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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.

ብቐዳምነት፡ ንህዝቢ ኤርትራን ኵሎም ደለይቲ ፍትሕን ለውጥን ዝዀኑ ፖለቲካዊ ውድባቱን ሲቪላውያን ማሕበራቱን እንቋዕ ናብ ሓድሽ ዓመት 2015 ኣብጽሓኩም ዝብል ናይ ዮሃና መልእኽተይ ከመሓላልፍ እፈቱ። ኣስዒበ፡ ንዅሎም'ቶም ምእንቲ ናጽነት ኤርትራ ህይወቶም፡ ጕልበቶም፡ ገንዘቦምን ኵሉ ዝውንንዎ ዓቕምን ዘበርከቱ ኤርትራውያን ዘለኒ መጐስን ምስጋናን ክገልጽ ክብሪ ይስምዓኒ። ሳላኹም ኤርትራ ናጻን ልዑላዊትን ሃገር ኰይና፤ ህልውን መጻእን ወለዶ ድማ ንዘረከብክምዎ ሕድሪ ተሰኪሙ ኣብ ሽቶኡ ከብጽሖ ሓላፍነቱ ክስከም ከዘኻኽር እፈቱ።

ክቡራትን ክቡራንን

2014 ዓ.ም ዛዚምና ናብ 2015 ዓ.ም ንሰጋገር ኣለና። ከም ውልቀሰባት፡ ውድባትን ማሕበራትን ኣብ ዝሓለፈ ዓመት ዘመዝገብናዮም ኣወንታታትን ኣሉታታትን ገምጊምና ኣብ 2015 ዓ.ም ንጌታትና ኣሪምና ንኣወንታታና ዝያዳ ዘበርኽ ስርሓት ከነካይድ ኢዩ ዝግብኣና።

ኣብ ዝሓለፈ ዓመት ንዲክታቶርያዊ ስርዓት ዝቃወም ድምጺ እናበርከተን እናሓየለን ምምጽኡ ዘተባብዕን ተስፋ ዝህብን ተርእዮ ኢዩ ነይሩ። ኤርትራውያን መንእሰያትን ደቂ ኣንስትዮን ኣብ ዝተፈላለየ ኵርንዓት ናይ ዓለምን ብዝተፈላለዩ ኣገባባትን ተቓውሞኦም ኣንጻር ዲክታቶርያዊ ስርዓት ኤርትራ ክገልጹ ተራእዮም ኢዮም። ኣብ ርእስ'ዚ ናይ ሃይማኖት መራሕቲ፡ ነዚ ህልዊ ኵነታት ንምብዳህ ኤርትራዊ ዜጋ በብፊንኡ ሓወይ ኣበይ ኣሎ? ሓውተይ ኣበይ ኣላ? ሃገረይ ከመይ ኣላ ኢሉ ክሓትትን ሃገርን ህዝብን ንምድሓን ካብ ነፍስወከፍና ዝጥለቡ ግቡኣት ክንፍጽምን ኣተሓሳሲቦም ኢዮም። ካብ'ዚ ሓሊፎም ውን፡ መንግስቲ ኣብ ጕዳይ ናይ ሃይማኖት ዝገብሮ ዘሎ ምትእትታው ብግብሪ በዲሆም ኢዮም። ኣብ'ዚ እንኣትዎ ዘለና ሓድሽ ዓመት፡ ነዝን ከም'ዝን ዝኣመሰሉ ፍጻሜታት ከነተባብዕን ከነስፍሕን ከድልየና ኢዩ።

ስርዓት ኢሳያስ ብዝፈጸሞም ጌጋታት፡ ንነፍሱ ካብ ዓለም ባዕሉ ነጺሉ ኢዩ። እዚ ኵነታት'ዚ ንደለይቲ ፍትሒ ምቹእ ባይታታት ስለዝፈጠረሎም፡ ደለይቲ ፍትሒ ብሓፈሻ፡ ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ድማ ብፍላይ፡ ኣብ ኣህጕራዊ መጋባእያታት ቀሪቦም ድምጾምን ድምጺ ውጹዕ ህዝቦምን ከስምዑ ዕድል ረኺቦም ኢዮም። ኣብ ላምፓዱዛ ዘጋጠመ ህልቂት ናይ መንእሰያት ድማ፡ ንሕማቕ ሃለዋት ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ዕሽሽ ኢላ ትሓልፎ ዝነበረት ዓለምና ካብ ድቃሳ ክትበራበር ገይርዋ ኢዩ። ነዚ ተረኺቡ ዘሎ መኽሰባት ንምኽዕባት ቃልስና ብዝተዓጻጸፈ ደረጃ ከነበርኾ ንጥለብ ኣሎና።

ኣብ ደቡብ ኣፍሪቃ ምስ ስቅያት ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ዝደናግጽ ናይ 15 ሃገራት ሲቪላውያን ማሕበራት ዝካፈልዎ ግብረ ሓይሊ ምቛሙ፡ ነታ ክሳብ ሕጂ ተርኣን ግዴኣን ክንድህስሳ ዘይከኣልና ኣህጕር፡ መእተዊ ዝኸውን ባብ ተፈጢሩ ስለዘሎ፡ ነዚ ማዕጾ'ዚ ኣርሒብና ብምኽፋት፡ ህዝብና ዝርብሓሎም ስርሓትን ዝምድናታትን ንምፍጣር ክንጽዕር ዕዙዝ ኣድላዪነት ኣለዎ።

መንግስታት ኣውሮጳ፡ በቲ ካብ ኤርትራን ማእከላይ ምብራቕን ዝውሕዝ ዘሎ ስደተኛታት ተሰናቢደን ንሃገራዊ ረብሐአን ብምቕዳም፡ ምስ ዲክታቶርያውያን መንግስታት ቀሪበን ክሰርሓ ዝብገሳሉ ዘለዋ እዋን ስለዝዀነ፡ ደለይቲ ፍትሒ ኣብ ርእስ'ቲ ምስ መንግስታትን ሰልፍታትን ክገብርዎ ዝጸንሑ ርክባት፡ ኣብ 2015 ዓ.ም ኣብ ህዝባዊ ዲፕሎማሲ ዘትኰረ ንጥፈታቶም ከሐይልዎ ኣለዎም። ንኣህዛብ ምዕራባውያን ሃገራት፡ ብዛዕባ ኣብ ሃገርና ሰፊኑ ዘሎ ጭቆናን ዝፍጸም ዘሎ ግፍዕታትን ግህሰታትን ሰብኣዊ መሰላት ኣፍልጥኦም ንምዕባይ ተሪር ቃልሲ ምክያድ ግዜ ዘይህብ እዋናዊ ዕማም ኰይኑ ኣሎ።

ክቡራትን ክቡራንን

ኣብ መዳይ ሓድነት ናይ ተቓውሞ ውድባት፡ ኣብ ዝሓለፈ ዓመት፡ ንውድቀት ዲክታቶርያዊ ስርዓት ዘቃላጥፍ፡ ንፍናን ህዝቢ ዘበርኽ ጭቡጥ ስርሓት ተኻይዱ ኢልካ ምዝራብ ኣይከኣልን ኢዩ። ብኣንጻሩ ኣብ ዝሓለፈ ዓመት፡ ኣንጻር ሕድሕድ ዝግበሩ ምጽልላማትን ምጥቅቓዕን ብዝያዳ ዝጐልሃሉ፣ ኣብ ዓዳውን ኣውራጃውን ምልዕዓላት ዝተሰረቱ ፋይዳ ዘይብሎምን ንህዝቢ ዘይጥርንፉን ከፋፈልቲ ድምጽታት ዝተቃልሕሉን ዓመት ኢዩ ነይሩ። ኣብ'ዚ ዓመት'ዚ፡ ነዝን ከምኡን ዝኣመሰሉ ጸበብቲ ኣንፈታት ወጊድና ንዝዓበየ ሃገራዊ ዕላማታት ንምዕዋት መዓንጣና ሸጥ እነብለሉ ዓመት ክንግብሮ ኣለና። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ብመላኡ ካብ'ዚ ስርዓት'ዚ ብዘይካ ጕድኣት ፋይዳ ስለዘይረኸበ፡ ነዚ ንጹህ፡ ውፉይን ጻዕራምን ህዝቢ ካብ ኣርዑት ህግዲፍ ምንጋፍ ቀዳማይን መተካእታ ዘይብሉን ዕላማና ጌርና ክንወስዶ ኣሎና። ዕላማና ክንዮ ውልቅና፡ ዓድና፡ ኣውራጃና ዝጥምት ክኸውን ይግብኦ።

ተሳትፎ መንእሰያትን ደቂ ኣንስትዮን ኣብ ደምበ ተቓውሞ ንምዕባይ ናይ 2015 ዓ.ም ቀንዲ ዕላማና ክኸውን ኣለዎ። እዚ ድማ፡ ንሃለዋቶምን ሻቕሎታቶምን ብግቡእ ብምግንዛብን ንሕልምታቶም ጋህዲ ዝገብር ስርሓት ብምክያድን ይኸውን። ተሳትፎ ናይ መንእሰያትን ደቂ ኣንስትዮን ኣብ ውድባትን ማሕበራትን ኣብ ውሽጠን ለውጢ ንምምጻእ ኣዝዩ ኣድላዪ ምዃኑ ምግንዛብ ይግባእ።

ስደት ብዝምልከት ከኣ 2014 ዓ.ም ካብ ቅድሚኣ ዝነበራ ዓመታት ዝያዳ ናህሪ ወሲኻ ዝቐጸለትሉ ዓመት ኢያ ነይራ። ትሕቲ ዕድመ ዝዀኑ ናባዪ ዘይብሎም ህጻናት ከይተረፉ እውን ክስደዱ ዝተራእዩላ ዓመት ኢያ ነይራ። ኣብ ነፍስወከፍ ወርሒ፡ ካብ 3000-4000 ዝዀኑ ኤርትራውያን መንእሰያት ንሃገሮም ራሕሪሖም ይስደዱ ኣለዉ። እዚ መንእሰይ'ዚ፡ ኣብ ትምህርቲ፡ ስራሕን ህንጻ ሃገርን ክዋፈር ዝነበሮ ተረካባይ ሕድሪ ናይ ዝሓልፍ ዘሎ ወለዶ ኢዩ። ብዘይ'ዚ መንእሰይ'ዚ ሃገር ክትህሉ ይኹን ክትምዕብል ፈጺሙ ዘይሕሰብ ኢዩ። 2015 ዓ.ም ንዋሕዚ ናይ ስደት ደው ምባል ሓደ ካብ'ቶም ቀዳሞት ኣጀንዳታት ናይ ደለይቲ ፍትሕን ለውጥን ክኸውን ይግባእ። ሰዲህኤ፡ ነዚ ጸገም'ዚ ንምፍታሕ የኽእሉና ኢዮም ኢሉ ዝኣምነሎም ዝዋስኣሎም ዘሎ መደባት እዞም ዝስዕቡ ኢዮም።

1. ነቲ መሰረታዊ ጠንቂ ናይ ስደት ኰይኑ ዘሎ ዲክታቶርያዊ ስርዓት ኤርትራ ኣሊኻ፡ ብዲሞክራስያዊ ናይ ምስግጋር መስርሕ ምትካኡ፤

2. ነቶም ድሮ ተሰዲዶም ኣብ መደበራት ስደተኛታት ሱዳን፡ ኢትዮጵያን የመንን ዘለዉ ኤርትራውያን ናይ ሞያን ኣካዳሚካዊ ትምህርትን ናይ ስራሕ ዕድላትን ምሃብ፤

3. መንግስቲ ኤርትራ፡ ጐረባብቲ ሃገራትን ኣህጕራዊ ማሕበረሰብን ተሓባቢሮም ኣንጻር ነጋዶ ደቂ ሰባት ዘካይድዎ ቃልሲ ከሐይሉ።

4. መንግስታት ዞባና ኣብ ንግዲ ደቂሰባት ንዝነጥፉ ዘለዉ ከም ራሻይዳ፡ በደዊን ....ወዘተ ዝኣመሰሉ ዝተጐስዩ ክፍልታት ሕብረተሰባተን፡ ኣብ ፖለቲካዊ፡ ቍጣባውን ማሕበራውን ንጥፈታት ናይ ሃገሮም ከምዝሳተፉ ምግባር።

5. ሃገራት ምዕራብ ማዕጹአን ኣብ ክንዲ ምዕጻው፡ ስደተኛታት ብሕጋዊ ኣገባብ ናብ ሃገረን ዝኣትውሉ ዕድላት ከምዘስፍሓ ምግባር።

ክቡራትን ክቡራንን

ኣትኵሮ ናይ ደለይቲ ፍትሕን ለውጥን ናብ ውሽጢ ሃገር ገጹ ዘቕንዐ ክኸውን ኣለዎ። ኣብ ሕድሕድካ ካብ ምውጣጥን፡ ኣብ ጸቢብ ዓንኬል ካብ ምዅዳድን ወጺእና፡ ናብ'ቲ ዝሰፍሐ ህዝብና ዝርከቦ ሃገርና ቆላሕታ ክንገብር ህዝብና ንዘሕልፎ ዘሎ ሕማቕ ሃለዋት ንምቕያርን ዘኽእል ስትራተጂታትን ስልትታትን ክንሕንጽጽን ኣብ ተግባር ከነውዕልን ይድለ ኣሎ። ስለ'ዚ፡ ነፍስወከፍ ተቓዋሚ'የ ዝብል ኣካል ካብ ዝነብሮ ሳንዱቕ ወጺኡ፡ ኣብ ውሽጢ ኤርትራ ምስ ዘሎ ህዝብና ዝምድናታት ክፈጥር ጻዕርታት ክገብር ኣለዎ። ንተቓዋማይ ምቅዋም ብዙሕ ዘምጽኦ ረብሓ የለን እሞ፡ ኣዒንትና ናብ ስርዓት ህግደፍን ተግባራቱን ጥራሕ ይጠምታ። ህዝብና ብስእነት ማይ፡ መግብን መብራህትን ዝኣመሰሉ መሰረታያን ጕዳያት ይሳቐ ኣሎ። ንሕና፡ ከም ተቓወምቲ ነዚ ሽግር'ዝን ካልእ ሽግራትን ናይ ምፍታሕ መደብን ዓቕምን ከምዘለና ንህዝብና ከነርእዮ ክንክእል ኣለና። እዚ እንተዘይኣርኢናዮ፡ ኣብ ዙርያና ክዓስል ኣይክእልን ኢዩ። ዕለታዊ መነባብሮ ናይ ህዝብ ክንፈልጥን ንምቕያሩ ዘሎና መደባት ክንሕብሮን ኣገዳስነቱ ዕዙዝ ኢዩ።

ኣብ'ዚ ዓመት'ዚ፡ ኣብ ማእሰርቲ ዝርከቡ ናይ ፖለቲካን ናይ ሕልናን እሱራት፡ ሃለዋት ዝፍለጠሉ ኵነታት ክንፈጥር ኣለና። ዲክታቶርያዊ ስርዓት ኢሳያስ፡ ብዛዕባ'ዞም እሱራት እዚኣቶም ተሓቢኡ ዘሎ ሓቅታት ከውጽእ ከነገድዶ ክንክእል ኣሎና። ናይ ዘለዉን ዝሞትን እሱራት ሃለዋት ግልጺ ሓበሬታ ዝውሃበላ፣ ህልዋት ናይ ፖለቲካን ናይ ሕልናን እሱራት ብዘይ ቅድመ-ኵነት ዝፍትሑላ ዓመት ንምግባ፣ ናይ ውሽጥን ናይ ግዳምን ጸቕጥታት ኣብ ልዕሊ ገዛኢ ስርዓት ኤርትራ ንምሕያል ኣበርቲዕና ክንሰርሕ ይግብኣና።

ክቡራትን ክቡራንን

ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ (ሰዲህኤ)፡ ብእኩብን ብክልተኣውን ደረጃታት ኣብ 2014 ከካይዶም ዝጸንሐ ርክባት ኣብ 2015 ክቕጽሎም ኢዩ። እዞም ርክባት እዚኣቶም፡ ናብ ጭቡጥ ስምምዓት ንኽበጽሑ ዘኽእል መጽናዕትታት ክገብርን ግብራዊ ስጕምትታት ከውስድን ኢዩ።

ናይ ሰላም፡ ስኒትን ራህዋን ዓመት ይግበረልና

መንግስተኣብ ኣስመሮም

ኣቦ መንበር ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ

31 ታሕሳስ 2014

ሱዳናውያን ወተሃደራት ነቶም ዝጨወይዎም 1,000 ዝዀኑ ስደተኛታት ኣብ ሰለስተ ከፊሎም፡ ኣብ ከሰላ፡ ሓልፋ ጀዲዳን ግርባን ኣሲሮምዎ ምህላዎም እሙናት ምንጪታት ሓቢሮም።

ላዕለዋይ ኮሚሽን ስደተኛታት ሕቡራት ሃገራት፡ እቶም እሱራት ብጅምላ ከይባረሩን ገበን ዘይፈጸሙ ድማ ብቐጥታ ተፈቲሖም ናብ መደበር ስደተኛታት ክምለሱን ብዘቕረቦ ተቓውሞ መሰረት 400 ናብ ቦትኦም ተመሊሶም ኣለዉ። ዝተረፉ ድማ፡ ምርመራታት ይካየደሎም ኣሎ። ብድሕር'ዚ ናብ ቤት ፍርዲ ከቕርብዎም ምዃኖም ይስማዕ ኣሎ።

ብኻልእ ሸነኽ ድማ፡ ምውታት ንምርካብ ኣብ ዝተገብረ ፍተሻ ሓደ ተረኺቡ ኣሎ። በዚ ጠቕላላ ክሳብ ሕጂ ተረኺቡ ዘሎ ሬሳታት ናብ 9 ክብ ኢሉ ኣሎ። ብርክት ዝበለ ቍጽሪ ዘለዎም ብዝወረዶም ማህረምቲ ኣብ ሆስፒታል ዝእለዩ ከምዘለዉ ዝዝከር ኢዩ።

ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ (ሰዲህኤ) ነቲ ኢሰብኣዊ ተግባራት ዝዅንንን ንላዕለዋይ ኮሚሽን ሕቡራት ሃገራት ሓላፍነቱ ክስከም ዝጽውዕን መዘክር ኣቕሪቡ ምንባሩ ዝፍለጥ ኢዩ።