Sunday, 18 August 2019 10:15

Radio Demtsi Harnnet Sweden 17.08.2019

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Saturday, 17 August 2019 06:19

Africa’s most authoritarian school

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August 16, 2019 News

“It’s just slavery. You toil day and night and you get nothing,”

Source: Mail & Guardian

Systemic abuse: The Sawa graduation ceremony. Every Eritrean student attends the school in their final year. ‘You don’t understand if it’s a school, or a military camp,’ says one former student. (Yemeni G Meskel)
Systemic abuse: The Sawa graduation ceremony. Every Eritrean student attends the school in their final year. ‘You don’t understand if it’s a school, or a military camp,’ says one former student. (Yemeni G Meskel)

By law, every single student in Eritrea must spend their final year of high school at the Warsai Yikealo Secondary School and Vocational Training Centre — no matter where they are from or where they attended classes before. The school is inside a military camp, however, and students have no guarantee that they will ever be allowed to return to civilian life.

According to the Eritrean government — led by President Isaias Afwerki since independence from Ethiopia in 1991 — the policy is a kind of radical egalitarianism designed to level the educational playing field, ultimately ensuring that all students have equal access to university, and consolidating the “harmony and social cohesion” of each new generation.

But students themselves tell a very different story, describing a system of systematic abuse, torture and repression that has forced hundreds of thousands of young Eritreans to flee their country.

“You don’t understand if it’s a school, or a military camp,” said one former student. “Sawa is hell: they do everything to make you want to leave,” said another.

Sawa is the name of the military camp, and is how most students refer to the school that is based there.


Satellite Imagery of the Sawa military camp, including the Warsai Yikealo Secondary School, recorded in January 2015.
Imagery © DigitalGlobe – Maxar Technologies 2019; Source: Google Earth

Last week, Human Rights Watch (HRW) released an 84-page report detailing the experiences of students at Sawa. The report is an unprecedented glimpse into what daily life is like at the school, and an insight into what the harsh environment is designed to achieve. “Eritrea’s secondary schools are at the heart of its repressive system of control over its population,” said Laetitia Baeder, who, as the lead researcher on the report, conducted interviews with dozens of former students.

‘Punishments were so hard’

Sawa is located in inhospitable, isolated terrain near Eritrea’s western border with Sudan, where temperatures in summer can reach up to 40°C. It is divided into educational and military areas and, in total, can accommodate up to 30 000 people, according to the ministry of information (Eritrea’s current minister of information did not respond to a request for comment for this piece; nor did Eritrean authorities respond to repeated attempts by HRW to obtain comment).

At the beginning of each school year, grade 12 students are bused in from all over the country. Most, but not all, are over the age of 18; according to HRW, some are as young as 16. On arrival they are divided into groups that mirror army formations, and each given a plastic plate, cup and utensils. The food — mostly lentils and bread — is notoriously poor.

Military training begins immediately. “From the first month, the alarm rings at 5am. They make you run to the toilet, you had five minutes to wash — if we had water, which wasn’t always the case — five minutes to put your uniform on. You get punished if you don’t manage,” one former student said. “We would have military training until 8am … The military trainer is always with you; he stays in the dorm. The [physical] punishments were so hard; I was desperate to escape them and so I would try to stick to the rules.”

According to HRW, the year at Sawa is divided into one or two months of physical fitness training and military discipline; four months of military training, which includes weapons handling and a three-week “war-like simulation exercise”; and six months of academic teaching.

In addition to these responsibilities, however, students are expected to perform manual labour such as cleaning and carrying supplies, and also to assist with farming at the state-owned Molober farm, 7km from Sawa. This leaves very little time for actual studying.

Students are punished for even minor infractions, such as oversleeping, or for complaining about their conditions. Punishments include — but are not limited to — being beaten with sticks, being left in the sun for long periods of time, and being made to roll around on the ground while being beaten.

 

For female students, the dangers are even greater. Referring to Sawa and other military training camps, the United Nations commission of inquiry on human rights in Eritrea found in its 2015 report that “Women and girls are at a high risk of rape and other forms of sexual violence … They are often forced into concubinage by superiors in the camp.”

‘It’s just slavery’

The end of the school year brings no respite. Students with high marks may be allowed to go to one of the country’s seven tertiary colleges, while the rest are forced into Eritrea’s involuntary and indefinite conscription program, which has been described by both former conscripts and rights groups as a form of modern-day slavery. A university degree merely delays the inevitable, with graduates still required to participate in national service once they have obtained their degree.

Although conscription is officially capped at 18 months — six months of military training and six months of national service — in practice it can last for several years or even decades. Conscripts are given no say in the work they are required to do, which can include everything from accounting to farming to construction. College students are often assigned to be secondary school teachers, even if they have no teaching experience or subject expertise. The pay is paltry, the food is still bad and there is no legal entitlement to any leave.

“It’s just slavery. You toil day and night and you get nothing,” said Dawit, a former school teacher, speaking to the Guardian in 2018.

Young Eritreans have come up with creative solutions to avoid national service, such as deliberately flunking Grade 11 to avoid being sent to Sawa; or, for women, by marrying young and becoming pregnant. But these are far from foolproof: periodic police and military raids — known as giffas in Tigrinya — round up people who are perceived as trying to avoid conscription.

There is no provision for conscientious objection in Eritrean law, so “draft dodgers” are often jailed. One student, who tried to escape national service in 2014, described his experience to HRW. He was 14 at the time.

“I spent six months in Gergera [prison]. The cell was about 4mand there were 180 people in it. We would put up our sheets and sleep on them. No windows, no light. Never allowed out. Only to go to the toilet and to eat.

“I was held with detainees of all ages. Some detainees were there for escaping, some for trying to evade national service. [Because] I was young and injured, they just held me for six months and then released me. But most are held for six months and then sent to military service,” he said.

Against this backdrop, it is no surprise that thousands of young Eritreans are fleeing the country every month. Half a million Eritreans now live in exile, mostly in neighbouring Ethiopia and Sudan, from a population of just five million — that is, 10% of the country’s citizens.

Many make the perilous journey to Europe, braving the civil war and human traffickers in Libya and the treacherous crossing of the Mediterranean: they have calculated that the risks are worth it for the chance of a better life somewhere else.

So much for the “harmony and social cohesion” that the Warsai Yikealo Secondary School and Vocational Training Centre was supposed to deliver.

“Ending abusive and open-ended national service, reining in military officials responsible for abuse, and allowing students to determine their futures will be key to Eritrea’s prospects,” said Bader. “People who see that they have a bright future in Eritrea are less likely to need to flee.”

Source=https://eritreahub.org/africas-most-authoritarian-school

ርእሰ-ዓንቀጽ፡ ሰዲህኤ

ኤርትራዊ ልኡላውነትና፡ ብነዊሕን መሪርን ቃልሲ ዝተረጋገጸ፡ ሰፍ ዘይብል፡ ናይ ህይወትን ንዋትን ዋጋ ዝተኸፍሎ ምዃኑ ኣብ ቅድሚ ኩልና ብሩህ እዩ። እቲ ንልኡላውነትና ቅድሚት ሰሪዕና ከም ብሌን ዓይንና እንሕልወሉ ካልእ ምኽንያት ከኣ መሰረት ናይቲ ኣብ ዝሓለፈ ቃልስናን ምእንታኡ ዝተኸፍለ ዋጋን ጥራይ ዘይኮነ፡ ኣብ መጻኢ እውን ናይ ኩሉ ዓውትና መሰረትና ንሱ ስለ ዝኾነ እዩ።

ብተረድኦና ጉዳይ ልኡላውነት ኤርትራ፡ ድሕሪ’ቲ መሪር ናብኡ ዘብጸሐ መስርሕ ኣብ 1991ን 193ን ንድሕሪት ብዘይምለስ ተረጋጊጹስ፡ ህዝብና ናብ ሕድሽ ሃገር ናይ ምህናጽ ምዕራፍ ሰጊሩ እዩ። እንተኾነ ብሰንኪ ናይ ህዝብና ሕድሪ ጠሊሙ፡ ናቱ ዝናን ትምክሕትን ዘቐድም ጉጅለ ኢሳይያስ ህዝብና ኣብ ሓዲሽ፡ ብምረቱን ክብደቱን ካብቲ ምእንቲ ናጽነት ዝተኸፍለ ዋጋ ዘይድሕር፡ ምናልባት እውን ዝመረረ፡ ምዕራፍ ክኣቱ ተገዲዱ። ናይ ሎሚ ቃልስና ኣብታ ብሳላ መስዋእቲ ደቃ፡ ህልውነኣ ዘውሓሰት ልኡላዊት ኤርትራ፡ ልዕልና ሕግን ማዕርነት ደቃን፡ መሰል ምውዳብን ሓሳብካ ምግላጽን፡ ኮታ ኩሉ ዲሞክራስያውን ሰብኣውን መሰላት ዜጋታታ ዝኽበረላ ሕገመንግስታዊት ኤርትራ ንምህናጽ ንቃለስ ኣለና። ናብዚ ቃልሲዚ ወፊርና እንዕወት ከኣ ኣብ ዘተኣማምን ፖለቲካዊ ሜዳ ልኡላዊት ሃገር ኤርትራ እንተ ረጊጽና ጥራይ እዩ።

ኣብዚ ዝሓለፈ ሒደት ዓመታት፡ ንድሕሪት ተመሊሱ ንልኡላውነት ኤርትራ ዝደናደን ዝንባለታት ክቀላቐል ክንዕዘብ ጸኒሕና። ዘይቅርዑይ ንቕሎ ኣግኣዝያን ናይዚ ምልክት እዩ። በብኹርናዑ ክቀላቐል ዝጸንሐ ንቃልስና ምእንቲ ናጻን ልኡላዊትን ኤርትራን መስዋእቲ ጀጋኑናን ዘራኽስን ዘነውርን ዝንባለታት ክንዕዘብ ጸኒሕና። ድሕሪቲ ዲክታቶር ኢሳይያስ “ብውንኡ ድዩ ወይስ ጥዕና ስኢኑ እዩ” ዘበለ፡ ምስ ብዙሕ ዘይንቡር ኣካላዊ ምዕልባጥን ቀበጥበጥን ኣብ ኣደባባያት ኢትዮጵያ፡ “ህዝብታት ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን፡ ክልተ ህዝቢ እዮም ዝብሉ ነቲ ታሪኽን ሓቅን ዘይፈልጡ እዮም” ምስ በለ፡ ብዙሓት ንኣእዛኖም ክኣምኑ ኣይከኣሉን። እንተኾነ ከምቲ “ወሓጥዮ እንተበልኩዋስ ትጐስሞ” ዝበሃል፡ “ከምዚ ዝብል ዘለኹ ንቃለ-ዓለም ዘይኮነ ብልበይ እየ” ብዝብል ሓረግ ምስ ኣድመቖ፡ ብዙሓት ተጠማሚቶም ማይሕነ ውሒጥዎም። እንተኾነ ነቲ ዝተባህለ ክቕይርዎ ኣይከኣሉን።  ኢሳይያስ ብዛዕባቲ ኣፉ ደም ክሳብ ዝወጽእ “ስምምዕ ኣልጀርስን ውሳነ ኮሚሽን ዶብ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ክትግበር እዩ” ክብሎ ዝጸንሐ ምስ ኣጽቀጠ፡ ጋዜጠኛታቱ ብዛዕባኡ ሓሳቡ ክህብ ምስ ሓተትዎ፡ “ሎሚ ጉዳይ ዶብ ዘልዕሉ ወገናት ነቲ ምስ ኢትዮጵያ ተበጺሑ ዘሎ ሰላም ክስምሙ/ክዘርጉ ዝደልዩ እዮም” ዝብል ዘደንጹ መልሲ ምስ ሃበ “ኣማን ብኣማን ሰብኣይሲ ጠሊሙ እዩ” ዝበሉ ዘለዉ ኤርትራውያን ብዙሓት እዩ። እንተኾነ እቲ ኩነታት ብጥልመትዚ ዲክታተር ብምግራምን ከንፈርካ ብምርምጣጥን ጠጠው ኣይበለን። እንሀ’ኳ ነቲ ዝጸንሐ ናይ ልውጢ ማዕበል፡ መሊሱ ዘጐሃህር “ይኣክል” ወሊዱ።

ስለዚ ከምቲ “እንተ ክንብርኩት ዘይክንብርኩት ኣብ ማይ ንብጻሕ” ዝበሃል፡ ኣብ ሃገርና ዲሞክራስያውን ሕገመንግስታውን ስርዓት ንክንተክል፡ ጉዳይ ልኡላውነት ኤርትራ ሓጺናዊ መሰረቱ ጸኒዑ ንኽቕጽል ምስቲ ህዝባዊ ስርዓት ናይ ምህናጽ ዕማምና ኣጐዝጒዝና ከነቕልበሉ ናይ ግድን ኮይኑ ኣሎ። ሎሚ ከምቲ “ዝብኢ ብዝጠሓሶ ኣኽላባት’ውን ይኣትዉ” ዝበሃል፡ በቲ ኢሳይያስ ተጠሊዑ ኣብ ልኡላውነት ኤርትራ ሰነከልከል ከም ዝበለ ምስ ዝደርጉሖ፥ ብኣኡ ተተባቢዑም፡  “ኢትዮጵያ ኣብ ወድባት ኤርትራ ሓይሊ ባሕሪ ክትምስርት” እያ ዝብል ዕላል ናይ ብዙሓት ኮይኑ ኣሎ። “ኢትዮጵያ ብወገን ኤርትራ ኣፍደገ ባሕሪ ናይ ምርካብ ሕጋዊ መሰል ኣለዋ” እንዳበሉ ዝምድሩን ዝጽሕፉን’ውን ብዙሓት እዮም። ቀዳማይ ሚኒስተር ኢትዮጵያ ብዛዕባ ምንጻፍ ንኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ዘራኽብ መስመር ባቡር ምስ ለገስቲ ሃገራት ተፈራሪሞም ዝብል ሓበሬታ ብዓባይቲ ናይ ዓለምና ማዕከናት ዜና ክቃላሕ ሰሚዕና። ኣብዚ ቀረባ ድማ ኣብቲ ነዊሕ ቃልስና ምእንቲ ናጽነት ኣብ ኤርትራ ተዋጊኦም ዝተሳዕሩ ናይ ቀደም ወተሃደራት ኢትዮጵያ ማሕበር መስሪቶምስ ኣብ ኣስመራ አንፈር ቤት ጽሕፈት ከም ዝኸፈቱ፡ ብማዕከናት ዜና ሰሚዕና። ኮታ ኢሳይያስ ንዝኸፈቶ ጥልመት ዘራጉዱ ወስታታት ብዙሓት እዮም። እምበኣር እዚ ኩሉ ተደሚሩ፡ ጉዳይ ልኡላውነት ኤርትራ “ሓንሳብ ተረጋጊጹ እንድዩ” ኢልና እነራጥጠሉ ዘይኮነ፡ ሎሚ እውን ንቑሕን ጥንቁቕን ሓለዋ ከም ዘድልዮ ዘረድእ እዩ።

ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ (ሰዲህኤ)፡ ኣብዚ ቀረባ ግዜ ጉባአኡ ክዛዝም እንከሎ ካብ ዝወሰኖም  ኣገደስቲ ውሳነታት ሓደ፡ ጉዳይ ልኡላውነት ኤርትራ ነይሩ። ከምዚ ዝስዕብ ድማ ይብል። ጉዳይ ኤርትራዊ ልኡላውነት መሰረታዊ ጉዳይ ህልውናናን መንነትናን እዩ። ኩሉ ዘርዚርካ ዘይውዳእ ኣብ ኤርትራ በዂሩ ዘሎ መሰላትን ነጻነታትን እውን ኣብ ልኡላውነታ ዘውሐሰት ኤርትራ ጥራይ እዩ ዝረጋገጽ። እቲ ብዓለም-ለኸ ሕግታትን ውዕላትን ዝፍለጥ ናይ መሬት፡ ናይ ባሕርን ናይ ኣየርን ዶባት ኤርትራ ኣብ ዝኾነ ይኹን ግዜ ናብ ዋጋ ዕዳጋ ዘይቀርብ መግለጺ ሉዓላውነትና ምዃኑ ሰዲህኤ ይኣምን። ካብ ብምብጋስ፡ ብዘይ ኣፍልጦን ፍቓድን ህዝብና ኣብ ኤርትራ ሰፊሮም ዘለዉ ናይ ግዳም ሰራዊታት ካብ ሉኣላዊ መሬት ኤርትራ ብህጹጽ ክወጹ ጕባኤ ይጽውዕ።

ጕባኤ፡ ነቲ ብደም ኣእላፍ ኤርትራውያን ዝተረጋገጸ ሉኣላዊነት ሃገረ ኤርትራ ዝድግፉ ሓይልታት እናኣመጐሰ፣ ነቶም ነዚ ሓቂ ዘይተዋሕጠሎም ጸረ ሰላም ሓይልታት ድማ ካብ ሕሉፍ ታሪኽ ክምሃሩን ካብ ተዅታዂ ተግባራቶም ክቝጠቡን የጠንቅቕ።”

ስለዚ እቲ መሕብኢ ክጥቀመሉ ንዝጸንሐ ውድብን ግንባርን ከምኡ እውን፡ ስማዊ መዝነት ክህቦም ዝጸንሐ ዕዙማት ባእታታት ጠሊሙ፡ በይኑ ተሪፉ ዘሎ ውልቀ-መላኺ ዲክታተር፡ ገበኑ መሰረታዊ መሰላት ህዝብና ምንፋግ ጥራይ ዘይኮነ፡ ብመሰረቱ እውን ንኤርትራ ከም ሃገር ኣብ ቀራና መንገዲ ጠጠው ኣቢልዋ ምህላዉ ኣስተብሂልና፡ ሕሳብ ኩለመዳያዊ ቃልስና ንግበር።

Looked at one way, President Isaias’ rule is more fragile than ever. Looked at another, his grip on power is only getting firmer.

eritrea opposition meeting

For many years now, the rituals that surround Eritrea’s Independence and Martyrs’ Days have revealed a government trapped in its own history and unable to articulate a vision for the future. This year, however, the hypocrisy of President Isaias Afwerki’s statements was even greater than usual, magnified by the impacts (or lack thereof) of last year’s peace deal with Ethiopia.

For almost two decades, the regime in Eritrea used the threat of war with Ethiopia to justify its repressive policies. When peace was struck in 2018 therefore, there was much optimism that change may be coming. The economy also received a welcome boost from the opening of the border. Yet a year on, those hopes have been dashed and the border has re-closed. While the president may say Eritrea’s future relies on the “quality, expertise and experience” of its population, thousands of energetic young people continue to leave each month.

According to some commentators, however, not everything is the same. Some argue that the stark reality of life in Eritrea has become even harder to bear for many following this past year’s disappointment and that desire for change is growing among Eritreans both inside the country and in the diaspora.

These observers and activists suggest that the opposition to the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) government is gaining momentum. But is it?

Eritrea’s rising tide of opposition?

Those who claim that Eritrea is seeing a rising tide of opposition look to various trends.

Outside the country, for example, the anti-regime #yiakl (“enough”) campaign of has grown, amplified by the youth. Anti-government protests outside embassies and UN offices continue to swell. Furthermore, in anticipation of imminent regime change, diaspora groups are preparing transition plans, while journalists and academics have collectively implored the regime to make political reforms in the belief this is a rare moment of opportunity and openness.

Inside Eritrea meanwhile, reports similarly suggest that dissatisfaction is becoming more public. New graffiti has emerged calling for the end of indefinite national service and pamphlets that echo the sentiments of the #yiakl movement are being distributed. Some government officials have been disassociating themselves from the PFDJ in response to popular frustrations, and ordinary citizens are said to be becoming more vocal about their patience reaching breaking point. This has led The Economist, among others, to conclude that “Eritrea’s gulag state is crumbling”.

It is perhaps in the PFDJ’s own behaviour, however, that we see the strongest evidence that it is under threat. In recent months, the government has severely limited internet access and, by extension, news of neighbouring Sudan’s popular uprising. It has maintained its closure of Catholic health clinics, arguably to contain the influence and reach of one of Eritrea’s only semi-autonomous and outspoken institutions. Meanwhile, President Isaias is said to be further consolidating his inner circle of loyal cadres, with the attempted assassination of General Sebhat Ephrem read as a sign of an ever more fractured political elite.

All these developments, the argument goes, are clear signs of a spooked regime.

More of the same?

The above suggests that the writing is on the wall for Eritrea’s regime, but this expectation might be misguided for several reasons.

To begin with, it should be noted that commentators have heralded the impending end of Isaias’ regime several times over the years. When scores of soldiers in Asmara seized the headquarters of the state broadcaster in January 2013, for instance, many – though by no means all – claimed it was an attempted coup attempt, though it ultimately catalysed no broader insurrection.

Similarly, many have read into previous protests or criticism of the regime a tidal shift that never materialised. Anti-government sentiment spiked after its relative silence following the deaths of hundreds of Eritreans off the coast of Lampedusa in 2013. Eritrea’s Catholic Church has called for political reform intermittently since 2014 and escalated in recent weeks following the government’s closure of its medical clinics. In late-2017, unprecedented numbers took to Asmara’s streets to protest against government interference in an Islamic school. In many of these instances, observers have seen the beginning of the end of the regime that is still yet to come.

This also highlights the fact that condemnation of the government is not new in Eritrea. We have not seen a repeat of the open criticism the group of 15 high-ranking officials (who became known as the G-15) expressed in 2001, but Isaias and the PFDJ have been the butt of jokes and graffiti throughout the 2010s. In Asmara, the ineptitude of the regime is a regular theme of conversation, to the point of boredom for many, while genuine government supporters are hard to come by.

Eritreans’ long-standing levels of frustration are perhaps best captured by the numbers fleeing the country. People have sought asylum from the PFDJ for decades, but numbers peaked in 2014 when an estimated 5,000 people left each month. These flows are one reason that opposition numbers in the diaspora continue to grow.

Isaias consolidating control?

This context makes it harder to conclude that today’s dissent against the regime is uniquely large, even though it might be uniquely loud, amplified by new technologies. However, the argument could go even further. Some new developments suggest that Isaias may even be consolidating his position.

For example, the government has recently struck some business deals in the mining sector and accepted development finance, including from the African Development Bank. Though unlikely to change ordinary Eritreans’ lives, this could alleviate some pressures on the government’s budget.

At the same time, shifting international dynamics could also strengthen Isaias’ hand. The peace deal with Ethiopia changed little for most Eritreans, but it did validate the PFDJ’s insistence that Eritrea has been illegally occupied all along. Moreover, it led to the cancellation of the UN Security Council’s sanctions against Eritrea and opened new opportunities for investment and engagement.

Off the back of this, Isaias is looking outwards and continuing to court allies. Eritrea’s membership of the Human Rights Council and Chairmanship of the Khartoum Initiative this year signals its re-insertion into international diplomacy. Asmara continues to project itself as a regional mediator, most recently through its engagement with the Transitional Military Council in Sudan. And senior Eritrean diplomats still shuttle back and forth from Gulf States in search of allies and investment, though shifts in Red Sea regional interests over the past year may have made these partners somewhat less desirable.

The straw that breaks the camel’s back

So is the PFDJ under threat? The simple answer to this question appears to be: Yes, in different ways, but not necessarily more so than in the past.

The regime may have lost the excuse of Ethiopian hostility and UN sanctions to defend its actions, but it has seamlessly inserted new reasons to justify its repression and the population’s ongoing hardship. Chief among these is that it will take Eritrea time to recover from a period of great adversity and re-establish itself on a sustainable path of its own determination.

As we have seen, many citizens in the country are unconvinced, though exit rather than domestic opposition remains the preference for now, as before. By contrast, foreign governments seem somewhat more persuaded by Isaias and have, amid the Horn of Africa’s changing geopolitics, appeared sufficiently reassured to gently re-engage.

In this context, in which the government is haemorrhaging support domestically but gaining some strength internationally, it is hard to see what will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. It is difficult to work out which actors could gain enough leverage to either transform the PFDJ or to oust it altogether. Change may well be afoot in Eritrea, but it is by no means clear that it is going in the direction the regime’s critics would hope

Source=https://eritreahub.org/eritrea-is-political-change-really-on-the-horizon

Wednesday, 14 August 2019 08:23

ቃልና ብተግባር

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ሎሚ ኤርትራዊ ፖለቲካዊ ኣሰላልፋና እንዳነጸረ ይመጽእ ኣሎ። ገሌና ኣብ መስርዕ ዲሞክራስያዊ ለውጢ ተሰሊፍና ኣለና። መሰረታዊ ዕላማ መስርዕና ከኣ ንሃገርናን ህዝብናን ሓመድ ድፋጨኦም ዘስቲ ዘሎ ምልካዊ ምምሕዳርን ናይ ምልኪ ትካላቱን ኣወጊድካ፡ ብልዕልና ህዝቢ ዘውሕስ፡ ንኤርትራዊ ብዝሑነትና ግቡእ ክብርን ኣፍልጦን ዝህብ ሕገመንግስታዊ ምምሕዳር ምትካእ እዩ። ብኣንጻርዚ ድማ ነቲ ኣብ ልዕሊ ህዝብናን ሃገርናን ዝወርድ ዘሎ፡ ኣይኮነንዶ ንዓና ግዳያት ናይቲ ወጽዓ፡ ንዓለም እውን ዘገረመ፡ መግለጺ ቃላት ዘይርከቦ በደል “ርእዮም ከም ዘይረኣዩ” ብምዃን ምስ ጉጅለ ህግዲፍ ዝተሰለፉ ግዝያዊ ጠቕምን ዕዉር ስሚዒትን ዘንበርከኾም ኤርትራዊ ወገናት ኣለዉ።

ኣብዚ ኣብ ኩሉ ኩርነዓት ወጻእን ሃገርናን፡ ውዑይ ኤርትራዊ ናይ ለውጢ ንፋስ ዝነፍሰሉ ዘሎ ግዜ፡ ደንበ ዲሞክራስያዊ ለውጢ ኣዝዩ እንዳሰሰነ ይኸይድ ኣሎ። ብኣንጻሩ ደንበ ምልክን ወጽዓን መመሊሱ እንዳተራገፈ ይምህምን ኣሎ። ብዙሓት እቲ ናይ ኩሉቲ ወጽዓ ተሓታቲ ዝኾነ ጉጅለ “ንሓዋሩ ከሰንዩኒ እዮም” ኢሉ ዝንየተሎም ዝነበሩ ኤርትራዊ ወገናት፡ ገለን ናብ ደንበ ዲሞክራስያዊ ለውጢ ክጽንበሩ እንከለዉ ገለን ድማ ካብኡ ርሒቖም ድምጾም ዘጥፍኡ ኣለዉ። እዞም ድምጾም ኣጥፊኦም ኣጽቂጦም ዘለዉ ናይ መወዳእታ ሰልፎም ምስ ናይ ለውጢ ሓይልታት እምበር፡ ናብ ደንበ ወጽዓን ጭቆናን ከቶ ኣይክምለሱን እዮም።

ሓይልታት ዲሞክራስያዊ ለውጢ ሸቶና ሓደ ንሱ ከኣ፡ ንወጽዓ ኣወጊድካ ብራህዋ ምትካእ እዩ። ኣተሃላልዋና ግና ዝተፈላለየ መልክዕ ዝሓዘ እዩ። ፖለቲካዊ ሰልፍታትን ውድባት፡ ሲቪላዊ ማሕበራትን ናይ ምልዕዓል ንቕሎታትን ካብቲ ኣተሃላልዋና ዝግለጸሉ መልከዓት እዩ። እዚ ጥራይ ዘይኮነ ኮኩርነዓቶም ሒዞም ብውልቆም ኣብ ደንበ ለውጢ ዝነጥፉ ኤርትራዊ ባእታታት እውን ኣለዉና። እዚ ዘመልክቶ ከኣ ነዚ በበይኑ ዝወፍር ዘሎ ዓቕምታት ናብ ሓደ ናይ ሓባር መድረኽ ናይ ምቕናዩ መሰረታዊ ዕማም ኣብ ቅድሜና ምህላዉ እዩ። እቲ ተስፋ ዝህብን ዘተባብዕን ከኣ፡ እዚ ግዜ ዘይህብ ምፍጣር ናይ ሓባር መድረኽ ቃልሲ ኣገዳስነቱን ኣድላይነቱን ኣብ ቅድሚ ኩልና ብሩህ ምህላዉ እዩ። ኣብ ዝተፈላለዩ ኣጋጣምታት፡ ክንእውጅ፡ ክንምድርን ክንጽሕፍን እንከላና  ነዚ ተደላይትዚ ኢና ቅድሚት ንሰርዖ ዘለና።

ብመጽር እዚ ኣብዚ ቀረባ ግዜ ኣብነታዊ ሓድነታዊ ጉባአኡ ዘሰላሰለ ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ (ሰዲህኤ) እኳ ኣብቲ ንሓቢርካ ምስራሕ ደንበ ዲሞክራስያዊ ለውጢ ፍሉይ ቆላሕታ ሂቡ ዝወሰኖ ፖለቲካዊ ውሳነታቱ፡

“3.1. ነቲ ምስ ዝተፈላለዩ ኤርትራዊ ፖለቲካዊ ውድባትን ግንባራትን ተጀሚሩስ ከይተውድኤ ዝጸንሐ መስርሕ ዘተ ኣብ ዝሓጸረ እዋን ኣብ መፈጸምታኡ ንምብጻሕ፡ ማእከላይ መሪሕነት ሰልፊ ኣድላዪ ስጉምቲ ንኽወስድ፤

3.2. ክሳብ ሕጂ ምስ ኩሎም እቶም ምሳና ኣብ ግብራዊ ዘተን ጽምዶን ዘይኣተዉ ሰልፍታት፡ ውድባትን ማሕበራትን ከምኡ እውን ግዱሳት ኤርትራውያን፡ በበቲ ዝምጥኑዎን ዝሰማምዑሉን ደረጃ፡ ክሳብ ምሉእ ሓድነት ኣብ ዝበጽሕ ኮነ ኣብ ሓባራዊ ጽላል ዘስርሓና ኰነታት ንምፍጣር ኣብ ዕቱብ ዘተን ልዝብን ክንኣቱ፤

3.3 ብሓሳብን ብግብርን ምስ ዝሰማምዑና ውድባት ኣብ ናይ ምጽንባር ደረጃ ኣብ ዝበጽሓሉ እዋን፡  መሪሕነት ውድብ ንዕኡ ኣብ ግብሪ ናይ ምውዓል ኣድላዪ ስጉምቲ ክወስድ ጉባኤ ወሲኑ።” ብዝብል ኣስፊሩ፡ ወግዓዊ  ናይ ብሓባር ዘስርሓና ሓባራዊ ጽላል ንፍጠር ጸዋዒቱ ኣሕዲሱ ኣሎ።

ሎሚ ምስቲ ወጽዓ ህግዲፍ ኣብ ልዕሊ ህዝብና መመሊሱ ይገድድ ምህላዉ፡ ናትና ቅሩብነት ብሓባር ኣንጻር ወጻዒ ጉጅለ ምቅላስ እውን ይዓቢ ኣሎ። መቓልሕ “ይኣክል” ናይዚ ተስፋ ዝህብ መጻኢ ሓባሪ እዩ። እቲ ክሳብ ሕጂ ዝጸንሐ እቲ ወጻዒ ጉጅለ ክደክም እንከሎ ናይ ለውጢ ደንበ’ውን ማዕሪኡ ምድካም ይቕየር ኣሎ። ንሱ እቲ ወጻዒ ኣተሓሳስባ ክቃላዕን ከንቆልቁልን እንከሎ፡ ደንበ ለውጢ ብኣንጻሩ ክሕይልን ክሰፍሕን ንዕዘብ ኣለና። ብሓባር ዘስርሕ መድረኽ ንበሎ ጽላል፡ ግንባር ንበሎ ምሕዝነት ኣገዳስነቱ ወሳኒ እዩ። ክንድቲ ወሳኒ ኣድላይነቱ ዋጋ ዘኽፍል ምዃኑ እውን ዝከሓድ ኣይኮነን። እንተደኣ ካብ ተመኩሮና ተማሂርና ንቕድሚት ኣማዕዲና፡ እቲ ዝኽፈል ዋጋ ክቡር ግና ከኣ ክንከፍሎ እንኽእል እዩ። ብሰንኪ ክንጸዋወርን ክንመላላእን ዘይብምቃዕና፡ ቃልስና ተናዊሑ ወጽዓ ህዝብና ከኣ ብኽንድኡ ደረጃ ከም ዝመረረ ንዕዘቦ ዘለና እዩ። ገጠራትና ኮነ ከተማታትና ዕንዩ ሰብ ዝሓረሞ ኮይኑ። በዚ ዘለናዮ እንተቐጺልና እቲ ዕንወት ክሓዊ ናብ ዘይክእለሉ ደረጃ ክዓርግ ከም ዝኽእል ክንዝንግዕ ኣይግበኣናን። ስለዚ እቲ ክንፈጥሮ ዝግበኣና ናይ ሓባር መቃለሲ መድረኽ ክፍጠር ይግበኦ ጥራይ ዘይኮነ፡ ክቕልጥፍ እምበር ይግበኦ።

ብሓባር ዘስርሓና መድረኽ ክንፈጥር ድሉዋት ምህላውና በበቲ ዝጥዕመና ኣገባብን ኣጋጣምን ቃል ኣቲና ኣለና። ቃል ብዘይተግባር ግና ደርፊ ኮይኑ እዩ ዝተርፍ። እቲ ክንፈጥሮ ዝግበኣና  ግብራዊ ናይ ሓባር መድረኽ፡ ንዝኾነ ቅሩብ ናይ ለውጢ ሓይሊ ዘየግልል ኣብ ውሱን ዘሰማምዕ ዛዕባ ዘትከለ ክኸውን ይግበኦ። ስለዚ ኩላትና ኣእዳውና ክንሕውሰሉ ድሉዋት ንኹን። ሎሚ ከምቲ “ዝሓበራ ኣጻብዕ ኣርቃይ የጸንበዓ” ዝበሃል፡ ዝጠምረና ናይ ተግባር ውዳበ ከድልየና እዩ። ውድባት ኣየድልያን፡ ማሕበራትባ ኣየድልያን፡ ዝበሃል ዝንባለ ስለ ዘየዋጸኣና፡ ካብኡ ክንወጽእ ይግበና። ሰልፊዶ ማሕበር፡ ነባርዶ መንእሰይ …… ወዘተ ተበሃሂልና ከይተጸዋወግና ብሓባር እንተሰሪሕና ከም እንመላላእ ክንእመን ይግበኣና። ከምኡ እንተዘይገይርና ነቲ ጸበብቲ ስምዒታትና እንዳመዝመዘን እንዳናቖተን ዕድሚኡ ከናውሕ ዝሕልን ደንበ ወጽዓ ኣይክንስዕሮን ኢና። ስለዚ እቲ ብሓባር ክንሰርሕ ድሉዋት ምዃና እንኣትዎ ዘለና ቃል፡ ክንትግብሮ ጽባሕ ዘይኮነ ሎሚ ንተንስእ። ፈውሱ ኣብ ኢድና ብዘሎ ሕማም ክንሳቐ ኣይግባእን።

ስዉእ ተጋዳላይ ሲራክ ዘመንፈስ፡ ብዝሓደሮ ሕማም ሎሚ ንግሆ ዕለት 13 ነሓሰ 2019 ዓ.ም ድሕሪ ፍርቂ ለይቲ ካብ’ዛ ዓለም ብሞት ተፈልዩና። ስዉእ ሲራክ፡ ኣብ ተጋድሎ ሓርነት ኤርትራ ተሰሊፉ ኣብ ዝተፈላለየ ጽፍሕታት ንሃገራዊ ናጽነት ተቓሊሱ። ተሓኤ ኣብ ሱዳን ድሕሪ ምእታዋ ድማ፡ ከም መምህር ኰይኑ ኣብ ፖርት ሱዳንን ኣብ ካርቱምን ዝርከብ ናይ ኤርትራውያን ቤት ትምህርቲ ኣገልጊሉ።

ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ(ሰዲህኤ)፡ ንስዉእ መንግስተ-ሰማይ የዋርሶ፣ ንቤተሰቡን መቃልስቱን ድማ ጽንዓት ክህቦም እናተመነየ፤ ናይ ሓዘኖም ተኻፋሊ ምዃኑ ይገልጽ።

ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ

13 ነሓሰ 2019

August 2, 2019 News

With more than 25 million people forcibly displaced from their countries by the end of 2018, the world currently faces an unprecedented refugee crisis. Among the countries with the highest rates of displacement are Syria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Afghanistan – all of which are riven by war and instability.

Also on this list, however, is Eritrea. In contrast, the small East African nation has been mostly at peace since it won its independence struggle against neighboring Ethiopia in the early 1990s.

To Martin Plaut, a senior researcher at London’s Institute of Commonwealth Studies, these figures are illustrative of the despair and hopelessness faced by those who live under what he calls the “most secretive, repressive state in Africa.”

Unlike other, more famous authoritarian and totalitarian states around the world, Plaut notes that the Eritrean regime makes no pretense of even having a constitution, a representative legislature, elections, or a semblance of a free press.

The fate of its citizens are dictated by the whims of the regime – headed by independence leader turned dictator Isais Afwerki. All Eritreans are subject to conscription into the military and can be compelled into forced labor that the U.N. says “effectively abuses, exploits and enslaves them for years.”

Those who step out of line can be detained indefinitely under shocking conditions. Others are killed. There are no courts to hear their appeals.

Plaut, the former Africa Editor of the BBC’s World Service, set out to tell the “untold story of how this tiny nation became a world pariah,” publishing “Understanding Eritrea: Inside Africa’s Most Repressive State,” in 2016. With the release of an updated version of the book this year, The Globe Post spoke to Plaut to shed light on the widespread abuses in Eritrea that have gone largely unnoticed by the outside world.


The Globe Post: After a thirty-year struggle, Eritrea won its independence from Ethiopia in 1993. If you can take us back, what went wrong in the immediate wake of independence and how did the government that’s ruled since come to power? 

Plaut: Actually, in effect, it started before that in 1991 when they actually took the capital. What they rightly did was to say, “we won’t formally declare independence until there’s been a U.N. supervised referendum.” And the reason for that was that nobody would ever be able to turn round and say, well, “you just took it by force. It can be taken back by force. The people never really supported you.” So, although they actually declared it formally in ‘93, they really held it from ‘91.

In the beginning, things were fine. But gradually it became clear to President Isaias [Afwerki], who led the independence struggle for 30 years, that things were not going the way he expected them to. A lot of the troops that he had under his command, all of whom were volunteers, all of whom were guerrilla fighters, had been fighting, some of them, for 10, 15 years without pay.

They were only used to getting effectively pocket money and food. lodging and, of course, ammunition and weapons. And they began to turn round and say, “well, hang on, we now have to look after our families. They’re in deep need. We need a bit of money.” There were also concerns about the way the veterans who had been injured – some of whom had lost legs, arms, some of them very badly crippled – how they were being treated.

Eritrean President Isais Isais Afwerki. Photo: AFP

Both these groups began to express concerns, and Isaias was just outraged that anybody would turn around and question his authority. He had ruled for 30 years with an absolute iron rod. And it was needed because they were up against an enemy that was 10 times its size in terms of population.

Ethiopia was also receiving arms – first from the United States and then from the Soviet Union – in vast quantities. So in order to win against them, you had to be completely and utterly ruthlessly disciplined. Some things happened during the liberation struggle that were pretty, shall we say, unattractive, even against their own people. Some people were shot for indiscipline, that kind of thing, and for questioning his authority.

But when he discovers that his authority is being questioned after independence, he begins reacting in the same way. There was a famous incident where some of the disabled tried to walk into town to complain to him, and they were met by the police and the army who opened fire on them. To open fire on your own disabled is pretty appalling.

TGP: You say that Eritrea is the “The most secretive, repressive state in Africa.” What sets the Eritrean government apart in your mind from other repressive, authoritarian ones on the continent and what are some specific practices or policies that you find to be particularly egregious?  

Plaut: Most other governments at least make a pretense of having a constitution and having a parliament, even if it’s manipulated, and allowing a semblance of a free press. You take a pretty authoritarian regime which doesn’t hesitate to repress and kill its opponents and its journalists, like Rwanda. But they do have a constitution. They have a parliament which meets and the parties function. They might be all be controlled by [President Paul] Kagame, but there is a semblance of some political space.

None of these apply in somewhere like Eritrea. There is no constitution that’s been ratified. The parliament has been prorogued. It hasn’t met for years now. Even the ruling party hasn’t had a Congress for many, many years. There are no other parties that are allowed to operate in Eritrea. There is no independent media. Even organizations like Al Jazeera, BBC, Reuters are not allowed to have journalists permanently stationed there.

So, that’s really what singles it out from other repressive regimes in Africa, some of which are extremely bad and very repressive. But they do have some semblance of legitimacy and that is something President Isias has no time for.

TGP: The 2018 UN refugee assessment report notes that Eritrea is among several countries with the highest rate of displacement in the world. Others mentioned in the same category include Syria and the DRC, both of which are the sites of wars and major instability. What does it say about Eritrea that so many people are fleeing the country despite the fact that there is no conflict there? 

Plaut: I think you’re absolutely right to single that out as a clear indication of what is wrong and why it is so peculiar. The reason is simple. The system of compulsory conscription, which effectively operated during the war of liberation, was extended after under the guise of a national service and today is indefinite. Some people have been in national conscription for over 20 years. They’re hardly paid at all. They can be deployed to the most remote corners of the country and they have no ability to lead an independent life and live under military discipline.

Some of them think, “well, this is it. My whole life could be spent, stuck in a trench in the most remote corner of the country,” supposedly guarding it against the Ethiopians who might or might not attack or against Djibouti, with whom they also have a quarrel. This just fills people with such dread and despair that although there’s an extremely high penalty for desertion, you will be shot, they decide to cross. When the border was opened briefly with Ethiopia after the peace agreement last year, up to 500 people were leaving each day. And this is a small population. There are various estimates, but the government figure is 3.6 million people. To have 500 leaving a day, you’re in a shrinking situation.

TGP: I wanted to ask you a bit more about the practice of conscription into permanent military service. As the United Nations reported: “Thousands of conscripts are subjected to forced labor that effectively abuses, exploits and enslaves them for years.” Just how widespread is the practice and what kinds of specific labor are people forced into? 

Plaut: Well, you have to spend your last year of schooling at the military academy at Sawa, which is in the west of Eritrea and a pretty remote area. If you’re lucky and have the right connections, after your basic training of about 18 months, you might then get a job perhaps in the civil service or be sent to work for a general.

But you are entirely at the whim of your senior commander. Women complain of being abused sexually, of being forced to perform domestic chores for officers. Men are sometimes being sent to the mines in some of the toughest conditions you can possibly imagine. The Eritrean coast gets up to 50 degrees centigrade (122 degrees Fahrenheit), some of the hottest conditions in the world. To be mining or building roads under those conditions is extraordinarily tough.

You are at the whim of the regime who, if you step out of line, can lock you up indefinitely. There are no courts to whom you can appeal. Somebody was released recently who had been kept for five years in a shipping container and let out about once every week or two weeks. They were almost blind. There was no light. Those are the kinds of circumstances in which people can be detained. People are just in despair.

TGP: Interestingly, you note that the government has played a role in supporting the Saudi-coalition waging a brutal war against the Houthis in Yemen. Why has Eritrea become involved in that war and how can we understand the regime’s foreign policy towards the region more broadly? 

Plaut: Some years ago, the government was in alliance Iran, which of course is on the other side of the war in Yemen. But quite frankly, I think they were wooed by the Saudis and the United Arab Emirates, who, as you say, are fighting Houthis and fighting the Iranians. Frankly, I think it was a question of money. They were given really substantial sums of money. None of this is ever revealed. No budget is ever published in Eritrea. So there’s no way of knowing. But that is the most likely explanation.

They simply swapped sides as a result. The Saudis and the UAE can use Eritrea’s ports and airfields and they use them to attack the Houthis. There are also reports of some Eritrean troops manning some of the islands between Yemen and Eritrea in the Red Sea. And they are also part of that defense operations to prevent the Iranians from bringing assistance to the Houthis. This has all been shown by satellite imagery and there’s no doubt about this.

Eritreans migrants walk through a road on the Ethiopian side of the Ethiopia-Eritrea border. Photo: AFP

More broadly, the Eritreans have managed to fall out and then mend fences with every single one of their neighbors at various times. They’ve had a border war with Ethiopia. They’ve had a clash along the border with Djibouti. The border with Sudan was closed until earlier this year because relations were so bad.

They’ve literally fallen out with almost everybody because everything is run at the whim of President Isais. And he actually thrives on stirring up trouble and difficulties for his neighbors. He’s a past master at mobilizing and manipulating events in neighboring countries. And that’s the way that he operates.

TGP: The human rights abuses and repressive policies of governments like those in Saudi Arabia, for example, or North Korea are quite infamous and well known to Western audiences. But it seems to me that many in the West have probably never even hear of Eritrea. Why do you think that is? 

Plaut: Well, you mustn’t forget that it doesn’t have any strategic reserves of oil or another mineral that is absolutely vital. They are on an important sea route on the Red Sea, but that’s about their only claim to fame. They’re quite a large country, I suppose, in European terms. But they’re not a large country in terms of Africa. And they, therefore, haven’t really caught the attention of the world.

Anything that has increased their importance, certainly in the American sense, is that there have been suggestions that the Russians might get a naval base in Eritrea, but those have not been confirmed. There is something of a sort of naval arms race in the Red Sea because you have both the United States and the Chinese operating out of Djibouti. And they sort of have an uneasy relationship with each other because of the close proximity of their bases.

So it is possible that there might be more strategic interest in Eritrea because of this and because of their involvement in the war in Yemen. Apart from that, they have one other mineral which has been recently discovered, a vast potash deposit, which straddles the border with Ethiopia. That is one mineral that really does look interesting to the outside world. It is an extraordinarily rich deposit. But apart from that, there’s no particular reason for anybody to have taken notice of the country.

Source=https://eritreahub.org/the-most-repressive-state-you-may-have-never-heard-of

ርእሰ-ዓንቀጽ ሰዲህኤ

ሳዋ ካብተን ክልተ ግዜ ዝተራእያ ከባብታት ሃገርና ሓንቲ እያ። ኣብ ግዜ ብረታዊ ቃልሲ ምእንቲ ናጽነት ከም መደበር ርብዳን ካለኦት መሓዙታን፡ ብዙሓት ሓርበኛታት ወተሃደራውን ፖለቲካውን ስንቂ  ኣስኒቓን ኣዕጢቓን ዘሰለፈት ታሪኻዊት ቦታ ነይራ።  ድርሕሪ ናጽነት ግና፡ ስሙን ግብሩን ዘይሰማማዕ ሓላፍነት ተዋሂብዋ መሰረታዊ መሰላት ኤርትራውያን ዝገሃሰላን ናብ ባርነት ዝገማገም ምዝመዛ ዝካየደላን ብሕማቕ እትለዓል ቦታ ኮይና ኣላ።

ህልዊ መደብ ሳዋ ብ1994 ክጅመር እንከሎ፡ ሕገመንግስቲ ዝመሰረቱ ትካላዊ መሰረት ኣይነበሮን። ብዙሓት ወገናት ካብ ሽዑ ጀሚሮም፡ መቆጻጻሪ ንጹር ፖሊስን ግሉጽነትን ብዘይብሉ ኣገባብ ውልቀ-መላኺ ብዘንቀዶ ስለ ዝነቐለ፡ ናብዚ ደሓር ዝኾኖ ከም ዝምዕብ ስግኣት ነይርዎም እዩ። ከም ዝኽበር’ኳ ርግጸኛታት እንተዘይነበሩ ኣብቲ፡ “6 ኣዋርሕ መሰልጠኒ፡ 12 ኣዋርሕ ድማ ናይ ኣገልግሎት መውሃቢ ብድምር ናይ 18 ኣዋርሕ ዕድመ ክህልዎ እዩ” ዝብል ናይ ሓሶት ቃል ተስፋ ዘንበርሉን ብሓጐስ ዝተቀበልዎን እውን ነይሮም እዮም። ደሓር ግና ዝተፈላለዩ ምስምሳት እንዳተፈጥረ፡ ኩሉቲ ዝተባህለ ተጣሒሱ ናብ “ደረት ዘየብሉ ግዱድ ኣገልግሎት” ማዕቢሉ። በዚ ከኣ ኣብ ርእስቲ ኩሉ ዘይቅርዑይ ኣካይዳ ህግዲፍ፡ መድብ ሳዋ ኣብ ቅድሚ ኤርትራውያን ጥራይ ዘይኮነ ኣብ ቅድሚ ሕብረተሰብ ዓለም መርኣያ ሕማቕ ምስሊ ጉጅለ ዲክታቶር ኢሳይያስ ኮይኑ ቀሪቡ።

መደባት ሳዋ፡ ጉልበት፡ ግዜን ዕድመን መንእሰያት ዘባኽን ጥራይ ዘይኮነ ብመሰረቱ እውን መጻኢ ዕድል መንእሰይ ኤርትራ ዘጸልመተን ኣብ ሓደጋ ዘውደቐን፡ ኮነ ኢልካ ኤርትራን ኤርትራውነትን ከዳኽም ዝተማህዘ ተንኮል ምንባሩ ሎሚ ብሩህ እዩ። ተስፋ መጻኢት ሃገር ዝኾኑ መንእሰያት፡ ክንድቲ ዝኽእልዎ ሃገሮም ከገልግሉ ወፊሮም ኩነታት ካልእ ኮይኑ ምስ ረኸብዎ፡ ሃገሮም ራሕሪሖም ክስደዱ ካብ ዘገደድዎም ጉዳያት፡ መወዳእታ ዘይብሉ ግዱድ ዕስክርና ሳዋ እቲ ቀንዲ ምዃኑ ፍሉጥ እዩ። ስንብራት መደባት ሳዋ ኣብ ህይወት መንእሰያት ጥራይ ዝድረት ዘይኮነ፡ ኣብ ቐጻልነት ኤርትራ ከም ሃገር እውን ጽልዋኡ ከቢድ እዩ።  ብዛዕባ መደባት ሳዋ ዘጽንዑ ክኢላታት ከም ዝጠቕስዎ፡ ካብቲ ኣብ ግዜ ህግዲፍ ዝተሰደ ኣስታት 507,300 ኤርትራዊ፡ መብዛሕቱ ብዘይፍትሓዊ መደባት ሳዋ ዝሓለፈ፡ ካብ 18 ክሳብ 24 ዓመት ዝዕድመኡ እዩ። እዚ ጥራይ ኣይኮነን  “ጽባሕ ምስ ፈርዘና መደባት ሳዋ ከርክበናዩ’ሞ ከሎ ጋና ነብስና ከነውጽእ” ኢሎም ዝጠፍኡ ትሕቲ ዕድመ ህጻናት እውን ውሑዳት ኣይኮኑን።

ዋላ’ኳ ከምዚ ኣብዚ ቀረባ መዓልታት ህግዲፍ፡ ዝኽሪ መበል 25 ዓመት ምጅማር ሳዋን ምምራቕ መበል 32 ዙር ተዓለምትን  ብዝብል  ምስሉ ኣብ ጉዳይ ሳዋ ከመላኽዕ እንተፈተነ፡ ነዚ ጉዳይ ብነጻን ሻራ ዘይብሉን ኣገባብ ከጽንዕዎ ዝጸንሑ ክኢላታት ግና ከም ሓደ መርኣያ ዘበናዊ ናይ ባርነት መክዕ ዘለዎ ወጽዓ እዮም ክገልጽዎ ጸኒሖም። ዋላ’ኳ ህግዲፍ ጸማም እዝኒ እንተሃቦ ብዙሓት ዓለም ለኻዊ ትካላት እውን፡ እዚ መደባት ሳዋ ክስረዝ እሞ ኤርትራውያን ተላዚቦምን ረድዮምን  ብዝሕንጽጽዎ ሕጊ ዝቕለስ ፖሊሲ ሃገራዊ ኣገልግሎት ክወጽእ፡ ንሱ ክሳብ ዝኸውን ከኣ ናብቲ ዝነቐለሉ 18 ኣዋርሕ ክምለስ ይጽውዑን ይምሕጸኑን ኣለዉ። ብዓብይኡ ከኣ ናይዚ ኣዕናዊ ተግባራት ግዳያት ዝኾኑን በቲ መደብ ዝሓለፉ ኤርትራውያን መንእሰያት ብዛዕባቲ ሓቀኛ ኩነታት ሳዋ ኣብ ብዙሕ መድረኻት ምስክርነቶም ይህቡ ኣለዉ። ህግዲፍ ግና ነቲ “ካብ ዝቐበረስ ዘላቐሰ” ወይ “መን ይንገር ዝነበረ፡ መንከ የርድእ ዝቐበረ” ዝብል ኣበሃህላ ዘንጊዑ ክሽፈን ዘይከኣል ክሸፋፍን  ንዕዘብ ኣለና። በዚ ዘይወድዓዊ  ኣበሃህላኡ ናይ ዝኾነ ልቢ ከረስርስን ኣተሓሳስባ ክቕይርን ከምዘይክእል ግና ርግጸኛታት ኢና።

ህግዲፍ ናይቲ ዘካይዶ ዘሎ ግዱድ ውትህድርና ርትዓውነት ንምግላጽ፡ ክሕበኣሎም ካብ ዝጸንሐ ምስ ኢትዮጵያ ዝነበረ ኩነታት “ኣይውግእ ኣይሰላም”ን ምስኡ ምትእስሳር ዘይነበሮ ማዕቀብን ምንባሩ ክንከታተሎ ዝጸናሕና እዩ። እንተኾነ እነሆ እዞም ህግዲፍ ካብ ብዙሕ ጉዳያት ክሕበኣሎምን ክሃድመሎምን ዝጸንሑ በዓትታት ካብ ዝፈርስዎ ዝያዳ ዓመት ኮይኑ። ብዙሓት ንህግዲፍ ብግርህናን የዋህነትን ዝርእይዎ ዝነበሩ ወገናት፡ ድሕሪ ምስ ኢትዮጵያ ዝጸንሐ ኩነታት ምቕያሩን ማዕቀብ ምልዓሉንስ፡ ብሓፈሻ ኣብ ብዙሕ ኩነታት፡ ብፍላይ ከኣ ኣብዚ ግዱድ ውትህድርና ለውጢ ክገብር እዩ ኢሎም ተጸብዮም ነይሮም። ኣቶ ኢሳይያስ ግና ቅድሚ ሓደ ሰሙን ኣብ ሳዋ ነዚ ብዝምልከት ኣብ ዝሃቦ መብርሂ “ሃገራዊ ኣገልግሎት ዘይተርፍን ንኹሉ ዝምልከትን ስለ ዝኾነ ማሕበራዊ ፍትሒ ክሳብ ዝረጋገጽ ክቕጽል’ዩ”  ኢሉ። እዚ ማለት ከኣ ኢሳይያስ ክሳብ ዘሎ ክቕጽል እዩ። ምኽንያቱ  ኣብ ኤርትራ ብኢሳይያስ ዝምስረት ማሕበራዊ ፍትሒ ስለ ዘይህሉ። እዚ እምበኣር መደባት ሳዋ  ብጉልባብ “ሃገር  ምሕላውን ምምዕባልን” ንመንእሰያት ኤርትራ ብሞራል ድሂኽካ፡ ብትምህርቲ ኣደንቊርካ፡ ጉልበቶም መዝሚዝካን ክብርታቶም ግሂስካን ኤርትራ ተረካቢ ዘይብላ ንወራርን ድሕረትን ዝተቓለዐት ሃገር ከም እትኸውን ኮነ ኢልካ ዝተሃንደሰ ውዲት ምንባሩ እዩ ዘረድእ። ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ኣብ ትምህርታውን ፖለቲካውን መዳያት ዘይርሳዕ ግደ ንዝነበረን 2ይ ደረጃ  ኣያተ-ትምህርቲ ሃገርና ጨፍሉቑ፡ “2ይ ደረጃ ቤት ትምህርቲ ዋርሳይ ይከኣሎ ሳዋ” ብዝብል ብወተሃደራት ብእትምራሕ እንኮ ማእከል ምትክኡ ናይቲ ትውልዲ ኣብ መዳይ ትምህርቲ ናይ ምቕታል ተግባሩ ኣብነት እዩ። እቲ ተስፋ ዝህብ ግና ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ኩሉ ኤርትራዊ ነዚ ውዲት ነቒሕሉ ክቃለሶ ድልዊ ምህላዉ እዩ።

መንእሰያት ኤርትራ ከምዚ ሎሚ ዝፍጸም ዘሎ፡ ኢደ-ወነናውያን ከም ድላዮም ብዝሰርሕዎን ዝፍንጥሕዎን ሕግን ኣፈጻጽማን ዘይኮነ፡ ብንጹር ሕግን ቅዋማዊ ኣተሓሕዛን ኣብ ህንጸት ሃገሩ ክሳተፍ ግቡእ እዩ። ብመንጽርዚ እዩ ሰዲህኤ ኣብ ፖለቲካዊ መደብ ዕዮኡ “ሓይልታት ምክልኻል ኤርትራ፡ ብሞያውያን ሰራዊትን ብኣባላት ሃገራዊ ኣገልግሎትን ክቐውም ተደላይነት ከም ዘለዎ ብምግንዛብ: ቅዋም ዘፍቅዶ ስሩዕን ዝተጸንዐን መደባት ሃገራዊ ኣገልግሎት ከም ዝህሉ ክገብር ክጽዕት እዩ” ብዝብል ኣስፊርዎ ዘሎ።