For the love of music or is he a messenger of woyane?

Teddy Afro?

Fooling Eritreans and Ethiopian

 By Amanuel Biedemariam

The ethnic cleansing of Eritreans and Ethiopians- of-Eritrean origin was indication of the propensity to how low the apartheid regime of the TPLF can stoop to hold on to power. What they did then was try to create a non existent scar amongst the friendly peoples and, set a precedent that will ultimately come back to haunt them. Unfortunately, the TPLF cadres have embraced mischief, deceit, lies, hegemony, manipulations, ethnic cleansing, genocides, extrajudicial killings and creating mayhem as a mode of governance. They have demonstrated what true nature of governance based on the darkest inclinations of humanity looks like.

Lately, a group of these criminals has been roaming around as a political party in the US calling themselves Medrek. While Medrek is an Ethiopian matter, since they have made Eritrea a platform and a focal part of their campaign, there is no choice but to react. And it is also opportunity to give another perspective to the unsuspecting Ethiopian and expose, that they are criminals that need to face justice, not messiahs that will save Ethiopia from darkness.

Their campaign started in SeattleWashington and met stiff resistance from Ethiopians that rejected the personalities and their messages outright. They then went to WashingtonDC, Atlanta and other places to conduct similar seminars. This time however, they slightly altered the messages and tweaked the delivery to appease the resisting parties.

The core of the Medrek is comprised of Gebru Asrat TPLF and chairman of Medrek, Seye Abraham TPLF and former Defense Minister of Ethiopia and, hodgepodge collection of TPLF subsidiary groups with familiar names to fill-in the blanks and, to legitimize the so-called Medrek.

Regardless of what they call themselves today, they are TPLF-Weyane cadres that were and remain affiliated to the group of Tigrayans that have been looting Ethiopia while wreaking havoc in the region afflicting untold suffering in Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea for over 20years. They are the core of TPLF-EPRDF, party to a group that committed and continues to commit major humanitarian crimes.

They base their platforms on two-core subjects; anti Meles Zenawi rhetoric and, Eritrea.

Anti Meles Zenawi Rhetoric

Their main aim is to appear moderate by demonizing their former boss Meles Zenawi, by denouncing his tenure as characterized by Temsgen Zewde,

 “A leader of the most brutal and oppressive regime, characterized by massive human rights violations, arbitrary arrests of opposition members, suppression of free press, exorbitant cost of living and flagrant rigging of election results, as a ruler of the most oppressive system and one who strongly believed in ethnic division.”

Moreover, they are also trying to portray the current Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn as a puppet and a continuation of Meles Zenawi. And to that end, they are preaching how democratic, transparent, respectful of human rights, press freedoms and guardians of Ethiopia they will and can be when they assume power.

Eritrea, the Carrot

This subject reveals the true nature of the group and the conspiracies that they are weaving against the people of Ethiopia and Eritrea one more time. According to Mahebere Andinet, in the seminar in Atlanta Ghebru Asrat said that he,

“Denounced secessionism and strongly adhere to the territorial integrity of Ethiopia. He further expressed that all parties have agreed to revoke the Algiers accord that reached final and binding decision regarding delimitation of borders with Eritrea.”

Denounce ethnic division…? That must be a joke. After the TPLF assumed absolute power of Ethiopia in 1991, Ghebru Asrat was the President of Tigray for over a decade and a member of the politburo of TPLF/EPRDF when article 39 was drafted. The base of the minority apartheid TPLF regime of Ethiopia is Tigray. TPLF is the organization that drafted article 39, an article that states, “Every nation, nationality or people in Ethiopia shall have the unrestricted right to self determination up to secession.” This took place while Ghebru Asrat and Seye Abraha were key actors of the criminal entity.

Their campaigns have many goals. For those Ethiopians that believe in Andnet (Unity) and Ethiopia’s issues of access to sea, it is to dangle Eritrea as a carrot. In the process, they can distance from Meles’s previous comments about access to sea. This is also designed to create confusion and fissure within the Ethiopia’s Diaspora opposition parties. This effort is lead by Seye Abraham and Ghebru Asrat in North America.

Simultaneous Campaign Directed at Eritreans

While Seye and Ghebru campaign in North America, another core is focused on the Eritrean public in the Diaspora with a unique strategy of deception. This is led by Berekt Simon, Abay Tsehaye, Sebhat Nega etc…

In Awasa Ethiopia, Bereket Simon created, funded and organized a group called Smerr, another term for Unity.  The main objective of this group is to dissolve the independence of Eritrea. To that end, Bereket Simon recently has been making rounds in Smerr paltak group claiming that Eritrea is “Not viable as a nation.” He stated how Eritrean minorities and religious groups are dying to be free while ignoring his own regional and religious issues.

Sebhat Nega and Abay Tsehaye are also making similar propaganda campaigns. On a recent interview, when asked about access to the sea, Sebhat Nega stated that they are focused not only on access to sea but the complete re-annexation of Eritrea because the people of Eritrea are demanding it.

The reality however, TPLF is an organization that never dreamed to rule Ethiopia since the organizations main aim was Greater Tigray (Abbay Tigray) or the independence of Tigray until the power fell on their hands accidentally. Greater Tigray is a dream that they never relinquished.

Since they came to power in 1991, Tigray has had a disparate advantage of the rest of Ethiopia. Worse yet, the core of the TPLF manipulated the international community to exploit resources sent in the name of Ethiopia and diverted it to Tigray and, their private coffers. These diversions include defense, transportation and manufacturing and, according to various published reports,

“Tigray region was the single highest beneficiary of the massive aid and loan guarantees that was given to Ethiopia by international donors and partners. Schools, colleges, roads, airports, factories, and other infrastructure projects were carried out in the Tigray state while other regions were ignored and marginalized.”

Furthermore, the backbone of Ethiopia is being stripped. For example they have transferred The Air force of Ethiopia from Debre Zeit near Addis Ababa, to Asimba Tigray. One has to realize the economic impact of an air force base relocating from one region to another disadvantaging one region while giving advantage to another based on the spinoff economic advantage the base accords.

In addition, a new research conducted by the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, has indicated that the amount Ethiopia’s illicit capital flight amounted to nearly 25 billion USD. The Reporter also just released a detailed account of their corrupt practices.

The Core

The campaign for Greater Tigray by exploiting all political resources is underway. The aim of the defunct ethnic apartheid regime is to pin one community against another so they can perpetuate their hold to power. They promise Ethiopians access to sea while promising the fringe aspects of the Eritrean extremist groups opportunities to power. This is unspoken conspiracy by the Tigrayan minority that supports the idea of greater Tigray.

The reality however, in the name of development and growth, roads from Djibouti to Tigray is already established. And parallel to the roads railroad tracks are planned. On October 22, 2012, The Capital, a pro government website reported,

“The Ethiopian Government has requested an additional 300 million USD loan from India. On top of a previous loan of 300 million USD, promised by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The loan will finance the last leg of the Awash-Woldiya-Mekele railway project. The project will connect the Northern part of Ethiopia with the soon to be constructed Tadjourah port in Djibouti. Genet Zewdie, Ethiopian Ambassador to India, said that discussions are ongoing between the two governments on the possible modalities of the loan request. Thus far, contracts for the construction of two out of three sections of the large scale railway construction project have been awarded to Chinese and Turkish companies, with the former clinching the construction of the 268.2 Km Mekele-Woldiya/Hara Gebeya Railway project in June 2012. The China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) will build the line to Tadjourah at an estimated cost of about 1.6 billion USD.”

Here you have it. The establishment of the New Republic of Tigray at the expense of Ethiopia is underway. The railroad is a security blanket just in case if the sea outlet they are working to outmuscle Eritrea from fails to materialize as it did in 2000. It is also designed to facilitate the exploitation of the Potash of the Danakil region.

Pipe Dream

If one looks at the track record of this criminal entity, what becomes glaringly obvious is, in over 20 years, they have only sold Ethiopia and the region hegemony, political manipulations, violence and false economic development numbers. They have failed to bring peace, a key ingredient to any development program. A break down of their 20 years tenure chronicles war 1997-2000, false election in 2000, and perpetual conflict in Somalia, Ogaden and, The Hague decision process that consumed the then political climate. The Election massacre of 2005, in 2006, conflict in Somalia and since, there has been no hope or inclination for peace. That is because the minority clique cannot survive in a peaceful environment.

Therefore they have to sell conflicts, Ethiopia and Africa to the highest bidder and in the process, turned Ethiopia into a platform whereby Africa is bargained-out to Western and Asian interest unabated while, selling Ethiopian land and resources to the highest bidders.

This time however, fully aware that their hold to power after Meles Zenawi is slipping, and fully cognizant that this may be their only opportunity to realize the dream of Greater Tigray, have started a full fledged campaign to instigate yet another conflict cycle.

Conclusion

The people of Ethiopia and Eritrea will certainly share their borders, brotherly history, exchange their riches and, coexist in peace forever. They have no choice. To have any chance in sustainable development, the people of the region must come to realize that peace is the only way. To achieve peace, the TPLF must be scrapped by the people of Ethiopia and Eritrea. They are criminals that deserve justice for crimes that they have committed at every level throughout their history.

Their hands are soaked in blood during the war with Derg, war with Eritrea, in Somalia, Ogaden, Omo and everywhere. Nothing better can be expected. If they get their access to sea, will they do better for Ethiopia? History attests, NO. Hence, the people of Ethiopia, Eritrea and the region must stop regurgitating their propaganda and focus on cleaning the vermin once and for all.

Eritrea: Strategy for Defying the Sanction

By Mebrahtu Asfaha

 The health and well-being of a nation is derived from the efforts and personal dedication of each who stand as its individual citizen. The Eritrean spirit of perseverance  is manifested in its full glory, by its individual citizens, in recent years, when the country was invaded by the enemy, when the unjust sanction was imposed on the country, and when the cyclical effect of the nature such as drought has affects the country.

 

These manifestations of defiance are a testament to the Eritrean spirit of perseverance, and an explanation to the conceptual framework of Hade Libi Hade Hzbi. 

 

The linguistic significance of the Eritrean notion of Hade Libi Hade Hzbi has the connotation of population who has one heart. It is similar to the Latin term Unum Corpus formulated by Thomas Aquinas that has the connotation of one body, and this philosophical teaching presupposes that people of a given community should relate to each other as members of the same family.

 

There is perhaps no clearer testimony to the recent conceptual manifestation of Hade Libi Hade Hzbi in an Eritrean culture than the complete participation of Eritrean people, inside and outside the country, in world-wide peaceful demonstration, to challenge the unjust sanction imposed on their country.

 

Similarly, one can recall similar action taken to avert an enemy’s aggression. When Eritrea was invaded by Weyanne, people from all walks of life, notwithstanding their differences or their geographical proximity and distance to the land, contributed  immensely, and in great numbers, financially and otherwise to alleviate human suffering caused by the devastation of war.

 

Similarly, drought and abundance, traditionally, are two paradoxical opposite aspects of nature that affects the Eritrean farmer. It is with these two elements of nature that the Eritrean farmer has to struggle and wrestle, as it is, his harvest and livelihood. Through their cyclical effect, the elements of nature, sets the precise terms of the struggle, and in that sense it is nature, which ultimately determines whether it will be a year of bounty or famine. However, the Eritrean people never allow nature to set a limit to what human autonomy and human achievement could accomplish. The construction of Aligidir dam in Gash Barka, for instance, is a clear manifestation of combating the cyclical and natural drought by altering ones nature through sustainable environment in order to ensure food security, and implement the concept of self-sufficient.  Armed with a slogan of Hade Libi Hade Hzbi they take on the feature of a struggle to alter nature to their advantage with human action.

 

 

Thus it is from these facts and fragments of our culture that we seek to extract the constant principles of the human spirit and moral significance and to make maps that point the way toward our communal future.

 

Eritrea is a complex nation founded in human spirit and human relations forged on the battlegrounds of this century. Historians put our reality of human spirit and human relations in context, explaining Eritreaness to themselves based on this powerful slogan of Hade Libi Hade Hzbi  of remarkable depth and perception that sets high standard to modern interpretation of human relations.

 

In the past informative teachers and philosophers have attempted to construct the compelling concept of this slogan unto numerous civilizations, however only Eritrea has carried this quest into the new century.

 

We Eritreans are called to protect and safeguard the nation and the people. Traditionally, the concept of familial obligations i.e. looking after your children, parents (filial obligation), relatives, or after those who are endowed with less fortune occupies a prominent place in Eritrean culture. Those who have more are called to share with those who have less. This Eritrean concept of obligation keeps the community of people together who are otherwise relegated to different status.

 

For instance Augustine had asserted rightly that Caritas and utilitas proximi constitute fundamental human relations. Of course Caritas is a Christian precept of Charity regarded by Thomas Aquinas as the “highest virtue”. This concept is similar to the Quranic teaching of Alms found in the third pillar Zakat, in the Islamic faith.

 

Furthermore, utilita proximi could be translated as the interest of one’s neighbour or what we call in Tigrigna Bsay in its true camaraderie meaning as Halyot Bsaynet. However, only in Eritrea the word Halyot Bsaynet has quintessential meaning. In Tigrigna the word Halyot derived from Gsi or verb Haleye which connotes the utilitarian concept of loving concern of others, that is explicitly the same as Augustinian’s utilita proximi i.e. interest of one’s neighbour.

 

Those who have participated in the Eritrean armed struggle know by experience that Bsaynet demands self sacrifice. In Bsaynet the fundamental virtue is not the honour or power of this life, but the sacrifice that one endures to protect the welfare of the comrades. From the perspective of Bsaynet, therefore, a position of leadership stipulates something more than political responsibility which is paying with one’s life to protect the people under your leadership. Similarly, in private life Bsaynet calls to show a loving concern as well as to protect, and safeguard the welfare of those who are under our care or those who have less or those who are less fortunate.

 

In Western tradition, this concept of human relations was proposed by Augustine based on charity. However, unlike the Eritrean concept of obligation that makes essentially no political or religion distinctions, the Western notion of charity initially was based on principles of Christianity. The Latin term unum corpus formulated by Thomas Aquinas has the connotation of one body, and the teaching of charity presupposes that people of a given community should relate to each other as members of the same family. Similarly, the corresponding Tigrigna saying Hade Libi Hade Hzbi has the connotation of population who has one heart.

 

Hade and Libi are the Tigrigna nouns of one Ahaz (number) and Libi (heart) respectively. In Tigrigna one can observe the equivocal and singular nature of these nouns. But in contrast to this, the Tigrigna language, when referring to population where many cohabit, uses the noun Hzbi (population) to denote exactly the multitude of people. Even in Tekie Tesfay’s Tigrigna dictionary the noun Hzbi (population) is defined in its plural connotation.

 

Therefore, these terminologies represent something new in the history of the usage where Hade Libi (one heart) methodically describes the flow of blood that is life from one source – heart. Furthermore, the linguistic usage of Hade Hzbi (one population) faithfully preserves the equivocal meaning of multitude of people at the receiving end of the life sustaining element from one source that is one heart (hade Libi). A conceptual analysis of the compendium usage of Hade Libi Hade Hzbi, therefore, suggests a terminology to describe strong bond between people wherever they are and how different they are, and it corresponds to general human experience of love.

 

In conclusion words such as Libi (heart), Hzbi (population), Halyot (loving concern), Bsaynet (camaraderie), Halafnet (responsibility), evoke memory of responsibilities and sense of obligations towards our fellow human beings. They bring to our memory inevitable and inscrutable connection to our homeland that transcends human understanding. The aforementioned words are what we have in common with our people both at home and abroad. It is because of such explanations that the Eritrean notion of Hade Libi Hade Hizbi has no difficulty to manifest itself whenever the need arises, whether it is to fight famine, to challenge the unjust sanction, or to defend the nation.

The second scramble for Africa
 
Timothy Kalyegira
"The American company, NGEx Resources, announced in March that it had made
“an exciting new copper/zinc discovery” in the Aradaib area of northwestern
Eritrea, adding that this “gold content, high zinc and copper grade…could
represent a very significant new gold-rich massive sulphide discovery in a
new and unexplored area.”
As a continent, Africa remains at the margins of the world’s economy as it
has for the last 1,000 years and more. Television and photographic images of
Africa continue to be those of human misery, displacement, dirty
surroundings and backwardness.
It contributes only two percent of global trade, has only two percent of the
world’s Internet users, and is the poorest and least developed continent.
There are more refugees and internally displaced people in Africa and more
AIDS patients and victims than in any other part of the world.
In that sense, it is an unimportant part of the world order.
However, there are certain features about Africa that make it extremely
valuable - as there were in 1884 when the Berlin conference was called to
discuss parceling up this world’s second largest continent into geopolitical
spheres of influence and economic zones- and which in recent and coming
years will turn Africa into a global political, economic, and military
battleground nearly on the scale that the Middle East is today.
As it was in 1884, this very state of underdevelopment is what 125 years
later makes Africa such an important asset to the various competing world
powers.
A second, equally intense and self-seeking “Scramble for Africa” between the
major western and emerging world powers is now underway and the result could
prove devastating to the continent.
It will scuttle the national development plans of many countries, as African
states attempt to respond to the pressure from foreign powers desperate to
gain access to these vital resources.
It will exacerbate local ethnic and territorial tensions and conflicts, many
of them going back centuries. It will lead to unheard-of levels of
corruption as heads of state and their close aides act out the role of
vassal chiefs of 200 years ago as those earlier chiefs directly negotiated
with incoming colonial adventurers, missionaries and traders.
For the African states that try to hold onto their strategic resources,
there will be a return to the externally-orchestrated military coups,
assassinations and mutinies of the 1960s and 1970s.
The greatest threat to an African leader’s or government’s hold on power
will cease to be from opposition political parties or national uprisings,
but from powerful foreign governments and multinational corporations seeking
to control these strategic resources in Africa.
This very real insecurity to African regimes and leaders will in turn lead
them to focus their main energies on holding off external sabotage or
entering into alliances with one power against another, all of which will
result in the wasted 30-year period that marked African history from about
1960 to the end of the Cold War in 1990.


The greatest new resource discoveries,
Africa continues to possess vast quantities of the traditional high-value
minerals such as gold, bauxite, uranium, diamonds, cobalt, and other
minerals critical to world economic production. These were the minerals of
the 1800s.
However, in the last 15 years, apart from the traditional nations of North
Africa, Nigeria, Gabon and Angola, great new sources of petroleum oil and
natural gas have also been discovered in Sudan, Chad, Uganda, Equatorial
Guinea, Ethiopia, Ghana, and most likely more will be discovered in the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
Since June 2006, the UK-based oil firm Tullow has discovered what it says
are an estimated two billion barrels (or drums) of oil in north-central-west
Uganda in the Albertine sedimentary basin of Bunyoro toward the border with
Congo. Tullow Oil is also exploring for petroleum in Ghana.
In March 2010, Tullow Oil signed an agreement with the Ethiopian oil and gas
company, South West Energy Ltd, to explore the gas and oil reserves that
have been discovered in the Ogaden basin in southeast Ethiopia, in the
Somali Regional State populated by the ethnic Somali Ethiopians.
In Dec. 2005, South East Energy was granted exploring rights in a 21,187 sq.
km. area in the Ogaden Basin, an area where rebels of the Ogaden National
Liberation Front are staking a claim.
Two American companies, Africa Oil and Range Resources, say they have
discovered an estimated ten billion barrels of oil in the war-torn Somalia.
In February 2010, the American company Anadarko Petroleum discovered a huge
reservoir of natural gas off the Indian Ocean coast of Mozambique. Eni of
Italy, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), the state-oil
company of China, and Petronas of Malaysia are all at various stages of
exploration in East Africa.
Reported the American newsmagazine Time (sister to CNN) on March 12, 2010:
“Seismic tests over the past 50 years have shown that countries up the coast
of East Africa have natural gas in abundance. Early data compiled by
industry consultants also suggest the presence of massive offshore oil
deposits. Those finds have spurred oil explorers to start dropping more
wells in East Africa, a region they say is an oil and gas bonanza just
waiting to be tapped, one of the last great frontiers in the hunt for
hydrocarbons.”
The world’s largest petroleum consumer, the United States, now imports more
than 11 percent of its oil from Africa.
The talk in the global oil industry is that there might be oil and natural
gas reserves in and offshore Africa that rival those in the Middle East.
The American company, NGEx Resources, announced in March that it had made
“an exciting new copper/zinc discovery” in the Aradaib area of northwestern
Eritrea, adding that this “gold content, high zinc and copper grade…could
represent a very significant new gold-rich massive sulphide discovery in a
new and unexplored area.”
Apart from its wealth of traditional minerals, the Democratic Republic of
Congo has about 80 percent of the world’s reserves of Columbite-Tantalite,
or Coltan, the tar-like mineral used in such high-value digital-era products
as mobile phones, digital cameras, laptop computers and video cameras.

Why is Mr. Bereket Simon Terrified by “Shabia’s slogan of Hade Libi Hade Hzbi”?

Why is Mr. Bereket Simon Terrified by “Shabia’s slogan of Hade Libi Hade Hzbi”? 

The Failed Political Intrigue of Weyane is Here Again 

Mebrahtu Asfaha 

Ethiopian’s Head of Government Communication Office Mr. Bereket Simon, in his recent paltalk discussion with Eritrean opposition, and Semrr Youth group characterized the linguistic and practical significance of the Eritrean notion of Hade Libi Hade Hzbi as “Shaebia’s propaganda”. 

In the spirit of fairness, before him, incomparably better and more thorough is the attempt by former United States ambassador to Eritrea, Mr. Ronald K. McMullen, to write the political culture of Eritrea embodied in the wikileaks documents. 

Thus, the stirring opening lines of the wikileaks –“Engaging Eritrean Diaspora” -came into being. The ambassador described the Eritrean mobilization process in the most beautiful prose anyone had ever heard that transcends poetry. He stated that 

            “Eritreans tend to form tight-knit communities abroad. … Many ex-fighters believe Eritrea to be a shining example of heroism and accomplishment. … Political exiles have either lost credibility by being associated with Ethiopia or have faded into the background. … The youth are the most vocal group. They dominate discussions on social media networking sites; they build websites, establish magazines, and form student groups at universities. While many diaspora youth see themselves as American, British, German, Australian, and so forth, they also don an "ultra Eritrean" persona when necessary. Diaspora youth are very protective of Eritrea and, while they are only in Eritrea for a few weeks at a time, will vehemently defend the country against criticism. . As this is the case, it is diaspora youth that are the best hope for outreach efforts geared towards promoting dialogue on Eritrean politics and society. Whether for or against the GSE, diaspora youth across the board are ready to speak their minds and should be a top priority when funding NGOs and programs focused on engaging the diaspora. End Summary.”1 

Scarcely 5 years have elapsed (most of Wikileaks about Eritrea is written in 2007-2010) since ambassador McMullen’s pronouncement of engaging, and smuggling Eritrean youth than Mr. Bereket Simon’s desperate attempt to engaging the Eritrean Youth. Thus, it is a continuation of, and a fulfillment for the detailed instruction given by the Ambassador of dividing the cohesive Eritrean community. 

Mr. Bereket thus works into McMullen’s plan a quantity of material drawn from the wikileaks evil design of dividing the people, enticing violence, and reorganizing the youth. Mr. Bereket Simon’s strategy is simple – follow Ambassador McMullen’s instruction as follows: 

“Post recommends three ways for NGOs applying for DRL or other USG funds to successfully engage the diaspora and encourage critical analysis of the GSE: 

Focus on non-political groups. Direct engagement with Eritrean opposition groups, such as the EDA, will likely be dismissed by moderate diaspora Eritreans as an attempt to overthrow a peaceful government. Working with non-political groups, such as Eritrean student associations, will provide credibility and will not immediately be dismissed as having a political motive. 

- Let Eritreans lead the discussion. A panel discussion on religious freedom in Eritrea should be led by Eritreans and not by outside analysts. While it is difficult to find Eritreans willing to talk about these issues, it is well worth the search. A discussion devoid of Eritreans will, again, be dismissed by the diaspora. 

- Give the youth an alternate voice. As of now, the YPFDJ is the primary outlet for young Eritreans in the diaspora to express pride in their culture. Currently, there is no non-EDA aligned counter to the YPFDJ. Encouraging young Eritreans to create their own group and providing them opportunities to promote Eritrean culture and dialogue will ultimately increase the space for discussion”. 2 

They Failed to Engage the Eritrean Youth. 

Although they failed to engage the Eritrean youth, for now, however, the question which has so much exercised the minds of men is why Eritrean political opponents (whether internal or external) are so powerfully, and incomprehensibly terrified by the manifestation of Hade Libi Hade Hizbi in the Eritrean polity. 

The simple answer, the concept of Hade Libi Hade Hizbi, is the highest idea conceived and actually realized in the Eritrean political cultural. Moreover, Hade Hizbi Hade Libi, is not only a slogan, it conceals a penetrating insight. It is not only a direct outcome of the preaching and political instruction of Shabia as they want us to believe; not merely a teaching put into practice, but more, much more, no one has apprehended so powerfully its mystic idea than the Eritrean enemies themselves. 

What Is It Then? 

The slogan is the imaginative conception of Eritrea cultural expression that brings peace and harmony. The slogan is also a sword that shreds into pieces the evil Weyane’s design of divide et impera. Furthermore, the slogan is also a magnificent political tool to foil political intrigues, to repel illegal sanctions, and overcome economic underdevelopment. 

The slogan is nothing, but simple political strategy that Eritreans use all over the world to restore the country’s dignity, not through food aid or other forms of western alms, but through their own thoughts and strengths. The slogan is a dream conceived not laid on the shores of the Red sea in sleep (although that is our inalienable right that we have earned through our struggle), but awake in the mountains of Sahel by our own sweat and blood. In short, the formation of such a slogan and the arising of the idea that Hade Libi Hade Hizbi as a political strategy to defend our country are not two different things. They are one and the same thing, they coincide and synchronize; the slogan is the imaginative conception of the Eritrean people, the first movement of our revolution, and the cultural expression of our experience. 

The Disappointment 

Mr. Bereket Simon and Ambassador McMullen exhausting work would have led one to expect a success in their intrigue, but they failed miserably. Consequently, Ambassador McMullen complained 

‘Eritrean youth as being an "ultra Eritrean", that the “diaspora youth are very protective of Eritrea”, and “their unwavering dedication likely stems … from the ever-present hand of the Young People´s Front for Democracy and Justice (YPFDJ) to enforce a "proudly Eritrean" identity. The YPFDJ bills itself as a movement to build "strong, conscious, and patriotic Eritrean youth." The sub-goal is to strengthen support abroad for the PFDJ and the GSE. The YPFDJ website, youngpfdj.org, is littered with editorials aligned with GSE viewpoints, such as "NGOs and the Victim Industry." Social networking sites abound with YPFDJ groups (37 groups on Facebook and a newly formed Twitter account as of October). Although many YPFDJ gatherings are merely cultural exhibitions or parties, the youth involved are indoctrinated early on in pro-GSE propaganda, thus further fueling many diaspora youth´s overt infatuation with Eritrea and vehement defense of the GSE”. 3 

Therefore, It must be extremely disappointing for the political novices such as Mr. Bereket Simon and ambassador McMullen (in comparison to Eritrean experience) to observe their attempt to engage the Eritrean youth fail miserably through this simple political strategy of Hade Libi Hade Hizbi. The shaft, which they have driven into Eritrea people as a psychological war, broke down in front of them, and destroyed their dream for, and the possibility of influencing Eritrean politics and dividing the most cohesive Eritrean people. 

No sooner is a great idea of destruction and division dead by the sword of this slogan than Eritrean enemies busy conceiving another idea. Although Eritrean enemies could occupy themselves in perpetuity in designing new strategy to undermine the country, Eritrea has only one simple tool – Hade Libi Hade Hizbi. 

The failure of their evil design is due to intense hatred and the shallowness with which they grasp Eritrean political culture, and that they have become blind to history by examining it too microscopically. Thus, for Eritreans these individuals are mere ignorant about the Eritrean political culture. Remember when ambassador McMullen was talking about high officials not attending president Isaias Afewerki’s birthday. Similarly, Mr. Bereket Simon gives advice to Eritrean youth instead of dying crossing the Sinai Desert would be honorable dying fighting. This is exactly to what is referred as examining it too microscopically without understanding the socio-cultural environment, and political culture of the people. Eritreans will never fight their own people. Although, this kind of political analysis is common occurrence among political novices, however, it is less expected from seasoned politicians. 

Nevertheless, the fits of failure to which they are subject, and the need to implement their grand evil design of dividing Eritrean people and fomenting conflict is so great that it has become an obsession for them to create and organise meetings and conferences everywhere. In the past, we have seen a meeting organized in Awasha for the youth, in Addis Ababa for the intellectuals, and in Mekelle for civil societies and political parties; and flatter themselves that they have succeeded and found a solution to the Eritrean problem. Thus, Mr. Bereket Simon attempts to recruit at the refugee camp and his subsequent failure is similar to what ambassador McMullen experienced when he complained, “Refugees wish to flee indefinite national service or GSE persecution, but are often unwilling to speak out against the GSE”. 4 In short, the response from the refugees is simple that they do not want to be recruited against their own country. 

The Time is Past for Pronouncing Judgment 

It is unfortunately that in this controversy the highly important political figure in Ethiopia, Mr. Bereket Simon, has failed to discuss important issues of peace, and the implementation of border. The impulse in the direction of progress of peace, which might have been given top treatment, failed to take effect in his discussion. Instead Mr. Bereket emphasised support for political oppositions that the ambassador characterised as “political exiles that have either lost credibility by being associated with Ethiopia or have faded into the background”. 

Now the time is past for pronouncing judgment upon the criticism of our slogan. For us the criticism of these men is irrelevant because Weyane’s political intrigue, and United States opposition and hostility naturally would have caused any country in the Horn of Africa to be fragmented, as is the case in Somalia and the Sudan, but not in Eritrea. The reason is the slogan is our creation. The formation of such a slogan and the arising of the idea that Hade Libi Hade Hizbi as a political strategy and as modus vivendi are not two different things, they are the same thing, and they coincide and synchronize. The idea is the imaginative conception of the Eritrean people, the first movement of our revolution, and the cultural and political expression of our experience. In addition, Eritreans will fling this slogan to the world as a gift as imaginative conception of our cultural and political expression that will bring peace and harmony to humanity. 

  

Footnote 

1. Engaging Eritrean Diaspora. 

Classified By: Ambassador Ronald K. McMullen for reason 1.4(d). 

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION01 OF 03 ASMARA 000426 

SIPDIS 

DEPT FOR AF/E AND AF/RSA DEPT FOR DRL, S/P, AND S/GPI LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS 

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/13/2019TAGS: PREL, PREF, PHUM, PGOV, SOCI, ER 

SUBJECT: ENGAGING THE ERITREAN DIASPORA 

REF: ASMARA 267 

2. Ibid. Engaging the Diaspora. 11 (C) 

3. Ibid. The Youth. Section 9 (C) 

4. Ibid. 1 (SBU) 

who is Nighisti Semret?

by SAM B.

27 October 2012

The plague of yellow journalism that has infiltrated into every facet of media, information gathering and delivery systems, as a result of commercialization and commodification of these systems, has blurred the boundary between information, misinformation and entertainment.  In every news item it is increasingly difficult to identify where the real information, entertainment and/or propaganda begins or ends. Nothing is spared. Not even the dignity of victims of brutal murders.

A brutal stabbing and killing of an African woman, Nighisti Semret, in the streets of Toronto, Canada, is by the hour shaping up to be another fodder for insensitive profit-driven sensationalist reporters and news agencies.

The story of Nighisti Semret is in fact intriguing in what it reveals about the weakness, the flaws and deliberate abuse of Canadian Immigration policy and systems, by none other than Canadian Immigration agents and United Nations refugee organizations.

Despite the larger issues this murder inadvertently uncovers, the murder of this poor victim is being manipulated for other sinister motives, as Joe Warmington’s two back to back stories for the Toronto Sun, filed on October 25 and 26 , reveal. Fundamental facts and evidences are been ignored in order to fashion a fiction out of this tragedy.

Joe Warmington on his October 26 report writes:

“Could that motive have stemmed from a scam from her former country where refugees are shaken down and threatened to pay a special tax back to their homeland or face retribution?”

Like most, I learned of this incident on the Internet. An email was not long in coming soliciting for funds to send her body to Eritrea to be buried, and to help her kids in Eritrea – as is customary in our community. Moved by her story I called the Embassy in Toronto. Where I was informed “it will not be possible to send her body to Eritrea”. Naturally, I asked why? The gentle voice replied: “well, she has nobody in Eritrea”. Puzzled, I enquired more. The voice interrupted me to say: “look the poor soul is not Eritrean, she is Ethiopian”.

In retrospect, naively, I added, ‘but all the papers said she is Eritrean’. I assumed that the issue was the usual confusion; Eritrean and Ethiopians are very much alike after all. I was summarily disabused of that notion. The poor lady’s story is in fact far more complicated than a simple confusion. I was again told by the embassy personal that the police have contacted them and the police have been notified of her identity, the same goes also for the newspapers and reporters.

Further enquiry revealed that Nighisti Semret is in fact an Ethiopians who falsely claimed to be Eritrean when applying for asylum in Canada. The is common with Ethiopian asylum claimants as Canada gives easier entry to Eritreans. Canadian authorities are very familiar with this problem. The Eritrean community in Winnipeg, Manitoba has brought it to their attention when the community was surprised to receive Ethiopians claiming to be Eritreans when Canada allowed a group of refugees (Nighisti Semret may have been one of), some years back. Since then the government of Canada, UNHCR and others have made claims of improving the system to identify false asylum applicants. Still, there is no saying how many infiltrators, not only Ethiopians (including criminals and terrorist), may have utilized similar methods to enter Canada? Nobody should blame Nighisti Semret or anyone for trying to escape the hellhole life is in Ethiopia (or other parts of East Africa), and the constant deprivation and famine this place is plagued by.

However, a real reporter would have recognized the larger story and its potential impact to Canada, or the human tragedy this is. But Joe Warmington after initially reporting, appropriately, of a “suspect robbing older women just before this horrible incident in the same area”, changed gears and attempted to pin the murder on the government of Eritrea, without the smallest connection or evidence on pure speculation, by implying a frivolous tax collection issue (on a non citizen of Eritrea, an Ethiopian to boot, to whom the taxes could not apply), is beyond ridiculous. It is beyond the usual sensationalism and is the crassest of yellow journalism there is. The contrived connection Joe’s article attempts to make is just simply a poor attempt at manufacturing cheap propaganda.

Even for the tabloid the Toronto Sun is, a minimum decorum, even if credibility is out of question, demands for one to attempt to appear at least to be fair and balanced. These newspapers ought to have reported with minimal sensationalism and should have regard for facts and details. Most importantly respect this human tragedy for what it is than manipulate it for their political end.

To their credit the leaders of the Eritrean Community with the full knowledge of Nighisti Semret’s identity did not interfere in the prayer or vigil held for her. They in fact fully supported it. As one community leader put it; “she has no one, Ethiopian or otherwise, she is our sister, too.” RIP.

 ንኺድ ድኣ ንኺድ ጥራይ!

ድምቀትና፡ ከም ድጕሒ ኣዒንቲ

እንተኸድና’ንድዮም ነቢሖም ብለይቲ

ጉዕዞና’ንድዩ ኣቕኒእዎም፡ ብቐትሪ።

ንኺድ ድኣ ንኺድ፡ ዝኸደ’ዩ ዚበጽሕ

ንድመቕ ድኣ ድምቀትና ኪመርሕ

ሓድነት እኳ’ዩ፡ ብርሃን ዘብርሕ

ጽንዓትና’ዩ ጸላኢ ዘብሕርር።

ጻዕርና፡ ጥዕና ከምዚኸልእ

ሰጉምና’ንድዩ ዓይኖም ደም ዝመልእ

ንኺድ ንጽዓር ድኣ፡ ዚጸበበ ይጽበቦ

ካብ ኢድና’ዩ ሕፍኒ፡ ካብ ኢድና’ዩ ካዕቦ።

ጽዋእ ርትዒ፡ ጎረሮ ክምዝሓርድ

ሓቕና’ንድዩ፡ ዘብሎም ስግድግድ

ተነሲሓ፡ ምስ ቆርበት ዓለም

ንበል ድኣ ቅልናን ሕድርናን’ዩ እቲ ቐለም።

ውህደት ረምታና፡ ኣብ ትኽሎን ኣብ ንቕሎን

ስምረት ቃልና ኣብ ‘ንገብሮን ‘ንብሎን

ጥምረትና ‘ንድዮም ዝስእንሉ ድቃስ

ማእዶና ዚምሑስ፡ ኣይነፈሰን ንፋስ።

ወግሐ-ጸብሐ ኣልመት ቀዪርካዩ ጽላሎት

ፍሕሶ ቅሑር ልቢ ናይ ቅንኢ ጻዕረ-ሞት

እንተሳጸና’ንድዩ ‘ዚ ኩሉ ሕንጣጦ

መንግስትና ኣሚና፡ ዓቐብ ይኹን ቁልቁል ብሓባር ክንወጾ

ተመስገን ልዕሌና መን’ሞ ከይፈልጦ።

ተ.ት. (ኣስመራ)

SECRET BEHIND WITHDRAWAL OF SG’S ERITREA REPORT FROM UN WEBSITE EXPOSED

By Security Council Report,

On 29 August, the Secretary-General reissued the report on Eritrea (S/2012/412) initially circulated to Council members on 8 June.

In resolution 2023 of 5 December 2011 (which condemned Eritrean violations of resolutions 1844, 1862 and 1907 and imposed new measures to prevent Eritrea from using the diaspora tax or revenues from its mining sector to commit further violations), the Council had requested the Secretary-General to report on Eritrea’s compliance with the provisions of that as well as previous relevant resolutions.

While it is not uncommon for the Secretary-General toreissue reports for “technical reasons” (usually followed by an asterisk ‘*’ at the end of the document symbol), in this case the new version had been significantly revised, replacing the 8 June report altogether with no indication in the new document that it was reissued.  The withdrawal and later revision of the original report seem to be surrounded by some controversy and further analysis may be of interest.

As reported in our July Monthly Forecast, soon after receiving the Secretary-General’s report on Eritrea on 8 June, Council members were informed in a letter that it had been withdrawn. The official explanation was that it needed to be revised because of some omissions in the first version and that it would be reissued later in the month.

The withdrawal of the report seems to have caused some consternation among Council members. Most members seemed to agree that the report did not offer much added value (it was seen as providing a summary of already known facts), but they were not satisfied with the explanation offered for the withdrawal even after it was discussed with the Secretariat in informal consultations under other matters. The Secretariat apparently alluded to the fact that the report had not met Council members’ expectations.

While the matter was not openly discussed, it seemed widely understood that these complaintscame from the US and that the Secretariat had been under pressure to withdraw the 8 June report. In particular, it appears the US argued that any reference to the lack of progress in the implementation of the decision of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) would be outside the Secretary-General’s reporting mandate. (It should be noted that it was apparently the US that initially pushed for resolution 2023 to include the request for a report, whereas other members were less convinced about the usefulness of asking the Secretary-General to report on something that was essentially one of the main tasks of the MonitoringGroup on Somalia and Eritrea.)

When comparing the two versions of the report (both can be found on our website atwww.securitycouncilreport.org), one of the differences is indeed that the 29 August reportcontains no reference to the unresolved border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea as a relevant issue, whereas the 8 June report in paragraph 44 states that

“The lack of progress in the implementation of the decision of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission continues to negatively affect the multifaceted and complex regional dynamics in the Horn of Africa and the normalization of relations between the two countries. A comprehensive approach should be adopted by states in the region, IGAD [the Intergovernmental Authority on Development], the African Union and the United Nations to address the broader aspects of the conflict in the region, including the long-standing border stalemate.”

Apart from this, a main difference is that the 29 August report is considerably shorter than the first report (four pages instead of eight). The descriptive part is shorter and has been updated to reflect the conclusions of the report of the Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea, which came out on 13 July (S/2012/545). Both versions emphasise that the Secretariat “does not have independent means of assessing Eritrea’s compliance with the provisions of resolution 2023.”  The 29 August version also notes that “the report of the Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group provides authoritative information on Eritrea’s record of compliance with the provisions in resolution 2023.”

Among Council members there was clearly some unease about the procedural aspects of the handling of the report, with some describing it as unprecedented. There was also concern aboutthe future impact of perceptions that the Secretariat had given in to outside pressure. At this point, however, there does not seem to be any interest in pursuing these issues further.  Also from a more substantive point of view, Council members seem to agree that the report does not merit further consideration. As is clear from its conclusions, the report adds little to the analysis already presented by the Monitoring Group, whose report was thoroughly discussed in July by the 751 and 1907 Sanctions Committee on Somalia and Eritrea.

The Monitoring Group reported that it found no evidence that Eritrea was directly supporting the terrorist group Al-Shabaab but that in all other respects Eritrea had failed to comply with Council resolutions and remained a destabilising force in the region. Following these discussions, the US proposed six additional sanctions listings for approval by the Sanctions Committee, including two Eritrean nationals: Tewolde Habte Negash and Abraham Goitom. (The same individuals were designated for sanctions by the US Department of Treasury on 5 July.)

So far, Council members have agreed to designate only two of the six that were proposed. There is a hold by some members on the other four, including the two Eritreans, and it seems unlikely that the hold on the latter will be lifted any time soon.  Also, it appears there are some differences in the Committee over the Monitoring Group’s recommendation to send a letter to Eritrea to request information on Djiboutian prisoners of war, with Russia having refused to agreeto a draft letter proposed by India in its capacity as Committee chair.