Author: Awate Team
-
Eritrean National Congress: 50 Years In The Making, Finally Here
The Eritrean National Congress, which was mandated by the Eritrean National Conference for Democratic Change (ENCDC) last year, is expected to convene on November 21 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The 53-member commission, which was elected by the Conference, is expected to organize the congress of 553 Eritreans representing the civil society (60%) and political parties…
-
Al Hiwar-Saleh Johar Interview: English Transcription
Saleh Gadi Johar, publisher of awate.com, was interviewed live in the studios of Al Hiwar TV, in London, UK, on 9/27/11. The interview, which was conducted in Arabic, is available in two short videos (part 1, and part 2) on youtube and at awate.com (in the video tab.) To ensure wider distribution to awate.com’s readership,…
-
Isaias Afwerki & The UN: Will He Or Won’t He?
The 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly is scheduled to convene on Tuesday, September 13. The cheerleading squad of the PFDJ has been building up expectations that Isaias Afwerki, the self-declared president of Eritrea, will attend the session. Will he or won’t he? Is there any significance to his attendance or absence? For starters,…
-
Good Luck To The Seminar, Godspeed To The Attendees
A diverse group of Eritreans are getting together to discuss issues that Eritreans talk about every day: how to bring about the end of the PFDJ tyranny promptly and what to replace it with—i.e, how should we govern ourselves. This has gotten some Eritreans—the excitable among us, the malicious among us, the gossip-mongers among us, and,…
-
September 1 Is The Answer: “Peaceful Or Armed”
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 founded a year earlier. Mt…
-
Smoking Guns Everywhere: UN Busts The Eritrean Regime
The evidence that has been gathered by the Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea to document the culpability of PFDJ, Eritrea’s ruling regime, is so massive that the only way one can dismiss the pieces of evidence is on the basis that it is too redundant and the point has already been proven beyond reasonable…
-
Smoking Guns Everywhere: UN Busts The Eritrean Regime
The evidence that has been gathered by the Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea to document the culpability of PFDJ, Eritrea’s ruling regime, is so massive that the only way one can dismiss the pieces of evidence is on the basis that it is too redundant and the point has already been proven beyond reasonable…
-
EPDP: Squandering A Legacy
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 members, to our readers and…
-
Eritrean Regime’s Addiction To Lies & Coverups: The Case Of Denkalia
It is a given that politicians have a very heightened awareness of the importance of information and they try to manage it as much as they can. Politicians want to determine what kind of information is available to the public, when the information is made available, and how best to package it—spin it—so it provides maximum…
-
Behind The Eritrean Regime’s Panicked Reaction
According to the Eritrean regime, the United States has pressured Pakistan to abort a pending aircraft lease and management deal it was negotiating with Eritrea. Citing an un-named “senior Foreign Ministry official”, the Eritrean state media claimed that “Washington is resorting to such illegal acts as part of its hostile attempts of stiffening anti-Eritrea sanctions.” …
-
Abdella Idris: The Cause Is Bigger Than The Man
It was a long way from Barka, Eritrea to London, UK. An Eritrean born in the humble village of Shelab, Gerabit in Barka La’al, in March 1944, died in London on April 29, 2011, after he succumbed to an illness that had him bed-ridden for a decade, and he was buried in Kassala, Sudan on…
-
The “Pardoning” Of The Brits: Another Day Of Infamy For Eritreans
Add June 12, 2011 to the days of infamy that the Isaias Afwerki regime has presented as a gift to the Eritrean people. It should also be a day that should present dramatic lessons for the foes of the PFDJ, which is to say all Eritreans aspiring for a free, democratic, and just Eritrea. For on that…
-
The United Kingdom Should Prove Isaias Afwerki Right
There is a saying in the Eritrean highlands when one observes that the effort exerted is vastly disproportionate to the puny outcome: “nezi ktg’Eta trhtSa?”—all of your sweating is for this? We had the exact same reaction after we read the Eritrean Ministry of Foreign Affairs June 7th Press Release regarding the British nationals who…
-
The Arab Spring Inspires The Eritrean Spring
Throughout the month of May, and as early as March and April, Eritrean communities throughout the world have staged peaceful rallies to mark the 20th anniversary of Eritrea’s independence by protesting against 20 years of dictatorship that Eritrea has been suffering under the un-elected regime of Isaias Afwerki and his ruling party of PFDJ. Each…
-
20 Years of indignity: Recklessly Gambling With Eritrean Lives
A government’s first responsibility is to protect the safety and security of the citizens. Everything else—literacy rates, mortality rates, progress, prosperity, roads paved and dams constructed—are a distant second: without safety and security, they are all infrastructures built on sand. A government which spares the people senseless wars—or goes to war reluctantly and only with…
-
20 Years Of Indignity: Introduction
For over a month now, the People’s Front for Democracy & Justice (PFDJ), Eritrea’s ruling regime and the sole party allowed in the country, has been celebrating its own “achievements” and how the last 20 years of its uncontested rule have been “20 years of dignity.” Since there is no opposition party, nor a free press…
-
IFJ Joins FAJ Press Freedom Day Call for Release of Journalists in Eritrea
“They are being held in undisclosed locations without charges, despite the fact that Eritrean law forbids detention of a prisoner without charges for more than 30 days,” said a joint letter signed by IFJ Jim Boumelha and FAJ President, Omar Faruk Osman. “Prolonged detention without trial is also a violation of international treaties you are…
-
Awate Archives: Interview With Abdella Idris
Abdella Idris, perhaps one of the most well-known leaders of the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF), passed away this week after a long bout of illness. As we have done with many controversial veteran combatants of our armed struggle, even those with whom we vehemently disagreed–as was the case with the late Ali Said Abdella–we attempt…
-
Eritrean People: 20 Years of Indignity – A Series
The unelected regime of Isaias Afwerki has been in power since 1991. Over the years, Isaias Afwerki may have changed his title from Secretary General to President; the ruling party may have changed its name from Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) to People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ); the government may have changed its…
-
Vanishing Eritreans And Isaias Afwerki’s Hierarchy Of Values (Updated)
Last week, Eritreans were utterly shocked to learn of the tragic death of hundreds of Eritreans on a boat, as they left Libya to cross the Mediterranean. This week, Eritrean families are learning of the loss of a family member. Like all Eritreans, we are directly affected by this death: we have direct family members…