EPDP Condemns Shagarab Mayhem by Sudanese Security; Regrets UNHCR Failure to Give Protection
Written by EPDP Information Office
EPDP Information Office
In an urgent Christmas-day message to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) regretted the continued failure of UNHCR to protect refugees and condemned the mayhem carried out by the Sudanese security forces at the Shagarab camp on 24 and 25 December 2014
The memorandum stated that following the drowning of about 28 out of 30 Eritrean refugees in the Setit-Atbara River on Christmas Eve of 2014, misunderstandings flared up between the locals and the refugees.
By taking this excuse to intervene, the Sudanese security forces have invaded the Shagarab camp and committed untold atrocities. They mindlessly beat camp residents, burned their improvised shacks, and looted property. The security forces also loaded to army vehicles nearly 1,000 young people under duress and reportedly took them to the Ghirba region. They are currently threatening to send them to Eritrea
UNHCR’s Antonio Guterres while on visit to Shagarab camp on 12 January 2012
The EPDP message also informed UN High Commissioner Antonio Guterres that well over 50 camp residents, many of them with seriously broken hands and legs, are reportedly in hospital. Many refugees who fled from the camp are also scattered around the region and are under the fear of being taken hostage by the Rashaida human traffickers in east Sudan.
The memo further expressed anger and frustration with Sudan’s and UNHCR’s continued failure to protect the residents of the reception camp at Shararab which has been under the constant threat of human traffickers and their accomplices in the Sudanese security forces.
The EPDP memo recalled the High Commissioner’s visit to the camp in January 2012 and his promise to boost protection to the residents from all abusers in the region. Unfortunately, what followed in January 2013 was the tragic incident of January 2013 in which 8 camp residents were taken hostage from inside the camp only a year after that visit, the memo added.
This memorandum underlined the inescapable responsibility of the Sudand and the UNHCR for what is going on at Shagarab now, and that they should have done all what it needed to protect the affected Eritrean refugees.
The EPDP memo, which was copied to the government of the Sudan, concerned EU offices, and the UN Permanent Missions to regional Europe office in Geneva, also called on the international community to make pressure bear on the Sudan not to forcibly hand over the Eritrean refugees to the criminal regime in Eritrea.
EPDP Condemns Shagarab Mayhem by Sudanese Security; Regrets UNHCR Failure to Give Protection
Written by EPDP Information Office
In an urgent Christmas-day message to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) regretted the continued failure of UNHCR to protect refugees and condemned the mayhem carried out by the Sudanese security forces at the Shagarab camp on 24 and 25 December 2014.
The memorandum stated that following the drowning of about 28 out of 30 Eritrean refugees in the Setit-Atbara River on Christmas Eve of 2014, misunderstandings flared up between the locals and the refugees.
By taking this excuse to intervene, the Sudanese security forces have invaded the Shagarab camp and committed untold atrocities. They mindlessly beat camp residents, burned their improvised shacks, and looted property. The security forces also loaded to army vehicles nearly 1,000 young people under duress and reportedly took them to the Ghirba region. They are currently threatening to send them to Eritrea
The EPDP message also informed UN High Commissioner Antonio Guterres that well over 50 camp residents, many of them with seriously broken hands and legs, are reportedly in hospital. Many refugees who fled from the camp are also scattered around the region and are under the fear of being taken hostage by the Rashaida human traffickers in east Sudan.
The memo further expressed anger and frustration with Sudan’s and UNHCR’s continued failure to protect the residents of the reception camp at Shararab which has been under the constant threat of human traffickers and their accomplices in the Sudanese security forces.
The EPDP memo recalled the High Commissioner’s visit to the camp in January 2012 and his promise to boost protection to the residents from all abusers in the region. Unfortunately, what followed in January 2013 was the tragic incident of January 2013 in which 8 camp residents were taken hostage from inside the camp only a year after that visit, the memo added.
This memorandum underlined the inescapable responsibility of the Sudand and the UNHCR for what is going on at Shagarab now, and that they should have done all what it needed to protect the affected Eritrean refugees.
The EPDP memo, which was copied to the government of the Sudan, concerned EU offices, and the UN Permanent Missions to regional Europe office in Geneva, also called on the international community to make pressure bear on the Sudan not to forcibly hand over the Eritrean refugees to the criminal regime in Eritrea.
ኣብ ደንበ ተቓውሞና፡ እቲ ኣድማዕነቶም ደኣ ከምቲ ባህግና ኣይኮነን እምበር፡ በብግዜኡ ዝለዓሉ መዛረቢ ኣጀንዳታት ብዙሓት እዮም። ብውድባት ዝግበር ምንቅስቓሳት፡ ብማሕበራት ዝግበሩ ንጥፈታት፡ ካብ ሓደ ንላዕሊ ውድባት ብሓባር ዘንቅድዎ መድረኻት በብግዜኡ ኣጀንዳና ኮይኖም ይቐርቡ። እዞም ተበግሶታት ብቐንዶም ነናቶም ዘንቀልዎም ውድባት ወይ ማሕበራት ዝምልከቱ’ኳ እንተኾኑ፡ ኣብ ሕድሕዶም ምትእስስሳርን ምጽልላውን ስለ ዝህልዎም ኩሉ ኣካላት ደንበ ተቓውሞ ክግደሰሎምን ክዛረበሎም ውሁብ እዩ። ምናልባት ገለ ወገናት እቲ ካልእ ብዛዕባአቶም ክዛረብ እንከሎ “እዚ ናትና ጉዳይ እንድዩ፡ እገለ ውድብ ወይ ማሕበር እንታይ ገደሶ ዝትንክፈና” ዝብል ስምዒት ይሓድሮም ይኸውን። ግደ ሓቂ ንምዝራብ ግና ዘይሩ ዘይሩ ኣብቲ ንኹልና ማዕረ ዝብጸሓና ኤርትራዊ ፖለቲካዊ ሜዳ ዝግበር ጸወታ ስለ ዝኾነ ኩሉ ኤርትራዊ ናይ ተቓውሞ ሓይሊ ጥራይ ዘይኮነ፡ ኩሉ ኤርትራዊ ሚዛኑ ከንብረሉ ናይ ግድን እዩ። ወረ ብዓይኒ ቅንዕና ክረኣይ እንከሎስ ሓጋዚ እዩ። ነናትና ፖለቲካዊ ኣረኣእያ እምበር ነናትና ኤርትራ ከም ዘየብልና ኸዓ ክንዝንግዕ ኣይግበኣናን። እቲ ክዝውተር ዘይግበኦ፡ እንተ ተዘውቲሩ ከዓ ጸገም ዝፈጥር፡ ሓደ ውድብ ወይ ማሕበር ነቲ ካልእ ወገን ኢዱ ጠውዩ ኣብቲ ናቱ ክሊ ክኣስሮ ክፍትን እንከሎ ጥራይ እዩ። ምኽንያቱ ምግዳድ ብትሕዝቶኡ ዓመጻዊ እምበር ደሞክራሲያዊ ስለ ዘይኮነ።
ኣብ ዝተፈላለየ ከባቢ ዝነጥፉ ፖለቲካዊ ሓይልታት ከከም ናይቲ ዝዋስእሉ ፖለቲካዊ ንፋስን ዝርከብሉ መድረኽን ቀዳምነት ዝህብዎ ዛዕባታት ክፈላለ ናይ ግድን እዩ። ብመንጽር እዚ ኣብ ደንበ ተቓውሞ ኤርትራ ጉዳይ ፍልልያትካ ዓቂብካ ብሓባር ክትሰርሕ ምኽኣልን ዘይምኽኣልን ኣብ ቅድሚት ዝስራዕ ኣጀንዳ ካብ ዝኸውን ሓያሎ ዓመታት ኮይኑ ኣሎ። እዚ ኣጀንዳ’ዚ ዘይስገር ምዃኑ ዘመልክት ከዓ እቲ ንዝያዳ 16 ዓመታት ዝተገብረ ግና ኸዓ ክሳብ ሕጂ ዘይተዓወተ መስርሕ ምስክር እዩ። ንዘይምዕዋቱ ብዙሓት ምኽንያታት ክህልዎ ዝኽእል ኮይኑ፡ ብሓጺሩ ግና፡ ናይ ደንበ ተቓውሞና ደሞክራሲያዊነት፡ ግሉጽነት፡ ምጽውዋርን ተወፋይነትን ዓቕሚ ውሱንነት ሓደ ኮይኑ፡ ንዘፈላልዩን ዘሰማምዑን ብግቡእ ከተለልን ክትውግንን ዘይምኽኣል፡ ንናይ ምልዋጥ ዓቕምና ኣብ ምልክት ሕቶ ዘእትዎ ምዃኑ ክንእመነሉ ዝግበኣና ሕጽረት እዩ። ካብቶም ኣብዚ ብሓባር ክንሰርሕ ናይ ምፍታን ጉዕዞና ዝተራእዩ ተመኩሮታት እዚ ሕጂ ዘዛርብ ዘሎ ጉዳይ ሃገራዊ ባይቶ ንደሞክራሲያዊ ለውጢ ምዃኑ ንርእዮ ኣለና። እዚ ጌና ክሳብ ሕጂ ወይ ዘየድመዐ ወይ ድማ ብኻብኡ ዝሓሸን ዝሰፈሐን መድረኽ ዘይተተከአ ዘሎ ሃገራዊ ባይቶ፡ ክሳብ ክንደይ ግቡእ ምኽያቱ ኣብ ዘይተነጸረ ጐንጽታት፡ ምስሕሓባትን ምምንጫትን ከም ዝጸንሐ፡ ብዓብይኡ ነቶም ኣብኡ በብደረጃኡ ክዋስኡ ዝጸንሑ ኣካልት ንጹር እዩ። ነቶም ኣብ ከባቢኡ ኮይና ክንዕዘቦ ዝጸናሕና እውን ስዉር ኣይኮነን።
እቶም ቀንዲ ተዋሳእቲ ባይቶ፡ ናይዚ ኩሉ ሽንኮለል ጠንቂ እዩ ዝብልዎ ሚዛን ክህልዎም ናይ ግድነት እዩ። መፍትሒ ኢሎም ወሲደምዎ ዘለዉ ስጉምቲ ድማ ካብዚ ሚዛኖም’ዩ ዝነቅል። እቶም ነቲ ኩነታት ብቐረባ ግና ድማ ካብ ክሊ መድረኽ ሃገራዊ ባይቶ ወጻኢ ኮይና እንከታተል ኤርትራውያን “ናይ ሃገራዊ ባይቶ ጸግም እዩ” እንብሎ ሚዛን ክህልወና ናይ ግድን እዩ። ተቐራሪብካ ምዝታይ ካብ ዘድልየሉ ምኽንያታት ከዓ ነዚ ክልተ ሚዛናት ናብ ሓደ ንምምጻእን ዘየዳግም ናይ ሓባር መፍትሒ ከተቕርብ ንምኽኣልን እዩ። ባይቶ ጸገማቱ ኣወጊዱ እንብል ድማ ነዚ ናይ ሓባር ገምጋም ኣብ ግምት ዘእተወ ስጉምቲ ምስ ዝወስድ እዩ። ኣብዚ ቀረባ መዓልታት ሃገራዊ ባይቶ ህጹጽ ኣኼባ ኣካይዱ፡ ኣብ መሪሕነት ባይቶ፡ ፈጻሚ ኣካልን ኣሰናዳኢት 2ይ ጉባአኡን ኮይኖም ዝሰርሑ ዝነበሩ ኣባላቱ ኣውሪዱ ብኻልኦት ኣባላት ተኪእዎም ኣሎ። እዚ ድማ ባይቶ እቲ ጸገም ኣብቲ ሜዳ ዘይኮነስ ኣብቶም ተጻወቲ እዩ ዝብል ገምጋም ከም ዝነበሮ ዘመላኽእት እዩ። ብናተይ ሚዛን ግና ኣብ ብቕዓት ናይቶም ዝጸንሑ ኣባላት መሪሕነት ብቕዓት ኣፈይ መሊአ ዝከራኸረሉ’ኳ እንተዘየብለይ እቲ ቀንዲ ሽግር ኣብቲ መጻወቲ ሜዳ እዩ ዝብል ግምት’ዩ ዘለኒ’ሞ ብምሉእ ልበይ እቲ ኩነታት በቲ ተወሲዱ ዘሎ ስጉምቲ ተፈዊሱ’ዩ ኣይብልን። “እቲ ኣወራርዳን ኣተኻኽኣን፡ ኣብ ሓደ ብርኪ ናይ መሪሕነት ብሓደ ይሰርሑ ንዝነበሩ ኣባላት ብሓደ ዓይኒ ዝፈረደን ዝርዝር ገምጋም ሂቡ ነናቶም ተሓታትነት ከነጽር ስለ ዘይከኣለ፡ ንጥዑይን ሕሙምን ብሓደ ዘንቢል ዝጐሓፈ ናይ ፈራሕ ኣተሓሕዛ’ዩ” ናይ ዝብሉ ወገናት ርኢቶ እንተሓወስካሉ ከዓ እቲ ዝተወስደ ስጉምቲ ዝያዳ ዘተሓሳስብን ንዓቕሚ ናይቲ ባይቶ መሊሱ ዘዳኽምን’ዩ ዝኸውን።
ሰልፊ ደሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ንሃገራዊ ባይቶ ኮነ ንኻልኦት ኣብቲ ባይቶ ዘየለዉ ናይ ለውጢ ሓይልታት ብዝምልከት ቅድሚ ሕጂ ዘንበሮ ሚዛናትን ከም መዋጸኦ ዝኣመቶ መፍትሕታትን ብዙሕ ዝርዝር ዘለዎ ኮይኑ ኣሕጺርካ ንምቕራቡ፡ “እቲ መድረኽ ጸቢብ እዩ። ካብዚ ዝሰፈሐን ብዙሓት እቲ ጉዳይ ዝምልከቶም ኣካላት ዘሳትፍን ከም ዝኸውን ንምግባሩ ጌና ጻዕሪ የድልዮ። ኣብዚ ዘለናዮ መድረኽ፡ ኣብ ክንዲ ውሑዳት ኮይንካ ብብዙሓት ጉዳያት እትሰማማዓሉ፡ ብዙሓት ኮይንካ ኣብ ውሑዳት ጉዳያት እትሰማማዓሉ መድረኽ ምኽፋት’ዩ ዝምረጽ” ብዝብል ምጥቕላሉ ዝከኣል እዩ። ካብቲ ካብ ነዊሕ ግዜ ጀሚሩ ካብዚ ኣብ ጸቢብ መድረኽ ምኹዳድ ኣውጺኡ ኣብ ሰፊሕ መድረኸ ከዋሰኣና ይኽእል እዩ ኢሉ ከቕርቦ ዝጸንሐ ርኢቶታት እቲ ኣብዚ ቀረባ ግዜ ኣብ 4ይ ስሩዕ ኣኼባ ባይቶኡ “ሃገራዊ ባይቶ ንዲሞክራስያዊ ለውጢ፡ መድረኽ ንሃገራዊ ዘተ፡ ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራን ካልኦት ኣብ ሃገራዊ ባይቶ ዘይተወከሉ ውድባትን ሲቪላውያን ማሕበራትን ዝርከብዎ ንህልዊ ኵነታትን ሃለዋት ደምበ ተቓውሞን ንምፍታሽን መፍትሒታት ምቕራብን ዝዓለመ ሰሚናር ኣብ ሓጺር ግዜ ክግበር ኣድላዪነቱ ዕዙዝ ምዃኑ ርእዩ።” ብዝብል ዘቕረቦ መጸዋዕታ ብኣውንታዊ ኣብነት ዝጥቀስ እዩ። እዚ መጸዋዕታዚ ብቐጥታ ካብ ዝቐረበሎም ኤርትራዊ ናይ ተቓውሞ ኣካላት ሓደ እዚ ኣብዚ ቀረባ መዓልታት ተኣኪቡ ዝቐነየ መሪሕነት ባይቶ እዩ። እዚ መሪሕነት ባይቶ ነዚ እዋናውን ርትዓውን መጸዋዕታ መልሲ ንክህብ ክንጽበዮ ባህርያዊ ነይሩ። እቲ ብደረጃ ብውልቀ ኣባላት ባይቶ ዝስማዕ ናይ ጽቡቕ ድሌት ዕላል ከም ዘለዎ ኮይኑ፡ ክሳብ ሕጂ ብዕሊ ዝወጹ ናይቲ ሓድሽ መሪሕነት መግለጽታት ብቐጥታ ናብዚ መጸዋዕታ ዘቕነዐ የለን። ምናልባት ኣማዕዲኻ ዝረአ ናብዚ መጸዋዕታ ዝጠመተ ዝመስል እቲ በታ ሓዳስ ፈጻሚት ሽማግለ ብ24 ታሕሳስ 2014 ኣብ ዝተዘርግሐ ጋዜጣዊ መግለጺ “ካብ ኤሃባደለ ወጻኢ ኮይኖም ንደሞክራስያዊ ለውጢ ዝቃለሱ ውድባት ይኹኑ ስቪክ ማሕበራትን ኣብ ክሊ እዚ ጽላል ዓቕምታቶም ጠሚሮም ብሓባር ንምቕላስ ተሳትፍኦም ከዕዝዙ፡ ክላዘቦም ቅሩብ ምዃኑ በዚ ኣጋጣሚ እዚ እውን ከረጋግጽ ይፈቱ።” ዝብል ንዕዘብ። ብናተይ እምነት እዚ ኣበሃህላ’ዚ ውጽኢቱ ኣብ መስርሕ ዝረአ ኮይኑ፡ ሓደ ዘተባብዕን ሓደ ዘሰክፍን ሓረጋት ዝሓዘ ኮይኑ ይረኣየኒ። እቲ ዝተባብዕ እቲ “ክላዘቦምቅሩብምዃኑ” ዝብል ኮይኑ እቲ ዘሰክፍ ከዓ እቲ “ኣብክሊእዚጽላል” ዝብል ቅድመ ኩነት እዩ። ኣብ ልዝብ ቅድመ ኩነት በቲ ሓደ ወገን ናይቲ ኣቕራቢ ቅድመ ኩነት ኣገዳድነት በቲ ካልእ ወገን ከዓ ናይቲ ቅድመ ኩነት ዝቐርቦ ኣካል ድሩትነት ዘንጸባርቕ ዘይደሞክራሲያዊ ኣቀራርባ ስለ ዝኾነ። እቲ ቅኑዕን ኣብ ውጽኢት ዝበጽሕን ዘተ ነናትካ ዓቕሚ ሒዝካ፡ ብናይ ኢንካን ሃባን መትከል ተገዚኣካ፡ ኣብ ማእከል ትራኽበሉ እምበር፡ እቲ ሓደ ወገን ኣብቲ በይኑ ዝመረጾ ቦታ ጠጠው ኢሉ፡ ነቲ ኣብ መንጐኦም ዘሎ ርሕቀት እቲ ሓደ በይኑ ክጐዓዞ ብዘገድድ ክኸውን ኣይግበኦን። በዚ ኣጋጣሚ መሪሕነት ባይቶ “ክዛተ” ካብ በለ ድኻሙ ከይጸብጸበ ንምሉእ መስርሕ ሓቀኛ ዘተ ክቕበል ምዝኽኻሩ ኣገዳሲ’ዩ።
ሰደህኤ ምስ ባይቶ ይኹን ምስ ዝኾነ ናይ ለውጢ ሓይሊ፡ ሓቢርካ ንምስራሕ ዘቕርቦ ምርጫ ሰፊሕ እዩ። ነቲ ኣቐዲመ ዝጠቐስኩዎ መጸዋዕታ ኣብ ዘቕረበሉ ኣጋጣሚ “ሰዲህኤ፡ ነቲ ኣብ ቀዳማይ ጕባኤኡ ዘጽደቖ ተመሳሳሊ ፖለቲካዊ መደብ ዕዮ ዘለዎም ውድባት ክሰምሩ፣ ናብ ፍጹም ምጽንባር ክበጽሑ ዘይክእሉ ውድባት ድማ ብዝተሓተ ነጥብታት ተሰማሚዖም ኣብ ትሕቲ ሓደ ጽላል ሓቢሮም ክሰርሑን ዘለዎ እምነት ደጊሙ ብምዝኽኻር፡ ኵሎም ተቓወምቲ ንተግባራውነቱ ብዕቱብ ክሰርሑ ጸዊዑ።” ዝበሎ ከዓ ናይዚ ኣብነት እዩ። እዚ ኣበሃህላ’ዚ ከም ዘመልክቶ፡ ሃገራዊ ባይቶ ነቲ ዝጻወተሉ ዘሎ ፖለቲካዊ ሜዳ ካብዚ ንላዕሊ ከስፈሖ ምርጫኡ ተዘይኮይኑ፡ ኣብታ ዘለዋ ሜዳኡ ኮይኑ፡ ንገዛእ ርእሱ ውድብ ድዩ ግንባር ሰይሙ፡ ምስ ሰደህኤን ካልኦት ኣብ ባይቶ ዘየለዉ ናይ ለውጢ ሓይልታትን ዘስርሕ ዝሰፈሐ ፖለቲካዊ ሜዳ ምምድማድ’ውን ከም ዝከኣል ኣመልኪቱ ኣሎ። እቲ ሓደ እዋን ኣብ መንጎ ባይቶን ካብ ባይቶ ወጻኢ ዘለዉ ኣካላትን ዝነበረ ናይ ምንጽጻግን መንፈስ ተዳኺሙ፡ ባይቶ’ውን ካብቲ “ኣነ እየ በይናዊ ወኪል ተቓውሞ ኤርትራ” ዝብሎ ዝነበረ ናብ ልቡ ተመሊሱ፡ እቲ ናይ ምድልላይን ምጽውዋዕን ስምዒት እንዳዓበየ ምኻዱ ተስፋ ዝህብ’ዩ። እንተኾነ ብሓቀኛን ምዕሩይን ዘተ ኣቢልካ መእሰሪ ክሳብ ዘይተገብረሉ ናይ ለውጢ መሳርሒ ክኸውን ከም ዘይክእል ክሰሓት ኣይግበኦን።
26 ታሕሳስ 2014
في الرابع والعشرين من ديسمبر 2014م وبينما كان ثلاثون لاجئاً ارترياً في عرض نهر عطبرة علي مركب خشبي هاربين من معسكر اللاجئين بالشجراب بالسودان، غرق بهم المركب، وبعد البحث عثر علي ثمان جثث واثنين من الناجين ولم يعرف بعد مصير البقية. ولا يزال البحث جارياً.
وعندما أبلغ الناجون زملاءهم بالمعسكر بأنهم قد تعرضوا للضرب من قبل سكان المنطقة قام 8 من زملائهم الغاضبين بضرب كل من صادفهم من السكان واختطاف اثنين منهم. وقد تم تحرير أحد المختطفين بواسطة الشرطة، بينما لم يعثر للآخر علي أثر.
في صباح اليوم التالي حاصر الجيش السوداني المعسكر وجمعوا ساكنيه في صعيدٍ واحد وأحرقوا المساكن، وأخذ حوالي الألف من سكان المعسكر بواسطة السيارات الي مدينة خشم القربة، علماً أن من هؤلاء اللاجئين من يحمل بطاقة هوية اللجوء ومنهم من لا يحمل، وهناك مخاوف من أن لا يطرد هؤلاء جميعاً الي بلادهم ارتريا قسراً. أما المفوضية الأممية العليا للاجئين فلم تتخذ حتى الآن أي خطوة أو إجراء ملموس تجاه هذه الحادثة.
መንእሰይ በረኸት ይፍጠር፡ ከዳነ፡ ንነዊሕ እዋን ድሕሪ ምሕማሙ፡ ብ ታሕሳስ 23 2014 ኣብ ሳንታሮዛ፡ ካሊፎርንያ፡ ብምዕራፉ፡ ንስድራ ቤቱን ኩሎም ፈተውቱን ወርዲዎም ዘሎ መሪር ሓዘን፡ ንሕና ኣባላት ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ በይ ኤርያ ተኻፈልቲ ምዃና ንገልጽ።
መንእሰይ በረኸት፡ ኣሰር ስዉእ ኣቡኡ ኣባል ተሓኤ ሰውራዊ ባይቶ ነፍሰሄር ይፍጠር ኪዳነ ከይለቐቐ፡ ንኤርትራዊ ሰላም፡ ንፍትሒ፡ ንስርዓተ ሕጊ ዝተቓለሰ፡ መንእሰይ ምዃኑ ንቤተ ሰቡ ጥራይ ዘይኰነስ ንዓና ሰዲህኤን ንመላእ ኤርትራዊ ማሕበረሰብን ዓቢ ክሳራ እዩ።
ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቤ ኤርትራ፡ ንበረኸት፡ መንግስተሰማይ የዋርሶ እናበለ ንስዳቤቱን ንመላእ ኤርትራዊ ማሕበረ ሰብ ሳንታሮዛን ድማ ጽንዓት ይሃብኩም ይብል።
ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ
በይ ኤርያ፡ ካሊፎርንያ
ቀጺልና፡ ካብ ቤተ ሰብ ዝመንጨወ ናይ ፍትሓትን ስነ ስርዓት ቀብርን ነስዕብ፥
ካብ 30 ስደተኛታት 2 ድሒኖም፡ ናይ 8 ሪሳታት ተረኺቡ፡ ዝተረፉ ግን ሃለዋቶም ኣይተፈልጠን
Written by እሙናት ምንጪታት ካብ ሱዳንቅድሚ ክልተ መዓልታት 30 ዝዀኑ ኤትራውያን ስደተኛታት ካብ መደበር ሸገራብ ሃዲሞም ንሩባ ዓጥባራ (ተከዘ) ብዕንጨይቲ ዝተሰርሐ ጃልባ ገይሮም ክሰግሩ እንከለዉ እታ ጃልባ ጥሒ፡ 2 ክድሕኑ ከለዉ፣ 8 ሬሳታት ድማ ተአረኺቡ። ዝተረፉ ግን ሃለዋቶም ክሳብ ሕጂ ኣይተፍልጠን። ሬሳታት ናይ ምፍታሽ ስራሕ ግን ጌና ቀጻሊ ኣሎ።
እቶም ካብ'ቲ ሓደጋ ዝደሓኑ ናብ መደበር ሸገራብ ድሕሪ ምምላሶምን ብገለ ተቐማጦ ናይ'ቲ ከባቢ ከምዝተሃርሙ ድሕሪ ምሕባሮምን፡ 8 ዝተቘጥዑ መንእሰያት ካብ'ቲ መደበር ናብ'ታ ቍሸት ከይዶም ንዝረኸብዎም ነበርቲ ናይ'ታ ዓዲ ሃሪሞም፡ ን2 ድማ ጨውዮም ወሲዶም። ሓደ ካብ'ቶም ዝተጨውዩ ብፖሊስ ሓራ ክወጽእ እንከሎ፡ እቲ ካልእ ግን ኣበይ ከምዝኣተወ ኣይተፈልጠን።
ንጽባሒቱ፡ ሰራዊት ሱዳን መጺኡ ነቲ መደበር ስደተኛታት ብምኽባብ ነቶም ስደተኛታት ኣብ ሓደ ቦታ ብምእካብ ብርክት ዝበሉ ገዛውቲ ኣቃጺሎም። ከባቢ 1,000 ዝዀኑ ስደተኛታት ድማ ብመኻይን ጽዒኖም ናብ ግርባ ገጾም ወኢዶሞም። እዞም ስደተኛታት እዚኣቶም ገሊኦም ናይ ስደተኛ መንነት ወረቐት ዘለዎም ክዀኑ ከለዉ፡ ገሊኦም ግን የብሎምን። ኵሎም ድማ ናብ ኤርትራ ከይባረሩ ስግኣት ኣሎ። ብወገን ወክልቲ ላዕለዋይ ኮሚሽን ስደተኛታት ሕቡራት ዓለም ኣብ'ቲ መደበር ክሳብ ሕጂ ዝተወስደ ዝርአ ስጕምቲ የለን።
State Failure and Identity Politics in Eritrea: Is Regional Mobilization the Answer?
Written by EPDP Information Office
EPDP Editorial
Like any other country in Africa, Eritrea started to evolve as a modern nation state with the advent of European colonialism in Africa. The Italians ruled Eritrea as a unified political and economic entity for about 60 years. During this period, the growth of urban areas, trade, infrastructural development, and the recruitment of “Eritrean soldiers” in the Italian colonial wars in Somalia, Libya and Ethiopia had facilitated Eritrea’s inter-ethnic and inter-religious interactions and communications. In addition, as a result of the “apartheid laws” that Italy employed on all its colonial subjects, Eritreans were summarily subjected to Italian discrimination and segregation. This encouraged the formation and the development of Eritrean Identity, paving the way for revolting collectively against their common enemy (Italian colonial masters) in unison.
After Italian colony was defeated by the Allied forces in 1941, Eritrea was placed under the British Military Administration (BMA), which soon employed its imperial policy of divide and rule tactics to undermine the Eritrean nationality. But by that time, Eritrean national consciousness had already been well established and embedded in the psyche of the Eritrean people. And yet the British continued to employ its divide and rule policy along ethno-religious lines in the years to follow to the extent of partitioning Eritrea, but again that too failed mainly because of the national consciousness. As history shows, in the subsequent years, an organized Eritrean national resistance against colonial rules got momentum (during the 1940’s and the 1950’s), which overtime get transformed into an armed national liberation movement in the 1960’s. Thus, after struggling against successive colonial powers for almost 100 years, Eritrean people won their independence in 1991. Thus, the history of modern Eritrea is the history of this long and arduous struggle in search of statehood and national identity.
In a point, Eritrea (nism) is a shared identity that has been shaped by a common and long history of social, economic, and political struggle by the people who inhabited and constituted the present day Eritrea, a nation-state called Eritrea. This shared identity was further enhanced and solidified during the 30-year war of liberation for which Eritrean people from all walks of life: all ethnic and nationalities/social groups, young and old, men and women came together and died in search of their freedom, liberty, and national sovereignty. So, our national liberation movement was never about a small group or one region, but about all the people who collectively rebelled for 30 years to defend their common identity and shape their own destiny.
However, as we know, independence was not an aim in itself but a means to an end- to have a liberated Eritrean society. That is, independence was a necessary condition not a sufficient condition for liberated Eritrea, meaning establishing a political system that represents the will of the Eritrean people, which upholds justice and equal status of all Eritreans under the rule of law. Unfortunately, the process of liberating Eritrea was hijacked by a group of ruthless homegrown dictators. Because of this, almost 24 years after independence, Eritrea does not have a constitution, has had no elections and no contract between the ruled and the ruler. The regime has failed Eritrea in all its political, educational, cultural and socio-economic policies. Eritrea has become a kleptocratic state. There are no formal institutions that place restrictions on politicians’ actions that can make them accountable to citizens. Instead, the regime has pursued dictatorial policies that transfer resources from the population to the ruling groups. These policies are put in place to maximize the power of the dictatorial regime in which any person or group that opposes the regime is punished while those who remain loyal are rewarded.
Instead of establishing governance structures and resources allocation system that allows all population groups full participation, the regime from the outset adopted extractive and exclusionary laws that allow it to capture absolutely all the benefits of our independence. As a consequence, many population groups in our country were and are marginalized politically, socially and economically. Ever since its inception, the regime has centralized the production and distribution of resources, established patronage and privileges at the expense of all other elements of the nation’s economy. We know, using their political power, the few in PFDJ have accumulated enormous wealth and resources of the state for themselves.
The state power arrangement does not constrain the powers of the government: it does not guarantee economic freedom; it does not provide mechanisms for peaceful resolution of conflicting interests of various groups within Eritrea; it does not advocate for peaceful coexistence in Eritrea. What we have in Eritrea is a “failed state phenomenon” where the regime neither cares for the majority of the people or public good, nor for the people’s right. Again, there are no institutions to fulfill the people’s basic needs in Eritrea–what we have in Eritrea is a bone-deep deficiency of the statehood and representative political system. It is against this background that certain groups, notably regional entrepreneurs are reveling into anarchy and retreating into sectarian enclaves in order to consolidate their political power and enhance their ability to monopolize political space in the Eritrean political spectrum. The relevant question should be this: Is regional mobilization the answer to the quest for peace, justice, democracy, societal stability and national unity in Eritrea?
Critics say we fear talking about regionalism and tribalism because we feel it is sensitive; we rather brush it off as if it is not happening. Even though we know regionalism represents an existential threat to the unity, territorial integrity of our country, and to the diversity of our cultural and political identities as a nation, we tend to believe it will go away at some point. It may not.
We know we have an-all entrenched tyranny that we know cut across all regions, religions, nationalities, and social groups of our country, meaning that we have an equal opportunity dictatorship in our country. And one must ask then why the regional politics is trying to make its presence in the Eritrean political landscape. Is it because the tyrannical regime of PFDJ targets certain regions or nationalities in Eritrea? Or is it because there is a regional ideal that no matter what wants to go against the political reality of Eritrea and aspires to assert some sort of separatism or domination in the future of Eritrean political system? Or are the regionalists simply addicted to embracing destructive hyper regionalism politics? Although there may be many reasons for the recent flurry of regional politics in the opposition, there are few key factors that may help explain why:
One is an erroneous interpretation and misunderstanding of the PFDJ regime in our country. The regionalists believe or would like their supporters to believe that the PFDJ is instituted or constituted to serve one region. Not only that but also the region that they claim PFDJ belongs benefits more than any other regions. Politically, if the regionalists believe that the PFDJ hails from one region, which they do, that region must benefit from the existence of PFDJ, meaning economically, socially, and politically. In a point, that region must cooperate with the PFDJ regime in suppressing and marginalizing other regions. As such, there is no evidence of this sort. Hence, the regionalists are simply grounded on regional politics for their own benefit. But the danger that the regionalists do not seem to capture is that by painting accusatory politics against other regions/nationalities as being collaborators of the Issais regime, they are digging a hole that they cannot dig out of easily. In a point, they are creating a dividing line between the victims of the regime, meaning that they are becoming a major obstacle in the fight against the regime; they are poisoning the true relationship and reconciliation that should exist among Eritrean people in their fight against tyranny in their country.
Two, the regionalists tend to blame the victim (the region that they claim has an upper hand in the current system) for their own political weaknesses. In fact, they go to the extent of associating their claim of regional marginalization and victimization back to the history of our liberation movement. As such they claim that the suppression of their region is not limited to the current regime, but something that dates back to the liberation era, and hence they argue that they have been marginalized and segregated by one region or another for a long time.
Three, the regionalists claim that they were far too many killed and martyred during the liberation era in proportion to their numbers vs. to the rest of other regions in Eritrea. The implication is that they deserve more power in Eritrea. This is quite striking; but leaving aside the martyrdom statistics to history, no doubt Eritrean people, unlike the regionalists, take great pride to the contributions and sacrifices made by every region/nationality to the national independence struggle. Yet, this is one card among many others that they think they can play even though the argument does not hold water. But they know they can easily deceive the few naïve and gullible ones from their own region. The question we have to the supporters of these nefarious and malevolent regionalists/personalities who are trying to destroy the unity, tradition, and patriotic values of Eritrea is this: why are you being bought into this false narrative of the regionalists? Ask yourself this question: are your beliefs and values grounded on your country or on the few who are deceiving you for their own benefit? Why are you allowing the regionalists to control you; influence you; or otherwise affect you to think freely for your country?
Four, the regionalists are taking advantage of the free political field in the Eritrean opposition. By all measures, the opposition has so far failed in creating a functional and organized body that can influence and impact the political field of Eritrea. Simply stated, the regionalists are using the failure and weakness of the opposition as a free ground to promote their regionalist aspiration.
Fifth, the regionalists contend that the zonal divisions (six zones) constituted by the dictatorial regime creates territorial and/or economic imbalance, meaning the new zonal division favors one region over another. Hence, this has been another cause for their advocacy for regionalism. But there is no evidence that the new zonal divisions create unbalanced services and resources to the regions. The dictatorial regime might have come up with these new six-zonal divisions, perhaps to centralize the nation within the framework of its dictatorial ambitions. However, it is also public that the new zonal divisions instituted by the PFDJ may require revision once we get rid of Issais regime. We know there are political differences on this issue. But it is up to the Eritrean people to decide whether to revive the colonial era administrative units or to constitute new administrative units. While this should be the way to go, the disillusioned regionalists are trying to revive such an issue as a strategy to justify their political regionalism. Wittingly or not, the regionalists cannot grasp that to a greater degree Eritrean zones have been extremely diversified over the last century where the zones reflect a mixed multitude of languages and ethnic groups to the extent of becoming transregional and cohesive in terms of culture, boundary, and geography.
In all, we have seen what regionalism does to countries. We have seen it recently in Ukraine; we have seen it in Lebanon, and we have seen it many African countries such as Mali and others. Regionalism is against national integration and territorial integrity. It is against every effort to bridge the gaps between communities that lived and coexisted side by side for centuries like ours. It is obstructive to the creation of a representative political system in Eritrea. The regionalists are exploiting the practices of the dictatorial regime to their own benefit, including accusing other regions of being PFDJ’s collective supporters and shields. In doing so, they are undermining the nationalist ideals and the Eritrean nationalism, and provoking and opening a conflict on a regional level. While these few regionalist elites are espousing regionalism politics and sentiment in Eritrea, we know there is no mass support that would give their struggle a regional dimension. This is good and positive. In short, since Eritrea’s independence, the specter of regionalism has been floating, particularly by PFDJ and the regionalists. We must confront this. We must struggle to defeat the throne of PFDJ regime and address every grievances and political issues/controversies relating to regions/nationalities through legal and constitutional instruments under a representative political system in post PFDJ Eritrea. The bells and whistles of regionalism must stop.
State Failure and Identity Politics in Eritrea: Is Regional Mobilization the Answer?
Written by EPDP Information Office
EPDP Editorial
Like any other country in Africa, Eritrea started to evolve as a modern nation state with the advent of European colonialism in Africa. The Italians ruled Eritrea as a unified political and economic entity for about 60 years. During this period, the growth of urban areas, trade, infrastructural development, and the recruitment of “Eritrean soldiers” in the Italian colonial wars in Somalia, Libya and Ethiopia had facilitated Eritrea’s inter-ethnic and inter-religious interactions and communications. In addition, as a result of the “apartheid laws” that Italy employed on all its colonial subjects, Eritreans were summarily subjected to Italian discrimination and segregation. This encouraged the formation and the development of Eritrean Identity, paving the way for revolting collectively against their common enemy (Italian colonial masters) in unison.
After Italian colony was defeated by the Allied forces in 1941, Eritrea was placed under the British Military Administration (BMA), which soon employed its imperial policy of divide and rule tactics to undermine the Eritrean nationality. But by that time, Eritrean national consciousness had already been well established and embedded in the psyche of the Eritrean people. And yet the British continued to employ its divide and rule policy along ethno-religious lines in the years to follow to the extent of partitioning Eritrea, but again that too failed mainly because of the national consciousness. As history shows, in the subsequent years, an organized Eritrean national resistance against colonial rules got momentum (during the 1940’s and the 1950’s), which overtime get transformed into an armed national liberation movement in the 1960’s. Thus, after struggling against successive colonial powers for almost 100 years, Eritrean people won their independence in 1991. Thus, the history of modern Eritrea is the history of this long and arduous struggle in search of statehood and national identity.
In a point, Eritrea (nism) is a shared identity that has been shaped by a common and long history of social, economic, and political struggle by the people who inhabited and constituted the present day Eritrea, a nation-state called Eritrea. This shared identity was further enhanced and solidified during the 30-year war of liberation for which Eritrean people from all walks of life: all ethnic and nationalities/social groups, young and old, men and women came together and died in search of their freedom, liberty, and national sovereignty. So, our national liberation movement was never about a small group or one region, but about all the people who collectively rebelled for 30 years to defend their common identity and shape their own destiny.
However, as we know, independence was not an aim in itself but a means to an end- to have a liberated Eritrean society. That is, independence was a necessary condition not a sufficient condition for liberated Eritrea, meaning establishing a political system that represents the will of the Eritrean people, which upholds justice and equal status of all Eritreans under the rule of law. Unfortunately, the process of liberating Eritrea was hijacked by a group of ruthless homegrown dictators. Because of this, almost 24 years after independence, Eritrea does not have a constitution, has had no elections and no contract between the ruled and the ruler. The regime has failed Eritrea in all its political, educational, cultural and socio-economic policies. Eritrea has become a kleptocratic state. There are no formal institutions that place restrictions on politicians’ actions that can make them accountable to citizens. Instead, the regime has pursued dictatorial policies that transfer resources from the population to the ruling groups. These policies are put in place to maximize the power of the dictatorial regime in which any person or group that opposes the regime is punished while those who remain loyal are rewarded.
Instead of establishing governance structures and resources allocation system that allows all population groups full participation, the regime from the outset adopted extractive and exclusionary laws that allow it to capture absolutely all the benefits of our independence. As a consequence, many population groups in our country were and are marginalized politically, socially and economically. Ever since its inception, the regime has centralized the production and distribution of resources, established patronage and privileges at the expense of all other elements of the nation’s economy. We know, using their political power, the few in PFDJ have accumulated enormous wealth and resources of the state for themselves.
The state power arrangement does not constrain the powers of the government: it does not guarantee economic freedom; it does not provide mechanisms for peaceful resolution of conflicting interests of various groups within Eritrea; it does not advocate for peaceful coexistence in Eritrea. What we have in Eritrea is a “failed state phenomenon” where the regime neither cares for the majority of the people or public good, nor for the people’s right. Again, there are no institutions to fulfill the people’s basic needs in Eritrea–what we have in Eritrea is a bone-deep deficiency of the statehood and representative political system. It is against this background that certain groups, notably regional entrepreneurs are reveling into anarchy and retreating into sectarian enclaves in order to consolidate their political power and enhance their ability to monopolize political space in the Eritrean political spectrum. The relevant question should be this: Is regional mobilization the answer to the quest for peace, justice, democracy, societal stability and national unity in Eritrea?
Critics say we fear talking about regionalism and tribalism because we feel it is sensitive; we rather brush it off as if it is not happening. Even though we know regionalism represents an existential threat to the unity, territorial integrity of our country, and to the diversity of our cultural and political identities as a nation, we tend to believe it will go away at some point. It may not.
We know we have an-all entrenched tyranny that we know cut across all regions, religions, nationalities, and social groups of our country, meaning that we have an equal opportunity dictatorship in our country. And one must ask then why the regional politics is trying to make its presence in the Eritrean political landscape. Is it because the tyrannical regime of PFDJ targets certain regions or nationalities in Eritrea? Or is it because there is a regional ideal that no matter what wants to go against the political reality of Eritrea and aspires to assert some sort of separatism or domination in the future of Eritrean political system? Or are the regionalists simply addicted to embracing destructive hyper regionalism politics? Although there may be many reasons for the recent flurry of regional politics in the opposition, there are few key factors that may help explain why:
One is an erroneous interpretation and misunderstanding of the PFDJ regime in our country. The regionalists believe or would like their supporters to believe that the PFDJ is instituted or constituted to serve one region. Not only that but also the region that they claim PFDJ belongs benefits more than any other regions. Politically, if the regionalists believe that the PFDJ hails from one region, which they do, that region must benefit from the existence of PFDJ, meaning economically, socially, and politically. In a point, that region must cooperate with the PFDJ regime in suppressing and marginalizing other regions. As such, there is no evidence of this sort. Hence, the regionalists are simply grounded on regional politics for their own benefit. But the danger that the regionalists do not seem to capture is that by painting accusatory politics against other regions/nationalities as being collaborators of the Issais regime, they are digging a hole that they cannot dig out of easily. In a point, they are creating a dividing line between the victims of the regime, meaning that they are becoming a major obstacle in the fight against the regime; they are poisoning the true relationship and reconciliation that should exist among Eritrean people in their fight against tyranny in their country.
Two, the regionalists tend to blame the victim (the region that they claim has an upper hand in the current system) for their own political weaknesses. In fact, they go to the extent of associating their claim of regional marginalization and victimization back to the history of our liberation movement. As such they claim that the suppression of their region is not limited to the current regime, but something that dates back to the liberation era, and hence they argue that they have been marginalized and segregated by one region or another for a long time.
Three, the regionalists claim that they were far too many killed and martyred during the liberation era in proportion to their numbers vs. to the rest of other regions in Eritrea. The implication is that they deserve more power in Eritrea. This is quite striking; but leaving aside the martyrdom statistics to history, no doubt Eritrean people, unlike the regionalists, take great pride to the contributions and sacrifices made by every region/nationality to the national independence struggle. Yet, this is one card among many others that they think they can play even though the argument does not hold water. But they know they can easily deceive the few naïve and gullible ones from their own region. The question we have to the supporters of these nefarious and malevolent regionalists/personalities who are trying to destroy the unity, tradition, and patriotic values of Eritrea is this: why are you being bought into this false narrative of the regionalists? Ask yourself this question: are your beliefs and values grounded on your country or on the few who are deceiving you for their own benefit? Why are you allowing the regionalists to control you; influence you; or otherwise affect you to think freely for your country?
Four, the regionalists are taking advantage of the free political field in the Eritrean opposition. By all measures, the opposition has so far failed in creating a functional and organized body that can influence and impact the political field of Eritrea. Simply stated, the regionalists are using the failure and weakness of the opposition as a free ground to promote their regionalist aspiration.
Fifth, the regionalists contend that the zonal divisions (six zones) constituted by the dictatorial regime creates territorial and/or economic imbalance, meaning the new zonal division favors one region over another. Hence, this has been another cause for their advocacy for regionalism. But there is no evidence that the new zonal divisions create unbalanced services and resources to the regions. The dictatorial regime might have come up with these new six-zonal divisions, perhaps to centralize the nation within the framework of its dictatorial ambitions. However, it is also public that the new zonal divisions instituted by the PFDJ may require revision once we get rid of Issais regime. We know there are political differences on this issue. But it is up to the Eritrean people to decide whether to revive the colonial era administrative units or to constitute new administrative units. While this should be the way to go, the disillusioned regionalists are trying to revive such an issue as a strategy to justify their political regionalism. Wittingly or not, the regionalists cannot grasp that to a greater degree Eritrean zones have been extremely diversified over the last century where the zones reflect a mixed multitude of languages and ethnic groups to the extent of becoming transregional and cohesive in terms of culture, boundary, and geography.
In all, we have seen what regionalism does to countries. We have seen it recently in Ukraine; we have seen it in Lebanon, and we have seen it many African countries such as Mali and others. Regionalism is against national integration and territorial integrity. It is against every effort to bridge the gaps between communities that lived and coexisted side by side for centuries like ours. It is obstructive to the creation of a representative political system in Eritrea. The regionalists are exploiting the practices of the dictatorial regime to their own benefit, including accusing other regions of being PFDJ’s collective supporters and shields. In doing so, they are undermining the nationalist ideals and the Eritrean nationalism, and provoking and opening a conflict on a regional level. While these few regionalist elites are espousing regionalism politics and sentiment in Eritrea, we know there is no mass support that would give their struggle a regional dimension. This is good and positive. In short, since Eritrea’s independence, the specter of regionalism has been floating, particularly by PFDJ and the regionalists. We must confront this. We must struggle to defeat the throne of PFDJ regime and address every grievances and political issues/controversies relating to regions/nationalities through legal and constitutional instruments under a representative political system in post PFDJ Eritrea. The bells and whistles of regionalism must stop.
Eritrean Civil Society And Political Opposition Organizations Reconstructing
Written by By Fesseha NairThis article will address the issue of participation and relations of the civil society associations and political organizations in the struggle from dictatorship to democracy in Eritrea.
The meaning of civil society and political organization in the Eritrean Diaspora is complicated but the scholarly definition of civil society is that,
" an association of people who act between the state and the market. Civil society is an associational sphere between the state and family separated from the state but enjoy autonomy in relation to the state and are formed voluntarily by members of the society to protect their interests and values."
The participation of civil society in the struggle against dictatorship to democracy is an important factor in the struggle for democratization in Eritrea. Civil society is the force that can hold the government and political organizations accountable and is the base upon which a truly democratic culture can be built.
Looking at the Eritrean civil society associations and political organization in Diaspora one can see that the civil associations act as political organizations and contribute to increased ethnic and religious fragmentation and political violence in the camp of the opposition struggling for democracy.
The Eritrean Diaspora struggle from dictatorship to democracy in Eritrea has been a struggle for power between political organizations and civil society associations. The main argument of this article is,
What framework and strategy can we have to increase participation of civil society associations and build a strong working relationships with opposition political organizations?
It is necessary to support and develop societal organizations and strengthen the struggle from dictatorship to democracy increasing the possibilities of a successful transformation to democratic politics in Eritrea. In fact the civil society associations and political organizations in the struggle are interdependent.
Some recent studies show that civil society has played effective role in bringing social and political change and were instrumental in overthrowing dictators( recent Arab Spring) but how about the Eritrean situation? Are we towards playing effective role or weakening each other? Discuss and compare our situation with others.
The Eritrean civil society associations and political organizations flourished in Diaspora but how effective and united are they in their struggle for democracy. The Eritrean Opposition is pluralistic based on ethnic, religious and region if these identities are politicised lead to more conflict than to democracy.( See Studies from IDEA's website) because they lack a framework and strategy of managing this pluralism.
The Eritrean civil society associations and political organizations are similar both in their organizational structure and their operations, thus their constituents are based on kin- and clientelist networks.
The main issue to be discussed is how can both the civil society and political organizations transform from such linkages to programmatic issues. I think this is the main issue to be discussed by the Eritrean scholars and practitioners.
The Eritrean civil society associations should not stand in contrast with the opposition political organizations but complete each other by uniting their efforts promoting democracy and development inside the opposition camp.
Reconstructing the weak Eritrean Opposition
The Eritrean political leadership in the struggle from dictatorship to democracy must come out from their isolated caves and come together and perform political dialogue building a broad united democratic front that can regain the trust of the Eritrean people and get legitimacy both at the national , regional and international level.
The Eritrean civil society associations in the struggle from dictatorship to democracy must also come out of their isolated caves and come together discuss on the misperceived assumption about the relationship between civil society and political organizations now at this time of struggle and after the fall of dictatorship. The civil society associations can make their values and interests from now clear.
I think the focus at this time must be building a united umbrella partnership of all civil society associations locally , regionally and globally.
After reconstructing the political organizations and the civil society associations separately then these two can join and build partnership of cooperation locally, regionally and globally against the dictatorship in Eritrea and lay foundations of democracy in the post-dictatorship Eritrea.
اللجنة التحضيرية للمؤتمر الثاني لحزب الشعب الديمقراطي الارتري تبدأ أعمالها
Written by قسم الاعلام باللجنة التحضيرية
قامت اللجنة التحضيرية للمؤتمر الثاني لحزب الشعب الديمقراطي الارتري التي أناطت بها قيادة الحزب مهمة التحضير للمؤتمر الحزبي الثاني، قامت بوضع خطتها لمباشرة أعمالها.
تتكون اللجنة من 9 أعضاء ولها لائحة داخلية تنظم أعمالها، وفي اجتماعها الدوري المعقود في العشرين من ديسمبر 2014م قدم رئيسها/ السيد/ تسفا ميكائيل يوهنس تنويراً شاملاً للأعضاء. حيث أوضح أن اللجنة قد عقدت خلال هذه الفترة 4 اجتماعات متتالية وكونت ثلاثة أقسام هي:
1- قسم إعداد أوراق المؤتمر
2- قسم الشؤون التمويلية واللوجستية
3- لجنة الاعلام وتحديد طرق التمثيل في المؤتمر
هذا ونسبة لكبر حجم العمل المطلوب إنجازه وفي فترة أقصاها خريف هذا العام فقد استعانت اللجنة بمن لهم مختلف القدرات والكفاءات في الحزب لمساعدة التحضيرية في أقسامها المختلفة وقد أبدى كل من اتصلوا بهم استعدادهم للتعاون مع اللجنة. وسوف يكثف القسم المختص باللجنة من عمله واجتماعاته حتى تنزل وثائق المؤتمر الي قواعد الحزب في أقرب فرصة ممكنة لتتمكن بدورها من الاطلاع عليها بصورة كافية وعميقة.
قسم الاعلام باللجنة التحضيرية
21 / 12 / 2014م
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اللجنة التحضيرية للمؤتمر الثاني لحزب الشعب الديمقراطي الارتري تبدأ أعمالها
Written by قسم الاعلام باللجنة التحضيرية
قامت اللجنة التحضيرية للمؤتمر الثاني لحزب الشعب الديمقراطي الارتري التي أناطت بها قيادة الحزب مهمة التحضير للمؤتمر الحزبي الثاني، قامت بوضع خطتها لمباشرة أعمالها.
تتكون اللجنة من 9 أعضاء ولها لائحة داخلية تنظم أعمالها، وفي اجتماعها الدوري المعقود في العشرين من ديسمبر 2014م قدم رئيسها/ السيد/ تسفا ميكائيل يوهنس تنويراً شاملاً للأعضاء. حيث أوضح أن اللجنة قد عقدت خلال هذه الفترة 4 اجتماعات متتالية وكونت ثلاثة أقسام هي:
1- قسم إعداد أوراق المؤتمر
2- قسم الشؤون التمويلية واللوجستية
3- لجنة الاعلام وتحديد طرق التمثيل في المؤتمر
هذا ونسبة لكبر حجم العمل المطلوب إنجازه وفي فترة أقصاها خريف هذا العام فقد استعانت اللجنة بمن لهم مختلف القدرات والكفاءات في الحزب لمساعدة التحضيرية في أقسامها المختلفة وقد أبدى كل من اتصلوا بهم استعدادهم للتعاون مع اللجنة. وسوف يكثف القسم المختص باللجنة من عمله واجتماعاته حتى تنزل وثائق المؤتمر الي قواعد الحزب في أقرب فرصة ممكنة لتتمكن بدورها من الاطلاع عليها بصورة كافية وعميقة.
قسم الاعلام باللجنة التحضيرية
21 / 12 / 2014م
By the EMDHR- South Africa
- Eritrea remained the only country in the world without a constitution. The 1997 constitution was rejected by the regime and has refused to implement it since;
- Eritrean remained the only country in the world without a national assembly;
- Eritrea remained without an independent media;
- Eritrea remained without an independent judiciary;
- Eritrea continued to be ruled by a tyrannical one-man totalitarian regime;
- Thousands of innocent Eritrean citizens continue to languish in prison without due process of law;
- Eritreans continued to be arbitrarily arrested by security agents of the regime and the extensive round ups by the army;
- Thousands were detained for trying to flee the country along all the borders of the country;
- The inhumane and degrading treatment of prisoners worsened. For instance, there have been many young Eritreans who experienced paralysis at the Adi Abeito detention facility as a result of torture and denial of medical treatment;
- The dictator openly rejected the notion and practice of democracy in Eritrea;
- The pfdj declared by the tyrant the only alternative to lead the nation but in actual fact the pfdj is a defunct and dead organisation (a shadow of its old self)- unless the delusional despot is “living in the moon” (his own words always get back to haunt him);
- Militarisation of the education systems continued, high school students forced to go to Sawa and “college” students technically and effectively designated as military reservists;
- Mass conscription of Eritrean men as old as 70 intensified in 2014;
- Mass exodus of Eritrean youth continued, 3000-4000 a month left the country this year. e.g.. 37 000 of them claimed asylum in European countries;
- Hundreds of Eritrean migrants died in the Mediterranean Sea in 2014, a boat carrying 244 Eritrean disappeared and is believed to have capsized at the end of June, killing almost all of its passengers. Another boat carrying 177 people, mostly Eritreans capsized drowning its ill-fated passengers;
- The refugee crisis continues to exacerbate in refugee camps and detentions in Sudan, Ethiopia, Israel, Yemen, Libya, and Egypt. This is a humanitarian emergency of huge proportion and the refugees are in desperate need of assistance;
- Power black outs worsened in Asmara and many other cities, and towns;
- Poverty and hunger continue to plague the Eritrean population inside the country. The Eritrean people are denied the right to receive international emergency assistance by the regime;
- Forced labour in the mining industry exploited by the mining companies;
- The collapse of the health care system affecting those in need resulting in the increase of the death rates;
- Social collapse accelerated, villages and towns are being emptied by continuous military recruitment and migration, leaving the infirm elderly left without care and support. It is reported many old people are living under unspeakable conditions in their twilight, denied of the honour they deserve;
- Mistreatment and malnutrition of the army worsens. Due to the size of the army the army is suffering from lack of food and no salaries paid. The regime keeps making promises it doesn’t keep. As a result the youth in the army are abandoning it for exile which is forcing the regime to recruit elderly people;
- Sexual abuses, rape and harassment continued to be perpetrated by army officers in Sawa and army units;
- Internal resistance is growing. For instance, opposition to the regime’s Sawa policy was openly defied by high school students and their parents who refused to go to Sawa, the dumping site of the youth’ childhood, knowledge, prime age, and their future;
- The countryside population is resisting the recruitment of the elderly and calls for them to go to military training;
- Institutions are near the verge of total collapse and as a result the regime has tried to desperately “restructure” by reshuffling the same idea and the same psychopathic henchmen;
- Isaias declared on 24 May 2014 that he would begin “drafting a constitution” but nothing ever was said about it since then and if it did come out it would have one line article which says- [“Do what we tell you to do”];
- Four catholic church bishops made a brave call for transformation titled “Where is your brother” which inspired many Eritreans inside the country and in the diaspora. As a result the regime is underhandedly trying retaliate by arresting catholic priests and other hostile acts towards the church;
- The national economy has been reduced to a subsistence one, with lack of supplies in basic food and other essential commodities increasing. Lack of hard currency is also hitting the country due to the diversion of remittances to the smugglers run ‘industry’ outside the country and mismanagement of the economy by the irrational regime. This is expected to further deteriorate as a result of dwindling number of supporters (drying up the flow of hard currency) among Diaspora Eritreans which could shake the existence of the regime itself;
- In 2014 the United Nations Human Rights Council established a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the human rights abuses and crimes against humanity committed by the regime against defenceless citizens. The Council also appointed three commissioners to lead those investigations. The Council had already extended the mandate of the human rights Special Rapporteur, Ms. Sheila Keetharuth by another year and is also part of the Commission;
- A law suit was filed in 2014 in Canada against Nevsun Resources (a mining company operating the Bisha Mine) by three brave Eritreans supported by human rights activists;
- Eritrea remains under the UN Security Council Resolution which has made it difficult for the regime to collect the illegal 2% extortion;
- Despite crippling fragmentation among the the camp of “justice seekers” in the Diaspora, brave Eritreans have not stopped challenging the tyrannical regime which is put on the defensive and retreating. In 2014 there were lots of positive activities and events to embolden the Movement. The young generation has almost completely abandoned and rejected the regime and only one step remains- Decisive Action!
- All told, 2014 was grimmer and the Eritrean people and the country were worse off- unfortunately;
- Will 2015 be different? We will see…..but we hope to report the exact reverse at the end of 2015…..’fists clinched’!
We salute those who are trying what they can to change this grim picture of our Eritrea!
We wish the Eritrean Nation a Better and Happy New Year!!
EMDHR
22 December 2014
South Africa
The Sarcasm, Denial and Lies of the Eritrean authorities: a personal account on the National service, the closure of the University of Asmara and the Scholarship program in South Africa
Written by Zekarias GinbotBy Zekarias Ginbot
December 20, 2014
Part I
A lot have been said about the atrocities committed by the Eritrean regime and articles with similar content have been published before in this kind of platforms. However, the content of this article might be different in a sense that it is my personal account or reflection of the situation in Eritrea since independence. I am not a politician to give a political analysis about the situation, but like any Eritrean who has suffered under PFDJ (People's Front for Democracy and Justice) leadership for years now, I felt I have to share my experience and my frustration with people who are still naïve or knowingly ignoring the facts. I heard and read a lot when it comes to issues related to my country since I left but did not take the initiative to write about what I felt. I admit that I was also one of those people who believed in patience and making sacrifice for a better future Eritrea. Many Eritreans still have these kinds of thoughts. But the Eritrean authorities continued to misinterpret patience as if the Eritrean people do not know what is possible and what could be achieved under the circumstances. PFDJ continued to hold the people as hostages for the last 25 years using different pretexts.
In 1989, when the Eritrean struggle against Ethiopian occupation gained the upper hand in the war front lines, a group of us, high school students at the time, came around an elderly man whom we thought did not support Eritrean independence and bullied and made fun of him, telling him that the country was to be freed soon. He explained to us that he was not against independence but was skeptical of the leadership and ideology of ‘Shaebia (the name the liberation fighters were identified with)’ for post war Eritrea. Today, when I see the current situation of our country, I consider that elderly man a prophet, may his soul rest in peace. No one disputes the sacrifice paid for independence and no Eritrean regrets playing his or her part in the process. The dissatisfaction came later when PFDJ failed to fulfil the promise.
The Eritrean people celebrated independence and continued to make an immense sacrifice for a better future. But everything the ruling party, PFDJ, which is the only authority in the country, did in post-independence was sarcasm, lies and intimidation. Pre-independence, nationalism and patriotism was so high and people were not even able to see some of the evil tendencies of the PFDJ leadership. Parents who lost some or all of their sons and daughters in the war and children who were left alone wanted no sympathy from anyone. Every Eritrean was proud of what has been achieved after such a long and bitter war for independence. However, what followed after a couple of years post-independence was far from what was dreamed of. The leadership which lead the war for independence and in power today, immediately started to blame the people for being spoiled and for expecting more. Today, to the credit of PFDJ, Eritrean nationalism and patriotism has fallen to its lowest level.
The authoritarian policies and communist ideology of PFDJ started to be noticed when they started to introduce the student summer campaign and the national service programs (both in 1994). Both these programs would have been for the good of the nation if there was a good intention at heart and good management. But both programs were introduced without any public discussion, planning or concern for traditions and culture. High school students and their teachers across the country were required to report to designated stations after the completion of the academic year and perform land rehabilitation activities. But parents, especially in the country side, wanted their school children to help with farming during summer vacation, and those in the urban areas to work and get some income to contribute in covering the next-year’s school expenses. Others were not happy to let their young daughters go away due to traditional ramifications and the consequences later in their lives. The authorities refused to address these concerns or entertain alternative measures; or create an environment for public discussion. The program itself was mismanaged and did not leave any meaningful and measurable trace of improvement on the ground.
The national service project was also mismanaged and was not as effective as it should have been. It was started by a decree without proper planning, and as it is true for any government run program in Eritrea, it did not have a proper oversight. Military training requires mental health, preparedness and physical strength and not every young person is born fit. It requires basic facilities and qualified personnel to deal with all kinds of issues. There was no preparedness of any type except arranging the transport when the first batch of thousands of trainees arrived in a place called Sawa which was to become the center for military training for the years to follow. The manner in which the program was handled at the beginning was in the same manner as was the case during war for the liberation of the country. But that was a different setting; why do we need to make it so difficult when we can afford to provide modern training?
I admit lots of changes have been made since then on the ground in Sawa but the mind-set of the people who manage the program did not change. The commanders can do anything they want. Many young lives were lost because their health issues were not attended by professional personnel. Health complaints were always seen by military commanders as excuses to evade national service. Many young people who could not perform well or commit minor crimes were inhumanly treated and some of them died in the process. I could give personal accounts of the events I witnessed during my short stay in the program. Many parents whose sons and daughters ran away to avoid national service were incarcerated and forced to pay a ransom of 50,000 Nakfa per evader, which is a huge money on the country’s standards. Even individual families who were terribly affected by the death of many of their family members (or one or both parents) in the war for the independence of the country were not spared. It is true that the punishment for refusing to participate in the national service was not consistently implemented over the whole country and it was not known whether it was a national policy or it was up to the discretion of the local government officials.
National service is not unique to Eritrea. It is practiced in many nations around the world but unlike in Eritrea, it has a time limit. In Eritrea it was supposed to play a vital role in nation building and contribute meaningfully to the economy of the country. But the program costed the country millions to build the infrastructure required for it and to run it year after year. Members of the national service were kept moving stone from one place to another and building temporary shelters wherever they move. However, the contribution of this generation in the Ethio-Eritrean border war should not be belittled. The bravery and sacrifice made by this generation was not any less than the heroic struggle made for independence of the country by the previous generations. They played a major role in saving the country from falling into the hands of PFDJ’s counter parts in Ethiopia. But national service has become non-ending, modern slavery. Thousands of young people have lost their precious time in the military being abused without any hope for the future. The young people who were enlisted in the national service in 1994 or in the years followed are now middle aged. Many of them are married and have children but they do not have salary to support their own families let alone their aging parents. They lost hope because they don’t see any way out or a way forward. The young and school-age people see this as their own destiny, too. They do not get any motivation to complete high school; after all they will end up in the military anyway. They also hear and see some young people who made it to overseas destinations send money and help their families left behind. Their situation is so desperate that they do not even pay attention to the number of people who are killed by Eritrean border guards while trying to cross the border or drowned in the Mediterranean waters or killed by smugglers.
It is outrageous to hear PFDJ leaders in Eritrea to blame other imaginary forces for involvement in fleeing of young people from the country. They also sometimes call them tourists and other times traitors. For God’s sake these are the young people who stood beside their older brothers and bravely defended the country from reoccupation by Ethiopia. If anyone is in doubt of these, go to the refugee reception centers in European countries or find recently resettled Eritreans and get your story right. The same is true in the refugee centers in Sudan, Ethiopia and elsewhere. After the bitter border war with Ethiopia and the tragedy that happened to Eritreans living in Ethiopia at the time, no one would imagine going to Ethiopia. But thousands of young people are fleeing into Ethiopia despite the shoot-to-kill policy of the Eritrean authorities, and obviously many die trying to cross the border. So, this should help those who are still naïve to understand the degree of desperation in Eritrea today. But no one can give a prescription to others who choose to ignore facts.
But why is this small group of PFDJ leadership not interested to listen to the grievances of the people and so obsessed with maintaining power? By the way, the Eritrean people did not demand a handover of power. What the people asked for was for a rule of law to be established, for the constitution to be implemented and for the military service to have a limit, just to mention some. They have jailed (without trial) comrades-in-arms who proposed alternative ways of dealing with issues. Is it possible that this small group of people is scared of what might happen if power slips away from them? They should have remembered that the Eritrean people have even forgiven the atrocities committed by Ethiopia. I remember the famous statement made by the late Ethiopian prime minister during his visit to Eritrea before relations went sour; “We should not scratch each other’s wounds”, but by then the Eritrean people have already forgiven the atrocities committed in Eritrea by Ethiopians. By the way, that same Ethiopian leader later forgot what he preached when he caused lots of suffering to the Eritreans who lived in Ethiopia when the border war started.
I am now in my middle age and I believe I represent the generation who joined the Eritrean war for independence in its final stages and became the major force (through national service) that fought later against Ethiopia in the border war. Back in 1984, I was among many youngsters who were rounded up and taken from the villages by Eritrean liberation forces to become a fighter but then sent back home as they concluded that I was too young to carry a gun. I then went to school and 14 years later, I did a one year national service as a school teacher. When the border war with Ethiopia started in 1998, I was in the final year of my undergraduate program at the University of Asmara. We, the students, volunteered to go to the war front lines to help. I, with a group of fellow students, was assigned to the Senafe area and played our part. A year later, I was again asked to do a national service that included the military training, the infamous, indefinite and now identified as modern day slavery by many. Despite the fact that I had already served for more than a year before, I had to go and after 10 months in the military, I somehow managed to come back to the University where I started a third year national service as a graduate assistant.
I stayed in the national service for a total of 3 years but those who were enlisted before me and in the years that followed are still under those extraordinary tough conditions. This is to mean that the facts I describe here are common to thousands of Eritreans of different ages. The time I spent in the national service first as a military trainee and then on breaking and collecting stones and woods was traumatizing. It was not only the hardship but also the fact that we did not see what we were doing as something important or we believed that it could have been done differently. All the shelters we built did not survive another year, it was just an environmental disaster. For me, the objective seems to make the Eritrean youth submissive and obedient through hardship, intimidation and military indoctrination. One of the methods used by the military leaders to achieve this is recording the identity of anyone who asks questions in meetings. Then this is followed by a private warning and then if these people commit minor offences, they are subjected to all the hardships. This might be the likely reason why we do not see many incidences of revolt in the Eritrean military despite the ill-treatment and abuse.
My first escape from the military was not far enough; it was coming back to the University and continue the national service without salary. To put it in exact context, I was getting paid 250 Nakfa a month in Asmara in the year 2000 when a single meal in a cheap restaurant was 50 Nakfa and a 3x3m2 room was about 300 Nakfa. This might have been a better option than in the military for those who had relatives in Asmara to stay with but not for me. I was going to the student cafeteria when they left to beg for a meal and then we meet in class later. This might not seem bad in a different context, but in Eritrea, a teacher was respected and had a different status in the society. My situation was not inspiring to the students either. At one stage, I decided to ask the University’s president, Dr Woldeab Yishak, to make some kind of arrangement so that I could carry out my duties at the university. I had to wait at the stairs for an hour to stop him as he told his secretary not to keep appointments. But his response was demoralizing. He told me that I could go back to the military if I chose to do so without even waiting for me to finish my question. Going back to the military was not a better option to consider and I had to make a private arrangement with the cafeteria staff to get a meal. I found the cafeteria staff better understanding than Dr Woldeab.
……..part II will follow.
Peace and Prosperity to the Eritrean people!!
EPDP Stockholm Branch Briefed on Current Eritrean Developments
Written by EPDP Information OfficeThe Stockholm and environs branch of the Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) on Sunday 21 December 2014 held a meeting with Mr. Woldeyesus Ammar, head for foreign relations office of the party, and received a wide-ranging updating on current developments affecting Eritrea and its people.
The topics covered in the updating included the worsening condition inside the country manifested by the frightening displacement of the people; the “refugee fatigue” of countries like Denmark, Italy and the rest of the EU member states and their search for excuses to deny legal protection to Eritrean refugees; EPDP diplomatic efforts and their outcome so far, and the still fragmented situation of the opposition camp and prospects of creating a viable opposition to the dictatorial regime in Asmara.
The EPDP leadership member stated that the dictatorial regime will never be expected to change its old erroneous and harmful ways and that the political and human rights situation has no prospect of improving until a real change is effected on time. He said the ever increasing outflow of young refugees from the country is the worst occurrence that Eritrean patriots worth the name should stand together and find a solution before it gets too late.
He noted that the recent visits to Eritrea by a number of European delegations looking for ways of re-establishing “relations” with the criminal regime at the cost of the affected people are acts of desperation at the international level that must be firmly opposed by forces struggling for democracy and human rights anywhere in the world. He added that the latest expression of support to and solidarity with the Eritrean people by the Council of Non-Governmental Organizations in the 15-member states of the Southern African Development Community is an encouraging recent development that deserves the full attention of all Eritreans struggling for positive and timely change in the country.
Regarding the state of affairs in the opposition camp, Mr. W. Ammar said the concerned forces are aware of their past shortcomings and that they are currently considering to come out of their “old boxes” and engage in joint tasks that can give hope to the people inside the homeland.
Later in the day, the EPDP executive committee member was interviewed by Voice of the People television broadcast every week for the inhabitants of Stockholm and its environs. The interview covered party activities, including the recent mission to Southern Africa, the plight of Eritrean refugees and prospects for working alliances in the camp opposed to the dictatorial regime in Asmara.
