Why on Aiga Forum?
Mussie Zena
Feb. 20th. 2010
Why the Ethiopians say the Eritrean issue is all about Eritreans
in public and works in maneuvering problems on Eritrean opposition
undercover by entertaining such an irresponsible article on
their biggest government website www.aigaforum.com? I am saying
the Ethiopians and not only aigaforum because the website is
government owned.
Except
for very few, I believe that PFDJ is the enemy of the whole
Eritrean people. But why the writer of the article “Eritrea – Pushing
the Panic Button to Its Peaks” on www.aigaforum.com (date
not mentioned but it is probably on Feb 16 or 17, 2010) wants
to brand all highland Eritrean Tigrinyas as PFDJs or the other
side of the same coin and aigaforum shows its support by posting
the article on their website. As you can see from his article
the writer is a user that he would be grateful of the Tigray
Tigrinyas and accuses all the Eritrean Tigrinyas of romanticizing
hollow pride, identity crisis, contempt and disillusionment.
In my opinion, he praised the Tigray Tigrinyas just because
they hold a government and he is looking for extra backing
for himself or his group from the Ethiopian side. Otherwise
they are all Tigrinyas. In case he is considerate to the Tigray
Tigrinyas because they accommodate article 39 on their constitution
that is all about the Ethiopians. In case of Eritrea it will
or will not be the truth as it is up to the people of Eritrean
to decide.
I
do not have any dilemma about Ethiopians in building an ethnic
based federal system except to be glad as far as the
people of Ethiopia are happy. To avoid ambiguity, I also have
no problem if Eritreans chose to have the same kind of structure.
But what matters to me is whenever we talk about ethnicity
I notice people trying to lay all the burdens of the evils
of the PFDJ towards the “Eritrean highland Tigrinyas
minority” (quoting from the writer’s article).
The writer argues the 700,000 Eritrean Tigrinya highlanders
are minorities among the 5.2 million Eritreans but he did not
say a word about the 6 million Tigray Tigrinyas who are also
the same among the 80 million Ethiopians. I wonder why the
writer couldn’t challenge this simple logic when he said “the
Eritrean Tigrina minorities” in Eritrea. I feel he wanted
to thrill his Tigray Tigrinya bosses.
By
the way why do we must need or why it seems to be fare to
blackmail the highland Tigrinyas in order to
talk about or comprise a decentralized ethnic based government
in future Eritrea? Why don’t we attack the PFDJ with
out mentioning ethnic Tigrinya? Why don’t we also keep
our breath for a second and think about those Tigrinya Eritreans
thrown at every corner of the planet because they are not PFDJs?
What about those in prison? Can’t we able to discuss
or agree in a professional manner why we need or we do not
need our future Eritrea to be ethnic based without degrading
the Eritrean Tigrinyas? I myself would say still we can. If
we can do this why we knowingly want to dishearten other fellow
Eritreans and need to create a gap among ourselves.
As
a typical example I am born from a Tigrinya family in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia and my parents took me to Eritrea immediately
after independence when I was a teenager. I had stayed for
8 years in Eritrea and it has been 9 years since I left the
country. While I was in Eritrea I had the chance to know the
true colour of the PFDJ and that is why I have decided to join
the struggle against it. I did not even know I was an Eritrean
until I came to Eritrea let alone to know I am Eritrean Tigrinya.
While I was in Ethiopia I used to remember when people called
us “Tigrie”. I had no clue whether I am Ethiopian
Tigrinya or Eritrean Tigrinya. Hence, I would like to ask the
writer of the article on where would be my position according
to your blind and narrow judgement? I hope it will not be with
the always bad doers “the minority Eritrean Tigrinya
highlanders”. If you say so… do you think I care?
I don’t care except keeping the flame of democracy alive.
Do you assume I need to be the fan of self determination up
to secession to be a genuine Eritrean opposition? I don’t
think so. I believe it is not rational to label all Eritrean
Tigrinya highlanders as “naturally terrible” just
because they are instinctive to Tigrinya families. This argument
is not only totally twisted but also extremely undemocratic.
After all, if the writer is not silly no one has ever chosen
his family; we only had the chance to know our ancestors after
birth. Had it been possible to pick up our roots, many people
in the world could have chosen to belong to other ancestors
than they have today.
Simultaneously,
it is very surprising to find out aigaforum the well known
Ethiopian government owned website
showing us such a gesture knowing that the EDA umbrella organization
head quartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia has all kinds of Eritrean
opposition organizations including organizations with “minority
Eritrean highland Tigrinyas”. I just can’t understand
the motive behind the publication of the article on this giant
website. If they are trying to tell us that they are supporting
the notion of the writer on his weak attitude I would only
say it is not reasonable. Or as we are in their land as an
opposition, if they are trying to enlighten or dictate us by
means of such articles and opinions that we should have an
ethnic based federal government in future Eritrea I will say
(as they always speak in public) it is only our (“Eritreans”)
business to establish any kind of government the way we want.
As far as they (Ethiopians) were free to decide on their political
fate I ask them to give us a space to do so.
In
this historical period especially when we are targeting at
a national conference I basically couldn’t see any
good reason and I believe it is not wise to cooperate in posting
such an article that could let down those “Eritrean Tigrinya
minorities” who are struggling against the inhuman PFDJ
regime. In fact, I do not need to be told the Ethiopians have
the same political programs with the ethnic based Eritrean
opposition organizations however I only would like to counsel
them to extend any extra compassion to them in private.
Hoping to get an explanation for the critical question in
my mind about the backstage drama of posting the above mentioned
article from the aigaforum website administrators, here I invite
my readers to examine the full article posted at www.aigaforum.com.
It was on the front page until on February 20, 2010. In connection
with part of the writer’s article about the upcoming
PFDJ demonstration and in case he wishes to know my stand on
it he can listen to my interview with Radio Selam based on
Washington DC, on the 21st of February @ 2PM Washington DC
time at www.wust1120.com - Selam Radio.
Mussie Zena:- zenamg@yahoo.com
Eritrea – Pushing
the Panic Button to Its Peaks
Abdullah A. Ado – Email: abdullahadoa@gmail.com
Pushing the Panic Button over UNSC-Sanctions:
As I write, aware of the impending demise of Afewarki and his
military Junta’s dictatorship, PFDJ-henchmen including
Ali Abdu, Minister of Information, Yemane Gebreab, Head of
the Political Affairs (PFDJ), and Teame “Mekele” a
member of PFDJ are said to be in Frankfurt, Germany at the
Innside Premium Hotel Niederrand. On this mission, they are
tasked by Afewarki to: (a) coordinate PFDJ-clandestine activities
in collaboration with those who sympathize with PFDJ; (b) plead
to the Diaspora to show up in the February 22nd 2010 gatherings
and demonstrations against the United Nations Security Council
(UNSC) sanctions; (c) establish new, independent routes of
laundering money; (d) coordinate and put into action cyber
attacks on websites which are proactively sending out current
affairs; and (d) closely follow up opposition groups’ demonstration
planned to take place in Geneva, Switzerland on February 23,
2010. These PFDJ-junta henchmen are on a last minute PFDJ-trip
before the implementation of the UNSC-embargos curtails them;
and to disclose Afewarki’s relief and make it possible
to prolong his PFDJ-military junta rule. Indeed Afewarki and
his PFDJ-junta are highly concerned and in search of a way
out of the quagmire they have indulged into due to the rapid
decline of support from Diaspora.
On his
part, on February 6, 2010 Eritrea's EU-Ambassador, Girma Asmerom,
arrived at Folket Huset, in Backa, Hisingen, Gothenburg,
Sweden, to speak to those Afewarki and his PFDJ-junta-friendly
Swedish-Eritrean groups and plead to them to come out in
huge numbers on 22 February 2010 and demonstrate in public
in order to awaken the Swedish public opinion against the
UNSC-sanctions passed on December 23, 2009. To his surprise,
however, some 30 members of the newly established Swedish-Eritrean
Association for Democracy and Justice were actually gathered
to protest against Afewarki and his PFDJ-junta outside Folket
Huset. Seeing these demonstrators Girma Asmerom slipped out
of the meeting hall through the back door protected by the
Swedish police in place and avoided likely confrontations
by protesters that held placards with pictures of Eritrean
prisoners of conscience without trial in Eritrean deserts – including
the Eritrean Swedish national Dawit Isaak Esayas and demanded
the immediate release of these prisoners.
Following suit on the order transmitted by tyrant Issayas Afewarki
ambassadors are attempting to refute the UNSC-embargos imposed
on Eritrea; and even orchestrating events including holding
press conferences. A case in point is the recent press release
made by Salih Omar, ambassador to Kenya, in which he claimed
that accusations against Eritrea for its involvement in Somalia
has never been substantiated or verified. But his contention
was instantly refuted by the Somali Ambassador in Kenya who
indicated as evidences were put on UNSC-table for their decisions.
Ruling under the barrel of the gun
As evidently
observable, most of the PFDJ-Junta members are Eritrean highland
Tigrinya minorities who are about 700,000
people of the nearly 5.2 million people within Afewarki’s
Eritrea, a fiefdom held in complete hostage; while the very
people of Tigray where TPLF originated from, and who rescued
EPLF from the paw of the Dergue are over 6 million population
wise. So what is all these where Eritrean Tigrinya highlanders
romanticizing their hollow pride, identity crisis, contempt
and disillusionment. For those of us who side with the oppressed
Eritrean population, Afewarki and his military junta are our
subjugators including Afar, Kunama, Saho, Beja, Bilen and other
minorities. As far as we know, the Eritrean highland Tigrinya
minority group rules Eritrea under the barrel of the gun. Even
during the early 1990s referendum moment we were warned by
Issayas Afewarki and his Gestapo soldiers that kept on threatening
the public with such statements as: "If you vote Red you
are dead!" Now that Issayas Afewarki is spending a large
portion of the national funds on weapons, he used that as an
excuse to stay in power and cancel the regular elections and
the drafted constitution.
So what is all this mumbling about Eritrean identity? Can we
then call this a genuine highland-lowland ‘unity’?
Not as far as the oppressed Afar, Kunama, Saho, Bilen and Beja
communities are concerned. Mind you, Eritrea is still on the
making. It is a fragile nation formation experiment that can
easily crumble by its own internal frictions and factions.
Every abnormal action being waged by Afewarki and his PFDJ-military
junta are leading to a possible faction and to the good old
days of the ghedli era. The Sawa garrisons’ national
service policy is nothing but an exact copy of Shaabia in between
the 1960s through to 2001; created with the aim to manipulate
and acculturate the youth teghadelti group out of the silent
and salient majority within Eritrea with what Afewarki terms
as indoctrinating ghedli values in the youths’ mind.
Elites busy with drafting scenarios:
While pushing
the panic button around the glob is continuing, few Eritrean
Tigrinya Highland group elites in Diaspora continue
with their age-old fashionable lame excuses trying to divert
attention from critical issues of Issayas Afewarki’s
military junta rule at home. In so doing they continue with
idealist arguments in conference halls waging for a peaceful
takeover of power and on how to continue the status quo with
highlanders securing the usual top seats of power. To this
effect, suffice to look at few of the known websites, where
almost all articles coming regularly from these Eritrean highland
Tigrinya elite groups reflect the key concern they have after
Afewarki’s demise. They talk of what would happen once
tyrant Issayas Afewarki is gone for no return? What kind of
constitution should Eritrean peoples have? What kind of government
should Eritrea install next? What languages should Eritrea
have as its official national language? How do Eritrean peoples
resolve the traditional land issue at stake? What should be
the role of religion in future Eritrea? Which is viable - Decentralized
and Federal or unitary and unionist regime?
Obsessed as they are with promoting their exclusive Tigrinya
Highlanders agendas that have entirely to do with the hereafter,
they pay little attention to the shocks faced by the silent
and salient majority of the Eritrean peoples here and now.
For Eritrean Tigrinya highlanders, it is not Issayas who is
their primary obstacle or enemy; but whoever they think will
be bickering and competing against them now and in the hereafter
for taking the seat of power in Asmara. As they were customarily
acting during the revolutionary heydays of the 1960s through
to 2001 their cry for “democracy” has provided
them with an excellent camouflage to do whatever they are doing
in politically correct ways in their mind-set-up. But tragic
enough our peasant and pastoral communities within Eritrea
lack the “barest minimum” of Eritrean highland
Tigrinya “democratic play” that could prevent them
from all the havoc and horror-filled living conditions we witness
in Issayas Afewarki’s Gestapo junta ruled Eritrea in
the name of ghedli that has been and still is taxing our peoples’ limbs
and lives mercilessly. So it is rather high time that we in
Diaspora speak for them, demonstrate for them, and to call
a spade a spade and slap them on the face.
As far as RSADO is concerned we say the fragile Eritrean nation
formation can only hold water if there is attitude change and
constitutional governance. Otherwise what is in a name ‘Eritrea’ and
its ‘sovereignty’ without keeping our oppressed
pastoral and peasant communities’ worth, respect and
value? What do we have in stake in an unimplemented draft Constitution,
where only Eritrean highland Tigrinya elite in Diaspora collectively
drafted without the consent of the silent majority peasants
and pastoralists?
Those of
us who write exposing the genocides and madness acts and actions
of Issayas Afewarki and his corrupt PFDJ-junta
in Eritrea are often attacked, verbally, in pen, and physically
and in false reports on the internet, often by ‘Eritrean
highland Tigrinya minorities in Diaspora’ who continue
protecting their own financial interests and their kin holding
autocratic power at the cost of surviving on peasants and pastoralists
labour and military services.
Concluding Remarks:
As far as RSADO and the vast majority of peasants and pastoralists
are concerned, if the UNSC-sanctions are realized, it is not
the Eritrean people who suffer from the arms embargo, travel
ban and assets freeze; rather it is only the coffers of Issayas
Afewarki and his PFDJ-military junta’s corrupt henchmen
whose assets may eventually be frozen. In fact, it is better
to freeze their assets. These assets are nothing but stolen
from the slave-labour of Eritrean salient and silent majority.
But the empty rhetoric and cries by Eritrean highland Tigrinya
groups of ‘‘fake unity’’. Boils down
to answering the following critical question: Who is really
carrying the brunt of the suffering due to Issayas Afewarki’s
non-stop oppression in Eritrea? As far as we see it these are
the rural peasants and pastoralists. In such circumstance,
we can’t unite with those who do not appreciate our dying
for Eritrea on the formation stage; we cannot hold a rally
pretending that the UNSC-embargos are a bad thing for our people.
Things could not possibly get any worse for the Eritrean masses
than what is so ticklish enough for Afewarki and his ruling
junta clicks caught in panic and run around the glob pleading
for a demonstration show-off cases.
For those
of us who side with and represent the oppressed peasants and
pastoralists of Eritrea, the UNSC-embargos are a way forward.
If the global demonstration is against Issayas Afewarki and
his military junta, then that would be wonderful action for
us to join, clap-our hands, and make our voices heard to the
wider-world telling enough is enough. But rallying and encouraging
the Eritrean Diaspora to challenge the golden opportunity that
has befallen with the UNSC-Sanctions would be an absolute waste
of human resources. On the contrary, it is high time to make
a joint wake-up call and unite all Eritrean peoples in Diaspora
against Tyrant Issayas Afewarki and his PFDJ-military Junta.
