ሰዲህኤ ብኣጋጣሚ በዓል ልደትን ሓድሽ ዓመትን ንህዝቢ ኤርትራን ህዝቢ ጐረባብቲ ሃገራትን ናይ ዮሃና መልእኽቲ የመሓላልፍ። ሓድሽ ዓመት፡ ስቅያት፡ ሻቕሎት፡ ስደትን ድኽነትን ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ዘኽትመሉ፤ ሰላም፡ ፍትሕን ሰብኣዊ ክብርታት ዝነግስሉን፤ ዓመት ለውጥን ተስፋን ክኸውን ዘለዎ ልባዊ ትምኒት ክገልጽ ይፈቱ።

It now appears to be confirmed that there was an attempt to kill General Sebhat Efrem, former minister of defence and current minister of mining.

This was reported on Eritrea Hub on December 20th. Since then others, including VOA have carried similar reports. Now Eritrea’s ambassador to Japan, Estifanos, tweeted this:

IMG_2350

Today there is further information – which still to be confirmed.

The attempt on General Sebhat’s life may have been because he betrayed a group of lower ranking soldiers who had organised a coup. They had asked him to lead it.

He apparently agreed and then leaked the information to President Isaias, who started arresting them all.

Those that remained free concluded that Sebhat had leaked the information.

Apparently the soldier who fired at him in his home missed and then attacked him physically as his gun wouldn’t fire again. He used the gun butt – hitting the general on his head and face.

President Isaias has visited the general in AbuDhabi, where he was taken for treatment, but refused Sebhat’s  wife permission to accompany him out of the country.

This indicates the low level of trust.

General Sebhat is one of the few senior Eritreans from the EPLF’s war of independence to still be free and in a ministerial position.

Sebhat Efrem at EPLF CongressSebhat Efrem at the EPLF Second Congress, 1987, lower right. Most of his colleagues, including Petros Solomon, former head of intelligence and later Foreign Minister (front row left) was jailed indefinitely. So was General Berhane Gebreigziabher, head of the militia army (front row, centre).
Saturday, 22 December 2018 17:45

Radio Demtsi Harnnet Sweden 22.12.2018

Written by
Friday, 21 December 2018 22:41

The appalling treatment of refugees in Libya: UN

Written by

 

Geneva/Tripoli, 20 December 2018 – Migrants and refugees are being subjected to “unimaginable horrors” from the moment they enter Libya, throughout their stay in the country and – if they make it that far – during their subsequent attempts to cross the Mediterranean Sea, according to a UN report released on Thursday.

The 61-page report, published jointly by the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and the UN Human Rights Office, covers a 20-month period up to August 2018, and details a terrible litany of violations and abuses committed by a range of State officials, armed groups, smugglers and traffickers against migrants and refugees. These include unlawful killings, torture, arbitrary detention, gang rape, slavery, forced labour and extortion.

Based on 1,300 first-hand accounts gathered by UN human rights staff in Libya itself, as well from migrants who have returned to Nigeria or reached Italy, the report traces the entire journey of migrants and refugees from Libya’s southern border, across the desert to the northern coast – a journey “marred by considerable risk of serious human rights violations and abuses every step of the way.”

The climate of lawlessness in Libya provides fertile ground for thriving illicit activities, such as trafficking in human beings and criminal smuggling, and leaves migrants and refugees “at the mercy of countless predators who view them as commodities to be exploited and extorted,” the report says.

“The overwhelming majority of women and older teenage girls interviewed by UNSMIL reported being gang raped by smugglers or traffickers,” the report says. UN staff visiting 11 detention centres, where thousands of migrants and refugees are being held, documented torture, ill-treatment, forced labour, and rape by the guards, and reported that women are often held in facilities without female guards, exacerbating the risk of sexual abuse and exploitation. Female detainees are often subjected to strip searches carried out, or watched, by male guards.

Those who manage in the end to attempt the perilous Mediterranean Sea crossing, are increasingly being intercepted or rescued by the Libyan Coast Guard which then transfers them back to Libya, where many are delivered straight back into the pattern of violations and abuse, they have just escaped.

The approximately 29,000 migrants returned to Libya by the Coast Guard since early 2017 were transferred to immigration detention centres run by the Department of Combating Illegal Migration, where thousands remain detained indefinitely and arbitrarily, without due process or access to lawyers or consular services.

The report states Libya cannot be considered a place of safety following rescue or interception at sea, given the considerable risk of being subject to serious human rights abuses, and notes that these “pushbacks” have been considered by the UN Special rapporteur on torture as violations of the principle of non refoulement, which is prohibited under international law.

The report calls on the European Union and its Member States to also reconsider the human costs of their policies and efforts to stem migration to Europe and ensure that their cooperation and assistance to the Libyan authorities are human rights-based, in line with their own obligations under international human rights and refugee law, and do not, directly or indirectly, result in men, women and children being trapped in abusive situations with little hope of protection and remedy.

Migrants held in the centres are systematically subjected to starvation and severe beatings, burned with hot metal objects, electrocuted and subjected to other forms of  ill-treatment with the aim of extorting money from their families through a complex system of money transfers.

The detention centres are characterized by severe overcrowding, lack of ventilation and lighting, and insufficient washing facilities and latrines.  In addition to the abuses and violence committed against the people held there, many of them suffer from malnutrition, skin infections, acute diarrhoea, respiratory tract-infections and other ailments, as well as inadequate medical treatment. Children are held with adults in same squalid conditions.

The report points to the apparent “complicity of some State actors, including local officials, members of armed groups formally integrated into State institutions, and representatives of the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Defence, in the smuggling or trafficking of migrants and refugees.”

“There is a local and international failure to handle this hidden human calamity that continues to take place in Libya,” said Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of UNSMIL, Ghassan Salamé.

Many people are held in unofficial and illegal centres run directly by armed groups or criminal gangs. They are frequently sold from one criminal group to another and required to pay multiple ransoms. “Countless migrants and refugees lost their lives during captivity by smugglers after being shot, tortured to death, or simply left to die from starvation or medical neglect,” the report says. “Across Libya, unidentified bodies of migrants and refugees bearing gunshot wounds, torture marks and burns are frequently uncovered in rubbish bins, dry river beds, farms and the desert.”

“The situation is utterly dreadful,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet. “Tackling the rampant impunity would not only end the suffering of tens of thousands of migrant and refugee women, men and children seeking a better life, but also undercut the parallel illicit economy built on the abuse of these people and help establish the rule of law and national institutions.”

Please find the report here:

Desperate and Dangerous: Report on the human rights situation of migrants and refugees in Libya

 

ኣብ ሱዳን ኣንጻር መንግስቲ ዝተልዓለ ተቓውሞ በርቲዑኣብ ሰሜንን ምዕራብን ሱዳን፡ ኣብ ሞንጎ ሰልፈኛታትን ፖሊስን ብዝተወልዐ ግጭት፡ ሸሞንተ ሰባት መይቶም።

ኣብ ምዕራባዊት ከተማ ኣል-ገዳርፍ ኣብ ዝተልዓለ ናዕቢ ኣንጻር መንግስቲ፡ ሽዱሽተ ሰባት ክሞቱ እንከለው፡ ኣዋጅ ህጹጽ ግዘን፡ ሰዓት እቶ እቶን ክእወጅ ምኽንያት ኮይኑ።

ኣብ ሰሜናዊት ከተማ ኣትባራ ብዝነበረ ግጭት ድማ ክልተ ሰባት ምሟቶም ናይታ ሃገር ሚዲያ ጸብጺቡ።

ኣብ ከተማ ካርቱምን ካልኦት ከተማታትን ድማ ናህሪ ዋጋታት ባንን ነዳድን ዘንቀሎ ዓመጽ ተጎሃሂሩ'ዩ ዘሎ።

እዚ ትማሊ ሮቡዕ ኣብ ከተማታት ኣትባራ፣ ኢድ-ዳማርን በርበርን ዝተወልዐ ጎንጺ፡ ኣንጻር መንግስቲ ዝጭርሑ ሰልፈኛታት ብምንባሮም፡ ፖሊስ እቲ ሰልፊ ንምብታን መንብዒ ጋዝ ተጠቒሙ።

ጸኒሑ ግን እቲ ጎነጽ ስለ ዝተጋደደ ብዙሓት ሰባት ክሞቱ ምኽንያት ኮይኑ።

መሰኻኸር ዓይኒ ከም ዝበሉዎ እንተኾይኑ ድማ፡ ሓይልታት ምክልኻል እቲ ተቓውሞ ንምብታን ኣይኣተውን፤ እኳ ድኣ ነቶም ሰልፈኛታት ክድግፉ ተራእዮም።

ኣብ ከተማ ኣል-ገዳርፍ ብሓሙስ ምስ ፓሊስ ኣብ ዝተኻየደ ጎንፂ፡ ሓደ ተምሃራይ ዩኒቨርሲቲ ከም ዝተቐትለን፡ ሓያሎ ካልኦት ከም ዝቖሰሉን ጸብጻባት ካብታ ከተማ ሓቢሮም።

"ኣብ ኣል-ገዳርፍ ዘሎ ኩነታት ሓደገኛ እናኾነ'ዩ መጺኡ። ዓመጽቲ ድማ ተቐጻጸልቲ ነገራት ምጥቃምን ስርቅን ጀሚሮም፤ ኩሉ ነገር ካብ ቁጽጽር ወጻኢ'ዩ ኾይኑ ዘሎ" ኢሉ ሓጋጊ ሕጊ ሙባረክ ኣል-ኑር።

Source=https://www.bbc.com/tigrinya/news-46643941

 

 

Friday, 21 December 2018 11:40

Radio Demtsi Harnnet Kassel 20.12.2018

Written by
Friday, 21 December 2018 11:40

Eight Sudanese killed in bread price protests

Written by

People demonstrate in Atbara streets to protest bread shortages on 19 December 2018 ST Photo

December 20, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Eight people have been killed in several Sudanese cities during the second day of protests against the rising prices of basic commodities including bread, officials said on Thursday.

Sudanese in the cities of Gadarif in the eastern part of the country, Sennar in the centre and Dongla in northern Sudan took to the street in spontaneous protests and in large numbers on Thursday morning, chanting against the regime to express their discontent over rising food and fuel prices.

In Gadarif, the protesters burnt the premises of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and three government vehicles including a police car. Also, they clashed with anti-riot police.

On Thursday evening, El-Tayeb al-Amin Taha Gadarif Commissioner told Sudania 24 TV that six people were killed and others were wounded.

While the local government decided to impose emergency and curfew in the city.

Eyewitnesses, in addition, said the security agents in plain clothes shot on the protesters, killing two students.

Different sources explained the wave of protest in the provinces, saying that the federal government reduced the quantity of subsidized flour allocated to the states to cover the large deficit in Khartoum state. This decision led to an increase in the price of bread in the other regions.

The Sudanese government spokesperson and information minister, Bushara Juma said the police dealt peacefully with the protesters and granted their constitutional right to demonstrate their anger against the rising prices.

"However, the peaceful demonstrations deviated from their course and turned into a subversive activity targeting public institutions and properties through burning and destruction," Bushra said before to point to statements issued by opposition groups calling to topple down the regime.

In the capital of Northern State Dongola, the demonstrators set fire to the buildings of the Government Secretariat and burned them completely.

In Berber of the River Nile State, the security forces opened fire on the protesters and killed a demonstrator. The state government spokesperson confirmed his death and added that another was killed in the town of Ubaidiyah.

The protest against the soaring prices began in Atbara of the River Nile State on Wednesday as the price of a loaf of bread has increased to 3 Sudanese pounds (the official price is one pound).

Sources from Atbara said the protests continued for the second day on Thursday in spite of the ban imposed yesterday after the imposition of an emergency situation in the town.

In the capital Khartoum state where the situation remained Calm on Wednesday, there were some limited demonstrations in Khartoum city and Omdurman.

(ST)

Source=http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article66800

ርእሰ-ዓንቀጽ ሰዲህኤ

ህዝባዊ ግንባር ንዲሞክራስን ፍትሕን (ህግደፍ) ነብሱ ክኢሉ ኣብ ቅድሚ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ክቐርብ ዘኽእሎ ክብደትን ተቐባልነት ስለ ዘየብሉ፡ ካብዚ ምንጥልጣል ንምድሓን ካብ ዝጥቀመሎም ሜላታት ሓደ ምስ ኤርትራን ህዝባን ምልሓግ እዩ። መራሒ ህግደፍ ዲክታቶር ኢሳይያስ ኣፈወርቂ ሓደ እዋን በታ ብሕታዊ ጋዜጣኡ ሓዳስ ኤርትራ ኣብ መንጎ ህግደፍን ህዝቢ ኤርትራን ዝነበረ ዝምድና ከብርህ ምስተሓተተ “ንህዝቢ ኤርትራን ህግደፍን ከ መንዩ ክልተ ኣካላት ገይርዎም?” ብዝብል ቑጠዐን ስንባደን ዝሃቦ መልሲ ናይዚ ኣብነት እዩ። ካብኡ ሓሊፉ “ ንሕና ሃገር ንሕና ህዝቢ” ዝብል ዜማ ህግደፍ ዕላምኡ ንኤርትራን ህዝባን ዓምጺጽካ ንብረት ህግደፍ ንምግባሮም ዝዓለመ ዓመጽ እዩ። እዚ ናይ ህዝቢ ዘይኮንካ ክንስኻ ናይ ህዝቢ መሲልካ ንብዓት ሓርገጽ ምፍሳስ ኣብ ኢሳይያስ ዝድረት ዘይኮነ ናይ ኩሎም ከምኡ ዝኣመሰሉ ወጻዕቲ ናይ “ንዓኣቶም መሲልካ ድራሮም ወድኣሎም” ፖሊሲ ኣብነት እዩ።

ኣብቲ ሓቂ ክንመጽእ እንከለና ኤርትራ ምስ ኩሉ ተፈጥሮኣዊ ኣቀማምጠኣን ሃብታን፡ ታሪኻ፡ ባህላን  ነብሳ ዝኸኣለት ንደቃ ማዕረ እትብጸሖም ብብዙሕነት ዝመልከዐት ልኡልላዊት ሃገር እያ። ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ከኣ ንውሱናት ኣባላቱን ደገፍቱን ጥራይ ዝውክል፡ ካብ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ውሑዳት ዝዋስእሉ ኣዝዩ ጸቢብ መድረኽ እዩ። ነዚ ሰጊርካ ንኹሉ ናትካ ንምግባሩን ኣብ ዘየብልካ ውክልና ክንዲ ህዝቢ ኮይንካ ክትዕንድር ምፍታንን ግና ሓቅነትን ተቐባልነትን ዘይብሉ መርኣያ ወጻዕቲ ጥራይ እዩ። ምናልባት ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ብህዝቢ ዝተመርጸን ህዝቢ ይርሓሰና ብዝበሎ ሕገ-መንግስቲ ዝምራሕን ነይሩ እንተዝኸውን ከምቲ ዝብሎ” ንሱ ንሕና ንሕና ንሱ” እኳ እንተዘይኮነ፡ ምስ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ከም ዝቀራረብ እንተ ገለጸ መምሓረሉ። ግና ኣይኮነን። ስለዚ ኢና ከኣ “ኤርትራ ካልእ፡ ህግደፍ ከኣ ካልእ” እንብል።

ኣብዚ እዋንዚ እቲ ግጉይ ኣገላልጻ ዝምድና ህዝቢ ኤርትራን ህግደፍን፡ ካብ ህግደፍ ሓሊፉ ኣብ ካልኦት እውን ክንጸባረቕ ልሙድ ኮይኑ ኣሎ። ህግደፍ ዓይኒ መፍተሉ ጠፊእዎ የዕለብጥ ኣብ ዝሃለወሉ፡ ልኡላውነት ኤርትራ እውን ማዕረ ማዕረኡ ኣብ ሓደጋ ከም ዝወደቐ ኣምሲሎም ዝግምቱ ትዕዘብ ኢኻ። እቲ ህግደፍ ኣብ ምዕልባጥ ምህላዉ ሓቅን ኣብ ባይታ ዝንበብ ዘሎን እዩ። እንተ እቲ ናይ ኤርትራን ህዝባን መጻኢ ዕድል ብህግደፍ ከም ዝውሰን ወሲድካ፡ ልኡላዊት ኤርትራውን ኣኺልዎ፡ ዝዓይነቱ ስምዒት ግና ከምቲ “ነዳይሲ ናይ ልቡ ይሓልም” ዝበሃል ህርፋን እምበር ሓቅነት የብሉን። ናይ ኤርትራን ህዝባን ህልውናን ቀጻልነትን ኣብ ሓቀኛ ታሪኽ ዝተሰረተ፡ ብደምን ኣዕጽምትን ኣእላፍ ጀጋኑኣ ዝተነድቀ፡ መንግስቲ እንተሓለፈ፡ ዘይሓልፍ ነባሪ እዩ። ህግደፍ ግና ብመሰረቱ እውን ሓጺርን ወጻዕን ዕድመ ዘለዎ ሓላፊ ጉጅለ እዩ። ነዚ ሓቂ እዚ ህግደፍ እውን ክለኻኽም ደኣ ይፍትን እምበር፡ ንሱ ክፋኖ እንከሎ ኤርትራ ግና ኣብ ቦታኣ ምዃና ከይፈተወ ዝቕበሎ ሓቂ እዩ። እዚ ክበሃል እንከሎ ግና ክሳብ ዘሎ፡ ክሰብራ ዘይኮነስ ከሰንብራ ከም ዝኽእል ንዕዘቦ ዘለና እዩ።

ኣብዚ ህግደፍ ምስ ኢትዮጵያ ፈጢርዎ ዘሎ፡ ካብ ህዝቢ ዝተሓብአ ዓይኒመፍተሉ ዘይፍለጥ ኣዛራቢ ዝምድና ንበሎ ርክብ፡ ብዙሓት ንህግደፍ ዘቃልዑ ተረኽቦታት ይረኣዩ ከም ዘለዉ ንዕዘብ ኣለና። ኣብዚ መስርሕ ብዙሓት ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ክዛረበሎም ዝግበኦ ጉዳያት ተዓዚብና። ክንድቲ ዓው ኢሉ ክዛረበሎም ዝግበኦ ግና ኣይተዛረበሎምን። ምኽንያቱ ከኣ እቲ ብመስዋእቲ ደቁ ዝዋገ ዘሎ ዝመስል መስርሕ ባህ ኢልዎ ዘይኮነ፡ ወይ ኣስደሚምዎ ወይ ድማ ዓው ኢሉ ዝዛረበሉ ውሑስ መድረኽ ስለ ዘይረኸበ እዩ። እንተ’ቲ ጽምዋ መሪጽካ ምስ እትኣምኖ ብትሑት ድምጺ ምዝራብ ግና ሎሚ መሊኡ እዩ። እዚ ኣብ ሓጺር ግዜ ናብ ደፋኢ ዓውታ ከም ዝድይብ ከኣ ዘጠራጥር ኣይኮነን።

ሎሚ ብወገን ኢትዮጵያውያን፡ “ኤርትራ ምስ ኢትዮጵያ ተደሚራ፡ ኤርትራ በይና ክትከውን ፈቲና ምዃን ምስ ኣበያ እነሆ ተመሊሳ፡ ኣቶ ኢሳይያስ ቅድሚ ሕጂ ንኢትዮጵያ ኣብየምዋ ሎሚ ግና ክሒሰሙዋ፥ ኤርትራውያን ናብ ኢትዮጵያ ዝምለሱ ዘለዉ ደንጊጾም ዘይኮኑ፡ ናጽነት ማለት ጥምየትን ድኽነትን ምዃኑ ስለ ዝተረድኡ እዮም. . . ወዘተ” ዝብሉ ኤርትራ “ንዓይ ርኢኹም ተቐጽዑ” ትብል ከም ዘላ ዘምስል ኣበሃህላታት እዮም። እዞም ኣበሃህላታት ከከም በሃሊኦም፡ ገሊኦም ብዓሚቕ ጉርሕን ፖለቲካዊ ሕሳብን ዝተኣልሙ ክኾኑ እንከለዉ፡ ገሊኦም ከኣ ብገርሂ ምናልባት እውን ንህዝቢ ኤርትራ ትጠቅም ከም ዘለኻ መሲልካ ዝበሃሉ እዮም። ናይዞም ኩሎም መንቀሊ ከኣ ናይ ህግደፍ ዓቕሚ ምስኣንን ተንኮልን ኮይኑ ጥፍኣትን ልምዓትን ኤርትራን ህግደፍን ማዕረ ማዕረ ዝኸይድ እዩ ካብ ዝብል ግጉይ መዛዘሚ ዝነቅል’ዩ።

እቲ ቀንዲ ዘገርም እንተ ብጉርሒ እንተ ብገርሂ እዞም ዝጠቐስናዮም ንልኡላውነት ኤርትራ ብግጉይ ዝገልጹ ሓረጋት ምዝውታሮም እይኮነን። እቲ ዘገርም ብወገን ህግደፍ ነዚ ግጉይ ኣረዳደኣታት ዘቃንዕ ሓሳብ ዘይወሃብ ምህላዉ እዩ። ከምዚ እንዳተባህለ ስቕ ምባል ከኣ እቲ ዝበሃል ሓቂ እዩ ኢልካ ተቐቢልካዮ ኣለኻ ካብ ማለት ምዃኑ ሓሊፉ ካልእ ትርጉም ዝወሃቦ ኣይኮነን። ሓሓሊፉ እዞም ዝተጠቕሱ ኣበሃህላታት ብህግደፍ ከም ዝራጐዱ’ውን ተዓዚብና ኢና። ስለዚ ደገፍቲ ህግደፍ፥ “ህግደፍ ንኤርትራ ናብ ምምላሱ ዘጸግም ሓደጋ ይወስዳ ኣሎ” ንዝብል ስግኣት ግቡእ ኣቓልቦ ይህብዎ እንተዘየልዮም ታሪኻዊ ጌጋ እዮም ዝፍጽሙ ዘለዉ’ሞ፡ ከሎ ጌና ናብ ልቦም ክምለሱ ንምሕጸኖም። ንሕና እውን ካብዚ ታሪኻዊ ተሓታትነት ንምድሓንን ክብሪ ኤርትራ ንምዕቃብን፡ ነቲ ስግኣት ደጋጊምካ ምግላጹ ጥራይ ዘይኮነ፡ ነቲ ስግኣት ንምውጋድ ብግብሪ ክንውፈየሉ ዝግበኣና ግዜ ዘይህብ ሓላፍነትና ምዃኑ ከይንዝንግዕ ሓደራ።

By Abraham T. Zere  December 19, 2018

The lack of information about President Isaias' plans as Eritrea undergoes a period a change is making many nervous. Credit: Sailing Nomad.

The lack of information about President Isaias’ plans as Eritrea undergoes a period a change is making many nervous. Credit: Sailing Nomad.

Eritrea’s life-president Isaias Afwerki could hardly have had a busier 2018. This year, he has signed an historic peace deal with Ethiopia. He has built close relations with the UAE and Saudi Arabia. He has re-emerged as a man of paramount importance in regional politics, and he has had UN sanctions lifted on Eritrea.

 

Who knows what 2019 will bring?

 

That is not a rhetorical question. Isaias has long overseen a closed political system, but this year, its secrecy has reached new heights. While the president used to maintain close relations with his subordinates as a way of control, he is now making momentous decisions almost single-handedly. He is governing without informing, let alone consulting, his colleagues.

 

When Isaias made the dramatic announcement on 20 June that Eritrea would send a delegation to Ethiopia to discuss peace after 20 years of hostilities, for example, most ministers were hearing the news for the first time, according to inside sources. The first time the cabinet met to discuss relations with Ethiopia was on 28 September, almost three months after the 9 July peace deal had already been signed.

 

The president has been similarly tight-lipped with the Eritrean people. It was only on 3 November that Isaias sat down for his first interview on the topic. But in the 80-minute monologue-cum-lecture with state media, he talked only about regional dynamics. It was advertised that he would address domestic issues in a second part, but Eritreans are still waiting for that instalment. In the meantime, Isaias has returned to Ethiopia to meet with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for a seventh time and signed another mysterious deal, this time joined by Somalia’s president.

 

“A state of uncertainty”

 

Inside sources in the Eritrean government, who have asked to remain anonymous for their security, describe a situation in which officials and ministers have very little idea of the president’s plans and actions.

 

“We are all in a state of uncertainty,” said one senior official. “Obviously, a love affair [between Isaias and Abiy], now turning into a romantic series, is being played way above us. Everyone complains. No one knows what to do.”

 

Another well-placed individual told African Arguments: “Most ministers are avoiding contact even with their staff in fear of being asked to share their opinions that would eventually reveal their ignorance.”

 

This opacity could explain why ministers have seemed unable to answer questions posed by international journalists. When Information Minister Yemane G. Meskel was asked by Reuters about rumours that indefinite national service was to be abolished, for example, he could neither confirm nor deny it. Minister for Labour and Human Welfare Luul Gebreab was similarly vague and unforthcoming when cornered on the same subject by a Bloomberg journalist.

 

According to figures in government, Isaias has also marginalised his top military commanders. For the last two decades, the president forged close links with these army leaders, allowing them to engage in reckless corruption to buy their loyalty. But sources suggest that he has side-lined these commanders and now passes orders straight to middle-ranking officers.

 

Insiders familiar with the situation say that, at the moment, Isaias spends most days in his office in Adi-Halo, on the outskirts of the capital Asmara. There, they say, only four people are permitted to visit him: Yemane Ghebreab, the political affairs head of the ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ); Osman Saleh, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Yemane G. Meskel, Minister of Information; and Hagos “Kisha” Ghebrehiwet, the PFDJ’s economic affairs head and the president’s confidante.

 

They are reportedly summoned not for discussions, but to relay messages and oversee the government’s daily operations.

 

[Eritrea: History aside, what will peace mean for my loved ones?]

 

Speculation fills the gap

 

In this vacuum of information, speculation and fear has filled the gap in this tumultuous time of change for Eritrea.

 

One particular area of concern surrounds the country’s future relations with Ethiopia. Since the start of the speedy rapprochement, certain comments by Isaias, Foreign Minister Osman and others have made some Eritreans nervous. In particular, rhetoric of Ethiopians and Eritreans being “one people”, the rapid warming of relations, and the fact that the border demarcation has been all but been forgotten have led some to fear that some kind of confederation between the two countries is in the offing.

 

This theory was given further weight in November when the ruling PFDJ distributed a list of “Essential Readings” (ኣገደስቲ ጽሑፋት). Among the compiled articles was one by Dawit W. Giorgis, a former governor under the Derg, the regime that ruled brutally over both Ethiopia and Eritrea before the latter gained independence.

 

In the piece, Dawit, who turned on the Derg, describes meeting Isaias during the armed struggle. He says he told the then rebel leader to take over all of Ethiopia to which, he claims, Isaias responded: “You can be certain Mr. Dawit, that if and when we get our independence, our priority will be to unite the people under some sort of federal arrangement.”

 

Another issue that has prompted interpretation is Isaias’ relationship with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a constituent party in Ethiopia’s ruling coalition. The president has a historical personal animosity with the TPLF, , which was the most powerful party in Ethiopia before Abiy became Prime Minister in April 2018, and has framed the party as a threat to the region’s stability. Other Eritrean officials have followed his lead in calling for the old guards from the TPLF to be cleared out.

 

Isaias even reportedly banned Eritrea’s most famous singer, Helen Meles, from touring and playing shows after she performed in Mekele, the capital of Tigray Region, this November. The president is understood to have been so displeased by her gesture that he thought it right to punish a singer who has long helped praised on him in her songs. Sham Keleab, the head of Asser Band and Meles’ partner, was also reportedly stripped of his leadership role.

 

Isaias’ vocal targeting of the TPLF has even got to the point that one of the party’s founders, Abay Tsehaye, recently pleaded openly with him to forgive and forget.

 

“More afraid now”

 

For many outside Eritrea, President Isaias’ decision to pursue peace with Ethiopia this year has sparked widespread hope. But for those in the country, little has changed. In fact, for some, the fast-paced high-level changes, the even greater centralisation of decision-making in the presidency, and the near-total lack of information have made people more concerned than ever.

 

According to one man who recently crossed into Ethiopia, people in Eritrea are “more afraid now than they used to be before the peace”.

Source=https://africanarguments.org/2018/12/19/eritrea-senior-government-sources-reveal-nothing-isaias/

 

 

Thursday, 20 December 2018 21:43

Radio 88 Demsti Harnnet Sweden 15.12.2018

Written by