Responsibility for the tragic war in Tigray is being laid at the door of Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed. But the real culprit is further north.

Eritrea’s President Isaias has plotted and schemed ever since his forces captured Asmara in 1991. Not satisfied with turning his own country into the most repressive state in Africa – without a functioning constitution, parliament, press or freedom of speech, assembly or religious expression – he has intervened in every one of his neighbours.

  • President Isaias has supported Sudanese rebels, fought with Djibouti, Yemen and Ethiopia (1998 – 2000),
  • When the Islamic Courts fled from Somalia, they found a haven in Asmara. President Isaias backed the Islamist group, al-Shabaab,
  • Ethiopian rebel movements were given training and logistical support by President Isaias. In July 2011 the UN Monitoring group on Somalia and Eritrea accused the Eritrean government of plotting to bomb the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa during the summit of African heads of state in January 2011.

US concerns about Eritrea’s role in the Tigray war

President Isaias considered military intervention in Tigray long before war broke out in November 2020.

As President Isaias stated when he gave his annual interview on Eritrean television, he began planning for the war after meeting the Tigrayan leader, Debretsion Gebremichael in Omhajer in January 2019.

When the war in Tigray erupted, Eritrean forces attacked from the north, joining offensives by Ethiopian troops and Amhara militia from the south and the east.

The involvement of the Eritrean forces in Tigray is now accepted by the United States, the European Union and Britain. Even the Ethiopian government now quietly admits their role in this war.

There has been wide condemnation of the role of Eritrean troops in atrocities in the town of Axum and beyond.

President Biden has drawn a line in the sand.

On 27 February Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that: “The immediate withdrawal of Eritrean forces and Amhara regional forces from Tigray are essential first steps.”

According to diplomatic sources, Secretary of State Blinken spoke to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy twice in early March, and told him that Eritrean and Amhara forces must be withdrawn from Tigray within 72 hours.

This has not taken place.

There is a great deal at stake

In November 2020, a day after the Tigray war broke out, a range of senior American former diplomats issued a statement.

They warned that the conflict could lead to the: “acceleration of polarization amid violent conflict [which] would also mark the death knell for the country’s nascent reform effort that began two years ago and the promise of a democratic transition that it heralded.” This could lead to “the fragmentation of Ethiopia [which] would be the largest state collapse in modern history.”

This fragmentation would not just threaten the Horn of Africa, it could be send ripples of instability across the Arab world and into the rest of Africa.

It would strengthen the hold of Islamist movements like al-Shabaab and their international Islamist allies.

It is a prospect that threatens Washington, Paris and London – as much as it does Addis Ababa.

But unless Eritrea can be forced to end its role in the Tigray war, and President Isaias shown that he cannot continue his perpetual practice of destabilizing his neighbours, it is difficult to see how this can be averted.

Saturday, 13 March 2021 21:45

Radio Dimtsi Harnnet Sweden 13.03.2021

Written by

MARCH 13, 2021  ETHIOPIANEWSTIGRAY

Source: Reuters

State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Friday that while the United States has decided to resume certain types of assistance, including that related to global health and food security, assistance for other programs and most programs in the security sector would remain paused.

“Given the current environment in Ethiopia, we have decided not to lift the assistance pause for other programs, including most programs in the security sector,” Price said at a news briefing.

Blinken has pressed Ethiopia to end hostilities in Tigray and on Wednesday, testifying before Congress, he said he wanted to see forces in Tigray from Eritrea and Amhara be replaced by security forces “that will not abuse the human rights of the people of Tigray or commit acts of ethnic cleansing, which we’ve seen in western Tigray.”

Thousands of people have died, hundreds of thousands have been forced from their homes, and there are shortages of food, water and medicine in the region of more than 5 million people.

The State Department last month said Washington will de-link its pause on some aid to Ethiopia from its policy on the giant Blue Nile hydropower dam that sparked a long-running dispute between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan.

But it cautioned that resumption of assistance would be assessed on a number of factors, including “whether each paused program remains appropriate and timely in light of developments in Ethiopia that occurred subsequent to the pause being put in place,” according to a State Department spokesperson.

Ethiopia’s military ousted the former local ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), from the regional capital Mekelle in November, after what it described as a surprise assault on its forces in Tigray.

The government has said that most fighting has stopped in Tigray but has acknowledged isolated incidents of shooting.

Both sides deny their forces have committed atrocities, and blame other forces for the killing of civilians. (Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

——————————————————————————————————————-
Source: Reuters

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a call with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, discussed the importance of an international investigation into reported human rights abuses in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, the State Department said on Friday.

It said that in the call, which took place on Thursday, Blinken also called for “enhanced regional and international efforts to help resolve the humanitarian crisis, end atrocities, and restore peace in Ethiopia.”

The United Nations said last week that Eritrean troops were operating throughout Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region and reports suggested they were responsible for atrocities.

12 መጋቢት 2021

ፕረዚደንት ኣመሪካ ጆ ባይደን

በቲ ኣብ ትግራይ ኣጋጢሙ ዘሎ ቅልውላው፡ ፕረዚደንት ኣመሪካ ጆ ባይደን “ኣዝዩ ተሻቒሉ” ከምዘሎ፡ ውሃቢት ቃል ቤተ መንግስቲ ኣመሪካ (ዋይት ሃውስ)፡ ጄን ሳኪ ትማሊ ሓሙስ ንጋዜጠኛታት ተዛሪባ።

“እቲ ፕረዚደንት በዚ ጉዳይ እዚ ኣዝዩ ተሻቒሉ’ሎ፤ ብቐረባ ድማ ይከታተሎ ኣሎ” ኢላ እታ ወሃቢት ቃል።

ወሲኻ ድማ፡ ፕረዚደንት ጆ ባይደን ነቲ ኣብ ትግራይ ኣጋጢሙ ዘሎ ሰብኣዊ ቅልውላው ከምዝፈልጦን፡ ምምሕዳሩ ነቲ ኩነታት ንምምሕያሽ፡ ናብ’ታ ክልል ሰራሕተኛታት ረድኤት ክኣትዉ ኣብ ምግባር ሓዊሱ ይሰርሕ ምህላዉ ገሊጻ።

በቲ ኣብ ትግራይ ኣብ መንጎ ሓይልታት መንግስቲ ፌደራልን ክልላዊ ሓይልታት ትግራይን ዝተወለዐ ጎንጺ፡ ኣሸሓት ሰባት ከምዝሞቱን ብኣማኢት ኣሸሓት ዝቑጸሩ ድማ ኣብ’ታ ክልል ከምዝተመዛበሉን ይግለጽ።

ብሊንከን፡ ኣብ ትግራይ ግፍዒ ይፍጽሙ ኣለዉ ዝበሎም ሓይልታት ኣምሓራን ወተሃደራት ኤርትራን ካብቲ ክልል ክወጽኡ’ውን ጸዊዑ እዩ።

እቲ ጎንጺ ብኸመይ ናብዚ በጺሑ?

ኣብ መንጎ ብህወሓት ዝምራሕ ክልል ትግራይን ፌዴራል መንግስትን ንልዕሊ ክልተ ዓመታት ዝዘለቐ ፍሕፍሕ፡ ፌዴራል መንግስቲ ኣብ ዝሓለፈ ዓመት ክካየድ መደብ ተታሒዝሉ ዝነበረ ሃገራዊ መረጻ ብሰንኪ ኮሮናቫይረስ ምስ ኣናወሐ ተጋዲዱ።

መንግስቲ ክልል ትግራይ ነቲ ውሳነ ዘይተቐበሎ እንትኸውን፡ ትግራይ መንግስቲ ፌዴራል "ዘይሕጋዊ" ዝበሎ ክልላዊ መረጻ ኣብ መጀመርታ ወርሒ መስከረም ምስ ኣካየደት ድማ፡ እቲ ጎንጺ እናዓረገ ከይዱ።

ቀዳማይ ሚኒስተር ኣብዪ ኣሕመድ፡ ‘ህወሓት ኣብ ልዕሊ መዓስከር ወተሃደራት መጥቃዕቲ ፈጺሙ’ ኢሉ ምስ ከሰሰን፡ ብሕዳር 4 ወተሃደራዊ ስጉምቲ ክውሰድ ምስ ኣወጀን፡ እቲ ዝጸንሐ ወጥሪ ናብ ቅሉዕ ጎንጺ ኣምሪሑ።

ነዚ ስዒቡ ድማ፡ ኣብ መወዳእታ ሕዳር ፌዴራል መንግስቲ ንከተማ መቐለ ምስተቖጻጸረ፡ እቲ ኲናት ከምዘብቀዐ እንተገለጸ'ኳ፡ ውግእ ቀጺሉ ከምዘሎ ውድብ ሕቡራት ሃገራትን ካልኦትን ይገልጹ።

በዚ ምኽንያት ድማ፡ ኣብቲ ክልል ኣማኢት ኣሻሓት እንትመዛበሉ፡ ልዕሊ 60 ሽሕ ሰባት ድማ ናብ ሱዳን ከምዝተሰደዱን፣ ኣብቲ ክልል ከቢድ ጥሜትን ሰብኣዊ ቅልውላውን ኣንጸላልዩ ከምዘሎን ይዝረብ።

ኣብቲ ትግራይ፡ ጾታዊ ዓመጽ፣ ገበናት ኲናትን ግህሰት ሰብኣዊ መሰላትን ከምዝተፈጸሙን ውድብ ሕቡራት መንግስታት ከጻሪ ክፍቀደሉ ምሕታቱን ይዝከር።

March 10, 2021

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court affirms in its Preamble paragraph 4 that: “…the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole must not go unpunished and that their effective prosecution must be ensured by taking measures at the national level and by enhancing international cooperation.”

Paragraph 5 of the Preamble asserts that State Parties are:

“Determined to put an end to impunity for the perpetrators of these crimes and thus to contribute to the prevention of such crimes”

Multiple, consistent and reliable reports of alleged crimes against humanity, crimes of genocide, war crimes committed by Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers, and alleged crimes of aggression committed by the leaders of the state of Eritrea in Tigray, have reached the international community. The United Nations has, therefore, the moral obligation and legal responsibility to conduct an independent investigation and bring the perpetrators to a court of justice through mechanisms of national and international cooperation and in particular through The International Criminal Court ( ICC) established for this purpose and which has jurisdiction over war crimes under Article 8, crimes against humanity under Article 7, crime of genocide under Article 6 and crime of aggression under Article 5(2) of the Rome Statute of The International Criminal Court.

Both Ethiopia and Eritrea are non-State Parties of the Rome Statute. Nonetheless, a referral by the UN Security Council can authorize the ICC to exercise its jurisdiction over crimes listed in the Rome Statute. The court has the decisional precedent of repealing the immunity and indicting a sitting president when the State through its national courts and legislation is genuinely unable or unwilling to persecute one of its nationals when accused of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed within the territory under its jurisdiction. There is also an alternative indictment process in which a prosecutor independently conducts a preliminary examination of the alleged crimes falling within the ICC jurisdiction and files an application to an ICC judge (motu propio) and requests authorization to initiate an investigation.

  1. The act of responsibility for crime against humanity

On 4 November 2020 the Ethiopian PM announced brusquely on social media that Ethiopian forces have started conducting airstrikes and sweeping military operations in the northern Tigray region.1 The army spokesman told reporters that the army plans to encircle the regional capital of Mekelle with tanks and attack it with artillery, and urged the civilian population to “save themselves, as there will be no mercy”.2 Tigray was shut down, and a total information blackout was imposed. There were cut-offs of electricity, telephone communications and the internet, and free humanitarian access to the people of Tigray and the four UNHCR dependent Eritrean refugee camps in the region was blocked.

A stream of evidence has since then leaked out of Tigray regarding heinous crimes, in particular crimes committed by the army of the pariah state of Eritrea. Wanton killings, pillaging, sexual violence, ethnic cleansing, destruction of heritage sites as well as the kidnapping of Eritrean refugees and their forced return to Eritrea have been repeatedly reported by refugees who succeeded to flee to the Sudan.3 The international community, including the AU, EU and the US, have repeatedly called for dialogue, transparency and independent investigation. The answer of a high government official Radwan Hussein is that Ethiopia “does not need a babysitter”.4

On January 15, 2021, the EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell stated that he had received consistent reports of ethnically targeted violence, killings, massive looting, rapes, forced return of refugees (to Eritrea) and possible war crimes.5 Likewise, on the same day, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi acknowledged that he continues to receive reliable first-hand reports of gravely disturbing human rights abuses, including killings and forced return of refugees to Eritrea, and states that there is concrete indication of major violation of international law.6 On January 22, Pramila Patten, the UN special representative on sexual violation in conflict said she was greatly concerned by serious allegations including “a high number of alleged rapes” in the Tigrayan capital, Mekelle.7

Under Article 7 of the Statute, the ICC has the jurisdiction over crimes against humanity which include widespread and systematic attacks directed against any civilian population including murder, torture, rape and sexual violence and persecution against any identifiable group or collectively on political racial, national, ethnic, culture, religious, gender or other grounds that are universally recognized as impermissible under international law.8

  1. The act of responsibility for war crimes

 

On January 22nd 2021, Poland became the first EU country to acknowledge and officially express its deep concern regarding the alleged massacre of 800 persons, the majority of whom were Christian believers and Christian priests, in front of the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Axum.9 On January 27th 2021, the US called for the immediate withdrawal of Eritrean troops “given credible reports of looting, sexual violence, assaults in refugees camps and other human rights abuses”.10 On February 11, 2021 Human Rights Watch issued an extensive report that shows that the Ethiopian federal forces carried out apparently incriminate shelling of urban areas in the Tigray region in November 2020 in violation of the law of war.11 On February 21st 2021, the Swedish Radio programme Ekot included first-hand testimony from a deacon at the church present during the massacre.12 On February 25th, Amnesty International issued an extensive report on the Massacre in Axum based on evidence given by 41 independent witnesses, and concluded that indiscriminate shelling of Axum by Ethiopian and Eritrean troops may amount to war crimes, and that the mass execution of Axum civilians by troops may amount to crimes against humanity.13

Under Article 8 of the Statute, the ICC has jurisdiction in respect to war crimes which include the serious violations of international humanitarian law mentioned in the Geneva convention of 1949 and the Additional Protocol I of 1977 including indiscriminate attacks affecting the civilian population or civilian objects as well as offences specifically identified as war crimes including rape and other forms of sexual violence. Included in the category of war crimes are the following: the destruction of property; pillaging; outrages upon personal dignity; violence to life and person; intentionally directing attacks against personnel, industrial installations, material, units or vehicles.

III. The act of responsibility for crime of genocide

 

On the February 26th 2021, based on an internal U.S. government report, The New York Times wrote that Ethiopia is conducting “a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing” through the use of force and intimidation and that whole villages were severely damaged or completely erased in the Tigray region. On the February 27th, the US expressed its grave concern and “strongly condemned the killings, forced removals and displacement, sexual assaults, and other extremely serious human rights violations “. On March 1st 2021, the CNN aired an eyewitness report on the massacre committed by Eritrean soldiers of over 50 persons including 20 Sunday school students on Maryam Dengelat Orthodox Tewadhdo Church when the congregation was celebrating Mass.

All major media outlets including the BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, the New York Times, Reuters, The Washington Post and The Economist have by now reported on grave violations of human rights including ethnic cleansing in Tigray.

Whether intentionally, or otherwise, the war was ignited days before the seasonal harvest period, in the midst of the COVID pandemic and a massive locust infestation in the region. Together with a total blockade of Tigray, including access to humanitarian assistance, the war was bound to cause maximal damage to the economy and to the wellbeing of the civilian population of Tigray, resulting in over 2 million internally displaced people and over 60 000 refugees who have fled to neighbouring Sudan and 25 000 unaccounted Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia.

Under Article 6 of the Statue, the ICC has jurisdiction over the crime of genocide, genocide by killing of a group; genocide by causing serious bodily or mental harm; and genocide by deliberately inflicting on each target group conditions of life calculated to bring about the group's physical destruction including using famine as an instrument of war.

 

  1. The act of responsibility for crimes of aggression

 

In an interview on February 8th 2020 on Eritrean National Media outlet the Eritrean president expressed his contempt for the Ethiopian Federal Constitution and all forms of electoral government and stated that “we will not fold our hands and sit still concerning matters that develop in Ethiopia” 14 and he added that Eritrea is “fulfilling its obligations” with respect to Ethiopia's Tigray crisis. On July 20th 2020, the Ethiopian PM become the first foreign dignitary to visit the infamous and secretive SAWA military training camps, a visit which was reciprocated on October 12th 2020 by a visit by the Eritrean president to the headquarters of the Ethiopian Air Forces and the military industrial complex of Ethio-Engineering Groups in what some observers noticed as an indication of a final preparation for a “knock-out” against their common enemy, the regional government of Tigray. 15

 

Both the governments of Eritrea and Ethiopia continue to deny the participation of Eritrean troops in war in Tigray. The presence of Eritrean troops is, however, openly acknowledged by local officials of the government regional administration and war generals.16 Today there is irrefutable evidence of their massive participation and culpability in grave human rights violations, including rape, looting, mass killings, kidnappings of Eritrean refugees, and the dismantling of industrial complexes with their transfer to Eritrea.

On March 4th 2021, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet stated that, given the persistent reports of serious human rights violations and abuses she continued to receive, she stressed on urgent need for a prompt, impartial and transparent investigation that will hold those responsible accountable.17 On the same day, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock, informed a Security Council session that “countless well-corroborated reports suggest their culpability for atrocities,” and added “Eritrean defence forces must leave Ethiopia and they must not be enabled or permitted to continue their campaign of destruction before they do so.”18 U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres and U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield made statements that urged Eritrean forces to leave Tigray.

Under Article 5 (2) of the Statute, the ICC has jurisdiction over the crime of aggression which according Article 8 bis means “the planning, preparation, initiation or execution, by a person in a position effectively to exercise control over or to direct the political or military action of a State, of an act of aggression which, by its character, gravity and scale, constitutes a manifest violation of the Charter of the United Nations."

The case for indictment of the president (non-elected) of Eritrea Isaias Afwerki, the minister of defence of Eritrea, and Eritrean military commanders in the Ethiopian Tigray region.

 

In 2016 the UN Commission of Inquiry submitted its conclusions to the UN Human Rights Council and to the Security Council of the UN recommending accountability on the gross and systematic violations of human rights and crimes against humanity committed by Eritrean authorities. No individual has been charged or punished for these grave violations of human rights in Eritrea. The recommendation of the Commission of Inquiry remains, pending action. Eritrean authorities have however, continued to commit crimes against humanity (Article 7) with impunity in Eritrea. Furthermore, in November 2021 the Eritrean president ordered the army to invade the Tigray region of Ethiopia and conduct a crime of aggression (Article 5), an army accused of committing alleged war crimes (Article 8), genocide (Article 6) and crimes against humanity (article 7).

On February 24, 2021 the current UN Special Rapporteur to Eritrea, Mohamed Abdelsalam Babiker, in his rapport to the Human Rights Council, underscored that nothing has changed in Eritrea and stated that he has “seen no concrete evidence of progress or actual improvement in the human rights situation in the country. Eritrea has not yet put in place an institutional and legal framework to uphold minimum human rights standards in a democratic society. The country lacks rule of law, a constitution and an independent judiciary to enforce the protection of and respect for human rights. Eritrea continues to have no national assembly to adopt laws, including those regulating fundamental rights and the right of the Eritrean people to participate freely in the public life of their country.” 19 He also expressed his concern about the fate of the Eritrean refugees abducted by the Eritrean army and taken back to Eritrea, and stressed the need for thorough investigation by an independent body.

The State of Eritrea has no national legislative mechanisms that enable it undertake an independent investigation into grave human rights violations. The Eritrean authorities remain unwilling to investigate or cooperate in the investigation of grave crimes against humanity committed in the territory within their jurisdiction or by Eritrean citizens in a neighbouring state.

The Office of the Prosecutor needs, therefore, to review and examine the documentation on the crimes against humanity (Article 7) between 2012-2016 submitted by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea, and to open an investigation after acquiring authorization from ICC judges, as in the case of Kenya, Ivory Coast, Georgia and Bangladesh/Myanmar.

The UN Security Council needs to take a decision to refer and authorize the ICC to investigate the alleged crimes against humanity (Article7), war crimes, (article 8) genocide committed (Article 6) in Tigray as in the case of the Sudan and crimes of aggression (Article 5) the is particular to the leaders of the Eritrean State.

The case for indictment of the Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed, Birhanu Jula Gelalcha Chief of Staff and Ethiopian military commanders in Tigray.

The UN Security Council needs to authorize the ICC to investigate war crimes where command responsibility falls directly into the hands of the Ethiopian Prime Minister, the Ethiopian Minister of Defence, and the Chief of General Staff of Ethiopia Birhanu Jula Gelalcha (Article 8), crimes against humanity (Article 7), genocide (Article 6) committed by Ethiopian soldiers and militias from the Amhara region, as was the case in Darfur in Sudan.

Ethiopia has national legislature, a criminal justice system and a government agency – the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, in charge of promoting human rights. An indictment process is therefore bound to meet resistance as it will impose certain restrictions and limitation on some state authority. Nevertheless, the Ethiopian government has refused or failed to use its national criminal justice system to investigate and to deal with perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity - crimes which continue to accrue within its territory - or to allow a thorough investigation by an independent and neutral body,

The Ethiopian legal system remains genuinely unable or unwilling to persecute alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of genocide committed by its nationals or nationals of other states, in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.

Uppsala 2021-03-10

Tedros Amanuel

Chairperson

Swedish-Eritrean Association of Human Rights and Democracy

Footnotes:

  1. BBC 4 November 2020 Ethiopia PM orders military response to `base attack´
  2. Aljazeera 22 November 2020 `Save yourselves´: Ethiopia warns Tigrayans of Mekelle
  3. UNHCR, 4 December 2020, CNN 8 December 2020 `They left us for dead´ Tigray refugees tell horrors after Ethiopian troops vowed, they´d be safe.
  4. Aljazeera 9 December Ethiopia says it ‘doesn’t need a babysitter’ as it dismisses calls for independent probes into the month-long conflict.
  5. BBC 15 January 2021, Ethiopia Tigray crisis: EU concern over war crime report
  6. Aljazeera 15 January 2021, `Major violations´ of international law ay Tigray refugee camps
  7. Aljazeera 22 January 2021, `Disturbing’ rape allegations in Ethiopia´s Tigray conflict: UN
  8. The Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) adopted in July 1998.
  9. Statement regarding the massacre in front of the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Aksum in Tigray region. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Poland 22 January 2021(www.gov.pl)
  10. BBC 27 January 2021. Tigray crisis: Biden administration calls for Eritrea troops to withdraw.
  11. Human Rights Watch February 11, 2021 Ethiopia: Unlawful Shelling of Tigray

urban Areas (www.hrw.org)

  1. sverigesradio.se 21 februari 2021: Vittnen talar om massaker i Tigray
  2. Amnesty International 26 February 2021Ethiopia: Eritrean troops’ massacre of hundreds of Axum civilians may amount to crime against humanity (www.amnesty.org)
  3. Eritrea 'doing its obligation' on Ethiopia's Tigray crisis BBC 18, February 2020
  4. Eritreahub.org Martin Plaut21 October 2020.
  5. abcNEWS 7 January 2021. Ethiopian army official confirms Eritrean troops in Tigray.
  6. Ethiopia: Persistent, credible reports of grave violations in Tigray underscore urgent need for human rights access – Bachelet Geneva March 4, 2021 (www.ohchr.org)
  7. CNN 3 mars 2021 UN Security Council to discuss Ethiopia conflict following CNN investigation into Tigray massacre.
  8. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26795&LangID=E
Friday, 12 March 2021 20:41

Radio Dimtsi Harnnet Kassel 11 03 2021

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ርእሰ-ዓንቀጽ ሰዲህኤ

መራሒ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ኢሳያስ ኣፈወርቂ፡ ዘይተነግረ እምበር ኣብ ልዕሊ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ዘይፈጸሞ በደል የለን። እቲ ዘገርም ከኣ ከምቲ “ጠሪጣስ እንተትሓንከለይከ” ዝበሃል ዝነበረ፡ በደሉ ሓቢኡስ በዓል  ደሓንን ገባር ጽቡቕን መሲሉ ክቐርብ ዝፍትን ምዃኑ እዩ። በደላቱ ምብዛሑ ጥራይ ዘይኮነ፡ ኣብ ዝሓለፉ ዓመታት ንኹሉ መዳያት ህይወት ህዝብና ክርምሰ ዝጸንሐ እዩ።

ኤርትራውያን ከምቲ “ኣቐምጥ ዝበልካዮ ኣየጥፍእ፡ ኣጸብቕ ዝበልካዮ ኣየኽፍእ” ዝበሃል፡ ህግደፍ ምስ ጠለሞም፡ በቲ ጥልመቱ ትዕግስቶም ካብ ዝውዳእ ነዊሕ ግዜ ኮይኑ። ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ካብ ውሽጢ ኮነ ካብ ደገ  ብደረጃ ፖለቲካዊ ሰልፍታትን ውድባትን፡ ማሕበራትን ህዝባዊ ምልዕዓላትን፡ ኮታ ብዝተፈላለዩ ኣገባባት ዝቃለስዎ ዘለዉ መግለጺ ቁጠዓኦም ኣንጻር ክሕደቱ ምዃኑ ብሩህ እዩ።  እዞም ኤርትራዊ ናይ ለውጢ ውዳበታት ዝተመስረትሉ ነናቶም ኣተሓሳስባን ናይ ኣተገባብራ ሜላታትን’ኳ እንተለዎም፡ ምውጋድ ናይዚ  ካብ ምጥፋኦም ድሕር ዘይብል ጉጅለ  ግና፡ ናይ ሓባር ኣረዳድኣኦምን ቀዳማይ ተግባሮምን እዩ።

በደል ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ኣብ ልዕሊ ኤርትራን ህዝባን ጥራይ ዝድረት ኣይኮነን። ዶብ ሰጊሩ ንዞባናን ኪነኡን ዝብክል ዘሎ'ውን እዩ። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ብውዳበታቱ ኣቢሉ ገበናት ህግደፍ ካብ ዝቃወምን ዘቃልዕን ነዊሕ ግዜ ኮይኑ እዩ። ሕብረተሰብ ዓለም እውን ምሕጽንታን መረረን ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ብምስማዕ ጥራይ ዘይኮነ፡ እዚ ሓደገኛ ብዲክታተር ኢሳያስ ኣፈወርቂ ዝምራሕ ኣብ ኤርትራ ዝበቖለ ጉጅለ፡  ዞባ ቀይሕ ባሕሪ፡ ምብራቕ ኣፍሪቃን ኪኖኡ ዘሎ ከባብን ከይበከለ ንክመክን ኣብ ሰላምና ረብሓ ንዘለዎም ኣካላት ከሰምዕ ጸኒሑ እዩ። እቲ ጉጅለ ብሕገ-መንግስቲ ንከመሓድር፡ ግዱድ ዕስክርና ከቋርጽ ወይ ንጹር ቀጥዒ ከትሕዝ፡ ኤርትራውያን ዝኣመንዎ ሃይማኖት ናይ ምምላኽ መሰሎም ክሕሎ፡ ናይ ፖለቲካን ሕልናን እሱራት ኣብ ፍርዲ ክቐርቡ ወይ ብናጻ ክልቀቑ፡ ክሳብ ሽዑ ከኣ ብቤተሰቦምን ከም ማሕበር  ቀይሕ መስቀል ዝኣመሰሉ ሰብኣዊ ትካላት ክብጽሑ፡  ብዙሓት ወገናት ክምሕጸንዎ ከም ዝጸንሑን ከም ዘለዉን ርዱእ እዩ። ብፍላይ ንሰብኣውን ዲሞክራስያውን መሰል ብዝምልከት ከኣ ኮሚሽን ሰብኣዊ መሰል ውድብ ሕቡራት ሃገራት ፍሉይ መርማሪ ኣካል ኣውጺኡ  ክሰርሕ ካብ ዝጅምር ነዊሕ ግዜ ኮይኑ ኣሎ።

እዚ ሓንሳብ መንገዲ ጥፍኣት ምስሓዘ ናብ ልቡ ዘይተመልሰ ጉጅለ ኢሳያስ፡ ነዚ ናይ ዝተፈላለዩ ኣካላት፡ እንተላይ ናይ ዓለምለኻዊ ሰብኣውን ፖለቲካውን ትካላት ምሕጽንታ ክህቦ ዝጸንሐ ምላሽ ብሓፈሻኡ ጸማም እዝኒ ምሃብን ምጽቃጥን እዩ። ሳሕቲ ድምጹ እንተተሰምዐ ከኣ ማእከሉ ክሕደትን ሸፈጥን ኮይኑ ጸኒሑ። ክሕደቱ ንከይክሻሕ  ከኣ ኩለን ብሕታዊ ትካላት ዜናን ኩሉ ዘመናዊ  መራኸቢ መንገድታትን ይዓጽው። ምእንቲ ዝምልከቶም ኣካላት ኩነታት ምኽባር መሰረታዊ መሰላት ኣብ ኤርትራ፡ ከይምርምሩን ከየጻርዩን ዕንቅፋታት ይፈጥር። ካብዚ ሓሊፉ   ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ኣንጻሩ ድምጹ ከየስምዕ፡ ነቶም ምስክርነቶም ናይ ምሃብ ሕጋዊ መሰል ዘለዎም ኣካላት ሕቡራት ሃገራት ከይተረፈ፡ ናብ ኤርትራ ምእታው ይኸልኦም። ብሰንኪ ከምዚ ዓይነት ንሕጊ ዘይምእዙዝ ተግባራቱ እዚ ጉጅለ፡ ኤርትራ “ናይ ኣፍሪቃ ሰሜን ኮርያ” ካብ እትበሃል ነዊሕ ግዜ ኮይኑ ኣሎ። እንተኾነ ሳላ ዘመናዊ መራኸቢ መንገድታት ንኤርትራ እውን ፈንጢሱ ዝጸለዋ፡ እቲ ህግደፍ ክሓብኦ ዝደሊ ዝነበረ  ገበናቱ ኣይተሓብአን። ምስዚ ነውራም ጉጅለ ህግደፍ፡ ኣብ ዝተፈላለዩ ጽፍሕታት ተሰሊፎም ዝዋስኡ ዝነበሩ፡ ደሓር ግና ዝራሕርሕዎን ሕጂ ኣንጻሩ ዝቃለሱ ዘለዉን ባእታታት ከኣ ሓቀኛ   ምስሊ ኤርትራ ኣብ ትሕቲ መግዛእቲ ህግደፍ  ኣብ ምቅላዕ ዓብይ ግደ ተጻዊቶም እዮም። ብዓብይኡ ከኣ ብዘይካ እቶም ኣዝዮም ውሱናት ተመሊሶም ዝረዓምዎ፡ እቶም ብሰንኩ ዝተሰዱ ኤርትራውያን መንእሰያት እውን ኣብ ምቅላዑ ኣበርክተኦም ዕዝዙ እዩ። ድሕሪ ሕጂ እውን ካብዞም መንእሰያት እንጽበዮ ብዙሕ እዩ።

ጉጀለ ህግደፍ ግና ከምቲ “ትውሕጦ እንተበልኩዋስ መሊሳ ትጐስሞ” ዝበሃል፡ ነዚ ክፉእ ምስሉ ካብ ኤርትራ ናብ ከባቢና ከላብዖ ፈንጠርጠር ኢሉ እዩ። ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ኣብ ኢትዮጵያን ሶማልያን ዝረአ ዘሎ ኣሻቓልን ፍንጡሕን ኩነታት ከኣ ናቱ መርዛም ኢድ ኣለዎ። ብፍላይ ኣብ ጉዳይ ኢትዮጵያ  ዘርኣዮን ዘርእዮ ዘሎን ብገበን ዘሕትት ጠገለ ዘይብሉ ኢድ ምትእትታው፡ ምናልባት ከምቲ ኣብ ኩነታት ኤርትራ ዝለመዶ ብምጽቃጥ ናብ ዘይሰግሮ ኣንፈት ዝኸይድ ዘሎ ይመስል። ኣብዚ እቲ ኣብ ትዕዝብቲ ዝወድቕ፡ እቲ ንጥለመት፡ ወጽዓን ክሕደትን ናተይ ኢሉ ዝሓዞ ንህዝቢ ኤርትራ ደም ዘንበዖ ዲክታተር ኢሳያስ ጥራይ ኣይኮነን። እቶም ሰማይ ዝሃገሮም፡ ንኤርትራ ከመይ ገይሩ ከም ዝረመሳ እንዳረኣዩን እንዳሰምዑን ዝተመሓዘውዎ መራሕቲ ጐረባብቲ ሃገራት ኢትዮጵያን ሶማልያን እውን፡ ብህዝቦም ኮነ ብሕብረተሰብ ዓለም ኣብ ትዕዝብቲ ወዲቖም እዮም። ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ኢትዮጵያ ኣብዚ ኣትያቶ ዘላ ንክትወድቕ ናይ ዶ/ር ኣብይ ኣሕመድ ዕርክነት ምስ ኢሳያስ ኣፈወርቂ ከም ሓደ ካብ ቀንዲ ጠንቅታቱ ገይሮም ዝወስድዎ ብዙሓት እዮም። ግምቶም ከኣ ቅኑዕ እዩ።

ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ኣብዚ ብጉዳይ ኢትዮጵያ  ዝሕመዮን ዝኽሰሶን ዘሎ እውን ሰሚዑ ከምዘይሰምዐ መሲሉ ክኸይድ ዝመረጸ ይመስል።  እንተኾነ ኩሉ ግዜ ፋስጋ ስለ ዘየለ፡  “ህግደፍ፡ ክሳብ መዓስ እዩ ብምጽቃጥ ክሃድም” ዝብሉ ወገናት ድምጾም የስምዑ ኣለዉ። “ስቕ ዝበልና ዝዝረብ ስለ ዝሰኣና ዘይኮነ ስቕ ስለ ዝመረጽና ኢና” ዝብል ኣረጊት መህደሚ ፖሊሲኡ ከኣ ሎሚ ኣይክሰርሕን እዩ። ኢሳያስ ንሱ’ኳ እንተዘይተዛረበ  ክዝረቦ ግድን እዩ። ኣብ ብዙሕ ኣጋጣምታት ከም ዝተራእየ፡ ኢሳያስ  ንናቱ ዘይረዊ ህርፋን እምበር ንናይ ካለኦት ኣተሓሳባ ቦታ ናይ ምግዳፍ ባህሪ የብሉን። በዚ ፍንውን ሃላልን ኣካይዳኡ ከኣ፡ ወዮ ደኣ ካብ ተመኩሮኡ ኣይመሃርን እዩ እምበር፡ ኣብ ብዙሕ ኣጋጣሚታት ቁማር እዩ። ድሕሪ ሕጂ ኣብ ዝጻወቶ ቁማራት ከኣ ተበላዒ እዩ። እቲ ኣዝዩ ዘሕዝን ከኣ ህዝብና እውን ንሱ ብዝኣጉዶ ሓዊ ካብ ምንዳድ ዘይድሕን  ምዃኑ እዩ። በዚ ይኹን በቲ ሕብረተሰብ ዓለም ሎሚ እውን ተጽዕነኡ ኣብ ልዕሊ እዚ ጉጅለ ከዛይድ ንጽውዕ። ምስዚ ግና ዓለምለኻዊ ተጽዕኖ መመላእታ እምበር፡ ንናትና ናይ ኤርትራውያን ግደ ከም ዘይትክእ ኣይንዘንግዕ።

ራብዓይ ክፋል

ከም ኤርትራውያን እቲ ርእሲ ኩሉ ዘገድሰና፡ ጉዳይ ሃገርናን ህዝብናን ኢዩ። ህዝብና እቲ ዝግብኦ ክብሪ ረኺቡ፡ ብፍትሒ ኣብ ሰላምን ብልጽግናን ክነብር  ንደሊ ንምትግባሩ ድማ ንቃለስ። ኣብ ህዝብናን ሃገርናን  ክወርድ ዘይንደልዮ በደል  ኣብ ልዕሊ ካልኦት ህዝብታትን ሃገራትን ብኣና ይኹን ብካልኦት ክፍጸም’ውን ዘይንደልዮ ኢዩ። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ኣብ ኩሉ ጉዳይ ሃገሩ ውሳኒ ተራ ንክህልዎ ኢዩ ተቓሊሱ። ንገድሊ መሪሖም ናጽነት ዘዕቆቡ ተጋደልቲ እቲ ኩሉ ዝተሰዉእዎን ዝሰንከልዎን ሰላም፡ ብልጽግናን ፍትሕን ዝሰፈና ሃገር ንምምስራት ኢዩ ነይሩ። ሕማቕ ኣጋጣሚ ኮይኑ ግን፡ ፍረ ቃልሲ  ህዝብና  ብሓደ ጉጅለ ተጨውዩ ሃገር ክትምዕብለሉ እትኽእል ዝነበረት መኣዝን  ተሳሒቱ።

ኤርትራ ከም ሃገር ኣብ ምብጋሳ ክትገብሮም ዝነበርዋ ብዙሓት ኢዮም ነይሮም። ብቐንዱ ግን ሃገር ዝምርሓሉ ሕጊ ከተጽድቕ በዚ መሰረት ድማ መንግስታ ከተቕውም፡ ንኹሉ ኤርትራዊ ዓቕሚ ዘዋስእ ስርዓት ክትተክል፡ ምስ ዓለምናን ዞባናን ዘዋስእ ቅኑዕ ፖሊሲ ዝምድና ክትሕንጽጽ ኢዩ  ዝግባእ ነይሩ። ኣብ ክንድኡ ግን ብናይ ሓደ ሰብኣይ ኣመራርሓ ተተኪኡ፡ ፊን ከምዝበሎ ድማ ሃገር እናሓመሰ ይነብር ኣሎ። ውልቀ መላኺ ኢሰያስ ኣብ ናይ 30 ዓመታት ኣመራርሕኡ ቀንዲ ጸላኢ ምዕባለን ሓድነትን ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ምዃኑ ኣረጋጊጹ ኢዩ። ብሰንኪ ተናኻሲ ጠባያቱን ጸሕታሪ ውግእ ዝኾነ ተግባራቱን ዝፈጠሮም ጸላእቲ፡ ናይ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ጸላእቲ ክኾኑ ግድን ኣይኮነን። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ኢሰያስ ንዝጸልኦ ክጸልእ ንዝፈተዎ ክፈቱ እንተኾይኑ፡ ነቲ ንሃገርና ናብ ገደል ዝወስድ ኣመራርሕኡ ኣሜን ኢልካ ምቕባል ጥራይ ኢዩ ዝኸውን። ዲክታቶር ኢሰያስ ዝኣተዎምን ዘላዓሎምን ኣዕነውቲ ውግኣት ብሰላም ክፍትሑ ዝኽእሉ ዝነበሩ  ኢዮም። ኣብ ጉዳይ ደሴታት ሕነሽ ምስ የመን፡ ኣብ ጉዳይ ዶብ ምስ ኢትዮጵያን ጅቡትን  ዝተገብሩ ውግኣት ኩሎም ትርጉም ዘይነበሮም ካብ ዋግኦም ንላዕሊ ዋጋ ዘኽፈሉ ኢዮም ነይሮም። ኣብቲ እዋንቲ ዋና ጸሓፊ ናይ ውድብ ሕቡራት መንግስታት ዝነበረ፡ መንግስተ ሰማያት የዋርሶ፡ ኮፊ ኣናን ንናይ ባድመ ውግእ “ትርጉም ዘይብሉ ውግእ” ኢሉ ኢዩ ገሊጽዎ። በዚ ትርጉም ዘይብሉ ውግእ ዝመጸ ሳዕቢናት፡ ሞት፡ ዕንወት፡ ምዝባልን ጽልእን ተመሊስና ነቲ ጠንቅታቱ ክንፍትሾን ነቲ ቅኑዕ፡ ቅኑዕ፡ ነቲ ጌጋ ድማ ጌጋ ክንብሎን ክንመሃረሉን እንተዘይኪልና፡ ግጉይ ኣመራርሓ  ውልቀ መላኺ ኢሳያስ ኣፈወርቂ ሎሚ ውን ኣብ ጸድፊ ከእትወናን ንስቅያትና ከናውሖን ኢዩ።

ብጉጅለ ኢሳያስ ዝምራሕ ስርዓት ኤርትራ ኣብ ጠቕሚ ህዝቢ ዝተመስረተ ናይ ወጻኢ ፖሊሲ የብሉን። በዚ ከኣ ኤርትራ ፈታዊ ዘይብላ ካብ ዓለም ኣብ ተነጽሎ እትነብር ኢያ። ምስ ጎረባብታ ናይ ሓቢርካ እናተሓጋገዝካ ብሰላም ምንባር ፖለቲካ እትኽተል ኣይኮነትን።  ኣብ ሶማል ዝተኸተለቶ ግልብጥብጥ፡ ኣብ ሃገራት ወሽመጥ ቀጠርን ኢማራትን ቀዋምነት ዘይብሉ ነቲ ሓደ ከተርሕቕ ምስቲ ካልእ ኣሻሩ ካብ ዝብል ግዚያዊ ጠቕሚ ዝነቅል መርገጻት፡ ነቲ ኣብ እዋን ቃልሲ ንናጽነት ቀንዲ መዕቆቢን ደጋፍን ዝነበረ ህዝቢ ሱዳን፡ ብጉጅለ ህግድፍ ናይ ኢዶም ዘይምርካብ መግለጺ ናይ ዝሓዞ ዘይጥዑይ ፖሊሲ ወጻኢ ዝምድናታት ኢዮም።  ንኢትዮጵያ ኣብ ውሽጣዊ ጉዳያታ ኣትዩ ብቐጻልነት ኣብ ምሕማሳ ይርከብ። ኢሳያስ ኣፈወርቂ እቲ ኣብ ውሽጢ ኢትዮጵያ ዝገብሮ ምትእትታው ንጠቕሚ ህዝቢታት  ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ነይሩ እንተዝኸውን'ኳ  ኣይምሓሰመን። ግን ንማንም ዘርብሕ ኣይኮነን።

ኣቶ ኢሰያስ፡ ኣብ ኢትዮጵያ ዝትከል መንግስቲ ኣብ ብሔራት መሰረት ዝገበረ ፖለቲካ ክኸውን ከምዘይብሉ፡ ከምዝመኸረ ደጊሙ ደጋጊሙ ብኹርዓት ክገልጽ ተሰሚዑ ኢዩ። እቲ ብሸነኹ ዝግበር ዝነበረ ግን፡ ንብሄራዊ ፖለቲካ ዘሰጉማ ውድባት እትዮጵያ፡ ናይ ኦሮሞ ናጽነት ግምባር፡ ናይ ኦጋዴን ናጽነት ግምባርን ካልኦትን ንክዕወታ፡ ንህዝቢ ኢርትራ ድራሩ ኣሕዲጉ፡ ኣብ ውሽጢ ኤርትራ ሓቚፉ ይሕግዘን ነይሩ ኢዩ። በቲ ካልእ ሸነኽ ድማ ንናጽነት ኤርትራ ዘይቅበሉ ሓይልታት ኢትዮጵያ፡ እንተተዓወቱ ድማ ተመሊሶም ንኤርትራ ክጎብጡ ድሕር ዘይብሉ፡ ከም ጉንቦት ሸውዓተን የኣርበኞች ግንባርን  ዝተባህሉ ይሕግዝ ነይሩ። መራሕቲ  ጉጅለ ህግድፍ ካበየናይ ስነ-መጎት ነቒሎም ኢዮም ነዞም ኣብ ኢትዮጵያ ተጻራሪ ዕላማታት ዘለዎም ሓይልታት  ዝሕግዝዎም ነይሮም? ኢሰያስ ነዞም ተጻረርቲ ልኡላውነት ኤርትራ ዝኾኑ ሓይልታት ኢትዮጵያ ክሕግዝ ከሎ፡ ኣብ ኤርትራዊ ጉዳይ ዘለዎ ክሕደት ኢዩ ብዝያዳ ኣመስኪሩ። እዚ ዘይሃገራዊ መርገጽዚ ዝያዳ ይጎድኣና ኣሎ። እዚ ሕጂ ኣብ ጉዳይ ኢትዮጵያ ብምእታው ኣብ ልዕሊ ጎረቤት ህዝቢ ትግራይ ዝፍጸም ዘሎ በደል ብዋጋ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ኢዩ። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ደቁ፡ ገንዘቡ፡ ግዜኡን ጥዑይ ናይ ጎረባብቲ ዝምድናን ይኸስር ኣሎ።

ኤርትራ ብጅግንነት ደቃ ናጻ ሃገር ኮይና፡ ናጽነት ብዘምጽኡላ ከኣ፡ ብኣምራርሓ ኢሳያስ እናተበደለት ትርከብ። ናተይ እትብሎ ህዝባዊ መንግስቲ ክሳብ ሕጂ ኣይተተኽለን። ኣብ ረብሓታት ሃገር ዘይተሰረተ፡ ኢሰያስ ፊን ብዝበሎ ኣብ ዝመርሓላ ዘሎ ሃገር፡ ናቱ ፈተውቲ፡ ከም ፈተውቲ ህዝብና ጸላእቱ ውን ከም ጸላእቲ ህዝብና ክንቆጽሮም ዘይከኣል ኢዩ። በየናይ ኣብ ሃገራዊ ረብሓ ዝተመስረተ ናይ ወጻኢ ዝምድናታት ፖሊሲ ኢዩ ንህዝቢ ኤርትራ ”እዚኦም'ዮም ፈተውትኻን ጸላእትኻን” ክብሎ ዝኽእል። ኢሰያስ ዝፈጥሮም ጸላእቲ ናይ ባዕሉ ጸላእቲ ጥራይ ኢዮም ክኾኑ ዝኽእሉ። ንኣመራርሓ ኢሰያስ ዝጸልአን ዝተቓወመን ኤርትራዊ ይኹን ወጻእተኛ ከም ጸላኢ ህዝብን ሃገርን ጌርካ ምልጣፍ ናይ ህግደፍ ስራሕ ኢዩ። እዚ ከኣ ነቲ ኣብ መንጎ ሃገርን መራሕን ዘሎ ፍልልይ ምኽሓድ ማለት ኢዩ።

ንሕና ምስ ሃገራት ክንፈጥሮ ዝግባኣና ዝምድና ኣብ ናይ ሓባር ረብሓታት ዝተሞርኮሰ ኢድ ምትእትታው ዘየፍቅድ ናይ ሓድሕድ ናጽነት ዘኽብር ክኸውን ኣለዎ ኢልና ንኣምን። ዉልቀ መላኺ ኢሰያስ ብዝተኸተሎ ግጉይ ኣመራርሓን ኣፈታትሓ ግርጭታትን ዝወረደ ጉድኣትን ጽልእን ኣብ ምእራሙ ክንከይድ ከምዘሎና'ምበር ናይዚ ኣሉታዊ ውርሻ ቀጸልቲ ክንከውን ኣይግባኣናን። ኢሰያስ ኣብ ልዕሊ ህዝቢ ትግራይ ዘለዎ ጽልኢ ብተግባር ኣመስኪሩ ኢዩ። ንሕና ግን  ነዚ ኣብ ልዕሊ ህዝብና ንዓመታት ከካይዶ ዝጸንሐ ኮይኑ ስለዝስመዓና፡ ኣብ ህዝቢ ትግራይ ዝቕጽሎ ዘሎ ገበን ብዕጽፊ ንኹንኖ። ኣብዚ ኣብ ትግራይ ኣጒድዎ ዘሎ ሓዊ ተቓጺሉ ዕድሚኡ ክሓጽርን ህዝብና ራህዋ ክረክብን ድማ ዝከኣለና ንገብር።

ይቕጽል

Wednesday, 10 March 2021 23:14

Ethiopian diplomat resigns over Tigray war

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MARCH 10, 2021  ETHIOPIANEWSTIGRAY

My name is Berhane Kidanemariam. I have proudly served my country, Ethiopia, for decades at varying levels of public service. Prior to my current post, it was my great privilege to serve as Consul General of the Ethiopian Mission in Los Angeles. Currently, I am serving as the Deputy Chief of Mission to the United States at the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Throughout my career, I have always been honest with government and party officials about concerns I have had with the direction of the country. I have suffered consequences, including being excluded from certain political affiliations, because of my differing views. Despite these challenges, I have always tried to put what I believe is best for my country above my political interests. I have long desired for Ethiopia to make the necessary reforms to ensure peace and prosperity for all its citizens.

With the emergence of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, I, like many other Ethiopians, had big hopes for genuine reforms that could transform our political environment. In the beginning, Prime Minister Abiy inspired millions of Ethiopians with talk of reconciliation and change.

However, instead of fulfilling his initial promise, he has led Ethiopia down a dark path toward destruction and disintegration. Like so many others who thought the Prime Minister had the potential to lead Ethiopia to a bright future, I am filled with despair and anguish at the direction he is taking our country.

Instead of solving conflicts through dialogue, the Prime Minister has chosen to solve ideological and political differences by abusing the judicial system and using the military to suppress opposition to his rule.

Instead of increasing press freedoms, journalists have been arrested, assaulted, and assassinated.

Instead of leading a promised transition to democracy, elections have been repeatedly postponed; political leaders have been arrested on false charges; and opposition parties have been debarred and deregistered from participating in the electoral process. Major parties like the Oromo Liberation Front and the Oromo Federal Congress have withdrawn from the upcoming sham elections because the government has jailed their leaders without cause and shut down their party offices.

Some of the most disturbing events of Abiy’s tenure have been the killings of major political and civic figures. These include the assassination of Simegnew Bekele, the passionate project manager of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam; the murder of the Ethiopian Army Chief of Staff, General Se’are Mekonnen and his friend, General Gezae Aberra; the assassination of Dr. Ambachew Mekonnen and other leaders of the Amhara region; and the killing of the popular Oromo singer Hachalu Hundessa, which was immediately followed by the arrests of political leaders like Jawar Mohamed, Bekele Gerba, Lidetu Ayalew, and Yilikal Getnet, among many others. These assassinations all remain troubling mysteries in Ethiopia, and the true perpetrators have never been brought to justice.

On top of these issues, the continuous repression and killings in Oromia, the breakdown of law and order in the Amhara region, the violence in Metekel, and military conflict with Sudan signal a perilous future for Ethiopia under current leadership.

The most urgent crisis in Ethiopia, however, is the ongoing war in Tigray. In November 2020, the Ethiopian government launched a war on Tigray for the supposed purpose of a “law enforcement operation”. The government used its full military power, including ground and air assaults, against the Tigray region. Moreover, the government invited foreign forces from Eritrea and the United Arab Emirates (with the use of drone warfare) to attack its own people.

Tigray’s infrastructure has been completely and intentionally destroyed. Soldiers are systematically raping women and young girls. Hundreds of thousands of people are being displaced, killed, and deliberately starved.

While all of this is happening, the Ethiopian government is intensifying its campaign of lies and deceit by denying the presence of foreign powers, denying atrocities being committed against the people of Tigray, denying all the crimes it is responsible for while the whole world bears witness.

In the rest of Ethiopia, thousands of ethnic Tigrayans have been fired from their jobs, harassed, assaulted, and arrested. I call on the Ethiopian government leadership and its followers to stop these attacks on Tigrayans based on their identity and to stop the witch-hunt that is taking place against Tigrayans in Ethiopia and in the diaspora.

One of the ironies of a prime minister who came to office promising unity is that he has deliberately exacerbated hatred between different groups. By using Amhara militias to attack Tigray, the government has tried to ensure further animosity between Amharas and Tigrayans. By involving Eritrea in this war and allowing its military to commit atrocities and wanton destruction of Tigray, the Prime Minister has deliberately tried to increase enmity between ordinary Tigrayans and Eritreans. I urge all peace-loving Ethiopians and Eritreans to completely reject this strategy.

In addition to the abuses and killings of Tigrayan civilians, another tragic aspect of this war is the pointless deaths of thousands of Ethiopian army recruits and Eritrean conscripts for a cause they do not even understand. This self-destructive war has severely damaged Ethiopia’s economy, its productive capacity, and the military’s ability to provide security for the rest of the country. The government’s recklessness has not only damaged peace and order for Ethiopia, but it risks destabilizing the entire Horn of Africa as well.

Now, more than ever, there is a need for national political dialogue in order to salvage the last vestiges of the imploding Ethiopian state. Therefore, the government must release all political prisoners and bring all Ethiopian political groups together for an inclusive national dialogue to solve the problems the country faces.

The government must allow an independent, U.N.-led investigation into all areas of Tigray. As the government is a party to this conflict, it is in no position to investigate itself through its so-called Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, which serves as nothing but a fig leaf to the international community while the government pursues its crimes with impunity.

Healing will only come to Tigray, and the rest of Ethiopia, when the government demands invading forces leave and ends this war, when there is a credible investigation into all the crimes committed, and when there is accountability for the perpetrators and justice for the victims.

I have loved serving as a diplomat for my country but I cannot do so at the expense of my values, and certainly not at the expense of my people. There is a cost to acting on one’s principles, but there is a bigger cost to abandoning them. I resign from my post in protest of the genocidal war in Tigray, and in protest of all the repression and destruction the government is inflicting on the rest of Ethiopia.

I hope all Ethiopians will join me in raising our voices to oppose the disastrous policies of this government. Despite all of its problems, I believe there is still hope for our country. We must stop viewing compromise as weakness. We must stop continuously seeking to dominate and annihilate our opponents. This will lead to nothing but our mutual destruction. We must learn to forgive each other so that we can live together. Ethiopia will only prevail if we choose the path of dialogue, understanding, and reconciliation.

Eritrea Hub | March 10, 2021 at 6:31 pm | Categories:  Ethiopia, News, Tigray | URL: https://wp.me/p9mKWT-20d

ጉጅለ ህግደፍ “ሌባሌባ እንተበልዋስ፡ ሉዋሉዋ ዝበልዋ ይመስላ”  ከም ዝበሃል፡ እነሆ በቲ ሓንሳብ ዝመረጾ ዘይጥዑይ መንገዲ ይቕጽል ኣሎ። እቲ ኣብ ኤርትራ ዘሎ በብዓይነቱ ገበናት ዝፍጽመሉ ሜዳ ጸቢብዎስ ካብ ኤርትራ ወጻኢ ከስፍሖ ብዙሕ ግዜ ብብዙሕ ኣገባባት ፈቲኑ። ሎሚ ከኣ ከም መቐጸልታ ናይዚ ግጉይ ኣተሓሳስባ ናይ ምስፋሕ ተግባራቱ፡ ኣብቲ ዓይኒ መፍተሉ ዘይፍለጥ ህልዊ ኩነታት ኢትዮጵያ ከም ዝኣተወ ጸሓይ ዝወቐዖ ሓቂ ኮይኑ ኣሉ።

ህግደፍ ካብ ኤርትራ ናብ ደገ ዘመዓዱ ጥዑይ ንምዝራእ ዘይኮነ፡ እቲ ኣብ ኤርትራ ክፍጽሞ ዝጸንሐን ዘሎን ገበናት  ንምስፍሕፋሕ እዩ። እንተኾነ ብብዙሓት ወገናት እዚ ስግረ-ዶባዊ ምህዞኡ ከም ትጽቢቱ ተቐባልነት ኣይረኸበን። እዚ እከይ ሓሳቡ ከምቲ ዝተመነዮ ተቐባልነት ዘይረኽበሉን ቀንዲ ምኽንያት ከኣ እቶም ሓሳቡ ክሸይጥ ዝኸዶም ኣካላት ስለ ዘይገዝእሉ እዩ። ናይ ዘይምግዘኦም ምኽንያት ከኣ ኣተሓሳስባ ኢሳያስ ንህዝቢ ኤርትራ ዘይኮነስ ንኻልእ ከምዘይበቅዕ ስለ ዝግንዘቡ እዮም። ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ግና “እንተስ ብገርሂ እንተስ ብጉርሒ” ጸረ ህዝቢ ተግባር ኢሳያስ ኣብቲ ብብልጽግና ዝምራሕ መንግስቲ ኢትዮጵያ ዕዳጋ ረኺቡ። ኣተሓሳስባ ኢሳያስ ኣብ ኢትዮጵያ ዕዳጋ ምርካቡ ከኣ ኣብ ኢትዮጵያውያን ኣዛራቢ ኮይኑ ኣሎ። እንተኾነ ናይቶም “ብሰንኪ ኣብ ዓዱ ዝመኸነን ዝተፈንፈነን ኣተሓሳስባ ኢሳያስ ምቕባልና ኣብ ውሽጢ ሃገር ኮነ ዲፕሎማስያዊ መድረኻት ዋጋ የኽፍለና ኣሎ” ዝብሉ ኢትዮጵያውያን ቁጽሪ ይበዝሕ ከም ዘሎ ንዕዘቦ ዘለና እዩ።

ናይ ጉጅለ ኢሳያስ ኣብ ዘይንጹርን ዘይብሩህን ኩነታት ምስ ቀዳማይ ሚኒስተር ኢትዮጵያ ዶ/ር ኣብይ ኣሕመድ ምዝማድ፡ ኣብቲ እዋኑ ኣዝዩ ኣዛራቢ ነይሩ። ኣዛራብነቱ ኣብ ኤርትራውያንን ኢትዮጵያውናንን ጥራይ ከይተደረተ ናይ ግዳም ሓይልታት ኣጀንዳ  እውን ኮይኑ ነይሩ። ዝያዳ ኣዛራቢ ዝኾነ ከኣ ድሕሪ ናይ 20 ዓመታት ናይ “ኣይሰላም ኣይውግእ” ዝምድና ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ብሃንደበት ዝመጸ ስለ ዝነበረ እዩ። ይኹን እምበር በቶም ኣብ ኤርትራ ዝነበሩ ከም በዓል ጉንበት 7 ዝኣመሰሉ፡ ተቓወምቲ ውድባት ኢትዮጵያ  ብውሽጢ ውሽጢ ይስራሓሉ ምጽንሑ በዓል ኣንዳርጋቸው ጽጌ ኣቃሊዐምዎ እዮም። ንሕና እዚ ብብዙሕ ተንኮላትን ውዲታትን ዝተላዕጠጠ ዝምድና እንታይ ከም ዝወልድ ኣብ ምግማት፡ ከምዚ ንርእዮ ዘለና ከም ዝኸውን ናይ ምርዳእ ጸገም ኣይነበረናን። መረጋገጺና ከኣ ጨካንን ደረቐኛን ኣተሓሳስባ ኢሳያስ ንኤርትራን ህዝባን ዘይኮነ ንኢትዮጵያ’ውን ከምዘይጠቅም ስለ እንርዳእ እዩ። ምስዚ ኩሉ ግና በቶም ብጉጅለ ኢሳያስ ኣብ ልዕሊ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ይፍጸም ዝነበረ በደል ብግቡእ ዘይተረድኡ ወይ ከኣ ተረዲእዎም ክኑሱ ዘይተገደስሉ ኣካላት፡ እዚ ዝምድና እዞም መራሕቲ ናብ ራህዋ ናይ ክልቲኡ ህዝብታት ይወስድ ይኸውን ዝብል እምነት ኣንቢረምሉ ነይሮም። እቲ ብግብሪ ዝኸውን ዘሎ ግና እቲ ንሕና እቶም ነቲ ጉዳይ ብደቂቕ ክንከታተሎ ዝጸናሕና ዝገመትናዮ  እዩ።

ሎሚ ሰራዊት ኤርትራ ኣብ ጉዳይ ኢትዮጵያ ኣትዩ ኣብ ትግራይ ይዋጋእ ከም  ዘሎ ድሕሪ ክንደይ  ናይ ሓሳባት ሓጐጽጐጽን ኣተሓባባእን ተረጋጊጹ እዩ። መራሕቲ ህግደፍን ብልጽግናን’ውን “ሓቢእካዮ ዘይሕባእ” ምስ ኮኖም ብዘይተወደን ብሓላፍዘላፍ ኣገባብን ክእመንሉ ተገዲዶም እዮም። “እቲ ሰራዊት ኣብኡ ኣትዩኸ እንታይ ይገብር ኣሎ?” ዝብል ከኣ ውዑይ ኣዘራራቢ ኮይኑ ኣሎ። ኤርትራውያን ብዛዕባ ምእታው ሰራዊት ኤርትራ ናብ ትግራይ፡ ነቲ ዋና ኣሳሳይ ኢሳያስን ጉጅለኡን ገዲፍካ፡ እቶም ዝተረፍና እውን ኣብ ሓደ ዕቱብ ናይ ሓባር ሚዛን የለናን። ካብቲ ነዚ ተርእዮ መሚና ኣብ ናይ ሓባር ሚዛን ከይንበጽሕ ኣጸጊሙና ዘሎ ምኽንያታት ሓደ ንኤርትራን ህዝባን በቲ ሓደ ወገን፡ ንኢሳያስን ጉጅለኡን ከኣ በቲ ካልእ ወገን ዝተፈላለዩ ምዃኖም ኣብ ክንዲ ምርኣይ ደዋዊስካ ምርኣዮም እዩ። እዚ ከኣ ንኢሳያስ ሕቶ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ይምልስ ከም ዘሎ መሲሉ ገበናት ክፍጽም ዕድል ዝህቦ ዘሎ ናይ ሓሳብ በዓቲ እዩ።

ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ኣብ ትግራይ ዘሎ ሰራዊት ኤርትራ ብዙሓት ወገናት ቦታታት እንዳጠቐሱ፡ ገበን ከም ዝፈጸመ ይኸስዎ ኣለዉ። ኣብ ኣብያተ-ክርስትያን ማርያም ኣኽሱምን ድንገላን ዝተፈጸመ ቅትለት ከኣ ንኣብነት ዝጥቀሳ እዩ። ካብዚ ነቒሎም ኢሳያስ ኣብ ቅድሚ  ዓለም ለኻዊ ቤት ፍርዲ ገበነኛታት ቀሪቡ ክኽሰስ ዝጽውዑ ኣለዉ። “ሰራዊት ኤርትራ ነዚ ገበናትዚ ውዒልዎ ድዩ ኣይወዓሎን?” ኣብ መስርሕ ምጽራይ ስለ ዘሎ ውጽኢቱ  ክንርኣዮ ኢና። ናብቲ ሓቂ ክንመጽእ እንተኮይና ግና፡ ኢሳያስ ንክኽሰሲ ናብዚ ኣብ ትግራይ ፈጺምዎ ዝበሃል ዘሎ ጥራሕ ከይተቛመትካ እቲ ኣብ ኤርትራ፡ “ብዘይሕገመንግስቲ ዝመርሕ። ንዜጋታት መወዳእታኡ ኣብ ዘይፍለጥ ወትሃደራዊ ባርነት ዝጸምድ፡ ዜጋታት ንክስደዱ ምኽንያታት ፈጢሩ ዝደፋፍእ፡ መሰል ምእማን፡ ምዝራብ፡ ምውዳብ፡ ምጽሓፍን ምንቅስቓስን ዜጋታት ዝኸልእ፡ ብዘይ ፍርዲ ዝኣስር፡ ዝስውርን ዝቐትልን ……ወዘተ” እንዳበልካ ዘርዚርካ ዘይውዳእ ገበናቱኸ ኣየኽስሶን ማለት ድዩ። ዘኽስስን ዘፍርድን ስለዝኮነ ኢና  ከኣ፡ “ገበናት ህግደፍ ኣብ ኤርትራ፡ ከይዝንጋዕ” ንብል ዘለና።

ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ከምቲ ኣብ ልዕሊኡ ዝፍጸም ንዘሎ ገበናት ህግደፍ ዝኹንኖ፡ ኣብ ልዕሊ ህዝቢ ትግራይ ንዝፍጸም በደላት እውን ከምዘይድግፎን ከምይዘይሕተተሉን ፍሉጥ እዩ። ኣብዚ እቶም ንጉጅለ ኢሳያስ ዝረግሙን ዝኸሱን ሓይልታትን ህዝብን ትግራይ እውን ንህዝቢ ኤርትራ ብዘይወዓሎ ከይልክምዎ ከስተብህሉ  ይግበኦም። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ኣብ ሃገሩ ዓቕምን ዕድልን እንተዝረክብ ነቲ ኢድ ኣእታውነት ጉጅለ ህግዲፍ ዓው ኢሉ ከምዝኹንኖ ዘጠራጥር ኣይኮነን።

ሰራዊት ኤርትራ ዝተወደበን ነብሱ ዝከላኸለሉን ኣድላይ እንተኮይኑ ከኣ ዘጥቀዓሉ መሳርሒ ዝወነነ ካብቲ ህዝቢ ዝሓሸ ነቲ ዘይከውን “ኣይከውንን እዩ” ናይ ምባል ተኽእሎ  ነይርዎ። እንተኾነ ዋልታን ኲናትን ኮይኑ ብቐዳምነት ህዝቡ መድሓነ። ካብኡ ሓሊፉ ንገዛእ ርእሱ “ወራርን ሰራቕን” ካብ ዘብል ተግባር ናጻ ክኸውን መተገብኦ። ነቲ “ሰራዊት ኤርትራ ብጉጅለ ህግዲፍ ዝውጻዕ ዘሎ ቀንዲ ክፋል ሕብረተሰብ ኤርትራ እዩ። ህልውና ሃገር ናይ ምውሕስ ሓላፍነት ኣለዎ። ኣብ ኣብ ኤርትራ ድሕሪ ኢሳያስ ሰላም ናይ ምውሓስ ሓላፍነት ክስከም’ዩ።”  ዝበሃሎ  ዝምጥን ስጉምቲ ክወስድ ካብ ሎሚ ዝጥዕም ግዜ ኣይነበሮን። ብኣንጻሩ ንብዓት ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ዘይሓበሰ ሰራዊት፡ ስለምንታይ ናብ ትግራይ ከም ዝኸይድ ንህዝቢ ብሩህ ኣይኮነን። “ከይፈተወ ብህግደፍ ስለ ዝተገደድ እዩ” ዝብል ኣበሃህላ ከኣ ፈጺሙ ምኽኑይ ኣይኮነን።

ሕብረተሰብ ዓለም ንኢሳያስን ጉጅለኡን ክምርቕ ኮነ ክረግም እንከሎ፡ መበገሲኡ ህልዊ ኰነታት ኤርትራ ክኸውን ይግበኦ። ቅድሚ ሕጂ ኣብ ልዕሊ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ እገዳ ክውሰን እንከሎ፡ እቲ ኣብ ግምት ዝኣተወ ርክቡ ምስ ኣልሸባብ እምበር፡ ዘቤታዊ ጉዳይ ኤርትራውን ኣይነበረን። ሎሚ ከኣ እዚ ኣብ ልዕሊ ህግደፍ  ዝወጣወጥ ዘሎ መቕጻዕቲ  ንገበናት ህግደፍ ኣብ ኤርትራ፡ ከይዝንግዕ ነዘኻኽር።

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