Saturday, December 31, 2005

Admas Wishes you all .....

Happy new year ! 2006 Gott nytt År !

Thursday, December 29, 2005

Urge African states to take action on human rights abuses in Eritrea



10 December - We appeal to the African Union Heads of State and Government to acknowledge and take action on the Government of Eritrea’s ongoing violations of the rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association, as well as the rights to fair trial and due process of law.

Eritrea’s consistent and gross violation of human rights has stifled the country’s civil society into silence and almost complete disappearance. These abuses are well documented by international and African human rights organisations, as well as the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR).

There are currently no independent political parties, media, human rights organisations, or other critical civil society operating in Eritrea. Thousands of individuals suspected of being critical of government policies have systematically been silenced through arbitrary arrests and detentions. Since 2001, many former cabinet ministers, outspoken political leaders, trade unionists and journalists have been detained incommunicado and held without any charge. The few existing civil society organisations are restricted by Eritrea’s draconian NGO law which imposes unreasonable registration and funding requirements, and forbids registration of any NGO working outside relief and rehabilitation. Any gathering of more than seven people must have government approval.

Although the 1997 ratified Eritrean constitution recognises the rights to freedom of conscience, religion, expression of opinion, movement, assembly and association, the rights to human dignity, equality, life and liberty, and the rights to fair trial and due process of law the Eritrean government nevertheless has refused to implement it.

Among many other violations of rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association, and the rights to fair trial and due process of law, include:

· Among numerous other political prisoners, eleven former high-ranking government officials who openly called for democratic reform and the implementation of the 1997 constitution, have been held in secret detention without charge since September 2001. The ACHPR, at its 34th session in November 2003, urged Eritrea to immediately release and compensate the 11 detainees. The ACHPR found the State of Eritrea in breach of Articles 2 (entitlement without discrimination to the enjoyment of human rights enshrined in the Charter), 6 (right to liberty and security of person), 7(1) (right to fair trial) and 9(2) (right to freedom of expression) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

· Three trade union leaders, Tewelde Ghebremedhin, Minase Andezion and Habtom Weldemicael were arrested in March and April this year, and they continue to be held without charge.

· Although the Eritrean constitution allows for freedom of expression, no independent media have been allowed to operate in the country since the government banned the free press and jailed independent journalists in September 2001. At least 10 journalists continue to be held in secret prisons without any formal charges laid against them.

· The Eritrean constitution allows for freedom of religion, however, the government consistently violates the rights of religious minorities. Following the 2002 government decree, which requires all religious groups to register or cease religious activities, Eritrea closed all religious facilities not belonging to the four approved religions (Eritrean Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Eritrean Evangelical and Islam). The government continues to refuse to register any of the minority groups that apply for registration and arbitrarily restricts their religious meetings. Members of religious minorities, including Jehovah Witnesses and Pentecostal church have been subjected to indiscriminate arrests. The disappearance of a number of Muslims has also been attributed to their religious beliefs. There is estimated to be over 1,000 people currently detained for their religious activities.

· The right to freedom of association is consistently and systematically violated by the Eritrean government. There are currently no human rights organisations in Eritrea monitoring or reporting on human rights in the country. The NGO Administration Proclamation (No.145/2005) introduced in May 2005 codified already existing restrictions, placing unreasonable registration requirements on NGOs and limiting the few NGOs in Eritrea to relief and rehabilitation work. If a NGO works in areas such as human rights or legal advocacy, its activities could be deemed subversive and its members could be charged and imprisoned.

We urge African states individually and as members of the African Union to acknowledge and take action on the continued violations of the rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association, as well as the rights to fair trial and due process of law by.


1) Publicly expressing concern about the deteriorating human rights situation in Eritrea, and condemn the gross violations of human rights being perpetrated by the Eritrean government;
2) Publicly urging the government of Eritrea to comply with the November 2003 ruling of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights and end the secret detention without trial of all political prisoners, human rights defenders, trade unionists and journalists;
3) Encouraging the Government of Eritrea to actively implement the 1997 constitution and to recognise and enforce the rights and freedoms which it guarantees and vows to protect;
4) Placing the human rights situation in Eritrea on the agenda of the African Union’s January 2006 Assembly of Heads of State and Government.

For more information, contact CIVICUS: World Alliance on Citizen Participation at cswatch@civicus.org or 27 11 833 5959, or the Eritrean Movement for Democracy and Human Rights at managment@emdhr.org or (+27) 12 4404749.

Signatory Organisations:
CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
Eritrean Movement for Democracy and Human Rights, South Africa
Eritreans for Human and Democratic Rights - UK
OTHERS TO BE ADDED

Eritrea and Ethiopia could face UN sanctions if they don't take steps to avert war.

Africa wary of new border war

By Abraham McLaughlin | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA – On the surface, the reasons for rising tensions between the African nation of Ethiopia and its tiny neighbor, Eritrea, may seem trivial. The two are on the verge of restarting the bloodiest interstate war in Africa in recent memory, ostensibly over a border town called Badme - a desert outpost with just 5,000 people.
But dig deeper into the precarious internal situation both regimes face, as well as the region's interlaced alliances, and it's clear the dangers of a reignited war are great for the region.

Ethiopia, for instance, is an anchor of strength and relative stability in its broader region, which includes volatile Somalia and Sudan. How it reacts toward Eritrea - with aggression or restraint - may determine the region's progress in coming years.

In all, how Ethiopia-Eritrea tensions are resolved "is going to define Ethiopia's role in the region" - and, to a large extent, the region's future, says Matt Bryden of the International Crisis Group in Pretoria, South Africa.

The growing focus by the United Nations and others on preventing war highlights the importance of the conflict. UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guéhenno, for instance, visited Eritrea recently to try to defuse tensions. But top officials refused to meet him.

Both countries failed to comply with a Nov. 23 Security Council resolution that gave 30 days for: Ethiopia to begin work to demarcate its border in compliance with a 2002 decision by a UN-sponsored Boundary Commission; Eritrea to lift restrictions on the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE); and both countries to pull back troops on the border to their December 2004 levels. Failure to meet these requirements means both countries could face UN sanctions when the Security Council deliberates on the issue next month.

The UN recently pulled US, Canadian, and European peacekeepers out of the border zone - after Eritrea ordered them to leave. Eritrea's move was widely seen as exasperation with the UN's failure to enforce the 2002 ruling that awarded Badme to Eritrea. Ethiopia has refused to abide by the ruling.

Eritrea's not-so-subtle threat is that if it doesn't get Badme it will restart the 1998-2000 war - a World War I-style conflict in which both sides hunkered down in trenches and sent waves of soldiers into enemy fire. Some 70,000 were killed.

In unpacking the reasons for the tension, several things are crucial.

One is that internal political dynamics threaten both governments. "This is about regime survival for both of them," says Alex de Waal, an Africa expert at Harvard University.

Indeed, the question of Badme is tricky for Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. His troops conquered the town in the recent war. Then the Boundary Commission told him to give it back. His hard-line critics see it as a point of national pride that Ethiopia should keep Badme. "If you had just fought and won on the ground - and then were told to surrender those gains," it's problematic, explains Mr. Bryden. "People might try to assassinate him" if he concedes, adds Admore Kambudzi, an official at the African Union, a kind of UN of Africa based in Ethiopia's capital.

One hint of Mr. Meles's insecurity is his harsh response to criticism. With election-related violence plaguing the country for several months, 131 opposition figures were charged this month with treason.

Eritrea's regime, meanwhile, is one of Africa's most repressive. In a country of just 4.5 million, it has imprisoned 15 journalists - more than any other country except China and Cuba - according to a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists.

President Isaias Afwerki's government also has many internal enemies, including dozens of political dissidents who have been imprisoned. "The only way for him to stay in power is to say, 'Ethiopia is coming to get us,' " says de Waal.

Also a key reason war between the two could cause wider trouble is because Ethiopia is a major power in a tough neighborhood.

"What the region is looking for - and needs - is a power that guarantees stability through predictable behavior," says Bryden. This stability is what Ethiopia has sought to provide, and is the reason donor countries have been reluctant to press the government too hard.

But if Ethiopia continues to reject the 2002 Boundary Commission ruling, Bryden says, it will cement its reputation as acting by "might rather than right," which will "make all the neighbors worried."

Eritrea also has the capacity to stir up trouble in the region, experts warn. It financed arms for Somali Islamic extremists in the mid-1990s, de Waal says. And it has ties to Darfur rebels in Sudan, which it could encourage to stoke the war there.

Thursday, December 22, 2005

”Alenalki.com ብዛዕባይ ዝጸሓፍዎ ቃለ-መጠይቕ ውጹእ ሓሶት’ዩ” ጋዜጠኛ ስምረት ስዩም



ክሳብ ሕጂ ካብ ቤት ማእሰርቲ ካብ ዝወጽእ ብጸቕጢ ይኹን ብፍታወይ ዝገበርክዎ ቃለ-መጠይቕ ከምዘየለ ከረጋግጽ ይፈቱ::

ኣብ ኣስመራ ኣብ ዝነበርኩሉ ጌዜ ግን ኣባላት ናይ http://www.alenalki.com/http://www.bidho.com/ ን ካልኦትን ክሳብ 7-8 ዝኹኑ ሰባት: ገለ ካብኣቶም ደሳለ ካብ ሽወደን ክብሮም ካብ ጀርመን ኤልያስ ኣማረ ካብ ኣስመራን ካልኦት ኣስማቶም ዘይዘከርክዎምን ብተደጋጋሚ ጌዜ:

1. ቃለመጠይቕ ክገብር
2. ሪፖርተር ክኾነሎም
3. ይቕሬታ ክሓትት
4. ጋዜጣታት ዓበይቲ ጌጋታት ከምዝፈጸማ ክኣምን
5. ጋዜጠኛታት ጌጋታት ከምዝፈጸሙ ክውንጅል
6. ጉጅለ 15 ብቐጥታ ይኹን ብተዘዋዋሪ ምሳና ርክብ ከምዝነበሮምን ጉጉያት ምኻኖምን ክኹንን:
ዝብል ርእይቶታትን ሓሳባትን ዝትሕዝትኡ ዘረባታት የቕርቡለይ ከምዝነበሩ ይዝክር::

ንቃለ-መጠይቕ ይኹን ንኻልእ ፍቓደኛ ከምዘይኩንኩውን ብንጹር ሓቢረዮም እየ::
ብመልሰይ ስለዘይዓገቡ ድማ እዮም ምሳይ ቃለ መጠይቕ ከምዝገበሩ ኣምሲሎም ዘውጽእዎ ዘለው::

ዕላማ ናዚ ጽሑፍዚ ድማ ኮነ ኢልካ ዝግበር ዘሎ ስመይ ንምጽላምን ንምዕጻው ጋዜጣታትን ምእሳር ጋዜጠኛታትን ሙኽኑይ ጌርካ ኣብ ህዝቢ ተቐባልነት ንምርካብ እዩ:: እዚ ድማ ናይ ዓቕሊ ጽበት ከንቱ ፈተነ እዩ::

ኣብ ቤት ማእሰርቲ ንበይነይ ኣብ ሸላ የእዳወይ ብፌሮ ተኣሲረ ከሎኹ ተጋጊና ዘይበልኩስ ነጻ ምስ ወጻኹ ተጋጊና ዘብል ዝኮነ ምኽንያት የብለይን::

ንኹሉ ሰብ ብሩህ ክኸውን ድማ መርገጺየይ ብዛዕባ ጋዜጣታትን ጋዜጠኛታትን እዚ ዝስዕብ እዩ:

1 ኩሉ ጌዜ ኣብ ትሕቲ ዝኾነ ይኹን ከነታት ጋዜጣታት ክህለዋ ኣለወን ዝብል ተሪር መርገጺ ኣለኒ
2 ጋዜጠኛታት ኣብ ነጻ ቤት ፍርዲ ቀሪቦም: ቤት ፍርዲ ገበነኛታት ክሳብ ዘይበሎም ነጻ ሰባት ሙኻኖም ከምዝኣምን ንኹሉሰብ ከብርህ ይፈቱ::

ኣብ መወዳእታ እዚ ዘለኽዎ ሃገር ሕጋውን ዲሞክራሲያውን ነጻን ስለዝኾነ ነዚ ብዛዕባይ ኣውጺኦሞ ዘለው ናይ ጸለመ-ጽሑፍ ኣብ ዝቕጽል ቀረባ መዓልታት ብሕጋዊ መንገዲ ክተሓሓዞም’የ::

ስምረት ስዩም
21 ታሕሳስ 2005
ሽወደን

ንዝያዳ ሓበሬታ በዚ ዝስዕብ ናይ ኢመይል ኣድራሻ ክትረኽቡኒ ትኽእሉ
semret_2006@yahoo.com

ንዝያዳ መወከሲ ናብዚ ዝስዕብ መርበብ ሓበሬታ ጠውቑ::
http://www.alenalki.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1450&Itemid=2

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Bitweded Abraha: 13 Years Solitary Confinement For A National Hero!

By Elsa Chyrum - London, United Kingdom
Dec 14, 2005, 23:35 PST

Bitweded Abraha was born in Asmara (Edaga Hamus) in 1953 from his father Ato Abraha Asfaha and his mother Weizero Kidisti Teweldemedhin.
He attended school in Asmara until he completed his fifth grade. He continued his schooling (from grade 6 to 12) at St. George Secondary School in Mendefera. Long before he left for the field imbued with strong national feeling, he was working with Eritrean Peoples Liberation Front in underground operations of the town.
It was sometime in 1972 when he applied for a job after the end of a school year to what was a Japanese copper mining company in Debarwa. But job offers depended on who one knows and he wasn’t able to get one. He wrote a letter and gave it to the person responsible by hand. A school friend of Bitweded later said that the letter contained threatening material. His friend had told him not to deliver the letter and that he could be imprisoned; to which Bitweded replied, "Even if I am imprisoned, the truth will never be imprisoned. Moreover, you should know that whoever puts me in prison will never sleep in peace."
Contents of the letter contained, "…maybe you have forgotten that this land belongs to Eritreans. You maybe working for a foreign company for now but you will see the truth tomorrow…"
Soon after, he was imprisoned for about two weeks and was released on bail. However, before he was due for a hearing and as part of his assignment to recruit fighters, he was taking 21 students from St. George Secondary School to join the armed liberation struggle when 2 of them changed their mind and returned from near Ala to Dekemhare and reported him to the authority. He left town before attending the hearing and joined the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front in January 1973.
After completing his military training, he joined a fighting army in Sahel area and was engaged in battles
At the end of 1974, he moved to the southern area of the Eritrean highlands and took army duties. In early 1977, he worked as a political commissar and after attending the first EPLF congress, he was voted as a non-permanent member of the Central Committee. Later, he became Head of the Department of Transport and worked in that position until the end of 1979.
He was then given the position of Deputy Head for the Department of Education. He was a talented leader. He strongly believed in education and raising awareness rather than using methods that reinforce military discipline and punishment. He encouraged and worked hard to implement and promote sports and cultural programmes and activities. His ability and devotion made him very popular with the fighters and especially among the younger generation.
When he was assigned to work in Revolution Schools, he made an immediate impact on the pupils. He managed to shift the urge to go to battles to spending some time on education, sports and cultural activities. Under his leadership, the ethos of ‘criticism and self-criticism’ which was divisive and which created animosities among pupils during the previous administration was abandoned. Children were taught to love, take responsibility and respect each other rather than merely criticise each other. His ideas and innovations were received with great enthusiasm and he was much loved and respected by his pupils.
His skilful and civil abilities focused on transforming and developing the fighter irrespective of age and gender. He was determined to change the methods to achieve these ends by opting for education and understanding rather using strict discipline and punishment.
In 1983, the EPLF declared a campaign to eradicate illiteracy. Bitweded Abraha became the head of the operation and managed the programme from his office at Adi Tsetser for quite some time. During the most difficult times of those years, he represented the Central Committee in areas behind enemy lines in managing military and educational operations. He was different from other leaders in that he didn’t distance himself from the lower ranks. He was travelling to all fronts (north, south, east and west) to uplift the morale of the fighters and many of them still remember all these. He was relatively younger than most leaders of that time and he had a better approach in communicating and understanding the needs of ordinary fighters.
From education department, he was moved to the military section and became a branch head for military and food supplies. He was determined to promote and apply the practice of self-reliance. He managed to rear sheep and chickens and sell them to markets in Sudan; secured the purchase of writing pads, pens and pencils and incorporated these to bigger programmes. He set up training sessions to those in responsible positions. This was to upgrade their skills in managing their responsibilities. There are still fighters who thank him for helping them to acquire skills.
He also arranged the purchase of TV and video equipment to spread educational films and programmes and to help entertain and develop ordinary fighters.
In 1990, he was moved back to the military section.
He used his usual skills to lead, serve and encourage fighters in many battles. During the last years of the liberation struggle, he headed a commando unit and was engaged in battles in the vast expanse of eastern desert and, together with Gherezgiher Andemariam (Wuchu), led the fighting army to capture the Port of Assab.
When in Assab, although he was the Deputy Administrator, in reality, he was the administrator. He was administering the Dankalia region including the military personnel and civilian population. Gherezgiher Andemariam (Wuchu) was the Administrator but he was not skilled in civilian administration.
Bitweded is a courageous man. He is the type of person who speaks his mind and doesn’t bow his head easily. It is this strong character that put him in conflict with Isayas and later contributed to his imprisonment.
It all started not long after May 1991. Isayas Afwerki, the then Secretary General of the EPLF, declared free access to the Port of Assab to the newly established Ethiopian government without due consultation with high-level Eritrean officials.
At that time, Bitweded Abraha was Deputy Administrator of Assab. He openly reminded and warned Isayas Afwerki of the blunders committed when Badme area was similarly put under Woyane administration back in 1984.
Later on, Isayas ordered Bitweded to let Ethiopia acquire all the assets it lost after the capture of Assab. Bitweded replied back by saying, "…these assets were captured and shouldn’t be returned because it cost Eritrea the blood of young Eritrean martyrs…"
Isayas perceived Bitweded’s strong opposition as an affront to his authority. That was when the weaving of traps to imprison Bitweded began in earnest.
Soon after, the Ethiopian government offered to pay the salaries for port and refinery employees of Assab. Bitweded again refused to accept the offer by declaring that Eritrea is an independent state and that the salaries should be covered by Eritrea. He insisted that both countries need to establish their relationship just like those terms done between nation states.
Eritrea’s financial condition was in a poor state. Bitweded came up with an idea. He wrote a letter to Romadan Mohamed Noor, the then Head of that region.
There happened to be a large amount of bottled whisky in Assab. It was part of what was captured when the port was taken. Bitweded suggested that if these could be sold to Ethiopia, they could cover two to three months of salaries for those working at Assab port and refinery and help other Eritrean establishments run their activities in Assab. He added that each Eritrean fighter in Assab be given two bottles of whisky for free.
Romadan supported the idea and gave the permission by sending a letter to Bitweded.
Not long after, Isayas Afewerki and Meles Zenawi signed an agreement that allowed Ethiopia to use the facilities of the Port of Assab without restrictions. And again, Bitweded expressed his dissatisfaction and insisted on consulting and discussing these matters with concerned officials and on the need to base the relationship in accordance to the standard relations of two independent nation states.
The Ethiopian government was not at ease with these differences. There were some who heard Isayas and Meles talking about these inconveniencies in relation to Bitweded’s reactions. It came to pass that Bitweded’s strong stand translated to an accusation that sales from the bottles of whisky had been put to his [Bitweded’s] personal use and on this unverified ground, Bitweded was put in prison in October 1991.
His imprisonment was not made public. For almost 6 months, his family and his colleagues in Army Unit 07 were kept in the dark. They were told he had left the country to study abroad. However, as it was later on revealed the main reason for the imprisonment of Bitweded was his popularity as it was so wide-spread among the fighters that it was believed to have something to do with threatening the power base of Isayas Afewerki. News about his imprisonment was also spread all over, but Bitweded couldn’t defend himself. His name was tarnished but it didn’t last long simply because there was no evidence to maintain the accusation.
Within a year of Bitweded’s imprisonment, Ato Abraha Asfaha approached Isayas Afwerki and asked about his son’s imprisonment. Ato Abraha was assured that his son would be released soon. It was only meant to delay his release.
There was a time when Bitweded’s father openly asked Isayas Afwerki to bring his son to a court of law. Ato Abraha Asfaha declared that "…his son is a person of good deeds and that many people know that. The Eritrean people are kind people and I would ask them to help me pay the fines if my son is charged and found guilty of embezzlement."
It is reported that Isayas Afwerki told the father to leave and was ill-treated by security officers before he left the offices. He could not pay any more visits to complain because security officers turned him away every time he tried.
In 1992, Bitweded’s father, Ato Abraha Asfaha, met Petros Solomon (the person who was reported to be in charge of Bitweded’s case) and asked him about his son. Petros said, "It’s OK father. It’s only a temporary thing. He will be released soon." Ato Abraha said, "Listen son, we all make mistakes and so please tell me what he did. I will do all I can. Just tell me the crime he committed. My son and I have many well-wishers. If you need someone to bail him out on their lives, I can bring ten of them." Petros Solomon couldn’t say much. He said, "It’s OK father. We need not go that far. Don’t stress yourself. He will be released."
Later on, Ato Abraha Asfaha met Ali Said Abdella, the head of internal security and asked him to clarify the case of his son.
Ali Said Abdella replied, "Father, your son is dearer to us than to you. There is no one, including myself, above Bitew [Bitweded] who did more for this country in terms of courage and self-sacrifice. Don’t worry father. He will be released soon. Maybe you are not happy because you did not see him long enough and that is natural. Otherwise, he is in a good place. It is just that he is imprisoned for the sake of it but he is not being kept like a prisoner as such. There is no problem. As for being obstinate, it seems he got it from you. But you need not worry.
He [Ali Said Abdella] talked like this because he knew what Bitweded had said to Isayas Afwerki.
Later, Ato Abraha is reported to have said, "I saw my son after he survived all that hell and he got imprisoned just before I could see him for the third time. It is not fair! And all this for the flag he fought for! May you not be bitten by a dog you raised!"
Ato Abraha died with grief in September 1993.
In 1995, Bitweded was able to escape prison through the help of a student from the Revolution School, he knew during the struggle years. He hid at his godfather’s house. He could have crossed the border to neighbouring countries, but due to his belief, confidence and love for his mother land, he didn’t.
He called Isayas Afwerki by phone. Bitweded asked for three hours of conversation with Isayas – at a place and time convenient to Isayas.
He also met and discussed with some officials like Mahmood Sheriffo, Petros Solomon, Haile Wolde Tensae (Drue) and others for about 2 to 3 hours. He talked about his case and clarified the issues surrounding his imprisonment. After he finished, he told them that they could take him to prison, and he was put back in prison. Afraid of what could happen, it is reported that Isayas Afewerki didn’t accept the invitation and never attended the meeting.
Bitweded, even in prison, was determined, and he wrote two books:
Democracy in Eritrea – on the need to remove dictatorship and fight for democracy in Eritrea and;
Civil War and its aftermath – on Eritrean civil war of the 70s and 80s and lives lost; on those who went mad with power and the consequences brought on the Eritrean society
In his second book, he recalls the first woman martyr who died in the civil war. "She was killed by her brother’s bullet. Would it not have been better had she lost her life fighting the enemy?" He ponders.
During the early years of his imprisonment, he used to say to close visitors that he would be released when war breaks out with Woyane. True to his predictions, he was released in May of 1997 - not that long before the all-out war broke out along the borders of Eritrea and Ethiopia.
When he was taken to a special court and told that he would be released on the day by a group of judges that comprised of colonels and brigadier generals, Bitweded said, "I am not a dog that you can order to come in or go out! I am a veteran fighter. I was the head of an army unit you were part of [pointing to one of the judges who was a brigadier general]. You cannot tell me to come in or go out without a rule of law. Those who have the power to release me must at least have the rank of a major general. Even then, they will have to state the crime I committed or make it clear that I have committed no crime in accordance to the rule of law and I will accept it only when it is put in writing. Therefore, you either bring a new set of judges or send me back to prison again."
They told him to wait outside.
After talking with someone on the phone, they called Bitweded back and told him that no other person can come at this moment and ‘in accordance to his choice,’ he will be returned to his prison cell, and he did.
At about 9:00 in the morning on 24th December 1997, Bitweded was told that he was going to a special court to be released and that he would be talking to Sebhat Efrem, the Minister of Defence and a Major General.
He was taken to Beleza and was told by Sebhat Efrem that he was not guilty of any crime and that he would be paid his unpaid salaries and would also be compensated for miscarriage of justice. All these were put in writing and it was given to him.
He was then taken to Hamassien Hotel and he stayed there.
Soon after, his relatives and friends arranged to take a journey and visit his father’s grave at Adi Mengonti. He placed a bunch of flowers on his father’s grave, and the people of the village had gathered around to express their condolences.
That is when he delivered the following speech.
Dear Respected Guests
I am grateful you are all here with me today to pay your respect on the day I am visiting my father’s grave. May you not be visited by sadness!
We are your fruits. We struggled. You gave us your support but you were not paid back in kind.
I strongly believe you will keep on struggling to establish a democratic government and that it will demand more. A heavy responsibility is awaiting the younger generation.
Do not be confused. There are so many Eritreans who only have their own personal interest in mind, but pretend as if they have a national interest at hand.
The Government of Eritrea has claimed and spread rumours that I was put in prison because of a financial scandal. I was put in prison because I believed in establishing a democratic government. The Government of Eritrea knows this. It could have brought me to a court of law. It never did.
Five years later, I was released. There was no explanation and none was given to the Eritrean public in any form of national media simply because they couldn’t charge me with anything.
Except for a veteran fighter Omar Hakito who spoke to Isayas Afwerki, no other senior Eritrean government official has raised my case.
Difficult times lie ahead and hence, let’s not let ourselves be fooled. You have to keep on struggling as usual.
The speech was received very well and, soon after, to visit three parents of martyred fighters and due to an invitation by his former students from the Revolution School, Bitweded went to Dekemhare. There, he delivered a speech that conveyed the same spirit to a huge crowd of older guests, young students and friends who knew him during the long struggle for the independence of Eritrea.
Not long after, Bitweded was openly talking about the rising dictatorship in Eritrea and the negative effects it would have on Eritrean society and that people of Eritrea should fight for their democratic rights. It was also clear that the reason for his imprisonment was not as it was alleged, but it was a problem that started with the key personalities – Isayas and Meles. To back his argument, he was showing evidences which he had kept.
He openly started his campaign in order to clear his name and also to share his vision of what he predicted that Isayas would be a dictator. Isayas Afwerki was not happy with these developments. Afraid that this could cause an uprising that might cost him dearly, he decided to put Bitweded and some of his sympathisers in prison two months later.
After the death of Ato Abraha, Weizero Kidisti (Bitweded’s mother) had taken the responsibility to follow up their son’s issue. Long before the armed struggle for the independence of Eritrea spread to the highlands, she was travelling back and forth to see her son since 1974. She had a good knowledge and relationship with the fighters and their ranks. When Sebhat Efrem was around Mendefera in 1976/77, she used to know him very well. It is said that is the reason why she charted a new footpath by so many walks to his office trying to find out about her son.
Sebhat Efrem used to give her so much hope by saying, "Bitweded will be released soon."
She had met Isayas Afwerki in his office in 1998. When she asked him about her son, it was reported that the following is what he said.
"Mother, Bitweded is a hero. I like him. He has fought and worked for the independence of Eritrea with the back and front of his hand. But he was put in prison because he didn’t respect us. And you don’t need to worry much, mother. I will make sure he will be released in a few days time."
Although she knew that he [Isayas] was trying to fool her, she thanked him and returned home.
Six months later, she went back to Isayas’s office again. When he saw her standing outside the entrance while he was entering in, he gave orders to his guards not to let her in. One of the guards tried to push her beyond the premises.
She shouted back, "Don’t touch me! You ignorant! My son is not like you!"
One other guard said, "Please leave her alone. She is the mother of Bitweded. It’s because her son is in prison."
In addition to the above, she has approached and asked Sheriffo, Al’amin and Romadan at different times to release her son from prison.
One day, she went to Sheriffo’s place and asked, "My son, how many times do you have to tell that he will be released soon? What will you say other than he is an obstinate person? You all say the same thing. Is my son the only obstinate person? And even if he is, is it not for his country? Why are you not obstinate? When you were fighting in the front, we all thought you were lions and obstinate fighters. Have you lost it now? This country is not in good hands. Who is fighting for it and who doesn’t care? My son is fighting for his country and he is in prison? When you share his fate, you will remember him then!"
It is reported that he shook his head and couldn’t reply back.
Maybe it is because of the above exchange that when a high level meeting chaired by Isayas Afwerki was convened in Dongollo, Sheriffo raised the issue of Bitweded and asked why nothing has been said about Bitweded and why it has not been made public yet. Isayas is reported to have said that it was outside the agenda of that day and that it will be discussed in due course of time.
Not much longer, Weizero Kidisti was ill. When relatives suggested she should go to a hospital, she is reported to have said, "I don’t need medical care. If Sebhat Ephrem could only allow me to see my son, please take me there."
They took her to Beleza on a stretcher. General Sebhat Ephrem told those who brought her to step outside and told her in private that they cannot let her see her son and that Bitweded was imprisoned by direct orders from President Isayas Afwerki."
In the year 2000, Kidisti Teweldemedhin passed away. She followed her husband without ever seeing her beloved son again. Thousands attended her funeral. Those who knew the family very well were in deep sadness. His brother was crying while saying, "…dear brother… my mother is being buried…won’t you come to bid farewell?" All were in tears.
The suffering Bitweded went through has affected his personal, family, close relatives and friends lives. Bitweded was married in 1985. They had a daughter in 1987. He didn’t even see her growing up. His daughter is brought up without her father’s love and affection. It’s told that his wife, after waiting so long, left him and she also left the country.
As if he didn’t fight in the wilderness and spent all his youth for the independence of Eritrea, Bitweded wasted further 13 years of his life in a solitary confinement. He is still there in a very poor state. Since his first day of imprisonment, Betweded is still not charged and has never been brought to a court of law.
As if he wasn’t a lion living in the wilderness, Bitweded is being kept in a hole like a fox.
This courageous, visionary and brave veteran fighter has been uncared for, and the Eritrea he fought for has been unkind to him. As if he did not fight for the rule of law and justice, he has been denied those rights.
But, his heroic story will not be forgotten. Bitweded Lives!

Elsa Chyrum
London – United Kingdom
9 December 2005

Ethiopia and Eritrea: Think twice before using force

Conflicts over border disputes have flared up recently between the two brotherly neighbors of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Both countries built up forces along the border area in bitter confrontation.

For the safety of the peacekeepers, the first batch of 90 peacekeepers of the United Nations (UN) withdrew from Eritrea on Dec. 15.

Peace-loving people, who cannot help worrying about a war that can be ignited at once, sincerely ask the two countries to think twice before taking any action.

Ethiopia and Eritrea had better first of all consider the consequences of resorting to force.

The conflicts between the two neighboring brothers arise from the border issue.

Ethiopia and Eritrea once were one country. Eritrea announced independence in May 1993 after a referendum. However, the two countries have serious differences in the issue of border demarcation, which unfortunately fell as the last straw before the war. Five years later, the author went to Eritrea and saw sadly women plowing on pell-mell fields.

The two brothers, both poor, should have made use of the already limited resources and capitals to develop their economies and improve people's livelihood. Against people's expectation, the war erupted and made the situation even worse. In retrospection of the war, the two sides should have been more sensible and less impulsive before using force.

Second, both sides are advised to look forward to the benefits brought by a peaceful solution.

It has just been out of the understanding that war can be destructive for both sides that has cooled the clashes in some hot spots on the African continent over the recent years. From the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan to Somalia, fighting parties are replacing explosive with bread, gunpowder with fence. Peacefully solving conflicts and defusing enmity with talks have become the top choice of the wise which has received wide appreciation from the international community.

Back on the Ethiopia-Eritrea issue. The border conflict in 1988 could be appeased not because of forceful attacking but peaceful negotiation. It was ended with both sides signing an all-round peace agreement. Practice has proven once and again that war can only seed hatred and create new contradictions, therefore is of no help to a permanent resolution of any problem.

Third, the two countries should take into consideration the necessity of conducting cooperation with the UN.

In today's world, the UN is playing a growingly important role in a number of issues such as safeguarding global peace and eliminating regional conflicts and has won universal support and trust from its large camp of members. Going with one's own way and bypassing the UN have been regarded as illegal and unjust and will definitely be condemned by the international community. The superpower United States has been widely and severely criticized for waging the Iraq war without the UN authorization.

The UN authority should be respected and the UN members should observe UN resolutions.

In recent years, no gunshot has been heard in the border area between Ethiopia and Eritrea, which is closely attributed to the UN setting separation belt and stationing peacekeeping personnel there. Of course, a permanent solution to the Ethiopia-Eritrea border issue will also be impossible without UN coordination and participation. At present, Eritrea, having prejudice against the UN, issued "no-fly order" for the peacekeeping helicopters in the separation belt and demanded peacekeeping personnel leave. The forces of the two countries are again gathering at the border area.

For this, the UN Security Council has adopted the Resolution 1640 (2005), demanding both countries withdraw their forces and Eritrea immediately revoke its "no-fly order". The Security Council also issued a chairman's statement, once again calling for Ethiopia to accept the judgment made by the independent boundary commission on the Ethiopia- Eritrea border.

At the moment when the border area is at the swords' points, Ethiopia and Eritrea should keep a sober mind, listen to the advice from the UN, bury the hatchet with efforts to peacefully solve their border dispute.

By People's Daily Online

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Eritrea vill straffa Sverige”


Läget för Dawit Isaak är mycket osäkert. Efter ett läkarbesök under måndagen har Sveriges ambassadör inte längre någon kontakt med honom. För familjen hemma i Sverige är förtvivlan stor.

Journalisten Dawit Isaak är 40 år har både svenskt och eritreanskt medborgarskap. Han arbetade för tidningen Setit i Eritreas huvudstad Asmara, när han och flera andra regimkritiska journalister i september 2001 fängslades av myndigheterna.

Sedan dess har ingen säker information funnits om var han suttit fängslad, vad han anklagats för, om han fått något juridiskt ombud, när rättegång skulle hållas eller ens hur han mått.

I mars i år fick stödföreningen för Dawit Isaak det första livstecknet på tre år, via en person som haft kontakt med honom i fängelset.
Stödföreningen för Dawid Isaak och människorättsorganisationer som Svenska Amnesty och Reportrar utan gränser samt Svenska journalistförbundet hör till dem som har varit pådrivande för att svensken skulle släppas fri. Regeringen har valt att agera främst med hjälp av tyst diplomati, men har fått kritik för att inte tillräckligt kraftfullt ha begärt uppgifter om Isaak.


För Dawit Isaaks familj och vänner i Sverige är förvirringen total. Under gårdagskvällen kom en rad motstridiga besked från Eritrea.
– Alla signaler jag får nu här i Asmara pekar tyvärr på att han fängslats igen, sade Bengt Sparre, Sveriges ambassadör i Eritrea först.
Bara minuter senare – vid klockan 18:30 – såg läget plötsligt ljusare ut.
– Det verkar som att han är ute. För tillfället i alla fall. Här är ingenting säkert, säger Bengt Sparre.

Det var Dawit Isaaks vän Leif Öbrink, som leder stödgruppen, som fick beskedet efter två dagar utan ett livstecken från Dawit Isaak.
– Vi vet nu med säkerhet, från en väldigt säker källa, att Dawit fortfarande rör sig fritt. Däremot får han inte alls ha kontakt med Sverige, säger han.

När Eritreas informationsminister Ali Abdu i måndags sade att Dawit Isaak endast var ute tillfälligt för en läkarkontroll vidhöll Bengt Sparre att det inte kunde vara sant. I dag riktade informationsministern, via nyhetsbyrån AFP, hård kritik mot den svenske ambassadören för att ha kommit med ”ogrundade uppgifter” om frisläppandet.
Leif Öbrink är bedrövad över de motstridiga rapporterna som han måste ge till Sofia Berhane, Isaaks fru i Sverige.
– Det är så hemskt det här. Sofia vet inte vad hon ska tro och hon är orolig för sin mans säkerhet. Hon bara gråter och gråter, säger Khaled Abdu, vän till familjen.

Nu försöker han, eritreansk journalistkollega till Dawit Isaak, tillsammans med Leif Öbrink få familjen att orka kämpa vidare.
– Det här är abnormt. Först tror alla att han är fri. Sedan kommer det här. Regimen spelar ett mycket grymt spel, säger Khaled Abdu.
Enligt honom agerar den eritreanska regeringen efter känt mönster. Tidigare ”frisläppanden” av fängslade oppositionella har följts av att de gripits igen. Ibland har den katt- och råttaleken slutat i att politiska fångar som släppts istället kallats in för att göra militärtjänst.
– Från ett litet fängelse till ett större men farligare, säger han.

Simret Seyoum, som även han satt fängslad i Eritrea för ”olovlig journalistik” innan han lyckades fly, menar att bara en enda faktor skiljer fallet Dawit Isaak från andra fängslade:
Å ena sidan, säger han, har den internationella uppmärksamhet som den fängslade svensk-eritreanen fått blivit besvärande för Eritrea. Inför ett hotande gränskrig med Etiopien behöver Eritrea goodwill.
Å andra sidan:
– Den eritreanska ledningen vill straffa Sverige för det tryck som satts på landet. Att såhär sätta familjen i ovisshet kan helt enkelt vara en hämnd, säger Khaled Abdu.
Enligt Bengt Sparre säger representanter för eritreanska myndigheter bara att individen är oviktig och att Dawit Isaak, genom sin journalistik, begått en kriminell handling.

Eritreas ambassad på Lidingö vill inte kommentera fallet.
I Asmara tar Bengt Sparre nya tag.
– I morgon bitti ska jag höra med Stockholm hur vi ska gå vidare nu. Arbetet fortsätter naturligtvis.

ህግደፍ ህጻናት ኣቖልዑት ናብ ሳዋ ይወስድ!

ስርዓት ህግደፍ ኣብ ዝሓለፈ ቀዳም ቁጽሮም ብርክት ዝበሉ ትሕቲ ዕድመ ኣቖልዑት ካብ ዝተፈላለየ ከባቢታት ኣስመራ ንኸተማ ረቢሾም ብዝብል ምስምስ ናብ መዓስከር ሳዋ ከምዝወሰዶም ካብ ኣስመራ ዝተረኽበ ዜና ይሕብር.
እዞም ቖልዑት ብብዝሒ ተማሃሮ ዝርከብዎም ክነሶም ብጎልባብ ናይ ከተማ ጸጥታ ዘሪጎም ብምባል ካብ መኣዲ ትምህርቶም ኣጎናዲቡ ናብ እቲ ዘይረዊ ጽምኣቱ ናይ ወተሃደራዊ ምልመላ ከምዘወሰዶምን ወለዲ እዞም ቖልዑት እውን ኣመት ደቖም ንምፍላጥ ናብ እካላት መንግስቲ ይመላለሱ ከምዘለው ክፍለጥ ተኻኢሉ ኣሎ.

Avvisning firades av Migrationsverket

Champagneskål utlovades till personalen på Migrationsverket efter avvisning av en asylsökande familj.

Tjänstemän på Migrationsverket i Solna firade en utförd avvisning av en asylsökande familj i november förra året med att dricka champagne på kontorstid i verkets lokaler i Solna.
Det uppger Dagens Nyheter som tagit del av ett mejl som skickats till personalen.
Där står bland annat: "På fredag ska vi fira ihop med AM2 kl 15.00 i deras kök. Jag hoppas att ni alla kan avsätta en kvart innan i vårt kök då vi tänkte infria xx:s (handläggarens namn) löfte om champagne efter det att en viss familj lämnat Sverige." Mejlet avslutas med "Så varmt välkomna till vårt kök 14.45 för en skål."

Kritik
Avsändare av mejlet är samma beslutsfattare som i november i år lämnade information om ett antal misstänkta fall av vanvård av asylsökandes apatiska barn. Senare framkom att Migrationsverket inte anmält fallen vidare till socialtjänsten, något som ledde till stark kritik mot verket.
Ett förtydligande mejl skickades ut till medarbetarna dagen efter. Där skriver beslutsfattaren att "vi inte firar att just den familjen rest och på vilket sätt".
Enligt uppgifter som DN tagit del av ska liknande firningar ha skett flera gånger sedan avvisningar skett.

Dawit Isaaks kollega: Vi vet inte ens var han befinner sig









Semret Seyoum tror att
Eritreanska regeringen ändrade sig.

Vad hände egentligen med den svenske journalisten Dawit Isaak, var han på väg att bli frigiven från fängelset i Eritrea eller var det en missuppfattning? Dawit Isaaks kollega, Semret Seyoum, som bor i Sverige, tror att man drog in frigivningen av Dawit när man såg vilken uppmärksamhet den fick.

Semret Seyoum lyckades fly landet

Först fick Semret Seyoum höra att kollegan blivit släppt från fängelset. Men sedan sade regeringen att Dawit Isaak bara varit tillfälligt frisläppt av medicinska skäl.

– Men varför kom han då hem? Det rimliga vore att han fördes till sjukhus och sedan direkt tillbaka till fängelset, resonerar Semret.

Semret Seyoum bor idag i en liten enrumslägenhet i Bjästa i Örnsköldsviks kommun. Han jobbade med Dawit Isaak på Eritreas största nyhetstidning, Setit.

En dag för fyra år sedan beslutade regeringen att arrestera flera oberoende journalister. Dawit var en av dem som greps. Semret lyckades hålla sig undan och försökte lämna landet men greps vid gränsen mot Sudan.

Efter ett år i fängelse blev han inkallad till militärtjänst. Efter det lyckades han lämna landet och idag finns han i Sverige, som kvotflykting.

Han har inte en aning om vad som kommer hända med Dawit Isaak och de andra journalisterna.

– Vi vet inte ens var de befinner sig, säger han.

British minister assails Eritrea over border

Monday 19 December 2005 01:52.
Dec 18, 2005 (ADDIS ABABA) - Britain's junior foreign minister for Africa Saturday accused Eritrea of building up tensions with Ethiopia by placing restrictions on the UN mission (UNMEE) monitoring the disputed border between the countries.


"The decision to remove, the order to remove some detachments of those UNMEE forces, the decision to prevent helicopter flights by UNMEE forces raises tension," said David Triesman, a parliamentary under-secretary of state with responsibility for Africa.


"I think that's a mistake and we are trying to convey that to president Isaias (Afwerki), although at present he is not willing to see representatives of the international community."


Triesman said it was "absolutely critical that everybody deals with the UNMEE forces in the way that the United Nations specified, and that everybody takes seriously resolution 1640," which ordered Eritrea to reverse its order expelling UN peacekeepers earlier this month.


The soaring tensions along the Ethiopian-Eritrean border have raised fears of a new war between the rival Horn of Africa neighbors.


Triesman said that Ethiopia was complying with the UN order. "In terms of moving troops back to a safe distance from the border, prime minister Meles (Zenawi) has been able to demonstrate that he has done so," he added.


Triesman confirmed to reporters that Britain had suspended part of its aid to Ethiopia following the post-election violence that took at least 48 lives last month in one of Africa's poorest countries. But he said this was part of a general review of aid spending.


"There has been no cutting of aid," he said. "The whole of the development aid is right now under review."


"We remain completely convinced that the need to provide aid in respect of some of the poorest people in the world remains a commitment."


But he added, "we need to find ways of ensuring that aid gets directly to the people."


(AFP/ST)

Monday, December 19, 2005

بريطانيا تتهم اريتريا بتأجيج التوتر مع اثيوبيا

اديس ابابا: اتهم مساعد وزير الخارجية البريطانية ديفيد تريسمن، اريتريا امس السبت "بتأجيج التوتر" مع اثيوبيا من خلال فرض قيود على مهمة الامم المتحدة لاثيوبيا واريتريا.
وقال تريسمن في تصريح صحافي ادلى به مساء امس في اديس ابابا، ان "الامر بابعاد بعض فرق قوات مهمة الامم المتحدة لاثيوبيا واريتريا وقرار منع الرحلات التي تقوم بها مروحيات هذه القوة، يؤججان التوتر. واعتقد ان ذلك خطأ".
واضاف الموفد البريطاني الذي قام بزيارة استمرت يوما واحدا لاديس ابابا "من الضروري جدا ان يتعاون الجميع مع قوات مهمة الامم المتحدة لاثيوبيا واريتريا بموجب القواعد التي وضعتها الامم المتحدة، وان يأخذ الجميع على محمل الجد قرار" مجلس الامن الصادر في 23 نوفمبر.
واوضح انه لم يحصل على الموافقة للاجتماع بالرئيس الاريتري ايساياس افورقي على رغم طلبه، وغادر اثيوبيا مساء السبت حيث التقى رئيس الوزراء ميليس زيناوي.
وطالبت اسمرة الاسبوع الماضي بمغادرة اعضاء من مهمة الامم المتحدة لاثيوبيا واريتريا وخضعت الامم المتحدة لمطالب السلطات الاريترية وانهت امس الجمعة ترحيل عناصرها الذين شملهم قرار الابعاد.
ومنذ بداية اكتوبر، تمنع اريتريا ايضا مروحيات مهمة الامم المتحدة لاثيوبيا واريتريا من التحليق فوق اراضيها.
وفي 23نوفمبر، تبنى مجلس الامن قرارا طالب بموجبه اريتريا بالتوقف عن عرقلة عمل قوات الامم المتحدة تحت طائلة فرض عقوبات، وطلب من اثيوبيا الاسراع في الموافقة على ترسيم الحدود بين البلدين لكنها لم تلوح بأي تهديد.

ويأتى ذلك فى الوقت الذى استكملت الأمم المتحدة سحب 180 من موظفيها الغربيين من اريتريا أمس وهو الموعد النهائي الذي حددته اسمرة لطرد قوات حفظ السلام التي تراقب حدودها المتوترة مع اثيوبيا.

وذكرت صحيفة " الشرق الاوسط " نقلا عن "جيل بيندلي تيلور سينت" ، المتحدثة باسم بعثة الأمم المتحدة في إثيوبيا واريتريا، ان آخر شخصين على متن طائرة ركاب عادية غادر هذا الصباح.. ونعكف الآن على شحن المتعلقات.

وتعمل الأمم المتحدة منذ أمس على توزيع موظفيها الاميركيين والكنديين والأوروبيين بشكل مؤقت في إثيوبيا بعدما أمرت اريتريا بخروجهم.

وغادر رئيس مهمة حفظ السلام التابعة للأمم المتحدة "جان ماري جويهينو" اريتريا أمس بعدما أخفق في إقناع أسمرة بالعدول عن قرارها طرد الغربيين

Friday, December 16, 2005

Missing Eritrean diplomat presumed kidnapped

By Gedab News
Dec 15, 2005, 15:33 PST

Mr. Menghis Mekonnen, the Third Secretary at the Eritrean embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, is missing. He was last seen two nights ago at the residence of Mr. Andeberhan Berhe (“Wedi Berhe”), the First Secretary and Chief of Intelligence at the Eritrean embassy to Sudan. Sources believe that he was kidnapped by the PFDJ, the ruling party in Eritrea.

A few months ago, Menghis traveled to Asmara and got married but returned alone when the government would not grant his wife an exit visa. Undeterred, his wife crossed the Sudanese border and joined her husband in Sudan, where they had been living as a family for the last two months.

Shortly after his wife joined him, the diplomatic passport of Menghis Mekonnen was revoked.

Asked by the wife on the whereabouts of her husband, Wedi Berhe responded that Menghis had left his (Wedi Berhe’s) residence in the Riyadh district of Khartoum, in a taxi, at about 8:00 PM local time. The same day, Eritrean officials from the embassy visited Menghis’s home to retrieve his documents and other belongings but the request was refused by his wife.

Background

Menghis Mekonnen had been assigned to the Eritrean embassy in Khartoum since 2000. A veteran EPLF fighter, he had been a radio operator for the front.

Acts of kidnapping, which the EPLF, now PFDJ, described as “the long arm of the front”, are not uncommon in Eritrea’s history. Some of the better known cases include Woldemariam Bahlibi and Teklebrahan Ghebresadiq “Wedi Bashay”, two executives of the opposition party ELF-RC who were kidnapped from Sudan on April 26, 1992.

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

ስርዓት ህግደፍ ንቡዙሓት ዜጋታት ይኣስር::ስርዓት ህግደፍ ፈተነ ቕትለት ኣብ ልዕሊ ዲክታቶር ኢሰያስ ፈቲኖም ብምባል ንቡዙሓት ዜጋታትይኣስር ከምዘሎ ካብ ኣስመራ ዝመጸ ሓበሬታ የረጋግጽ:: ካብዞም ኣብ ቀረባ ጌዜ ዝተኣስሩ ሰባት እዞም ዝስዕቡ ይርከብዎም::
1.ዑስማን ጅምዕ ጃዊድ ኣምባሳደር ኤርትራ ኣብ ኣቡዘቢ ነበር

2.ማሕሙድ ኪዳን ቆንስል ኣብ ዝተፈላለየ ሃገራት ኤውሮፓ ዝነበረ

3.ኢድሪስ መሓመድ ዓሊ ህቡብ ድምጻዊ

4.ጅምዕ ስዒድ ከሚል ጋዜጠኛ ኤርትራ ኣልሓዲሳ

5.መሓመድ ኣደም ሸልሸል ጋዜጠኛ ኤርትራ ኣልሓዲሳ

6.ሰላሕ ቀርየንት ሰራሕተኛ መንገዲ ኣየር ኤርትራ

7.መሓመድ ጅምዕ ኣረይ ሓላፊ ፖሊስ ኤርትራ

Friday, December 09, 2005

Top UN officials sent to Ethiopia and Eritrea after latter’s request to oust UN staff

USG Guéhenno
8 December 2005 – Following the UN’s rejection yesterday of Eritrea’s request for the pullout of personnel of specified nationalities, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has decided to send two top United Nations officials to the Horn of Africa to assess the situation on the ground and suggest next steps to improve it, a spokesman for the world body said today.

Mr. Annan has requested the head of the UN peacekeeping department, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, and the UN military advisor, General Randir Kumar Mehta, to leave as soon as practicable for Ethiopia and Eritrea, whose ongoing border dispute erupted into war between 1998 and 2000.

The UN has already conveyed a message to the Eritrean authorities that it cannot accept their request for a pullout, within 10 days, by staff of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) who originate from the United States, Canada, Europe and Russia.

Both the Secretary-General and the Security Council have demanded that Eritrea rescind its request, which is inconsistent with the fundamental principle of the universality of the peacekeeping operation representing the whole of the international community.

Both the Council and the Secretary-General also demanded that Eritrea reverse its ban on air flights and lift all restrictions imposed on UNMEE’s operations as called for by the Council’s 23 November resolution on the matter.

That resolution threatened actions, possibly including sanctions, against Eritrea and Ethiopia if, in the case of Eritrea, it does not immediately rescind its flight ban, and against both parties if they do not reverse their military build up.

The military situation in the Temporary Security Zone and adjacent areas remains tense and potentially volatile, UNMEE reported today. Troop movements have been noticed on both sides of the border.

UNMEE also said that about 180 people would be affected by Eritrea’s request for the pullout of the nationalities specified, which would encompass 91 military observers, about 10 UN Volunteers and 70 international civilian staff members.

The UNMEE Force Commander noted that that out of a total of 44 troop contributing countries, 18 have been asked to go.

Thursday, December 08, 2005

SECRETARYGENERAL CONDEMNS ERITREA'S DECISION

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONDEMNS ERITREA’S DECISION TO EXPEL PEACEKEEPERS

The following statement is attributable to the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General condemns yesterday’s decision by the Government of Eritrea to request that members of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) who are nationals of certain specified Member States should leave the country within 10 days of the notice.

The Secretary-General stresses that this request contravenes Eritrea’s obligation under the United Nations Charter to respect the exclusively international character of United Nations staff. This obligation is a fundamental principle of United Nations peacekeeping. The request is inconsistent with the authority of the Secretary-General, in whom command of the peacekeeping operation has been vested by the Security Council, as well as with the international responsibilities of the Secretary-General and the staff of the Organization.

The United Nations cannot accede to Eritrea’s request and demands that the Government immediately and unequivocally rescind its decision without preconditions. This is being communicated to the Eritrean authorities. The Secretary-General reiterates the United Nations’ demand that Eritrea reverse all restrictions imposed on the operations of UNMEE. In the meantime, the Secretariat has informed the Security Council of this development
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2005/sgsm10250.doc.htm

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

UN Eritrea peacekeepers expelled

Both sides have reinforced their border military positions recently
Eritrea has expelled Canadian, Russian, European and United States peacekeepers from the United Nations mission monitoring the border with Ethiopia.
The decision makes UN observation of the tense border almost impossible, says the BBC's Ed Harris in Asmara.

In a letter to the UN mission, the Eritrean government gave staff of those nationalities 10 days to leave.

Relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea are tense and there are fears of a new war over their disputed border.

The two states went to war in 1998. A peace deal in 2000 led to a border ruling by an independent commission.

There are some 3,300 peacekeepers and military observers from some 40 countries, 191 civilians and 74 UN volunteers working at the mission in Eritrea and Ethiopia.

It is not immediately clear how many staff are affected.

Restrictions

Ethiopia has not yet withdrawn its forces from the town of Badme, which was awarded to Eritrea.

Frustrated with the stalemate, Eritrea has imposed restrictions on the activities of the UN peacekeeping force patrolling the border buffer zone in the past few months.

"Members of Unmee with nationalities from USA, Canada and Europe, including the Russian Federation are requested to the leave the country within 10 days of this notice," said the letter sent to the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (Unmee), according to the AFP news agency.

"This notice comprises all those with the above nationalities irrespective of (the) sector they are working in," said the letter, which was signed by Colonel Zecarias Ogbagaber, Eritrea's liaison officer with the UN mission.

ኤርትራ ንዓቓብ ሰላም ኣባላት ካብ ሃገር ክወጹ ትእዝዝ::

ኤርትራ 5 ሽወደናውያን ዝርከብዎም ኣባላት ዓቓብ ሰላም ኣብ ውሽጢ 10 መዓልቲ ካብ ሃገር ክወጹ ኣዚዛ:: እዞም ክወጹ ተኣዚዞም ዘለው ኣባላት ዓቓብ ሰላም ዝኾኑ ኣሜሪካውያን, ካናዳውያን, ሩስያውያን ከምኡውን ናይ ኤውሮፓ ሃገራት ተወከልቲ እዮም::
ዓቓብ ሰላም ሓይሊ ካብ ኣርባዓታት ሃገራት ብዝተዋጽኡ ሰራዊትን ኣማኸርትን ዝቖመ ምኻኑን ሽወደን ከኣ 5 ተዓዘብቲ ከምዝነበርዋ መርበብ ሓበሬታ ሚኒስትሪ ምክልኻል ሽወደን ይሕብር::
>

Eritrea beordrar FN-personal att ge sig av

Eritrea har beordrat FN-personal som övervakar gränsen mot Etiopien bland andra även svenskar att lämna landet. Inom tio dygn ska FN-styrkans amerikanska, kanadensiska, ryska och europeiska personal ha lämnat landet, heter det i ett uttalande från Eritreas regering.

Läget vid gränsen mellan Etiopien och Eritrea är alltmer spänt. Konflikten gäller var gränsen mellan de båda länderna ska gå, framför allt i det område som heter Badme.

I drygt två år, mellan 1998 och 2000, utkämpade Etiopien och Eritrea ett bittert och mycket kostsamt krig. Omkring 70 000 personer dödades.

Ett 40-tal länder deltar i FN-styrkan som är placerad både i Eritrea och Etiopien. Sverige deltar, enligt försvarets hemsida, med fem observatörer

Saturday, December 03, 2005

Cecafa Cup 2005 results

The 2005 Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup is hosted in Rwanda between Saturday 26 November and Saturday December 10th, with 10 countries taking part. Kenya have been disqualified for not showing up.

Group A

Rwanda
Zanzibar
Eritrea
Tanzania
Burundi


26/11/05: Rwanda 0-1 Zanzibar

28/11/05: Zanzibar 3-0 Eritrea, Tanzania 2-1 Burundi

30/11/05: Burundi 1-2 Zanzibar, Eritrea 2-3 Rwanda

2/12/05: Tanzania 1-1 Zanzibar, Burundi 0-0 Eritrea

4/12/05: Tanzania v Eritrea, Rwanda v Burundi

6/12/05: Tanzania v Rwanda

Group B

Ethiopia - holders
Uganda
Djibouti
Somalia
Sudan


27/11/05: Somalia 2-1 Djibouti, Ethiopia 0-0 Uganda

29/11/05: Sudan 4-1 Somalia

30/11/05: Uganda 6-1 Djibouti

1/12/05: Ethiopia 3-1 Sudan, Uganda 7-0 Somalia

3/12/05: Djibouti v Ethiopia, Uganda v Sudan

5/12/05: Ethiopia v Somalia, Sudan v Djibouti;


7/12/05: Rest Day

Knockout stages

8/12/05: Winner 'A' v Runner-up 'B'

8/12/05: Winner 'B' v Runner-up 'A'

9/12/05: Rest Day

10/12/05: Final and third-place match

ስርዓት ህግደፍ መንእሰያት ካብ ፖርትሱዳን ይጬውይ

ስርዓት ህግደፍ ካብቲ ግፍዓዊ ኣታሓሕዝኡ ኣምሊጦም ናብ ፖርት ሱዳን ዝኣተው መንእሰያት ናብ ካርቱም ከነብጻሓኩም ብምባል ንዝተወሰኑ መንእሰያት ጬውዩ ናብ ኤርትራ ከምዝወሰዶም ካብቲ ቦታ ዝመጹ ሓበሪታታት የረጋግጹ:: እዚ ከምዚ ኢሉ ኸሎ ስርዓት ህግደፍ ኣብዚ ጌዚ እዚ ምስ መንግስቲ ሱዳን ብዛዕባ ምኽፋት ዶባት ክልቲኡ ሃገራት ዝዛረብ ዘሎ ነቲ ካብ መዓልቲ ናብ መዓልቲ እንዳወሰኸ ዝመጽእ ዘሎ ምውሓዝ መንእሰያት ንምግታእን ንምቁጽጻሩ ክጥዕሞን ደኣ እምበር እቶም ቐንዲ ፖሎቲካዊ ጠንቕታት ምስሕሓብ ዝኾኑ ጉዳያት መሰረታዊ ለውጢ ስለዝገበረ ከምዘይኮነ ተንተንቲ ፖሎቲካ እቲ ዞባ ይሕብሩ:: እግረመንገድና ንኹሎም ኤርትራውያን ኣብ ሱዳን ብፍላይ ከኣ ኣብ ከባቢ ፖርትሱዳንን ከሰላን ዝርከቡ ናብ ካርቱም ንምስጋር ኣብ ዝገብርዎ ፈተነታት ካብ መፈንጥራ ናይቲ ስርዓት ክጥንቀቑ ንጽውዕ::

Friday, December 02, 2005

Eritreans flee as new border war brews

November 30 2005 at 06:47AM

By Nicolas Germain Asmara -
Eritreans are fleeing their country in growing numbers amid fears of a new war with Ethiopia and economic hardships blamed on authoritarian government policies, according to observers.In the first eight months of this year, more Eritreans have risked death to leave the impoverished Horn of Africa nation than in all of 2004, according to UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) statistics.As border tensions with Ethiopia rose and Asmara tightened already tough economic restrictions, 6 113 Eritreans fled between January and August, compared to 5 542 last year, the statistics show.
'It is not at all a subject of grave concern'Of both figures, 69 percent went to Sudan and 31 percent to Ethiopia, where most of them were granted refugee status, according to the UNHCR.Diplomats say the numbers are rising even as those who leave risk being shot if caught and their families face prosecution, something Eritrean officials deny.

"It is not at all a subject of grave concern," information minister Ali Abdu said, adding that "most of the time the UNHCR figures are politicised"."Here and there, some people are going, this is a global phenomenon. The endurance of people differs, some are selfish."In Eritrea, the subject of people fleeing is taboo and few broach the subject.
Eritrea has warned conflict is looming againAsmara-based diplomats and numerous Eritreans say those leaving are doing so to escape compulsory military service, economic hardship, and a lack of freedom of expression.The country has only one political party, has had no presidential elections since independence from Ethiopia in 1993, closed all independent media outlets in 2001 and is regularly criticised for religious clampdowns.Eritrea is also facing an economic crisis, with some fuel prices more than doubling this year and the creation of state-run food and tightened currency restrictions."More and more people are leaving now because of the tensions on the border with Ethiopia and they really don't want to fight a war," said one military-age Eritrean in his 20s.He and others recalled the 1998-2000 war with Ethiopia that claimed about 80 000 lives.The United Nations warned this month that the situation on the border is "tense and potentially volatile" amid troop movements on both sides and the UN Security Council threatened to slap sanctions on each in the event of new war.Eritrea has warned conflict is looming again because of Ethiopia's refusal to accept a 2002 legally-binding border ruling.Diplomats say Eritreans suffer harsh consequences if a member of their family is found to have fled."Usually they arrest the oldest family member," said one. "It could be the grandmother. She is fined up to 50 000 Nakfa (about R22 000) and put in prison."Ali Abdu did not deny that such arrests took place but said they would take place only when the person who fled did so to illegally avoid military service."If people ask to go and they have fulfilled their obligations, they can go via the legal channel," Ali said.But many Eritreans believe the government grants exit visas only to the elderly, forcing younger people who want to leave to rely on often unscrupulous middle men to make the dangerous exit journey.Diplomats say it costs up to $2 000 for an Eritrean to pay a middleman to get them fake documents and then cross into Ethiopia or Sudan."Some Eritreans try to go alone... and they get lost or die of thirst," said one diplomat. "You can get caught and put in prison several months, and even longer if you try to enter Ethiopia."But consequences could be even harsher. "If you are caught, you are either imprisoned or shot," said one Eritrean.

"Dawit Isaak åter fängslad i Eritrea"SVT


Uppdaterad 2 december 2005 - 16:21

Den svenske journalisten Dawit Isaak sitter åter fängslad i Eritrea. Det bekräftades i dag för Leif Öbrink som är ordförande i stödkommittén.


Han greps redan den 21 november på väg till ett läkarbesök, säger Öbrink till TT. Dawit Isaak hade frigetts ur fängelset på lördagen den 19 november och fick bara ett par dygn i frihet som han tillbringade hos anhöriga.

Dawit Isaak har medborgarskap i både Sverige och Eritrea. Han arbetade för en tidning i Eritreas huvudstad Asmara när han och andra regimkritiska journalister fängslades i september 2001.

"En bricka i gränskonflikten"
Stödkommitténs ordförande Leif Öbrink antyder att Dawit Isaak blivit en bricka i spelet om konflikten mellan Eritrea och Etiopien.

-De eritreanska myndigheterna säger att "när konflikten inte är löst och vi får stötta i den kan vi inte hinna ta i det här", säger Öbrink till TT.

Glädjen var stor i Dawit Isaaks familj i Göteborg när beskedet om att han släppts fri kom lördagen den 19 november efter ett intensivt förhandlingsarbete av ambassadör Bengt Sparre. Men glädjen grumlades ganska snart när det efter ett par dagar stod klart att frisläppandet förmodligen inte var definitivt.

UD: Ingen officiell bekräftelse
UD:s presstjänst säger sig inte ha fått någon officiell bekräftelse på att Isaak åter fängslats.

Ambassadör Bengt Sparre återvänder till Eritreas huvudstad Asmara nästa vecka efter att ha varit hemma för överläggningar om hur förhandlingarna om att få Isaak fri ska drivas i fortsättningen.

Some of the Jailed Eritrean journalists







Fellow Eritrean journalists suffering in the jails of PFDJ for more than 1530 days since september 18, 2001. Those in the picture are from left to right
1. Fesehaye Johannes (Joshua) of Setit newspaper
2. Amanuel Asrat of Zemen newspaper
3. Medhanie Haile of Keste debena newspaper
4. Temesghen gebreyesus Keste debena newspaper
5. Dawit (wedi Memher) of Mekaleh newspaper
6. Matewos Hbateab of Mekaleh newspaper and
7. Said Abdelkadir of Hadas admas newspaper

Admas in exile wants
to renew the promise to defend you and other Eritrean political prisoners. Posted by Picasa

Thursday, December 01, 2005

ስርዓት ህግደፍ ኣብ ከተማታት ኤርትራ ምግፋፍ ይቕጽሎ'ሎ

ኣብ ዝሓለፈ ሳልስቲ ስርዓት ህግደፍ ኣብ ከተማታት ኤርትራ ሓድሽ ናይ ግፋ ማዕበል ጀሚሩ ከምዝቐነየ ካብ ኣስመራ ዝወጹ ሓበሬታታት የረጋግጹ:: እዚ ናይ ግፋ ማዕበል ኣብ ዝቕጽለሉ ዘሎ ሁመት ገለገለ ተጣይሶም ዝነበሩ ኣባላት ዕቑር ሰራዊት ካብ ኤርትራ ንኽወጹ ናይ መውጽኢ ፍቓድ (exit visa) ክወሃቦም ስለዝተፈቕደ ቤት ጽሕፈት ኢሚግረሽን ኤርትራ ብናይ መውጽኢ ፍቓድ ዝሓቱ ሰባት ከምዘዕለቕለቐ ተፈሊጡ:: ብዙሓት ዝተጣየሱ ኤርትራውያን እዚ ስርዓት ሕጂ ፈቕድዎ ዘሎ ነገር ድሕሪ ሓጺር እዋን ከቓርጾ ስለዝኽእል ካብ ዝተፈላለየ ሃገራት ኣፍሪቓ ናይ ቱሪስት ቪዛ ብምውሳድ ተቓላጢፍካ ካብ ሃገር ምውጻእ ዝበለጸ ኣማራጺ እዩ ብዝብል ርድኢት ብብዝሒ ክወጹ ከምዝጀመሩ እሙናት ምንጭታት ሓቢሮም ኣለው::