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ENCDC Congress In May, Armed Clash In Qennito
On February 23, 2016, Haj Abdenur, the chairman of the Eritrean National Council for Democratic Change (ENCDC) issued a press release in which he announced the decision to hold the second congress between 26 and 30 of May, 2016. The first congress of the ENCDC was held in Hawassa, Ethiopia, in November 2011. However, the…
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BBC & Its Tiny Circle Of Sources
This edition of The Pencil was published on Sept. 18, 2004. We are republishing it on the occasion of its almost 14th year anniversary! BBC’s stringer to Eritrea, Jonah Fischer, was expelled from his station in Eritrea last week. The expulsion demonstrates two things: it encapsulates the erratic and juvenile nature of the Eritrean authorities…
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The Pretend Tudor Monarch And His Banks
Since late last year when the Eritrean regime imposed tighter controls on the Nakfa currency, the already small Eritrean economy has shrunk, mainly due to shortage of cash in the market. The acute shortage of cash in circulation has hit the retail business hard and drastically reduced its size—perishable products for instance, a kilogram of tomatoes…
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Talking Mountains, Thanking Eagles, And lyrics
There are mountains that talk, eagles that thank, and lyrics that speak to non-humans. And I still remember where I was and what I was doing, when for the time I heard someone talking to an eagle and the eagle responding. Wedi Ghebru was singing, “Abba-Gunbah Berekha ab Homib entay re’ikha…” I did not know…
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Release Of Hussein Khelifa And Hamdoi Expected Anytime
If the Sudanese authorities keep the promise they gave to different people, Hussein Khelifa, the leader of of the ELF, and Abdelah Hamdoi, a member of the leadership council of the same organization, are expected to be released from prison anytime. One of the sources that communicated with the Sudanese authorities told Gedab News, “They…
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“Mistir Leyti”: Secret of The Night
During the struggle (Ghedli), the Tigrinya phrase for “password” was “misTir Leyti”: secret of the night. Usually, it was the name of a martyr, shared and circulated per whisper up to the tegadalay (combatant) serving in the frontline. Practiced throughout the whole Liberation Front and renewed on a daily basis, it was crucial for the survival…
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Eritrea’s King Isaias Afwerki Judges The World
Recall that in Part 1 of the interview with Eritrean state media (EriTV), President Isaias Afwerki addressed domestic issues and essentially said there is nothing wrong in Eritrea that a little more controlling and louder commanding couldn’t fix. Alnahda’s commentary on that can be found here. In part 2 of his interview last month, our…
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Hussein Khelifa and Abdelah Hamdoi Arrested In Sudan
Last Saturday Sudanese security officers in Kassala arrested Hussein Khelifa who is the president of the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) as well as the chairman of the central leadership of the Eritrean Democratic Alliance (EDA), and member of the Eritrean National Council for Democratic Change (ENCDC). Shortly after that the officers also arrested Abdellah Hamdoi,…
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Critiques And The Politics of Truth: “EASE” Demonstrated Afar’s Grievances
“No theory can develop without encountering a wall, and practice is necessary for piercing this wall” [Gilles Deleuze] Introduction On December 26 to 27, 2015, the “Global Eritrean Advocacy Network” (GEAN) had convened a conference in Cypress California [Gedab News, Dec. 30, 2015]. In the conference Ahmed Youssouf Mohamed, the chairman of the “Eritrean Afar…
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Interview: Isaias Plans To Command Economy, Society
In an interview conducted by EriTV, Eritrea’s state television, which is owned and operated by Isaias Afwerki, Eritrea’s Auditor General, Isaias Afwerki, conducted a thorough assessment of Eritrea’s President, Isaias Afwerki, and found him wanting in all aspects. The take-away message from the two-part interview is one: the government intends to have more command and…
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Growing International Consensus On Realities In Eritrea
The October 2015 UN Security Council (UNSC) decision to extend the mandate of the Somalia-Eritrea Monitoring Group, hence retain existing sanctions on Eritrea’s dictatorship until December 2016 was a major victory for all who struggle for democracy and human rights in the country. Passed just six months after the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) released…
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Securing Common Understanding On Our Core Issues
Securing Common Understanding on our Core Issues – National Language, Land Proclamation, Refugee Repatriation, Ethnic and Minority Issues, Developing Human Resources – for United and Stable Eritrea. The paper below is meant as an accompaniment to the video presentation I gave recently and it is not a replacement to it. Therefore, I urge readers to…
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The Prayers Of Good People
Mr. Johar! Mr. Johar! It was Big Bird calling my name; I could see the bright red mouth when it opened its yellow beak. There was clamor, unusual commotion for the calm Sesame Street Show. The noise became tense, and louder. Big Bird continued calling my name: Mr. Johar. Mr. Johar! When I opened my eyes there…
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Of Water, Women and Wind: The Three Ws of Eritrea
Semere Andom, the child of the Ontario water, wiring from Toronto–fresh is its breeze! The Water Isaias Afwerki told Eritreans that water does not come to where people are, it is the people who should travel to where it is available. He was predictably belligerent in the context of the question given his habitual disrespect…
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The Shingrwa Of Eritrean Politics
Just to make things clear first: ‘Shingrwa’ was the American idol of Eritrea, and the word which is borrowed from the Blin language, means ‘Star’. The first time it was aired on Eri-TV in 2009, I remember when we surrounded the TV on Saturday afternoons eagerly waiting to be entertained. To be honest, the first…
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Pirates Of The PFDJ
In 1976, when the Derg announced the change of King Haile Selassie’s birr in Ethiopia, the general public was reluctant to surrender the currency to the bank. People perceived the birr as a currency “guaranteed with gold” though by then the world had long dropped the system of defining the value of currency with gold.…
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PFDJ Festival: Defections In Melbourne, Australia
In a recent cycle of abandoning the Eritrean regime, the singer Aklilu Mebrahtu, and Yosief Amine, a saxophone player, have defected and asked for political protection in Melbourne, Australia. The fate of the other members of the group is not yet known. The two were among a group of musicians and artists who were participating…
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Kiros Yohannes Pays Tribute to Saleh Gadi
I was moved and elated to read Kiros Yohannes poem on Saleh Gadi; it is a fitting tribute. Kiros Yohannes believes that we should not wait to express our appreciation and respect for the giants, who walk among us, till they are no longer with us. For the last few days, Saleh Gadi was in…
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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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They Spoke Truth To Power
There is no dearth of honest, courageous individuals who, at various stages of the evolution of Eritrea’s current dictatorship, spoke out and stood up to injustice. General Bitweded, whose historic 1997 speech exposed PFDJ’s brutal rule; Seid Ali Hijay (Wed Ali), and his colleagues, who paid the ultimate price in search of freedom and constitutional…
