Article

History and Essential Principles of Rule of Law

The Eritrean struggle like all others in the world has always been a struggle to establish liberty and enshrine guaranteed civil liberties for all Eritreans. And only the rule of law guarantees and protects civil liberties. Not elections and multi-party contests accomplish that, though these are desirable items. If these items as stand alone by themselves were so good without being coupled with the rule of law, then there would have been no human right violations in many  African nations  such as for example: Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria and Ethiopia - despite the fact that these nations have working constitutions, parliaments, relatively free press, multiparty contests, relatively free judiciary and etc. (I do not believe Eritrea is even in the same league as these nations, since Eritrea is a lawless state.) As a rule of thumb, a nation that abides by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights respects the rule of law.

Angelo’s Dangerous Liaison

Angelo, died a few decades ago, and not of natural causes. If by any chance, he is listed among the tens of thousands who died for ghedli, it must not be believed for he had a “spoiled biography in the EPLF. Like countless others, whose deaths have often been attributed to the violent practices of the organization, his death is not a closed case. He was one of the several thousands of children fathered by Italian soldiers/settlers and abandoned to their mothers. ...

Rest his soul poor Angelo! Though the Sahel, being a place of all horrors, is not a good resting place, hiis body was possibly dumped in unmarked grave without the statues of praying angels that were familiar to his paternal ancestors. No flowers for his “tomb” in all the Souls ‘Day since he passed away. In his last moment before his death, did Angelo shout “awet n‘hafash” in Tigrigna as it is alleged for many, or did he instead say “per niente” in his father’s tongue?

(Picture: Italian cemetery in Asmara)

From Warriors to Urban Dwellers : Ascari and the Military Factor in the Urban Development of Colonial Eritrea*

The aim of this article is to discuss the role played by the military component in the process of urbanisation which Eritrea experienced, between 1890 and 1941, under Italian colonialism. Two main points will be discussed. The first one is the role played by military priorities in determining lines of development in the early colonial urban planning in Eritrea. In this section I will analyse how the criteria of military defensibility, rather than economic or functional priorities, had a significant influence on the main patterns of early colonial settlements in Eritrea. The second point discussed in this article is the nature and extent of the interaction between colonial urban planning and Eritrean society. Here I will discuss how this interaction has reshaped the Eritrean social and economic landscape. In this context special attention will be given to the role of Eritrean colonial troops better known as ascari. ...

Crisis for Eritrean Refugees in Israel: Looming Deportation

The most surprising event happened yesterday June 14 when this same minister visited the Eritrean embassy at 12:00 pm local time, for more than 3 hours. ... The minister made a phone call to Asmara and discussed Eritrean immigrants with General Abraha Kassa (PFDJ head of security). Abraha informed the minister that the Eritrean economy was growing and that the initial cause of migration was not a political problem but the search for better economic opportunities. ...

Thus, both sides reached an agreement that all Eritrean immigrants be returned to their country. The cost of transport would be covered by the Israeli government. Tesfamariam Tekeste, the PFDJ ambassador could not find enough words to describe his happiness. On the other hand, there is no doubt that PFDJ is at its peak of preparedness to make sure that thousands of these immigrants get punished as it always did in the past to secure its positions from dissent.

Our Refugees -- Why and How Many More?

One of the darkest and saddest days was when we visited a big “home” for the mentally challenged.  These are a big group of men who have literally lost their minds.  Some were violent and suicidal until a church sponsored by the refugees themselves and led by a great man, Qeshi Benyam, decided to take care of them under one roof.  They are young guys between 20 and 40 whose lives have been messed up by the devil!!  One was a deportee from Malta.  He speaks to no one and only looks at the ground with both hands on his head!!  Desperately looking for love and attention and someone to tell him all will be OK soon!!

We also spent a lot of time talking to  many from the Kunama community – men and women.  Very impressive people.  The bold and articulate women told us that in some ways life in the camp is better than in their villages back home.  Here they have organized themselves under different interest groups: general support groups, women and youth. ...

The Tom and Jerry Game with a Twist

It is said that Issayas enjoys the Tom and Jerry cartoon. Indeed he has on a number of occasions referred to the running around in the cartoon in public. Presumably he fancies himself to be the smart alec?? Jerry giving the bigger and stupid Toms of this world, the US, the Woyanes the run around and outsmarting them completely. If that is indeed the game that our Jerry has been playing for more than a decade now, the game is over or rather there is now a cruel twist to the game.

Our Jerry is mortally crippled and is unable to run around. He is completely at the mercy and in the pawns of the local Tom, the Woyane. This particularly evil Tom does not seem to be interested in finishing off Jerry and swallowing him whole. He just seems to be interested to give him a good spank here and a nasty pinch there, throwing him to the air and watch him land with agony. This particular game is now being played over and over again.

Eritrea: the Martyrs' Dream - "Hidri Suwuatna"

If a book can be made to dream, the Book of Martyrdom’s wish would be to get as fat as it could possibly get: the fatter it gets, the more precious it becomes. It advices us to seek the cause in the numbers of martyrs it has meticulously compiled: the higher the corpses compiled, the greater the cause. No wonder it abhors any dietary advice from the concerned masses to keep itself lean. Its dream of getting fat was momentarily fulfilled when 20,000 more martyred during the border war were added to its already long list. But since the Book has an insatiable appetite, there is no way it could be satisfied once and for all. The perpetual deference of the ultimate goal, be it in the name of “independence”, “sovereignty”, “self reliance”, “h’adinetna” or other elusive ideals, guarantees that it never runs out of “causes” that demand further sacrifice. Thus, the sacrifice in blood and sweat in the altar of ghedli has to go on to sustain the culture of martyrdom until the whole edifice collapses out of lethal hemorrhage, which is what the latest diagnosis of Eritrea tends to indicate.

The War of 1998 to 2000: Stultification for Political and Diplomatic Posturing

Peace making efforts were started in good faith armed with optimism. The USA-Rwanda joint delegation drafted unbiased and straightforward proposals. Their proposals were of high quality in view of international peace making attempts. They were equally favorable to save face, more so to the PFDJ then FDRE. Their proposal passed the first complex behavioral machination and got favorable response from FDRE. But, it was rejected by Isaias Afeworki who gave no valid and tangible reason to do what he did. Hence, the first attempt failed because it was accepted only by Ethiopia.

Open Letter to Swiss Parliamentarians

We, the undersigned friends of Eritrea and its citizens opposed to the current Eritrean government, are writing this open letter to appeal to the conscience of Swiss legislators and urge them to be fair to genuine refugees by desisting support for the draft bill that mainly intends to deny refugee status to Eritrean “deserters”.

We understand that the intended revision will make the granting of asylum nearly impossible to military deserters and conscientious objectors arriving in Switzerland, almost all of whom in the past six years have been Eritreans.. According to this revision, temporary permits will be granted to asylum seekers that for political or humanitarian situations cannot be deported.

Principles of Democracy

The article “Principles of Democracy” pasted below is a compilation of twenty-one pillars of democracy written by experts in the subject of the State Department of the USA.

I observe that at times the opposition acts in cross-purposes. The confusion I believe primarily emanates from not having a common understanding of the essential doctrine of democracy and the rule of law. Thus, now and then, it may be necessary to read and review the theoretical concepts of democracy and the rule of law free from our biases and prejudices of the Eritrean national liberation struggle.

Let Them Shine: the Eritrean Youth Conference in Washington DC:

I was overwhelmed with hope when I read the report of the Youth conference dated 25 -27 May 2012 in Washington DC – USA and the two articles that followed posted in Asmarino.com. One was by Miriam – titled "Why DC was simply different" dated 29 May and the other was by Selam Kidane titled, "Enthusiasm, excitement, motivation and Pinch of creativity: Washington DC's winning formula. ...

The participants of the conference and demonstration must have experienced a profound inspiration and I am confident that they take the organisation dynamic very seriously. I remember during the apartheid period in South Africa when the African Students globally had a big conference, the slogan was "Don't agonize, organise". Getting organized is what the Eritrean youth are doing.

Message to the peoples of Israel, Egypt and Libya

There is no question about the history of migration about the Israelites, as we have all seen them settled in every country we are in at the moment - just because of their terrible history. In everything, therefore, there is a general norm of reciprocity to treat others the same way you want them to treat you. Thus, the peoples and governments of Israel, Libya and Egypt should act soon to curb the heartless activities of these human traffickers and robbers, in the first place. And, more importantly, they should act like responsible governments, who value humanity ahead of their narrowly minded national interests. But, if they fail to do so, they will definitely be ashamed of this black history later – suffering of helpless fellow Eritreans - being manifested in their territories.