Hagerey Ertra Excerpt

A confederation is an institutional arrangment in which the policies of different districts are, at least in part, influenced by the preferences of voters from other districts in the confederation.  In practice, this is usually accomplished through a complex array of overlapping jurisdictions, representative governments at different levels, and a legal system that allocates decision-making authority and responsibility across these different levels.  The end result is ultimately a vectors of policies, one for each district.   – Political Confederation Author(s): Jacques Crémer and Thomas R. Palfrey Source: The American Political Science Review, Vol. 93, No. 1 (Mar., 1999), pp. 69-83

In this article, I argue that Eritrea and Ethiopia are well on their way to forming a confederation.  This would be the fourth type of configuration for the two countries.  Take One: Eritrea-Ethiopia Federation of 1952.  Take Two:  Dissolution of Federation and Annexation of 1962.   Take Three: Referendum and Independence of 1993.   Take Four: the “Peace & Friendship” Agreement of 2018.    What’s noteworthy is that, unlike all previous configurations (federation, dissolution, independence), the present one is happening without the vote (even a coerced one), or even the knowledge of, the Eritrean people.

The first thing to say about this is that both the government of Ethiopia and Eritrea (in the person of Isaias Afwerki ONLY) had expressed their desire for this as early as 1993.  Actually, shortly after Eritrea’s referendum on independence was held, Reuters reported (on May 3, 1993) that then-President Meles Zenawi “did not rule out confederation, a view shared by Eritrean leader Isayas Afewerki.”  The second thing to say about this is that, on the merits, this may very well be the best arrangement for Eritreans and Ethiopians, but that’s hardly the point.  The third thing to say about it, which will be the focus of this article, is that the author’s objection to it is that it is being done, at least from the perspective of Eritreans, very secretly and without consulting the people.  It appears to be the execution of the long-term dream of Isaias Afwerki, now that all who may oppose him are dead or disappeared or exiled.  The fourth thing to say about it, which we won’t spend a lot of time on, is that confederation arrangements are almost always a stop on the path to fuller integration (federation, union) or separation following dissolution.  That is, confederations between sovereign states are almost always temporary because there isn’t a long-term agreement on how weak or strong the “center” ought to be.

In this new configuration, what one notices is an assertive Ethiopia in contrast with a meek Eritrea; a delegation of responsibilities from Eritrea to Ethiopia; an absorption of responsibilities (from Eritrean state media to Ethiopian media, where Eritreans now go to hear news about Eritrea); rewriting history in a way that is most favorable to the “we are one people” narrative; absolutely no change in the governance of Eritrea and zero reform in its criminal path; two leaders who scorn the involvement of people in decision-making; and lastly, people who knew better, should have spoken up much sooner, now saying, “oh, yes, I saw the warning signs early on.”

Here are the sequence of events:

June 26, 2018: It all started in Addis Abeba. Six days after Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki informed the world that he was sending delegates to Addis Abeba to study the Ethiopian proposal for peace, his two delegates, Foreign Minister Osman Saleh and PFDJ Political Director/Presidential Advisor Yemane Gebreab arrived in Addis Abeba to a stately reception. In his address, Foreign Minister Osman Saleh, referring to the reception, said that he can bear witness that in Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed “we have a humble leader” (ናይ ብሓቂ ምቕሉል ዝኾነ መራሒ ከም ዘለና…)

This was dismissed as a slip of tongue, perhaps from someone to whom Tigrinya is not a first language and is not known for being a great orator.  Perhaps the great speaker and polemicist Mr. Yemane Gebreab would say something that reflected the sentiments of Eritreans: a peaceful but proud people? It feels like the last 20 years never happened, he said. Then he used the word “love”, which was such an uncomfortable usage in his parlance he credited it to PM Abiye Ahmed.

July 8, 2018: Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrives in Asmara, Eritrea. In his address at a State dinner, President Isaias Afwerki, hosting the event, says he has no prepared a speech. After describing the elation people showed in welcoming Abiy Ahmed as an ability to excercise their right (how?), he laments the lost opportunities of the past 25 years.  Not 20 (since the 1998 war, but 25 since 1993, which coincides with Eritrea’s referendum.)  But now, he says, we can say, “we didn’t lose, there was no loss, we recovered all our property.”  He congratulates the people and the Prime Minister and less than 3 minutes later he says: I am finished. Then it was the Prime Minister’s turn and he speaks for more than 15 minutes. His speech included this: “… today, officially, President Isaias Afwerki has given me the responsibility of Foreign Minister so, wherever I go, if I represent Mr. Osman, don’t think of it as duplication….”

July 9, 2018: Eritrea and Ethiopia sign the “joint declaration of peace and friendship” referred to as Five Pillar agreement by Eritrea’s Minister of Information in a tweet. The agreement jumps straight from what Eritrean government officials used to call a state of war to friendship overnight. It has no timetable for demarcation and troop removal from Eritrea’s territories which used to be Eritrea’s precondition for dialog and normalization. THERE IS NO COPY OF THE SIGNED AGREEMENT ANYWHERE. All sources referring to it (UN, US Embassy, Western media, Aljazeera) have only relied on the Minister of Information’s tweet about it. Here’s how it compares with the Five Point Peace Plan Ethiopia proposed (and Eritrea rejected) in November 2014:

July 14: President Isaias arrives in Ethiopia and is serenaded in Addis Abeba. In his first speech, at Hawassa, he says that while we are trying to achieve our goals, “anybody who says the people of Eritrea and Ethiopia are two peoples is someone who doesn’t know the truth.”

July 14: In his second address, he says: “ህዝቢ ኤርትራን ህዝቢ ኢትዮፕያን ረኺቡዎ ዘሎ ዕድል ቀሊል ነገር ኣይኮነን እወ ኣነ ተደጋጋሚ ተደጋጋሚ ኢለዮ ኣለኹ ዝኾነ ዝግበር ነገር እንድሕር ኣሎ ወኪል ንስኻ ኢኻ: ንስኻ ኢኻ ትመርሓና: ንቀልዕለም ኖ ኖ ናይ ንቀልዓለም ኢለ ከሐጉሶ ኢለ ወይ ዘረባ ንኽጥዕመኒ ምእንቲ ኢለ ዝብሎ ዘይኮነ ናይ ብሓቂ እዚ ሕጂ ህይወት ኣልቢስና ንደፍኦ ዘለና ሰላም ፍቕሪ ጸጋ ናይ ክልቲኣቶም ህዝብታት ጥራይ ዘይኮነ ናይ ልምዓት ናይ ገስጋስ ናይ ዕብየት መደባትና ሓደ ካብቲ ካልእ ዝፍለ ኣይኮነን ነዚ ካኣ ዶክተር ኣብይ ብዝድለ ክመርሓና እዩ::” (The opportunities that the people of Eritrea and Ethiopia find now are not trivial. I have told him [Prime Minister Abiy] repeatedly, repeatedly: in any front, if there is something that needs action, you are our representative. You are the one to lead us. I am not saying this to flatter him or to please him or for the sake of saying it: because our [Eritrea and Ethiopia’s] paths of peace, love, prosperity, developmental plan are indistinguishable from each other, Dr. Abiy Ahmed will lead us as required.)  He wasn’t done: in his speech at the Millenium Hall, after much be-still-my-beating-heart chest pounding,  he did something he had never done in his political career: give a speech in Amharic.

There was no clue Isaias Afwerki was going to melt: the last thing he did before he left Asmara was to address Sawa National Service conscripts and his message was ዕጥቅኹም ሸጥ ኣብሉ (stand in a state of attention).

July 18: Ethiopian Airlines flies to Eritrea for the first time in 20 years. Among the passengers was Ethiopia’s former Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, who described the trip as a “golden moment for the two countries and the two people.” Also among the first passengers, Ethiopian pentecostal pastor “Prophet” Surafael who was received by followers of his faith, which is banned in Eritrea and where a lot of its practioners remain in jail or unaccounted for. Ethiopian Airlines says it will have daily flights to Eritrea.  They were arrested in the following weeks.

July 19: Mesfin Hagos, a veteran leader of EPLF (member of central committee and executive committee) discloses to Australia’s SBS radio that three months before Eritrean independence in May 1991, President Isaias Afwerki had approached some members of the EPLF leadership about forming a joint government with EPRDF, the ruling coalition of Ethiopia. While the other leaders of the Central Committee had nothing to say, he expressed his objection, as something that would be unacceptable to Eritreans after so much sacrifice, he said.   Asked why he was disclosing this information now, he said it is because (a) he was asked a direct question by SBS Radio and (b) he was triggered to it by the recent developments between Eritrea and Ethiopia.

July 23: The government of Eritrea, after floating rumors of pending release of prisoners, actually arrests 19 – discloses Hannibal Daniel to SBS Radio

“በዚ ዝመጸ ሰላም ምኽንያት ፡ ኣብ ኤርትራ ብእምነቶም ተኣሲሮም ካብዘለዉ፡ ዛጊት ዋላ ሓደ ዝተፈትሐ የለን። 19 ኣመንቲ ግና ኣብዚ ቕነ ተኣሲሮም ኣለዉ።” ሃኒባል ዳኒኤል | SBS Your Language #Eritrea https://t.co/HTpYbywozY

— Brehane-meskel Araya (@brehane007) July 23, 2018

July 24: Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President Isaias Afwerki were given the “Order of Zayed” at Abu Dhabi summit hosted by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed. Along with the King of Saudi Arabia, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi is credited for the Eritrea-Ethiopia normalization of their 20-year long cold war. There was a lot of jockeying to establish submission: Isaias Afwerki insisted that the Crown Prince hold the Ethiopian Prime Minister with his right hand, which is considered a sign of of respect in Arab culture:

July 27: Eritrea’s president invites Somalia’s president for a meeting in Eritrea. The Somali president accepts and arrives the next day. Once there, he calls for the UN to lift sanctions on Eritrea. Djibouti replies that it is “deeply shocked” by the statement of the Somali president because the sanctions were not imposed due to Eritrea and Ethiopia being in a state of war:

BREAKING: Djibouti says it’s “deeply shocked” by statement made by Pres @M_Farmaajo calling for lifting of sanctions and economic restrictions on Eritrea. Djibouti says it’s “unacceptable” to see Somalia supporting Eritrea at a time when Asmara is “occupying” Djibouti territory. pic.twitter.com/rJxWvfaPdK

— Harun Maruf (@HarunMaruf) August 1, 2018

July 28: Ethiopia’s Prime Minister says the border issue is a minor issue and the two countries have not discussed it since they signed the peace and friendship agreement weeks earlier. There are contentious issues which will be dialogued. He also expressed his view that calls for involving locals on border matters are “village talk”: (የመንደር ወሬ: idle, unsophisticated).  When the former prime minister [Meles Zenawi] called me to serve [in the Eritrea-Ethiopia border war], I and my friends and family served without question, he said, implying that now he is the Prime Minister, the people should not insist on participating in the decision-making.

July 31: The UN Security Council decides to extend sanctions on Eritrea despite calls for their removal from Ethiopia and Somalia.  Ethiopia actually spoke more eloquently for their removal than the Eritrean delegate did.

August 1: Hailemariam Desalegn, Ethiopia’s former Prime Minister, in Harare as part of an election observation team, has his picture taken with exiled Ethiopian dictator Colonel Mengistu Hailemariam and expressed his wish that he would be reconciled, too.  Eritrea and mostly-Tigrayan rebels fought for over a decade and paid a heavy price to defeat the man who was called the “Black Stalin.”

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly.

(Mr Good not pictured)#Eritrea. #Ethiopia pic.twitter.com/6A5TzaP2Fc

— saay (@saayounis) August 2, 2018

August 4: Eritrean Airlines begins its 3-times weekly flight to Addis Abeba, Ethiopia. Passengers include Minister of Tourism, and the Minister of Transportation.

"Eritrean" airlines makes inaugural flight to Addis, #Ethiopia.

An #Eritrea|n airlines with a rented plane. No Eritrean Pilots or technicians.

An airlines mismanaged & bankrupted 6 times in 2 decades by PFDJ.

An Eritrean airlines now managed by Isias's personal controbandist.

— Wulad 9 (@ZeMike09) August 4, 2018

August 6: Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Workneh Gebeyehu and Oromio Regional President Lemma Megersa arrive in Eritrea to negotiate terms of reconciliation with Eritrea-based Oromo Liberation Front faction led by Dawud Ibsa.

August 9: Regarding the dispute between Saudi Arabia and Canada, Eritrea’s government issues a press release condemning the “irresponsible, provocative and audacious” statement of Canada regarding the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s human rights record. Eritrea further calls on Saudi Arabia to take “appropriate measures” to protect its sovereignty. Saudi Arabia considered Canada’s call to release an arrested civil society leader as violation of its sovereignty and had already taken “appropriate measures” 3 days earlier.

August 10: UAE and Ethiopia sign an agreement to build an oil pipeline connecting Eritrean port Asab to Ethiopian capital Addis Abeba. In the meeting held between Reem Al Hashimy, UAE’s Minister of State for International Cooperation and Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, there was no Eritrean presence.

August 14: Radio Erena reports that Saudi Arabia was asking Eritrea to send troops to Yemen to help Saudi Arabia defeat the Houthi rebels. In 2014, the Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea (SEMG) reported that it had received “credible information that Eritrean soldiers are embedded with the United Arab Emirates contingent that is fighting Yemeni forces.”

Independent #Eritrea media #radioerena reporting #SaudiArabia asking #Eritrea to send soldiers to #Yemen. Soon, #Ethiopia. In 15, @UN #SEMG report: #Eritrean soldiers already embedded with #UAE.

Hope ur guy is reasonable @Natberh. Ours hasn’t made a good decision in decades. pic.twitter.com/3gS40vrVqz

— saay (@saayounis) August 15, 2018

August 16: Representatives of an Ethiopian province, Amhara, travel to Eritrean capital, Asmara, to reconcile with one of the Eritrea-based Ethiopian rebels, Amhara Democratic Forces Movement. They sign a reconciliation agreement allowing them to pursue peaceful competition in Ethiopia. The Eritrean president is extended, and accepts, an invitation to visit Amhara State.

August 17: Ms. Bronwyn Bruton, a noted supporter of the Government of Eritrea who is usually the canary-in-the-coal-mine of the PFDJ always foreshadowing what is to happen next, said that it is unrealistic for Eritreans to expect all those who have been arrested without charges to be released because, after all, Eritrea is in the Horn of Africa region which faces extremist threats and ethnic and political conflicts.

Hi @yoelalem. Sadly, it is hard to release all these prisoners. #Eritrea is in HOA region that faces extremist threats & ethnic & political conflicts. Asmara has suppressed these legitimate threats by arresting anyone who might possibly cause trouble or unrest…

— Bronwyn Bruton (@BronwynBruton) August 17, 2018

August 18: South Sudan President Salva Kiir arrived in Asmara at the invitation of Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss bilateral issues including building a pipeline between South Sudan and Eritrea.

.#Eritrea President Isaias Afwerki, indicted by the @UN for committing crimes against humanity, salutes #SouthSudan president @salvakiir, who is accused by @AfricanUnion of crimes against humanity.

Cheers, impunity! pic.twitter.com/ljbDKcYACM

— saay (@saayounis) August 21, 2018

August 23: Andargachew Tsige, the leader of Gnbot-7, one of the Eritrea-based Ethiopian opposition groups (and the one who takes credit for reconciling Eritrea with Ethiopia) is interviewed by LTV Ethiopia. In answer to the question of the relationship between Eritrea and Gnbot-7, he says that if TPLF had not rushed the EPLF to hold the referendum in 1993, had it been delayed by 5 years, he doesn’t believe the outcome (99% for independence) would have been the same. He explains his rationale by saying that Eritreans were devoted to Ethiopia (more Eritreans than Tigrayans fought to defend Ethiopia from aggressors, he says)  and had it not been for Haile Selasse’s misguided decision to dissolve the referendum, it is clear that based on our looks, our beliefs, and Eritrea’s volunteering alongside Ethiopia against foreign aggressors, Eritrea is “a miniature Ethiopia.” He also calls notorious criminals of PFDJ who have been indicted for crimes against humanity as clean as monks.

August 25: “Germany’s federal minister for economic cooperation and development, Gerd Müller, who is visiting several African countries, has said about 15,000 young Eritreans arrived in Germany this year, making in total some 75,000 Eritreans seeking asylum in Germany. Müller said he hoped Eritrea would change its system of yearslong military conscription. He also urged the country to move toward establishing democratic structures.” You wouldn’t know this is what he said from shabait.com article showing President Isaias Afwerki, with hand-in-pocket, welcome the German delegation to Adi Halo. But you can read it here.

August 27: Amhara Mass Media Agency Ethiopia interviews “eye witnesses” in Eritrea who praise the Government of Eritrea’s modesty: the Minister of Justice hails a taxi with the masses, they report  (not the Minister of Justice doesn’t appear to know anything about justice), etc, etc.

August 28: In an interview with Australia’s SBS Radio, Ambassador Abdella Adem (a veteran combatant of EPLF who was Eritrea’s ambassador to Sudan) says President Isaias Afwerki always had a plan to weaken Eritrea’s Muslim sector and in his conversation with Ethiopia’s late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, he came to learn that President Isaias was dispatching trusted confederates (like the late Naizghi Kiflu) to rekindle the “Tigrai-Tigrini” alliance.

August 28: Tigray People’s Democratic Movement (TPDM), another Eritrea-based Ethiopian rebel group is reconciled with the representatives of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Unlike other rebel groups who were reconciled with the Ethiopian government representatives of their region (Oromia, Amhara), the Tigrayan rebels were reconciled with the central government because the Eritrean Government and Ethiopia’s Tigray regional state government are still in Cold War, long after the “Peace & Friendship Agreement” was signed.

August 29: Eritrea’s former Minister of Finance Berhane Abrehe writes a two-part 450-page book entitled “Hagerey Ertra” (Eritrea, My Country) exposing the criminality and treachery of Isaias Afwerki, including his long-term intent to surrender (“fully integrate”) Eritrea to Ethiopia. He somehow managed to have the book published in the Diaspora and despite opportunities to go to exile and defect he said that he will face whatever expects him in his home country, Eritrea. Berhane’s wife Almaz has been in jail for over a year and the two have four children.  Read the excerpt here.

Sights and sounds of Eritrean demonstration for “full peace” or “peace-with-justice” at Geneva on August 31, 2018. While welcoming the Eritrea-Ethiopia peace, the call is for peace with peace-dividend: constitutionalism, rule of law, transparency, accountability, respect for the dignity of the citizen, freeing our prisoners, demarcate our borders, assert our independence, and free our conscripted soldiers. Organizers/representatives were interviewed by Voice of America (start at the 8:45 mark); the demonstration was also covered by BBC Tigrinya and Aljazeera TV and others. Eritrea’s great artist Hussein Mohammed Ali has a timely music video (in Tigrayt) that describes what the demonstration is all about.  Additional links/sources will be added on September 1 and the days to follow.  

The reason Eritreans stood up for themselves on September 1, 1961 is not because they hated Ethiopians. It is because the Ethiopian ruling regime (the government of Emperor Haile Selasse) took away their right to choose their own official language, the right to govern themselves, the right to freely assemble, the right to write their own constitution and live by it, the right to life and liberty, the right to hire and fire their government.  In short, their right to live a dignified life.

After exhausting peaceful means to bring change for ten years (1951-1961), an Eritrean by the name of Hamed Idris Awate fired the first shot at Mt Adal on September 1, 1961. Although there were many important political leaders, all of them in exile, coordinating with Hamed Idris Awate, it is him and his action that we celebrate today for inspiring and emboldening Eritreans that they are capable of challenging an imperial power backed by the United States and, eventually, by the Soviet Union. Generations of Eritreans paid a heavy price to make Eritrea a nation independent of any rule other than by Eritrean because only then would Eritreans have their dignity back.

Still, more than 55 years later, the cause that inspired an Eritrean to fire that first bullet, and tens of thousands to die, get maimed, get exiled–freedom and justice–remain as elusive as they were then. This is because Eritrea’s current government is as bad, in some cases worse, than the Ethiopian governments it overthrew. The evidence is the last image which follows: Eritreans demonstrating in Geneva on August 31, 2018, with young Eritreans waving the old flag that Emperor Haile Selasse lowered in 1962.    What follows is a video chronicle of our story. Happy September 1, Eritreans. Or, as we call that date in our two major languages, Arabic and Tigrinya الفاتح من سبتمبر ባሕቲ መስከረም.

11. Ashenafi Honelign (from Bahir Dar): OMG! OMG! OMG! I hear Issu Wedi Afey His Excellency Girmawi Isaiyyyas Afeworq is coming to my town! I am pleased and honoured that he is coming! But since you know-it-all, why is he coming?

Dr. Newitol: Palm trees! This is what your city looks like:

And this is what Asmara looks like:

His Excellency Girmawi Qedamawi Isaias Afwerki is not pleased with the Bahr Dar city flag colors (it is the same as Weyane State flag colors) so you may want to have a meeting to discuss it because he likes to go to war over everything. Also, refer to question # 13 below: it is a follow-up visit.

12. Haile Measho (from Holland): Is the book attributed to Berhane Abrehe real? When is it going to be published and where can I buy it?

Dr. Newitol: It is a real book; it is published and you can buy it where they will sell it.

13. Hkuy Kaslan (Kassala): I don’t like to read books, but I like to talk about books. Can you tell me the most explosive charges in Bereket Simon’s books? He was a big deal with the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM), I hear.

Dr. Newitol: You mean besides his chapter on how much he hates people who don’t read books? His book is boring but the series of interviews he had with Ethiopian media are explosive. Even someone as lazy as you should be able to watch them. Basically: Former Ethiopian PM Hailemariam Desalegn is a fool and it is to the eternal shame of Ethiopia that he was its Prime Minister for six years. Also, ANDM and OPDO, the current ruling coalition of Ethiopia, take their orders from Isaias Afwerki.

14. Dr. Debretsion Ghebremichael: Hi Dr. Nowitol! I am the new president of Tigray Regional State.  I need an advice, doctor-to-doctor. I have Obama ears. Do I look better like this:

Or like this:

Dr. Newitol: ‘Sup, doc? Neither! I prefer this one:

15. Worried In Massawa: Dr. Newitol, hold on, I think somebody is listening, I will be right back. Ok, I am back. Dr. Newitol, are there any countries which are landlocked but insist on having a Navy? Gotta go!

Dr. Newitol: Sure, quite a few. The largest one is Bolivia because it became landlocked after its war with Chile. It will soon hold the second largest navy for landlocked country because some East African nation is flexing its muscles. Why do you ask?

16. Hamed Muhammed from Akordet: Dr. Newitol, I only watch Eri-TV news once a year, on September 1. I was watching it to see how the celebrations were and I saw nothing. Has the party been cancelled?

Dr. Newitol: Perhaps you missed it when you went to the bathroom because Eri-TV news spent an entire 2 1/2 (two and half) minutes on it. And the show was an entire 1 1/2 (an hour and half). What more do you want? They are just being polite hosts because Ethiopian Airlines has daily flights to Asmara. Important guests coming tomorrow.  Maybe next year.

17. Tewelde Mogos from Asmara: Do you think we just proved Newton’s Third Law has an exception? You know the claim that “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction”? Here’s Isaias Afwerki basically surrendering Eritrea to Ethiopia and tens of thousands of his comrades are just watching helplessly.

Dr. Newitol: It’s not a theory; it is a law: so no exceptions! You just defined what “equal and opposite reaction” means; in this case “watching helplessly.” That, in turn, will have its own equal and opposite reaction….

18. Aboy Habtom from Seattle: I am listening to my son’s song on this hippity-hop shouting. One song has Negro Americano man saying “Yago make me lose my mind.” Who is Yago and should I be worried?

Dr. Newitol: You are probably talking about DMX and he is not saying Yago but “you all going.” I wouldn’t touch his music; otherwise, you know who is going to find you? Some old man fishin’

19. Wulad9 from Twittersville: I don’t have a question. I just want to tell you that for every single thing Isaias Afwerki says, there is an opposite thing he said years ago.  So there is Isaias version of Newton’s 3rd Law:

This is like trump and his past tweets.

— Wulad 9 (@ZeMike09) September 2, 2018

Dr. Newitol: In politics, they call that “my views are evolving.” Are you opposed to evolution?

20. Confused in Toledo: I am sure everybody else has asked this question but in case they haven’t, it is September now and the peace deal with Ethiopia was signed in early July. Do you have any Ethiopian friends who can tell us what happened to all the “reform” we were promised after peace with Ethiopia?

Dr. Newitol: That’s presumptuous of you: what makes you think I am not Ethiopian? What is Ethiopia, what is Eritrea? It is just names. Anyway, the government of Eritrea has said that it will disclose information whenever it is necessary and those who call for it now are those who are unhappy with peace or belong to special interest groups. So, which one are you: anti-peace, or special interest?

What is happiness, anyway?

Scientists will tell you it is about dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins. But what do they know. I mean, have you ever met a happy scientist? Plus, they are always complicating things: “Using new computer software to observe and record people’s faces, scientists mapped no fewer than 21 emotional states, including apparently contradictory examples such as “happily disgusted” and “sadly angry“. Ugggg. Let’s leave scientists out of this.

Liberty? Well, what is liberty to a hungry person: the freedom to be hungry? The freedom to be homeless? (Sounds like PFDJ talk, but still…)

The so-called “moral molecule”? Something about caring for others? Maybe. But that’s also the source of unhappiness: when you can’t care for them.

Exercise? Really, have you tried exercising when you are in pain? You may be proud after you exercise but not happy. The happiness is of the “glad that’s over” sort, and that’s not the happiness we are looking for.  Ok, fine: there is the runner’s high.  But it’s fleeting.  

Pets? We have heard of “pet therapy” but never “pet happiness.” Plus, cat people hate dogs and dog people hate cats. You can’t be happy if you are hateful.

What do religions say about happiness. They don’t: they speak of contentment because you are not entitled to be happy. You are here to worship and then, if you are lucky, get your reward. And just hurry up and die, and you will know the meaning of happiness.

Do you even know what absolute happiness looks like? It is one that combines “the Bliss Molecule”, “the Reward Molecule”, “the Bonding Molecule”, “the Pain-killing molecule”, “the anti-anxiety molecule”, “the confidence molecule”, and “the energy molecule.” In this state, you are at peace, you have a sense that you achieved a goal, a sense of belonging and togetherness, an ocean of calm waving over you, a sense of high-worth and being appreciated, and a belief that you have so much energey you can do anything. It is nearly impossible to conceal happiness.

Some people confuse pride with happiness. So, to help you distinguish between the two:

Here is pride: Isaias Afwerki right after voting (for independence?) in the Eritrean Referendum of April 1993:

And here is happiness: Isaias Afwerki in Addis Abeba addressing Ethiopians in July 2018

via GIPHY

In a hall full to capacity, Eritrean demonstrators for justice assembled to plan the next steps for taking their movement forward.

A day earlier, on August 31, a large crowd variously estimated at 2,000 to 3,000, had marched the streets of Geneva calling on the Government of Eritrea to lift the state of siege it has imposed on the people of Eritrea by using the war with Ethiopia as a pretext. They waved colorful banners like “Dankalia is Not For Sale”, “Peace Yes, Conspiracy No”, “Yes To Lasting Peace, No to Addition Fetish.” They shouted “Isaias Must Go!” and “Down, Down, Dictator.” The demonstration started at Parc des Cropettes and ended where it usually does: at the UN Headquarters. There, Eritreans delivered their request (to the world, if it listens) that they are demanding “justice and liberty” whose components are: (1) constitutional government; (2) release of all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience; (3) respect for civil and political rights; (4) political pluralism; (5) demobilization of those in compulsory military service for indefinite periods.

The next day, Sepetmber 1, in a hall holding a capacity crowd, Eritreans had a spirited discussion on the path forward.   All Eritreans who want to bring about change recognize that a Pan-Eritrean movement must be created which, until situations permit at home, must be based in exile.   Towards that end, the assembled Eritreans elected a task force which includes Abraham Tesfay, Khedijah Mohammed Taha, Said Tewekel, Berihu Kidane, Abraham Iyassu, and Feven Hadera.  Of course, this is not the first time Eritreans had gathered and set a criteria for a task force: that the candidates must be able, willing and reflect Eritrea’s diversity.  Of course, this is not the first time the elected were given a mandate: to focus on mobilization and communication towards convening an all-inclusive Eritrean movement.   Of course, this is not the first time that Eritreans have disagreed with such an approach.  Of course, this is not the first time that some have felt that this is a duplication of efforts as just weeks earlier Eritreans had gathered in Denver and Atlanta, and before that in Frankfurt, and before that in Nairobi and before that in Debrezeit and before that in Hawasa.  But until a workable plan is agreed upon, Eritreans are destined to keep on trying.

Meanwhile, 9,400 kilometers away, Massawa awaited the arrival of a ship from Ethiopia.  This cargo ship, named Mekele, was docking to load metals (courtesy of Nevsun) to Saudi Arabia and, from there, head on to China.  How was the maritime law observed and treaties reached in such a short time? We don’t know.  In any event, even this information was, of course, courtesy of Ethiopian media because Eritrea’s degradation continues from private and state media to state media and now to no media. The arrival of the ship was upstaged, however, by the arrival of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who landed in a different port: the hitherto deserted Asab.  This “unannounced” visit, reminiscent of the “unannounced” visits Ethiopia’s former Prime Minister Meles Zenawi used to have in the 1990s when enroute to or returning from some conference (in this case PM Abiy was returning from China) had not been reported even by the Ethiopian media.  The two BFFs (Abiy and Isaias) then drove from Asab to Massawa (a journey Isaias Afwerki used to take with his dearly departed BFF, Libya’s Moammer Kaddafi)  where they met up with another new friend, Somalia’s president Mohammed “Formajio” Abduhali.  And then, with their wives, and unaccompanied wife Minister Askalu Menkorios (whose husband is one of the Isaias Afwerki regime-disappeared Eritreans since wikileaks disclosed he had made disparaging remarks about Isaias Afwerki)  waiting in the waiting room, the three presidents signed agreements which, we will be told vaguely, are about “strengthening trilateral relationships.”   Smiles were exchanged, ceremonial coffee was had and concert-T-shirt-giveaways were worn.

Meanwhile, proving one more time that sometimes bad guys get away with it, Canada’s Nevsun, which is facing a lawsuit by Eritreans for its collusion with the Government of Eritrea in using their forced labor, lucked out and found a white knight: China’s Zijin Mining Group Co is acquiring it for 1.4 billion. In cash. This works out to $6/share, which the company hadn’t been traded in since its heydays in 2011. China’s Zijin is even less likely to be a responsible corporate citizen although, since its an equity purchase, it has to inherit its liabilities too (lawsuit included.)

This is to say that the Government of Isaias Afwerki is having, no doubt, a good week.  It is to say that those who oppose the Government of Eritrea because it is a criminal entity which victimizes the people (amounting to crimes against humanity per UN assigned investigators and relying on hundreds of Eritreans testimonies) and is terrified of reform because that will be the end of it, will continue to oppose. Those who are fickle or lose hope easily will lose hope. Those who wait for change to come to them on a platter will. Those who are incapable of doing self-reflection will not consider making strategic or tactical changes and like, the PFDJ, will say, “lets just go ahead.” Either way, it is a choice.  And in due time, Finance Minister Berhane Abrehe’s book will come out and secrets will be revealed and the forgotten will be remembered until it is forgotten again. But, no matter which Eritrean is organizing or petitioning or fighting, the calls remain:(1) constitutional government; (2) release of all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience; (3) respect for civil and political rights; (4) political pluralism; (5) demobilize our youth.  And, honor the right of return of hundreds of thousands of refugees and exiles.  

Eritrea In Pictures: Geneva Massawa Asab

This audio message is sent by Eritrea’s former Minister of Finance, Berhane Abrehe, which he recorded from Asmara, Eritrea on September 1, 2018.

The video is hosted by Eritreanliberty.com, which is also making his two-volume books available for sale.

The message is directed to the Eritrean people and Mr. Isaias Afwerki. The message to Eritreans is one that emboldens them to demand their rights and to keep fighting to bring about change. The message to Isaias Afwerki is two-fold: (a) convene a meeting of the National Assembly by calling the living parliamentarians from wherever they may be: scattered in Eritrea, exiled or imprisoned.  Just know we are going to discuss your performance and you are going to lose the chairmanship of the party and the presidency; (b) debate the former Minister of Finance on issues of governance or whatever other issues Isaias may choose.

ED hopes to present an English translation of the message soon. To purchase the books, please visit here.

There are few certain things:

1. Any government however liberal or conservative, left or right, will find a way to tax you;

2. You may live the right way or the wrong way; but, eventually, you will die.

3. If Abrar Osman writes a song, it will be either good or excellent.

This is excellent. And timely. An anthem, a chant and a great morale boost to whoever is demoralized; it is an aphrodisiac to whoever fell out of love with Eritrea; it is a shot in the arm to whoever was tired and want to rest from the great march to liberty and self-rule.

For more inspiring stories about Eritreans,  please check out humans of Eritrea. For our write up on Humans of Eritrea, check here:

Meanwhile, here is Abrar!

The great negotiators who run the Eritrean Government gave this building to the Ethiopian government to make it its Embassy in Eritrea.

This gorgeous Art Deco building is in the upscale neighborhood of Cinema Croce Rossa hills en route to the American Embassy (warehouse of Bess company)

The beautiful villa was given in exchange for this beauty, which is the old Eritrean Embassy in Addis Abeba, complete with dusty beer bottles and dusty cars in the rowdy Meskel area on the wrong side of the Chinese light rail system. 

(Plastic arches and dragons not included)

The Eritrean president, who hasn’t passed on a bad deal for Eritrea yet, was back to his giddy self. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, he forgot the laws of physics and didn’t know that a ribbon cut the wrong way results in the wrong piece falling to the ground but was characteristically lecturing the Ethiopians how to do it.  They gave him the bemused look you reserve for your great grandfather. At some point, the Ethiopian Foreign Minister, who was the police commissioner in the 2005 Ethiopian elections who gave the orders to shoot live bullets at the demonstrators, which began Isaias Afwerki’s 12 years of brooding and self-destruction (but hush, don’t remind him as he may close the opened embassy), stepped in to help our president with the very complicated task of cutting a ribbon.

Upstairs, in the balcony, the Ethiopians admired the great view of Asmara from the posh neighborhood and a villa with 17 rooms,  they noted, only to be interrupted by Isaias Afwerki to tell them on how even greater it is.

Meanwhile, Eritrea’s Ambassador to Ethiopia, Minister Semere Russom, was still in his Meskel Square warehouse, which goes for Eritrean embassy.

The dividends keep on coming.  Are you tired of winning yet?

Eritrea’s Charge d’Affaires to the United States is Berhane G Solomon. A protege of Yemane Gebreab, the ruling party’s Director of Political Affairs, Berhane even has Yemane’s body language: the exaggerated hand movements, the awkward smile and, of course, flashes of brilliance. In short, he is very good at his job, a job that requires him to be bad. To lie, to obfuscate, to stall, to confound and to confuse.

This prowess was brought to bear on Eritreans assembled for the Scandinavia Festival, held every summer in Sweden. These particular set of skills were particularly in high demand since the festival coincided with the period of time that a new line of Isaias Afwerki was launched by President Isaias Afwerki; and because there hadn’t been any preview of the new product, people were confused. The new version of Isaias Afwerki was very deferential to Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (a man he barely knows); appeared to settle for a secondary role not just for himself (unusual for such an alpha male) but the country he leads (a country that fought for decades not to be subservient to, or part of, Ethiopia); and, for a man who had shown his people an austere, stoic image for decades, he was very touchy-feely: blowing kisses and tugging his heart. Nerves were rattled among the faithful; the unfaithful didn’t help by reminding them that the man’s loyalty to Eritrea is suspect, he had always been rumored to be a stalking horse, either because of his lineage (yawn) or that Eritrea was too small for his ambitions.

This short speech by Berhane G. Solomon was a rebuttal and it has six arguments, presented in less than five minutes (I told you he is good):

1. Singular to Collective: Remove the focus from Isaias Afwerki to the leadership. Instead of the singular, talk about the collective;
2. Absurdity of Freedom Fighter Being A Betrayer: Present the “obvious” absurdity of the argument that those who fought the hardest and longest to bring about Eritrea’s independence would surrender it;
3. Place Isaias Afwerki’s Speech Within Cultural Context: Re-define the sentence Isaias made to Abiy Ahmed in Addis (“you will lead us”) as consistent with Eritrea’s traditions of village assemblies (the romanticized bayto under a tree) where each able person presents the other as more able.  Have no worries,  the real agreements will be in writing and will be reviewed by lawyers, he said;
4. Consider the Source: the same people who are criticizing us for being too energetic in the peace effort are the ones who (with Weyane) were accusing us of being isolationists and anti-peace;
5. We Won: We long ago decided that change in Eritrea and the region cannot come about unless there is change in Ethiopia, so this is the fulfillment of our hard labor;
6. No Time To Talk But Work: Our leaders are racing to bring about the fruits of their hard labor. This is not the time to demand they speak to us: “hard to talk when you are racing.”

Let’s listen to it, and view the reaction of the audience here. The counter argument to Mr. Berhane G Solomon will follow, point-by-point:

1. Collective to Singular: Nobody is accusing Yemane Gebreab or Osman Saleh of betraying Eritrea. Nobody is saying they long harbored intent to surrender Eritrea to Ethiopia. Nobody is saying that they were so ambitious they wanted to lead something much bigger than Eritrea. At least, I am not.  All the allegations have been against Isaias Afwerki and him only. Berhane Solomon unconsciously (or consciously) concedes this point when he rhetorically asks, “if selling out Eritrea was their goal, why didn’t they do it in 1992?” Of course, Eritrea became an independent country in 1991 and not in 1992, and he knows there is 1991 (post independence) literature of Isaias Afwerki trying and failing to convince Eritreans to prepare them for confederation with Ethiopia.  Thus, the reference to 1992.  

But moving on: let’s get more testimony. And they are not all “allegations”: some are just presented as a matter of fact. And who are the ones making them? They are (A) Mesfin Hagos, one of the founders of Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (now PFDJ), a 25 year veteran of the 30-year armed struggle (member of G-15, now exiled); (B) Dr. Dima Negewo, one of the founders of the Oromo Liberation Fronts (OLF), and in charge of its Foreign Office (who represented his front during the negotiations the Tripatriate meetings regarding post-Mengistu government.) Additionally, two Ethiopians testify that Isaias Afwerki was open to the idea of being in charge of a unified Ethiopia: he was thwarted by Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) ambitions to dominate Ethiopian politics and they are (C) Dawit Woldegiorgis, the administrator of Eritrea for the Derg regime and (D) Andargachew Tsige, the leader of Ginbot-7, one of the Eritrea-based armed Ethiopian opposition groups. Links for all the interviews mentioned are provided below, with time set to the relevant part:

(A)

(B)

(C)

(D)

2. Absurd To Call Freedom Fighters “Traitors”: Well, that’s rich coming from a spokesperson for PFDJ which has accused long-serving freedom fighters like Petros Solomon, Mahmoud Ahmed Sherifo, Haile Woldense, Mesfin Hagos, Ogbe Abraha, Hamid Himid, Saleh Idris Kekya, Estifanos Seyoum, Berhane Ghebrezgabiher, Astier Fesehazion, Germano Nati, Beraki Gebreselassie, Adhanom Ghebremariam, Mohammed Ali Omaro, Omer Tewil, Abdella Jaber, Mustapha Nurhussein and many others FROM ITS OWN LEADERSHIP as traitors and made them disappear.  We won’t even count the thousands of patriots accused of being fifth columnists from outside the EPLF/PFDJ.  The accusation that one individual (Isaias Afwerki) is a betrayer makes more sense than the claim that everybody who opposes him, literally in the thousands, are. In any event, the allegation of “betrayal” here, at least from my perspective, is not that he wants to surrender Eritrea to Ethiopia. The betrayal is that he is doing whatever it is he is doing in secret without consulting the people, or their elected spokespersons in a parliament. Heck, he is not even consulting with the rubber stamp cabinet of ministers.  He is betraying the cause of the armed struggle, as he has done for the last 17 years.  

3. Isaias Afwerki & Cultural Context: The speeches of Isaias Afwerki that people have an objection to are (a) his delegation of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed as a leader to deal with all issues Eritrean and (b) his claim that, henceforth, it is incorrect to call Eritreans and Ethiopians as two people. What is the flaw in Berhane G. Solomon’s argument that was just “polite talk” “reconciliation talk” consistent with the Eritrean culture of humility and diffidence, specially in public service? Two things: first, President Isaias Afwerki went out of his way to iterate that, no, this wasn’t just idle talk or flattery: he really, really means it. Second, there is nothing in the history of Isaias Afwerki that shows he has any respect for Eritrean culture, chief among them being, “do not pass a judgement before you give the accused an opportunity for self-defense.” Or, “get the consent of the governed to govern.”  In fact, if there is one thing that will come to define the Isaias Afwerki regime long after it is gone is that it was a very unjust and cruel system, indifferent to the voices of the people or their culture.

As for his claim that we shouldn’t be anxious because all agreements will be in writing, which will be reviewed by lawyers: sorry to say but it rings hollow. The most glaring example of it was that following the outbreak of war between Eritrea and Ethiopia in 1998, what became apparent was that the two governments had no written agreement to refer to and they were reduced to sharing with us private correspondence between Isaias Afwerki and Meles Zenawi.  That and “colonial treaties” signed by Europeans over a century ago.  

4. The “Consider the source” Argument: and other tricks of guilt-by-association will boomerang on the Isaias Afwerki administration because those he associates with, and those who consider him as their personal hero, just happen to be ardent One Ethiopia Ethiopians who either don’t accept Eritrea’s sovereignty or question the entire basis of its armed struggle. The point here is that: the Isaias Afwerki regime was wrong to stumble Eritrea into a war (in 1998); it was wrong to escalate Ethiopia’s refusal to accept the final/binding ruling by miring Eritrea in Somalia and getting the country sanctioned; and now it is wrong in pursuing secret deals with Ethiopia without consulting the stakeholders, ie: the people. The “you are accidentally agreeing with people we don’t like” may work on the weaker supporters of the PFDJ but it can’t work on all of them.

5. The “we won” argument: is something the PFDJ uses without ever considering the price that was paid. Firstly, how much did the Isaias Afwerki regime contribute to the downfall of the TPLF from the leadership of the EPRDF-coalition? 100%? 75%? 50%? 25%? Ethiopians will have to answer that, not the “humble” PFDJ.  And whatever the answer was, was it worth the hundreds of thousands of Eritreans exiled, sanctions, and an entire generation of Eritreans who wasted their lives to guard a border because dialogue was not possible prior to their demobilization and now demobilization is not possible even after dialogue that wasn’t supposed to happen before demarcation? Was it worth it for them to hear their chief commanding officer saying, “we lost nothing”? Was it worth it for them to hear a veteran of the armed struggle tearfully saying, to Ethiopia’s tearful Jossy “now that there is peace, when I look back at the 40 years I spent in the armed struggle, I regret it?” video here When is the Isaias Afwerki administration going to face the people not to “lecture them”, but to listen and to be accountable for its actions: what was paid for this win, was it worth it, were there other wins forfeited?

6. Too Busy To Talk: Between 2001 and 2018 (17 years), the Isaias Afwerki government was too busy to talk to the people and be accountable to them because it is too busy protecting the nation from imminent danger. Now that there is peace, the Isaias Afwerki government is too busy to talk because it is too busy catching up for opportunities it didn’t lose because we lost nothing. Busy, busy, busy. It is the same “heads I win, tails you lose” trick. But if there is one lesson it should have drawn from all its former allies–Muammar Kaddafi, Robert Mugabe, Hosni Mubarek,  Meles Zenawi—is that you can fool the people for some time, but not indefinitely. At some point, people will no longer be persuaded by their “trust us, just be patient” reasoning.  This, I think, is what Former Finance Minister and now author Berhane Abrehe is trying to warn them with this message:

Will they listen? Judging from the reaction of their uberfans, there is little hope to be optimistic: first they denied he wrote the books; now they are doing “voice analysis” to prove it is not him sending his message from Asmara on September 1. But the message of Berhane Abrehe is the same one made by General Bitweded Abraha two decades ago: listen to your people, try reconciliation, and be accountable. And we know what they did to him: disappear because he was another freedom fighter who was a traitor, apparently. 

The PFDJ is still relying on its “revolutionary legitimacy”: Berhane says that when we question the PFDJ leadership’s commitment to Eritrea, we are claiming that we care for the country more than they do. Well, no; firstly, some of us are not saying they but him.  Secondly, all of us are saying that they are servants of the people and they are accountable to the people and the people, via their national assembly, have the right and duty to express their confidence in them or fire them.

The PFDJ continues to give the people an impossible choice: to get your freedom, you must first topple us; and to topple us, you must be prepared for civil war. Or, if that doesn’t look attractive to you, wait for it on our schedule. Hating both options, the people continue to latch on to people like Berhane Abrehe: that change will come from within and it will come with little or no bloodshed by coordinating with the opposition. Twenty seven years after Eritrea’s independence, you can’t continuously come up with reasons and justifications as to why you don’t have a constitution; you are not accountable to any institution; you have our youth in indefinite conscription; you have political prisoners; you have no independent press; refuse to reconcile with anyone; ignore the hundreds of thousands of your people in exile and close up all political space.  And when a critical mass of them rise up, because there is no constitution, no institutions, no civil society–nothing but PFDJ–there will be nothing to save them from the wrath of the people.

If you have been watching Ethiopian media in Eritrea, whether due to its desire not to be a “downer”, or its fear that it will spoil the environment of peace, or because it genuinely believes it, the most generous thing one can say about it is that it has allowed its wishes to cloud its journalistic duty to do more than repeat the talking points of Eritrean government officials. Thus, many Eritreans found the following, a personal (Facebook) report by freelance journalist Mulu Gojam, quite refreshing. Because it reports what we all know; and what Ethiopian reporters in Eritrea, for whatever reason, have been unable to report.  It is being posted in its original (Amharic) and its English translation. All errors in translation are mine.//ED

1. The people of Asmara are very kind and generous;
2. Asmara’s source of electricity is entirely generators;
3. Since the war, Eritrea has sustained a very big economic crisis; consequently, numerous institutions, hotels and service-providing institution are either fully or partly closed. For example, the Nyala Hotel has 70 rooms: 40 of them have been closed for the last 20 years and remain closed;
4. Massawa port provides services to Eritreans only;
5. An Eritrean who attempts to leave the country to Sudan or Ethiopia illegally is fined at least 7,000 and up to 10,000 American dollars;
6. Due to shortage of water, when one wants a glass of water, one orders “cup of water” and pays 2 Nakfas;
7. A debt of gratitude to Kana TV: the new generation of Asmarans learned Amharic from it;
8. The buildings in the environs of Massawa port are mostly crumbled;
9. The location where the Ethiopian Navy was previously based is in the same Massawa environs and, like the rest of the buildings, it is crumbled;
10. Every trade or trade-like institution is entirely owned by the government;
11. This system has inflicted, and continues to inflict, massive and unforgettable crimes on the Eritrean people;
12. Whichever residences, hotels, restaurants, companies we visited, one can say 100% of the programs on TV are Ethiopian;
13. Prior to normalization of relations, any person or organization which played Amharic music, was fined up to 5,000 Nakfa or 12,000 Birr. When we arrived there, all one hears is Amharic;
14. One can’t use data/internet on cell phones;
15. Whether it is privately owned or government owned, rent is set by the government. Consequently, home rental price is fair;
16. For the past 8 years, importing cars to Eritrea has been banned;
17 Not all traffic lights are functional;
18. It is forbidden to dig wells to store or extract water because it requires a government permit.

Beloved Eritrean families, we thank you for all that you have done for us.
May we repay your debts!

Original in Amharic follows:

የአስመራ ምልከታ

አሰመራን ለመጎብኘት ከ ወንድሜ የሹ ጋር ከሄድን ልክ የሚመጣው ማክስኞ አንድ ሳምንት ሞላን ::

እዛው በነበርንበት ወቅት የ ኢንጅነር ስመኛው ድንገተኛ ሞት እንደማንኝውም ኢትዮጵያዊ ሰላስደነገጠን እንደተመለስን ምልከታችንን ማቅረብ አልቻልኩም:: ይህ ከታች የምትመለከቱት በሙሉ በቆይታችን ወቅት ያየናቸው እና ጠይቀን የደረስንባቸው እውነቶች ናቸው ::

1. የአሰመራ ህዝብ እጅግ የዋህ እና ደግ ነው::
2. የአስመራ የኤሌክትሪክ ምንጭ ሙሉ በ ሙሉ ጀነሬተር ነው::
3. ከጦርነቱ በሃላ ኤርትራ እጅግ ከፍተኛ የሆነ የኢኮኖሚ ቀውስ ውስጥ ገብታለች በዚህም” ምክንያት በርካታ ተቋማት : ሆቴሎች እና መስል አገልግሎት ስጭ ተቋማት በሙሉ እና በከፊል ተዘግተዋል :: ለምሳሌ ብናይ ኒያላ ሆቴል 70 የምኝታ ክፍሎች ሲኖሩት 40ወቹ ላለፍት 20 ዓመታት ተዘግተዋል አሁንም እንደተዘጉ ናቸው::
4. ምፅዋ (ማሳዋ ) ወደብ አገልግሎት የሚስጠው ለ ኤርትራ ብቻ ነው::
5. አንድ ኤርትራዊ በህገ-ወጥ መልኩ ከ ኤርትራ ወጥቶ ወደ ሱዳን ወይም ኢትዮጵያ ለመዉጣት በትንሹ ከ 7,000 እስከ 10,000 የአሜሪካ ዶላር ይከፍላል::
6. ከውሀ እጥረት የተነሳ አንድ ሰው በብርጭቆ ውሀ መጠጣት ሲፈልግ ” ማይ ቢኬሪ ” ብሎ ያዛል ለዚህም 2 ናቅፍ ይከፍላል::
7. ለአሰመራ አዲስ ትውልድ አማረኛን ያስተማረ ባለውለታ ቃና ቴሌቭዥን ነው::
8. በ ምፅዋ ( ማሳዋ ) ወደብ ዙሪያ የሚገኙ ህንፃወች በአብዛኛው ፍራርስዋል ::
9. የቀድሞው የኢትዮጵያ የባህር ሀይል ቤዝ መንደር በዚሁ ማሳዋ ወደብ ዙሪያ ይገኛል እሱም እንደሌሎቹ ህንፃወች ፈራርሷል ::
10. ማንኛውም ከፍተኝ የንግድ ሆነ መስል ተቋም ንብረትነቱ በሙሉ የመንግስት ነው::
11. የኤርትራ ህዝብ በ ዚህ ስርዓት ውስጥ እጅግ ከፍተኛ የሆነ እና የማይረሳ በደል ተፈፅሞበታል እየተፈፀመበትም ነው ::
12. በገባሁባቸው መኖሪያ ቤቶች : ሆቴሎች : ሬስቶራንቶች እና ድርጅቶች ውስጥ መቶ በ መቶ ማለት ይቻላል የቴሌቭዥን ፕሮግራሞቹ የኢትዮጵያ ናቸው ::
13. ከ ግኑኝነቱ መጀመር በፊት ኤርትራ ውስጥ የአማርኛ ሙዚቃ ከፍቶ የተገኘ ስው ወይም ድርጅት እስከ 5,000 ናቅፍ ወይም በኢትዮጵያ እስከ 12,000 ብር ያሰቀጣ ነበር እኛ በደረስንበት ሰዓት በሙሉ አማርኛ ይደመጣል
14. ስልክ ላይ በ data Internet መጠቀም አልተጀመረም
15. የግልም ሆነ የመንግስት የቤት ኪራይ ዋጋ በቀጥታ የሚተመነው በመንግስት ነው በመሆኑም የቤት ኪራይ ዋጋ ፍትሀዊ ነው::
16. የዛሬ 8 ዓመት ጀምሮ መኪና ወደ ኤርትራ ምድር መግባት አቁሟል
17. የተተከሉትራፊክመብራቶችሙሉለሙሉአገልግሎትአይስጡም
18. በውሀ ቁፍሮ ውሀ አውጥቶ መጠቀም ክልክል ነው ምክንያቱም ፈቃድ ያስፈልገዋል

ውድ ኤርትራውያን ቤተሰቦቻችን
ሳላደረጋችሁልን ሁሉ እናመስግናለን !
ወረታ ከፍይ ያርገን !

The much-anticipated opening of the Zalambesa and Bure points on the Eritrea-Ethiopia border, occurred today.

Zalambesa connects Eritrea capital Asmara to Tigrayan capital Mekele and towns further south to Ethiopia, whereas Bure is a mere 60 miles to Eritrean port Asab.

Google Earth Map

Both are strategic towns which were the sites of heavy casualties in the 1998-2000 Eritrea Ethiopia border war.

The event was attended by senior government officials from Eritrea and Ethiopia. And one unannounced guest: Abraham Isaias Afwerki. Our peace dividend is: we now know who the #2 is in Eritrea.  

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told Ethiopian journalists that the two leaders had agreed months ago that they would celebrate the day, September 11, which marks New Year Day in Ethiopia’s calendar, together.

He also said that the “beginning today, Ethiopian Defense Forces will significantly reduce their state of alert which was based on the tense emotions of hostilities in the border and return to their camps and an environment of rest, recuperation and training will be created.”

Abiy Ahmed Interview

The Party At Zalambesa

BBC Captures Magic

Eri-TV News (Tigre)

It is a bad day for PFDJ which almost always means it is a good day for the Eritrean people.

The Isaias Afwerki regime appears to have calculated that if it makes peace with Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti, why, then, there is no reason for the United States not to normalize its relations and, more importantly, suspend its opposition to the UN lifting the UN sanctions.

ፍርፍር ኢላ ልበይ

After all, according to PFDJ’s self-deceiving narrative, it did nothing wrong to get itself sanctioned: it was all the Obama Administration and the Meles Zenawi Government colluding to punish it for its “independent political stand.” Thus, when it invited Somali president Mohammed Abdulahi Formajio and got him to write a statement saying sanctions should be lifted, it was so sure it would be, it was already lecturing the UN that they should not have been imposed to begin with. Since then, it calculated that Djibouti is the last hold out and it started doing what it could have done 10 years ago: acknowledge it has a problem with the country and seek expedited mediation.  Similarly, of course, it could have saved the Eritrean people 12 years of agony if it had recognized the system that ended up giving Somalia President Mohammed Formajio.  But back then, it was lecturing the world on the importance of bringing Al-Shabab to be part of the government.  But now, we are good neighbors, so lift the sanctions already!

The United States is not buying it. The US House Foreign Committee has a subcommittee named Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations. This is the same subcommittee that sanctioned Ethiopia for its gross human rights violations when it was governed by #Gameover TPLF-core EPRDF. Its chairman, the Honorable Chris Smith, recently headed a delegation that just returned from a fact-finding mission to Ethiopia. After rightfully chronicling all the positive changes initiated by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, he turned his attention to the “repressive” state of Eritrea” and has this to say:

In short, the issues we have with Eritrea remain: it is still holding US Embassy employees prisoners; it still won’t account for US citizens including Ciham Ali, and it is reputed to have 10,000 prisoners. We hope to see the same reforms conducted in Ethiopia over at Eritrea.

Subsequently, Ambassador Tibor Nagy, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, was invited to testify. In response to a direct question by Ranking Member of the subcommittee, Karen Bass as to whether he thinks Eritrea will reform the National Service, he had this to say about what he called a “fortress state”: that it is “critically important for Eritrea to do domestically what it is doing internationally” and “….that goes, for example, to the sanctions regime.  Eritrea cannot assume, by saying wonderful things and opening good relations with the neighbors, that it will automatically lead to sanctions relief.  There has to be concrete actions taken.  And we, of course, will remain engaged that say things that will not be popular. But they have to be said.”

In summary, the United States, both at the legislature (congress) and the executive (State Department) is showing moral clarity: that a government which runs a repressive state, a “heinous” indefinite conscription and a “fortress state”, should not expect to be rewarded even if it has taken positive steps and reversed its destructive posture.  Thank God Herman Cohen is not at the State Department.  Here’s hoping, but not expecting, the European politicians to take note.

Since June 5, 2018, when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed  expressed his government’s intent to accept the Algiers peace Agreement with Eritrea without reservation, the leaders of both countries have had dramatically different ways of communicating the blossoming peace to their people.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has held numerous meetings with his people, visiting them where they live and work; he has had two reports to his parliament; one report to his ruling coalition; and has held several press conferences to update his constituents and provide leadership on whatever were the issues of the day.

President Isaias Afwerki has had two: one was on June 20, 2018: on the occasion of Martyr’s Day. The other, on September 7, was a brief interview with CGTN addressing the audience English-language Chinese network.  So, actually, just one.  

There is no parliament in Eritrea, so he has no parliament to report to.  There is also no private press to hold press conferences with.  And that is not a new government, but he has presided on for 27 years. 

But there is a cabinet, however useless it may be; and there is state media, however censored it may be. But even they haven’t been found to be necessary, despite the fact that there has been a major transformation in Eritrea: a state of war with Ethiopia has ended, and there have been changes occurring at break-neck speed including: opening up of the border, opening up of Eritrean ports and airports to Ethiopia; opening up of commerce…. still, none of it is considered eventful enough for the President to report to his people and answer their questions.

Oh, he has had meetings and addresses.   Meetings with Ethiopian opposition parties, and addresses to Ethiopians. 

There is one word for this: contempt.

To add insult to injury, the President is slowly phasing in his son, Abraham Isaias Afwerki, to the public eye. Despite the fact that he has no seniority in the government (nobody even knows what his job title is), he was seen among the Eritrean delegation that was present to mark a milestone: the opening of the Zalambesa and Burie roads.

And today, he is there for another milestone: he was seen among the Eritrean delegation visiting Saudi Arabia for the formal Eritrea-Ethiopia Peace & Friendship Agreement. Curiously, he wasn’t seen boarding the plane in Asmara; he just appeared seated with the Eritrean delegation, miraculously.

The table below summarizes all the communications Prime Minister Abiy had with his people, in contrast with the ones President Isaias Afwerki had with his people.  Twenty two vs one.  

A contrast between respect and contempt.

21. Curious from Hmeret Kelboy asks, ” why did Eritrea and Ethiopia sign their peace agreements 3 times?

Dr. Newitol: One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, now, go, cat, go. The one signed in Eritrea was for the money (from UAE to Ethiopia.) The one signed in Abu-Dhabi was for the show: bling, bling. And the one in Jeddah was clearly because Saudi Arabia sits on the Human Rights Council and is an authority on human rights.  Now go, cat, go. (See also question 25.)

22. Even more confused in Nazreth, Ethiopia: So, how did Lemma Megersa become a bad guy overnight?

Dr. Newitol: His police commissioner said, “I couldn’t catch the criminals in Burayu because they are hiding from me.”  He also told his wife, “I couldn’t buy the groceries because I lost the grocery list you gave me.” The birr stops with the regional president even in an inflationary market.  

23. Khelifa from Omdurman, Sudan asks, “why wasn’t my country invited to the Peace & Friendship Agreement in Saudi Arabia! Everyone know we Sudanese are very peacy and friendy!  

Dr. Newitol: Door # 1 has Iran, Door # 2 has Qatar, Door # 3 has Turkey, Door # 4 has Saudi Arabia and UAE.  You guys chose the wrong door. The Saudis and Emiratis do not like the Muslim Brotherhood and they are looking for a Sudanese to sisi Omar Albashir on his friendly ass. Also because Isaias Afwerki has to have at least one enemy at a time.

24. Shengeb from Halib Mentel asks, “do you have any information on the arrest of Berhane Abrehe and do you expect any reaction from Eritreans?”

Dr. Newitol: My notes say he was under house arrest for a month until they gathered enough evidence about him. Then, when they did,  he was able to proudly walk to his car in his dignified clothes and he was presented with an arrest warrant. Remember, this is for a man who is accused of being responsible for heinous human rights violations involving hyenas and lions and burning 7 churches and…

wait, I think I have my files confused. I confused civilized Ethiopia with backward Eritrea. I was telling you about Ethio Somalia regional president Abdi Omar Mohammed. You are asking me about the Eritrean? He was having breakfast with his son at a public place, security officers hauled him to their car and nobody said or did anything. The country appears to be in a state of permanent trauma.  The Eritrean opposition is discussing what took him so long to speak up (they would tell a prisoner of war why didn’t you surrender earlier.)

25. Andom from Adi Keyh (College of Arts and Social Sciences) asks: Abraham Isaias Afwerki (AiA) was my classmate and he had a 0.2 matriculation. What is he doing in Zalambesa and Jeddah and what exactly is his title?

Dr. Newitol: His title is “President-in-waiting.” I don’t know why this is a big deal. For the last 17 years he was being trained to be a successor and now it’s the citizens turn to be trained about him. His title, for now, is Chairman of the High-Level Joint Committee which will guide and oversee the implementation of the Agreement. This is very important for the peace and friendship of Eritrea and Ethiopia because the last time the two countries had a high-level joint committee, the Eritreans (hard-core EPLF) didn’t like the Ethiopians (hard-core TPLF), and vice-versa  and they had a bloody war. President Isaias Afwerki, a man of peace,  is wisely placing a highly qualified man in the position: someone who has no hostility to Ethiopia and, working from the President’s office, can overcome bottlenecks.  Sounds very efficient and peaceful and friendly to me.

26. “Still say whati!ing” from Washington, DC asks, “I was attending a public seminar conducted by Eritrea’s Charge d’affaires Berhane G Solomon and he said those in prison in Eritrea are better off than those who are not in prison. Can you please explain what he meant?

Dr. Newitol: Why is everything politicized? He is talking science! The challenge in Africa is food, medicine, shelter.  And free from fear of government that will arrest you. Those in prison never have to worry about that. Out in Asmara, at a restaurant you have to pay 2 Nakfas for a cup of water. You can also do a lot of reading in prison. So, really, what is there to argue with his logic? Families are a nuisance anyway.

27. Zrefom from Asmara asks, “I work for Red Sea Trading Corporation. Do you have any recommendation where we should base our office in Ethiopia?”

Dr. Newitol: You will need two offices. One is in the Eritrean embassy where diplomatic pouches are still untouchable, confederation or not. There is a large diplomatic community in Addis Abeba and someone has to provide the cocaine, amirite? The other is at Assosa, which has a huge farmland for cash crops (weed, khat) and it also happens to be very close to the Sudanese border.

28. Aradom Abkeyom from Mekele asks, “in one of his first addresses to Ethiopian parliament, PM Abiye said that the Ethiopian people are entitled to hour-by-hour, day-by-day updates of EPRDF meetings. I know EPRDF had a meeting last week. Where is the report?”

Dr. Newitol: It takes a lot of time to edit out the parts that are not good for the public to hear. He is just looking out for the interest of the people. What are you, people-hater? All his talk was before his frequent visits with Isaias Afwerki, anyway, who has told him to introduce “bego adraginet” to the restless youth. And Gnbot-7, Arbegnoch, ETV all say Eritrean National Service is great so, huh, huh, huh?

29. Semhar from Senafe says: “Man, my town is just flooded with people coming and going. My question is: are all these Eritreans going to Ethiopia coming back?”

Dr. Newitol: Coming back from what to what? It is all one big country. I don’t understand your question: are you against free movement of people?

30. Simon from Atlanta, GA: What is going on in these pictures? I am from the South and I went home to Ethiopia and this look like something I am familiar with in Atlanta but I am trying to be culturally sensitive?

Dr. Newito: Just some youth went to a church to pray and got lost. And the nice lawman was escorting them out. In the courtyard, they lost something and they were using a flashlight to help them find it on the ground. There is nothing to see, move along.

On Monday morning, September 17, the Government of Eritrea arrested former Finance Minister Berhane Abrehe in Asmara, Eritrea.

The former minister had published a two-part book in Tigrinya highly critical of the Isaias Afwerki government which was published by his family in the United States and whose excerpts were disclosed on August 30, 2018. Subsequently, on September 1, Berhane Abrehe issued an audio message telling the world that he indeed published the books and he was calling on the President to reconvene the National Assembly, suspended for more than 16 years, and to prepare for the National Assembly to elect a new chairman.

The Minister also challenged President Isaias Afwerki to a televised debate  to account for his governance.

Reports indicate that he was having breakfast with his son in an Asmara restaurant when security officials hauled him presumably to jail.

The government never charges those it arrests and never accounts for them: they disappear and many die in jail. The most well-known senior government officials, collectively known as G-15, have disappeared since September 18, 2001 with an escaped prison guard reporting that they are held in solitary confinement in remote Eila Eiro prison.

Mr Berhane Abrehe who joined the armed struggle in 1975 after completing graduate studies in the United States, fought for Eritrean independence from Ethiopia for 16 years and served in the Eritrean government since 1991 in various roles including a ten-year stint as its Minister of Finance until, according to awate.com, his falling out with Isaias Afwerki over proper accounting and budgeting.

Reactions

The reactions from Eritreans, human rights organizations and one Ethiopian media outlet has been swift.

An EPLF veteran, awate.com commenter, and author Mahmud Saleh submitted a raw and emotional video demanding that the government immediately notify the people why it has arrested him, bring him to court and release or at least provide due process to all those who have been imprisoned without charges:

Human Rights Concern – Eritrea (HRCE) issued a release demanding on the “international community to put pressure on the Eritrean regime to abide by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to which it is a signatory.”

HRCE also disclosed that Berhane Abrehe’s wife, Mrs. Almaz Habtemariam “was also arrested at the beginning of 2018 and has been jailed incommunicado. She is a veteran of the liberation struggle who joined the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) in the mid 1970s at a very young age.”

Early Monday morning, the Security Agents in Asmera Arrested Mr. Berhane Abrehe, the Former Finance Minister of Eritrea (2000-2012)

Amnesty International started a campaign demanding the government disclose his whereabout and immediately release him:

Take Action: Tell the #Eritrean government to reveal whereabouts of Berhane Abrehe and immediately release him from unlawful detention. He was arrested after publishing a book criticizing President Afewerki, asking Eritreans to speak out #FreeBerhaneAbrehe https://t.co/BvGXn34EHJ pic.twitter.com/V3064salxm

— AmnestyEasternAfrica (@AmnestyEARO) September 19, 2018

Perhaps most surprising, and a welcome relief from the generally uncritical coverage the Ethiopian media has been showering on President Isaias Afwerki’s government, Ethiopia-based Addis Standard tweeted the news, citing Amnesty International:

#Eritrea: Ex-minister arbitrarily held after book release: Berhane Abrehe https://t.co/AuJDFggMTP
He was taken to an undisclosed location by security agents on 17 Sep.. His arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention come just days after he published a book pic.twitter.com/XIeYWSFHfs

— Addis Standard (@addisstandard) September 19, 2018

Eritrean activists have initiated a telephone campaign to reach out to the president’s office to demand of the government to disclose the whereabout of the Minister and to release him immediately.

Another activist has initiated the #QuestionforIsaias campaign:

An absolute honour to launch the second phase of the #QuestionForIsaias campaign at @CNN!

Yesterday we were silent in solidarity and today, we continue to raise our voices https://t.co/o4d56W7YhA

— Vanessa Berhe (@VanessaBerhe) September 19, 2018

Finally, an Eritrean exile, Aloniab, reached out to the son of Berhane Abrehe, the 25-year old Ephrem, and conducted a telephone interview to confirm the news that the arrest of Berhane Abrehe is accurate. The shaken son disclosed that what he feared had indeed happened and that he now expects the government to try him in the public opinion court by inventing crimes and defaming him.

Q: Hey Efrem, do you have any news about your mother ? [his mother was arrested one year ago, no charge yet]?
A: No, I have no news.

Q: yesterday I read the news that your father has been arrested. Is that true?
A: Yes, it is true. First I thought it is rumor, but then I could confirm it. We have been expecting that this will happen, because that is how the government has been dealing with dissents. And still it is shocking…he is my dad.

Minister Berhane Abrehe’s two-part book is called My Country, Eritrea. While Book 1 (210 pages) provides the context for Eritrea’s history by touching on the formation of nation states, it is Book 2 (199 pages) which focuses on Eritrea, with a critical assessment of its governance. Chapter titles include: “Isaias The Tornado”, “Establishment of Military Rule in Eritrea”, “Organized Corruption”, “Endless Treachery of Mr. Isaias” and “Foiling Dictatorship.”

The books are sold here, and many Eritreans who have bought them have been sending digital copies to Eritrea, where they are banned.

Meanwhile, the usually verbose Eritrean Minister of Information had no news to shed on the matter, tweeting instead on his government’s role in reconciling an armed Ethiopian group it was hosting with the government of  Ethiopia.

Given the intolerance of the government for dissenting views and its history of “disappearing” critics, the Eritrean discourse has focused more on why he hadn’t been arrested for two weeks instead of why this government behavior should be condoned.   Whatever it is worth, Minister Berhane Abrehe had clarity on what life in prison is like: in Book 2, he writes the following:

Courage is to know what awaits and to still do what’s necessary. Here’s excerpt and translation from his book which led to his arrest by Government of #Eritrea pic.twitter.com/5ciAhT8pM2

— saay (@saayounis) September 19, 2018

The final call of Minister Berhane Abrehe was for the living members of the 150-member National Assembly, whose last meeting on February 2, 2002 was to condemn the G-15, to uphold its obligation and call on the chairman (President Isaias Afwerki) to convene a meeting.

Hundreds of prisons reportedly dot the land with thousands of Eritreans imprisoned without a day in court.  Despite the fact that Eritrea has normalized its relationship with Ethiopia, whose hostilities it used as a reason to govern the country with an undeclared state of emergency for 20 years, the Eritrean government is yet to take any measures to reform its policies which even its supporters can no longer justify.  These include: denial of due process, disappearances of citizens, indefinite military services, indifference to hundreds of thousands in refugee camps, no private press or constitution.

The Government of Eritrea, which has a long history of exhausting every bad idea before grudgingly accepting the good one, is on to its next bad idea: making peace with Ethiopia by bypassing the Ethiopia that borders it: Tigray Region.

But this time, geography is conspiring against it. Whether an Eritrean’s motivation is family reunion, trade or tourism, the part of Ethiopia he or she is most likely to visit is: Tigray. For similar reasons, the Ethiopian most likely to visit Eritrea is: Tigrayan.

Amazingly, this glaring and obvious fact seems to have totally surprised the Government of Eritrea. And, in its brooding state, it is expressing its dissatisfaction with this obvious fact of life by having the media it controls (Eri-TV, Dimtsi Hafash, Hadas Ertra, Eritrean Profile) barely cover or not cover at all events that show this very inconvenient fact.

Examples:

1. The celebrations that accompanied the crossing of the Mereb bridge (connecting Adi Quala, Eritrea to Rama, Tigray) were barely covered.

2. The huge traffic jam created in Mekele from Eritreans visit Tigray State capital: not covered.

3. Eritreans reaction to visiting Mekele, Tigray: not covered.

4. Eritreans visits to Ahmed Alnegashi shrine in Negash, Tigray: barely covered.

Why? Because Tigrayans and Eritrean highlanders continue to remind the world they have the same heritage. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) continues to remind the world its revolution and that of Eritrea fought together, bled together to defeat the tyrannic Mengistu Hailemariam and his Derg from power. Because the TPLF, which we were told was done, buried deep under, continues to be in power and its constituents raising the Region’s flag, which is almost identical to the organization’s flag.

As is the custom with PFDJ, it will eventually do the right thing. But the custom with PFDJ is it first has to exhaust every bad idea.

This was the case with its decision to refuse to engage Ethiopia for 14 long years insisting on demarcation-before-dialogue AND NO LAND SWAPS  (AS EEBC allowed it to) when now, that’s exactly what it will do, as hinted by Ethiopian PM Abiye Ahmed.

This was the case with its dispute with Djibouti: everybody begged it to acknowledge its dispute with the country and seek mediation and preferably enter into direct dialog with it and now, 10 years later, it did just that.  

This was the case with Somalia: everybody told it to recognize the government that was the outcome of the Djibouti Peace Process of 2008. which it loudly rejected.  This was a year before it was sanctioned and now, ten years later, it is doing what it could have done then.

What the people know:it has had 27 uninterrupted years of making poor decisions and the results have been poor: one of the poorest countries in the world (bottom 10 in UNDP HDI), a country without constitution, with no people’s sovereignty (an autocracy), a land with no rule of law, no justice; a State which has exiled 14% of its population.  Even when it gets good results, it is the result of poor decision; thus attributable to factors completely outside its control, ie, luck.

In short, it needs help.  Help as in: shown the exit from position of power.  Unfortunately for the people of Eritrea, the Government is also so delusional it actually not only thinks it makes good decisions, but that consistently makes good decisions.   In fact, to hear its triumphant tone, it has been vindicated.  Or, as the president of the country often says, “we never make a mistake.”

For those of you who don’t want to wait for ten years to know what is happening between Eritreans and Tigrayans right now, here are some videos:

(1) Zalambesa border opening

(2) Rama border opening

(3) Eritreans at Negash, Tigray (For Ahmed Alnegash pilgrim)

(4) Traffic jam in Mekele, Tigray

(5) Ethiopians in Eritrea; Eritreans in Tigray

This was originally posted in Facebook by an Ethiopian visitor to Asmara.  It is consistent with another report by an Ethiopian journalist and presents an unblemished report of Asmara, far different from the paid come-and-see propaganda pieces organized by the Government of Eritrea over the last three years. The Government’s invitation to “come and see” has been accepted, and this is what reality looks like:

To tell the truth, Asmara and Eritrean towns are not what I expected.  Asmara doesn’t live up to its reputation.  Eritrean brothers, please don’t be upset: but the difference between Asmara and Mekele is that of the ground and the sky.  Admittedly, Mekele is lacking in the cuteness and endearment Asmara enjoys. And their (Asmarans) level of consciousness surpasses ours.

What is amazing is that in Eritrea all you hear is “it’s not allowed.”  There is one thing that is allowed, which I will tell you at the conclusion of this write-up.

* building homes is not allowed;
* selling homes is not allowed;
* except for few who are licensed, nobody is allowed to import materials, for example, cars;
* owning (having at hand) more than 5,000 Nakfa is not allowed;
* There is no such thing as internet via mobile phones.  There are a couple wifi hot spots; you pay 20 nakfa for it, and you are allowed a maximum of one hour;
* Mobile phone access cards are not sold in the market; they are sold only at EriTel, after waiting in line;
* SIM cards are not available to everyone; only those who have graduated from Sawa training camp [National Service] can purchase it for 350 Nakfa;
* Setting up [traditional] wedding and consolation tents on the streets of Asmara is not allowed;
* With some exceptions, shop owners must close their shops after 7:00 pm.  If you break this ordinance, the municipality will abuse you;
* After 10 pm, only those with moving permits are allowed to walk around the city;
* No Eritrean is allowed to discuss what I am writing here;
* Anyone who wants internet access must go to an internet cafe: no mobile data;
* There are no ATM machines….and this for 5,000 Nakfa?

Etc, etc.  Brothers, please, I am not writing this to anger or antagonize Eritrean brothers; it is just their administration puzzles me.  In relation to this, Tigrayan Ethiopians: what level of development do you think are we at?  On my side, I now believe the “Ethiopia is annually registering double-digit growth” claims.  

Let me add one more thing: I heard that there are times when there is no electric light for 3 months and no electric ovens. 

The one I told you is permitted–something that we Ethiopians are not allowed to do: any Eritrean is allowed to smoke anywhere.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

The original as it appeared in Tigrinya:

ብAlazar Nollawi ዝተፅሓፈ
ትዕዝብትታት ኣብ ኣስመራ

ሓቂ ዘረባ ኣስመራ ይኹን ከተማታት ኤርትራ ከምዝተፀበኹን ኣይፀንሓንን ኣሥመራ እውን ከምዝውረየላ ኣይኮነትን፡፡ ኤርትራውያን ኣሕዋትና ቅር ኣይበልኩም እምበር መቀለን ኣስመራን ሰማይን መሬትን እዩ ፍልልየን፡፡ ብሓቂ መቀለ ሽኮርን ፃዕዳን ይውሕዳ፡፡ እንተ ንቅሓቶም ግን ዓፂፎምና እዮም

ዝገረመኒ ኣብ ኤርትራ ኩሉ ኣይፍቀድን ክብሉ ኢኻ ትሰምዕ ሓንቲ ነገር ኣላ ጣራሕ ትፍቀድ ኣብ መወዳእታ እዛ ፅሑፍ ኣላትኩም

ከምይ ጌሮም ከ ክምዕብሉ

# ገዛ ምስራሕ ኣይፍቀድን
#ገዛ ምሻጥ ኣይፍቀድን
# ብዜካ ውሱናት ፍቃድ ዝተወሃቦም ዝኾነ ሓዱሽ ንብረት ካብ ደገ ምእታው ኣይፍቀድን ንኣብነት መኪና
# ካብ 5000 ናቅፋ ንላዕሊ ምውናን ኣይፍቀድን
# ሞባይል ኢንተርኔት ዝበሃል ኣይፍለጥን: ሓደ ክልተ Wifi ኣለዋ 20 ናቅፋ ከፊልካ ትጥቀም 1ሰዓት ጥራሕ እያ ትፍቀድ
# ሞባይል ካርዲ ኣብ ዝኾነ ድኳን ክሽየጥ ኣይፍቀድን ኣብ eritel ጥራሕ መስርዕ ሒዝካ
# ዝኾነ ሰብ sim card ክሕዝ ኣይፍቀደሉን፡፡ ሳዋ ሰልጢኑ ታሴራ ምስተዋሃቦ ጥራሕ ዋጋ ሲም min ዋጋ 350 ናቅፋ
# ኣብ ጎደናታት ኣስመራ ናይ መርዓ ይኹን ሓዘን ዳስ ምስራሕ ኣይፍቀድን
#ብዜካ ውሱናት ዝተፈቀደሎም ካብ 1:00 ናይ ምሸት ንደሓር ሹቅ ክዕፆ ኣለዎ፡፡ እንተተረኺብካ መፃወቲ ሙንቹቤ…..
#ካብ 4:00 ሰዓት ናይ ምሸት ንደሓር ዝኾነ ሰብ ኣብ ከተማ ክንቀሳቀስ ኣይፍቀደሉን መንቀሳቀሲ ወረቀት ዘለዎም ጥራሕ
# እዚ ዝፅሕፎ ዘለኹ ፅሑፍ ዋላ ሓደ ኤርትራዊ ንዝኾነ ሰብ ክዛረብ ኣይፍቀደሉን፡፡
# ኢንተርኔት ክጥቀም ዝደለየ ኣብ እንዳ ኢንተርኔት ብኮምፒተር ጥራሕ No mobile data
# ATM ዝበሃል ኣይፍለጥን…. ን5000?

ወዘተ ወዘተ…..ኣሕዋት ሓደራ እዚ ዝተዓዘብኩዎ እቲ ምሕደራ ስለዘገመለይ ደኣምበር ንኤርትራውያን ኣሕዋት ከነኣእስ ወይ ከነፃፅር ኢለ ኣይኮንኩን፡፡በዝኾነ ብኸምዚ ተጋሩ ኢትዮጵያውያን ኣበይ ደረጃ ምዕባለ ኣለና ትብሉ? በወገነይ እቲ ኢትዮጵያ በቢዓመቱ ክልተ ዲጂት ምዕባለ ተምዝግብ ኣላ ዝበሃል ኣሚነሉ፡፡

ሓንቲ ክውስኸልኩም
# መብራህቲ ክሳብ 3 ወርሒ ሙሉእ ዝጠፍአሉ እዋናት ኣሎ ኢሎምና፡፡ ኤሌክትሪክ ምድጃ ኣይፍቀድን፡፡

እታ ትፍቀድ ዝበልኩኹም ከኣ ኣባና ኣይትፍቀድን ንዝኾነ ኤረትራዊ ግን ይፍቀዶ ንሳ ከኣ ኣብ ዝኾነ ቦታ ሽጋራ ምትካኽ ፍቁድ እዩ፡፡

Whether Eritrea is in a state of war, in a state of no-war-no-peace, or in a state of peace, it appears to have one export: migrants.  Consider:

• Eighty-eight (88) days after Eritrean politicians went to Addis Abeba and told us humble Abiy Ahmed is our leader; 
• Seventy-six days (86) after President Isaias Afwerki told us “we didn’t lose, there was no loss, we recovered all our property”; 
• Seventy-five (75) days after President Isaias Afwerfki and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed signed the “Peace & Friendship Agreement”; 
• Seventy (70) days after President Isaias Afwerki, in Addis Abeba, told us that “anybody who says the people of Eritrea and Ethiopia are two peoples is someone who doesn’t know the truth”; 
• Sixty-six (66) days after Ethiopian Airlines landed in Asmara for the first time in 20 years; 
• Sixty (60) days after Eritrea and Ethiopia signed their “Peace & Friendship Agreement”–again–at Abu Dhabi and got a necklace for it; 
• Fifty six (56) days after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told Ethiopians that the Eritrea-Ethiopia border is a “minor issue”; 
• Fifty three (53) days after the governments of Somalia and Eritrea reconciled; 
• Forty-nine (49) days after Eritrean Airlines started its flight to Ethiopia; 
• Forty-seven (47) days after Government of Eritrea started hosting a series of Ethiopian-Government & Ethiopian opposition reconciliation meetings; 
• Eighteen (18) days after the Eritrean ports opened up for Ethiopian ships; 
• Eleven (11) days after Eritrea and Ethiopia opened their joint border; 
• Six (6) days after signing (again!) the Eritrea-Ethiopia Peace & Friendship Agreement in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 
• One (1) day before the Tigray Chamber of Commerce took a 20-car envoy of Land Rovers, Range Rovers and Game Overs to Asmara; 

Eritreans–including families and children–are leaving Eritrea. Why? Because, in all that time, they haven’t seen a single reform to make them hopeful. The arrested remain in jail. The disappeared remain unaccounted for. The conscription remains indefinite. There is rule by law, not rule of law. There is no constitution. There is no free press.