The news that members of the Eritrean Defense Forces (EDF) took over the Ministry of Information building (located at Forto, Asmara) on January 21; announced on air their demand for constitutional government and release of political prisoners, and occupied it for nearly 8 hours was so huge that, within days, … more
If you want to know why this website is named awate.com; if you want to know why Hamid Idris Awate is venerated by millions of Eritreans as the Father of the Eritrean Revolution; if you want to know why September 1 (Fath mn September or Bahti Meskerem) is a holiday … more
Ethiopia has hosted the Eritrean opposition political parties since 1999 when the Alliance of Eritrean National Forces (AENF) the precursor to the present Eritrean Democratic Alliance (EDA) was formed. Then, as now, the EDA was made up of exiled Eritrean organizations who were based in Sudan, Europe and Ethiopia and … more
If Eritrea was a democratic republic and all the fronts, movements, groups were political parties, the Eritrean people would have voted “No Confidence” on every single one of them. Eritrea’s self-imposed ruling party, the PFDJ, spent an entire decade in a futile effort to get the world to pay attention … more
There are many tragedies in recent history—9/11, Somalia, the mess in the Congo—that could have been foreseen by smart people but weren’t. Such failure to predict what is predictable is called “failure of imagination.” And this could happen in Eritrea. The State of Eritrea is giving warning signs that it is … more
September 1, 1961 is the day that 14 poorly-armed Eritreans led by Hamid Idris Awate engaged the Ethiopian army in battle and forced its withdrawal from Mt. Adal, Eritrea. The 14 Eritreans were the entirety of the Eritrean Liberation Army (ELA) of the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF), which had been … more
The Eritrean People’s Democratic Party or EPDP (the one which is led by Mr. Woldeyesus Ammar) is having its organizational congress as we write this. Instead of sending the customary, the politically correct and mostly empty “congratulatory telegram”, we think it would be more meaningful to the party, to its … more
When Isaias Afwerki is finally removed from power, he will, like his sole friend Moammer Gaddaffi, have no friends to shed tears for him. This is because Isaias Afwerki has, in 20 long years, exhausted the patience of the world with his embarrassing behaviour. The recent undated press release which appeared … more
On December 23, 2009, the UN Security Council imposed sanctions on Eritrea over “its role in Somalia” and its“refusal to withdraw troops following conflict with Djibouti.” This may be a good time to remind all that only Qaddaffi was opposed to the sanctions. The UNSC Resolution 1907 “stipulates arms embargo, … more
Addis Abeba, 2002. The Eritrean alliance of opposition organizations is discussing the fate of the Eritrean Liberation Front-Revolutionary Council (ELF-RC), which had been split into two wings. One wing, led by the late Seyoum Ogbamichael, stages a walk-out: subsequently, in the bitterness and recriminations that ensue after the split, the … more
This website has been observing and reporting on the state of Eritrean opposition for the last ten years. In our view, the event with the most impact on the development in Eritrean opposition over the last ten years happened this year in Addis Abeba: the convening of the National Congress … more
At long last, the coming together of Eritreans to discuss ways and means of bringing about democratic change in Eritrea, a dream that had been conceptualized for over a decade, is finally here. Dubbed the National Conference for Democratic Change (NCDC), the convention started on July 30 and will resume … more
19 years ago today (May 24th), Eritrean freedom fighters liberated Eritrea from Ethiopian occupation. The Eritrean people, who had been waging a struggle for liberation since 1961, when the Ethiopian government of Haile Selassie was in its last stages of flouting the Eritrea-Ethiopia Federation of 1952, breathed a sigh of … more
When it comes to the UNSC’s decision to impose targeted sanctions on the Eritrean regime, there are two narratives being presented. One, advanced by the supporters and apologists for the regime, is that the Eritrean government is being targeted because it threatens the world order with its “good example”: a domestic … more