Year: 2012
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Egypt Trades Four Eritreans For One Egyptian Captain
A ship captain, Mohammed Esmat AlHlaisi, who has been detained in Eritrea since February and accused of being a CIA agent, was returned to his home country after Egypt agreed to Eritrea’s request to deport back four Eritrean asylum-seekers, according to Al Wafd newspaper. What follows below is largely sourced from Al Wafd: Mohammed Al…
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TV Adal Interview With Saleh “Gadi” Johar (Tigrinya P 2)
This is Part 2 of an interview with Saleh “Gadi” Johar, conducted by Negash Osman for TV Adal in Stockholm, Sweden on October 7, 2011.
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Is This The Beginning Of The End For The Eritrean Regime?
Gedab News: Although Eritrea has been ruled under an undeclared state of emergency for 14 years, recent developments lend credence to the view that the Eritrean regime is cracking under the pressure: two Eritrean pilots defected to Saudi Arabia; the militarization of Eritrea’s civilians has intensified; Ethiopia’s March foray into Eritrea resulted in much higher…
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Qatar Appoints Its Ambassador To Ethiopia
Ethiopia, which had severed its diplomatic relations with Qatar in April 2008, is renewing them by accrediting a new Qatari ambassador to Ethiopia. Ambassador Hamad Al Rumeihi, the diplomat appointed to head the Qatari embassy in Addis Ababa has already arrived there. He was received at the airport by Arab Ambassadors and the Dean of…
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Saudis Intercept “Horn of Africa” Aircraft
On Tuesday, two Saudi F-15 fighter planes intercepted “an unidentified aircraft coming from the Horn of Africa [and] flying at a low level,” according to Saudi Arabian Arabic website, Jazan News. The Saudi website didn’t mention its sources and did not provide additional details but said the authorities will treat the matter as “the situation…
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80 Eritrea-Bound Lorries With Contraband Intercepted By Sudanese Officials
Sudanese law-enforcement officials in Kassala State bordering Eritrea foiled a smuggling operation that involved around 80 vehicles, including lorries and pickups, according to Sudan’s alrakoba.net. The smuggling convoy that was heading to Eritrea was intercepted in West Kassala. When the convoy refused to stop, Sudanese officers fired bullets, punctured the tires of some of the vehicles…
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Remembering The Forgotten
An interview with Sultan Omer, Executive Director of RTHAR Relief, an NGO that caters to the needs of Eritrean refugees. The interview was conducted by Abdulkerim of Eri Adal television of Sweden. Part 1 Part2
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Dying vs. Killing In The Name Of Faith
Where is my anchor? For some inexplicable reasons, I was inspired to go to church last Saturday evening. Glad I did; it was an awesome experience and like to believe that I came back home, at least, a little bit more spiritually and morally uplifted. The few times I had been to the house of…
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Ethiopia’s Ruling Coalition Elects New Chairman
The Central Committee of Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), a coalition of parties which dominates Ethiopia’s parliament, has elected Mr. Hailemariam Desalegn as its chairman. Given the overwhelming dominance of EPRDF within Ethiopia’s parliament–it controls all but two of the 547 seats– Mr. Hailemariam Desalegn is expected to be sworn in as Ethiopia’s Prime…
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Qernelios: Arte Mailam’s Political Recklessness
When the Pharaohs built the Sphinx of Giza it must have been finished with high quality plaster and colourful paintings, but with time, wind, heat and rain eroded the structure and left it with a dull facade. The Obelisks of Aksum and the stellaes of Metera faced the same fate; and though the elements are…
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September 1: Man Meets Moment
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 celebrated by Eritreans, all you…
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Awate’s Legacy: ELF 1977-78 Video (indexed)
The great service that youtube and social media provide is to facilitate the dissemination of history. Unfortunately, because the videos are sometimes not properly titled, tagged, described or indexed, they appear and then disappear without impact. Here’s a video documentary that French documentary-makers recorded over a two year period in Eritrea in 1977-78. These years marked an…
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Zenawi: Memorable Personal Landmarks
Melles Zenawi the Ethiopian Prime Minister was snatched by death on August 20, 2012 at the age of 57; he is survived by three children. The Ethiopian government has announced that a state funeral ceremony will be held on the 2nd of September. Over the years I have met Melles repeatedly, the last of which was…
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R-E-S-P-E-C-T!
A popular beer advertisement in my Country goes like this: “My name is Joe and I am Canadian!” Molson, the company that produces the beer “Molson Canadian” has cleverly crafted a commercial that can appeal to many Canadians. This is the sort of nationalism I can drink for, hypothetically speaking of course. I might even…
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Dear Prime Minister Meles
I wish I could discuss the contents of this letter with you in person; unfortunately, that is now impossible because of your untimely death. Dear Prime Minister, in 1991 soon after your triumphant arrival inAddis Ababa, I watched you debate the question ofEritrea’s independence with Professors Endrias Eshete and Mesfin Woldemariam and another academic. I…
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What Are Eritrea’s Options – If Any?
An important leader in the horn ofAfricaregion has suddenly died. Now remember, “important” – not necessarily good or bad, but nonetheless, important. Discussing and arguing about his record has already begun in earnest and the irony is, the man is not even buried yet. Zenawi’s record – good or bad may be the subject of…
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Meskrem.net’s Mantra: Sympathy For The Devil
“Two monks were on a pilgrimage. One day, they came to a deep river. At the edge of the river, a young woman sat weeping, because she was afraid to cross the river without help. She begged the two monks to help her. The younger monk turned his back. The members of their order were…
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Meles Zenawe : A Matter Of Perspective
Meles Zenawe is dead. Long live Meles Zenaw! Looking back at his life one can with no exaggeration say that Meles was no ordinary human being. Meles was an institution. With the exception of the great Mandela, Meles had no intellectual equal inAfrica’s leadership pool. He was not only a visionary in what he wanted…
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The Son Of Africa And His Humble Moral Choices
Prime Minister Zenawi has passed away on August 20, 2012, he was 57 and his life’s lamp went out untimely out. Though Judgment is something that one has to face invariably, the Horn of Africa in particular and the continent of Africa in general have lost a pragmatic visionary and a detail-oriented strategic thinker of…
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Meles Zenawi: A Life Spent Fighting Poverty
“Our first enemy is poverty and backwardness.”Meles Zenawi Meles joined the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) as a young student to struggle for the right and equality of his people. He was one of the prominent leaders who contributed to the downfall of the Ethiopian military regime, the DERG. After the fall of the DERG…