FEBRUARY 25, 2021  ERITREANEWS

Source: UNhttps://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26795&LangID=E

Statement of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights situation in Eritrea, 
Mr Mohamed Abdelsalam Babiker 

​46rd Session of the Human Rights Council

Update on Eritrea

24 February 2021

Esteemed Chair, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my honour to present my first oral update to the Council since taking up the role of Special Rapporteur last November 2020. In my update today, I will focus on the (a) the human rights of Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers in the context of the ongoing Tigray crisis in Ethiopia, which added a new complicated dynamic in monitoring the human rights of the Eritrean people, and (b) the progress made in relation to the benchmarks set out in the reports of my predecessor.

Since I started my mandate on 1 November 2020, I am monitoring the ongoing Tigray conflict in Ethiopia, which erupted on 4 November 2020, and its impact on the Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers.

There were over 96,000 Eritrean refugees in Tigray before the crisis, living largely in four refugee camps, including Hitsats, Mai-Aini, Adi Harush, and Shemelba. I have received information from credible sources that, as of November 2020, the situation of these refugees and asylum seekers has become more precarious and worrisome.

I also received first-hand accounts of allegations of grave human rights and humanitarian law violations, including extra judicial killings, targeted abductions and forced return of Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers to Eritrea, allegedly by Eritrean forces. I am particularly concerned about the two refugee camps, which hosted over 25,000 Eritrean refugees in Tigray region, Hitsats and Shemelba, and which were allegedly destroyed in attacks carried out by Eritrean and Ethiopian troops between November 2020 and January 2021, despite their protected humanitarian status under the 1951 Convention on the Protection of refugees.

I am also concerned about allegations of possible implication of Eritrean troops in cases of serious human rights violations, including acts of abductions, forceful or unvoluntary return of Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers, and their imprisonment in different prisons in Eritrea. Such allegations need to be investigated promptly and thoroughly by independent mechanisms. On 28 January 2021, in my letter to the Government of Ethiopia, I called on the Ethiopian authorities to protect the human rights of Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers in the Tigray region, and to ensure respect for their rights under human rights law, international humanitarian law and international refugee law. In this oral update, I request the Eritrean authorities to give me full access to refugees and asylum seekers allegedly held in various prisons inside Eritrea.

Turning to the issue of the human rights situation in Eritrea, since October 2020, I have seen no concrete evidence of progress or actual improvement in the human rights situation in the country. Eritrea has not yet put in place an institutional and legal framework to uphold minimum human rights standards in a democratic society. The country lacks rule of law, a constitution and an independent judiciary to enforce the protection of and respect for human rights. Eritrea continues to have no national assembly to adopt laws, including those regulating fundamental rights and the right of the Eritrean people to participate freely in the public life of their country. 

On religious freedoms, I welcome the release of a large group of Christians. Reports indicate that, in recent weeks, Eritrea has released 70 jailed Christians of evangelical and orthodox who were held in three prisons. Sixty-four of the Christians had no charges and some of them were jailed for worshipping in public. On 27 January 2021, six female prisoners detained for worshipping in public in September 2020 in Dekemhare, south-east of Asmara, were also released. On 1 February 2021, 21 female and 43 male prisoners were released from Mai Serwa and Adi Abeito prisons near Asmara. The prisoners had been held between two and 12 years. 

I also welcome the release, on 4 December 2020, of 24 Jehovah’s Witnesses, including the three conscientious objectors, Paulos Eyasu, Isaac Mogos and Negede Teklemariam, who had been held for 26 years, and whose cases were highlighted by the former UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea in her statement during the presentation of her report to the Human Rights Council in June 2020, and her interactive dialogue with the UN General Assembly on 26 October 2020.

While I welcome the release by the authorities of the Christians and Jehovah’s Witnesses, I have to note that Eritrea continues to impose restrictions on religious freedoms. I urge the Eritrean authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all of those who remain in prison because of their faith or belief. 

Turning to the issue of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, there has been no progress. The situation of detainees and political prisoners is particularly concerning. It is also not acceptable for Eritrea to arbitrary detain political opponents in secret prisons without charge or trial in violation of human rights standards. For example, since the last report of my predecessor, some prisoners such as Dawit Isaak, a Swedish-Eritrean journalist, and of ten of his colleagues remain for two decades in incommunicado detention. These are other examples of numerous cases of individuals who are currently languishing in Eritrean prisons, with no prospect of release. It is difficult to speak of progress in Eritrea while their cases remain unresolved. The practice of arbitrary and incommunicado detentions in Eritrea has serious impact on the life of many Eritreans. In the context of COVID-19, I call on Eritrean authorities to release those particularly vulnerable, including older detainees and those who are sick. 

I am also concerned of the imapact of the national serice on the right to educaiton of Eritrean students. The national service requirements oblige all secondary school students in the country to complete their final year at the Warsai Yekalo Secondary School, located in the Sawa military camp, and to undertake mandatory military training for approximately five months of that year. I am concerned that the conditions in the camp have impact on the right to education. It is reported that approximately 60 to 65 per cent of students at Sawa do not obtain the results needed for further studies and are either drafted directly into military service or sent to vocational training programmes. It is also alleged that military officials in Sawa subject students to ill-treatment and harsh punishments, including corporal punishment, and students undertake forced labour. I call on Eritrean authorities to put an end to such treatments and comply with their international human rights obligations. 

Finally, since my appointment, I have not yet had the opportunity to meet with Eritrean officials. On 18 December 2020, I requested an invitation to undertake an official visit to Eritrea in my capacity as Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea. I proposed that I visit Eritrea from 21 to 31 January 2021 to hold consultations with relevant officials from the Government and a range of actors with a view to assessing the human rights situation on the ground, and to exploring jointly future avenues for constructive engagement for the sake of the protection and promotion of human rights in the country. I have not yet received a response from the Eritrean authorities. I remain willing to engage constructively with the Government of Eritrea on urgent human rights concerns. I hope the Eritrean authorities will cooperate with my mandate and I am still awaiting their response. 

Thank you.

Thursday, 25 February 2021 23:38

Radio Dimtsi Harnnet Kassel 25 02 2021

Written by

FEBRUARY 24, 2021  ETHIOPIANEWSTIGRAY

The Ethiopian government is reported to have ordered the interim government of Tigray (in collaboration with the military) to eradicate all evidences of the extensive atrocities committed during the war in Tigray.

Signs of murder, rape, looting, displacement and destruction are being carefully removed.

This is being done ahead of opening up Tigray to members of the international media.

The problem for the Ethiopian government is that the people of the region can bear witnesses to what took place.

This explains a report that more than 6,000 internally displaced people are being transferred from  Axum university campuses to the prison center in Shire over the next two days.

Axum – the scene of probably the worst atrocity in the current conflict – is likely to attract considerable media attention once the region opens up.

ርእሰ-ዓንቀጽ ሰዲህኤ

ንኤርትራውያን ቅድም ኮነ ሎሚ፡ ቀንዲ ጉዳይና ኤርትራዊ ዋኒን እዩ። ክሳብ ሕጂ ዝኸፈልናዮ ዋጋ ከኣ ምእንቲ ኤርትራን ህዝባን እዩ። እዚ ኣብ መጻኢ እውን ዘይቅየር እዩ። ከምቲ ንኣደ ብዘይዝኾነ ይኹን ተወሳኺ  ቅጽል ኣደ ስለ ዝኾነት ጥራይ እነፍቅራ፡ ንኤርትራ ከኣ ብኽንድኡ ደረጃ ኢና እነፍቅራን እንብጀወላን።

እዚ ክበሃል እንከሎ ግና ኤርትራዊ ጉዳይና በይኑ ተሓጺሩ ዝተርፍ ኣይኮነን። ኣብ ክንድኡ ብናይ ርሑቕን ቀረባን ምዕባለታት ክጸሉን  ክጽለውን ናይ ግድን እዩ። ናይቲ ንጸልዎን ዝጸልወናን ክብደት ከኣ ከከም ደረጃኡን ርሕቀቱን ዝፈላለ እዩ። ካብቲ ዝረሓቐ ብዝያዳ ምስ ጐረባብትና ንጸላሎ። ንሕና እቶም ንጸሉን እቶም ዝጸልዉናን እንቀራረብ ሓደ ነቲ ሓደ ስለ ዝሓልየሉ ጥራይ ዘይኮነ፡ ነናትና ካብቲ ሓቢርካ ምስጓም  ነመዝግቦ ናይ ሓባር ረብሓን ጠመተን ስለ ዘለና ኢና። እቲ ምጽልላው ኣብ ኣውንታ ጥራይ ዝድረት ዘይኮነ ኣብቲ ኣሉታዊ ምዕባለ እውን ከምኡ እዩ። ኣብዚ ነቲ “እንተ ክትድቅስ ጐረቤትካ ይደቅስ” ዝብል ምስላ  ምዝካር የድልየና።

ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ኣብ ትግራይ ዝካየድ ዘሎ ደማዊ ውግእ ናይ ብዙሓት ዓብይ እዋናዊ መዛረቢ ኣጀንዳ ኮይኑ ኣሎ። እቲ ኣብ ኤርትራ ኣሕዲርዎ ዘሎ ተራ ናይ ጎረቤት ጽልዋ ዘይኮነስ፡ ዓብይ ስምብራት ዝገድፍ እዩ። እዚ ዝኾነሉ ምኽኒያት ድማ ዲክታቶር ኢሰያስ ከምቲ “ጉዳይ ኢትዮጵያ ጉዳይና ኢዩ” ኢሉ ዝገለጾ ብምሉእ ዓቕሙ ኣትይዎ ብምህላው ኢዩ። እዚ ድማ ኣብ ኤርትራ ቀጥታዊ ኣሉታዊ ጽልዋ ኣለዎ። መላኺ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ንጉዳይ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ሓዋዊሱ ኣብ ዝኸደሉ ዘሎ፡ ኣብ ኩሉ መድረኻትን ኣጋጣምታትን ክንምክቶ ይህልወና። ከምቲ “ካብ እመትሲ ስድሪ ኣላታ” ዝበሃል ከኣ ጽልዋኡ ኣባና ኣብ ጐረቤት እቲ ውግእ እንርከብ ኤርትራን ህዝባን ዝለዓለ እዩ። ዳርጋ ነቲ ኣብ ኤርትራ ዘሎ ነዊሕ ሱር ዝሰደደ ኣዝዩ ከቢድ ክንሱ፡ ክንድቲ ምረቱ ድምጹ ክስማዕ ዘይጸንሐ ኤርትራዊ ጉዳይና እውን ዝዓብለሎ ይመስል ኣሎ። እዚ ከኣ እቲ ቅድሚ ምጅማሩ እንተደኣ ጀሚሩ ኣብ ትግራይ ወይ ኢትዮጵያ ተደሪቱ ዝተርፍ ዘይኮነ፡ ዞባዊ ጽልዋን ኣሰላልፋን ክህልዎ እዩ ተባሂሉ ዝተገመቶ እቲ ውግእ ካብ ዞባና ሓሊፉ ኣብ ርሑቕ ከባብታት እውን የዛርብ፡ የሻቕልን ሃገራት መርገጸን ከነጽራ የገድደንን ኣሎ። ንሕና ሓይልታት ተቓውሞ ከኣ ከም  ኤርትራውን ዞባውን ባእታ ንጽለው ኣሎና።

ካብቲ ነዚ ውግእ ተጐዝጒዙ ኣብ ኤርትራዊ መድረኻት ኣዛራቢ ኮይኑ ዘሎ፡ ናይ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ኣብቲ ውግእ ኢድ ኣእታውነት እዩ። “ሰራዊት ኤርትራ ኣብ ውግእ ትግራይ ኣትዩባ ኣይኣተወን እባ”  ዝብል ብዙሕ ከዋጥጥ ጸኒሑ እዩ። ሕጂ ግና ዋላኳ ገለ “ዋላ ትንፈር እምበር ጤል እያ”  ካብ ዝብል ምዕጥጣይ ዘይወጹ እንተለዉ ዳርጋ ኩሉ ኤርትራዊ ንምስታፍ ሰራዊት ኤርትራ ኣብቲ ውግእ ተኣሚንሉ እዩ። ባዕሎም ኢትዮጵያውያን ከይተረፉ፡ ብዘይካ ኣዝዮም ውሱናት ኣብቲ ዝለዓለ ጽፍሒ ስልጣን ዘለዉ ተኣሚነምሉ እዮም። ዲክታተር ኢሳያስ ኣፈወርቂ እውን ኣብዚ ቀረባ መዓልታት ኣብ ዝሃቦ ቃለመሓትት ከም መቐጸልታ ናይቲ “ጸወታ ወያነ ተወዲኡ” ዝብሎ ዝነበረ፡ “ኣብ ጉዳይ ኢትዮጵያ ግቡእና ንገብር ኣለና” ብዝብል ጥበበኛ ዝመስል ግና ከኣ ርዱእ ኣቀራርባ ኢዱ ከም ዘእተወ ተኣሚኑ እዩ። ኣብዚ ዝሓለፈ መዓልታት፡   ንሕብረት ኤውሮጳ ወኪሎም ናብ ኢትዮጵያ ገይሾም ዝተመልሱ ወጻኢ ጉዳይ ሚኒስተር ፊንላንድ ሃቪስቶን፡ ናብ ወጻኢ ጉዳይ ሚኒስተራት ናይቲ ሕብረት  ኣብ ዘቕረብዎ ጸብጻብ፥ መሪሕነት መንግስቲ ኢትዮጵያ ብዛዕባቲ ኣብ ትግራይ ዘሎ ኩነታት ንጹር ሓበሬታ ክህብ ኣይበቐዐን …… ኣዲስ ኣበባን ኣስመራን ክልቲኦም፡ ናይ ሲቪላውያን፡ ሰራሕተኛታት ረዲአትን ገለ ናይ መንግስቲ ወተሃደራውን ሲቪላውን ላዕለዎት ሓለፍቲ ናይ ዓይኒ ምስክረነት ተጻሪሮም፡  ንኢድ ኣእታውነት ኤርትራ ኣብ ትግራይ ክሒዶም”   ዝብል ንጹር ሓሳብ ኣቕሪቦም።  ሰራዊት ኤርትራ ኣብ ትግራይ  ይፍጽሞ ኣሎ  ዝበሃል፡ ንህዝቢ ኤርትራ ዘይውክል ገበናትን ምኽንያታውነት  ኣተኣታትዋኡን ግና ጌና የዛርብ ኣሎ።

ነዚ ኣብ ትግራይ ዝካየድ ዘሎ ውግእን ኣብ ልዕሊ ህዝቢ ትግራይን ንብረቱን ዝፍጸም ዘሎ ጉድኣት ምኹናንን ኣብ ክንድኡ ውግእ ጠጠው ኢሉ እቲ ጸገም ብሕጋውን ፖለቲካውን ኣገባብ ንክፍታሕ ምጽዋዕን ኩሉ ገዲፍካ ብሰብኣውነት ዝረአ እዩ። ብፍላይ ከኣ ንሕና ኤርትራውያን ሰብና ህይወት ይኸፍልሉ ኣብ ርእሲ ምህላዎም፡ ኣብ መጻኢ ዝምድና ናይቲ ዘይሓልፍ ህዝብታት ኤርትራን ትግራይን ሳዕቤኑ ዘየደቅስ ብምዃኑ ዝያዳ እቶም ካብ ርሑቕ ዓገብ ዝብሉ ዘለዉ፡ ዓገብ ክንብል ናይ ግድን እዩ። ከምኡ ስለ ዝኾነ እዩ ከኣ   በብግዜኡ ብዝተፈላለዩ ኤርትራዊ ውድባት፡ ሰልፍታት፡ ማሕበራትን ምንቅስቓሳትን መግለጽታት ከውጽኡን ሰልፍታት ከካይዱን ዝጸንሑ። ሓይሊ ዕማም ናይ ወጻኢ ዝምድናታት፡ ፖለቲካዊ ሓይልታት ኤርትራ (ፖሓኤ) እውን ንመበል 46 ዓመት ምጅማር ቃልሲ፡ ህዝባዊ ወያኒ ሓርነት ትግራይ (ህወሓት) 18 ለካቲት ኣመልኪቱ ኣብ ዘውጸኦ መግለጺ ኣብ ውሽጣዊ ጉዳያት ናይ ካልኦት ሃገራት ኣይንኣትውን ኢና ካብ ዝብል ጽኑዕ መትከልና ብምብጋስ፣ ስርዓት ህግዲፍ ብዘይ ወዓል ሕደር ሓይልታቱ ካብ ትግራይ ክስሕብን፣ እቲ ኣብ ዘይምልከቶ ውግእ ኣትዩ ዝሃልቕ ዘሎ ኤርትራዊ መንእሰይ ከኣ፣ ኣመት መሰል፣ ነጻነትን፣ ልዕላውነትን ሃገሩ ክገብርን፣ ነዚ ኣትይዎ ዘሎ ሓደገኛ ተልእኾ ብትሪ ክቃወምን …….. ተሪር ጻውዒትና ነቕርብ”  ኢሉ።

ብዛዕባቲ ኣብ ትግራይ ዝካየድ ዘሎ እሞ ሓያል ማሕበራዊ ቅልውላው ዘኸተለ ውግእ ዓገብ ምባል ንቡር እዩ። ንሕና ዓገብ እንብል ካብቶም  ዝዋግኡ ዘለዉ ኣካላት ነቲ ሓደ  ካብ ምድጋፍ ወይ ነቲ ካልእ ካብ ምጽራር ጥራይ ዝነቅል ዘይኮነ ረብሓን ቀጻልነትን ኤርትራ እውን በዚ ኩነታት ይጽሎ ስለ ዝኾነ እዩ። ኣብ ኣመዛዝና እዚ ጉዳይ ፍልልይ እንተሃለወ ከኣ እቲ ፍልልይና ኣብ ኤርትራዊ ኣጀንዳና ብዘየረሓሕቐና ክንሕዞ ይግበኣና። በቲ ካልእ መልክዑ ብዛዕባዚ ጉዳይ ምዝራብን ኣቓልቦ ምሃብን ግና ነቲ ቀንዲ ኤርትራዊ ጠመተና ዘስሕተና ከይከውን ምስትብሃል ከድልየና እዩ። ብመሰረቱ እውን እቲ ኣብዚ ጉዳይ ኣዛራቢ ኮይኑ ዘሎ ኢድ ኣእታውነትን ሕማቕ ተግባራትን ጉጅለ ህግደፍ መቐጸልታ ናይቲ ኣብ ኤርትራ መሊኡ ዝፈስስ ዘሎ ወጽዓ ምዃኑ ኣይንዘንግዕ።

FEBRUARY 24, 2021  ETHIOPIANEWSTIGRAY

After blocking access since the war in Tigray broke out on 4 November, Prime Minister Abiy has finally relented. Aid agencies have also been granted visas and access.

A very welcome announcement, but let’s see what happens in reality.

 

FEBRUARY 23, 2021  ETHIOPIANEWSTIGRAY

Haavisto told journalists that Ethiopia’s leadership had failed to provide a “clear picture” of the situation in Tigray — including the widely documented involvement of forces from neighbouring Eritrea. “The question of Eritrean troops is extremely sensitive, so we don’t get the clear answer about the whereabouts or magnitude of the Eritrean troops,” he said.

Source: Euractiv

File photo. An Ethiopian refugee woman with her child from Tigray region wait to receive aid at the Um Rakuba refugee camp, the same camp that hosted Ethiopian refugees during the famine in the 1980s, some 80 kilometers from the Ethiopian-Sudan border in Sudan, 1 December 2020. [Ala Kheir/EPA/EFE]

Finland’s Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto warned Tuesday (23 February) that the crisis in Ethiopia’s conflict-hit Tigray region appears “out of control”, after visiting the country on behalf of the EU.

“You have come to the situation which is militarily and human rights-wise, humanitarian-wise very out of control,” Haavisto told journalists in Brussels.

Tigray has been the theatre of fighting since early November 2020, when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced military operations against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), accusing them of attacking federal army camps.

He declared victory after pro-government troops took regional capital Mekele in late November, though the TPLF vowed to fight on, and clashes have persisted in the region, hampering efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance.

“This operation has lasted more than three months, and we do not see the end,” Haavisto said.

Finland’s top diplomat visited Addis Ababa this month — including meetings with Nobel Prize winner Abiy — on a fact-finding mission for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

He briefed foreign ministers from the bloc’s 27 nations on the crisis at a meeting on Monday.

Haavisto told journalists that Ethiopia’s leadership had failed to provide a “clear picture” of the situation in Tigray — including the widely documented involvement of forces from neighbouring Eritrea.

“The question of Eritrean troops is extremely sensitive, so we don’t get the clear answer about the whereabouts or magnitude of the Eritrean troops,” he said.

Addis Ababa and Asmara both deny that Eritrean forces are involved in the conflict, contradicting eyewitness reports from civilians, aid workers and some military and government officials in Tigray.

The EU has joined the United States in demanding Eritrean troops withdraw.

Haavisto repeated urgent calls from the international community for the Ethiopian government to grant full humanitarian access to Tigray, including areas beyond its control.

“What we need from the Ethiopian government is the greenlight to the humanitarian community to negotiate access to the Eritrean-controlled areas, to the opposition-controlled areas,” he said.

The UN says that areas where 80% of the region’s population live remain cut off from assistance and tens of thousands have fled across the border into neighbouring Sudan.

Haavisto warned that Sudan is struggling to cope with the influx and that it risked spiralling into a new driver for refugees towards Europe.

“We are seeing the beginning of one more potentially big refugee crisis in the world,” Haavisto said.

“If you don’t influence it now then the circumstances will build so that there are more and more refugees coming.”

In December, Brussels announced it was postponing some €90 million in aid to Ethiopia over its failure to grant full humanitarian access to Tigray.

FEBRUARY 22, 2021  ETHIOPIANEWSTIGRAY

“The ongoing conflict in Tigray has led to a catastrophic humanitarian and human rights situation. By some estimates, hundreds of thousands are facing starvation. Tens of thousands have left the country as refugees. Reports come in daily of new atrocities, including allegations of massacres in churches and villages, rape, and the physical destruction of refugee camps.”

Rep. Ilhan Omar Statement on the Situation in Ethiopia

February 19, 2021

MINNEAPOLIS—Rep. Ilhan Omar released the following statement on the ongoing situation in Ethiopia.

“My first trip abroad as a Member of Congress was to Ethiopia. I am also entering my second term as a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the subcommittee with jurisdiction over Africa and human rights. This year, I am honored to be chosen as the Vice Chair of the subcommittee. The situation in Ethiopia is deeply alarming on many levels, and I have been following it extremely closely.

“I am deeply alarmed by the situation of the Oromo political prisoners, including Bekele Gerba and other leaders who are on hunger strike. The denial of access to medical treatment is a significant violation of their human rights and is only making the serious crises facing Ethiopia worse. The Ethiopian Government must treat these prisoners according to internationally recognized standards of human rights, due process, and human dignity.

“The ongoing conflict in Tigray has led to a catastrophic humanitarian and human rights situation. By some estimates, hundreds of thousands are facing starvation. Tens of thousands have left the country as refugees. Reports come in daily of new atrocities, including allegations of massacres in churches and villages, rape, and the physical destruction of refugee camps. Their whereabouts and condition are unknown.

“Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed must allow unfettered humanitarian access, and unfettered access to independent human rights investigators in Tigray so we can get a full accounting of the atrocities that have been reported. He must also lift the communications blockade to allow NGOs and other humanitarian organizations to be in touch with their staff on the ground, and to allow people living in Tigray – including many of my own constituents – to finally speak to their families.

“The Tigray conflict risks spilling over into an all-out regional conflict and could claim as one of its casualties the very fragile transition to democracy in Sudan. Our national interests, values, and basic human morality demand that the United States takes decisive steps to document the allegations of human rights violations and support justice mechanisms, at the international level if necessary. The Government of Ethiopia, TPLF, Government of Eritrea, militias, and any other actors in the region must be held accountable where crimes are proven. We must reject any narrative that seeks to absolve anyone who has committed these grave violations of human rights.

“We must also continue to press for unimpeded access for humanitarian organizations, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, journalists, and independent and credible human rights organizations. We must not tolerate these things being carried out under the cover of a blackout.

“As brutal as the situation in Tigray has become, it is not the only problem compounding in Ethiopia. I am also extremely alarmed about the continued reports, which began even before the Tigray conflict, of the targeted murders of Amhara people throughout Ethiopia. The reported massacre at Mai Kadra, among many others, also demands justice and accountability.

“It is a tragedy to see the dream of a pluralistic, democratic, and free Ethiopia slipping away. The layers of legitimate unaddressed grievances held by so many Ethiopians have to be addressed before Ethiopia can conceivably move forward in peace. From my position as Vice Chair of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights, and Global Health, I will continue to strongly advocate for lasting peace and transitional justice mechanisms that take a long view of the injustices perpetrated against too many Ethiopians for too many decades.”

Message from patriot Mesfin Hagos the regarding current situation

Mesfin Hagos

Honored people of Eritrea, it is to be remembered that we have repeatedly stated that the lawless Isayas regime, has moved you from one danger to another. By involving you in the Ethiopian civil war, which is not our business, he is exposing our people and our country to unwanted danger.

At the end of January 2021, a statement condemning the war waged by federal government of Ethiopia and its collaborators on peace loving people of Tigray as well as entry of Eritrean army into Tigray was released, which was signed by more than 80 Eritrean scholars and professionals.

The bad lack that has befallen the people of Eritrea has also happened to the people of Tigray and as such on its own land was made to disperse, to be hammered, to be humiliated by being deprived of its basic rights and honors. We would like to thank those Eritreans who saw this and voiced their protest. Their voice is befitting and reflective of the kind of brotherly relationship and collaboration that’s desire by the oppressed people of Eritrea.

We have to realize the fact that the injustice that’s being inflicted by the army of Abiy Ahmed and Isayas regime is the continuation of the injustices that were and continue to be committed on Eritrea and Eritrean citizens by dictator Isayas and his followers.

Injustice

Since the root cause of the suffering and injustice that’s being inflicted on the two neighboring peoples, the appeals that are being made on behalf of the people of Tigray not only influences us Eritreans but is also on our behalf too. While more than half of the injustice that was committed on Eritreans remains unknown to the outside world, when it crossed the border and occurred on another country, the world has started to pay attention to it.

Those of us who are able to move and speak have the moral and civic responsibility to speak up on behalf of our people who have been pinned from moving and silenced from speaking.

In November, a failed campaign was undertaken by Asmara that called “let us show our solidarity with our army.” Now Isayas and his allays are using similar trickery with a campaign (motto) “let us defend the sovereignty of our country” to attempt to hide the fact that they are exposing our people to danger and placing our sovereignty for bargain.

The two attempts are efforts to rationalize the actions of the regime and suppress the truth. However, while the people of Eritrea are being kept from utilizing the wealth within its reach and is starving, Isayas has agreed for Abiy to use Assab port without any restrictions and protocols.

Federation with Ethiopia

What is worse, sources from Asmara are indicating and warning that he has made a deal to suppress the sovereignty that we have secured by paying huge sacrifice and to unify, once again, our country Eritrea with Ethiopia through federation.

It is the people of Eritrea who have paid and continues to pay for such irresponsible actions of Isayas and his followers.

Those who are main culprits of these actions are high level commanders of the army and few of their colleagues that have become confused with narrow interests and who are vying to show their allegiance to Isayas and save themselves.

These are the ones that have made mid-level officials and youth members of the army, who gain no benefit out of this, victims of Arab (interests). Since our brothers, sisters, children and grandchildren are not able to make their voices heard, we have the responsibility to speak up on their behalf. History is calling us to stand against the death and destruction that has been occurring, is and continues to occur.

Eritrean Army

Honored army of Eritrea, even though you have been forced to engage in wrongful deeds by military command and disciplinary entanglements, you will be made accountable not only by your conscience, but also by law, for the actions that you are committing.

People of Eritrea  - inside the country and abroad - you have seen that unless you disobey in a unified and open manner, the regime of Isayas will not end.  Since the price we pay by our disobedience is much less, let us all collectively say ‘enough’ so that the intervention of the regime that took away thousands of our children and grandchildren ends in the Ethiopian civil war.

High-level officers of the Eritrean army: it is important for you to know that once you are finished sacrificing your comrades and children, Isayas will pluck you one by one.

Today, the number one enemy of our people and the primary source of danger to our sovereignty is Isayas.

You need to contribute your share now by standing with your people and bringing down this regime in order to heal and compensate for the destruction you have participated in up to now.

Thank you
“Message from patriot Mesfin Hagos regarding current situation,”

ATV Assena Youtube account, 22/02/21, 5 hours ago

ላት ኣብ ደቡብ ጀርመን ዝርከብ  ጨንፈር ሰልፈ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ብዕለት 20  ለካቲት 2021 ስሩዕ ጨንፈራዊ ኣኼባ ኣካይዶም። ነዚ ኣብ ዓለምና ወሪዱ ዘሎ ሕማም ኣብ ግምት ብዘእተወ፣ እቲ ኣኼባ ብመንገዲ መረኸቢ ብዙሃን ዝተሳላሰለ ኮይኑ፡ ድሕሪ ዳሃይ ሕድሕድ ምፍልላጥን ናይ እንኳዕ ዳሓን ኣራኸበና ሰላምታ ምቅይያርን፣ ብቀጥታ ኣብቶም ነዚ እዋን ዝምልከቱ ተስሪዖም ዝነበሩ ኣጀንዳታታ ብምትኳር፡

  • ነቲ ኣብ ፍሉይ ኣኼባ ማእከላይ ባይቶ ሰዲህኤ ንኣጋባብ ቃልሲ ብዝምልከት ኣብ ቅዋም ሰልፊ ምርኩስ ገይሩ ዝገበሮ ምምሕያሽ ወይ’ውን ዝያዳ ምብርህ ዝምልከት ድሕሪ ምዝርራብ፣ ኣባላት ጨንፈር ቅዋም ሰልፊ ብምምርማር ኣብ ትሕቲ ዓንቀጽ 8 ትርጉምን ምምሕያሽን ቅዋም ሰልፊ ተመልኪቱ ከም ዘሎ 75% እንተ ተሰማሚዖም ማእከላይ ባይቶ ከማሓይሽን ከብርህን ከምዝኸእል ሰፊሩ ይርከብ። እዚ ድማ ሰዲህኤ ንሓቢርካ ምስራሕ ዘለዎ ድሉውነት ዘንጸባርቕን ንስለ ሓባራዊ ስራሕ ክወስዶ ዝጸንሔ ተበግሶን ዘመልክት ኮይኑ፡ ንዘጋጥም ዕንቅፋታት ንምእላይ ክሳብ ክንደይ ቅሩብ ምዃኑ ዘርኢ እዩ። በዚ ኣጋጣሚ፡ ኩሎም ተቓውምቲ ውድባትን ሰልፍታትን ብልቦና ክርእይዎን ክታሓባበሩን ትጽቢትና ምዃኑ ንገልጽ።
  • ካልእ ኣባላት ጨንፈር፡ ብዛዕባ’ቲ ኣብ ከባቢ ሃገርና ዝካየድ ዘሎ ብፍላይ ድማ፡ ኣብ ትግራይ ዝግበርን ዝረኤን ዘሎ ዘሕዝን ኲነታት ብሰፊሕ ልቦና ናይ ሓሳባት ምልውዋጥ ገይሮም። ከም ውጻኢቱ ነቲ ብኢሳያስ ተመሪሑ ኣብ ትግራይ ዝካየድ ዘሎ ናይ ቂም ወፍሪ፡ እሞ ድማ ንህዝብና ኣብ ገዛ ዳጒኑ፡ ንሰራዊት ኤርትራ ኣብዘይምልከቶ ሓዊ ይጠብስ ብምህላዉ ኣጥቢቆም የወግዙ። 
  • ኣብ ትግራይ ዝካየድ ዘሎ ኢሰብኣዊ ተግባራት ጠጦው ንምባል ኩሎም ስለ ወጽዓን በደልን ድቂሰባት ዝሓዝኑን ዝጣበቑን፡        1. ብቐጥታ ውግእ ጠጦው ክብል ክጽውዑን ክጽዕሩን፡

2 ሰራዊት አርትራ ካብቲ ዘይምልከቶም ቦታ ትግራይ ብዘይ ዋዓል ሕደር ወጺኢም፡ ኣብ ቦትኦም ክምለሱ፡

  1.  ኣብ ኩሉ ቦታታት ትግራይ ብዘይ ዕንቅፋት ረዲአት ብዓለምለኻዊ ትካላትን ግብረስናይ ማሕበራትን ክኣቱ ክፍቀድን ንኸይዕንቀፍ ምክትታሉን፡
  2.  መንግስቲ ኢትዮጵያ ንዓለምለኻዊ ተጣበቕቲ ሰብኣዊ መሰላትን ጋዜጠኛታትን ብነጻ ክንቀሳቀሱ ከፍቅድ፡ ኣብ ልዕሊ ሰለማውያን ሰባት ዝተፈጸመ ቅትለትን፡ ግህሰትን ዓመጽን ደቂ ኣንስትዮን ከምኡ’ውን ኣብ ንብረትን ቅርስታትን ተኻይዱ ዝባሃል ኩሉ ስርቅን ዝርፍያን ብነጻ ኣካል ክጻረ ሓያላት ሃገራት ጸቕጥታተን ከሐይላን ክጽዕታን በዚ ኣጋጣሚ ብምጽዋዕ ኣኼባ ጨንፈር ተደምዲሙ።  

 

ናይ ሓባር እትበጽሖን እተዕውቶ ዓላማን ሸቶን ክህልወካ እንከሎ፣ ብሓባር ምጉዓዝ ዝተለምደን ኣዕዋትን እዩ። እዚ ኣዕዋቲ ዝኸውን፡ ዝተበተነ ድሌት ዝእክብ፡ ግዜኻ ዘቑጥብን ዓቕምኻ ኣብ ናይ ሓባር መዓላ ዘውዕል ስለ ዝኾነ እዩ። ብዓብይኡ ከኣ ነቲ በበይንኻ ምድፋኡ ዘጸግመካን ብሰንኪ ብሓደ ዘይምስራሕካ ዕድመ ዝውስኽን ተጻባኢ፣ ንምውጋድ ዘኽእል ፍቱን መንገዲ ስለ ዝኾነ እዩ። ኩሉ ግዜ ብዛዕባ ሓድነትን ሓቢርካ ምቅላስን ዘለዎ ዘይስገር ኣድላይነት እንዛረብ ከኣ ካብዚ ብምንቃል ኢና።

“ኣብቲ ዘሰማምዓካ ሓቢርካ ምቅላስ መሰረታዊ እዩ” ክንብል እንከለና፡ በቲ ዘሰማምዓና ጀሚርና ንቕድሚት ዘይንስጉም ካብ ምባል ዝነቅል እዩ። በቲ ዘሰማምዓካ ምጅማር ቅድም ኣብኡ ኣድሚዕካ ዓወት ምምዝጋብ ዘኽእል እዩ። ነቲ ዝፈላልየካ ከኣ ፈጺምካ ትጥንጥኖ ማለት ዘይኮነ፡  ሓቢርካ ብምስራሕ ተተባቢዕካ ነቲ ዘየሰማምዓካ ዕንቅፋት ክኸውን ብዘይክእል ከተመሓድሮ የኽእለካ ማለት እዩ። ካብዚ ሓሊፉ፡ ብዙሓት ኮንካ ብሓባር ምቕጻል ኣይኮነንዶ ኣብ ከምዚ ተጸሚድናሉ ዘለና ፖለቲካዊ ዋኒን፡ ኣብ ካልእ ተልእኮ እውን ናብ ሓደ ጉዳይ ክትነቅል እንከለኻ መሰረታዊ ኮይኑ ንድሕሪት ዝመልስ ደኣ ኣይኹን እምበር ፡ ፍልልይ ከም ዘጋጥመካ ኣሚንካ እትቕበሎ እዩ። ነቲ ፍልልይ ሰጊርካ ክትስጉም ትኽእለሉ መንገዲ ከኣ ኣብ መትከል ምጽውዋር፡ ምክእኣልን ናይ ሓሳብ እንካን ሃባን ምኽባር ዝስረት እዩ። ከምዚ እንተዘይኮይኑ  ግና፡ ንምቅላስ ወይ ንስራሕ ጥራይ ዘይኮነ  ዝኾነ ቀጻሊ ማሕበራዊ ህይወት ምምስራት  እውን ኣይመተኻእለን። ስለዚ ንፍልልያት ኣፍልጦ ሂብካ ምምሕዳሮም እምበር ምውጋዶም ወይ ምሕባኦም ዝከኣል ኣይኮነን።

ኣብ ሓደ ናይ ሓባር መስርሕ ፍልልያት ዝፍጠረሉ ምኽንያታት ብዙሕ እዩ። ዘይሩ ዘይሩ ግና ኣብቲ ናይ ሓባር ጉዕዞ ናይ “መን ተጠቕመን ተጐድአን ወይ ሰዓረን ተሳዕረን” ውድድር ክህሉ ባህርያዊ እዩ። እዚ ውድድር ዘሕድሮ ስግኣት ክህሉ’ውን ከምኡ። እዚ ውድድር’ዚ ብሕጋውን ዲሞክራስያውን ኣገባብ እንተተኣልዩ፡ ዘበላልሓካ ጸጋ እምበር፣ ስግኣት ኣይኮነን። ካብዚ ሓሊፉ፡ ናይ እምነት፡ ቋንቋን ባህልን ካለኦትን ብዙሕነት ፍልልያት ክፍጠር ናቶም እጃም ኣለዎም። እንተኾነ ነዞም ፍልልያት ዓቂብካ በቶም ዘሰማምዑኻ ብምስራሕን ብምቅላስን ኣብ ዓወት ከም ዝብጻሕ ብብዙሓት ተመኩሮታት ዝተረጋጊጸ እዩ። ኣብ ዝኾነ መዳይ ኣብ ፖሊቲካ ድዩ ኣብ ቁጠባ ወይ ማሕበራዊ ጉዳይ ዕዉታት እንብሎም ህዝብታት  ከምዞም ዝጠቐስናዮም  ፍልልያት ስለ ዘይነበርዎም ኣይኮኑን። ንሕና ኤርትራውያን ግና፡ ነዚ ክሳብ  ምውሓስ ልኡላዊት ሃገር ዘብጸሐ ቃልሲ ከነዕውት እንከለና ነዞም ዝተጠቕሱ ፍልልያትና ኣብ ምክእኣል ንሎሚ መለበሚ ዝኾነና ዋጋ ከፊልና ኢና።  ንመጻኢ ከኣ በቶም ዘሰማምዑና ጀሚርና፡ ነቶም ዘየሰማምዑና ቦታኦም ኣትሒዝና እንተሰጒምና፣ ናይ ቅድሚ ሕጂ ዓወትና ካብ ምድጋም ዝዓግተና የለን። ነቲ ክንክተሎ ዝግበና ውሕልነት ዘንጊዕና፡ በቲ ዘሰማምዕና ኣብ ክንዲ ምጅማር፡ ግድን በቲ ዝፈላልየና ደኣ ንጸባጸብ  ኢልና እንተደሪቕና ግና፡ ኣብቲ ዘሰማምዓና ኮነ ኣብቲ ዝፈላልየና ከየድማዕና መፍቶ ህግደፍ ክንከውን ኢና።

ንፍልልያት ግዜ ሂብካ በቲ ዘሰማምዓካ ጀሚርካ ምቕጻል፡ ልቦና፡  ጹረትን ትዕግስትን ዝሓትት ዓብይን ዘይስገርን ህዝባዊ ሓላፍነት እዩ። ነዚ ክትበቅዕ፡ “ኣነን ናተይን ጥራይ” ብዝብል ዘይኮነ፡ ንናይቶም ካለኦት ሓቢሮሙና ዝቃለሱን ብዘይብኣኣቶም ዘይኮነልናን  ወገናት  ርኢቶ’ውን ቦታ ክንህብ ግድን እዩ። ምናልባት እውን ከምቲ “ምእንቲ መጎጎ ትሕለፍ ኣንጭዋ” ዝበሃል፡ ዘየዕግቡና ግና ከኣ ኣብ ወሳኒ እዋን ነቲ ኣብ ቅድሜና ዘሎ ብደሆ ብሓባር ዘስግር ኮይኑ ዝተራእየና ሓሳብ ምስ ዕቃበ ምቕባል ኣገዳሲ እዩ። ደሓር ኣብቲ መስርሕ ናይቲ ምእንቲ ክንሰግር ዝተቐበልናዮ ሓሳብ ዘየድማዕነት እንተነጺሩ፣ እንተላይ እቲ ምእንቲ ብሓባር ክንቅጽል ሓሳቡ ዘኽበርናሉ ኣካል፤ ምሳና ኮይኑ ናይ ምዕራዩ ዕድል ክረክብ ንኽእል ኢና። ካብዚ ሓሊፉ ኣብዚ ንጐዓዞ ዘለና ናይ ምቅብባል መስርሕ ቃልሲ፥ ንዝሓለፈ ተመኩሮ ከይነዓቕካ እቲ ጸጽቡቑ ምውሳድ ምእንቲ ሓቢርካ ክትቅጽል ኣገዳሲ እዩ። ኣድላይነት ናይዚ ጡብ ኣብ ልዕሊ ጡብ እንዳንበርካ ጉዕዞ ንምዕዛዝ ሓደሓደ ሰባት ከምዚ ዝስዕብ የዘንትዉ። “ርሳስ ጐዲሙ ምጽሓፍ እንተኣብዩካ፡ ነቲ ዝጐደመ ደርቢኻ ኣይኮንካ ሓድሽ ትገዝእ። ኣብ ክንድኡ ነቲ ዝጐደመ ጸሪብካ ኢኻ እተጽሕፎ” ይብሉ።

ኤርትራውያን ኩልና ሃገርና ልኡላውነታ ዓቒባ፡ ሃብታም፡ ሰላምን ቅሳነት ዝዓሰላ፡ ልዕልና ፍትሒ ዝሰፈናን ኩሉ መሰላት ህዝባ ዝኽበረላን ክትከውን ዘሰማምዓና ባህጊ እዩ። ካብዚ ብምንቃል ከኣ ኩልና ሃገርና ስማ ብጽቡቕ ክለዓል እንከሎ የሕጉሰና፡ ብሕማቕ ክትለዓል እንከሎ ከኣ የሻቕለና። እዚ ካብቲ ዘሰማመዓናን ክንዕቅቦ ዝግበናን እዩ። ነዚ ብኸመይ ንዕቅቦን ነዕውቶን ኣብ ዝብል ግና ፍልልያት ኣለና። እዚ ፍልልያትና ብዝፈጠሮ ምስሕሓብ ከኣ እቲ ናይ ኣሰላልፋ ብዝሕን ዋሕድን ገዲፍካ፡ ተቓወምትን ደገፍትን ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ንበሃሃል። ብሰንኪ እዚ ፍልልይ  ከኣ ከምቲ ሓሓሊፉ ዝረአ ኣብቲ ዓበይቲ ዘሰማመዓና ኤርትራዊ ጉዳያት  ክንረሓሓቕ ኣይመተገበናን።

ኣብቶም ንግጉይ ኣካይዳ ህግደፍ ተቓዊምና ንለውጢ ንቃለስ ዘለና እውን ዘሰማምዕን ዘየሰማምዕን ኣለና። ኤርትራና ብሰንኪ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ዝወርዳ ዘሎ በደላት ተወጊዱ፡ ሰላም፡ ዲሞክራስን ልምዓትን ዝተረጋገጸላ ክትከውን እንሰማምዓሉ እዩ። ኣብቲ ነዚ ንምርግጋጽ “ኣየናይ መንገዲ ንምረጽ፡ ምስ መንከ ንመሓዞ…… ወዘተ” ዝብል ግና ንፈላለ። ኣብቲ ጽባሕ ህዝብና ብሕገመንግስታዊ ልዕልናኡ ክውስኖ ዝግባእ ንዓና ከም ውድባት፡ ሰልፍታትን ህዝባዊ ምንቅስቓስን ሓሳብ ክንህበሉ እምበር ክንውደኦ ዘይምልከትና ብዛዕባ “ኤርትራ ድሕሪ ህግደፍ ከመይ ትመሓደር” እውን ንፈላለ። ኣብ ከምዚ ምፍልላይ ኣባና ዝተጀመረን መንገዲ ዓወት ዝዓግትን ኣይኮነን። እቲ ኣጸጊሙ ዘሎስ ኣብ ክንዲ ብዕቱብ በቲ ዘሰማምዓና ጀሚርና ነቲ ዝፈላልየና ወጊንና ንቕድሚት ምድፋእ በቲ ዝፈላልየና ምጽብጻብን ምትህልላኽን ምቕዳምና እዩ።

ነቲ ህዝብና “ንሓንቲ ኤርትራን ህዝባን እትቃለሱ ካብ ኮንኩም ብሓባር ዘይትኾኑ” ዝብለና ዘሎ ናይ ዘይምትግባርና ጠንቂ ከኣ ዓቲብና በቲ ዘሰማምዕና ጀሚርና ካብ ዘይምቕጻልና ወጻኢ ዝረአ ኣይኮነን። ሎሚ ኣብ ኤርትራ ብደረጃ ውድብ፡ ሰልፊ፡ ማሕበር፡ ህዝባዊ ምንቅስቓስ ኮነ ግዱሳት ባእታታት እቲ መሰረታዊ ናይ ብቕዓትን ሓልዮትን መምዘኒ ሓቢርካ ዘስርሕ መንገዲ ብምምሃዝ ዝምዘን እዩ። ነዚ ጓሲኻ በበይንኻ ብእትገብሮ ኣበርክቶ ምንያት ግና ዘይሩ ዘይሩ ጐደሎ እዩ። እዚ ከኣ ኣብ ቅድሚ ኩልና ተገቲሩ ዘሎ ብደሆ እምበር ንውሱናት ዝግደፍ ኣይኮነን።