January 31, 2012

Eritrean youth across the globe are calling their counterparts inside the country to demonstrate their outrage at the human and democratic rights abuses by emptying the streets in towns and cities throughout the country every Friday evening starting Friday 3rd of February. The call that has been transmitted through electronic communication and social media has so far been received positively by Eritreans inside the country.

In solidarity with the initiative all independent Eritrean media outlets will broadcast solidarity messages [...]]]>

January 31, 2012

Eritrean youth across the globe are calling their counterparts inside the country to demonstrate their outrage at the human and democratic rights abuses by emptying the streets in towns and cities throughout the country every Friday evening starting Friday 3rd of February. The call that has been transmitted through electronic communication and social media has so far been received positively by Eritreans inside the country.

In solidarity with the initiative all independent Eritrean media outlets will broadcast solidarity messages as well as announcements for the evening of protest.

The event is anticipated to send strong messages of outrage against the injustice in the country as well as demonstrate the solidarity across forces fighting for democracy and justice.

Eritreans inside the country live under one of the most brutal regimes in the world today. The regime prohibits its nationals from exercising their basic human and democratic rights, and is intolerant to any form of freedom of expression.

Calling on the Eritrean public to support this event a statement from Eritrean Youth Solidarity for Change said: “This is a unique opportunity for every Eritrean to show their support for democratic change in the country, EYSC calls on all Eritreans outside the country to contact their friends and relatives inside the country and encourage them to empty the streets and demonstrate to PFDJ that it is high time things changed for the better in Eritrea.”

 Notes for the editor

1. PFDJ isEritrea’s ruling party and the only legal party in the country
2. The regime inEritrea has been criticized by numerous human rights organizations owing to its appalling records of human rights abuse.Eritreais one of the worst abusers of freedom of press in the world today and the religious freedom violations in the country have also been a cause for grave concern to the international community
3. Eritrea’s indefinite National Service has been highlighted as illegal and unjust
4. Many Eritrean young people flee the country to escape the National service and all the other human rights abuses.Eritreais one of the top refugee producing nations in the world today.
5. Eritrea youth fleeing the country are faced by numerous obstacles including the government’s ‘shoot to kill ‘ policy for those caught. They also fall pray of unscrupulous people smugglers and traffickers, including those who are involved in illegal organ harvesting
6. Eritrean Youth Solidarity for Change (EYSC) is a Diaspora based global youth movement, fighting for democracy and justice in the country.

CONTACT:

Eritrean Youth Solidarity for Change (EYSC)

Email: info@eysc.net

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/eritreanyouth

Website: www.eysc.net

Sunday 05.02.2012

From 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Al-Noor Restaurant( Prev. Al-Fanoos)

 118 Stratford Road Birmingham B11 1AJ

መቐጸልታ ናይቲ በብከባቢኡ ዝካየድ ዘሎ መብርሂ ናይ ኤርትራዊ ሃገራዊ ጉባኤ ንዲሞክራሲያዊ ለውጢ፡ ሰልፊ ናህዳ ኤርትራ ጨንፈር ዓባይ ብሪጣንያ ብቀዳም 14.01.2012 ኣብ ሎንደን ንኣባላት ሰልፍን ጀበርቲ ተቐማጦ ከተማ ሎንደንን ከባቢኣን ኣካይዱ። መጀመሪያ እቲ ኣኼባ ብቁርኣን ኣልከሪም ድሕሪ ምኽፋቱ፡ ሓላፊ ክፍሊ ውደባ ጨንፈር ሓው ጀማል ፍትዊ ንኣባለት ሰልፍን ዕዱማትን እንቋዕ ብዳሓን መጻእኩም ኢሉ፡፡ ቀጺሉ ሓላፊ ጨንፈር ዓባይ ብሪጣንያ፡ ሓው ሙሳ በሺር ንኣባላትን ንዑዱማት ኣጋይሽን ዕድሜ ኣኽቢሮም ብምምጻኦም ደጊሙ ድሕሪ ምምስጋን ብዛዕባ ኤርትራዊ ሃገራዊ ጉባኤ ንዲሞክራሲያዊ ለውጢ ሰፊሕ መግለጺ ሂቡ። ሓው [...]]]>

መቐጸልታ ናይቲ በብከባቢኡ ዝካየድ ዘሎ መብርሂ ናይ ኤርትራዊ ሃገራዊ ጉባኤ ንዲሞክራሲያዊ ለውጢ፡ ሰልፊ ናህዳ ኤርትራ ጨንፈር ዓባይ ብሪጣንያ ብቀዳም 14.01.2012 ኣብ ሎንደን ንኣባላት ሰልፍን ጀበርቲ ተቐማጦ ከተማ ሎንደንን ከባቢኣን ኣካይዱ። መጀመሪያ እቲ ኣኼባ ብቁርኣን ኣልከሪም ድሕሪ ምኽፋቱ፡ ሓላፊ ክፍሊ ውደባ ጨንፈር ሓው ጀማል ፍትዊ ንኣባለት ሰልፍን ዕዱማትን እንቋዕ ብዳሓን መጻእኩም ኢሉ፡፡ ቀጺሉ ሓላፊ ጨንፈር ዓባይ ብሪጣንያ፡ ሓው ሙሳ በሺር ንኣባላትን ንዑዱማት ኣጋይሽን ዕድሜ ኣኽቢሮም ብምምጻኦም ደጊሙ ድሕሪ ምምስጋን ብዛዕባ ኤርትራዊ ሃገራዊ ጉባኤ ንዲሞክራሲያዊ ለውጢ ሰፊሕ መግለጺ ሂቡ። ሓው ሙሳ በሺር፡ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ንልዕሊ ፍርቂ ዘመን ዝኣክል ተቓሊሱ ክቡር ዋጋ ከፊሉ ዝረኸቦ ናጽነት ከይስተማቐረ፡ እነሆ እንደገና ንልዕሊ 20 ዓመት ኣብ ትሕቲ መቑሕ ኣረሜናዊ ስርዓት ህግደፍ ይርከብ። ሎሚ ኣብ ክንዲ ዳግመ-ህንጻ፡ ምስ ጎሮባብቲ ሃገራት ውግእን ወረ-ውግእን፡ ዓቅሚ መንእሰያት ድማ ኣብ ክንዲ ልምዓት፡ መጨረሽታ ኣልቦ ግዱድ ዕስክርናን፡ ዕድል ዝረኸቡ ድማ ናብ ስደት ብምምራሕ፡ ግዳያት መድረ-በዳን፡ ሲናይን፡ ሜዲትራንያን ቀላያትን ኮይኖም ይርከቡ። ኣብዚ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ንዳግም ስደትን ውርደትን ኣብ ዝርከበሉ ዘሎ ህሞት እዩ እምባኣር፡ ደንበ ተቓዎሞ ከምቲ ዝድለ ሓድነቱ ኣደልዲሉ ነቲ ብኹሉ ሸነኻቱ ቦኽቢኹ ዘሎ ስርዓት ካብ ስሩ ንምብርዓን፡ ዝያዳ ክቀላጠፍ መታን፡ ካልኣዊ ፍልልያቱ ኣወጊዱ ኣስታት 600 ተጋባእቲ ዝተሳተፍዎ ዕዉት ጉባኤ ኣሕሊፉ። እንሆ ድማ ሎሚ ሃገራዊ ባይቶ ንዲሞክራሲያዊ ለውጢ ዕማማት ጉባኤ ንኸዐውት ይሸባሸብ ኣሎ። “ኣተሓሒዙ፡ ሓው ሙሳ፡ ብምኽንያት ምዕዋት ሃገራዊ ጉባኤን ርእሰ-ውሳኔ ብሄራት፡ ከምኡውን እቲ ብስርዓት ህግደፍ ዝታአታተወ ግዴታዊ ምጽምባር ብሄራት ምውጋድን፡ ብሓፈሻ ንህዝቢ ኤርትራ ፡ ብፍላይ ድማ ነቲ ግዳይ ናይዚ ምጽምባር ዝኾነ ብሄር ጀበርቲ እንቋዕ ሓገሰኩም እንቋዕ ኣብዚ አብቃዓና ኢሉ።” ሰልፊ ናህዳ ኤርትራ፡ ሃገራዊ ሓላፍነቱ ከይዘንገዔ፡ ነፍሲ ወከፍ ኤርትራዊ ዜጋ መሰሉ፡ መሰል ብሄሩን ሃይማኖቱን ውልቃዊ ነጻነቱን ምስ ዝኸበር እዩ፡ ግቡእ ሃገራዊ ሱታፌኡ ከበርክት ዝኽእል ካብ ዝብል እምነት፡ ንመሰል ብሄር ጀበርቲ ብሓይሊ ክቃለሰሉ ዝጸንሐን ዘሎን ክብል ሓው ሙሳ መግለጺኡ ቀጺሉ። ድሕሪ እዚ፡ ነቲ ጻዕረኛ ተቓለሳይ መሓመድ ኣማን ነጋሽ፡ ነቲ ኣብ ጨንፈር ዘካይዶ ዘሎ ዘይሕለል ቃልሲ በቲ ጨንፈር ዝተዳለወ ናይ ጽንዓት ሽልማት ተዓዲሎ። ኣብ መጨረሽታ፡ መንግስትን ህዝብን ኢትዮጵያ፡ ጉባኤ ንምዕዋት ዝገበርዎ ኩሉ ዓይነት ምትሕብባር ድሕሪ ምምስጋኑ፡ ዓመተ ምህረት 2012፡ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ካብዚ ኣራሜናዊ ስርዓት ህግደፍ ተገላጊሉ፡ ዓመተ ራህዋን ሰላምን ክኸውን ሰናይ ምንዮታት ጨንፈር ገሊጹ። ኣኼባ፡ ካብ ኣኼበኛታት ንዝቐረበ ሕቶን መልስን ከምኡውን ናይ ሓጉስ መልእኽቲ ነንሕድሕዶም ድሕሪ ምቅይያር ኣኼባ ተዛዚሙ። ዝኽሪ ንሰማእታትና ሓይልና ኣብ ሓድነትና ውድቀት ንስርዓት ህግደፍ ሰልፊ ናህዳ ኤርትራ ክፍሊ ዜና 01/01/2012

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“This year’s index sees many changes in the rankings, changes that reflect a year that was incredibly rich in developments, especially in the Arab world,” Reporters Without Borders said today as it released its 10th annual press freedom index. “Many media paid dearly for their coverage of democratic aspirations or opposition movements. Control of news and information continued to tempt governments and to be a question of survival for totalitarian and repressive regimes. [...]]]>

Syria, Bahrain and Yemen get worst ever rankings

“This year’s index sees many changes in the rankings, changes that reflect a year that was incredibly rich in developments, especially in the Arab world,” Reporters Without Borders said today as it released its 10th annual press freedom index. “Many media paid dearly for their coverage of democratic aspirations or opposition movements. Control of news and information continued to tempt governments and to be a question of survival for totalitarian and repressive regimes. The past year also highlighted the leading role played by netizens in producing and disseminating news.

“Crackdown was the word of the year in 2011. Never has freedom of information been so closely associated with democracy. Never have journalists, through their reporting, vexed the enemies of freedom so much. Never have acts of censorship and physical attacks on journalists seemed so numerous. The equation is simple: the absence or suppression of civil liberties leads necessarily to the suppression of media freedom. Dictatorships fear and ban information, especially when it may undermine them.

“It is no surprise that the same trio of countries, Eritrea, Turkmenistan and North Korea, absolute dictatorships that permit no civil liberties, again occupy the last three places in the index. This year, they are immediately preceded at the bottom by Syria, Iran and China, three countries that seem to have lost contact with reality as they have been sucked into an insane spiral of terror, and by Bahrain and Vietnam, quintessential oppressive regimes. Other countries such as Uganda and Belarus have also become much more repressive.

“This year’s index finds the same group of countries at its head, countries such as Finland, Norway and Netherlands that respect basic freedoms. This serves as a reminder that media independence can only be maintained in strong democracies and that democracy needs media freedom. It is worth noting the entry of Cape Verde and Namibia into the top twenty, two African countries where no attempts to obstruct the media were reported in 2011.”

Protest movements

The Arab world was the motor of history in 2011 but the Arab uprisings have had contrasting political outcomes so far, with Tunisia and Bahrain at opposite ends of the scale. Tunisia (134th) rose 30 places in index and, with much suffering, gave birth to a democratic regime that has not yet fully accepted a free and independent press. Bahrain (173rd) fell 29 places because of its relentless crackdown on pro-democracy movements, its trials of human rights defenders and its suppression of all space for freedom.

While Libya (154th) turned the page on the Gaddafi era, Yemen succumbed to violence between President Ali Abdallah Saleh’s opponents and supporters and languished in 171st position. The future of both of these countries remains uncertain, and the place they will allow the media is undecided. The same goes for Egypt, which fell 39 places to 166th because the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, in power since February, dashed the hopes of democrats by continuing the Mubarak dictatorship’s practices. There were three periods of exceptional violence for journalists: in February, November and December.

Already poorly ranked in 2010, Syria fell further in the index, to 176th position, because total censorship, widespread surveillance, indiscriminate violence and government manipulation made it impossible for journalists to work.

Elsewhere in the world, pro-democracy movements that tried to follow the Arab example were ruthlessly suppressed. Many arrests were made in Vietnam (172nd). In China (174th), the government responded to regional and local protests and to public impatience with scandals and acts of injustice by feverishly reinforcing its system of controlling news and information, carrying out extrajudicial arrests and stepping up Internet censorship. There was a dramatic rise in the number of arrests in Azerbaijan (162nd), where Ilham Aliyev’s autocratic government did not hesitate to jail netizens, abduct opposition journalists and bar foreign reporters in order to impose a news blackout on the unrest.

Led by President Yoweri Museveni, Uganda (139th) launched an unprecedented crackdown on opposition movements and independent media after the elections in February. Similarly, Chile (80th) fell 47 places because of its many freedom of information violations, committed very often by the security forces during student protests. The United States (47th) also owed its fall of 27 places to the many arrests of journalist covering Occupy Wall Street protests.

Several European countries fall far behind rest of continent

The index has highlighted the divergence of some European countries from the rest of the continent. The crackdown on protests after President Lukashenko’s reelection caused Belarus to fall 14 places to 168th. At a time when it is portraying itself as a regional model, Turkey (148th) took a big step backwards and lost 10 places. Far from carrying out promised reforms, the judicial system launched a wave of arrests of journalists that was without precedent since the military dictatorship.

Within the European Union, the index reflects a continuation of the very marked distinction between countries such as Finland and Netherlands that have always had a good evaluation and countries such as Bulgaria (80th), Greece (70th) and Italy (61st) that fail to address the issue of their media freedom violations, above all because of a lack of political will. There was little progress from France, which went from 44th to 38th, or from Spain (39th) and Romania (47th). Media freedom is a challenge that needs addressing more than ever in the Balkans, which want to join the European Union but are suffering the negative effects of the economic crisis.

Endemic violence

Many countries are marked by a culture of violence towards the media that has taken a deep hold. It will be hard to reverse the trends in these countries without an effective fight against impunity. Mexico (149th) and Honduras (135th) are two cases in point. Pakistan (151st) was the world’s deadliest country for journalists for the second year running. Somalia (164th), which has been at war for 20 years, shows no sign of finding a way out of the chaos in which journalists are paying a heavy price.

In Iran (175th), hounding and humiliating journalists has been part of officialdom’s political culture for years. The regime feeds on persecution of the media. Iraq (152nd) fell back 22 places and is now worryingly approaching its 2008 position (158th).

Noteworthy changes

South Sudan, a new nation facing many challenges, has entered the index in a respectable position (111th) for what is a breakaway from one of the worst ranked countries, Sudan (170th). Burma (169th) has a slightly better position than in previous years as a result of political changes in recent months that have raised hopes but need to be confirmed. Niger (29th) achieved the biggest rise in a single year, 75 places, thanks to a successful political transition.

It was Africa that also saw the biggest falls in the index. Djibouti, a discreet little dictatorship in the Horn of Africa, fell 49 places to 159th. Malawi (146th) fell 67 places because of the totalitarian tendencies of its president, Bingu Wa Mutharika. Uganda, mentioned above, fell 43 places to 139th. Finally, Côte d’Ivoire fell 41 places to 159th because the media were badly hit by the fighting between the supporters of rival presidents Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara.

One of the biggest falls in Latin America was by Brazil, which plunged 41 places to 99th because the high level of violence resulted in the deaths of three journalists and bloggers.

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Rank	Country	Score
1	Finland	-10,00
-	Norway	-10,00
3	Estonia	-9,00
-	Netherlands	-9,00
5	Austria	-8,00
6	Iceland	-7,00
-	Luxembourg	-7,00
8	Switzerland	-6,20
9	Cape Verde	-6,00
10	Canada	-5,67
-	Denmark	-5,67
12	Sweden	-5,50
13	New Zealand	-5,33
14	Czech Republic	-5,00
15	Ireland	-4,00
16	Cyprus	-3,00
-	Jamaica	-3,00
-	Germany	-3,00
19	Costa Rica	-2,25
20	Belgium	-2,00
-	Namibia	-2,00
22	Japan	-1,00
-	Surinam	-1,00
24	Poland	-0,67
25	Mali	0,00
-	OECS	0,00
-	Slovakia	0,00
28	United Kingdom	2,00
29	Niger	2,50
30	Australia	4,00
-	Lithuania	4,00
32	Uruguay	4,25
33	Portugal	5,33
34	Tanzania	6,00
35	Papua New Guinea	9,00
36	Slovenia	9,14
37	El Salvador	9,30
38	France	9,50
39	Spain	9,75
40	Hungary	10,00
41	Ghana	11,00
42	South Africa	12,00
-	Botswana	12,00
44	South Korea	12,67
45	Comoros	13,00
-	Taiwan	13,00
47	United States of America	14,00
-	Argentina	14,00
-	Romania	14,00
50	Latvia	15,00
-	Trinidad and Tobago	15,00
52	Haiti	15,67
53	Moldova	16,00
54	Hong-Kong	17,00
-	Mauritius	17,00
-	Samoa	17,00
57	United States of America (extra-territorial)	19,00
58	Malta	19,50
-	Bosnia and Herzegovina	19,50
-	Guyana	19,50
61	Italy	19,67
62	Central African Republic	20,00
63	Lesotho	21,00
-	Sierra Leone	21,00
-	Tonga	21,00
66	Mozambique	21,50
67	Mauritania	22,20
68	Croatia	23,33
-	Burkina Faso	23,33
70	Bhutan	24,00
-	Greece	24,00
72	Nicaragua	24,33
73	Maldives	25,00
-	Seychelles	25,00
75	Guinea-Bissau	26,00
-	Senegal	26,00
77	Armenia	27,00
78	Kuwait	28,00
79	Togo	28,50
80	Serbia	29,00
-	Bulgaria	29,00
-	Chile	29,00
-	Paraguay	29,00
84	Kenya	29,50
-	Madagascar	29,50
86	Guinea	30,00
-	Kosovo	30,00
-	Timor-Leste	30,00
-	Zambia	30,00
90	Congo	30,38
91	Benin	31,00
92	Israel (Israeli territory)	31,25
93	Lebanon	31,50
94	Macedonia	31,67
95	Dominican Republic	33,25
96	Albania	34,44
97	Cameroon	35,00
-	Guatemala	35,00
99	Brazil	35,33
100	Mongolia	35,75
101	Gabon	36,50
102	Cyprus (North)	37,00
103	Chad	37,67
104	Ecuador	38,00
-	Georgia	38,00
106	Nepal	38,75
107	Montenegro	39,00
108	Bolivia	40,00
-	Kyrgyzstan	40,00
110	Liberia	40,50
111	South Sudan	41,25	nc
112	United Arab Emirates	45,00
113	Panama	45,67
114	Qatar	46,00
115	Peru	51,25
116	Ukraine	54,00
117	Cambodia	55,00
-	Fiji	55,00
-	Oman	55,00
-	Venezuela	55,00
-	Zimbabwe	55,00
122	Algeria	56,00
-	Tajikistan	56,00
-	Malaysia	56,00
125	Brunei	56,20
126	Nigeria	56,40
127	Ethiopia	56,60
128	Jordan	56,80
129	Bangladesh	57,00
130	Burundi	57,75
131	India	58,00
132	Angola	58,43
133	Israel (extra-territorial)	59,00
134	Tunisia	60,25
135	Singapore	61,00
-	Honduras	61,00
137	Thailand	61,50
138	Morocco	63,29
139	Uganda	64,00
140	Philippines	64,50
141	Gambia	65,50
142	Russia	66,00
143	Colombia	66,50
144	Swaziland	67,00
145	Democratic Republic of Congo	67,67
146	Indonesia	68,00
-	Malawi	68,00
148	Turkey	70,00
149	Mexico	72,67
150	Afghanistan	74,00
151	Pakistan	75,00
152	Iraq	75,36
153	Palestinian Territories	76,00
154	Kazakhstan	77,50
-	Libya	77,50
156	Rwanda	81,00
157	Uzbekistan	83,00
158	Saudi Arabia	83,25
159	Côte d’Ivoire	83,50
-	Djibouti	83,50
161	Equatorial Guinea	86,00
162	Azerbaijan	87,25
163	Sri Lanka	87,50
164	Somalia	88,33
165	Laos	89,00
166	Egypt	97,50
167	Cuba	98,83
168	Belarus	99,00
169	Burma	100,00
170	Sudan	100,75
171	Yemen	101,00
172	Vietnam	114,00
173	Bahrain	125,00
174	China	136,00
175	Iran	136,60
176	Syria	138,00
177	Turkmenistan	140,67
178	North Korea	141,00
179	Eritrea	142,00

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source : http://en.rsf.org/spip.php?page=classement&id_rubrique=1043

The public meeting will be held at:

Date: Saturday February 4th, 2012

Time: 3:00 pm

 Address:  1821 University Ave W, St. Paul, MN, 55104, Third Floor

NAIROBI, Kenya, January 21 – Kenya on Saturday dismissed a report by the United Nations exonerating Eritrea from claims that it funded the Al Shabaab militia with both monetary and ammunitions support against the Kenya defence forces saying it is one sided.

Speaking during a press briefing on the war in Somalia, Foreign Affairs Ministry Director of the Horn of Africa Division Lindsey Kiptiness said that no one has come to Kenya to investigate the claims.

“In as far as [...]]]>  January 21, 2012

NAIROBI, Kenya, January 21 – Kenya on Saturday dismissed a report by the United Nations exonerating Eritrea from claims that it funded the Al Shabaab militia with both monetary and ammunitions support against the Kenya defence forces saying it is one sided.

Speaking during a press briefing on the war in Somalia, Foreign Affairs Ministry Director of the Horn of Africa Division Lindsey Kiptiness said that no one has come to Kenya to investigate the claims.

“In as far as we are concerned I don’t think it is accurate that report has been taken to UN. I don’t think that is true. Simply because I am also reading stories from papers like you,” Kiptiness said.

“If Kenya did allege that Eritrea sent three plane loads of arms to Al Shabaab, the UN has been undertaking an investigation. They have not come to us. So I don’t know how the report has already been made to the UN before they come to the other side of the story.”

He discredited the report saying that for it to be objective, thorough investigations need to be undertaken.

“We are still waiting for them to come, and if they come we will give our report accordingly. Let’s wait until they come to our side otherwise that would be a one sided story,” he said. “If somebody has leaked such a report then I consider it to be just that…until they get to hear our side of the story.”

He said Kenya is ready and willing to cooperate with the UN should it wish to clarify any information about the claims against Eritrea.
The UN had discounted reports that Eritrea supplied weapons to the al-Shabaab to fight Kenyan troops last year.
A preliminary report by the Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group (SEMG) to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) concluded that the allegations were untrue.

Part of the report stated that after the SEMG’s preliminary assessment, the allegations were incorrect and that the alleged deliveries to Baidoa probably did not take place.

The monitoring group also pursued its investigation into alleged arms deliveries by air to the Al Shabaab controlled airfields in southern Somalia in late October and early November 2011.

Kenya had accused Eritrea of delivering arms to the Al Qaeda-linked Islamists and reported the matter to the Security Council through the regional Inter Governmental Authority on Development.

Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetangula had also summoned Eritrean ambassador to Kenya Beyene Russom to his office to explain Asmara’s alleged links to the militants.

Eritrea through its Foreign Affairs ministry however vehemently denied the claims branding them as part of Ethiopia’s campaign of misinformation to discredit Asmara.

The Eritrean embassy in Nairobi had further demanded independent investigations into the matter to be conducted by UNSC to the above mentioned allegation and all other unfounded related accusations.

Source : http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2012/01/kenya-dismisses-un-report-on-eritrea/

ኣገዳሲ ህዝባዊ ኣኼባ ንተቐማጦ ካርልስሩሀን ከባቢኣን

ንህዝቢ ወኪሎም ኣብ ኤርትራዊ ሃገራዊ ጉባኤ ንዲሞክራስያዊ ለውጢ ዝተሳተፉን፡ ኣባላት ኤርትራዊ ሃገራዊ ባይቶ ንደሞክራሲያዊ ለውጢ ዝዀኑን ብዛዕባ’ቲ ካብ ዕለት 21-30.11.2011 ኣብ ከተማ ኣዋሳ (ኢትዮጵያ) ዝተኻየደ ኤርትራዊ ሃገራዊ ጉባኤ ንዲሞክራስያዊ ለውጥን ውጽኢታቱን ንህዝቢ ዝገልጽሉ ኣገዳሲ ኣኼባ ኣዳሊና ስለ ዘሎና፡ ኩሉ ግዱስ ሃገራዊ ኣብ’ዚ ኣኼባ’ዚ ንክሳተፍ ብክብሪ ይዕደም።  

ዕለት፡     ሰንበት፡ 05.02.2012

ቦታ፡     Steinstraße 23

(Gewerbehof – 3. OG)

ግዜ፡      15:00 – 18:00

ብደሓን ምጹ!

ግዝያዊት ሽማግለ

ሃገራዊ ጉባኤ ንደሞክራሲያዊ ለውጢ

ጨንፈር [...]]]> ውጽኢት ኤርትራዊ ሃገራዊ ጉባኤ ንዲሞክራስያዊ ለውጢ ንምግላጽ

ኣገዳሲ ህዝባዊ ኣኼባ ንተቐማጦ ካርልስሩሀን ከባቢኣን

ንህዝቢ ወኪሎም ኣብ ኤርትራዊ ሃገራዊ ጉባኤ ንዲሞክራስያዊ ለውጢ ዝተሳተፉን፡ ኣባላት ኤርትራዊ ሃገራዊ ባይቶ ንደሞክራሲያዊ ለውጢ ዝዀኑን ብዛዕባ’ቲ ካብ ዕለት 21-30.11.2011 ኣብ ከተማ ኣዋሳ (ኢትዮጵያ) ዝተኻየደ ኤርትራዊ ሃገራዊ ጉባኤ ንዲሞክራስያዊ ለውጥን ውጽኢታቱን ንህዝቢ ዝገልጽሉ ኣገዳሲ ኣኼባ ኣዳሊና ስለ ዘሎና፡ ኩሉ ግዱስ ሃገራዊ ኣብ’ዚ ኣኼባ’ዚ ንክሳተፍ ብክብሪ ይዕደም።  

ዕለት፡     ሰንበት፡ 05.02.2012

ቦታ፡     Steinstraße 23

(Gewerbehof – 3. OG)

ግዜ፡      15:00 – 18:00

ብደሓን ምጹ!

ግዝያዊት ሽማግለ

ሃገራዊ ጉባኤ ንደሞክራሲያዊ ለውጢ

ጨንፈር ካርልስሩሀ

18.01.2012

At the margin of the ENCDC (Eritrean National Conference for Democratic Change) which was conducted in the city of Awassa (Ethiopia) between the 21st and the 31st of November 2011, Farajat conducted an interview with fighter Ms. Mihret Berhanu, member of EPDF (Eritrean People’s Democratic Front) – Canada branch. Following is the interview…

Farajat: At the beginning we thank you for accepting our invitation to conduct this fast interview, at the margin [...]]]> Farajat: Awassa

At the margin of the ENCDC (Eritrean National Conference for Democratic Change) which was conducted in the city of Awassa (Ethiopia) between the 21^st and the 31^st of November 2011, Farajat conducted an interview with fighter Ms. Mihret Berhanu, member of EPDF (Eritrean People’s Democratic Front) – Canada branch. Following is the interview…

Farajat: At the beginning we thank you for accepting our invitation to conduct this fast interview, at the margin of the conference, although the timing is very tight.

Ms. Mihret: First, I thank you and greatly appreciate your invitation for giving me a chance to talk to you; moreover, I appreciate all your great efforts, exerted as a free and independent nationalist media outlet. Thus, it is my pleasure and honor to be your guest to be interviewed.

Q. – Please, would you introduce yourself to our readers?

A. – Sure…my name is Mihret Berhanu, an ex-ELF fighter (Eritrean Liberation Front). I joined the field in 1977 and after getting an consciousness and qualification course I was assigned a task in the agricultural sector and then joined the Radio broadcasting section. After the ELF entered the Sudan, I returned with a battalionof fighters (SAGEM) to the field and stayed there until I migrated to Germany in 1986 and in the year 1991 moved to Canada where I currently live.

Q. – We knew from your contributions and militant activities to remove the dictatorial PFDJ regime in Eritrea that you belong to an Eritrean opposition group. Would you please tell us to which organization or political party do you belong? What is your current position in the organization or party?

A. - I am member of EPDF, I do not hold any official position in the organization and what I care about is, to continue my struggle within the organization, until we reach the desired goal. Our major objective is to get rid of the dictatorial regime, in order for our proud people to be free and live a decent life with dignity and pride, for which sacrificed and paid dearly and preciously as a dowry to attain it.

Q. - After few hours will begin the election of the National Assembly, in your opinion, what is the importance of conducting the ENCDC at this time, and what is your overall evaluation of the Conference?

A. - The importance of the Congress lies in the presence of the regarded high number of people gathered in one place, at the same time, for the common destiny we have in common. The current situation came as a result of the preparation which lasted for more than one year. Thus, the presence of about 600 representatives which represent different organization’s bodies and thespectrum of the society with all its constituents, different age groups: from elders, the first generation of fighters  and youth in addition to women. The high number and effective presence of women reflect and it is an evidence that all the strata of our society, rejects the policies of the dictatorial regime, and this give me great confidence and optimist to the success of the Congress. It also gives the participants the hope that despotic regime will fall down soon…and then we will be able to built the “Eritrea” we dreamt about, a nation based on rule of law, freedom and justice.                   

 If we get from this Congress, a democratically elected National Assembly in a legal and transparent way, this will give us the credibility required in the Eritrean political arena, and we will attain the confidence of the people inside and outside Eritrea. Opportunities like the one we have, do not occur frequently; thus, we all (as political parties and organization and civic societies) have to make use of this opportunity and this compels me to say this Congress is not liable to fail.

Q. - Some people fear from repetition of the several past failed “unity experiences”, what is the guarantee that such experience will not be repeated?

A. – It is natural to entertain such feelings by some people and it is logical to exert all our effort to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, which led us to grievances and hurtful results. The only guarantee (to avoid failure) is each member of the Congress to bear full responsibility of his share and to contribute by exerting more efforts and bear the historical national responsibility for which we came to this congress…I believe, if we follow the path of national struggle and work to form a National Assembly to bear responsibility will all the powers granted without any blocking or hampering it, is one of the main factors that guarantees a bright future.

 Q. - How is that possible when there are national forces that did not participate in this conference?

A. - All have been invited to contribute and participate in this conference and several meetings and seminars were conducted in all places of the world where Eritrean communities are found (in all continents and parts of the world) and assisting committees were established in those countries. Also the NCDC (National Commission for Democratic Change) directed calls (as much as possible) and published the three application forms for membership to the Conference to: the Eritrean people, civic society organizations and political organizations through the different mass media outlets and different languages. The Commission prepared and published many reminder invitations for the sake of wider participation. Some responded positively and are here, and those who did not participate can join anytime, we are open to everyone and invite everyone to contribute. We should continue our call to invitation by all means and channels, because we are not the only ones authorized to decide on the fate of the Eritrean people.

Q. – This takes us to another subject… some are still fearful of the impact of the past differences between the opposition groups on the future work. Some go further and see the impossibility of partnership with the EDA (Eritrean democratic Alliance) and justify his apprehension to the ongoing conflicts within the opposition forces?

A. -  The conflict between the political organizations is not a secret is known to everyone, and the EDA is the umbrella for opposition political forces which may differ among themselves in terms of presentation their political vision, but are united by one common goal: to topple the dictatorial regime in Eritrea. Undoubtedly the divisions between the organizations undermined the role of the opposition and its effectiveness causing the majority of people to further themselves from participating with the Eritrean political opposition, but this does not justify the subjective offensive ruling on the EDA, or on any other opposition forces. Constructive criticism in itself is a healthy phenomenon, but not victimization of our struggles. For example we did not ask anyone to pay debts of the past twenty years or more, during which period didn’t fulfill his national duty, and those who are unable to work with EDA could struggle in other ways that suit them, without prejudice and belittling the role of others. It is not just and fair to underestimate the struggling role of the political organizations opposed to the dictatorial regime in Eritrea.

Q. - How is the relationship between the forces of the official opposition forces on the one hand and the civic society organizations and independent participants in the conference?

A. - Before the 2010 Conference (Forum) the distance that separates them was big. For example, in Canada, the masses opposed to be represented by any person with political affiliation, but after a full year of working together, the interests of the country and the cause of our people won over our attitudes and affiliations. Then we won the confidence of the masses, which elected the right people with competence and ability, regardless of their partisan affiliations. It is important now, as long as we got together to the conference, this means that those who were watching and observing the seriousness of our task reached a conclusion and became convinced of the importance of joint action and working together to achieve our common and one goal: to get rid our people and emancipate them from the joke of dictatorship.

Q. - What is your vision on the role of expected Eritrean the National Congress?

 A. - The Assembly should work to establish national unity and try to unite the efforts of political organizations and civic society organization and to lead and develop the popular resistance and expand its arena. It should establish a culture of self-reliance and provide the necessary atmosphere and give opportunity to women and youth to participate in all fields and activities. Also it has to commend the international community to bear its responsibility to support our people and work hard in order to redeem our people from the dictatorship through the resistance of the dictatorial regime by all legitimate means.

 Q. - What is your message to the people at home (inside Eritrea) and abroad?

A. -  My message to the Eritrean people in the Diaspora who enjoy freedom, democracy, justice and equality in accordance with the principles of human rights, to align along and stand at the side of our simple, peaceful and oppressed people at home advocate and support them by all means to win in their battle for freedom and democracy. They should never forget…and work to highlight their suffering and deliver it to the conscious people all over the world in order to lift the injustice inflicted upon our people and this is the responsibility of each honorable and honest Eritrean.

The young people fleeing from the oppression of the tyrant should bear more responsibility; they should show patriotism, loyalty, honesty and come forward to lead voluntarily to reveal the “truth” of what is going on in Eritrea of injustice and persecution. Some allege that the opposition is far from what is happening on the ground inside Eritrea so they should refute those allegations.

My last message to the people at home, despite the difficulties and challenges you face from the repressive security apparatus; you have to be steadfast and should not lose hope and confidence in your ability to triumph over the tyrant and his ilk.  For our people inside Eritrea must realize that their role in the downfall and toppling of the despotic regime is substantial and essential … From our side we will not let you down and we are with you and always will be, and we will continue in our resistance and struggle by all available means until we achieve our goals of a “free” Eritrean nation ruled by law

http://www.farajat.net/ar/20032