notes to editors
Matthew Pennycook is a British Labour Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for Greenwich & Woolwich since May 2015. Before becoming an MP, Pennycook worked for a number of charitable and voluntary organisations including at the Fair Pay Network and the Resolution Foundation where he led on issues relating to welfare reform, low pay and working poverty.
Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead was appointed Vice-Chair. Baroness Kinnock is the shadow spokesperson for International development and former Minister of State for Africa and the UN in 2009. Other parliamentarians who took Vice Chair positions include well-respected human rights campaigners Ann Clywd MP, Labour MP for Cynon Valley, Patrick Grady MP, the SNP Westminster spokesperson for International Development, and Jeremy Lefroy MP, who has a long interest in the Horn of Africa and human rights.
The APPG on Eritrea was formally formed at its AGM held on Wednesday, 9 March 2016. Parliamentarians present at the meeting were Matthew Pennycook MP (Labour, Greenwich and Woolwich), Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Labour), Patrick Grady MP (SNP, Glasgow North), Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench), and Fiona Bruce (Conservative, Congleton).
Habte Hagos, a founding member of Eritrea Focus, said “this forum gives the long suffering Eritrean people a voice. It will expose the injustice being perpetrated by the Isaias regime on its own people. Eritrea today is ruled by fear with persistent intimidation by the regime and its cliques against peaceful opponents both at home and abroad.”
For more information contact:
Sagal Ali
020 7922 7719
