http://ascenteq.com/project/epdp

ኣብቲ  ልሙድ ኣኼባ ዘካይደሉ ኣዳራሽ ቦኮንሃይም ኪርሽ ፕላትስ ካብ ሰዓት 14.00 ክሳዕ 17.30 ንሰለስተን ፈረቓን ሰዓታት ዝወድኤ ኣኼባ ብዓወት ከም ዝዛዘመ ዝመጸና ሓበሬታ እነሆ።

ብመጀመርታ ሓው ሓጂ ሳልሕ ስዒድ ኣቦ መንበር ጨንፈር እንቋዕ ብደሓን መጻእኩም፡ ብምስናይ እንቋዕ እውን ድማ ካብ 2014 ዓ.ም. ናብ ሓዲሽ ዓመት 2015 ዓ.ም. ኣሳገረኩም ከምኡውን እንቋዕ ርሑስ በዓል ልደት ገበረልኩም ብምባል ነቲ ኣኼባ ከፊትዎ።                                                                                                                           

ኣስዒቡ ኣቦ መንበር ጨንፈር ንንጥፈታት ሰልፊ ብኣቦ መንበር ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ሓው መንግስትእብ ኣስመሮም ኣብ ሃገረ እንግሊዝ ዝገበሮ ዑድትን ንምክትል ኣቦ መንበርን ሓላፊ ወጻኢ ጉዳያት ቤት ጽሕፈት ሓው ወልደሱስ ኣብ ደቡብ ኣፍሪቃ ምስ 16 ሃገራት ዝተኻፈሎ ኣኼባ ብምጥቃስ፡ ቀጺሉ ነቲ ኣብ ሃገረ ፈረንሳ ዝወረደ ኣሕዛኒ ተረኽቦ ድሕሪ ምግላጽ ፡ ኣብ ናይ 2014 ዓ.ም. ጨንፈር ፍራንክፈርት ዘካየዶ ምምሕዳራዊ ዝርዝር ናይ  መደምደምታ ሓፈሻዊ  ጸብጻብ ብስፍሕ ዝበለ መንገዲ ገሊጹ።

ሓው ሓጂ ሳልሕ ስዒድ እዚ ዓመት እዚ ካብቲ ዝሓለፈ  2014 ዓ.ም. ዝበለጸ  እንሰድርሓሉ ዓመት ክኸውን ኵላትና ብሓባርን ብልዝብን፤ ስምምዕን ብጸዓትን ክንሰርሕ ኣሎና ክብል ንኣኼበኛ ኣተሓሳሲቡ።   ኣስዒባ ሓፍቲ ፈቨን ጊደዎን ዋና ጸሓፊት ጨንፈር ብጉዳይ ድንገተኛ ንኡስ መንእሰይ ኤርትራዊ  ካልድ እድሪስ  ኣብ ድርስድነር  ሃገረ ጀርመን  ዝተገብረ  ድንገታዊ መቕዘፍቲ  ሎሚ ንዓኡ ጽባሕ ድማ ንዓና ክበጽሕ ከም ዝኾነ ካብዛ ዕለት እዚኣ ክንሓስበሉን ነፍስና ክንቁጠበሉን ስለ ዘሎና ኵላትና ብሓባር ኣበቱታና ንዝምልከቶ ከነብጽሕ ኣሎና። ኣቦ መንበር  ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ በዚ ድንገት እዚ ኣመልኪቱ  ንወጽኢ ገዳይ ሚኒስተር ጀርመን ብጉዳይ ሞቱ ኣልዒሉ መመራንዱም ከም ዝጸሓፈ ድማ ኣብሪሃ።

ብድሕሪዚ ሓው ኣፈወርቂ ኣባይ ኣባል ምምሕዳር ንኡስ ዞባ ሽማግለ ንዕስራን ሓሙሽተን ደቓይቕ ዝወሰደ ኣስተምህሮ ብዛዕባ ክልተ ዓበይቲ ኣርእስትታት ኣልዒሉ ሰፊሕ መግለጺ ሂቡ። ንሳተን ድማ ቀዳመይቲ ስለምንታይ ኤርትራ ሃገርናን ህዝብናን ኣብዚ ኵነታት እዚ ወዲቑ፤ ካልኤይቲ ግደ መንእሰያት ኣብ መስርሕ ለውጥን ምሕዳስን እንታይ ግደ ክቃለስ ይግብኦ? ነዚ ዓበይቲ ኣርእስትታት ኣዚ ሓደ ብሓደ ብምትንታን  ብዛዕባ ባህርያት ጉጅለ ስርዓት ኣስመራ ንዘለዎ ብደዔህዝቡን ብዛዕባ ባዕሉ ንዝፈጠሮ ሽግር ናብ ጐረባብቲ ሃገራትን ሕቡራት ዓለምን ምስልባጡን፡ ድሕሪ ምግላጽ  ንመንእስያት ካብ ቀዳሞት ኣቦታቶም ተሞክሮ ብምቕሳምን ምትብባዕን ብግቡእ  ተወዲቦምን ተማሂሮምን ተጠርኒፎምን ለውጢ ከምጽኡ ከም ዝኽእሉ ጥርጥር ከምዘይብሉ ብብምርግጋጽ ኣጥቢቑ ኣስሚርሉ።                                                        

ብድሕሪዚ መንእሰይ ሓው ክብሮም ዓንዶም ተሓዝ ገንዘብ ጨንፈር ብምቕጻል  ንሕና ካብ ሽግርን መከራን ወጺእና ኣሸሓት ብጾትና ድማ ኣብ ጉዕዞ ብዝተፈላለየ ድንገት ጠፊኦም ተሪፎም፡ዘለዉ ኣሕዋትናን ኣሓትናን ክንዝክር ይግባእ፡ ሕጂውን ኣብ ስደትና ስዒቡ መጺኡና ዘሎ ቅትለት ጠንቂ ናይቲ ኣብ ሃገርና ዘሎ ስርዓት ምዃኑ ብምርዳእ ቀጥ ኢልና ክንቃልውስ  የድሊ ክብል ቅሬታኡ ገለጹ።

ብድሕሪ  ኣኼበኛ ነቲ ናይዞም ብጾት ዝሃብዎ መግለጺ ብምግንዛብ  ተወሳኺ ሓሳብን ሕቶን ርእይቶን ለበዋን ብምሃብ ብዝኽሪ ስዉኣት ኣኼባኡ ብዓወት ዛዚሙ።

ኣሰናዳኢት ሽማግለ ካለኣይ ጉባአ ሰልፊ ደሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ብዘውጸኣቶ መደብ መሰረት ኣባላት ሰልፊ ኣብ ንድፊ ፖለቲካዊ መደብ ዕዮ ቀዳማይ ዙርያ ምይይጥ የካይዱ ከም ዘለዉ እታ ሽማግለ ገሊጻ። እቲ ዜና ከም ዝገለጸ ኣባላት እዚ ሰልፊ ጀሚረምዎ ዘለዉ ምይይጥ ነቲ እቲ ሰልፊ ክሳብ ሕጂ ክምረሓሉ ዝጸንሐ ፖለቲካዊ መደብ ዕዮ ከም ንድፊ ብምውሳድ ክኸውን እንከሎ፡ ካብዚ ምይይጥ’ዚ ዝእከብ ሓድሽ ሓሳብ ተወሲኹ ካልእ ንድፊ ክዳለው እዩ። እዚ ቀዳማይ ዙርያ ምይይጥ ምስ ተወደአ ድማ ኣብቲ ዝዳለው ንድፊ ካልኣይ ዙርያ ምይይጥ ከም ዝካየድን ኣብ መወዳእታ ናይቲ ካለኣይ ዙርያ ምይይጥ ሓሳባት ተወሲኽዎ በታ ኣሰናዳኢት ሽማግለ ምስ ተራእየ ናይ መወዳእታ ንድፊ ኮይኑ ናብቲ ኣብ ዝመጽእ ዘሎ ወርሃት ክረምቲ ዝካየድ ጉባአ ቀሪቡ ከም ዝጸድቕ ክፍለትጥ ተኻኢሉ ኣሎ።

ኣብዚ መስርሕ ኣባላት እቲ ሰልፊ ዝምርሕሉ ፖለቲካዊ መደብ ዕዮ ናይ ምሕንጻጽ ደሞክራሲያዊ መሰሎም ተጠቒሞም ብዘይካቲ ብስሩዕ ዘካይድዎ ምይይጣት ብውልቂ እውን ጠቓሚ ዝብልዎ ሓሳብ ናብታ ምድላው ሰነዳት ዝምልከታ ንኡስ ሽማግለ ዘቕርብሉ ዕድል ዝኸፍት እዩ። እታ ኣሰናዳኢት መስርሕ ምስንዳእ ጉባአ ናይ ግዜ ቆጸራ ወጺእካ ዝካየድ ስለ ዝኾነ ኣባላት ሰልፊ ከይሰልከዩ ዝለዓለ ጻዕሪ ንከካይዱ መጸዋዕታኣ ኣቕሪባ’ላ።

ብዘይካ’ዚ እዛ ኣሰናዳኢት ሽማግለ ኣብ መዳያት ሎጂስቲክን ፋይናንስን ኣብ ኣሰታትፋ ኣባላት ናብ ጉባአን እውን ብጻዕቂ ትሰርሕን ተኸታተልቲ ኣኼባታት የካይድን ምህላዉ ናይታ ሽማግለ መራሕን ሓላፊ ቤ/ጽ ውደባዊ ጉዳያትን ሓው ተስፋሚካኤል ዮሃንስ ሓቢሩ ኣሎ።

18 ጥሪ 2015

في البدء وبمناسبة العام الجديد 2015م أزف التهنئة الحارة للشعب الارتري ولكل القوى المحبة للعدالة والتغيير الديمقراطي من تنظيمات سياسية ومنظمات مجتمع مدني، كما أتقدم بالتحية والإكبار لأولئك الذين ضحوا بحياتهم، أموالهم، جهودهم وكل ما يملكون من أجل أن تنعم الأجيال القادمة بالحرية والحياة السعيدة، فبتضحياتهم الغالية صارت ارتريا دولة مستقلة ذات سيادة، مناشداً في الوقت ذاته الأجيال الحالية والقادمة تسلم الراية لنقل الشعب الي الأهداف والآمال والطموحات التي ضحى من أجلها أبناؤه الشهداء.

الأخوة والأخوات الكرام:

ها نحن قد استدبرنا العام 2014م واستقبلنا العام 2015م، وهذا يحتم علينا كأفراد، تنظيمات سياسية ومنظمات مجتمع مدني أن نقيم ما سجلناه في العام الماضي من نجاحات وإخفاقات، وننطلق في العام الجديد نحو مزيد من الإنجازات وتصويب الأخطاء.

إن ما شهده العام المنصرم من تزايد وتيرة المقاومة للنظام بالداخل والخارج، كان أمراً باعثاً علي الأمل والتفاؤل، فقد قدم الارتريون من نساء وشباب وأطفال صوراً مختلفة من معارضة ورفض الدكتاتورية في أنحاء مختلفة من العالم، كذلك أعلن الزعماء الدينيون بكل شجاعة رفضهم ومقاومتهم النظام، ورفضوا تماماً تدخله في شؤون عملهم الروحي، لذا وجب علينا جميعاً أن نشجع تلك الأعمال والنشاطات الشجاعة ونوسع من دائرتها.

بتصرفاته الرعناء عزل نظام إسياس نفسه عن العالم، والمعارضة بصفة عامة وحزبنا علي وجه الخصوص عمل في جميع المحافل الاقليمية والدولية علي المزيد من فضح وعزل النظام واعتلى منابر عديدة ممثلاً لارتريا وآمال وآلام شعبها. وكان إحياء ذكرى مأساة لامبيدوزا التي راح ضحيتها المئات من الشباب الارتري إحدى تلك المناسبات التي عمل فيها الحزب وأصدقاؤه علي لفت نظر العالم وضميره الي مأساة شعبنا بالداخل وما يعانيه جراءها من تشرد وتهلكة بالجملة والمجان. لذلك يتطلب منا تطوير هذه الإنجازات والحفاظ علي تلك المكتسبات.

علينا أيضاً توسيع دائرة ما وجدناه من تضامن مع شعبنا من شعوب ومنظمات وهيئات افريقية متمثلة في لقاء جوهانسبيرج الذي نقل قضيتنا الي أوساط كنا الي حدٍّ كبير بعيدين ومعزولين عنها.

ما تعانيه حكومات الغرب من تدفق اللاجئين اليها نتيجة مآسي ارتريا والشرق الأوسط قد يجبرها حفاظاً علي مصلحتها أن تقترب من نظام ارتريا الدكتاتوري القمعي وأن تنسق سياسات هجرتها معه، لذا يجب أن يشهد العام الجديد 2015م نشاطاً عالياً ومكثفاً في مجال الدبلوماسية الشعبية نوطد من خلاله علاقاتنا بالهيئات الحقوقية والانسانية.

الإخوة الأعزاء:

لم يشهد العام المنصرم ما يعول عليه من نشاط كبير للمعارضة يعطي دفعة قوية لنضالنا لإسقاط الدكتاتورية أو تقوية وحدة صفوف المعارضة. بل ازدادت فيه المعارضة تشرذماً وتبادلاً للتشويه والاتهامات، وتعالت في صفوفها الميول والنزعات الاقليمية والمناطقية التي لا تفيد الشعب شيئاً إلا أن تزيده تشتيتاً وتمزقاً. لذا علينا في العام الجديد أن نتأهب لنبذ مثل هذه التوجهات الضيقة الأفق ونعمل جميعاً علي إنجاز أسمى الأهداف الوطنية، وبما أن شعبنا بأسره لم يفد من هذا النظام إلا الأذى والضرر علينا أن نتخذ من انتشال شعبنا الصبور الوفي من براثن وقيود الهقدف أسمى الأهداف وأولاها باهتمامنا. أهدافنا ومرامينا يجب أن تتخطى أشخاصنا، مناطقنا، أقاليمنا ..الخ.

2015م يجب أن يكون عام تكثيف ورفع مشاركة قطاعي المرأة والشباب في نضال المعارضة، ولن يتأتى ذلك إلا بتفهم تطلعات القطاعين وحل مشكلاتهما وتحقيق أحلامهما، كما لن يسهل الوصول الي هذين القطاعين إلا بتأطيرهما داخل الكيانات السياسية والمدنية.

علي مستوى اللجوء والتشرد كان العام المنصرم 2014م الأعلى نصيباً عما سبقه من الأعوام، بل شهد هذا العام زيادةً ملحوظة في هجرة وتشرد القصر دون ولي أو وصي، ويترك ارتريا مهاجراً عدد يتراوح بين 3000 – 4000 شخص في الشهر. كان المفترض أن يكون شباب اليوم من يحملون أمانة الشهداء في أعناقهم فيعملوا، يدرسوا أو يبنوا البلاد، ولن تبلغ البلاد مرادها بدون وجود ومشاركة الشباب، لذا يجب أن يكون العام 2015م العام الذي يشهد وقف تدفق الهجرة والتشرد في أوساط الشباب الارتري، نحن في حزب الشعب الديمقراطي نرى أن يكون ذلك عبر الوسائل والطرق الآتية:

1-    إسقاط النظام الدكتاتوري وإبداله بنظام انتقالي عادل.

2-    خلق فرص عمل وتأهيل فني وأكاديمي للاجئين الارتريين بكل من السودان، اثيوبيا واليمن.

3-    التعاون بين حكومة ارتريا ودول الجوار والمجتمع العالمي علي محاربة تجارة وتهريب البشر.

4-    أن تزيل حكومات المنطقة التهميش السياسي، الاقتصادي والاجتماعي عمن ينشط من مواطنيها في هذه التجارة الممقوتة مثل قبيلة الرشايدة في السودان وبدو سيناء في مصر.

5-    حتى تساهم حكومات الغرب في الحد من الهجرة غير الشرعية الي بلدانها يجب أن تفتح أبوابها للهجرة الشرعية.

الإخوة والأخوات:

علي المناضلين في سبيل الحرية والعدالة أن يركزوا علي العمل وسط الشعب بالداخل، وأن نسعى الي ترك التراشق بيننا ونعمل جميعاً من أجل الوطن والشعب دون التقوقع علي أهدافنا الذاتية الضيقة، وأن نلاقي شعبنا بالداخل ونعمل معه يداً بيد. اليوم لا تقوم المعارضة بعمل فعال بل تترصد أخطاء وممارسات النظام الخاطئة فقط، بينما شعبنا يعيش الشح والندرة في جميع الخدمات الأساسية، لذلك علينا نحن في المعارضة أن نبرهن للشعب علي ما نملك من برامج وقدرات وإمكانات كفيلة بتخليصه مما يعيشه من أوضاع متردية، وإلا فلن يتعاطف معنا الشعب ولن نكسب ثقته. لذا يجب إثبات قدرتنا علي حل ما يعانيه شعبنا من مشكلات.

العام الجديد أيضاً يجب أن يشهد مجهودات دؤوبة لمعرفة مصير سجناء الرأي والضمير في بلادنا، علينا أن نضغط علي النظام لإجباره علي كشف ما يخفيه من حقائق عن مصير هؤلاء السجناء. لابد لنا من تكثيف الضغط المحلي والخارجي لمعرفة مصير الأحياء والأموات من السجناء، وأن يقدم الأحياء منهم الي المحاكمة أو يطلق سراحهم فوراً وبلا شروط.

الإخوة والأخوات:

حزبنا سوف يواصل هذا العام ما بدأه العام المنصرم من تكثيف لقاءاته الثنائية والمتعددة الأطراف مع مكونات المعارضة وسيبذل كل ما يسعه لتحويل مجهوداته واتفاقاته في هذا المجال الي نتائج وخطوات ملموسة.

عام خير وسعادة ووفاق

منقستئاب أسمروم

رئيس حزب الشعب الديمقراطي الارتري

31 ديسمبر 2014م

The EPDP memorandum dated 13 January 2015 wished to draw the personal attention of the German Federal Foreign Minister to this tragic murder of a young refugee and urged his esteemed Ministry to see to it that concerned German authorities make full investigation of the crime and bring the culprits to justice.

The memorandum, which was copied to the German Federal Ministries of Interior and Justice, did not hide the fear that the assailants could be the xenophobic forces in the Dresden region.

ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ (ሰዲህኤ)፡ ናብ ሚኒስተር ወጻኢ ጕዳያት ጀርመን፡ ኣቶ ፍራንክ ቫልተር ሽታይንማየር፡ ኣብ ዝጸሓፎ መዘክር፡ እብ ከተማ ድረስደን፡ ብ10 ጥሪ 2015 ኣብ ልዕሊ ኤርትራዊ ስደተኛ፡ ኻልድ ኢድሪስ ባህራይ፡ ቅትለት ንዝፈጸሙ ገበነኛታት ኣብ ፍርዲ ከቕርቦም ጸዊዑ።

20 ዓመት ዝዕድሚኡ ኻልድ ኢድሪስ፡ ብሰኑይ ሰዓት 8፡00 ናይ ምሸት ሽጋራ ክገዝእ ኢሉ ካብ ገዝኡ ምስ ወጸ ንገዝኡ ኣይተመልሰን። ሬሳኡ፡ ንጽባሒቱ ኢዩ ኣብ ቅድሚ ዝነብረሉ ገዛ ከምእተረኽበን ብኻራ ኣብ ዝተፈላለየ ሸነኻት ናይ ኣካላቱ ተወጊኡ ምሟቱን ናይ ዜና ማዕከናት ሓቢሮም።

ሰዲህኤ ብ13 ጥሪ 2015 ናብ ሚኒስተር ፈደራላዊ ሪፑብሊክ ጀርመን ኣብ ዝለኣኾ መዘክር፡ ዝምልከቶም ሰበስልጣን ጀርመን፡ ነዚ ኣሕዛኒ ቅትለት ንምጽራይ ዘድሊ ምርመራታት ክገብሩን፡ ንገበነኛታት ናብ ፍርዲ ከቕርቡን ጸዊዑ።

እቲ ናብ ሚኒስትሪ ወጻእን ናብ ሚኒስትሪ ውሽጣዊ ጕዳያትን ናብ ሚኒስትሪ ፍትሕን ዝተላእከ መዘክር፡ ፈጸምቲ ናይ'ቲ ገበን፡ ኣብ ድረስደን ዝርከቡ ዓሌታውያን ክዀኑ ከምዝኽእሉ ዘመልክት ጥርጠራ ከምዘለዎ እውን ኣይሓብአን።

ብዕለት 03-01-2015 ዓ.ም ኣብቲ ልሙድ መኤከቢኡ ቦታ Allerweltshaus Köln Straße 77-79D. 50823 Köln ካብ ሰዓት 14.00 ክሳዕ 17.00 ድሕሪ ቀትሪ ዝተኻየደ ኣኼባ ብዓወት ተዛዚሙ።

ኣኼባ ብኣቦ መንበር ጨንፈር ሓው ዓንደብርሃን ዮውሃንስ ብእንቋዕ ደሓን መጻእኩምን፡ ከምኡውን እንቋዕ ናብ ሓዲሽ ዓመት 2015 ኣሰጋገረኩም ብምባል ነቲ ኣኼባ ከፊትዎ። ኣስዒቡ ብዛዕባ ህሉው ኵነታት ሃገርናን ህሉው ንጥፈታት ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራን ብስፍሕ ዝበለ መግለጺ ሂቡ።

ቀጺሉ ተሓዝ ገንዘብ ጨንፈር ሓው ኢብራሂም ዓጣ ብዝሓለፈ ዓመት 2014 ዝኸድናዮ ኣገባብ ቃልስና ኣብ ግምት ብምእታው ነዚ ንጅምሮ ዘሎና ሓዲሽ ዓመት ካብቲ ዝሓለፈ ዓመት ኣብሊጽናን ዕዉት ቃልሲ ከነካይድ እንተ ዀይኑ ኵላትና ብልዝብን ተገድስናትን ብሓባርን ምስ ንቃለስ ጥራይ ኢዩ ክብል ኣገዳሲ ምኽሪ ንኣኼበኛታት ገሊጹ።
ኣስዒቦም ብኣጋጣሚ ኣቦ መንበር ንኡስ ዞባ ጀርመን ሓው ተስፋማርያም ክብርኣብን፡ ኣቦ መንበር ጨንፈር ፍራንክፈርት ሓው ሓጂ ሳልሕ ስዒድ ስለ ዝተረኽቡ በብወገኖም ነቲ ጨንፈር ዘተባብዕ ኣገዳሲ ሓበሬታትን ምኽርን ለጊሶም። ብድሕሪዚ ኣኼበኛታት ብሃነጽቲ ዝዀኑ ርእይቶታትን ለበዋታትን ብምሃብ ብዝኽሪ ስዉኣት ኣኼባ ብዓወት ተፈጺሙ።

ገዲም ተጋዳላይ ዓሊ ዓምር መሓመድ ሓሰበላ ብዝሓደሮ ሕማም ትማሊ ዕለት 3 ጥሪ 2015 ካብ'ዛ ዓለም ብሞት ተፈልዩና። ስውእ ዓሊ ዓምር፡ ብ1958 ኣብ ቃርዑበል (ዓንሰባ) ተወሊዱ። ብ1974 ድማ ኣብ ተጋድሎ ሓርነት ኤርትራ ተሰሊፉ። ኣብ ተሓኤ ኣብ ዝተፈላለዩ ጽፍሕታት ተመዲቡ ተቓሊሱ። ኣብ ብሪገድ 77 መራሕ ሓይሊ ነይሩ። ብድሕሪኡ ናይ ሕክምና ትምህርቲ ወሲዱ ከም ሓኪም ኰይኑ ኣገልጊሉ። ኣብ መደበር ሸገራብ ድሕሪ ምስግጋሩ ድማ፡ ኣቦ መንበር ጨንፈር ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ኣብ ሸገራብን ከባቢኡን ኰይኑ ክሳብ መስዋእቱ ክቃለስ ጸኒሑ።

ኣብ ሰማንያታት ኣብ ምምስራት ቤት ትምህርቲ ወድሸሪፈይ ልሉይ ግደ ተጻዊቱ። ኣብ መደበር ስደተኛታት ሸገራብ ኣብ ዝነብረሉ ዝነበረ እዋን ድማ፡ ምስ ናይ ግዳም ናይ ረዲኤት ማሕበራት ከም ሓኪም፤ ከምኡ'ውን፡ ምስ ላዕለዋይ ኮሚሽን ስደተኛታት ሕቡራት ሃገራት ከም ተርጓማይ ኰይኑ ብምስራሕ ንስደተኛታት ንብዙሕ ዓመታት ከገልግል ጸኒሑ። ስውእ ዓሊ ዓምር ኣቦ 8 ቆልዑ ኢዩ።

በዚ ኣጋጣሚ'ዚ መሪሕነትን መሰረታትን ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ፡ ንስውእ መንግስተ-ሰማይ የዋርሶ፡ ንስደራ ቤቱን ድማ ጽንዓት ይሃቦም እናበለና ናይ ሓዘኖም ተኻፈልቲ ምዃና ንገልጽ።

In 2014, Eritrea continued to be a scene of human disaster and a country under siege: from systematic state brutality, gross human rights violations and eliminations of any political dissent within the country to indefinite military conscription, which is forcing thousands of its youth to flee the country and becoming victims of human trafficking and organ harvesting enterprises.

According to UNHCR, in 2014 around 70 Eritreans arrived daily in the refugee camps in Northern Ethiopia. Currently, there are over 93,000 Eritrean refugees living in four camps in Northern Ethiopia: Shimelba, May Ayni, Adiharush, and Hitsats (established in 2013),including in two camps in the Afar region of Ethiopia. The country has lost a large number of its productive force (the youth) in 2014 more than the preceding year, entirely crippling Eritrea of its promising and future vision of its people. A country without a youth has no future. Eritrea saw its human and social capital bleeding to death under the predatory regime of a malignant narcissistic leader in 2014. In Eastern Sudan, the number of Eritrean refugees who arrived in 2014 totaled 10,700, an average of more than 1,000 a month.

In addition, the country saw its human suffering going from bad to worse, with a near collapsed economy, widespread poverty, and a health system that cannot deliver a semblance of basic services. There was hardly any family in Eritrea that has not been affected by the consequences of the violent repression of the PFDJ in 2014.

In 2014, the PFDJ regime continued to kill, abduct, torture, and imprison citizens, and committing extrajudicial executions and disappearances of hundreds of citizens, including holding hundreds of others incommunicado and in clandestine detentions across the country. Many of those arrested and held incommunicado in the crackdown of 2001 are reportedly died in prison,including members of the G15. Access to political, economic and social rights, and fundamental freedom to exercise own religion, culture and traditional norms/values continued to be violently repressed in 2014.

The Moral Courage of Eritrean Faith Leaders

Informed and morally courageous four Catholic priests authored a document “Where is Your Brother” that gained a groundswell of support from the Eritrean opposition and the public at large in 2014. “Where is Your Brother” is a document that captured the unprecedented scale of violent repression and terror of the PFDJ regime on Eritrean citizens, and how as a consequence of it, the country is sliding into a deeper social and political crisis.

The document opened a new public and political discourse regarding the gross human rights abuses by the PFDJ, and helped to lay a groundwork for Eritrean people inside and outside not to capitulate but to stand up, defend their rights, and hasten the transition of power to the people and salvage their country. The manifesto also revealed that it is a matter of time before both the opposition and the public indignation reaches a critical mass inside the country.

In a similar vein, in September 2014, the clergy of the Union of the Eritrean Orthodox monasteries put out another document declaring excommunication of the notorious individuals who have been running the Orthodox Church establishment for the last decade or so. The underlying message of both documents is that the long and disastrous road that the PFDJ took the country for the last two decades is being challenged by the people that have an ecclesiastic power on faith, moral, cultural, and social authority in our society. These are the two most important documents that delegitimized the political power of PFDJ in 2014 and broke the culture of conformity and fear of our people that the PFDJ uses to perpetuate its misrule of the country.   

Eritrean Movement for Democracy and Human Rights (EMDHR), Bologna, and Frankfurt Festivals

In May 2014, the EMDHR and its partners organized one of the most important workshops of the year that brought together Eritrean scholars, experts, political organizations, and civil society groups. Under the themeof “Strategic Thinking on Political and Socioeconomic Crises in Eritrea: Implications, Scenarios and Responses”, participants presented a wide array of empirical study papers and explored the current state of affairs of Eritrea under the PFDJ misrule: from the lack of constitution/rule of law to economic and human crisis, from the destruction of Eritrea’s social fabric to the migration of the most skilled and productive force and its far-reaching impact on the health, unity, and development of our country, and to how we should formulate a transition to democracy as well as forge a strategy of bringing all the forces of change together in the fight against the PFDJ regime, be it inside Eritrea or abroad. In the same spirit, the Bologna festival, which was held under “the theme of Eritrean Solutions for Eritrean Problems” and the Frankfurt festival, which both brought large number of Eritreans together came out with a strong voice in support of the EMDHR workshop declaration, including adapting the resolutions of Bologna 2013 and establishing a task force charged to work on a number of areas on how to form a united national movement, dialogue and reconciliation and others.     

Regionalism that Knows no Bounds

The politics of regionalism was one of the ugliest developments in 2014 that caught the attention of many Eritreans. Certain groups and personalities have been busy promoting regional politics in 2014 by claiming that the PFDJ regime is suppressing and/or targeting their region more than other region (s). The fact is there are stacks of evidence that the PFDJ regime is no less cruel or repressive to other regions in Eritrea, be it Barka, Seraye or Senhit…etc.

For PFDJ, all Eritrean regions are the same; there is no one region different from the rest of regions when it comes to the state of repression. Again, although it is a well known that the PFDJ regime applies the same method of repression against all those who oppose its regime regardless of any color of region, Muslim or Christian, unfortunately the wretched political situation of Eritrea is one factor that is serving as a perfect field for all sorts of divisions and factionalisms, especially for those few willing to subscribe to it. But those sowing the seeds of regionalism know that there is no particular region in Eritrea that is exclusively mistreated, systematically discriminated, killed or persecuted more than the rest of Eritrean regions by the dictatorial regime of Issais.

Yet, those who subscribe to such politics under the pretext of saving our region or my region are simply perpetuating PFDJ’s tyrannical politics, which would help it to further strengthen and tighten its iron grip on all Eritrean people. It also suggests that those who signed on to the regionalism politics are unable to rally a united force against the PFDJ regime; the easy path they found is to follow a downright sub national politics, which they believe is easy to dupe few apolitical and disillusioned Eritreans. The brute fact is that by involving in regionalism, they are not helping their region, but the regime of PFDJ that is making Eritrea increasingly divisive, oppressive, and bloodstained country, which their region will continue to bear the brunt of it like any other region in Eritrea.

The irony of all is this: if our regionalists (regional entrepreneurs) are accusing PFDJ of being a regionalist, one would ask why are they mimicking it and carbon copying it (PFDJ)? In fact, the pattern of imitation or emulation is interesting because the regionalists see the PFDJ as a regime that is ruling Eritrea by siding with or representing one region, and yet the regionalists themselves are aspiring for power of their region by marginalizing other regions. 

More importantly, the point is, you see, Issais’ regime has squandered the accumulated social and political capital of Eritrea’s revolution. Now, instead of reclaiming our revolution, we are handing PFDJ more ammunition to use - regionalism which will enable it to extend its life span. They are writing a wrong history. Eritrea does not need sub national or identity politics; what it needs is democracy, strong institutions, and constitutional system of governance that provides rule of law and equal treatment for all of its citizens. And this means that we have to avoid polarization of Eritrean society on basis of region, ethnic, or religion. If we continue the discourse of regionalism politics, at the end of the day it won’t be only democracy and freedom that will be at risk in Eritrea. In the long term, it means creating an embittered and polarized generation too blinded by hatred and intolerance of one another, and that won’t fix what ails the state of Eritrea. EPDP believes this is the lesson we need to take away for 2015.

Women of Extraordinary Resilience

In 2014, many Eritrean Diaspora women have done remarkable job in championing the rightof Eritrean refugees around the world, advocating for political asylum and protection of Eritrean rights as refugees on their host countries, campaigning against the human trafficking and organ harvesting in the Sinai desert, and echoing the plight of Eritrean refugees in the halls of UN and in the European governments.

Many to mention, but the most inspirational women who made great strides as human rights activists against the gross human rights violation by the dictatorial regime of Issais Afeworki are Elsa Chyrum (Human Rights Concern Eritrea), Dr. Alganesh Fessaha (NGO Ghandi foundation), Meron Estefanos (Journalist and Activist), Sister Azezet Habtezgi Kidane ( Combonian Missionary Sisters), Salwa Nour (Activist in the Gulf States), and Selam Kidane (Activist and ‘Freedom Friday’ campaigner). All of them individually or collectively have made a significant contribution to the struggle for democracy, human rights and freedom in Eritrea in 2014. Elsa Chyrum staged hunger strike in the Djiboutian embassy mission in Geneva in March 2014 against the detention of 267 Eritrean refugees in Djibouti. The hunger strike finally led to the release of the 267 Eritrean detainees in Djibouti. Meron Estefanos coauthored “the Human Trafficking Cycle: Sinai and Beyond” in March 2014, which captures the gruesome account of Eritrean refugees at the hands of human traffickers. All these Eritrean women brought the struggle of democracy close to home in a very resilient and remarkable way in 2014. 

A Tireless Defender of Eritrean Refugees

Father Mussie Zerai, an Eritrean Catholic priest in Switzerland, is another devoted Eritrean who fought gallantly in 2014 and the years before in saving many Eritrean refugees from drowning in the Mediterranean Sea. Father Mussie established a satellite mobile phone to reach out many Eritrean refugees detained in the Libya and other North African countries. This fearless and crusader for justice uses his satellite mobile phone to alert coast guards on behalf refugees stranded in a dangerous journey across the Mediterranean Sea. His active involvement in the saving many lives of refugees has earned him recognition as one of the most devoted and tireless defender of Eritrean refugees.            

The State of Stagnation

Eritrean political organizations remained in a state of stagnation in 2014 regarding pulling their resources together and mapping a united strategic roadmap against the dictatorial regime of Issais Afeworki. However, there were some efforts seemingly towards unity, for example, as in the case of the ‘Consultation Forum’ that brought leaders of the opposition forces together and deliberated on a number of issues, ranging from the misunderstanding and mutual mistrust that exists between the opposition forces to the uncompromising political culture and embracing political polarization to a combination of other weaknesses and failures in the opposition. But no concrete, joint, and/or workable agreement was reached that can be characterized as a turning point over the status quo. Individual groups in the opposition have also attempted to engage in a bilateral discussion on how to work together, but this too did not translate into any meaningful development. It seems the opposition has been caught again in a vicious cycle in 2014, maintaining the status quo and unable to transcend beyond the root cause that is holding it back from moving forward – trust deficit.

Lampedusa and Beyond

Lampedusa spurred a serious debate among Eritrean Diaspora in 2013. And the impact was a renaissance of spirit and reawakening, which eventually led to the establishment of multiple grass root movements across the globe. At the beginning, all those movements captured the hope and enthusiasm of Eritreans towards grass root movements unseen in the last two decades. And they have done a number of remarkable public engagements, major protests, and forums aimed at PFDJ regime, including a wave of protests in the PFDJ’s Diaspora gatherings and events that sometimes led to clashes with PFDJ supporters.

But the enthusiasm and tenacity that started in 2013 did not continue with the same weight in 2014. Although still struggling and functioning at some level, the scattered nature of its existence appeared to be part of the problem in 2014, meaning the lack of regional and international leadership that would enable the grass root movements to operate on the same page. But the second and major obstacle to the grass root movements in 2014 was the interference of some political organizations whose efforts were focused on modeling the grass root movements’ ideas and practices on their own image. This means more polarizations and disagreements between the various grass root movements across the globe. And this is the obstacle that the grass root movements need to tackle worldwide, and march beyond Lampedusa. 

The Man Behind the Most Important Book in 2014

Ambassador Andebrhan Woldegiorgis published a book that provokes, illuminates, and narrates how the sad state of affairs of Eritrea came into being that overtime not only bankrupted and paralyzed the hopes and dreams of nation building process in the country, but also how the hegemony and dictatorship of PFDJ regime has exposed the country to unprecedented level of social and political crisis. Grounded on the history and experiences of the liberation era as well as on the crisis that took place in post independence Eritrea, Ambassador Andebrhan discusses the entire existence of the state, how it has been delegitimized by not allowing Eritrean citizens to participate in the political system of the country, and provides a framework on how to understand the situation Eritrea is in, as well as how address it.

EPDP Strides & Pushes in 2014

EPDP continued its strides and pushes in 2014 on the subject of national dialogue and building consensus between the forces of change in the Eritrean opposition on the principle of establishing a broad based alliance/coalition. In this respect, one that stands out is the formation of “Consultation Forum” in 2014. Although, it opened some space for honest discussion on the critical failures and weaknesses of the opposition, the forum did not translate into any practical step or into challenging the fragmented state of affairs of the opposition. Thus, the forum did not set conditions for concrete implementation of a broad based alliance, a regressive pattern that the opposition could not overcome. And if the current polarization and disunity continues unchanged among the Eritrean opposition forces, it is incumbent upon us all to redefine our strategy as we cannot justify the current stalemate of the opposition.

Yet, EPDP has registered a degree of strength and success in many fronts sometimes alone and sometimes with leaders of the Eritrean civil society organizations. In this context, EPDP reached out a number of international agencies and institutions in 2014 with aim of seeking a valuable support to our struggle against the repressive regime of Issais Afeworki. What EPDP did in all those contacts and diplomatic reach outs is scaling up the Eritrean people’s struggle for democracy in the international opinion on one side, and seeking diplomatic recognition of the Eritrean opposition forces as a whole that has been largely absent on the other side. EPDP also worked closely with a number of Eritrean civil society organizations in 2014, namely the EMDHR, Medrek, Bologna Forum organized by youth, and Cdrie on a number of important international and national issues such as the participation in the workshop of South African Development Community Council of Nongovernmental Organizations (SADC-CNGO) and others. Although EPDP maintained good relationship with the Eritrean civil society organizations in the previous years, the relation was more reenergized and reshaped in 2014 as part of fostering a unified struggle.

EPDP also continued holding a number of public meetings, and interactions with the Eritrean Diaspora across the globe in 2014: advocating the importance of united struggle, ways of embracing the social, cultural, and political unity of Eritrean society, promoting nonviolent struggle, understanding the significance of reconciliation and peace, the short and long term objectives of the struggle against the PFDJ regime, and our position on Ethiopia and other neighbors...etc. In the course of all those engagements, EPDP received numerous inputs and suggestions that are crucial to our struggle against the PFDJ and beyond.      

Those who Passed Away in 2014

Many from the generation of our national liberation movement era passed away in 2014. EPDP salute them, and honor them for their life time dedication and contribution to the cause of freedom and democracy for their country. They gave their entire life to make Eritrea the land of free and the land of heroes. Their passing means a great loss for the justice and peace loving Eritrean people. Among those who passed away in 2014 are Ahmed Nassir, former ELF Chairman; Dr. Beyene, former member of ELF Revolutionary Council, Dr. Tewolde Tesfamariam (Wodi Vacaro), and Omer Jabir. These nationals were instrumental in sparking the Eritrean Nation Liberation Movement at a time when Ethiopia and its foreign enablers were conspiring to abort it.  2014 was also a year  where EPDP  suffered a big loss of  some of its gallant members   who contributed to building and consolidating the party. Among them was the most vibrant, committed and unrelenting  fighter Asghedom  Wedi Bashai in USA, Ms. Mebrat Beyene in the Sudan and Zekarias (James) in Grmany.

What is the Way Forward for 2015?

Many, but one is challenging the status quo, and that is how to break the vicious cycle of division and polarization amongst the Eritrean opposition forces. Two decades of efforts to establish unity among Eritrean opposition forces did not materialize. This is a deep crisis and we need a radical solution. It is EPDP’s stand and many others that our unity cannot take place in abstract. The unity we seek to achieve must take place in a concrete ground. What does this mean? We have a system of tyranny and exploitation that we all need to challenge and confront: this includes all social groups in Eritrea as well as religious groups, the youth, the women, the civil society, and the political groups…etc. In essence, the central dynamic theme that binds us all together should not be to exist as opposition but to end the power of PFDJ regime. This requires both rethinking and redefining of our fight that takes unity as a foundation for democracy, freedom, and nation building. We must link the struggle with the internal resistance, including building a strategic road map/direction, and having a leadership that can understand the scope and depth of Eritrea’s crisis and is capable of raising the voices of the Eritrean people that would enable us to take our fight against the PFDJ to the next level. 

By Woldeyesus Ammar

Today, 1^st of January 2015, Eritrea completes its 125^th year of existence under that name. According to the earliest available figures, the population of the colony in 1893 counted only 191,127 followed by the 1900 estimate of 300,000 residents that included this writer’s father. We can assume that no one of those “first Eritreans” is still alive to celebrate this anniversary with the distressed 5 or 6 million of us today, whose gross inadequacies include being unable to know even the real count of the population at home and the figure for our shamefully increasing number in exile after quarter of a century of independence.   

Anyway, it is an occasion to say Happy 125^th Anniversary to our (إرترياኤርትራ) Eritrea and then proceed to mention a few lasting legacies and notable events in the ups and downs of our past since the issuance of the Royal Decree of King Umberto the First on 1 January 1890 that put us on the world map.

Understandably, the figure of 125 years is reached by adding the:

• 51 years of Italian colonial rule;
• 11 years of the British ‘caretaker’ administration;
• 10 years of Eritrea-Ethiopia ‘federation’;
• 30 years of armed struggle, and
• The past 23 years under a home-grown repression that replaced alien rule.

Anyone of us may have his/her take in listing only two topmost legacies of our modern history, and add a few memorable events within each of these periods. I am taking today’s occasion to list mine.  I will start with what I term the two topmost legacies – one positive, and the other negative.

1. One People

Before the Italian advent, we belonged to our separate linguistic and small geographic entities and sub-entities. After common suffering under numerous hardships and humiliations, we have become one people – the Eritreans. To cut a long story short, our unity as one people with manageable diversities is the topmost legacy - achievement - of the past 125 years.

2. One Military Mindset 

The second enduring legacy in us is what one can call a military mindset.  This is a legacy, a ‘philosophy’ in our lives, a social behaviour  built - or at least further solidified - through the countless armed conflicts we participated at or conducted by ourselves in the past 12.5 decades of our modern history. Although the pieces of territorial units that became Eritrea were not at peace locally even before 1890, it is sufficient to mention here only the wars we fought as one people: wars that unfortunately bequeathed us an unwanted behavioural infection – the military mindset - that highly values wars and the bravado in violence. We are all part of it because of our past history briefly mentioned below.

The Unwanted Wars Fought for Italy

The Battle of Adwa:

Take the skirmishes with Ethiopia before the Battle of Adwa, like the one at Debre-Ayla, in which over 8,000 Eritrean militias (bandas) took part. Then the Battle of Adwa of 1896 in which almost every young man in the new colony was required to partake. In that single battle, over 2,000 Eritreans died; unaccounted number were left disabled, and selected 500 elite askaris (soldiers) of the numerous prisoners of war suffered the amputation of their  right arms and left legs.

Campaign to colonize/pacify Somalia:

Between 1907 and 1910, well over 5,000 Eritrean askaris (soldiers) were recruited and sent to fight in Somalia. This was not a small number compared to the population of the territory. Although Italian Somaliland was declared Italian by 1908, Eritreans continued to be frontline fighters in the conflict that continued till 1920 against the Somali rebellion led by Sheikh Said Mohammed (‘Mad Mullah’).

Italy’s wars in Libya (‘Zemen Trubli’):

Between 1911 and 1932, an estimated 60,000 Eritreans were recruited and sent to fight Italy’s wars in Tripolitania and Cyrenaica (Libya). After the defeat of Turkey in Libya, fierce conflicts continued to rage against the patriotic rebels led by Omar Mukhtar that claimed untold number of Eritrean casualties. Some of those Eritreans who perished then included the Setimo battalion that sunk and disappeared in the Mediterranean Sea - and remember what is happening to Eritrean youth of today in the same sea!! 

The Battle of 1935-36 (Trenta Cinque):

Fascist Italy’s preparations for war against Ethiopia further militarized the entire Eritrean population. Eritrean askaris ranged in 28 battalions were the usual cannon folder at war frontlines in the battles that opened in October 1935 and continued till Mussolini’s declaration of his “East African Empire” in June 1936. An estimated 75,000 Eritrean askaris fought Italy’s conflicts in Ethiopia and in the pacification of the country till the end of Italian rule in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia in 1941.

The so-called period of ‘peaceful’ struggle: 1941-1961

We usually wish to believe that the duration of British care-taker administration (1941-1952) and the federal period (1952-1962) was somewhat peaceful. However, taking into account the absence of security and the killings organized by Ethiopia-supported unionists and the various banditries/Shifta of the time, those two decades can hardly be called a period of peace.

The 30-year war for national liberation:

This was the only period that Eritreans saw logic in conducting the war for their freedom. It was not only very costly but it also further militarized the society and its mindset. This prolonged war that was hoped to be the war that would end all wars did not prove to be so.

Other unwanted wars with Yemen, Ethiopia and Djbouti:

After its independence, Eritrea continued to suffer of the military mindset of its leaders and in the society. There was little logic to fight all these painful armed conflicts with neighbours after 1991, but they occurred. The main cause was not only the leadership but also the general society’s acquired belief in solving conflicts through the barrel of the gun.

The military campaigns and conscriptions introduced after independence; the 28 Sawa military camp training rounds, the regular army and militia formations etc have deepened militarization of the entire society.  

The net outcome has been a negative mindset that denies space to moderation, dialogue, to tolerance and to the rule of law. In a word, the belief in the use of force/violence to solve differences is a collective madness. But it can be cured. It can be changed through steadfast struggle of the conscious segments in the society. For this reason, the struggle to fight and conquer this 125-year old negative legacy in us shall continue for quite some time to come – even in post-PFDJ years.

 Notable Occurrences (other than wars) During the Italian Period

1. Italy’s settlement project in Eritrea: One of the primary interests of Italy in creating colonies was the objective of finding suitable land for the resettlement of Italians who were facing economic/land problems at home. Between 1876 and 1889 alone, some 2.2 million Italians migrated to the Americas.  hat is why a few months after declaring Eritrean an Italian colony, the Italian parliament and government passed laws that aimed to seize large tracts of land in Eritrea (terra domeniale). Pilot projects of the resettlement programme were started in a number of places. Extensive land confiscations deprived many peasants and herdsmen of their land. Eventually, all land below 850m altitude was declared state land and land concessions for up to 99 years were granted to Italians. However, the growing protests by the affected people, like the resistance led by Bahta Hagos of Segeneiti, and the unsuitability of many parts of the country for European settlement partly aborted the resettlement programme in Eritrea. Therefore, instead of going to Eritrea, 7.1 million Italian emigrants, mainly from southern Italy, settled in the United States (4.1m), in Argentina (1.8m) and in Brazil (1.2m) till the start of the First World War in 1914.

2. Transport and communication Networks

Construction of the railway, the ropeway, and 3,400 km stretch of primary and second roads throughout the colony helped transform the life of the people who became “different” from the same peoples across the new frontier lines.

3.  Industrialization, urbanization

In its war efforts, Italy established nearly 2,200 industrial enterprises and built modern urban centers in the colony.  The labour force in industries, mines, transport and modern agriculture reached nearly 40,000. Modernization was quick to spread in the colony, especially during the second half of Italian rule.

Notable/Memorable Occurrences during the British Administration

1. The spread of education was the most important occurrence during the British care-taker administration from 1941 till 1952.
2. The second most memorable event of this period is the emancipation of serfs in western Eritrea under the leadership of Ibrahim Sultan. It was estimated that up to 93% of the social groups in Barka and Sahel regions were, until the mid-1940s, subjected to serfdom that required them to provide heavy feudal payments and services to landlords. Vast majority of the emancipated serfs later rallied behind Ibrahim Sultan who led the largest pro-independence party and a block that helped create the symbolisms for Eritrean national awareness.
3. The 2 December 1950 Resolution of the UN General Assembly on Eritrea.

Notable/Memorable Occurrences during the Federal Period

1. This period was marked by succession of violations of the Federal Act decided by the UN General Assembly. Those unwarranted violations by Ethiopia and its local agents in Eritrea increased political consciousness among the urban population in all parts of Eritrea.
2. The lowering of the Blue Eritrean Flag in late 1958 angered the general population, especially the young generation.
3. The formation of the Eritrean Liberation Movement (ELM/Mahber Shewate) in Port Sudan in 1958 and the establishment of the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) in Cairo in1960 were the other major events of this period.

Notable/Memorable Occurrences during 1961-1991

1. The massacre of about 1,000 innocent civilians at Ona and Besik-Dira in December 1970 created renewed anger against the Ethiopian occupation among Eritreans at home and in diaspora (including students in the Middle East, Europe and North America). The student (youth) movements in turn rekindled the forces in the liberation struggle.
2. The ELF-EPLF civil war of 1980-81 changed the direction of the liberation struggle at many levels, and planted seeds for power control and polarization in the society.
3. The victory at Afabet in March 1988 reassured Eritreans of a final victory in the liberation war.

Notable/Memorable Occurrences during the Past 23 Years

1. The final defeat of the Ethiopian army, 24 May 1991.
2. The crackdown of the PFDJ regime on the G15 reform movement in September 2001.
3. The Lampedusa tragedy of 3 October 2013 that symbolized all the suffering being inflicted upon the entire nation in recent years.