Year: 2017
-
Hitting the Enemy Where It Hurts the Most
An issue that often comes up in political discussions on Eritrea is whether political change in the country will be achieved through the efforts of domestic forces/elements or those of the exiled opposition movement. A general sense of ongoing debate on the subject seems to suggest that current political opinions are largely based on the…
-
Eritrean Prisoners: Judge Mranet as a Sample
The 14th of April is when the Prisoners’ Day is commemorated. It’s a day that Eritreans remember their prisoners to spread awareness of the plight of their loved ones, and they remember so many of them. Some who grew old in the dungeons of the cruel Eritrean regime, others rumored to have died in captivity,…
-
Djibouti Accuses Eritrea at the Security Council
In a press release issued today April 13, Ambassador Mohamed Siad Doualeh, the permanent representative of Djibouti to the United Nations addressed the Security Council on the situation in Somalia. The Ambassador said, “we share the Chair’s assessment that Al-Shabaab continues to pose a serious threat to peace and security in Somalia. They have been…
-
Eritrean Dictator Uses the Netherlands as an Outpost
Reports from the Netherlands indicate that the Dutch government is anxious about the visit of Yemane Gebreab, the Eritreans president’s adviser, who has entered the Netherlands with a Schengen visa. PFDJ, the only and unelected Eritrean ruling party since 1993 has an affiliate international organization known as YPFDJ that supports the Eritrean government by spying…
-
Funeral Ceremony Held for Egyptian Terrorist Victims
Amid tight security arrangements, and guarded by nervous armed Egyptian officers, funeral services were held for the victims of the two terrorist attacks that targeted churches in Tanta and Alexandria. Attendance at the funeral ceremonies was limited to the relatives of the victims and church officials. A Sunday morning terrorist bomb attacks on two Coptic…
-
Abreha The Adulisian And The Soi-Disant Agazians
As an introduction and in an effort of rendering a general overview, here is a thumbnail account of a man named Abreha who ruled Yemen sometime in the time span 531-565 AD. The Abyssinian historical mythology claims that Abreha was an Axumite Abyssinian who led a military campaign of King Kaleb of Axum and defeated a Himyarite king…
-
Are Muslims or Muslim Societies Prone to Violence?
I want to highlight three points in this article. First, I want to underscore the obvious fact that killing of innocents or terrorism is a universal problem and not a “Muslim problem”. Second, I want to present data from official sources to show that things are not always what they appear to be and that…
-
Ciham’s Fifth Birthday Inside Isaias’ Jail, More Arrests
Today, April 4, 2017, Ciham Ali Abdu turns twenty inside an Eritrean prison. She was fifteen years old when she was arrested in December 2012. Her ninety-years old grandfather, Abdu Ahmed Younis, and her uncle, Hassen Abdu Younis were put in prison in a few days following her arrest. Ciham is the daughter of the…
-
Ethiopian Ultimatum, Eritrean Incompetence
Since it held a congress in Hawassa in 2011, the Eritrean National Congress for Democratic Change (ENCDC) has been in bed fighting for its life, unable to move a single step towards its goal of democratic change in Eritrea. It is still bogged down in endless and crippling partisan maneuvers. Worse, its Ethiopian ally had…
-
Knowing Eritrea And Eritreans
Awate.com has always encouraged Eritreans to venture far from their narrow circle of friends, from the confines of their villages, and try to interact with those who do not share with them several layers of identities. This website believed that knowing each other’s’ fears, concerns, and suspicions, eliminates mutual mistrust, ameliorate suspicions, and helps in…
-
Book Review: ELF: Its Struggle for Freedom and Social Justice 1961-1982
Authors: Dirar Mantai, Fessehaye Hagos and Ngusse Tsegai Title: Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF): Its Struggle for Freedom and Social Justice 1961-1982 Language: Tigrinya Publisher: Homib Publishing, homibpublishing@gmail.com Year: May 2016 Pages: 369 Price: $30.00 To some extent, any organization reflects its founder’s comportment, and the Eritrean Liberation Front was no exception. ELF’s inimitable code-switching ability…
-
The Chocked Asseb Port
Today’s edition of Negarit consists of an extended part from a June 3, 2011 article, “Unusual: Imagining Asseb Through Djibouti”, and a chapter from an article, “Could we be heading to Assab?”, dated June 21, 2011. My flight from Djibouti to Addis had to do a stopover at Dire Dawa (Dire Daba as the Somalis…
-
EASE Accuses The Eritrean Regime Of Displacing Afar People
In a statement issued yesterday March 20, 2017 in Ottawa, Canada, the Eritrean Afar State in Exile (EASE) accused the Eritrean government of implementing “systemic policies to displace the Afar Eritreans from resources rich and strategic coast on the red sea”. On March 14th, the Eritrean government television announced it will settle the victims of…
-
Nakfa’s Symbolic Value
It is embarrassing to witness, in this day and age, abnormal developments creep into our campaigns for human and democratic rights of Eritreans. The aim of the sectarian and ethnocentric maneuver is to sow discord between groups, loosen our Ghedli-history that binds us together and then destroy the social fabric of our communities. The Agazian…
-
Adulisian Narratives: Standing Athwart The Abyssinian Paradigm
The ancient port town of Adulis or Aduli buried in a helluva of sand is not standing. You may not see its ancient monuments displayed in books and magazines. Its artifacts may not be as ubiquitous as some other historical places. It may not have been thoroughly excavated and studied by archaeologists and historians like other ancient sites in the Horn region. And,…
-
GEAN: Memorandum of Understanding
On the initiative of Global Eritrean Advocacy Network (GEAN), and after a series of deliberations, we, the undersigned individuals, civil societies, political organizations, veterans, community and religious leaders subscribe to this memorandum of understanding (MoU) to serve as a basis for: Understanding and articulating the daunting challenges that Eritrea faces, and offering a clear and…
-
The New Wave of Muslim Preachers
The last decade or so has been difficult for Muslims in many countries, but Muslims are still suffering the most in their own countries due to bad governance, low literacy rates, and poverty. If many non-Muslims are anxiety stricken by the savage actions of some bloodthirsty fanatic Muslims, it is helpful to remember the victims are…
-
Ethiopia Kills 13 Rebels Near Assosa and The Renaissance Dam
Tsadeq Hagos, the Ethiopian State Minister for communication stated that security forces clashed with a the Benshangul rebel organization killing 13 rebels. The clashes happened near Assosa in the Benshangul region, close to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). The region around the dam is a secure area where access by land or air is…
-
Isaias and His Tactics for a Quarter of a Century
A quarter of a century after independence on May 24, 1991, Eritrea still has some growing agonies to overcome. The country that was considered hope and model for the ravaged Africa (Cameron McWhirter, Chicago tribune, may 16, 1993), has now become one of the largest refugee producing countries in the world. Twenty-five years after the…
-
A Group of Eritreans To Issue a Memorandum of Understanding
A group of Eritreans representing a wide array of civil and political affiliations has agreed on key issues regarding the situation in Eritrea. The deliberations initiated by Global Eritrean Advocacy Network (GEAN) was carried out on regular sessions since 2016 and was concluded today with the full agreement of the participants. Gedab News learned that…