ርእሰ-ዓንቀጽ ሰዲህኤ

ኣብ ኤርትራ ዘሎ ብሰንኪ ህግደፍ ዝተፈጥረ ጸገማት ብዙሕ መልክዕ ዘለዎ እዩ። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ካብዚ ጸገምዚ ንምውጻእ ኣብ ክንዲ ኣንጻርቲ ናይዚ ጸገማት ጠንቂ ዝኾነ ሓይሊ ንምውጋድ ዝቃለስ፥ ካብቲ ጸገምን ቃልስን ምርሓቕ ስለ ዝመረጸ፣ እቲ ናይቲ ጸገም ጠንቂ ጉጅለ መመሊሱ ክሻድንን ጸገም ኣብ ልዕሊ ጸገም ክድርዕን ዕድል ይረክብ ኣሎ።

ኣብዚ ቀረባ ግዜ ኣዝዩ ኣዛራቢ ዘሎ ናይቲ ኣብ መንጎ ኤርትራን ትግራይ ተዓጽዩ ዝጸንሐ ዶብ ብወገን ዛላንበሳን ራማን ምኽፋቱ እዩ። ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ስለምንታይ በዚ ዝረአ ዘሎ ደረጃ ንክኽፈት ደልዩ ዝተፈልጠ የለን። ክሳብ መዓስ ከምዚ ኢሉ ከም ዝቕጽልን ናይቶም በዚ ኣገባብ ናብ ኢትዮጵያ ዝኣትዉ ድሮ ኣደዳ ዝተፈላለየ ማሕበራዊ ጸገማት ምዃን ጀሚሮም ዘለዉ ኤርትራውያን መጻኢ ዕድልን ሕጋውነትንከ ከመይ ክኸውን እዩ ዝፍለጥ የለን። እቶም ጌና ካብ ህግደፍ ዘይቀበጹ ወገናት ብዛዕባዚ መብርሂ ንክህብ ይጽበይዎ እዮም። እንተኾነ ብተግባር ዝረአ ዘሎ ኩነታት ከም ዝሕብሮ፣ ህግደፍ እቲ ህዝቢ ብስምዒት፣ መውደቒኡ ከይፈለጠ ክፈልስ እሞ እታ ሃገር ጥራያ ክትተርፍ ድሌቱ ምዃኑ ካብዚ ዝዓቢ ምስክርነት የለን።

እዚ ሕጂ ዝረአ ዘሎ ውዑይ ፍልሰትን ናይ ቅድሚ ሕጂ ስደትን ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ኣብ ልዕሊ ህግደፍ ዘለዎ ጽልኢ ዘመልክት ምዃኑ ፍሉጥ እዩ። ህዝቢ ንህግደፍ ዝጸልኣሉ ምኽንያት እውን ኣይኮነንዶ ንዓና ኤርትራውያን ንሕብረተሰብ ዓለም እውን ፍሉጥ እዩ። ኣብዚ ቀረባ ግዜ ህግደፍ ምስ ጐረባብቲ ሃገራት የርእዮ ብዘሎ ምቅርራብ ክሽፍኖ ንዝደሊ ኤርትራዊ ውሽጣዊ ፖለቲካዊ ሃለዋት ብምቅላዕ፣ ላዕለዎት ኮሚሽነራት ስደተኛታትን ሰብኣዊ መሰልን ሕቡራት ሃገራት ዘውጽእዎ ንህግደፍ “ጌና ብዙሕ ይተርፈካ ኣሎ” ዝሕመረቱ መልእኽቲ ከኣ ናይዚ ኣብነት እዩ።

ምናልባት ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ብዛዕባዚ ቀጥዒ ብዘየብሉ ካብ ኤርትራ ናብ ኢትዮጵያ ዝካየደ ዘሎ ፍልሰት መንግስታዊ ሓላፍነት ተሰሚዕዎ ክዛረብን መፍትሒ ከቕርብን ዝጽበ ወገን እንተልዩ ይጋገ ኣሎ ኢና እንብል። ምኽንያቱ ህግደፍ ህዝቢ ዓዲ ገዲፉ ሃጽ ኢሉ ክጠፍኣሉ እሞ ውሑዳት ሒዙ በይኑ ክብሕታ ሕልሙ ስለ ዝኾነ። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ጥዒምዎስ ዝያዳ ጥዑም ስለ ዝደለየ እዩ ሃገር ዝገድፍ ዘሎ ዝብል እምነት የብልናን። ናይቲ ዝወስዶ ዘሎ ስጉምቲ ጠንቂ፣ ማእሰርቲ፣ ግዱድ ውትህድርና፣ ስእነት ስራሕ ኮታ ብሓፈሻ ብኩራት ልዕልና ሕግን ኣብ ሃገሩ ናይ ምንባር ውሕስነት ምስኣንን ምዃኑ ብሩህ እዩ። እንተኾነ ከምቲ ቅድሚ ሕጂ እውን እንብሎ እቲ ክኸውን ዝግበኦ ቀጻልን መሰረታውን መፍትሒ ንምምጻእ፣ ካብቲ ጸገም ምህዳም ዘይኮነ ነቲ ጠንቁ ምውጋድ እዩ። እዚ ጠንቂ ናይቲ ጸገም ዝኾነ ጸላኢ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ጉጅለ ክሳብ ዘሎ ወትሩ ክንስደድ፣ ድሕሪ ዝተወሰነ ግዜ ከኣ ሃገርና ሰባ ገዲፍዋ ክትባድም ምዃና ዘጠራጥር ኣይኮነን። ድሕሪኡ ዝመጽእ ድማ ናይታ ብኽንደይ መስዋእቲ ዝመጸት ሃገር ዳግማይ ኣብ ሓደጋ ምእታው እዩ። ምኽንያቱ ህዝብን ሃገርን ሓደ ብዘይካቲ ሓደ ህልውና ስለ ዘየብሎም።

ስደት ኣይኮነንዶ ኣብዚ ንርከበሉ ዘለና ዝተሓላለኸ መዋእል ካብ ቀደም እውን ዝነበረ እዩ። እንተኾነ ስደት መሰረታዊ ፍታሕ ከም ዘየምጽእ ከኣ ካባና ኤርትራውያን ንላዕሊ ዝፈልጦ የለን። ስደት ዘይውሑስን ዘይተሓስበሉን ክኸውን እንከሎ ሳዕቤኑ ክሳብ ክንደይ ሓደገኛ ምዃኑ ንሕና ተዘክሮ ላፓዱዛ እንፈልጥ ኣይንዝንገዖን ኢና። እቲ ዘሕዝንን ኣብ ትዕዝብቲ ዘውድቐናን ከኣ ካብዚ ናይ ገዛእ ርእስና ተመኩሮ ክንመሃር ዘይምኽኣልና እዩ። ምናልባት በዚ ናብ ኢትዮጵያ ዝረአ ዘሎ ፍልሰት ኣቢልና ንህግደፍ ነሕርቖ ወይ ንቐጽዖ ዘለና ከይመስለና። እቲ ኩነታት ብኣንጻሩ እዩ። ህግደፍ ህዝቢ ክጠፍኣሉ እሞ ኣብ ጽምዋ ክነብር እዩ ዝደሊ። ስለዚ “ኪድን ኣይትበሎ፡ ከም ዝኸይድን ግበሮ” ዝብል እኩይ ሜላ እዩ ዝኽተል ዘሎ። ክንቀጽዖ እንተኮይና ብውሽጥን ብወጻእን ቀርቂርና ተቓሊስና ከነወግዶ እንከለና ጥራይ እዩ። እዚ ኩነታት ነቶም ዝስደዱ ዘለዉ፣ ህጻናት፣ ኣባጽሕን ብዕድመ ዝደፍኡን ብፍላይ ከኣ ምስ ብዙሓት ደቀን ይስደዳ ንዘለዋ ኣደታት ጥራይ ዝምልከት ኣይኮነን። መላእ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ኣብ ዓዲ ይሃሉ ኣብ ወጻኢ ተገዲሱ ክሓስበሉን መፍትሒ ክረኽበሉን ዝግባእ’ዩ። ኣብዚ ኣብ ኢትዮጵያ ዘሎ መደበር ስደተኛታት መጻኢ ዕድሉ እንታይ ምዃኑ ዘይተፈልጠሉ ግዜ ብዙሓት ኤርትራውያን ኣደዳ ኣብ ውሽጢ ኢትዮጵያ ናይ ዝንቀሳቐሱ ዘይሕጋውያን ኣሰጋገርቲ ይኾኑ ኣለዉ። ቀደም ካብ ኤርትራ ናብ ኢትዮጵያ ከነሰጋግረኩም “ክንድዚ ክፈሉ” እዩ ዝበሃል ነይሩ። ሎሚ ድማ እዞም ኣብ ከምዚ ተዋፊሮም ዝነበሩ ወገናት ካብ ኢትዮጵያን ኣብ ኢትዮጵያ ናብ ዘለዉ መደበር ስደተኛታት ከነመዝግበኩም “ክንድዚ ብር/ናቕፋ ክፈሉ” ዝብል ካልእ መልክዕ ሒዞም ይቀላቐሉ ኣለዉ’ሞ ምጥንቃቕ ዘድልዮ እዩ።

እዚ ቀጥዒ ዘየብሉ ዋሕዚ ኤርትራውያን፣ መልእኽቱ ናብ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ጥራይ ዘይኮነ፣ ህዝቢ ኢትዮጵያ እውን እቲ ኣብዚ ቀረባ ግዜ ኣብ ኣዲስ ኣበባን ኣዋሳን ምዉቕ ኣቀባብላ ዝገበረሉ ዲክታቶር ኢሳይያስ ክሳብ ክንደይ ዕዮ ገዝኡ ዘይሰርሐ በሰሮን ብህዝቢ ኤርትራ ዝተጸልአን መራሒ ምዃኑ ንክርዳእ ዘኽእሎ እዩ። ምኽንያቱ ስደት፣ ህዝቢ መንግስቱ ክጸልእ እንከሎ ካብ ዝወስዶም ስጉምትታት ሓደ ብምዃኑ። እዚ ኩነታት መንግስቲ ኢትዮጵያ እውን ነዚ እንዳፈለጠ ዝኣተዎ ምዃኑ’ኳ ፍሉጥ እንተኾነ ክሳብ ክንደይ ብህዝቡ ምስ ዝተጸልአ መራሒ ይመሓዘው ምህላዉ ዘዘኻኽሮ ተረኽቦ እዩ። ዘይሩ ዘይሩ ግና ቀንዲ በዓል ጉዳይ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ እዩ እሞ፡ እዚ ዝረአ ዘሎ ፍልሰት ንኤርትራ ናብ ሰብ ኣልቦ ክመርሓ ምዃኑ ክርዳእን ካብዚ ንምድሓን መንገዲ ክጸርግን ምዝኽኻር መልእኽትና እዩ።

ኣቦ-መንበር ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ (ሰዲህኤ) ኣቶ መንግስተኣብ ኣስመሮም ብ23 መስከረም 2018 ኣብ መድረኽ (paltalk) ዘተ መንእሰያት ሰዲህኤ ኣኼባ ኣካይዱ፡ ኣብዚ ኣኼባኡ “ገምጋም ኣብ ዝምድና ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን እማመ ሓባራዊ ስራሕ ሰዲህኤን” ብዝምልከት ሰፊሕ መብርሂ ሂቡ፡

ኣብቲ መብርሂኡ ብሓፈሻ ሰዲህኤ ኣብ መንጎ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ንነዊሕ ዓመታት ዝጸንሐ ወጥሪ ሃዲኡ ህዝቢ ክልቴን ሃገራት ክራኸብ ምኽኣሉ ከምዝድግፎ ኣስፊሑ ገሊጹ። እንተኾነ እቲ ብዲክታተር ኢሳይያስ ዝቕለስ ኤርትራዊ ወገን ኣብቲ መስርሕ ምሕዳስ ዝምድና ዝኽተሎ ዘሎ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ዘይፈልጦ፣ ዘይመትከላውን ዘይግሉጽን ኣገባብ ተቓውሞ ከም ዘለዎ ብኣብነታት ብምስናይ ገሊጹ። ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ነቲ ናይ ህዝብና ጽምኣት ሰላምን ሕሱም ተነጽሎን ተበሊጹ ህግደፍ ይወስዶም ናይ ዘሎ ስጉምትታትን ውሽጦም ዘይፍለጥ ስምምዓትን፣ መስርሕ ምርግጋጽ ዲሞክራስያዊ ስርዓት ኣብ ኤርትራ ዘደናጉዩ ጥራይ ዘይኮኑ፣ ንኤርትራዊ ልኡላውነት ዝህድዱ ምልክታት ይረኣዩ ምህላዎም እውን ጠቒሱ።

ኣቶ መንግስተኣብ እዚ ዝኸይድ ዘሎ መስርሕ ንድሌትን ህልዊ ኩነታትን ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ዝጓሰየ ምዃኑ፥ ምስ ዘርዘረ፣ እስትራተጅያዊ ኣቀማምጣ ሃገርና ዘብሃጎም ናይ ግዳም ሓይልታት ዘርእይዎ ዘለዉ ምስ ጉጅለ ኢሳይያስ ናይ ምትዕርራኽ ምልክታት ህዝብና ብጽሞና ክከታተሎ ከም ዝግባእ ኣተንቢሁ። ኣብ ኢትዮጵያ ዝካየድ ዘሎ መስርሕ ንኩነታት ኤርትራ ከም ዝጸልዎ ዝጠቐሰ ኣቶ መንግስተኣብ ኣስመሮም፣ ኣተሓሒዙ ኣካይድ ዲክታቶር ኢሳይያስ ናይ ህልኽን ቂምን እምበር ንናይ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ረብሓ ኣብ ግምት ዘእተወን ኣርሒቑ ዝጠመተን ከምዘየለ ገሊጹ።

ኣቶ መንግስተኣብ ኣብቲ ንህጹጽነት ሓቢርካ ምስራሕ ሓይልታት ተቓውሞ ኤርትራ ብዝምልከት ዝሃቦ መግለጺ፥ ሰዲህኤ ኣውጺኡ ይሰርሓሉ ብዛዕባ ዘሎ ኣብ ኣርባዕተ ነጥብታት ማለት፥ ምዕቃብ ልኡላውነት ኤርትራ፣ ምውጋድ ስርዓት ህግደፍን ናይ ጭቆና ትካላቱን ከምኡ እውን ኣብ ምትካል ብዙሕነታዊ ዲሞክራስያዊ ስርዓትን ምውሓስ ኩሉ መሰረታዊ መሰላትን ዘትከለ ናይ ሓቢርካ ምስራሕ እማመ ዝምልከት መብርሂ ሂቡ፥ ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ብመሰረት እዚ እማመ ምስ ዝተወሰና ውድባት ተጀሚሩ ዘሎ መስርሕ ምቅርራብ ተስፋ ዝህብ ምዃኑ ሓቢሩ፣ ሰዲህኤ ምስቶምቅሩባት ኮይኑ ንመጻኢ’ውን ክደፋሉ ምዃኑ ኣረጋጊጹ። ኣተሓሒዙ ከኣ እቲ እማመ ከከም ደረጃኡ ካብ ብሓባር ምስራሕ ጀሚሩ ክሳብ ፍጹም ምትሕንጻፍ ዝኸይድ ምዃኑ ኣብሪሁ። ኣብዚ ገለጻኡ፣ ሎሚ ኪኖ ምውሓስ ዲሞክራሲ ምዕቃብ ኤርትራን ክብራን እውን ኣብ ቅድሜና ተገቲሩ ዘሎ ብደሆ ምዃኑ ብምጥቃስ ዳግማይ መጸዋዕታ ንሓባራዊ ስራሕ ፖለቲካዊ ሓይልታት ኤርትራ ኣቕሪቡ፣

ኣቶ መንግስተኣብ ድሕሪቲ ሰፊሕ መግለጺኡ፣ ንዝቐረቡ፣ “ንደመር ዝብል ኣብ ኢትዮጵያ ዝቃላሕ ዘሎ ጭረሖ ንመን ይምልከት?፣ ጉዳይ ዶብ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ኣበይ ወዲቑ?፣ ሃንደበታዊ ዝምድና ኤርትራ ምስ ኢትዮጵያ፣ ሶማልን ጅቡትን እንታይን መን ዝደረኾን እዩ?፣ ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ምስ ጉጅለ ዲክታቶር ኢሳይያስ ዝመሓዘዉ ዘለዉ ወገናት ሕቡእ ኣጀንዳዶ ይህልዎምዶ?፣ ህልዊ ዝምድና ኤርትራዊ ተቓውሞን መንግስቲ ኢትዮጵያን ኣብ ከመይ ደረጃ ይርከብ? ዝብሉ ዝርከብዎም ሕቶታት ግዜ ወሲዱ ብዝርዝር መሊሱ፡

ኣብ መወዳእታ ኣኼባኡ ንምጥቕላል ኣብ ዝሃቦ ቃል ኣቶ መንግስተኣብ ኣስመሮም ኣብ ወሳኒ ናይ ታሪኽ ምዕራፍ ከም ዘለና ጠቒሱ ካብዚ ዘለናዮ ብዓውት ንምውጻእ ንውሱናት ወገናት ዝግደፍ ዘይኮነ ንኹሉ ኤርትራዊ ዝምልከት ሃገር ናይ ምድሓን ዕማም ምዃኑ ጠቒሱ፣ ኩሉ ደላይ ፍትሕን ፈታዊ ህዝቡን በብዓቕሙ ክረባረብ ጸዊዑ። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ንሓቢሪካ ምስራሕ ከተባብዕን ካብዚ መተካእታ ዘየብሉ ምርጫ ንዝርሕቁ ወገናት ከኣ ተጽዕኖኡ ንኽገብርን ከኣ ጸዊዑ።

Ethiopia and Eritrea’s second rapprochement

Ethiopia and Eritrea should not repeat the mistakes of the 1990s, when a period of rapprochement ended in war.

by
Al Jazeera
 
 
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika with Ethiopian PM Meles Zenawi and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki after the signing of a peace agreement on December 12, 2000, in Algiers [AP]
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika with Ethiopian PM Meles Zenawi and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki after the signing of a peace agreement on December 12, 2000, in Algiers [AP]

Ethiopia and Eritrea took one more important step towards normalising their relations on September 17, when Eritrean PresidentIsaias Afwerkiand Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed signed a peace agreement in the Saudi city of Jeddah, the details of which have not been publicised yet.

A week earlier, during the Orthodox New Year’s celebrations, the leaders of the two countries met on the border town of Zalambessa to re-openthe common border.

The rapprochement that began in June has been marked by a number of symbolic gestures and events, including official state-visits by both leaders. During Isaias Afwerki’s visit to Addis Ababa on July 14, the strongman who is known for his stern image and carefully choreographed speeches, emotionally declared to the Ethiopian prime minister “you are our leader now”.

Abiy then proclaimed to the cheering crowd: “when we become one, Assab will be ours,” in reference to the symbolic Eritrean Red Sea port, which was once part of Ethiopia. This hasn’t been simply a process of rapprochement between two states; it almost seems like a social reunification.

Telephone lines have been opened and commercial flights restarted allowing people to call and see their relatives and friends for the first time in decades. The two countries have also exchanged ambassadors and reopened old trade routes.

The international community has welcomed these developments with enthusiasm. The secretary-generalof the United Nations, Antonio Gutteres, hailed the reconciliation as “illustrative of a new wind of hope blowing across Africa”. Peace between these two nations was long overdue and has already had some positive effecton the Horn of Africa.

But the two countries have gone through a similar euphoric moment before – in 1993 when Eritrea got its independence from Ethiopia. That rapprochement, however, did not end well.

The secession of Eritrea was supported by the new government of Ethiopia at that time and was celebrated internationally as an ideal separation. Then, five years later, Africa’s deadliest war broke out between the former allies.

What made this conflictextraordinary – even in a global context – was that it took place under conditions of extensive economic interdependence and social integration between the two states.

Today, as the two countries start rebuilding their relations, it is absolutely crucial that they revisit this moment of history and do not repeat its mistakes.

The first rapprochement

The peaceful secession of Eritrea from Ethiopia in 1993 marked the beginning of the first rapprochement between the two nations after the end of the 30-year-long civil war.

The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) had both fought against the Ethiopian communist military government, the Derg, and by the early 1990s had taken power in Addis Ababa and Asmara respectively.

There was a common understanding that the Derg had been the sole source of past animosity and a convergence of interests between the two states was uncritically taken for granted.

The emergence of two young and charismatic revolutionaries – Ethiopia’s Meles Zenawi and Eritrea’s Isaias Afwerki – was hailed internationally as a landmark moment in which the “next generation” of African leaders was taking over.

Their first diplomatic act after the partition was to sign a cooperation agreement known as the Asmara Pact. The 25-protocol agreement was an ambitious plan to integrate the two nations in all sectors, including defence.

Eritrea’s economy was in practice already integratedinto Ethiopia’s, as around 80 percent of its export products were destined for its neighbour. At the same time Ethiopia relied on Eritrea’s main port as a transportation hub for most of its trade with the world.

After the partition, the Eritreans were allowed to keep almost all the benefits of Ethiopian citizenship, but with a sovereign state of their own. In practice both peoples continued to live as if they were still one state.

On the foreign policy front, they cooperated against Sudan’s attempt to export its Islamist ideology to East Africa and Ethiopia supported Eritrea in its war against Yemen in 1996.

These unusual policies were rooted in an ambiguous approach to Eritrean nationhood by both governments. There was a common understanding that the two nations were really one people, despite the secession.

In his first visit to Ethiopia after the secession in 1993, President Afwerkideclaredthat after economic integration, the two countries could move towards political integration. His Ethiopian counterpart, Zenawi, was also convinced this was inevitable.

Due to these fraternal sentiments and optimistic expectations, important aspects of the relations between the states, including the demarcation of the common border and currency exchange rates, were resolved. They were simply not considered priorities in the first years after independence.

Ethiopians and Eritreans were therefore caught off-guard when a dispute over a relatively unimportant piece of land turned into a full-blown war in 1998.

The war was fought with the same emotional zeal with which cooperation and integration had been pursued only a few years earlier. The two governments were unyielding and fought for two years in a deadly warthat claimed more than 100,000 lives.

During the war and the subsequent decades of hostility, people on both sides saw it as the product of betrayal and deceit, rather than as an outcome of conflicting interests and policies.

Regardless of who is to blame for the conflict, both governments have to take responsibility for not doing enough to resolve differences peacefully.

The second rapprochement

While it is unlikely that history will repeat itself with another major military conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea, it is nevertheless important for the two states to establish clear mechanisms for arbitration and communication. After all, in the early 1990s, a war between the two was also deemed extremely unlikely.

The international community and the governments and people of Ethiopia and Eritrea have been desperate for peace, and now that it’s seemingly here, no one seems to be interested in confronting the thorny issues. Indeed, according to local customs it would be inappropriate to revisit the past during reconciliation.

Nostalgia and notions of fraternity have come back with the new rapprochement. While the historical and cultural affinity of the Ethiopian and Eritrean peoples is undeniable, this shouldn’t be the basis for diplomatic relations. This approach has been tried in the past and has failed – with severe consequences.

The basis for the relationship ought to be based on a dispassionate recognition that Ethiopia and Eritrea are two sovereign states with individual interests that will not always overlap. Rights, responsibilities and mechanisms for managing disputes that will inevitably emerge must be clearly formulated.

Ethiopia and Eritrea find themselves in one of the world’s most conflict-prone neighbourhoods. A number of regional and domestic political actors currently feel left out or marginalised by the peace process and have an incentive to sabotage it.

Two months after the peace declaration, the demarcation of the common border, which was the crux of the two-decades-long stalemate, is yet to begin and there already seem to be disagreements on how to proceed. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (part of the EPRDF), which governs the Ethiopian regional state bordering Eritrea, does not seem to agree with the federal government’s approach to demarcation. It keeps repeating publicly that the physical demarcation has to involve the residents of the borderlands.

Eritrea, for its part, is a state that is not governed by a constitution or parliament. The extreme centralisation of the regime around the figure of the president makes it a highly unpredictable partner. In addition, in a deliberate effort to sow resentment and suspicion, Eritrean diplomats keep insulting the TPLF on Twitter, despite the fact that the latter is a constitutive member of the ruling EPRDF.

All of these factors make the process more prone to derailment than it may appear.

In the context of these outstanding issues, the two states has already taken some steps to resume economic relations. Ethiopia has started using Eritrea’s Assab port on the Red Sea and Ethiopian investors have been looking at opportunities in Eritrea.

But the rules that will regulate the resumption of trade have not been made public yet and much like in 1993, these matters are either being deprioritised or handled in an opaque manner.

In this context, it is important to remember that neither fraternal bonds nor economic interdependence have been sufficient for preventing war in the past; on the contrary, they have served as enablers for emotive and reckless policies that culminated in war and a long and bitter rivalry.

It is imperative that the two governments dispassionately formulate their national interests and institutionalise the terms of their relationship as soon as possible, and leave as few issues as possible to fate, trust or fraternity.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Friday, 21 September 2018 11:32

Eritrea’s exodus – updated

Written by

Earlier today a story on the numbers of people leaving Eritrea for Ethiopia was published (see below).

Now further information has come to hand, from a reliable source.

“Since 11th September (the Ethiopian new year), the Ethiopian-Eritrean border has been  open. There were two possible scenarios: first, that the influx of Eritrean refugees would decrease and the existing refugees in Ethiopia would gradually return home to Eritrea; and second, that the influx rate would increase significantly.”

“The second scenario appears to be unfolding. The normal entry rate was approximately 50 people per day, but since 11th September, the number increased to 80. In the past three days, however, 310, 700, and then more than 1,000 Eritreans have arrived at reception centres. More are expected to come.”

“The demographic characteristics are almost the opposite of the normal trend. Previously most were young men who had who left their families in Eritrea. The newcomers, so far, are predominantly female and children…over 80%. This appears to be because previously it was too risky for them to try to cross the border.”

“The reception operation is becoming an ’emergency situation’. All organizations are being asked to support the newcomers, especially by providing immediate services like shelter, WASH, and core relief items.”


This is the earlier report

The pace at which Eritreans are leaving the country is increasing rapidly.

With the Ethiopian border open at 18 entry points, hundreds of Eritreans are arriving daily in busses, cars and on foot.

Between 250 and 500 were reported to be crossing daily at the start of September, but the numbers are now rising.

Many are seeking asylum at the Endabaguna screening  centre, which is struggling to register all those who arrive. As many as 600 a day are asking for asylum, some of them Eritrean troops, stretching the centre’s handling capacity.

It is reported that the crossings were closed yesterday (19th September). The official reason given was that this was ‘due to the security situation’.  The border is said to have re-opened again today.

Eritreans registering at official centres may only be the tip of the iceberg. Others don’t bother with registration, instead going to join friends and family already living in Ethiopia.

Professor Mirjam van Reisen, of Tilberg University in the Netherlands, who was recently in the Ethiopia-Eritrea border area, is concerned the situation could escalate out of control.

“Visiting the area we saw the joy of people crossing into Ethiopia, but the numbers are now huge. This is becoming an uncontrolled flight from Eritrea. Ethiopia will need substantial international assistance if it is to cope with a major exodus,” warned Professor van Reisen.

Eritreans say they are leaving because their government has failed to institute political and economic reforms in their country. Others say they are joining family members already living in Ethiopia.


There have been long traffic jams at the border town of Zalambessa as the trade between the two countries has built up. Trucks with grain, flour and building materials are leaving Ethiopia, while electronic goods and other consumer goods are being taken in the opposite direction.

Source=https://eritreahub.org/eritreas-exodus-updated

ኤርትራዊ ውሽጣዊ ፖለቲካዊ ኩነታት ምስ ጐረባብትና ብሓፈሻ ምስ ኢትዮጵያ ድማ ብፍልይ፣ ምስ ትግራይ ከኣ ብዝያዳ ብፍላይ ምትእስሳር ከም ዘለዎ ኩልና ዘይንዝገዖ እዩ። እዚ ምትእስሳር ንሓንሳብ ብሰላም ንሓንሳብ ድማ ብህውከት ከም ዝግለጽ ከኣ ተመኩሮና ይምስክሮ። ክንጻላእ እንከለና እቲ ሓደ ነቲ ሓደ ይሰጎ፣ ክንፋቶ እንከለና ከኣ ኣብ ሕድሕድ መገሻ ይጽዕቕ። እቲ ህዝቢ ወትሩ ሰላምን ፍቕርን እዩ ዝመርጽ። እቲ ምቅይያራት ዝመጽእ በቶም ዝመርሑ ኣካላት እዩ።

ኣተሓሕዛኡ፥ ሕቶ ሕጋውነቱ፥ እሞ ድማ ኣብ ቅድሚ እቲ ዝምልከቶ ህዝቢ ግሉጽነት ዘየብሉ ምዃኑ፣ ኣቐሚጥካ ኣብዚ ቀረባ ግዜ ንክንደይ መዓልቲ ምዃኑ ዘይፍለጥ፣ መንግስታት ኣብ ዘጽቀጥሉ ዶብ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ብወገን ትግራይ ብዘይቪዛ ካብን ናብን ይስገር ኣሎ። ህዝቢ በዚ ኩነታት ተሓጒሱ ብፍላይ ብወገን ኤርትራ ብሰንኪ ጸቢብ ኣተሓሕዛን ቅድመ ኩነታትን መንግስቲ ሓርቢትዎ፣ ብናይ ቀረባ ቤተሰቡ ናፍቖት ክሕመስ ምስ ጸንሐ፣ ከምዚ ንነዊሕ እዋን ኣብ ደንበ ተዘሪዐን ዝጸንሓ እንስሳ ክትከፍተለን እንከለኻ ብሓንሳብ ዝነጉዳ ኤርትራዊ ንትግራይ ኣዕለቕሊቕዋ ኣሎ። ኣብቲ መንግስትኻ እየ ዝብሎ ህግድርፍ እምነት ስለ ዘየብሉን፣ እቲ መንግስቲ ሎሚ ንዝበሎ ጽባሕ ንከይቅይሮ ዝቆጻጸረሉ ሕጊ ስለ ዘየብሉን ዶብ ተመሊሳ ከይትዕጸዎ እሞ ከይቅደም እምበር መዓስ ይገይሽ፥ ክሳብ መዓስከ ይጸንሕ ካብተን ኣብ ወርሒ ዝወሃባ 5 ሺሕ ናቕፋኸ ክንደይ ሒዙ ይገሽ ምውሳን ከም ዝጽገሞ ካብ ኩነታቱ ምርዳእ ይከኣል።

እቲ ኩነታት ህግደፍ ፈትዩ ዝተቐበሎ ዘይኮነ ህዝቢ ዓቕሉ ምስ ጸበቦ ደፊኡ ዝወሰዶ ስጉምቲ ምዃኑ ምርዳእ ይከኣል። ህግደፍ ብመሰረቱ ምቁጽጻር ከም ሕዱር ሕማም ስለ ዝወስዶ ኣይኮነንዶ ናብ ትግራይ ካብ ኣውራጃ ናብ ኣውራጃ እውን ከመይ ከም ዝቆጻጸር ንፈልጦ ኢና። ከምኡ ስለ ዝኾነ ከኣ ንሱ ኣጺቂጡ፣ ኣጋፈርቱ ዝኾኑ ማሕበራዊ ሚድያታት እዮም ነቲ ጉዳያት ከም ድላዮም ዝጻወትሉ ዘለዉ። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ብኸምዚ ደረጃ ደፊኡ ንህግደፍ ምግዳዱ ጽቡቕ ኮይኑ፣ እቲ ደፊእካ ምግዳድ ግና ናብ ትግራይ ንምፍላስ ዘይኮነስ፣ ካብቲ ኣብ ኤርትራ ተዓጽዩ ዘሎ ናይ ሰላም፣ ዲሞክራስን መሰልን ዕርድታት ንምስባር እንተዝኸውን ከኣ ዝያዳ መምሓረሉን መሰታዊ ፍታሕ መምጸኣሉን። እንተኾነ ሎሚ’ኳ እንተዘይገበሮ ጽባሕ ከም ዝገብሮ ግና እቲ ምልክታት ትስፉው እዩ።

ከምቲ ዝተጠቕሰ ናይቲ ህዝቢ ኣጋይሻ ክቱር ምፍልላይን ናፍቖትን ዝደረኾ ኮይኑ፣ ብዝሑ የሰንብድ፣ ደሓርከ ክምለስ ድዩ ኣይምለስን የስግእ፣ እንተዘይተመሊሱኸ ናበይ እዩ ክኸይድ የሰክፍ፣ በዚ ኣገባብ ናብ ትግራይ ጥራይ ዘይኮነ ናብ ማእከል ኢትዮጵያ ዝበጸሐኸ ደሓር ዜግነታዊ ደረጃኡን መጻኢ ዕድሉን እንታይ እዩ ክኸውን ዝብል ሕቶታት ኣይተመለሰን። ነዚ ከብርህዎ ዝነበሮም ከኣ እቶም ዘፍቅዱ ዘለዉ ወገናት እዮም። ግና ኣይገብርዎን። ኤርትራዊ ብፍላይ እቲ መንእሰይ ንህግደፍ ኣይኮነንዶ ኣብ ኤርትራ ኣብ ትግራይ ኮይኑ እውን ስለ ዘያመኖ፣ ካብኡ ኣርሒቑ ንምህዳም ካብ መቐለን ዓዲ ግራትን ብጻዕቂ ለይትን መዓልትን ናብ ኣዲስ ኣበባ ይጓረት ኣሎ። ከምቲ ናይ ትግራይ ኣብ ኣዲስ ኣበባ’ውን ዝጽበዮ ኣይፈልጥን እዩ። ገለ ኢሳይያስ ምስ ኣዲስ ኣበባ ፈጢርዎ ዘሎ ሓድሽ ዕርክነት ባህ ዘይበሎም ኣዲስ ኣበባ ምብጻሕ እኹል ኮይኑ ዘይተራእዮም፣ ኣብ ቅድሚኦም ዘሎ ሓደጋታት ብዘይምስትብሃል ብመስመር ሞያለ ኬንያን ዩጋንዳን ከም ዝበጽሑ ሓበሬታ ኣሎ። ድሕሪኡ ናብ ደቡብ ኣፍሪቃን ካልኦት ናይቲ ከባቢ ሃገራት ናይ ምቕጻል ትልሚ ክህልዎም እዩ። ብኽንዱ ደርጃ ዝጽበዮም ሓደጋ ከኣ ህያው እዩ።

እቲ ዋሕዚ 10 መዓልታት ገይሩ ቀጻሊ ከኣ ኣሎ። ድሮ ከኣ ኣብ ከተማታት ትግራይ፣ ናይ መግብን መደቀስን ጸገም ገጢምዎም ካብኡ ከይቅጽሉ ገንዘብ ሓጺርዎም ኣብ ገበላታት ቀንፈዘው ዝብሉ ኤርትራውያን ይበዝሑ ከም ዘለዉ ይንገር። ኣብ ከተማታት ትግራይ ሓላፍ መንገዲ “እዚኦምከ ወዮም መገሽ ዝይጓስዮም ኤርትራውያን ድዮም” ክብሎም ጀሚሩ ኣሎ። ገሊኡ ድማ ኮንደኾን ዝቀርቀርዎ ይህልዎም ብዝብል “ናቕፋዶ ኣለኩም?” ኢሉ ይሓቶም። ትግራዋይ ናቕፋ ዝሓቶም ናብ ኣስመራ ከይዱ ኣብ ኤርትራ ሕሱር ዝበሃላ፣ ናይ ወጻኢ ኮበርታ፣ ረሲቨር፣ ተልቪዥንን ጂኤል ሞባይልን ንምግዛእን እዩ፡

ካብን ናብን ጉዕዞ መካይን ጽዑቕ እዩ። ናይ ንግዲ ጥራይ ዘይኮነ ናይ ገዛ መካይን ይመላለሰ እየን። ውሑዳት ናብ ህግደፍ ቅርበት ስለ ዘለዎም ከም ድላዮም ናቕፋ ዝጸዓኑ ኤርትራውያን ዘድልዮም ኣስቤዛ ካብ ትግራይ ይጽዕኑ ኣለዉ። ኣብ ኤርትራ ዝለመድዎ ስኽራን ከኣ ኣብ ትግራይ ብዝሓሰረ ዋጋን ዝሰፈሐ ናይ ኣልኮል ምርጫን የዘውትርዎ ኣለዉ። ገሊኦም ተዓዘብቲ ከም ዝብልዎ፣ ኣብ ሓደ ደቒቕ ካሳብ 20 መካይን ኣብቲ ዶብ ይመሓላለፋ። ከምቲ ዘይንዝንገዖ ንብረት ጥራይ ኣይኮነን ካብን ናብን ዝሰጋገር ዘሎ። ኣንተላይ ትዕዝብትን ኣትሓሳስባን እዩ። ኤርትራውያን ብብዝሒ ዘመናዊ ህንጻታት፣ ጽዑቕ ንግዳዊ ምንቅስቓስ፣ ብዝሒ መንእሰይ ኣብ ጐደናታትን ዘመናውነት መንገድን ይድነቑ፣ ትጋሩ ከኣ ብናይ ኣስመራ ዘይምቕያር፣ ጽምዋ ጐደናታትን ናብ ሓመድ ብዝተቐየረ መንገድታትን ይሕዝኑ። እቲ ዝያዳ ንህግደፍ ኣቃሊዕዎ ዘሎ ከኣ ጉዳይ መካይን እዩ። ኣብ ገለ ከተማታት ትግራይ ካብተን መካይን ዳርጋ ሓደ ሲሶ ናይ ኤርትራ መለልዪ/ታርጋ ዝለጠፋ እየን። ኣብ ከተማ ኣስመራ እውን ብዙሓት ናይ ኢትዮጵያ ታርጋ ዘለወን መካይን ይንቀሳቐሳ። እቲ ዘገርም ካብ ኤርትራ ዝመጻ መካይን መለዋወጢ ስኢነን ለቓቒምካ ክኸዳ ዝጸንሐ ኣዝየን ዝኣረጋ እየን፡ ከምኡ ስለ ዝኾና ከኣ ኣብ መንጎ መቐለን ዓዲ ግራትን ተጸጊዐን ዝደቀሳ ኣለዋ።

ብሳላዚ ኣብ ኤርትራ ዕዳጋ ሃዲኡ ኣሎ። ወዮ 7000 ናቕፋ ዝበል ዝነበረ ጣፍ 2500 በጺሑ ይበሃል። ካልእ ሃላኺ እውን በብደረጃኡ ኣዝዩ ነኪዩ። እንተኾነ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ናይ ለውጢ ሸውሃቱ ባዶ እንከሎ ብሕሱር ኣስቤዛ ከብዱ እንተመለአ ክጸግብ ኣይኮነን።

እዚ ኩነታት ብመንጽር ኣብ መንጎ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ዝጸንሐ ብፖለቲካዊ ምውጣጥ እንተርኢናዮ እቲ “ቅድም መሬት ይጠረር” ዝብል ዝነበረ ናይ ህግደፍ ጃጃዊ መርገጽ ተሳዒሩ፣ እቲ በመንገዲ “ርክብ ህዝቢ ምስ ህዝቢ ንስገሮ” ኮይኑ ዝጸንሐ መርገጽ ኢትዮጵያ ከም ዝሰዓረ ብንጹር እዩ ተራእዩ። እሞ ንሕናን ህዝብናንከ እንታይ ንግበር? ከኣ ኣብ ቅድሜና ተገቲሩ ዘሎ ግዜ ዘይህብ ሕቶ እዩ።

Thursday, 20 September 2018 20:22

Radio Demtsi Harnnet Kassel 20.09.2018

Written by

(Joint Eritrean Memorandum)

In a joint memorandum dated 18 September 2018, three Eritrean organizations urged the new UN Human Rights Commissioner, Ms Michele Bachelet, to keep the Eritrean regime "under close scrutiny” and never allow it to escape accountability on the monstrous human rights abuses it perpetrated against its own people during the past quarter of a century.

 

 

Also copied to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and to the African Union Commission chairman, Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat, the memorandum asked the UN system and concerned international and regional humanitarian bodies to do more than simply asking the rogue regime in Asmara to end its military conscription project.

 

The Eritrean message alluded to the case of G-15 prisoners and the tens of thousands of Eritreans prisoners who were joined by ex-Finance Minister Berhane Abrehe on 17 September 2018, and called for the full attention of the UN towards implementing the 2016 findings of the UN Commission of Inquiry and the recommendations of the UN Human Rights Council.

Issued by the Eritrean National Salvation (ENS-Hidri), the Eritrean People's Democratic Party (EPDP), and the Unity of Eritreans for Justice (UEJ), the joint memorandum also referred to the ongoing 'under-the-table-deals' of the unrepresentative Eritrean regime with Ethiopia and other countries and said such deals will not be acceptable to the voiceless Eritrean people.

The joint memorandum emphatically added: "Peace in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea basin can and should start with peace at home. So far this is not the case in Eritrea".

 

Reproduced below is the full text of the joint Eritrean memo of 18 September 2018.

 

thre sisters 3

                              Joint Eritrean Message to the UN Human Rights Chief

 

To: H.E. Ms. Michele Bachelet,

UN HR Commissioner, OHCHR Geneva

 

CC: H.E. Mr. Antonio Guterres,

UN Secretary General, New York   

CC: H.E. Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairman

African Union Commission, Addis Ababa                  

18 September, 2018

Your Excellency Ms. Michele Bachelet,

Please accept from us, Eritreans struggling for democratic change and justice, heartfelt congratulations for your deserved election to lead the UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), a UN body from which Eritreans expect as much action as they wait for the appropriate action of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to act on the 2016 findings of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea.

 

 

We appreciate, Madam, your 10 September statement in support of the peace accord between Eritrea and Ethiopia although we also expected you to say more than just reminding the repressive Eritrean regime to act on its indefinite military conscription.

 

What Eritreans still expect from your esteemed office is, Madam High Commissioner, to mobilize the international community towards implementing the decisions of the UN Human Rights Council and the repeated recommendations of the UN Special Human Rights Rapporteur on Eritrea whose periodical updates confirm that nothing is changing in our country. 

 

Dear OHCHR High Commissioner,

We are taking the liberty of confirming to you that arbitrary arrests and all kinds of criminal abuses are continued to this day in Eritrea, and one finds it needless to remind the OHCHR that the Eritrean regime must be kept “under close scrutiny” until all the abuses are stopped. In this regard, we wish to point out that your esteemed office as well as the UN Secretary General’s office are expected per the conclusions of the UN Human Rights Council to “Ensure accountability for those responsible for serious human rights violations in Eritrea.” Eritreans always find it important to underline that our people are expecting the UN system as a whole and all concerned actors like the African Union to see to it that the border ruling between Eritrea and Ethiopia is implemented as agreed two decades ago, and that no ‘under the table deals’ between the unrepresentative regime in Eritrea and Ethiopia will be acceptable to the Eritrean people. Peace in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea basin can and should start with peace at home. So far this is not the case in Eritrea.

 

Finally, we wish to note that it was on 18 September, 17 years ago to the day, that the repressive regime in Asmara arrested 11 top officials of the regime and attended their number to the tens of thousands of Eritrean political prisoners and prisoners of conscience who languish in incommunicado prisons without a day at court. Ex-Finance Minister Berhane Abrehe, who recently published a book on the sad situation in Eritrea, was reportedly taken to prison yesterday, 17 September 2018.

 

That is why, Madam, that Eritreans expect more from the UN system than just asking the Asmara regime to act on its “indefinite military conscription”.

 

Sincerely Yours,

For: -

The Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (EPDP)

United Eritreans for Justice (UEJ)

The Eritrean National Salvation (ENS-Hidri)

ኣብቲ ብ18 መስከረም 2018 ናብ ላዕለወይቲ ኮሚሽነር ኮሚሽን ስብኣዊ መሰል ሕቡራት ሃገራት ወ/ሮ ሚቸለ ባቸለት ዝተላእከ ናይ ሰለስተ ኤርትራውያን ውድባት መዘክር፣ ኣብ ኤርትራ ዘሎ ገዛኢ ጉጅለ ኣብ ትሕቲ ጥንኩር ምቁጽጻር ክተሓዝ ከም ዝግበኦ ጠቒሱ፣ ናይቲ ኣብ ዝሓለፈ ርብዒ ክፍለዘበን ኣብ ልዕሊ ህዝቢ ክፍጽሞ ዝጸነሓ ጭካን ግህሰት ሰብኣዊ መሰል ተሓታቲ ክኸውን ከም ዝግበኦ ኣስፊሩ።

እቲ ናብ ዋና ጸሓፊ ውድብ ሕቡራት ሃገራት ኣንቶኖዮ ጉተረዝን ዋና ጸሓፊ ኮሚሽን ሕብረት ኣፍሪቃ ሙሳ ፋኪ ማሃዋት እውን ብቅዳሕ ዝተላእከ መዘክር፥ ኣካላት ሕቡራት ሃገራትን ጉዳይ ሰብኣዊ መሰል ዘገድሰን ዓለም ለኻውን ዞባውን ትካላትን ኣብ ኤርትራ ንዘሎ ገዛኢ ጉጅለ ግዱድ ዕስክርና ንከቋርጽ ካብ ምሕታት ሓሊፈን ካብኡ ንላዕሊ ስጉምቲ ክወስዳ ጸዊዑ።

Three Eritrean Organizations Send Memo to UN docx 1

ኤርትራዊ ውድባት ኣካላት ሕቡራት ሃገራት ኣብ ኣስመራ ዘሎ ጉጅለ ኣብ “ተሪር ምቁጽጻር ክኣቱ” ይሓታ

እዚ ኤርትራዊ መልእኽቲ ንጉጅለ-15ን ነቶም ብ17 መስከረም 2018 ሚኒስተር ፋይናንስ ኤርትራ ዝነበረ ኣቶ ብርሃነ ኣብርሀ’ውን ዝተሓወሶም ዓሰርተታት ኣሸሓት ኤርትራውያን እሱራት ግቡእ ቆላሕታ ሂቡ። ካብዚ ብምንቃል ከኣ ሕቡራት ሃገራት ነቲ ብ2016 ብመርማሪት ኣካል ሰብእዊ መሰል ኤርትራ ዝተበጽሐ፣ መደምደምታን ለበዋታትን ግቡእ ኣቓልቦ ክገብረሉ ጸዊዑ።

እዚ ብሃገራዊ ድሕነት ኤርትራ-ሕድሪ (ሃድኤ-ሕድሪ)፣ ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ (ሰዲህኤ)ን ሓድነት ኤርትራውያን ንፍትሒ (ሓኤፍ)ን ዝተላእከ ናይ ሓባር መዘክር፣ ነቲ ኣብ ትሕቲ ሰደቓ ብሕቡእ ዝኸይድ ዘሎ፣ ናይቲ ውክልና ህዝቢ ዘይብሉ መንግስቲ ኤርትራ ምሕዝነት ምስ ኢትዮጵያን ካለኦት ሃገራትን ብምስትብሃል፣ ከምዚ ዝኣመሰለ ስምምዕ በቲ ድምጺ ዘየብሉ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ተቐባልነት የብሉን።

እዚ ናይ ሓባር መዘክር ኣትሪሩ ከም ዘስፈሮ፣ ሰላም ቀይሕ ባሕሪ ኮነ ቅርኒ ኣፍሪቃ ብሰላም ኣብ ሃገርካ ክጅምር መተገብኦ። እንተኾነ ኣብ ኤርትራ ዝኸይድ ዘሎ መስርሕ ከምኡ ከምዘይኮነ ኣስፊሩ።

In a joint memorandum dated 18 September 2018, three Eritrean organizations urged the new UN Human Rights Commissioner, Ms Michele Bachelet, to keep the Eritrean regime "under close scrutiny” and never allow it to escape accountability on the monstrous human rights abuses it perpetrated against its own people during the past quarter of a century.

 

Also copied to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and to the African Union Commission chairman, Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat, the memorandum asked the UN system and concerned international and regional humanitarian bodies to do more than simply asking the rogue regime in Asmara to end its military conscription project.

Three Eritrean Organizations Send Memo to UN docx 1

Eritrean organizations urge UN system to keep Asmara regime “under close scrutiny”.

 

The Eritrean message alluded to the case of G-15 prisoners and the tens of thousands of Eritreans prisoners who were joined by ex-Finance Minister Berhane Abrehe on 17 September 2018, and called for the full attention of the UN towards implementing the 2016 findings of the UN Commission of Inquiry and the recommendations of the UN Human Rights Council.

Issued by the Eritrean National Salvation (ENS-Hidri), the Eritrean People's Democratic Party (EPDP), and the Unity of Eritreans for Justice (UEJ), the joint memorandum also referred to the ongoing 'under-the-table-deals' of the unrepresentative Eritrean regime with Ethiopia and other countries and said such deals will not be acceptable to the voiceless Eritrean people.

The joint memorandum emphatically added: "Peace in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea basin can and should start with peace at home. So far this is not the case in Eritrea".

Reproduced below is the full text of the joint Eritrean memo of 18 September 2018.

EPDP and Sister Orgs Appeal to UNHCR to Save Refugee lives in Libya 2

                           

Joint Eritrean Message to the UN Human Rights Chief

 

To: H.E. Ms. Michele Bachelet,

UN HR Commissioner, OHCHR Geneva

CC: H.E. Mr. Antonio Guterres,

UN Secretary General, New York  

CC: H.E. Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairman

African Union Commission, Addis Ababa                  

18 September, 2018

Your Excellency Ms. Michele Bachelet,

 

Please accept from us, Eritreans struggling for democratic change and justice, heartfelt congratulations for your deserved election to lead the UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), a UN body from which Eritreans expect as much action as they wait for the appropriate action of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to act on the 2016 findings of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea.

 

We appreciate, Madam, your 10 September statement in support of the peace accord between Eritrea and Ethiopia although we also expected you to say more than just reminding the repressive Eritrean regime to act on its indefinite military conscription.

 

What Eritreans still expect from your esteemed office is, Madam High Commissioner, to mobilize the international community towards implementing the decisions of the UN Human Rights Council and the repeated recommendations of the UN Special Human Rights Rapporteur on Eritrea whose periodical updates confirm that nothing is changing in our country.

 

Dear OHCHR High Commissioner,

We are taking the liberty of confirming to you that arbitrary arrests and all kinds of criminal abuses are continued to this day in Eritrea, and one finds it needless to remind the OHCHR that the Eritrean regime must be kept “under close scrutiny” until all the abuses are stopped. In this regard, we wish to point out that your esteemed office as well as the UN Secretary General’s office are expected per the conclusions of the UN Human Rights Council to “Ensure accountability for those responsible for serious human rights violations in Eritrea.” Eritreans always find it important to underline that our people are expecting the UN system as a whole and all concerned actors like the African Union to see to it that the border ruling between Eritrea and Ethiopia is implemented as agreed two decades ago, and that no ‘under the table deals’ between the unrepresentative regime in Eritrea and Ethiopia will be acceptable to the Eritrean people. Peace in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea basin can and should start with peace at home. So far this is not the case in Eritrea.

 

Finally, we wish to note that it was on 18 September, 17 years ago to the day, that the repressive regime in Asmara arrested 11 top officials of the regime and attended their number to the tens of thousands of Eritrean political prisoners and prisoners of conscience who languish in incommunicado prisons without a day at court. Ex-Finance Minister Berhane Abrehe, who recently published a book on the sad situation in Eritrea, was reportedly taken to prison yesterday, 17 September 2018.

 

That is why, Madam, that Eritreans expect more from the UN system than just asking the Asmara regime to act on its “indefinite military conscription”.

Sincerely Yours,

For: -

The Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (EPDP)

United Eritreans for Justice (UEJ)

The Eritrean National Salvation (ENS-Hidri)