• 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…

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  • Rumors Of War- A Call To All Higdefites

    It never occurred to me that a Higdefite would be concerned about the national security of Eritrea. I believed then, and I still do, that Isaias is bent to destroy Eritrea with the active collaboration of his followers. I told the Higdefite that I was surprised and why. In a normal situation, it is not…

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  • Eritrea: US State Department Report 2010

    There were credible reports that several military conscripts died following torture and beatings. Security forces tortured and beat army deserters, draft evaders, persons living near mining camps, persons attempting to flee the country without travel documents, and members of certain religious groups. Examples of torture and mistreatment include: prolonged sun exposure in temperatures of up…

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  • Eritrea: Amnesty International Report 2010

    The authorities interrogated, tortured and otherwise ill-treated critics of the government in an attempt to deter dissenting opinion. Prisoners were often whipped, kicked or tied with ropes in painful positions for prolonged periods. Prison conditions were dire. Many prisoners were held in underground cells or shipping containers and denied access to daylight. Conditions were overcrowded,…

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  • April 18 2011 Eritrean Demonstration In San Francisco

    The Bay Area Committee for Peaceful Demonstration is holding a rally in San Francisco, CA on Monday, April 18, 2011.   The theme of the demonstration is “Enough Is Enough: Isaias Must Go Now!” “Alena ms hzbna: We Are With Our People”, “We Are The Voice Of The Muzzled Eritreans.” Here are the specifics of the…

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  • This Land Is Your Land, And So Are The Minerals

    “This is like walking into Kalgoorlie before it was discovered … it’s a relatively stable country with an authoritarian government … No, we don’t expect an uprising.” That was Tim Goyder, CEO of Australian mining company Chalice Gold Mine.  The “stable country with an authoritarian government” he is talking about is Eritrea.  And the Kalgoorlie…

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  • Eritrea: The 2010 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report

    The United Kingdom Foreign & Commonwealth Office released its “Human Rights And Democracy: The 2010 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report in March 2011.   The reports includes a detailed analysis of the status of human rights and democracy in 26 “countries of concern” which, of course, includes Eritrea.  Also included in the 26 countries of concern…

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  • Djibouti: Guelleh wins presidential bid; opponent concedes

    Djibouti’s incumbent president, Ismail Omar Guelleh, was re-elected to the presidency by a nearly four to one margin in Friday’s polls.  The challenger, Mohammed Wersama, has conceded. Across the country, Djiboutians went to polls starting at six am on Friday and voting stations were open until late at night, and the process was conducted peacefully. …

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  • ጃምቦ እቲ ዑቡድ ከልቢ ገዛውትና (ዳእላ)

    ዘገርም ህይወት እኮ`ዩ ዘሎና፡ ብውሽጢ ዑቡድ ከልቢ ኣይትንበሩ እንዳበለ ይነኽሰና፡ ብግዳም  ድማ ንምንታይ ምስ ዑቡድ ከልቢ ትነብሩ ኣለዅም ኢሎም ይኸሱና` ጃምቦ ዝበሃል ነይሩ- ከልቢ ገዛውትና፡፡ ጃምቦ ዕትዕት ኢሉ ሓፊስ፡ ቖርቦቱ ጎፍጓፍ  ኮይኑ ዝዕጕርጕር ዝበለ ኢዩ ነይሩ፡፡ ጃምቦ ብባህሪኡ ምንኻስ ክፈቱ መዓት`ዩ፡፡ ብፍላይ ብፍላይ ድማ ጭሩኡ ዝሕዞ ሰብ ሓንሳብ ምስ ነኸሰ ኣይሓድግን ኢዩ፡፡ ቅምታ መናብርቱ ስለ…

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  • ኤልሳ ጭሩም :ተራ መንእሰያት ኤርትራ ኣብ ምዕዋት ዲሞክራሲያዊ ለውጢ

    መደረ ኤልሳ ጭሩም ኣብቲ ብዕለት 25/03/11 ኣብ ለንደን ዝተገብረ ሰላማዊ ሰልፊ ተራ መንእሰያት ኤርትራ ኣብ ምዕዋት ዲሞክራሲያዊ ለውጢ ኩልና ከምንፈልጦ፣ ሃገርና ኤርትራ ኣብ 1991 ናጽነታ ክትዓትር ዝኸኣለት ሳላ እቲ ዘይሕለለ ቃልሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራን ብፍላይ ድማ መንእሰያት ኣዋልድን ኣወዳትን ደቃ እዩ። ይኹን እንበር ተቃለስቲ መሲሎም ብናይ ካልኦት ደምን ዓጽምን ተመኹልዮም ኣብ ስልጣን ዕድል ዝረኸቡ ገለ ጠላማት፣…

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  • What Eritrea Can Teach South Sudan

    On the eve of the actualization of its long-dreamed statehood, South Sudan is showing worrying signs of hazards ahead.  Each of the three driving forces in itself is a challenge, but combined they pose a threat so potent that it will require wisdom and some good fortune to avoid this calamity. And much of it…

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  • Djibouti President: Opposition Wants To Lead “Without Struggling”

    Gedab News, Djibouti, April 7, 2011: Today, in a press conference at the presidential palace, Djibouti President Ismail Guelleh criticized the opposition for having no alternative program and its forerunners for wanting “to be leaders without struggling.” “Opposition is necessary because it prevents what is happening in other countries from happening here,” he said, “When…

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  • Djibouti Presidential Election Campaign Ends Today

    The Djiboutian presidential election winded up today, Wednesday, April 6, 2011, with rallies of thousands of Djiboutians at stadiums. For a country with a population of 650,000, attendance was exceptionally large.  152,000 are registered voters, of whom 92,000 are from the capital city Djibouti. The candidates’ last campaigns were accompanied with colorful show of support…

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  • Eritrea And Its Unusual Embassies: Part 4

    Washington DC: In With A Whimper, Out With A Whimper In mid-March 2011, Ghirmai “Santim” Ghebremariam, who became Eritrea’s ambassador to the United States on September 12, 2006, was given ten days to pack up and leave the country.  Ghirmai “Santim” excels in the ruling party’s definition of “ambassador”, which is to say he made…

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  • Flawed Elections Are Better Than No Elections

    The supporters of dictatorship (including the supporters of Isaias Afwerki’s one-man rule) often state that it is better to have no elections than “sham elections.” Djibouti is scheduled to hold presidential elections on April 8, 2011.  The current president, Ismail Omar Guelleh, who has been Djibouti’s president since May 8, 1999 is expected to be…

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  • መዐቀኒ ሃገራዊነት!

    ሃግራዊነት ስፍሕ ዝበለ ትርጉምን ኣገላልጻን ኣለዎ። ብዙሓት ጸሓፍትን ናይ ፖለቲካ ፈላጣትን በቢዝመስሎም ብዝተፈላለየ መንገዲ ይገልጽዎ። ብሓፈሽኡ ግን ሃገራውነት ማለት ሓደ ብርቱዕ ስሚዐት ናይ ኩርዓትን ተኣማንነትን ሓርበኝነትን ናይ ሓደ ሃገር ኢዩ። እቲ ኣገዳሲ ሕቶ ግን ሃገራውነት ማለት እንታይ ማለት ኢዩ? ብዙሓት ሰባት ሃገራውነት ምስ ልዕላውነት የተሓሕዝዎ። “ቀንዲ ሃገራውነት ልዕላውነት ሃገር ምክልኻል ኢዩ።” ይብሉ። ቀጺሎም ልዕላውነት ምስ…

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  • Fox News Gets It Wrong On Eritrea

    In a news article entitled “Eritrea to UN: Take This Aid And Shove It”, foxnews.com characterizes a letter from Berhane Abrehe, Eritrea’s Minister of Finance, to Dr. Mamadou Diallo, the UN Resident/Humanitarian Co-ordinator in Asmara, as a case of Eritrea offering a “stinging rebuff” to the United Nations. While this description may please those who hate…

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  • Eritrea & Egypt: State Vs. Regime Security

    A man came to my office at the Paradiso Campus of the University of Asmara, showed me his ID card, placed a revolver on the desk in front of me, and asked to use the phone; he called his headquarters report that he was with me. He then began questioning me in detail about my…

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  • Rage! Rage! Rage!

    Dear Eritrean Youth, I feel your pain; I feel your pain. Oh, Sunset’s Children! Remember the 80s, waiting for the ‘To’Qae’! Remember when we hoped for the coming of our older brothers and sisters. Remember when we prayed. We saw tomorrow. Remember when we fought our own little battles, in our own way. ‘ELPA’, the…

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  • Fighting for France: A Matter of Perspective

    Ghadafi is still in power. It is amazing that he is still in power considering the amount of firepower and the number of forces arrayed against him. I have always wanted Ghadafi to disappear even more than I had wanted Isaise to disappear even though I am and never was or has been a Libyan…

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