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Martin Plaut posted: " Source: Addis Standard JUNE 8, 2023 Women in the Afar region of Ethiopia receive emergency food assistance. Photo: ©WFP/Claire Nevill Addis Abeba – Following the suspension of food aid delivery by the USAID and WFP, which at first " Martin Plaut

 

Martin Plaut

Jun 8

Source: Addis Standard

JUNE 8, 2023

Women in the Afar region of Ethiopia receive emergency food assistance. Photo: ©WFP/Claire Nevill

Addis Abeba – Following the suspension of food aid delivery by the USAID and WFP, which at first appeared to have been triggered by food aid diversion in the war-torn Tigray regional state, an internal memo of a recent meeting by the donor community in Ethiopia obtained by Addis Standard revealed that the result of an “extensive monitoring” over the course of the last two months conducted by USAID, the single largest food aid provider to Ethiopia, has identified “a country-wide diversion scheme primarily targeting donor-funded food commodities” and is “a coordinated and criminal scheme, which has prevented life-saving food assistance from reaching the most vulnerable.”

A memo prepared by Humanitarian and Resilience Donor Group (HRDG), which is “a platform allowing donors to coordinate their activities in support of a strategic, effective, efficient, and principled humanitarian response,” among others, also shows that the “monitoring visits at 63 flour mills in seven of Ethiopia’s nine regions, and witnessed significant diversion of USAID-funded humanitarian food commodities across all seven regions.”

A field trip by Addis Standard team in March to Borana, Oromia region, found community members in Yabelo, the administrative capital of the drought-hit Borana zone, in Southern Oromia, reeling in the midst of allegations on the rising cases of corruption in aid administration that saw a portion of the aid deliveries are taken for personal use by the people in charge of local aid distribution.

The “scheme appears to be orchestrated” by federal and regional governments entities, “with military units across the country benefiting from humanitarian assistance. Private grain and flour traders and operators have also played a role in the scheme,” the memo reads.

The monitoring by the USAID has also observed evidence of “diversion of other donor-funded commodities” including “wheat donated from France, Japan, and Ukraine through implementing partner World Food Program (WFP).” In September last year, Ukraine has donated 50,000 metric tons of grain for Ethiopia and Somalia through WFP, which has since been delivered in various batches.

The outcome of the motioning seems to have a wide-range implication on the overall food aid delivery to Ethiopia. According to the HRDG memo, “there is a strong possibility that USAID will pause all USAID-supported food assistance across Ethiopia until further notice.” The US government has provided a whooping $1.8 billion aid in lifesaving assistance since the 2022 fiscal year alone.

Although the possibility will leave “non-food aid” provisions unaffected, the USAID said before allowing any additional USAID-funded commodities to be distributed in Ethiopia, “the country’s humanitarian architecture must undergo significant and immediate reforms.”

Stringent recommendations

This comes in the backdrop of the 2023 joint appeal published in March by Ethiopian government and humanitarian partners which sought for $US 3.99 billion to assist over 20 million people across the country with food assistance. An estimated 13 million of this are targeted for humanitarian response in drought affected areas alone.

Regardless of the needs however, the HRDG memo forwarded stringent recommendations to be implemented both by the donor community and the Ethiopian government. While the USAID called on other donors “to seize this opportunity to improve the humanitarian architecture in Ethiopia,” the humanitarian group itself recommended the Ethiopian government to implement a litany of measures, starting from “making public statement “condemning the humanitarian aid diversion and demanding that humanitarian staff throughout Ethiopia not be harassed in any way,” to identifying and dismantling the “organized structures orchestrating the diversion scheme(s).”

Indicating the scale of the diversion that covers the unnamed seven regional states, the group also asked the federal government “to work with regional and local authorities to identify any diverted donor-funded commodities that are currently being stored illegally in Ethiopia and facilitate the safe return of those commodities into the custody of implementing partners.”

Furthermore, in what shows to be a disruption in the periodic Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) reporting process, the recommendation called on the Ethiopian government top “define a timeline to reinstate the IPC process, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, and allow donors and their implementing partners to use IPC data and analysis to target food or alternative modalities of assistance only to the most vulnerable.”

Compounded by the ongoing drought affecting millions, and the suspension of food aid, a recent assessment and observation by Famine early Warning System Network (FEWS NET) covering the months between June to September 2023, has classified Tigray region to be “worse than previously assessed” and southern and southeastern areas of Oromia and Somali regions to continue to face risk of extreme outcomes of the ongoing drought. FEWS NET classified both cases as “Emergency (IPC Phase 4).”

WFP leadership resignation report and denial

It is in the midst of this crisis, which is described by a source close to the matter as “complete failure of the aid industry in Ethiopia,” that the news of the resignation of the senior leadership of the WFP in Ethiopia was reported by The New Humanitarian on Tuesday this week.

According to the exclusive report, the “WFP country director Claude Jibidar and his deputy, Jennifer Bitonde, tendered their resignations at an all-staff meeting on 2 June”. The New Humanitarian also said the resignation happened “shortly before the findings of a probe into the misappropriation of food aid in the country are due to be made public.”

WFP refuted the report and described it “inaccurate”; it insisted that “there has been no resignations by senior management in WFP Ethiopia”, but said the country director “is currently on leave and remains a WFP employee.”

According to the source who spoke with Addis Standard on conditions of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information, one of the “demands by the USAID” is to seen a “complete change in leadership at the WFP Ethiopia.”

Although, it did not indicate any change in the leadership, WFP admitted that it was “in the midst of rolling out comprehensive, systemic measures to prevent any further interference with lifesaving food assistance from reaching those who depend on it for their survival.”

Addis Standard’s requests for comments from Claire Nevill, WFP Ethiopia Head of Communications, Brenda Kariuki Senior Regional Communications Officer for Eastern Africa, as well as the WFP Global Media Team were unsuccessful. 

 

 

Martin Plaut posted: " On Monday the New Humanitarian broke the story of the resignation of the two most senior World Food Programme (WFP) staff in Ethiopia. The crux of the story was this: "WFP country director Claude Jibidar and his deputy, Jennifer Bitonde, tendered" Martin Plaut

 

 

Martin Plaut

Jun 6

On Monday the New Humanitarian broke the story of the resignation of the two most senior World Food Programme (WFP) staff in Ethiopia.

The crux of the story was this:

"WFP country director Claude Jibidar and his deputy, Jennifer Bitonde, tendered their resignations at an all-staff meeting on 2 June, sources present at Friday’s 'emotional' gathering told The New Humanitarian, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information. The move followed an internal investigation launched last month over reports that significant amounts of food meant for hungry people in Ethiopia’s war-affected northern Tigray region had been sold on the commercial market."

Why the resignations?

What I hear from a source in Ethiopia is that the USAID found aid on local markets, first in Tigray (Alamata) but later across Ethiopia, including Gambella and the Somali region. The majority of this diversion of aid was said to have taken place since the January ceasefire in Tigray.

The WFP tried to blame the beneficiaries or the NGO's they had been working with. Others suggested some was looted by Eritreans or by agencies working with local governments. These arguments were not regarded as credible, since there was evidence of aid being taken directly from government warehouses or sold by millers.

USAID demanded a halt and a full explanation. USAID administrator Samantha Power made the announcement in a statement on 3rd of May, explaining that the aid had been intended “for the people of Tigray suffering under famine-like conditions”. “We have made the difficult decision to pause all USAID-supported food assistance in the Tigray region until further notice,” Power said.

The Americans believed the Tigrayan authorities and Federal authorities were trying to defraud the US taxpayers. Investigations in Tigray and by the Federal government are now said to be close to being finalised.

Another source commented: "It’s a scale of aid diversion I have never seen before and it implicates the governments at regional and federal level. The Ethiopian and the Tigrayans military were caught on camera taking wheat from mills. Worse still, they had contracts signed by the mills. Although this was first detected in Tigray it implicates at least 8 regions."

"My friend a diplomat confirms the food aid corruption information. As of today, it seems an ‘open secret’ in diplomatic circles," a further source explained.

What does it amount to?

This must be among the most serious cases of aid diversion in many years and could lead to wholesale cuts in Ethiopian food aid, upon which many Ethiopians depend.

Everyone knows that some aid is sold on local markets by ordinary people, but this is on a quite different scale.

What has been uncovered goes way beyond this and amounts to officially sanctioned corruption. And with footage of troops taking food from warehouses and mills it could no longer be denied.

USAID knew if the true scale came out and they had not acted then they would be blamed and heads would roll.

Hence the dramatic decision to cut aid flows to Tigray, which has left the poorest of the poor without the assistance they so badly require.

As the WFP said on 3rd of May 2023:

The World Food Programme (WFP) is deeply concerned by the recent reports of significant diversion of humanitarian food assistance in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region. WFP takes this issue extremely seriously and will not tolerate any interference in its distribution of critical food aid to the most vulnerable women, men and children.

WFP immediately launched a comprehensive investigation upon learning of the food diversion reports and has taken swift action to establish all the facts and further strengthen our controls.

WFP has paused food distributions in Tigray, which will not resume until WFP can ensure that vital aid will reach its intended recipients.

WFP is working closely with the regional authorities to identify any individuals involved in these activities, and to close any loopholes in the process of identifying and registering beneficiaries.

WFP is also strongly reiterating to our cooperating partners that they monitor and report any illicit activities, and that they are enforcing the agreed controls. 

WFP prides itself on ensuring the proper use of donor contributions - with the most stringent controls and processes in order to best serve the millions of the hungry who depend on WFP’s lifesaving and life-changing assistance.

The people of Tigray are still recovering from the impacts of a two-year conflict, which has left 84 per cent of the region in a food crisis. WFP is resolutely committed to ensure life-saving food assistance reaches those most in need efficiently and effectively.

Word Food Programme Statement, 3 May 2023

ቤት ጽሕፈት ወጻኢ ጉዳይ ኮመንዌልዝን ዕቤትን/ Commonwealth & Development፡ ብ8 ሰነ 2023 ኣብ ኤርትራ ናብ ዝነብሩ ዜጋታት ዓብይ ብሪታንያ ናይ መሬት ጉዕዞ ኣብ ኤርትራ ብዝምልከት መጠንቀቕታ ኣመሓላሊፉ። ኣብዚ መጠንቀቕታኡ፡ እንግሊዛውያን ኣብ ከባቢ 25 ኪሎሜተር ምስ ኤርትራ ካብ ዘራኽቡ ዶባት ኢትዮጵያን ጅቡትን ጥቡቕ ጥንቃቐ ክገብሩ ኣተሓሳሲቡ። ኣብዚ መጠንቀቕታኡ ኤርትራ ምስ ኢትዮጵያን ጅቡትን ብምድሪ ዘራኽባ ዶባታ ከም ዝዓጸወትን ምስ ሱዳንን ግና ክፉት ከምዘሎ ሓቢሩ።  (ኤርትራ ምስ ኢትዮጵያ፡ 1,050፡ ምስ ሱዳን 686፡ ምስ ጅቡቲ ድማ 110 ኪሎሜተር ዝንውሓቱ ናይ መሬት ዶባት ኣለዋ።)

እቲ መጠንቀቕታ ኣተሓሒዙ ናብ ኤርትራ ዝጐዓዙ ዜጋታት ዓባይ ብሪታንያ፡ ነቲ ናብ ኤርትራ ንምእታው ዘድሊ ቅድመ-ኩነታት ትኹረት ክገብርሉ፡ ኩነታት ብቕልጡፍ  ክቕየር ከም ዝኽእል ኣብ ግምት ከእትዉን ምስቲ ጉዕዞ ዝሰርዓሎም ኣካል ቀጻሊ ርክባት ንክህልዎምን ኣዘኻኺሩ። ናብ ኤርትራ ኣብ ዝግበር መገሻ ዝያዳ ካልእ ግዜ ናይ ኢንሹራንስ ውሕስነት ምሓዝ ከም ዘድሊ እውን ጠቒሱ።

እቲ ናይ ኮመንዌልዝ መግለጺ፡ ምስቲ መጠንቀቕታ ኣተሓሒዙ፡ መንግስቲ ኤርትራ ምስቲ ኣብ ትግራይ ኣትዩ ዘካየዶ ውግእ ብምትሕሓዝ ብ14 መስከረም 2022፡ ወተሃደራዊ ተመኩሮ ናብ ዘለዎም  ኤርትራውያን  ዘቕነዐ ሃገራዊ መጸዋዕታ ኣቕሪቡ ምንባሩ ኣዘኻኺሩ። እቲ ክተት ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ድሕሪ ኣብ መንጎ መንግስቲ ኢትዮጵያን ክልል ትግራይ ዝካየድ ዝነበረ ውግእ ብስምምዕ ጠጠው ምባሉ እውን ቀጻሊ ኣሎ ኢሉ። እዚ ድማ ኣብ ከባቢ ኣስመራን ካልእ ከባብታት ኤርትራን ክውሰድ ዝድለ ጸጥታዊ ስጉምቲ ከይህሉ ዘመልክት እዩ ኢሉ።

በዚ መሰረት ኣብ ኤርትራ ዝርከቡ እንግሊዛውያን ናይ ጸጥታ ኣካላት ካብ ዝርከብሉ ከባቢ ክርሕቁ ከምዘየብሎም ኣገንዚቡ። ኩሎም ኣብ ኤርትራ ዝርከቡ ወጻእተኛታት፡ እንተላይ ዲፕሎማት ካብ ኣስመራ ንምውጻእ ኣቐዲሞም ኣመልኪቶም ክጸንሑ ከኣ ኣዘኻኺሩ።

ኣብ መወዳእታ ድማ ኣብ ኤርትራ ዘሎ ቆንስላዊ ኣገልግሎት ኣዝዩ ውሱን ስለ ዝኾነ፡ ኣብ ኤርትራ ምስ መጥቃዕቲ፡ ሞትን ማእሰርትን ዝኣመሰሉ ዝተኣሳሰር ህጹጽ ሓገዝ ንምርካብ ኣብ ኣስመራ ናብ ዝርከብ ኤምባሲ ብሪታንያ ብህጹጽ ከፍልጡ ከም ዝግበኦም ኣድራሻ ብምጥቃስ ኣጠንቂቕዎም።

Thursday, 08 June 2023 22:46

Dimtsi Harnnet Kassel 08.06.2023

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ኣባላት ምቁጽጻርን ምጽራይን ሕብረት ኣፍሪቃ ኣብ መቐለ ብወግዒ ሓላፍነት ኣብ ዝተረከብሉ።

 ሕብረት ኣፍሪቃ መስርሕ ምቁራጽ ተኹሲ ኣብ ኢትዮጵያ-ትግራይ ክቆጻጸርን ከጻርን ናይ ዝመዘዞ ወተሃደራዊ ኮሚተ ዕድመ፡ ክሳብ መጻኢ ወርሒ ታሕሳስ 2023 ከም ዘናወሒ ኤምባሲ ኣሜሪካ ኣብ ኢትዮጵያ ኣፍሊጡ።

ኣድላይነት ናይዚ ምቁጽጻርን ምጽራይን ኮሚተ፡ ኣብቲ ኣብ ደቡብ ኣፍሪቃ ኣብ መንጎ ፈደራላዊ መንግስቲ ኢትዪጵያን ህዝባዊ ወያነ ሓርነት ትግራይን ዝተኸተመ ስምምዕ ቀጻሊ ምቁራጽ ተኹሲ ኣገዳሲ ቦታ ዝሕዝ እዩ። ኣብቲ ስምምዕ ኣብ ዓንቀጽ 11 ዕድመ ናይቲ ወተሃደራዊ ተቖጻጻርን መጻረይን ኮሚተ 6 ኣዋርሕ ዝብልኳ እንተኾነ ከም ኣድላይነቱ ንክናዋሕ ዝፈቅድ እዩ።

እቲ ብሕብረት ኣፍሪቃ ዝተመዘ ወተሃደራዊ ኮሚተ፡ ብኬንያዊ መጀር ጀነራል ስቴፈን ራዲና ዝምራሕ ኮይኑ፡ ኣባላቱ  ኮለኔል ሩፋይ ኡማር ማሪንጋ ካብ ናጀሪያን ኮሎኔል ተፎ ሰኮለ ካብ ደቡብ ኣፍሪቃን እዮም። እዚ ኮሚተ ብ29 ታሕሳስ 2022 እዩ ብወግዒ ኣብ ዋና ከተማ ክልል ትግራይ መቐለ ተመስሪቱ።

እዚ ናይ ምቁጽጽጻር ኮሚተ ካብ ዝምስረት ክልተ ግዜ ብዛዕባ መስርሕ ኣተገባብራ ውዕል ደቡብ ኣፍሪቃ ኣብ ትግራይ ነቲ ዝመዘዞ ኣካል ሕብረት ኣፍሪቃን ተወከልቲ ፈደራላዊ መንግስቲ ኢትዮጵያን ህዝያዊ ምምሕዳር ትግራይን መግለጺ ሂቡ። ኣብቲ ዝሃቦ ካለኣይ ሓበሬታ፡ ብዛዕባ ምርካብ ከቢድ ብረትን ጉዳይ ማእከላይን ናእሽቱን ኣጽዋርን ኣብ መስርሕ ከም ዘሎን ጠቒሱ፡ ከም ጥዕና፡ ምኽፋት ኣብያተ-ትምህርቲ፡ ባንክን ህዝባዊ መጐዓዝያን ዝኣመሰሉን ኣገልግሎታት ድማ ከም ዝተጀመረ ገሊጹ። በዚ መሰረት ኣብቲ ናይ 19 ጉንበት 2023 መግለጺ መጀር ጀነራል ስቴፈን ራዲና መስርሕ ምፍታሕ ዕጥቂ ሰራዊት ትግራይ ካብ 85 ክሳብ 90 ካብ ሚእቲ ከም ዝተተግበረ ገሊጾም።

 ብመሰረት ጸብጻብ ናይቲ ኮሚተ፡ ብመንጽርቲ ኣብ ናይሮቢ ዝተበጽሓ ናይ ኣተገባብራ ስምምዕ ብዘይካ ምፍታሕ ዕጥቂ፡ ዕጡቓት ኣምሓራን ምክልኻል ኢትዮጵያ ዘይኮኑ ዕጡቓትን ካብ ትግራይ ክወጹ ዝተባህለ፡ ሰራዊት ኤርትራ ካብ ሰሜንን ሰሜናዊ ምብራቕን ትግራይ፡ ከምኡ እውን ዕጡቕ ሓይሊ ኣምሓራ ካብ ምዕራብ ትግራይ ከምዘይወጹ ኣብቲ ዜናዊ ጸብጻብ ተጠቒሱ።

ኤርትራን ህዝባን፡ ዝነበሩ፡ ዘለዉን ዝቕጽሉን እዮም። ህግደፍን በሓቲ ምምሕዳሩን ግና ሎሚ ዘለዉ፣ ጽባሕ ግና ዘይህልዉ ሓለፍቲ እዮም። ናይ ነባሪ ህዝብን ሃገርን ናይ ሓላፊ መንግስታዊ ምምሕዳርን ርክብ፡ ኣብ ኤርትራ ጥራይ ዘይኮነ፡ ኣብ ዓለምና’ውን ዘሎ ዘየቋርጽ መስርሕ እዩ። እዚ ዝምድና ናይ ህዝቢ ነባርነት ጥራይ ዘይኮነ፡ ኣይኮነንዶ ከም ህግደፍ ዝኣመሰለ ካብ ቀደሙ ጠላም፡ ህዝቦም ብልቦናን ቅንዕናን ዘመሓደሩ መንግስታት እውን ዘይርሳዕ ኣውንታዊ ዝናን ተመኩሮን ደኣ ይገድፉ እምበር፡ ነበርቲ ከምዘይኮኑ ዘረድእ እዩ።

ብሰንኪ ግጉይ ምምሕዳሮም፡ ካብ ህዝቦም ዝተነጸሉ፡ ኣገዲዶምን ኣርዒዶምን ክገዝኡ እንተዘይኮይኖም፡ ህዝቢ ኣዕጊቦም ከመሓድሩ ዘይተዓደሉ መንግስታት፡ ነብሶም ንምድሓንን ብስም ህዝባዊ ወገናውነት፡  ዕድመ ስልጣኖም ከናውሑን ዘይፍንቅልዎ እምኒ የለን። ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ካብ እንግደዓ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ንዘይምውራድ፡ ዘስመዖ መዝሙር “ንሕና ሃገር ንሕና ህዝቢ” ድማ ናይዚ ኣብነት እዩ። ጨቆንቲ  እንታይነቶም ንምሕባእ ንክጥዕሞም፡ ንሳቶም ብዛዕባቲ ህዝቢ ከምቲ ዝደልይዎ ክዛረቡ እምበር፡ ህዝቢ ብዛዕባኦም ክዛረብ ኣይፈቕድሉን እዮም። ናይ ህግደፍ ብዘይካተን መሳርሒኡ መድያታት፡ ብሕታዊ መራኸቢ ሓፋሽ ምዕጻውን ጋዜጠኛታተን ምእሳርን ድማ ብመንጽርዚ ዝረአ እዩ።

ስርዓት ህግደፍ ነቲ ሓቂ ክሒዱ ማዕረ ኤርትራን ህዝብን ነባሪ መሲሉ ንምቕራብ ዝፈጥሮ ምድንጋራት ብዙሕ እዩ። “ኤርትራ ህግደፍ ከም ዘምጸኣን ኣብዘይህላወኡ፣ ህልውና ከም ዘየብላ” ኣምሲልካ ንምስኣላ ዝግበር ጻዕሪ፡ ካብቲ ሓደገኛ ምህዞታቱ ሓደ እዩ። ንከምዚ ዝኣመሰለ ተግባሩ  ንምንኣድ “ኣንታ ንበረልና”  ብዝብል ዜማ ክስነ እንከሎ ከኣ ንብዙሓት ዘገርም እዩ። በዚ ግጉይን ዘይንቡርን ኣረዳድኣ ዝዓወኑ ወገናት ከኣ፡ “ንህግደፍ ምቅዋም ከም ንኤርትራ ምቅዋም፡ ንህግደፍ ምድጋፍ ከኣ ከም ንድሕነትን ህልውናን ኤርትራ ምጥባቕ”  ዝብል ተረድኦ የሕድሩ። ካብዚ ሓሊፉ ንህግደፍ ብሰንኪ ጸረ ህዝቢ ተግባራቱ ዝቃወሙን ንምውጋዱ ዝቃለሱን ወገናት “ሃገሮም ዝኸሓዱ” ዝብል ዘይምልከቶም ኮር ተገልበጥ፡  ስም ክዋሃቦም እንከሎ ድማ ዘተዓዛዝብ እዩ። እዞም ብዛዕባ ዝምድና ህዝብን ህግደፍን ግጉይ ኣረዳድኣ ዘኮማስዑ ወገናት፡ ህዝብን ሃገርን ካብ ስርዓት ፈሊኻ ምርዳእ ዝሰኣኑ፡ ወይ ድማ እናፈለጡ ኩለንተናኦም ንህግደፍ ኣረኪቦም ዕርቃኖም ዝወጹ እዮም። እቲ ሓቂ ግና፡ እቶም ንህግደፍ ዘምልኹ እዮም ንህዝቦምን ሃገሮምን ጠሊሞም  ግዳይቲ መላኺ ጉጅለ ኮይኖም ዘለዉ።

ኣብ ኤርትራ ዘሎ  ፈታውን ጸላእን ዘይክሕዶ ኩሉ መዳያዊ ኩነታት፡ “ህዝብን ሃገርን ምስ ህግደፍን ሓደ እዮም” ዘብል ዘይኮነ ብኣንጻሩ እዩ። ህዝቢ ምስ መንግስቲ ሓደ ኣይኮነን ዝብል ተረድኦ፡ ኣይኮነንዶ ኣብ መንጎ ህዝቢ ኤርትራን ህግደፍን፡ ኣብቶም ሕቶ ህዝቦም ብዝግባእ ዝመለሱ መንግስታት እውን ቅኑዕ ኣይኮነን። ምኽንያቱ “ህዝብን ሃገርን ነበርቲ እዮም፡ ስርዓታት ግና ሓለፍቲ እዮም” ዝብል መደምደምታ ኣድማሳዊ ሓቂ ስለ ዝኾነ። ኣብ ኤርትራ በጺሑ እቲ ስነመጐት ክቕየር እሞ፡ ህግደፍ ማዕረ ህዝቢ ነባሪ ክኸውን ምሕላም ግና፡ ጥዕና ዘለዎ ሰብ ዝሓስቦ ኣይኮነን።

ህግደፍ በብግዜኡ ዝፈጥሮም መድረኻት ኣለውዎ። መዓልቲ ናጽነት ኤርትራ ሓደ ካብቲ መድረኻት እዩ። እዚ መድረኽ ክቡር ዋጋ ዝተኸፍሎ ስለ ዝኾነ፡ ብትሕዝቶኡ ኤርትራዊ መድረኽ እዩ። ህግደፍ ግና ኣቕጣጫኡ ኣስሒቱ ህግደፋዊ ፖለቲካውን ገንዘባውን ረብሓ ናብ ዝሓፍሰሉን መንነቱ ዘመላኻዓሉን ኩርናዕ እዩ ዝወስዶ። እቲ ኣብ ምድላዉ ዝፈስስ ጉልበትን ገንዘብን ብዙሕ ትርጉም ዘለዎ ኮይኑ፡ እቲ ቀንዲ  ገበነኛ ምስሊ ህግደፍ ንምጽብባቕ እዩ። እንተ ሕቶ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ብምጽብባቕ  ግናይ ምስሊ ህግደፍ ዝምለስ ኣይኮነን። ካብቶም ኣብቲ በዓላት ዝሳተፉ፡ እቶም ምእማኑ ክሳብ ዘጸግም ዝቖጻጸዩን ብዘይጭበጥ ተስፋ ዝዓብዱን ዘገርሙ እዮም። እቲ ዕብዳኖም ምስቲ “ዘይሓስብ ኣይንገድ” ዝበሃል ዝመሳሰል ብፖለቲካዊ ሕሳብ ዘይተሰነየ  ዕንደራ እዩ።

ኤርትራውያን ናጽነት፡  ዋጋ መስዋእቶም ስለ ዝኾነ፡ ክዝክርዎ ግቡእ እዩ። እንተኾነ  እቲ ዝኽሪ ኣብቲ ህግደፍ ዝተኽሎ ጓይላ ዝትግበር ኣይኮነን። እቲ ዘገርም ግና ብገለ ዘይተረድኡ ወይ ተረዲኦም ክንሶም ዘይተረድኡ መሲሎም ክቐርቡ ዝወሰኑ፡  “ናብ ጓይላ ህግደፍ ዘይምኻድ ከም ንሃገርን ህዝብን ምኽሓድ” ገይሮም ዝርድእዎ ምዃኖም እዩ። ገለ ንህግደፍ ክቃወሙ ዝጸንሑ ሓሳቦም ምስቀየሩ ጓይላ ናይቲ ጉጅለ  ስለ ዘድመቑ፡ “ናብ ህዝቦምን ሃገሮምን ዝተመልሱ” ዝብል መደዓዓሲ ቅጽል ይወሃቦም።

መገሻ ኢሳያስ ኣፈወርቂ ከም ናብ ቻይና፡ ሩሲያን ዝኣመሰላ ሃገራትን፡ ንረብሓ ኤርትራን ህዝባን ከም ዝውዕል ኣምሲልካ ምቕራብ ካልእ ሓድሽ መደንዘዚ ኣጋጣሚታት እዩ። እዚ መሰረታዊ ሕቶ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ እንታይ ምዃኑ ካብ ዘይምርዳእን ኣብ ሃገሩ ዘየድመዐ ጉጅለ ኣብ መገሻ ከድምዕ ካብ ምጽባይን ዝነቅል እዩ። መሰረታዊ ሕቶ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ፡ ሕገመንግስታዊ ስርዓት፡ ኣብዘሓ ሰልፋዊ ዲሞክራስያዊ ምምሕዳር፡ ልዕልና ፍትሒ፡ ምሕላው ኩሉ መሰላት፡ ብድምጹ ዘደይቦ ብድምጹ ዘውርዶ መራሕነት……..ወዘተ ምውናን ምዃኑ ፍሉጥ እዩ። እዚ ድማ ብቓልሲ እምበር፣ ኣጋጣሚታት ፈጢርካ ካብ ዝትከል ጓይላ ዝሕፈስ ወይ ካብ ወጻኢ ዝመጽእ ሸቐጥ ኣይኮነን።

እቲ ካልእ ህግደፍ ኣበሳኡ ንምሕባእን ስምዒት ግሩሃት ንምስላብን ዝጥቀመሉ፡ “ኤርትራ ደሴት ሰላም ናይዚ ዞባ እያ”  ዝብል ሸፈጥ እዩ። ነዚ ንምግናን ኣቶ ኣልኣሚን መሓመድ ስዒድ ቅድሚ ምማቱ “ኣብ ዓላም ዘተኣማምን ሰላም ዘለዋ ሃገር ኤርትራ ጥራይ እያ” ብምባሉ መስሓቕ ሸራፋት ኮይኑ ከም ዝነበረ ዝዝከር እዩ። እዚ ንሰላም ብመንጽር ድምጺ ጥይት ብምስማዕን ዘይምስማዕን ጥራይ፡ ካብ ምምዛን ዝነቅል ዘይዕቱብ ኣረዳድኣ እዩ።  እንተ ግደ ሓቂ፡ እቲ ካልእ ኣበሳ ገዲፍካ፡ “ደቃ ኣብ ዘይጉዳዮም ውግእ ኣትዮም ዝውዱኡላን ብዓለም ደረጃ ብወራርን ገበንን ዝኽሰሱላን፡ መንእሰያታ ገሊኦም ሃጽ ኢሎም ዝስደዱላ ገሊኦም ድማ ካብ መንግስታዊ ግፋ ንኽሃድሙ ምስ ኣህባይ ኣብ በዓትታት ዝሰፍሩላ፡ ኣባላት ሓደ ስድራ ቤት ምትእምማን ስኢኖም፡ ናይ ልቦም ዘይዘራረቡላ” ኤርትራስ ኣብ ሰላም ኣላ ምባል፡ ነብስኻ ምዕሻው እዩ። ደሓር ናይ ካልኦት ሰላም ክትዘርግ እንከለኻ፡ “እቲ ሓደ ንዓኣቶም እቲ ሓደ ድማ ንዓኻ ክልተ ጐዳጉዲ ኩዓት” ደይኮነን ዝበሃል። ወዮ “እንተ ክትድቕስ ጐረቤትካይ ይደቅስ” ዝበሃል ተረካብ ዘረባ ወለድናኸ ተረሲዑ ማለት ድዩ።  ስለዚ “ህዝቢ ኤርትራን ህግድፍን ሓደ ኣይኮኑን” ካብ በልና፡ ካብቲ ህግደፍ ንህልውናኡ ክብል ዝኹዕቶ ህጉም ንጠንቀቕ ጥራሕ ዘይክነ ዕድመኡ ከነሕጽሮ  እዩ ዝግበኣና።

Wednesday, 07 June 2023 21:42

Russia’s view of its partnership with Eritrea

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Martin Plaut posted: " This article from "Modern Diplomacy" - a Russian website - is interesting for what it explains about the relationship. The trade between the two countries is tiny. The relations are clearly one of unequals. Russia's international support for President I" Martin Plaut

 

Martin Plaut

Jun 2

This article from "Modern Diplomacy" - a Russian website - is interesting for what it explains about the relationship. The trade between the two countries is tiny. The relations are clearly one of unequals. Russia's international support for President Isaias is exchanged for the strategic possibilities Eritrea holds out for President Putin.

 

The Strategic Partnership between Eritrea and Russia

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Published on June 2, 2023

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

Isaias Afwerki in Moscow. May 2023.

In this extremely poor Eritrea nation located in the Horn of Africa, with a population 3.6 million, what factors could attract to strengthen cooperation in the spheres highlight by the Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with President of the State of Eritrea Isaias Afwerki at the Kremlin. According to reports that emerged from the Kremlin on May 31, Putin made reference to the fact that Eritrea has recently marked 30 years of its independence. This was when two countries established diplomatic relations too.

Russia is attracted due to its highly strategic location. Eritrea is bordered to the northeast and east by the Red Sea, Sudan to the west, Ethiopia to the south, and Djibouti to the southeast. The undemarcated border with Ethiopia is the primary external issue currently facing Eritrea. Geopolitical history informed us that Eritrea’s relations with Ethiopia turned from that of cautious mutual tolerance, following the 30-year war for Eritrean independence, to a deadly rivalry that led to the outbreak of hostilities from May 1998 to June 2000 that claimed approximately 70,000 lives from both sides.

Despite the differences between Ethiopia and Eritrea, Russia maintains good relations with the two. But the main significance as stressed during the meeting was trade and economic relations which deserve primary attention. There could only be a few, of course not a lot, of potential in many areas. From our studies, agriculture makes up 11 percent of the wider economy’s value, and is the main economic activity in Eritrea. 

In 2013, the pickup in growth had been attributed to the commencement of full operations in the gold and silver Bisha mined by Canadian Nevsun Resources, the production of cement from the cement factory in Massawa and investment in Eritrea’s copper and zinc. Chinese are very active in the mining sector and the Australians operate Colluli potash mining. In 2020, the IMF estimated Eritrea’s GDP at $2.1 billion. 

With that economic background however, Russia sees an opportunity to develop trade and economic ties between the two countries. “Of course, we must first of all pay attention to the development of trade and economic ties, here we have good prospects in many areas,” Putin said.

As expected, there was a display passion for packing official documents. After series of substantive consultations on partnership and intensive preparations between Asmara and Moscow, the delegation signed several intergovernmental agreements. “I am sure that our talks today will be successful and will benefit the development of relations between the Russian Federation and Eritrea,” Putin stressed.

The trade turnover between Russia and Eritrea in 2022 amounted to $13.5 mln, including $11.5 mln from wheat exports, according to materials for the talks between Putin and Isaias Afwerki in the Kremlin. 

“The trade turnover between Russia and Eritrea in 2022 amounted to $13.521 mln (exports: $12.745 mln, including $11.5 mln – wheat (27,500 tons); imports: $776,000),” the statement said. 

In 2021, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $9.314 mln. Exports of wheat amounted to $8.125 mln, oil products – $175,000, sulfates – $888,000. At the same time, imports of ready-made clothes reached $126,000.

According to the statement, Eritrea is highly interested in strengthening ties with Ural Automobile Plant and Kamaz. In 2018, Kamaz delivered 56 cars and 5 buses valued around $5 mln to Eritrea.

“In my view, the global order, which is on the cusp of a radical transformation, requires objective appraisal and mutual consultations on the timeless subject matter and phenomena of paramount importance and significance. The common assessment that we undertake will, in turn, revitalise the formulation of programmes and partnership that we chart on,” Isaias Afwerki said during the meeting.

Isaias Afwerki believes that the Russia was the primary competitor and rival of the policy of encirclement and containment by the forces of domination from the early 1990s, and its global impact in the past 30 years was considerable indeed. Russia too, did not undertake, at the outset, all the necessary preparations for effective resistance. 

An integrated and comprehensive strategy of resistance was not accordingly set in motion. But with time, and as the latent policy of containment against China becomes more transparent, international awareness of the free peoples has increased. 

“It is imperative to expand and deepen this awareness, chart out a comprehensive strategy and concrete plans that encompass all fields, create dynamic mechanisms, marshal the necessary resources so as to ascertain the advent of and transit to a civilised international order of mutual respect, cooperation, complementarity and prosperity, where justice and the rule of law prevail. This is not an option but an obligation,” he explicitly pointed out to Putin. 

It is important to remind here that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Eritrea in January 2023. He said the agenda for Russia-Eritrea cooperation has a key focus on the implementation of potential joint projects, including the logistics hub in Asmara. At a meeting at that time, Afwerki and Lavrov also discussed the radical changes in the international situation and key directions for the development of Russian-Eritrean relations. Lavrov reported to Putin about the results of his African tour at a Security Council meeting.

Afwerki has been president since 1993 when Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia. He is the first and the only person to hold the post so far. Sergey Lavrov visited Eritrea in January as he toured Africa. The commercial activities revolve around this strategic location as a transit point and the strategic location also makes the country prime for an increased military presence. This is the strategic importance for Russia.

Lavrov spoke extensively about economic cooperation. According to him, Russia’s truck maker KAMAZ was already working in Eritrea, supplying its products to that country, as was Gazprombank Global Resources, which was building cooperation in the banking sector. The same year 2018, concrete talks were held to build a logistics centre at the port of Eritrea, that makes world’s class logistics and services hub for maritime transportation through the Suez Canal and definitely set to promote bilateral trade.

Still that same year, Eritrea was interested in opening a Russian language department at one of the universities in the capital of the country, Asmara. Lavrov further indicated: “We agreed to take extra measures to promote promising projects in the sphere of mining and infrastructure development and to supply specialized transport and agricultural equipment to Eritrea.”

In April 2022, Eritrea’s top diplomat, Osman Saleh, made a quick reciprocal visit to Moscow to recieve an honor and congratulations for opposing resolution in New York. That was in March 2022, Eritrea was one of the countries who voted against the resolution condemning Russia over the situation in Ukraine at the United Nations. 

Eritrea is now a member of the African Union. The Eritrean government previously withdrew its representative to the African Union to protest the AU’s alleged lack of leadership in facilitating the implementation of a binding border decision demarcating the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Eritrea is also a member of the United Nations.

ካብ ማሕበራዊ መድያ ዝተወስደ ምስሊ

ኤርትራውያ ደገፍቲ ህግደፍ ኣብ ዝመጽእ ዘሎ ወርሒ ሓምለ 2023፡ ኣብ ኣዳራሽ ኢቨንት ፕላዛ/EVENT PLAZA ከካይድዊ ዝመደብዎ ኣኼባታት ክቕጽል ከምዘይደልያ፡ ከንቲባ ከተማ ራይስዊክ  ሃገረ ሆላንድ ሁሪ ሳሂን ምግላጸን፡ ምንጭታታ ብምጥቃስ ዜና ደሃይ/DEHAI NEWS ኣፍሊጣ። እተን ከንቲባ እቲ ተመዲቡ ዘሎ ኣኼባታት ክካየድ ዘይፈቕዳ፡ ኣብዚ ቀረባ ግዜ ኣብ መንጎ ኤርትራውያን ደገፍቲ መንግስት ህግደፍን ተቓወምትን ብዝተራእየ እሞ ብዓወት ተቓወምቲ ዝተደምደመ ምትሕንናቕ ብምስትውዓል እየን።

ናይተን ከንቲባ ወሃቢ ቃል ብወገኑ ነቲ ኣብ ሆላንድ ብተደጋጋሚ ዘጋጥም ዘሎ ናይ ኤርትራውያን ምትሕንናቕ ንምግታእ ኣኼባ ብምስራዝ ጥራይ ዘይኮነ፡ እቲ በተደጋጋሚ ዕግርግር ዝፍጠረሉ ኣዳራሽ ኢቨንት ፕላዛ/EVENT PLAZA ክሳብ ምዕጻው ምኻድ ከም ዘድሊ ጠቒሶም። ካብዚ ሓሊፉ ቤት ጽሕፈት  ከንቲባ እታ ከተማ ንምቁጽጻር ምእንቲ ክትዕሞ፡ ነቲ ኣዳራሽ ክውንኖ ከም ዝደሊ እውን ብተወሳኺ ኣስፊሩ። ወዲ 83 ዓመት ዋና እቲ ኣዳራሽ ግና እቲ 27 ዓመታት ክግልገለሉ ዝጸንሐ ኣዳራሽ ካብ ኢዱ ክወጽእ ከምዘይደሊ ኣፍሊጡ።

ኣብ 28 ጉንበት 2023 መበል 32 ዓመት ዝኽሪ ናጽነት ኤርትራ ምኽንያት ብምግባር፡ ኤምባሲ ኤርትራ ኣብ ምዕራብ ሆላንድ ኣብ እትርከብ ከተማ ራይስዊክ፡ ዘዳለዎ መደብ ንምብታን ኤርትራውያን ተቓወምቲ ብዘርኣይዎ መኸተ ዕግርግር ምስ ሓየለ፡ ፖሊስ ናይታ ሃገር ሄሊኮፕተር  ክሳብ ምጥቃም በጺሑ ከም ዝነበረ ኣብቲ ዜና ተጠቒሱ።

ኤምባሲ ኤርትራ እቲ ካብ ነዊሕ ግዜ ጀሚሩ ዝተዳለወሉ ኣኼባ ብውሳነ ከንቲባ እታ ከተማ ምስተሰረዘ፡ ካልእ ምርጫ ክረክብኳ ላዕልን ታሕትን እንተበለ፡ ሓንሳብ “ሓደገኛ እዩ” ተባሂሉ ስለ ዝተሰረዘ፡  ምምሕዳርን ፖሊስን ናይታ ከተማ ዝኾነይኹ ክገብሩ ኣይፈቐድሎምን። ኣብ ዝሓለፈ ዓመት እውን  ኤምባሲ ኤርትራ ኣብዛ ከተማ ኣብ ተመሳሳሊ ኣዳራሽ ዝመደቦ ኣኼባ ከም ዝፈሸለ ዝዝከር እዩ። እዚ ኩነታት እምበኣር፡ መርኣያ ተዓዋትነት ዘይጐነጻዊ ኣገባብ ቃልሲ እዩ።

ብ ኤርትራን ትግራይን ብ4 ሰነ 2023 ከባቢ ሰዓት ሸውዓተን ርብዕን ናይ ንግሆ፡ ትሑት ዝዓቕሙ ምንቅጥቃጥ መሬት ከም ዘጋጠመ፡ ነዚ ዝከታተል ዓለም ለኻዊ ትካል ኣፍሊጡ። ናይቲ ምቅጥቃጥ መሬት ዓቕሚ 4.7 ሬክተር ስኬል ኮይኑ፡ ዘጋጠመሉ ቦታ ድማ ካብ ከተማ ኣስመራ ንወገን ደቡባዊ ምብቕራ 136 ኪሎሜተር ኣብ ዝርሕቀቱ እዩ። እቲ ምንቅጥቃጥ መሬት ዕምቆቱ 10 ኪሎሜተር ጥራይ ምንባሩን ከምዚ ዓይነት ዕምቆት ዘለዎ ምንቅጥቃጥ መሬት እምብዛ ሓደገኛ ዘይምዃኑ ተሓቢሩ።

በቲ ሓበሬታ መሰረት ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ካብቲ እቲ ምንቅጥቃጥ ዝነቕለሉ ማእከላይ ቦታ ዝበሃል፡  ነፍሲ ወከፈን 300 ኪሎ ሜተር እየን ዝርሕቃ። ካብ ክልቴን ሃገራት ናብዚ ማእከል ዝቐረበት ንወገን ምብራቓዊ ሰሜን 55 ኪሎሜተር ዝርሕቀታ ከተማ ዓዲ ግራት ምዃና ተሓቢሩ። ብተመሳሳሊ ካብዚ ማእከል ናይቲ ምንቅጥቃጥ ዝበሃል ቦታ፡ መንደፈራ 122፡ መቐለ 124 ከረን 207፡ ኣክሱም 134፡ ከምኡ ድማ ምጽዋዕ 127 ኪሎ ሜተር ርሒቐን ይርከባ። ብዛዕባዚ ምንቅጥቃጥ ተሰሚዕዎም ናብ ዝምልከቶ ኣካል ጸብጻብ ዘቕረቡ ክልተ ሰባት ኮይኖም፡ ንሳቶም ድማ ካብ ከተማ መቐለ ምዃኖም ተፈሊጡ።

ድሕሪ ከምዚ ዝኣመሰለ ትሑት ሓይሊ ዘለዎ ምንቅጥቃጥ መሬት ዝሓየለ ከም ዝኽተል ዝግመት እዩ። እንተኾነ  ንከምዚ ኣብ ከባቢ ኤርትራን ትግራይ ዘጋጠመ ተኸቲሉ ዝሓየለ ናይ ምምጻእ ዕድሉ 94% ዘሰክፍ ከምዘይኮነ ኣብቲ ጸብጻብ ተጠቒሱ። ኣብዚ ዝተጠቕሰ ከባቢ ኤርትራን ትግራይን ካብ 9 ጥሪ 2023 ኣትሒዙ ከጋጥም ካብ ዝጸንሐ ምንቅጥቃጥ መሬት እዚ ናይ 4 ሰነ 2023 ዝሓየለ እዩ። ኣብ ዝሓለፈ 10 ዓመታት ከኣ ኣብዚ ከባቢና  ሸውዓተ 4.7ን ካብኡ ንላዕልን ዝሓይሎም ምንቅጥቃጣት መሬት ተመዝጊቦም።

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