Tesfai Tecle: A 1st Rate Mobilizer Who Linked Regions & Religions for Struggle
Written by Woldeyesus AmmarEthiopia: still not at peace as 2.6 million displaced by internal conflict
Written by Martin Plaut
Recent conflicts reported in Gedeo (SNNPR), West Guji (Oromia) and Jigjiga city (Somali region) quickly spreading to Deghabur, Warder, Kabridahar, Gode and Babile areas.
Source: Acaps
IDPs
Latest update: 21/08/2018
WEST Guji and gedeo conflict
Intercommunal violence around Gedeo (SNNPR) and West Guji (Oromia) zones displaced 987,000 people in June. As of mid-August, around 694,000 people remain displaced in Gedeo zone, the majority in host communities (Bule, Dilla Zuria, Kochere, Gedeb, Wanago, Yirgachefe woredas and Dilla and Yirgachefe towns). Around 189,000 IDPs remain displaced in West Guji zone at 18 host communities and 43 collective sites.? Heavy rains since June have worsened the already vulnerable conditions for IDPs in the region. IDPs are living in inadequate shelter and with limited access to sanitation. ?Priorities are emergency shelter and NFI, food, health, and WASH.?
Violence between the Guji and Gedeo communities started along the border of West Guji zone on 13 April. At least 75 people have died, in seven localities.? Influx of IDPs in some areas has nearly doubled the population and resources are stretched beyond capacity. Prior to the new displacement, this area was already one of the most densely populated parts of the country.? The causes sparking the recent conflict are unknown, but land disputes and conflict on border demarcations have long existed.?
intercommunal conflicts
Intercommunal conflict displaced 141,410 people in Somali region since 4 August. The conflict started in Jigjiga city (Somali region) and quickly spread to Deghabur, Warder, Kabridahar, Gode and Babile areas. In Somali region 35,450 IDPs are hosted in Jigjiga; in Oromia region there are 55,000 IDPs in Babile, 23,300 in Chinaksen, 24,000 in Gursum, and 280 in Harar; in Tigray region 2,000 IDPs are in Mekelle town – see map below. Urgent humanitarian needs are food, WASH, Health and NFI. In Jigjiga, prices inflation is reported on food, water, and other basic needs due to limited available shops and supplies. Fuel is also limited. Between 4-13 August, shops, markets, and banks were closed. On 10 August, Ethiopian Airlines resumed its operation for the Addis-Jigjiga route. Flights had been cancelled since 4 August. On 15 August, IDPs from Jigjiga are reported to have started returning to home.?
Clashes between Oromo and Somali ethnicities from September- December 2017 left up to one million people displaced in the two regions.? New displacements have been reported along the border separating the two regions since January. ?
drought, floods and cyclone
While three consecutive years of drought have led to displacement in many sites of the country, flash floods due to overperformance of Belgrains (Feb-Jun) as well as Cyclone Sagar that struck Ethiopia on 20 May have affected people mainly in Somali, Oromia, SNNPR and Afar regions. Somali region was most affected. Some 347,000 people have been affected countrywide, including around 200,000 displaced by flooding. In northern Somali region, Cyclone Sagar has displaced around 54,000 people in five woredas of Siti zone (Ayshica, Dambal, Hadhagala, Gablalu and Shinile).? Humanitarian needs include WASH, health, food and NFI support.?Genale and Wabi Shabelle rivers overflowed and affected Afder, Fafan, Liben, Nogob, Siti, Shabelle, and Warder zones. Communities and farmlands are flooded and livestock affected.? 32 people have been killed by landslides due to heavy rains in SNNPR (23 people in Sidama zone and nine people in Gamo Gofa zone).?Landslides on 26 May also killed 22 people in Tullu Gola kebele, Oromia region. ?
Displacement following intercommunal conflict (4-7 Aug 2018) in Somali region
OCHA 17/08/2018 (https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/ethiopia_somali_region_inter-communal_conflict_update_1.pdf)
Up to 20,000 Eritreans Expected to Hold Demonstration at UN Geneva on 31 August
Written by EPDP Information Office
Eritrean pro-change, peace and democracy activists from many countries are mobilizing worldwide to hold a huge Eritrea Day in Geneva on 31 August 2018 by demonstrating in front of the UN Headquarters in protest against the repressive regime in Asmara and the ongoing undeserved sympathy being offered to it by regional and global actors who seem to be neglectful of the unchanged human rights and political situation on the ground in our country.
Demonstration organizers promise that Eritrean protests are coming to Geneva in big numbers not only from European countries but also from many regions of planet Earth where many Eritreans have been forced take refuge trying to escape death or intolerable abuses in the hands of their own regime. Many human rights organizations and activists confirm the fact that the entire Eritrean nation has, indeed, been turned into a huge prison for the past 27 years – a period corresponding to Nelson Mandela's time at the hated Robben Island prison.
The organizers further inform via various media outlets that the demonstration will send a clear Eritrean people’s message to all concerned, regionally and globally: that no sustainable deal for peace with Ethiopia can be attained by an unrepresentative regime in Asmara which seems to be bent at compromising Eritrean sovereignty to in order to escape charges of crimes against humanity.
Initiated at the grassroots level and supported by everyone in the Eritrean justice seekers’ camp, the demonstration is expected to make strong calls on UN member states and African countries, including Ethiopia, that the one-man dictatorship in Asmara is rendered illegitimate since a long time and that deals made with it are null and void in the eyes of the Eritrean people. For over quarter of a century since its independence, the country remains without a constitution, national elections and without any basic rights to the people.
On 1st of September, which is the 57th anniversary of the start of the Eritrean armed liberation struggle in 1961, the demonstration organizers plan to hold a wide meeting in Geneva to elect a provisional body that would try to bring together all stakeholders in the struggle for democratic change.
Expectations are that the demonstration will be much bigger than the one held in Geneva two years ago. It is to be recalled that estimated 15,000 Eritreans demonstrated in Geneva in June 2016 in support of the findings and conclusions of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea which called for accountability against potential perpetrators of crimes against humanity in Eritrea since 1991.
ርእስ ዓንቀጽ ሰዲህኤ
ኣብዚ እዋን’ዚ ኣብ ፖለቲካ ኤርትራ ኣብ ውሽጢ ሃገር ይኹን ኣብ ወጻኢ፡ ኣሻቓሊ ኮይኑ ካብ ዘሎ፡ እቲ ንድሕሪት ብዘይምለስ መስርሕ ስለ ዝተረጋገጸ ኣየሰክፈናን እዩ ክንብሎ ዝጸናሕና ጉዳይ ልኡላውነት ሃገርና እዩ። እዚ ዝኾነሉ ምኽንያት ከኣ ንኤርትራ ዝገዝእ ዘሎ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ካብዚ ቀረባ ግዜ ሒዝዎ ዘሎ ግልጹነት ዝጐደሎን ትካላዊ መስርሕ ዘይተኸተለን ወስታታት ጀሚሩ ስለ ዘሎ እዩ። እዚ ወስታታቱ ናበይ ገጹ ከም ዝምዕብል ሕጂ”ኳ ውዱእ እንተዘይኮነ፡ በቲ ሓሓሊፉ ዘንጸባርቖ ዘሎ ስጉምትታት ኣብ ጉዳይ ክብርን ልኡላውነትን ኤርትራ ክትሻቐል ዘገድድ ምልክታት እዩ።
ጉጅለ ህግደፍ እቲ ምስ ኢትዮጵያ ጀሚርዎ ዘሎ ናይ ሃወኽሃወኽ ምዃኑ ባዕሉ ዝዛረብ ዝምድና ዝምልከት ንጹር መብርሂ ክህብ ዘይምድላዩ፡ መርኣያ ናይቲ ዝኸዶ ዘሎ መስርሕ ዘይምዕራይ ምዃኑ ብሩህ እዩ። ጉጅለ ህግዲፍ ዝመረጾ መስርሕ ወትሩ ዘይብሩህ ምዃኑ’ኳ ፍሉጥ እንተኾነ፡ ኣብ ከምዚ ንዕዘቦ ዘለና ንሉኡላውነት ሃገር ዝህድድ ዓብይ ዛዕባ ከርኣይ እንከሎ ግና ኣይኮነንዶ ንዓና ነቶም ሰብ ዋኒን ኤርትራውያን ንሕብረሰብ ዓለም እውን ዘገርም ክኸውን ባህርያዊ እዩ። ነቶም ብድሕሪት ኮይኖም ነቲ መስርሕ ዝኹብኩብዎ ዘለዉ ናይ ግዳም ሓይልታት ግና፡ መሃዝቱ ስለ ዝኾኑ ዘይክሕድሶም ይኽእል። ለኣኽቲ ህግደፍን ስለ ዝተማእዘዞም እንተነኣድዎን ወርቂ እንተሰለምዎን’ውን ክገርመና ኣይግባእን። ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ኣብ ክንዲ ግሉጽነት መሪጽዎ ዘሎ ካልእ ኣገባብ ነቲ ጉዳይ ብመሰረታዊ ዘይኮኑ ምስምሳት ምድፋን እዩ።
ምስ ኢትዮጵያ እንታይ ይግበር ከምዘሎ ብጉጅለ ህግዲፍ ወግዓዊ መብርሂ ዘይምሃብ ናይቲ ምስምሳት ቀንዲ መግለጺ ኮይኑ፡ “ምምልካት ዶብ ናብ ዝኸደና የብሉን፡ ንምሕዳስ ዝምድና ምስ ኢትዮጵያ ቀዳምነት ክንህብ ንደሊ ኢና፡ ናብ ዞባዊ ዝምድና ዝያዳ ከነድህብ ይግበኣና … ወዘተ” ዝብሉ ሓረጋት ከኣ ናይቶም “ቅድሚ ኩሉ ምርግጋጽ ልኡላውነት ሃገር” ክብሉ ዝጸንሑ ህግደፍን ውሑዳት መጋበርያታቱን መውጽእ ኣፎም ኮይነን ኣለዋ። እቲ ዝምድና ምስ ጐረቤትካ ኮነ ኣብ ርሑቕ ዝርከቡ ወገናት ብዘይምግናን ዝያዳ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ህዝቢ ኤርትራን ናይ ለውጢ ሓይልታቱን ይድግፍዎን ይቃለስሉን። ከምዚ ሰለ ዝኾነ ከኣ ንምሕዳስ ዝምድና ምስ ኢትዮጵያ ክቃወምዎ ባህርያዊ ኣይኮነን። እዚ ግና ብዋጋ ልኡላውነት ኤርትራን ምድፋን ዘይተመለሰ መሰረታዊ ሕቶታት ህዝቢ ኤርትራን ኣይኮነን። “ኣብ ዞና ቀርኒ ኣፍሪቃ፡ ሰላም፡ ቅሳነትን ሓባራዊ ምጣኔ ሃብታዊ ዕብየትን ብምድግጋፍ ክረጋገጽ ምቅላስ፤”ዝብል ኣብ ፖለቲካዊ መደብ ዕዮ ሰዲህኤ ሰፊሩ ዘሎ ሓሳብ ከኣ ነዚ ዘነጽር እዩ።
ኣብ መንጎ ዝተፈላለያ ሃገራት ዘሎ ጽቡቕ ኩለመዳያዊ ዝምድና ዶባት ካብ ምሕንጻጽ ዝህድም ዘይኮነ፡ ኣብ መንጎ ክልተ ይኹና ካብኡ ንላዕሊ ልኡላዊ ሃገራት ዝግበር ኣብ ንጹር ስምምዓት ዝምስረት ዝምድና እዩ። ብመንጽር እዚ ኣብ’ቲ ምስ ኢትዮጵያ ተጀሚሩ ዘሎ ሓድሽ ዝምድና ንድሕሪት ከይተመለሰና፡ ንምምልካት ዶብ ብመስረት እቲ ቀያድን ናይ መወዳእታን ብይን ኮሚሽን ዶብ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ክንህወኸሉ የብልናን ዝብል ብሂል መዳህለሊ ከይከውን ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ብጽሞና ክከታተሎ ዝግበኦ እዩ። ምናልባት ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ንናይ ህዝብና ናይ ሰላምን ጽቡቕ ዝምድናን፡ ጽምኣትን ናፍቖትን መዝሚዙ ከረሳስዕን ከዳህልልን መደብ ከይህልዎ እቲ ሕቶ ናይ ጽባሕ ዘይኮነስ ሱር ከይሰደደ ክምለስ ዝግበኦ ናይ ሎሚ ምዃኑ ክዝንጋዕ የብሉን። እዚ ክንብል እንከለና ህዝብና ብኸምዚ ዓይነት መዳህለሊ ምስምሳት ዝሓለፈ ተመኩሮ ስለዘለዎ፡ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ እንዳሰሓሓቐ ናብ ዘይድለ ኩርናዕ ክወስዶ እዩ ዝብል ስግኣት’ኳ እንተዘየብልና ምዝኽኻሩ ከምዘይሓስም ንምርዳእ እዩ።
ካብ ተመኩሮና ከም እንርደኦ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ነቲ ዘይግሉጽ ኣካይድኡ መሊሱ ንምሽፋኑ ኣብቲ ናይ ሓባር ረብሓን ተረድኦን ዘለዎ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ምክፍፋል ክፈጥር ድሕር ከምዘይብል ብዓንተቦ እንግምቶ እዩ። ብኣንጻሩ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ኣብቲ ዘይፈላለየሉ ምዕቃብ ልኡላውነትን ምርግጋጽ ብኤርትራዊ ውድዕነት ዝተቓነየ ለውጥን ሓደ ኮይኑ ንቕድሚት ክደፍእ ግዜኡ ሎሚ እዩ። ወዮ “ምምላስ ዝምድና ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ድሕሪኡ ነርክበሉ ቅድም ልኡላዊ መሬትና ነረጋግጽ” ክብል ዝጸንሐ ህግደፍ፡ ብጸቢብን ተበላጽን ጉጅላዊ ረብሓ ተደፊኡን ሰዲዑን ማእዝኑ ክቕይር እንከሎ ህዝብና ኣብ መትከሉ ገጥ ክብል ኣለዎ። ሎሚ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ካልእ ማይ ዘይጠዓመ ማእዝን ኣብ ዝሓዘሉ “ደጋፊ ህግደፍ’ባ ተቓዋሚ ህግደፍ’ባ” ከይተበሃሃልና ዓቀብቲ ልኡላውነትናን ኣኽበርቲ ሕድሪ ናይቶም ምእንቲ ልኡላውነት ዝሓለፉ ሰማእታትናን ክንከውን ግዜ ይሓተና ከም ዘሎ ክንዝንግዕ ኣይግበኣና።
ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ሎሚ መሳርሒ ናይቶም ጅቡኡ ዝመልእሉ ናይ ዞናና ሃብታማት እዩ ኮይኑ ዘሎ። እቶም ለኣኽቲ ስለቲ ዝተላእኮም ከም ዘሻህርትዎን ዘርስንዎን ምልክታት ንዕዘብ ኣለና። ዓበይቲ መሰረታዊ ናይ ገዛ ዕዮኡ ከይዓመመ ናይዚ ከባቢ “ናይ ሰላም፡ ዕቤትን ዲሞክራስን” ክኸውን ሃንደፍደፍ ይብል ብምህላዉ ከም ዝዕዘብዎ ክንርዳእ ይግበኣና። እዞም ንጉጅለ ህግደፍ እንዳለኣኹ ዞናዊ ጽልዋኦም ዘበርኽሉ ኣካላት፡ ንኤርትራዊ ዘቤታዊ ጉዳይና ከቐድሙልና ከምዘይኮኑ ፍሉጥ እዩ። ስለዚ ጉዳይና እቲ ካልእ መመላእታ ኮይኑ፡ ብኣና ኤርትራውያን ከም ዝውዳእ ተረዲና ባዕልና ሓላፍነት ክንወስድ ይግበኣና። ምናልባት እንተደኣ “ግድን ዶብ ይመልከት፡ ዝግበር ስምምዓት ንጹርን ኤርትራዊ ረብሓ ዘውሓሰ ይኹን” እንተ ኢልና እቲ ክነፍስ ጀሚሩ ዘሎ ጽቡቕ ዝምድና ከይኩለፈና ዝብል ስግኣት ዘለዎ ኤርትራዊ ኣካል እንተል’ዩ፡ እኳደ ጽቡቕ ዝምድና ዝስውድ ነናትካ ሒዝካ ምስ እትከባበር ምዃኑ ክበርሃሉ ይግባእ።
ዕድመ ንዂሎም ኤርትራውያን ተቐማጦ ስቱትጋርትን ከባቢኣን
Written by ግዱሳት ኣባላት ደለይቲ ፍትሒ ስቱትጋርትን ከባቢኣን
ክቡራትን ክቡራንን !
ኣብ መበቆል ትውልዲ ሃገርና ብሓፈሽኡ ከኣ ኣብ ምብራቕ ቀርኒ ኣፍሪቃ ናይ ሠላምን ራህዋን መንፈሰ ዘለዎ ዘመን ንኽመጽእ ይቀላቐል ስለዘሎ ርሑስና ይግበሮ !
ግዱሳት ኣባላት ደለይቲ ፍትሒ ኤርትራውያን ስቱትጋርትን ከባቢኣን ንመበል 57 ዓመት ዝኽሪ ሓደ መስከረም ብኽብርን ብድምቀትን ኣገባብ ከብዕል ምዃኑ የፍልጥ።
ዕለት፡- 08.09.2018 ካብ ሰዓት 14፡00 ድ.ቀ ዝጅምር
ቦታ፡- Heidelbeer Str. 5, 70329 Stuttgart / Oberturkheim
ኤርትራውያን ንሰናይን ጽቡቕ ምግባርን ሓደ ካብቲ ዘዂርዓና ካብ ኣቦታትና ዝወረስናዮ ባህሊ ስለዝኾነ ኣብዚ እነብዕሎ በዓል ዝተረኸበ ኣታዊ ብምልኡ፡ ንኣካለ ስንኩላን ኣብ ከሰላ ዝርከቡ ተጋደልቲ ከምኡ`ውን ንጽጉማት ስደተኛታት ኤርትራ ኣብ መዓስከራት ስደተኛ ትግራይ/ኢትዮጵያ ተዓቚቦም ዘለው ሓገዝ ክወሃብ ከምዝኾነ ንሕብር።
ብደሓን ምጹ !
ኣኽበርትኹም ግዱሳት ኣባላት
ደለይቲ ፍትሒ ስቱትጋርትን ከባቢኣን
መወከሲ ተሌፎን ፡ 015227234849 ወይከኣ 015779898869
Ethiopia not withdrawing troops from Eritrea front lines yet
Written by Africanews
The Ethiopian government has officially spoken to reports about alleged withdrawal of its troops from the frontline with neighbouring Eritrea.
Some media reports late last week said Ethiopian troops were seen leaving the town of Shiraro, a key front in the Ethio-Eritrea war, the town is close to the town of Badme, a central contention of the war.
But Defense Minister, Motumma Mekassa in an interview on Saturday with the Reporter newspaper said the movement of troops was a “normal routine for the military and nothing else.”
He added that: “there are no formal agreements between the two countries as far as withdrawing of troops is concerned.”
This is the second time the issue of troop withdrawal from the front lines have surfaced since leaders of the two countries signed a peace deal in Asmara in early July.
Reuters news agency citing local media in Eritrea reported that troops of the country had began withdrawing from the disputed area which have since the end of the war been highly militarized.
The Ethio-Eritrea peace deal followed a decision by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to accept and implement a border ruling in relation to disputed territories between the two countries.
Abiy traveled to Asmara in July for talks that led to the cessation of hostilities between the two nations. It also marked the restoration of all diplomatic and trade ties between them.
Telephone lines have been restored, both sides have named ambassadors even though Ethiopia is yet to reopen its embassy in Asmara. The respective national airlines have began operations after two decades and families have since been united.
The withdrawal of troops and the subsequent demilitarization of the disputed territories is one of the eagerly awaited legs of the normalization of ties.
Currently PM Abiy continues with fast-paced democratic reforms at home despite security challenges whiles Eritrea also continues to reset its regional diplomatic affairs. After Abiy’s visit, Somali and South Sudan leaders have also visited.
ብዕለት 18.08.2018 ኣቦ መንበር ንዑስ ዞባ ጀርመን ሓው ተስፋማርያም ክብራኣብን ክልተ ካብ መሪሕነት ጨንፈር ደቡብ ሓው ተክልዝጊ ሚኪኤልን ወልደኣብ ዘርኣይን ዝመርሕዎ ኣኼባ ኣብ ከተማ ባደን ባደን ጀርመን ተኻይዱ። እቶም ኣብ ኣኼባ ዝተረኽቡ ዜጋታት ኣብ ርእሲ እቲ ምስ ኣባላት ጨንፈር ደቡብ ዝጸንሖም ሌላን ናይ ቃልሲ ዝምድናታት፡ ኣብቲ ብኤርትራዊ ዲሞክራስያዊ ማሕበርን ጨናፍር ሰዲህኤ ኣብ ኤውሮጳን ዝተሰላሰለ ፈስቲቫል 2018 ብምስታፎም ዘረጋገጽዎ ዕግበትን ናብ ክብ ዝበለ ፍጹም ኣባልነት ኣብ ሰዲህኤ ከሳጋግር ምኽኣሉ ተሓቢሩ።
ኣብቲ ኣኼባ ህልዊ ኲነታት ሃገርን መላኺ ስርዓት ኤርትራ ዝወስዶ ዘሎ ሓደገኛ ዝኮነ ኢደ-ወነናዊ ተቋማሪ ተርእዮን፡ ሃለዋት ደንበ ተቓውሞ ብሓፈሻ ድሕሪ ምዝርራብ፣ ኣብ ፖሎቲካዊ መደባትን ዕላማታትን ሰዲህኤ ዘትኮረ ዛዕባታት ሰፊሕ መብርሂታት ቀሪቡ። እቲ ኣኼባ ካብ ሰዓት 10፡30 ክሳብ 13፡00 ዝተኻየደ ልዙብን ጽቡቕ ምርድዳእ ዝሰፈኖን ኣብርእሲ ምንባሩ፣ ሓድሽ ባይታ ናይ ቃልሲ ኣብቲ ቦታ ዝፈጠረ እዩ ነይሩ። ኣብ መጨረሻ ኣኼበኛታት ብሰለስተ ኣባላት ዝቆመት ንንዑስ ጨንፈር ባደን ባደን እትመርሕ ሽማግለ ብደሞክራሲያዊ ኣገባብ ከቁሙ እንከለዉ፡ ንግዝይኡ ስርዒታዊ ዝምድና ሽማግለ ብቐጥታ ምስ ጨንፈር ደቡብ ዝተኣሳሰር ምዃኑ ተፈሊጡ ኣሎ።
Radio Demtsi Harnnet Kassel 16.08.2018
Written by Demtsi Harnnet Kassel
ብዛዕባ “ምቕባልን ተቐቢልካ ምትግባርን” ክለዓል እንከሎ ኣብ ኣእምሮና ካብ ዝመጹ ጉዳያት ሓደ ቀያድን ናይ መወዳእታን ብይን ዶብ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ምዃኑ ምርድኡ ዘጸግም ኣይኮነን። ድሕሪ ስምምዕ ኣልጀርስን ውሳነ ኮሚሽን ዶብን እዚ ዛዕባ’ዚ ኣዝዩ ኣዘራራቢ ኮይኑ ጸኒሑ። ናብዚ ጉዳይዚ ቅርበት ዘለዎም ኣካላት፡ ማለት ጉጅለ ህግደፍ፡ መንግስቲ ኢትዮጵያን ህዝብን ሓይልታት ለውጢ ኤርትራን ኣብ በበይኑ መድረኻት ነዚ ብዝምልከት መርገጻቶም ከንጸባርቑ ጸኒሖም እዮም። ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ንነዊሕ ግዜ፡ እቲ ብመሰረት ውዕል ኣልጀርስ ብኮሚሽን ዶብ ዝተዋህበ ቀያድን ናይ መወዳእታን ብይን ናይ ግድን ቅድሚ ኩሉ ክትግበር ኣለዎ ዝብል ጽኑዕ ዘይኮነ ክንሱ ጽኑዕ ዝመስል ዝነበረ መርገጽ ሒዙ ጸኒሑ። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ እውን ናይ ብሓቂ ሓላዪ ልኡላውነት መሲልዎ ነቲ ጉጅለ ክኽተሎ ጸኒሑ። መንግስቲ ኢትዮጵያ ከኣ ነቲ ውሳነ ብመትከል ከም ዝቕበሎ እንዳጠቐሰ ቅድሚ ምትግባሩ ዘተ ከም ዝድግፍ ከብርህ ጸኒሑ። ንሕና ኤርትራውያን ሓይልታት ለውጥን ህዝብናን እውን እቲ ቀያድን ናይ መወዳእታን ውሳነ ክትግበር ኣለዎ ክንብል ጸኒሕና። መርገጽ ሓይልታት ለውጥን ህግደፍን ብደግኡ ክረአ እንከሎ ሓደ ይመስል ነይሩ። ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ግና መንፈሱን ሽተኡን በበይኑ ምንባሩ እነሆ በሪሁ። መርገጽ ሓይልታት ለውጥን ህዝቢ ኤርትራን ኣብ ልዕልና ሕግን ቀጻልን ዝተኣማምን ሰላምን ዘትከለ ነይሩ። መርገጽ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ግና ኣብ ህልኽን ቅርሕትን ዝተሰረተ፡ ብዛዕባ ልዕልና ሕግን ልኡላውነት ሃገርን ዘይግደስ ምንባሩ እነሆ ድሕሪ ክንደይ ኮለል በሪሁ። ሓቀኛ ምስሊ ህግደፍ ከኣ ባዕሉ ክዛረብ ጀሚሩ።
ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ካብቲ ክጉባዕበዓሉ ዝጸንሐ ኣርሒቑ ከም ዝሃደመ ንምሽፋን “መንግስቲ ኢትዮጵያ ብዘይቅድመ-ኩነት ተቐቢልናዮ ኢሉ እንድዩ” እትብል ጸባብ መህደሚት መንገዲ ሒዙ ኣሎ። ከምዚ ክብል እንከሎ ኮነ ኢሉ ክሃድም ስለ ዝወሰነ እዩ እምበር፡ ኣብ መንጎ ተቐቢለዮ ምባልን ነቲ ዝተቐበልካዮ ምትግባርን ዘሎ ርሕቀት ጠፊእዎ ኣይኮነን። ምስቲ ኣብ ባይታ ብግብሪ ንርእዮ ዘለና ከኣ፡ እቲ መንግስቲ ኢትዮጵያ ካብ ቅድም ጀሚሩ“በዓል ሓሙሽተ ነጥብታት” ኢሉ ሒዝዎ ዝጸንሐ ፖሊሲ ዝትገር ዘሎ እዩ ዝትግበር ዘሎ። ምናልባት እውን እዚ ኣብ ባይታ ንርእዮ ዘለና ካብኡ እውን ዝያዳ ዝተሓተ እዩ። ምኽንያቱ እቲ ፖልሲ በዓል ሓሙሽተ ነጥብታት፡ ንምምልካት ዶብ ኣብ መሬትን ዝምድና ክልቲአን ሃገራት ናብ ንቡር ቦታ ምምላስን ዝብሉ ነጥብታት ብሓባር ዘንጸባርቕ ክነብር እንከሎ፡ እዚ ሕጂ ዝትግበር ዘሎ ግና ነቲ “ቀያድን ናይ መወዳእታን” ኣብ ዝብል ውሳነ ተተርኢሱ ክትግበር ግበኦ ምምልካት ዶብ ኣብ መሬት ኣግሊሉ ዝኸይድ ዘሎ ስለ ዝኾነ። ካብዚ ሓሊፉ እዚ ዝኸይድ ዘሎ መስርሕ በቶም፡ “ዝህብታት ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ኤርትራ ሓደ ህዝቢ እዩ፡ ተደሚርና ኢና፡ ናይ ዶብ መንደቕ ኣፍሪስና ናይ ፍቕሪ ድንድል ንሃንጽ ኣለና … ወዘተ” ዝብሉ ሓረጋት ክስነ እንከሎ ኣፍካ መሊእካ “ ኣብ ሓጺር መጻኢ ከምዚ ክኸውን እዩ” ምባል’ኳ እንተጸገመ ስኽፍታ ኣብ ልዕሊ ስኽፍታ ዝድርዕ ምዃኑ ግና ርዱእ እዩ። ህዝብታት ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ብፍላይ ምስ ህዝቢ ትግራይ፡ ብዙሕ ዘመሳስል ዘለዎ ናይ ክልተ ልኡላዊ ሃገራት ክልተ ኣሕዋት ህዝቢ እዩ እንተዝበሃል’ኳ ኣይመሰከፈናን።
እዚ ኣብ መንጎ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ዝኸይድ ዘሎ፡ ኪኖ ምምልላስ ነፈርቲ መንገዲ ኣየር ኢትዮጵያ ዝያዳ ዝዓሞቘ ትርጉም ከይህልዎ ዘብል ፍጻመ፡ ኣብ ዓለም ለኻዊ ሚድያታት ውዑይ ኣዛራቢ ኮይኑ ኣሎ። ብኣንጻሩ መንግስቲ ህግደፍ ዝኾነ መድረኽ ፈጢሩ ኣይኮነንዶ ነቲ “ኣበይ ከይበጽሕ” ዝበሎ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ፡ ነቲ ህልውናኡ ጾይሩ ዘሎ ምህሙን ትካላቱ እውን ወግዓዊ መብርሂ ኣይሃበን። እዚ ክበሃል እንከሎ ግና ሎሚ ኣብ ኤርትራ ተሓታትነት ዘለዎ ብሕጊ ዝምራሕ መንግስታዊ ትካል ዳርጋ ከምዘለየ ብምዝንጋዕ ኣይኮነን። እቲ ኩሉ ዝከኣሎ ኮይኑ ዘዕለብጥ ዘሎ ሓደ ሰብኣይን ዊንታኡን እዩ። ንሱ ሕጊ፡ ንሱ ትካል ኮታ ንሱ መንግስቲ ኮይኑ እዩ ዘዳኽር ዘሎ። እቶም በዚ ሓደ ሕንኩ ዝቐንተጠጠ ዝተዓዛዘሮ ዝመስል ሰብኣይ ኣብ ዘይፈልጥዎ ጐደና፡ ምትሕስሳብ ብዘየብሉ ኣገባብ ዝኹብኮቡ ዘለዉ ሚኒስተራት ዲና ክንብሎ ሰነይቲ መኻይዱ በዚ ኩነታቶም ሓፊሮም በቶም ህዝቦምን ሃገሮምን ብሕግን ስርዓትን ዝመርሑ መንግስታት ዘምቕነኦም ከኣ ክሳብ ክንደይ ሓሞቶም ከም ዝፈሰሰ ዘመልክት እዩ።
ኣቶ ኢሳይያስን ጉጅለኡን ነዚ ኣገባብዚ ክመርጽዎ እንከለዉ ዝሓሰብዎ ከም ዝህልዎም ፍሉጥ እዩ። እዚ ብናቱ መላኺ መዕቀኒ ብዝተሃንደሰ መንገዲ እንዳተጓዕዘ ኤርትራን ህዝባን ከልምዖም ድዩ ወይ ከጥፈኦም ኣይፈልጡን እዮም። ስለምንታይ ደኣ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ናበይ ከም ዘብጸሖ ኣብ ዘይፈልጦ ጸልማት መንግዲ ድምጹ ኣጥፊኡ ይጐዓዝ ኣሎ ዝብል ሕቶ ከኣ ንዓለም ዘገረሞ ኮይኑ ዘሎ ኩነት እዩ። ካብዚ ንደሓር ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ኢዱን እግሩን ኣጣሚሩ፡ ጉጅለ ኢሳይያስ ራህዋ ከምጽኣሉ ዝጽበ፡ ወይ በቲ ኣብ ገዛእ ጉዳዩ ኣጋጢምዎ ዘሎ ተነጽሎ ዘማርረሉ ግዜ ኣይኮነን። ብኣንጻሩ፡ ንራህዋኡ፡ ንክብሩን ሉኡላውነቱን ባዕሉ ክለዓል ኣብ ዝግደደሉ መድረኽ ከምዘሎ ክርዳእ ናይ ምርጫ ዘይኮነ ናይ ህልውና ጉዳይ እዩ። “ብዘይቅድመ-ኩነት ክቕበልዎ ቃል ኣትዮምልና እንድዮም፡” ካብ “ተግቢረምዎ እንድዮም” ኣጸቢቑ ከም ዝፍለ ከኣ ዝረአ ዘሎ እዩ። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ኣብ ገዛእ ሃገሩ ተኸሊእዎ ዘሎ ኩሉ መሰላት ካብ ምውሓስ፡ ብነፋሪት ካብን ናብ ኣስመራን ኣዲስ ኣበባን ምምልላስ ከምዘይዓብዮ ከኣ መኻሪ ዝጽበየሉ ክኸውን ኣይግበኦን።
Why are migrants from the Horn flocking to war-torn Yemen?
Written by Idil OsmanBy Idil Osman
In the past few years, hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian and Somali migrants have charted a new route to the Gulf.
Refugees and migrants line up on a Somalia beach to board the boats that will take them across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen. The overcrowded boats can take days to cross. Credit: UNHCR/Alixandra Fazzina.
This is the third part of The Thin Red Line, an African Arguments series focusing on dynamics around the Red Sea.
When Yemen’s civil war erupted in 2015, it was widely expected that migration to the country would nosedive. Typically when a nation goes to war, outsiders stay away for obvious reasons. But in Yemen’s case, the ongoing deadly instability was not enough to deter the 100,000 people that arrived last year or the 117,000 who arrived in 2016. Despite widespread insecurity that has led more than two million Yemenis to flee their homes, migrants continue to disembark on the Gulf nation’s war-torn shores.
Most are from the Horn of Africa. People from this region have been making this journey for decades for trade, religious pilgrimage, economic opportunities, or in times of emergency. The surge in the oil market in the 1970s precipitated a sudden demand for unskilled workers in the Arab Peninsula, and labour migrants have been coming to Yemen since its unification in the early-1990s.
Many of today’s migrants are driven by the same motivations as their predecessors, but there are also important dynamics at play that are unique to now and that are responsible for the continued flows in the face of great dangers. Although happening below the surface and rarely examined, these often perilous and fraught movements of people form a crucial human bond that links the Horn of Africa and the Gulf across the thin Red Sea.
Who is leaving and where?
The first question regarding migration from the Horn of Africa to Yemen and beyond is why people are leaving their homes in the first place. The answer depends on the country.
In Ethiopia, political instability and land scarcity have contributed to a growing number of people leaving the country in the past few years. In Eritrea, indefinite national service and political repression are consistent push factors for the thousands that flee every month. And in Somalia, ongoing insecurity and recurring drought are often cited as the main reasons for departing. But in almost all cases, the hope of greater economic opportunity – and knowing people who have made the journeys before – is also a key factor.
“I chose to migrate because in my youth I have often seen young people in my neighbourhood who succeeded in becoming rich through migration,” said one Ethiopian migrant. “My wife insisted that we leave and search for a better life, rather than staying and living in poor conditions,” explained another.
Of the millions of people in the region that migrate, the majority move internally or to neighbouring countries. Many others travel up the treacherous desert to the North African coast, with Europe the final destination. But hundreds of thousands decide to traverse the Red Sea.
One reason for this is that the Gulf is now part of a new path from the Horn of Africa to Europe. This route allows migrants starting in Somalia to bypass Djibouti, Ethiopia and Eritrea by travelling instead from Puntland, a semi-autonomous region in north-east Somalia, across the sea to Yemen. From here, migrants cross back to Sudan and continue over land.
This route is particularly popular among young Somali men from relatively affluent backgrounds, but a number of Ethiopians also follow this course. First cited in 2015, this journey has grown in popularity. The networks and support structures that facilitate this movement have strengthened significantly, making the route easier – if still highly perilous – to navigate. Smugglers have also started offering tempting “leave now, pay later” schemes. Increased border controls in Sudan and Ethiopia in the wake of insecurity have also added reasons to try circumventing these countries.
Those who stay
Not all migrants who head to the Gulf, however, are on their way to Europe. Some intend to stay in Yemen, seeking jobs in the khat or farming industry or as domestic or low-skilled workers. Others hope to continue on to other more prosperous Gulf States, which are less expensive to reach than Europe.
The most popular destination is Saudi Arabia, where many Ethiopians take up low-skilled or manual jobs in often deplorable conditions. “Migrants’ living conditions are horrible, inhuman. Their rights are not respected,” said one informant. Nonetheless, there are an estimated 400,000 undocumented Ethiopian migrants currently working in Saudi Arabia.
Other migrants who reach Yemen seek asylum. Somalis, for example, enjoy prima facie refugee status in the country. In 2015, there were almost 250,000 Somali refugees in the country, living in camps or urban areas.
Finally, some who end up in Yemen simply find themselves trapped there, their journeys cut short by conflict or lack of funds.
Some migrants eventually return to the Horn of Africa, creating a flow of people back to the continent that also includes tens of thousands of Yemenis. These Gulf migrants rarely have strong diasporic connections to the region and so typically try to settle in Djibouti or Somalia, which are closer and therefore cheaper to reach. Smaller numbers who can afford it try to get to Ethiopia or Sudan, but many more affluent Yemenis opt to travel to the likes of Malaysia, Saudi Arabia or India.
Why the route remains popular
Governments in the region have tried to reduce these irregular flows through regulations, border controls and public awareness campaigns. In 2013, Ethiopia went a step further by banning domestic workers from going to the Middle East in order to protect its citizens from abuse. This decision came shortly after Saudi Arabia deported over a hundred thousand Ethiopians in a violent crackdown on undocumented workers.
The ban, however, did little to stop migration to the Gulf. Its main effect was to force Ethiopian migrants to take more irregular routes in which they are more vulnerable to abuse, exploitation and death. The prohibition was lifted in February 2018.
The popularity of travelling to Yemen has also been largely unaffected by greater restrictions, clampdowns on smugglers, and tighter border controls. In 2016, these measures significantly reduced the numbers of Ethiopians travelling overland to North Africa, but did little to dissuade migrants crossing the sea to the Gulf. The flow of Red Sea arrivals from Djibouti and Somalia held steady, while the number of Ethiopians arriving in Yemen actually increased. The illegal networks facilitating these movements remain resilient and far-reaching.
Even the 2015 outbreak of war in Yemen has not significantly deterred migrants. In fact, many have been encouraged by the breakdown of state institutions in Yemen and subsequent lack of policy and control. They believe (or are led to believe by smugglers) that this vacuum provides an opportunity to enter, travel through, and exit the country unnoticed. The deteriorating situation and lack of legal routes has also helped smugglers and traffickers establish profitable, exploitative and abusive networks that can operate with relative impunity.
“Previously, migration was simple and normal,” said an ex-smuggler in Yemen’s capital Sana’a. “A smuggler was just like a guide who assists you and receives a wage in return. Nowadays, it is different. Smuggling is an organised network of selling humans. This change is due to the greed of smugglers and those who buy and sell human beings.”
Despite the dangers of the routes taken, the often deplorable and traumatic conditions on arrival, and campaigns aimed at deterring migrants, the flow of people from the Horn of Africa to the Gulf remains strong. Moreover, most people who take these journeys do not seem to regret their decisions. As a key informant in Sana’a put it: “If the benefit of migration is measured by the simple amounts that migrants make as income, transfer, and save, then they have benefited”.
These startling and worrying realities call for a different understanding of, and approach to, migration between the Horn of Africa and the Middle East. As thousands continue to migrate in the face of countless threats and hazards that are often made even graver by blunt government measures, policymakers must examine the real effects of their actions on the individuals involved. Rather than repeating the same failed and dangerous policies, they should consider a coordinated approach that protects and assists migrants and expands opportunities for safe regular movement.
Source=http://africanarguments.org/2018/08/09/why-are-migrants-from-the-horn-flocking-to-war-torn-yemen/
More...
The rift in the GCC and diplomatic responses from the IGAD region
Written by Contributor1 July 2017
The Horn of Africa was, and still is, the subject of global competition between Christianity and Islam, extensions of Western colonialism and Ottoman-Egyptian expansion, a US-EU led Western World and Chinese rivalry, the Arab-Israeli conflict, in addition to Iranian and Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) enmity. The Middle Eastern countries have used the Horn of Africa as a battleground for proxy wars and the expansion of various versions of Islam. In recent decades, countries of the GCC and the Horn of Africa have become victims of terrorism and violent extremism, writes Mehari Taddele Maru.
David Hearst, a British expert on Middle East affairs, recently surprised the host of an Al Jazeera TV program when he quipped that the same program might be the last one for the Doha-based TV network. Emphasizing the centrality of Al Jazeera TV in the rift in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), he characterized the crisis as a precursor for a grand regime change conspiracy carried out by the Saudi-led camp supported by the Trump administration. Indeed, looking at the Saudi-led camp’s 13 impossible-to-meet-demands, one is forced to question if this not indeed a demand for regime change.
The Saudi camp constitutes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain with the strong support of Egypt and Israel, and impulsive support from the US. The Qatar camp has strong support from Turkey and tacit support from Iran. Oman and Kuwait remain neutral, with the latter trying to mediate. Other significant players include Israel, Egypt, Iran and Turkey, the latter two being major actors. Iran and Turkey are both key participants in any Middle Eastern geopolitical and geo-economic calculations.
The Saudi-led camp took a strong stand supporting the coup by Field Marshal Abdel Fattah el-Sisi against the erstwhile President of Egypt, Hosni Morsi. The UAE and Egypt took counter-measures against the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood as core diplomatic objectives. Since 2014, President el-Sisi’s government has received USD 25 billion worth of aid from the UAE. With 600 companies, the UAE’s investment in Egypt amounts to USD five billion. Being the most powerful military and political force in the Middle East, with its cultural and historical legacy, as well as hosting the League of Arab States, Egypt has been at the center of Saudi-Iran proxy wars, as well as the rift between the GCC and Turkey’s Erdogan Model for Democracy. Naturally, with strong ties to the GCC and the Western World, these powers have repeatedly made attempts to bring Egypt under their influence by providing various kinds of incentives, including finance. Such financial and other kinds of support to Egypt has come from all the GCC countries apart from Qatar. The Egyptian diaspora in the GCC, and particularly in the UAE exhibits significant influence in numbers and in influence in bureaucratic and business circles. With close to 400,000, Egypt has the third largest diaspora residing in the UAE, following India and Pakistan. Compounded by the UAE’s support of Egypt and Egypt’s rivalry with the Nile riparian countries, the position of some of the countries in East Africa was bound to be cautious.
The theories about the rift within the GCC are all too familiar. Qatar is reportedly a state sponsor of terrorism, and thus needs to be reprimanded and if necessary its leadership toppled. Saudi Arabia is not subject to similar accusations of having abetted some terrorist organizations. On the contrary, countries in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) region, as with other parts of the world, believes that terrorist groups have links to the Saudi-camp too. But more precise reasons for the GCC rift reside somewhere else. The first reason is the independent minded Qatari leadership. Not only the so-called Islamic State Caliphate, but any democratic elements in Qatar such as Al Jazeera, political Islam or elections, also threaten the other sheikdoms of the GCC. The second reason that lies deep within this crisis is the very survival of the Kingdoms and Emirates of the GCC. Since the Arab Spring uprisings and the emergence of the Islamic State (IS) (which seems now on the verge of collapse, at least in the Middle East, as former President of the US, Barack Obama predicted four years ago), the threat to the stability of the ruling monarchies in the GCC has increasingly become critical. In addition to the common front fighting against Iranian dominance, GCC countries are ruled by absolute monarchs who reject any form of republican democratic rule. As a result, they are resistant to any kind of democratic dispensation in the region as well as in the Horn of Africa.
The third reason relates to the rivalry for regional dominance between Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and to an extent Egypt. President Obama’s doctrine of ‘leading from behind’ left the Middle East countries to fend for their peace and security challenges. This strategy suddenly created a leadership vacuum. In order to fill this vacuum, a power struggle emerged between regional powers, mainly Saudi Arabia (leading the GCC), Iran and to some extent Turkey. The fourth reason relates to the current extremely volatile and unpredictable foreign policy decisions of the US, which is dependent on the personality of President Donald Trump. The US President’s decisions have genuinely puzzled many experts and politicians alike. There is also apparent discrepancies between President Trump and his secretaries of State and Defense on the issue of Qatar-GCC relations. If not for Trump’s baffling position, a more nuanced American policy could have easily averted the rift in the GCC.
To be sure, the Saudi-camp is far from a bloc unified in terms of its foreign policy. Except for the GCC’s obvious security dilemma, the Saudi-camp remains amorphous in its foreign policy. The Saudi camp’s attack on Qatar was quickly woven together and it may disintegrate just as quickly.
Three issues serve as the glue between the GCC countries: fear of Iranian politics and religious sectarianism, their status as absolute monarchies unconditionally opposed to any democratic dispensation, and the need for their individual and collective security bolstered by the support of the US. President Trump’s unpredictable foreign policy pronouncement (better call it Trump Twitter diktat) has helped to fortify this glue. Qatar is an outsider in all these unifying factors. Qatar’s relationship with Iran is not as fragile as with Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Qatar’s public space is also relatively more open than Saudi Arabia, and its government is much more progressive than the Saudi-led camp. Qatar allows media outlets such as Al Jazeera to operate and the USA makes use of Qatar as a military base. Qatar serves as a middle ground for various transactions, even with extremist groups such as the Taliban.
Four pillars underpinning the foreign and even domestic policy of the UAE are trade, tourism, counterterrorism (and the rise of Muslim Brotherhood movements), and countering Iranian domination. Islam is not treated as a state doctrine that dictates the policies of the UAE. In contrast, the other Gulf States follow a sharia-led foreign policy that is similar to that of Saudi Arabia. Saudi’s foreign and domestic policy revolves around Sunni Wahhabism, the protection of the holy sites of Mecca and Medina, and the best interests of the ruling Kingdom. Similarly, the core of the foreign policy of Qatar and Kuwait resides in religion and the influence of their respective monarchies.
Now, the rift in the GCC has added another layer of distrust and animosity between some of the IGAD and GCC countries, but has also added fuel to simmering uncertainty, insecurity and animosity among some of the countries in the IGAD region. But, what will be the consequences of the fallout of the GCC rift in the IGAD region?
The GCC rift and its fallout provide quintessential examples of how the IGAD region is intertwined to the Middle East. The two regions belong to the same religious, historical, trade and migration sphere of influence. Geographic proximity to the Red Sea, historical, cultural and religious ties, trade, the diaspora and migration, as well as security closely link the Horn of Africa with the countries of the Middle East. Three Abrahamic religions; Islam, Christianity, and Judaism bind the two regions. The holiest sites of Mecca and Medina, and Jerusalem, are traditional pilgrimage destinations for the various religious adherents in the region. GCC countries host large businesses and diaspora communities as well as migrant laborers from the Horn of Africa, particularly Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea. The link with the Horn of Africa extends to trade in livestock, charcoal and other exports to the UAE and other GCC countries. Similarly, the UAE exports large quantities of merchandise to the Horn of Africa. Recently, the UAE sought to invest in Port management, manufacturing and agriculture in the Horn of Africa.
The Horn of Africa was, and still is, the subject of global competition between Christianity and Islam, extensions of Western colonialism and Ottoman-Egyptian expansion, a US-EU led Western World and Chinese rivalry, the Arab-Israeli conflict, in addition to Iranian and Saudi-led GCC enmity. The Middle Eastern countries have used the Horn of Africa as a battleground for proxy wars and the expansion of various versions of Islam. In recent decades, countries of the GCC and the Horn of Africa have become victims of terrorism and violent extremism. Islamic violent extremist ideological and financial support has its roots and source in the GCC. The Red Sea and the Nile river play critical roles in the relations between the Arab world and the Horn of Africa. For a long time, the diplomatic relations between the GCC and the Horn of Africa were, and currently are, characterized by mutual assured distrust and animosity mainly in religion and security issues. The establishment of GCC military naval and air force bases has exacerbated the distrust even more. While generally following Saudi Arabia, the UAE also competes against Qatar’s increasing global influence, particularly in Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, Egypt, etc. Qatar is a small country with a big diplomatic role in the Horn of Africa. Qatar has played an even more prominent role of mediation in Darfur, Djibouti-Eritrea, and has given direct support to state and non-state political actors in Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia. Enterprisingly, the UAE also aspires to serve as a manufacturing hub by purchasing agricultural products from Africa and the rest of the world, then processing, packing and selling such products internationally. While Qatar will host the football World Cup, Dubai will be similarly hosting the World Trade Exposition. Furthermore, Dubai aims to become a global tourism hub by doubling the current 10 million visitors per annum. The UAE’s trade in Africa has increased, but mainly in the East African Community such as Kenya, Tanzania etc.
The GCC rift is suffocating the Horn of Africa. The Saudi-camp is demanding loyalty from the Horn of Africa. In the IGAD region, while Djibouti, Eritrea, Somalia (Somaliland) supported the Saudi-camp, Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia took a neutral stand. Consistent with its previous position in the Yemen conflict, Ethiopia also adopted a neutral stance in the rift within the GCC. Unlike in the Yemeni conflict, Sudan and Somalia (Somaliland unequivocally supports the Saud-camp) also announced their neutral stance. Obedience to the Saudi camp has characterized Somalia’s position for many years. Attempting to take a neutral stance, the newly formed Federal Government of Somalia has found itself between a rock and a hard place. Somalia’s leadership is acutely aware of its sovereign right to make a foreign policy decision and its dependence for aid on Middle Eastern countries. Close to a million members of the Somalian diaspora live in GCC countries, the biggest concentrations being in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar. They send remittances to their families, engage in exports (mainly livestock, meat, charcoal and fruits), and import consumer items as well as services such as aviation services and shipping operations between Somalia and the UAE.
Djibouti swiftly announced its unequivocal support for the Saudi-camp against Qatar (with the support of Iran and Turkey). Before the GCC rift, the cordial relations between Eritrea and Qatar faced a serious setback after the Libyan uprising in 2011, when GCC countries actively supported NATO’s intervention in Libya. Between 2011-2015, Qatar significantly reduced its engagement with Eritrea, as it boosted its diplomatic and economic engagement with Ethiopia. The GCC rift led to Qatar’s withdrawal from Djibouti-Eritrea, and Eritrea’s takeover of disputed areas. This could trigger a strong Ethio-Djibouti and IGAD reaction against the Eritrean government’s opportunistic belligerent action. For a long time, Sudan had rough relations with the Saudi-led camp (for that matter with all GCC countries except Qatar). Since 1992, when diplomatic relations froze for almost a decade until 1999, Sudan was considered the strongest ally of Iran, the arch foes of the Saudi-led GCC countries. The rapprochement began with the termination of Iranian non-diplomatic activities in Sudan in 2014. Sudan also actively supported the 2011 Libyan uprising and even sent troops to fight against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, who was supporting rebel groups in Sudan aiming to topple President Omar al-Bashir. This was an additional reason for swift rapprochement with the GCC countries. The position of the US in support of the Saudi-camp may also have contributed to the decision of some of the IGAD countries to sever ties with Qatar.
In addition to the rift in the GCC, two other major international crises—mainly the Yemen crisis and the migration crisis in Europe, brought significant changes to diplomatic alliances in the IGAD region. The political conflict in Yemen, which is an extension of the problems of the Middle East, and the migration debacle in the European Union have significant bearings on the diplomatic and power relations of countries of the Horn of Africa. In a bid to gain diplomatic and military support from the Horn of Africa, the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen (fighting the Iranian-supported Houthi rebels) has solicited and gained varied levels of support from states such as Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia, Egypt and more recently, Djibouti. With regard to the Saudi-led coalition in the Yemeni conflict, only Ethiopia maintained its stance of neutrality and did not freeze its diplomatic relations with Iran so as to support Saudi Arabia.
In a bid to stem the flow of refugees from the IGAD region including from Eritrea, the EU, in its crisis mode response, embarked upon a policy of rapprochement with Eritrea and Sudan. Convergence of European financial aid and support may resuscitate the cash-strapped national armies and economies in the region. More critically, Ethiopia’s decade-long policy of military containment and diplomatic isolation of Eritrea is being undermined by powerful actors with interests in the rift within the GCC, the Yemen conflict and the European Migration crisis.
Unrealistic demands by the Saudi-camp have become overly familiar. Now Qatar can reasonably be expected to reject the legitimacy of the sanctions conditions. This makes the rift much harder to fix in the short term. Qatar is trying hard to swim against the tide. Qatar has done well so far in taking the hard decision to withstand the weight of the Saud-led camp plus the policies of President Trump. But that is a tall order to sustain for a long time.
The long-standing cultural, religious and historical ties, economic opportunities, and geographical proximity between the IGAD region and the Middle East make robust cooperation between the two regions natural and desirable. Nevertheless, such ties have done little to foster constructive partnerships. For the IGAD region, a new and urgent reading of the imperatives of foreign relations and diplomacy is in order.
It is reported that in the 1960s a joke went around Budapest about a man buying tea. When asked: which tea do you want- Russian or Chinese? he replied: I will have coffee instead. In the same way, the IGAD region should seek to not be part of any allegiance to any of the warring blocs in a war that is not its own. Africa should only take a stand towards mediated solutions to the GCC rift and other conflicts in the Middle East and in Africa. In such events and crises, no matter how much one plans, circumstances often dictate the results. The outcome of such a rift does not yield benefits to individual country actions. Hence, the IGAD region and for that matter, African cooperation with the Middle East, needs to shift its focus towards the economic front in matters of trade, investment and tourism. The IGAD region presents an excellent opportunity for the Middle Eastern countries for trade and investment due to the size of its population and natural resources. At the same time the IGAD region could benefit immensely from development, investment in Middle Eastern countries and trade with them, particularly in agriculture, skilled labor mobility, livestock and related products and resources, as well as other areas of cooperation.
Ed.’s Note: Mehari Taddele Maru is a specialist in international human rights and humanitarian law, an international consultant on African Union affairs, and an expert in Public Administration and Management. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of The Reporter. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Contributed by Mehari Taddele Maruቃል ሓድነት ኤርትራውያን ንፍትሒ ኣብ ፈስቲቫል ፍራንክፈርት
Written by UEJ - in Festival Frankfurt
ኣባላት ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራን ኣባላት ሃገራዊ ድሕነት ኤርትራ ሕድሪን ኣብ ከተማ ኣትላንታ ኣኼባ ኣካይዶም
Written by EPDP Information Office North Americaብዕለት 5 ነሓሰ ኣባላት ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራን (ሰ.ዲ.ህ.ኤ.)ኣባላት ሃገራዊ ድሕነት ኤርትራ ሕድሪን ኣብ ከተማ ኣትላንታ ሕቡራት ሃገራት ኣመሪካ ናይ ሓባር ኣኼባ ኣካይዶም። ቀንዲ ዛዕባ ኣኼባ ብክልቲኡ መሪሕነታት ዝካይድ ዘሎ ናይ ሓባር ምርድዳእ መሰረት ብምግባር ብዞባን ብጨንፈራትን ደረጃ ናይ ምልላይን ሓቢርካ ምስራሕ መንፍስ ምዕማቍን እዩ። ኣኼባ ብጽቡቅ መንፈስ ትኻይዱ። ኣባላት ሰ.ዲ.ህ.ኤ. ብኣቶ ትኩእ ተስፋይ ኣባል ማእከላይ ባይቶ ክውከሉ ከለዉ፣ ኣባላት ሃገራዊ ድሕነት ኤርትራ ሕድሪ ከኣ ብኣቶ ተክለብርሃን ሃይለ ኣባል መሪሕነትን ናይ ውደባ ሓላፍን እዮም ተወኪሎም። ከምዚ ዓይነት ናይ ስራሕን ምውህሃድን መንፈስ ኣብ ሰሜን ኣመሪካን ኣብ ኩሉ ኵርንዓት ዓለም ክሰፍሑን ክስሱኑን ትጽቢት ኣሎ።
ተመሳሳሊ ሓሳብ ዘለዎም ሓይልታት ኣብ ሓደ ክመጹ ባህርያዊ እዩ።
ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ (ሰዲህኤ) ኣብዚ ዝሓለፈ መዓልታት ክልተ ኣገዳስቲ መድረኻት ኣሰላሲሉ። እዞም መድረኻት ናይ 2018 ፈስቲቫል ኤርትራ ፍራንክፈርትን 9ይ ምዱብ ኣኼባ ማእከላይ ባይቶ ሰዲህኤን እዮም። እዞም መድረኻት ሓደስቲ ዘይኮኑስ ግዜኦም ሓልዮም ክካየዱ ስለ ዝጸንሑ ከም ንቡራት ተግባራት ዝውሰዱ’ኳ እንተኾኑ ምስቲ ሃገርናን ህዝብናን ናብ ሓድሽ ምዕራፍ ይኣትውሉ ኣብ ዘለዉ እዋን ምስልሳሎም ፍሉይ ግምት ዘውህቦም እዩ።
ፈስቲቫላትና ቀንዲ ዕላምኡ ሰብ ጉዳይ ኤርትራውያን ኣብ ሓደ መኣዲ ምርኻብ እዩ። ከምኡ ስለ ዝኾነ እዩ ከኣ ወትሩ ምእንቲ ለውጢ ኣብ ኤርትራ ዝቃለሱ ዘለዉ ኤርትራውያን ፖለቲካዊ ውድባት፡ ሲቪላዊ ማሕበራትን ውልቀ ሰባትን ዝዕደሙን ኣብቲ መድረኽ ቃሎም ከስምዑ ትጽቢት ዝግበረሎምን። ብመንጽር’ዚ ኣብዚ ናይ ሎሚ ዓመት ብዘይሕለል ጻዕሪ ዲሞክራስያዊ ማሕበር ኤርትራን ጨናፍር ሰዲህኤ ኣብ ኤውሮጳን ዝተዳለወ ብዙሓት ዕዱማት ወከልቲ ኤርትራዊ ፖለቲካዊ ውድባትን ሲቪላዊ ምሕበራትን ከምኡ እውን ወጻእተኛታት ፈተውቲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ዝተሳተፉ። ተሳትፈኦም ብዝሒ ጥራይ ዘይኮነ ኣገዳሲ ቁምነገር ብምንጽብራቕ ዝምዘን’ዩ ነይሩ። ኩሎም ኣብዚ ኣገዳስን እዋናውን መድረኽ ቃሎም ዘስምዑ ብዛዕባ ህልዊ ኩነታት ኤርትራን ኣብ ከባቢና ዝረአ ዘሎ ምዕባለን ተመሳሳሊ ሻቕሎት ነይርዎም። ኩሎም ዘቕረብዎ መዋጸኦ እውን ተመሳሳሊ ነይሩ። ንሱ ድማ ዘለካ ዓቕሚ ኣወሃሂድካ ብሓብር ምስራሕ መተካእታ ዘየብሉ ምዃኑ ዘንጸባርቕ ነይሩ።
እንተኾነ ዝሓለፈ ተመኩሮና ክንድህስስ እንከለና፡ እዚ ሓድሽ ጭረሖን ቃል ምእታውን ኣይኮነን። ኣብ ግብሪ እንተዘይውዒሉ ከኣ ከምቲ ናይ ቅድሚ ሕጂ ዘይተተግበረ መብጸዓታት መኺኑ ክተርፍ እዩ። ስለዚ እቲ ኣብቲ መድረኽ ቃል ዝተኣትወሉ ኣብ ግብሪ ክውዕል ዝያዳ ትብዓትን ጹረትን ክሓተና እዩ። ምስዚ ኤርትራን ህዝባን ዝኣትዉዎ ዘለዉ ሽፉን ናብቲ ናይ ቅድሚ ሕጂ ንድሌት ህዝብና ዝጨወየ ደልሃመት ከየእትወና ዘየስግእ ኣይኮነን። ኣብ ኤርትራ ዝገዝእ ዘሎ ጉጅለ ከምቲ ልማዱ ብውልቃዊ ምልካዊ ኣካይዳ ተሰንዲሑ ንህዝብና ኣብ ጉዳዩ ከይፈልጥ ዓቢጥዎ ይቕጽል ኣሎ። ስለዚ እዚ ተርእዮ እዚ ሓቢርካ ንምስራሕ ካብ ምጭራሕ ሓሊፍና ኣብ ተግባር ክንኣቱ ሓላፍነት ከሰክመና ግድን እዩ። ከምዚ እንተዘይጌርና ግና ብታሪኽ እውን ከሕትተና እዩ። እንተ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ግና ዋጋ ደኣ የኽፍሎ እምበር ከምቲ ናይ ቅድሚ ሕጂ መፍቶ ህግደፍ ክኸውንዩ ዝብል ስግኣት የብልናን።
በዚ ኣጋጣሚ እቲ ኣብ ፈስቲቫል ፍራንክፈርት ዝተንጸባረቐ ስምዒት ኣብቶም ዝተሳተፉ ወገናት ዝድረት ዘይኮነ ናይ ኩሉ ደላይ ሰላም፡ ፍትሕን ዲሞክራስን ህዝብና ስምዒት ምዃኑ ብመንጽርቲ ኣብኡ ዝቐረበ መድረታት ርዱእ ስለ ዝኾነ፡ ኣብ ግብሪ ናይ ምዓሉ ሓላፍነት እውን ብቀንዱ ናይ ህዝቢ ምዃኑ ክዝንጋዕ ኣይግባእን። ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ምስ ኢትዮጵያ ኣብ ሓድሽ ምዕራፍ ስለ ዝተኣትወ ኣዛራቢ ኮይኑ ኣሎ። እዚ ዕድል ብምፍጣሩ ብዙሓት ተረሓሒቖም ዝጸንሑ ወገናትና ካብን ናብን ኣስመራን ኣዲስ ኣበባን ብቐሊሉ ክመላለሱ ምኽኣሎም ኣገዳሲ ስጉምቲ እዩ። እንተኾነ እዚ ብፋላይ ንኤርትራ ኣብ ዝምልከት ናብቲ መሰረታዊ ፍታሕን ራህዋን ንምብጻሕ መንጠሪ ባይታ እምበር ናይ መወዳእታ ሸቶ ከምዘይኮነ፡ ህዝብና ከስተብህል ይግበኦ። ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ነቲ ቀንዲ ጸገም ብናይ መገሻ ዕድል ክሽፍኖ ዝገበሮ ፈተነ ከነስተብህለሉ ይግበኣና። ተፈላሊኻ ጸኒሕካ ምርኻብ ጽቡቕ ዕድል ኮይኑ፡ እቲ መሰረታዊ ጠለብ ዘተኣማምን ሰላም፡ ፍትሒ፡ ዲሞክራሲ፡ ምኽባር ኩሉ መሰላት … ውዘተ ህዝብና ግና ጌና ኣይረወየን። ንሱ እዩ ከኣ እቲ ቀንዲ ጉዳይና። እቲ ሰላም ምስ ኢትዮጵያ ዘይንጸልኦ’ኳ እንተኾነ እቲ ቀንዲ ንብህግን ንቃለሰሉን ግና ዘተኣማምን ሰላም ኣብ ኤርትራ እዩ።
ፈስቲቫል ኤርትራ ፍራንክፈርት በይኑ ዘይኮነ ምስቶም ኣብ ፈስቲቫላት ስቶክሆልምን ኣትላንታን ዝተቓልሑ ጭረሖታት ኣሳኒና ኣብ ግብሪ ከነውዕሎም ይግበኣና። ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ከኣ ከምቲ ጀሚርዎ ዘሎ ምስ ኩሎም ሓይልታት ለውጢ ብሓባር ዘስርሕ መድረኽ ናይ ምጥጣሕ ጻዕሩ ክቕጽሎ እዩ።
ምስዚ ብዝተሓሓዘ ቅድምን ድሕርን ፈስቲቫል ፈስቲቫል ፍራንክፈርት ክካየድ ዝጸንሐ 9ይ ምዱብ ኣኼባ ማእከላይ ባይቶ ሰዲህኤ ተዛዚሙ ኣሎ። ኣኼባ ባይቶ ከምቲ ድሕሪ ምዝዝዛሙ ኣብ ዘውጸኦ መግለጺ ጠቒስዎ ዘሎ፡ ኣብዚ ኣብ ከባቢና ዝረአ ዘሎ ንኤርትራ ኣጸቢቑ ዝጸሉ ምዕባለታት ሓዲርዎ ዘሎ ሻቕሎት ገሊጹ ኣሎ። ካብዚ ሓሊፉ በቲ ክሳብ ሕጂ ኣብ ስረሓትና ብዘርኣናዮ ድኽመት ጥራይ ዘይኮነ በቲ ክንገብሮ እንዳኸኣልና ዘይገብርናዮ ከም ዝሻቐል እውን ኣንጸባሪቑ ኣሎ። ኣኼባ ባይቶ ብዛዕባ ብዙሓት ሰልፋውን ከባብያውን ጉዳያት’ኳ እንተዘተየ እቲ ቀንዲ ዝተገደሰሉ ብሓባር ክንሰርሕ ዘይምኽኣልና ጸገም ዝስገረሉ መንገዲ ምምሃዝ እዩ። ሰዲህኤ ተስፋኡ ኣብዚ መዳይ ክሳብ ሕጂ ዘይተፈተነ ኣገባብ ኣብ ምምሃዝ ዘይኮነ፡ እቲ ሓቢሩ ክሰርሕ ዝግበኦ ኣካላት ካብ ናይ ክሳብ ሕጂ ተመኩሮኡ ተማሂሩ፡ ንነብሱ ፈትሹን ናይ ክሳብ ሕጂ ድኽመቱ ርእዩን ዝሓሸ መንገዲ ንክሕዝ ህልዊ ኩነታትና ከድርኾ’ዩ ዝብል እዩ። ደጊም ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ብዙሕ ሓባቢእዎ ክኸይድ ዝጸንሐ ተንኮላት ተቐሊዑ እዩ። ካብ ሕጂ ክሕባእ እንተኾይኑ ኣብ ድኽመት ናይቶም ንለውጢ ንቃለሰ ዘለና እዩ። ኣብ ህግደፍ ዝረአ ድኽመትን ሃጓፍን ከም ናይ ቃልሲ መሕየሊ እንተዘይተጠቂምናሉ ባዕሉ ዓወት ኣይከውንን እዩ። ኣብዚ ብጉዳይ ምዝርጋሕ መመሓላለፊ ነዳዲ መስመር ካብ ወደብ ዓሰብ ናብ ኣዲስ ኣበባ ኤርትራ ዘየብሉ መንግስታት ኢማራትን ኢትዮጵያን ተፈራሪሞም ዝብል ወግዓዊ ዜና ዝዝርገሓሉ ዘሎ እዋን ብሓባር ሰሪሑ ከድምዕ ብሓባር ተዛሪቡ ከስምዕ ዘይበራበር ኤርትራዊ ክህሉ እዩ ዝብል ግምት የብልናን። እቲ ምብርባር ኣድማዒ ንክኸውን ግና ውዱብን ውህዱን ክኸውን ከም ዝግበኦ ሰዲህኤ ይኣምንን ይቃለሰሉን።
