Tag: Isaias Afwerki
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War-Caused Friction Among Eritreans
A government employee said, “In addition to the house-to-house search, uncles and aunts are forced to spy on their own children; spying and snitching on relatives, friends, and neighbors is tearing the Eritrean society apart.”
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Inter-Ethiopian Peace Talks
As many arrows, loos’d several ways, Come to one mark, as many ways meet in one town, As many fresh streams meet in one salt sea, As many lines close in the dial’s centre, So may a thousand actions, once afoot, End in one purpose, and be all well borne Without defeat! Shakespeare’s Play: Henry…
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Invaders or Defenders?
Today I will formally introduce the background intro music of Negarit, that you hear in the intro and outro. It is the work of my youngest brother Ahmed Abdulrahim. On behalf of myself and the audience of Negarit, I express my appreciation and gratitude to Ahmed for the gift. Thank you. I always avoid mentioning…
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Presence of Ethiopian Forces In Eritrea
Can wars end? What are signs that wars will end? What was the result of past “wars to end wars”? Is our region hastening Armageddon? Will the war in our region ever end? Who are the actors in the war apart from what we see? What is sovereignty when foreign forces are stationed in a…
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Mighty Eritrea and Great Tigray
I have been reading some books and trying to see the difference between the traditional Tigray and Amhara perspectives of ending Eritrean independence and swallowing it. Things never change in the South, the historical inter-Habesha rivalry rages on, since 1270–the ascension to power of the so-called Solomonic dynasty. The region still suffers from the millennia-old…
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Eritrean Opposition Movement: In Dire Search of Potency and Relevance
Whenever foreign journalists query Eritrea’s strongman, Isaias Afewerki about political opposition to his totalitarian rule, he is known to get a fake perplexed look on his face before retorting, in feigned puzzlement, “What opposition?” On further prodding from a persistent inquisitor, he tries to lay the question to rest with a dismissive, yet emphatic denial:…
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Sudan: Detention of Fifth-Generation Eritrean Refugees
Until the 19th century, the Horn of Africa was one vast region where communities knew their farming, grazing, and dwelling lands. But towards the end of the century nation states with boundaries appeared. Before that, Kings, warlords, and colonizers knew where to collect taxes from, but the people cared less on who the lord was,…
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Season of Migration to the PFDJ
During the last three-Covid-years, the PFDJ was restlessly awaiting the end of the pandemic to relaunch its propaganda onslaught. Now it’s back to normal and the PFDJ is active trying to regain its momentum. Parties, wild dancing craze, surrendering, wring regret statements, are abundant. Round ten, twenty or thirty of the onslaughts is on. Spies,…
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Drones Created Out of Dirty Residues
In the last episode of Negarit (#181), I asked my audience ‘what do they miss the most in Eritrea?’ I was not surprised by their answers because I can identify with most of them. But regardless, they were heart-wrenching. Let me begin with a memorable story about a strong, assertive, no-nonsense woman I knew as…
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Three Envelopes for The Horn of Africa Leaders
A newly appointed corporate manager asked his predecessor to give him the best advice he could. The outgoing manager gave him three envelopes and told him to open them in sequence whenever he faced serious difficulties. Soon, he opened the first one. It read: blame everything on the previous management and buy time. He did.…
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Support The PFDJ, Your Regime
Some people hate others with passion. They don’t like them criticizing or opposing the regime they support, the PFDJ, the single, unelected party ruling Eritrea. But when the regime aggresses on the rights of the citizens, they turn a blind eye. There are two sides and for fairness, one side is either wrong or right.…
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Abiy Threatens Eritrean Sovereignty
Last month the Ethiopian Federal Forces transported low-bed trucks loaded with tens of tanks heading towards the direction of Djibouti. The tanks were finally offloaded in Bure, a town on the Eritrean-Ethiopian border. Some sources claimed the tanks were transported from Djibouti to Assab by sea and from there, overland through Eritrean territories to Bure,…
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Let Sherifo Testify
I am sure you must remember Mahmmed Sherifo. Certainly, you remember the reformers. Were they reformers… or something else! And how is the constitution tied to their arrest! Lastly, what’s the foundation of a constitution! This topic includes two parts. It’s an important topic and I believe it will help many who might be confused…
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Somalia Elects President Hassen Sheik Mahmoud
Somalia led the ex-president Formaggio to the Exit door and welcomed President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud who won the election by 184 votes. Amid a worsening inflation, lack of security, food shortage and a widespread draught, Somalia’s 328 representatives elected Hassan Sheikh Mohamud out of 35 contenders. Mohammed Formaggio, the last president came next. President Hassen…
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Between Constitutionalism and “The Constitution”
[Reading time 9 minutes] Carlo was a driving school owner and trainer who was traveling to Keren in a bus together with his friend. The bus driver was reckless and seemed incompetent. The bus swayed and the passenger panicked, including Carlo. The friend asked Carlo to sit beside the driver and instruct him how to…
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Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan in Turmoil
After three-years of chaos, Sudan is still going through a precarious political situation where the central government has little control over the peripheries outside the Khartoum metropolis. Armed insurgencies and unrest engulf Kordofan and Darfur regions, only the latter is relatively calm due to the presence of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a militia group…
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Three-Legged Stool: Team Lemma, Loses Its Luster
[This Pencil Editorial was first published on March 18, 2019. Today, three years later, we are republishing it hoping it might help refresh our memories on what transpired since then might//Editor] At the beginning, avid admirers considered it pure gold, now they are startled, Team Lemma has lost its luster. Also, unbeknownst to many, it’s…
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Singers and Poets
About ten years ago there was a popular singer named Tarreqe. He had a unique voice. Until his slow disappearance, he used to remind me of Mohammed Wardi the Sudanese singer. Last time I watched Isaias’ marathon interview–I had to because it’s my raw material. After the end of the interview, Helen Meles screeched, neberlna,…
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Ethiopia Prepares for a Negotiated Settlement
On Sunday, a two-day long pan-Ethiopian meeting concluded in Addis Ababa. The preparatory meeting elected a committee that will draw plans for a wider nationwide consultation and negotiations conference in which the constitution and the federal status of Ethiopia will be discussed. Regional notables, academicians and politicians attended the meeting. The attendants overwhelmingly agreed that…
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Awate.com’s Saleh Johar interviews Meles Zenawi (2008)
The following was first published in May 26, 2008. It’s the first ever interview with the late PM Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia by an Eritreans entity since 1997. The file was lost around 2012 due to some server mishap. Thereafter, several people have asked us about it but we couldn’t find it until recently. This republishing is dedicated…