Category: Al-Nahda
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On the Wings of Malice and Idiocy
Observing the government of Eritrea and its functionaries, one is always struck which one of their two wings is heavier: the malicious one or the stupid one? One can build a case for either one, and it is a running debate among the Eritrean opposition and the silent majority. In an article that appeared at madote.com
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Eritrea 2015: Feels Like Eritrea 2002
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) just released its annual Human Development Report and Eritrea is ranked third from bottom, next to Central African Republic and Niger, in Human Development Index (HDI). HDI is a qualify of life index which measures factors that contribute to developing human capacity and the conditions for their development: how
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Mzungu Herman Cohen Whitesplains Eritrea, Africa
The problem is that Cohen is a relic of the Cold War era. He comes from a period of time where American diplomats had no compulsion about advising an African country to annex another African country as he, admittedly, did in advising Senegal to annex The Gambia. He comes from a period where “culture” is…
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Eritrea – Prisoner of Conscience Day
We have “Armed Struggle Launch Day” (September 1), “Martyr’s Day” (June 20) and “Independence Day” (May 24.) It stands to reason that we should have “Prisoner of Conscience Day” because those who didn’t die for the revolution, and who didn’t live to see Eritrea’s independence, have been imprisoned by it. Actually, in unique Eritrea, someone can celebrate
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Professor Asmerom Legesse Gets It Wrong
In an article entitled “Critique of the Human Rights Commission [sic] on Eritrea”, Professor Asmerom Legesse attempts to take to task the Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea (CoI-E) as well as Ms. Sheila Keetharuth, the UN-appointed Special Rapporteur on “the situation of human rights in Eritrea.” Unfortunately, even very able and committed advocate of a
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The Churning
There were two demonstrations in Geneva in June 2015 on the occasion of the Human Right Council’s 29th session (HRC 29): one was in opposition to the damning report issued to the HRC by a body it mandated, the Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea (CoIE), and the other was in support. There was, as usual,
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Sovereignty, International Law and the Commission of Inquiry Eritrea
On June 27, 2014, the UN’s Human Rights Council (HRC) mandated a Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea (CoIE) to conduct an investigation on whether the Government of Eritrea (GoE) has violated the human rights of its own citizens. On June 4, 2015, after a year-long investigation, the CoIE issued its report concluding “the commission found
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When Eritreans Went To The Polls In 1997
Everybody is going to the polls, let’s go to ours. Well, it is a different kind of poll our is an opinion poll and not voting poll. And it requires a time machine…that takes us 18 years back. And it is not by the millions but by the dozens. But it may give us a clue
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Come And See (What We Want You To See)!
The good news is that the Eritrean opposition and the Eritrean government have started talking to one another. The bad news is that it is proxy talks: it is discussions by our favorite foreigners. Pro-oppo Foreigner Narrative: Eritrea is one of the worst violators of human rights and exporters of asylum-seekers; an outlaw regime that
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Congratulations Mr. Yemane Gebremeskel, Incoming MoI
Mr. Yemane Gebremeskel, aka “Charlie”, has been named Eritrea’s Minister of Information, according to his ghost writers at Tesfanews.com. He replaces Ali Abdu, who defected from the post in November 2012. I think it was November 2012 although I can’t be sure because the other ghost writers at madote.com had sworn they had seen him
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I Was Wrong
Ever ordered “Chef’s Special” at a restaurant? Don’t: it is stuff the restaurant couldn’t sell. Also, two Americans opened a Chinese restaurant in China and everything Chinese was alien to the Chinese: kung-pao chicken, Mongolian beef, and definitely Chow Mein, invented by a San Franciscan chef and of course the take-out Chinese boxes (which the
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Afro-Pessimism, Optimism, Realism And Eritrea
Much of the scholarship that deals with African development can be categorized as Afro-pessimist, Afro-optimist or Afro-realist. To-date, the case for pessimism had been easier to make: Africa is so far behind on nearly every metric, and it has been stuck there for so long, and it is growing at such lackluster rates, it is hard
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Political Pluralism Eritrean Style
Somewhere in Northern Eritrea, by the islands of Scylla, Isaias Afwerki was crowned Emperor of Eritrea. He flew over to Southern Eritrea, by the banks of River Charybdis, to swear in the president, also named Isaias Afwerki. The emperor and the president have complete separation of powers: the president, as head of government, runs the
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How To Win Eritrea’s “Political Legitimacy” Argument
Since 1991, the debate between Eritrean regime supporters and the opposition has been that of legitimacy. Back in the 1990s, the arguments were crude. The opposition would ask “who elected you to lead me?” and the regime spokesperson would answer: “And who elected me to fight for your independence?” Ah, good times. The State was
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Breaking Through Our Dejavu of Disasters
You could spend a lifetime marveling at the criminality of the Eritrean government, if you were not so awestruck by its stupidity. I am saying the Eritrean government because using its substitute—Isaias Afwerki, Isaias Afwerki regime, PFDJ—will get in the way of my argument here. In any event, I will come to that near the
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Being Right vs Being Prudent
[quote style=”4″ author=”Saleh Younis“]In the Year of Our Lord Final & Binding, ‘twas Annum Duece. Behold King Isaias the Lionhearted, Conqueror of the Red Sea and Islands Beyond! Yey, slay he the capitulationist as he smiteth the cowards within with his Excalibur. Yey, forbadeth he pant-wetting and demanded he that the Ethiopics obey the tablets
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Why Democratic Coup Is The Best Option For Eritrea
Over the past several months, I have been posting disjointed pieces at the Awate Forum and on my Facebook page that are my vision for transition in Eritrea. This edition of Alnahda is an attempt to consolidate my view for bloodless (or minimum bloodshed) transition in Eritrea. I. An Arguable Premise Eritrea is car stuck
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Constructive Ambiguity And Eritrea’s Bad Choices
One of the most memorable revelations of Dejen Ande Hishel, the Eritrean Air Force pilot who escaped after 15 years of arrest without charges, was his realization (four years into his arrest) that, in Eritrea, to ask the government, “what are the charges against me?” is to commit a crime because your question is slandering
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Why Isaias Afwerki Invalidated the 1997 Constitution
On May 24, marking the 23rd anniversary of Eritrea’s independence, President Isaias Afwerki had this to say near the conclusion of his address: “Within the framework of our tasks of nation building, the political infrastructure assumes a vital role as a vehicle to advance our overall objectives. We have gleaned important lessons and experiences from
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When Even Good News Is Given A Shrug
On behalf of myself and all awatistas (whether you like it or not), I would like to congratulate Nigerians and Ghanians for waking up one Monday morning (let’s assume it was Monday) and learning that they no longer belong to the dreaded “low income” country but the up-and-coming “low middle income” country. Yay! Please join