Eritrea: Issayas Afewarki an Absurd War-Monger
9 June, 2009 | By Abrham Berhe
Whenever they see critics of Issayas Afewarki some commentators ask
what about Meles Zenawi. Usually a writer has a specific goal and bounds
to restrict one’s views when the writer starts composing on a given topic.
That means I don't have to jump all over and address all leaders in the
region inclusive of Meles. Here and now my very sole concern is to write
about the agonies faced in Eritrea by Eritrea’s highly feared leader Issayas
Afewarki.
are no longer going to make deeper roots in Somalia – a hope that could
only materialize under the leadership of Al Shabab. But his major worry is
that, if Sheikh Ahmed succeeds in uniting and stabilizing Somalia, then the
Islamist revolution will remain confined within Somalia’s borders only,
and that there will be no further interest or incentive for the Islamist
revolution to spread outside of it into neighbouring nations. Under Sheikh
Ahmed, the nationalist cause would trump the regional and global cause
(that of Islamist Jihad). Issayas Afeworki realizes that if Somalia is
stabilized as a nation, the first thing that it has to do is normalize its
relations with Ethiopia and Kenya. And that means, at minimum, reigning
over the militant groups that want to destabilize Ethiopia - and that would
be the worst nightmare scenario for Issayas Afeworki. Instead he
foresees that the anarchy in Somalia is essential to his contemporary
designs both on the international and regional arena, where he is dead set
to derail any prospects of Somali nationhood under the rule of Sheikh
Ahmed where the Islamist cause would remain confined to the nation.
What are the likely reasons for this line of thinking by Issayas Afeworki?
What is in there for him? The strategic location of Somalia, very close to
Middle East and other African nations that are considered to be in the
“infidel” camp (Ethiopia and Kenya), makes it ideal to his efforts to
destabilize few neighbouring nations and internationalize his support to
Islamic revolution. While training, and materially and financially
supporting Islamist fundamentalist groups in Somalia, the last thing
Afeworki strives these days is on ‘how to destabilize Ethiopia through
Somalia’. So it is not surprising that when Ethiopia pulled out of Somalia
earlier, Afewarki couldn’t hide his unhappiness. To him, the Somalia
insurrection was relevant so far as it bogs down Ethiopia in an endless
quagmire from which it would be unable to extricate itself; the last thing
he wanted to see was for these two forces to disengage from fighting
permanently. Moreover, he was hoping that this Islamist insurrection
would spread not only to the Ogaden region, but throughout the South
Eastern parts of Ethiopia (Balie, Harar, Arssi and Sidamo) where the
majority of the population is made up of Oromo and other ethnic Muslims.
Thus Issayas Afeworki has put all his hopes mainly on Al-Shabab militant
Islamist group that has, self-admittedly, a close connection with Al Qaida
and, consequently, has been listed as a terrorist organization by the US.
In fact, at this particular moment, Issayas Afeworki is quite dangerous to
the region. Issayas Afeworki’s help to opposition groups coming to
Eritrea from all direction is more handy and potent: First, given the
geographic proximity of Eritrea, the country has become a hub of armed
groups that, at one time or another, have been deployed in Sudan, Ethiopia
and Somalia. Second, Issayas Afeworki is footing the bill for the training,
arming and transporting these armed groups. In the latest UN report on
Somalia, Eritrea was identified as the main financier of the armed groups
in Somalia. And third, the latest footprint of Iran in Eritrea tells us that it
has become a conduit of arms smuggling to militant groups all over the
area, one that reaches as far as Hamas in Ghaza. This is what WIC had to
say on an interview with the Israeli Ambassador to Ethiopia (on March
19, 2009): “In an interview he held with WIC, Ambassador Ben-Haim said
the Eritrean government is providing military training, and supplying
military logistics for a number of terrorist groups. Ambassador Ben-Haim
said that the Eritrea government, in addition to its attempts of destabilizing
the Horn of Africa region, is also working to subvert the peace process in
Somalia by supporting and arming Al-Shabab, a terrorist group in Somalia.
The Ambassador said the Eritrea government, which has put its hands in
smuggling weapons, is an arm supplier of Al-Shabab in Somalia and other
internationally recognized terrorist groups including Hamas.”
With all the evidence built-up thus far, there is not the slightest bit of
doubt that Eritrea has established itself as a terror-sponsoring nation.
Given this fact, it is unfortunate that the Bush Administration left the
White House without designating it as such. And it is even more
unfortunate that Eritrean in the opposition waffled on this issue and
missed a great opportunity to unseat the tyrant. But that doesn’t mean all
is lost. Now, the same kind of momentum is building up against the
Issayas regime, and we should make the most of it. An alliance is in the
making, and we shouldn’t miss this boat. Already the US, Israel and
Ethiopia are in this boat and France might join soon if the Djibouti case
remains unresolved.
The African Union (AU) has taken the unprecedented step of calling on
the UN to impose heavy sanctions on one of its own members. It wants
to punish Eritrea for helping Jihad’s fighters in Somalia with arms and
training which it says have caused the deaths of many civilians and AU
peacekeepers. The union has also called for a no-fly zone over Somalia
and a blockade of its ports. Neither is likely to happen. Air patrols by
America and others might win the Jihad’s more support; a blockade of the
long coastline is almost impossible. But the AU may have better luck with
sanctions. The UN Security Council has already expressed “concern” that
Eritrea may have breached an arms embargo on Somalia.
Some say Eritrea’s arms shipments to Somalia have been paid for partly
by Iran and individual rich Arabs. Maybe it is so. But Eritrean support for
the Islamist insurgency in Somalia is long-standing. And the AU is fed up
with it.
More than any other foreign entity, it is the Eritrean people that have been
daily experiencing the terror unleashed under this totalitarian regime. Not a
single population group has been spared: students, merchants, farmers,
parents, minority religions, ethnic groups, etc. The whole nation has been
turned into a huge prison. And lately, with the mass exodus picking up
speed, with the killings and massacres at border crossings and prisons,
with a full blown famine raging all over the country and with the plan to
dislodge entire villages and to dismantle centuries-old monasteries, there is
a Khmer Rouge like apocalypse looming over the nation. If we are to save
our people from a catastrophe of Khmer Rouge like proportions, the time
to act is NOW. And the urgency of the matter gives us no luxury to pick
and choose the means by which to finish off this regime. We should be
able to grab this opportunity and join this alliance, and do whatever we
can to convince this alliance-in-the-making to finish off the Issayas
regime by whatever means necessary.
All past actions and reactions of Issayas Afewarki have proven beyond
doubt - to the world at large - the sheer irrationality of the man. His
associations and diplomatic relations cannot be expected to have any
logic. The 95-page report, “Service for Life: State Repression and
Indefinite Conscription in Eritrea,” documents serious human rights
violations by Issayas Afewarki regime including prolonged military
conscription, arbitrary arrest, torture, appalling detention conditions,
forced labour, and severe restrictions on freedom of movement,
expression, and worship. It also analyzes the difficult situation faced by
Eritrean youth who succeed in escaping to other countries such as Libya,
Sudan, Egypt, and Italy.
Nothing could be more diversionary than Afewark’s perceived actions in
the service of Iranian and Al-Shabaab’s designs. The interim Somali
government recently accused Afewarki of sending two plane-loads of
weapons to Somalia in violation of UN arms embargo on that war-ravaged
country. The Somali government alleged that two planes from Eritrea
landed at an Al-Shabab controlled airstrip in Lower Shebelle Region in
Southern Somalia on April 28 and May 1. Voice of America says the
accusation is a repeat of events in 2007, when the United Nations said
Eritrea was secretly sending arms and missiles to Al-Qaeda-linked al-
Shabab.
Hell on Earth
It is an open secret that Eritrea is not only a grand prison but also hell on
Earth. The only Eritrean people who are doing fairly well are those who
live in Diaspora or outside Eritrea. Those inside Eritrea are helpless and
voiceless held in military and labor camps. Especially those people who
live in Soba Debub of the Senafie area; Seraye in Gohaine Eritrea, in
Barentu and Tesenei areas are suffering much by Afewarki’s authoritarian
regime and its labor camps. For them the road to success and prosperity
has become through Wodi Afom’s arrogance and belligerence.
Because of his stubborn attitude and consistent mistakes committed there
of, Issayas Afewarki never sees problems that Eritrea is facing; he never
ever apologizes; rather he diverts both the problem and the blame to
someone else. A case in point is what has happened to Haile Derue. While
on a visit to Europe Issayas Afewarki (Telamat Ugum) told many Eritrean
residents there about the 1998-2000 war stating that we were beaten by
Woyane and decided to retreat. A month later when Haile Derue told the
same statement to journalists he was critically considered as
“Temberkaki” for leaking the issue to external journalists and thrown to
jail; while Telamat Ugum Issu remains as a hero telling us all throughout
his motto: “Hade Lib Hade Hizbi”.
Holly Molly there is no rule of law; no justice; and no liberty for Hizbi
Eritrea. Issayas Afewarki is the jury; Wodi Afom is the judge and the
executor. Regular citizens find themselves in hell locked by Ugum Issu
Wedi Medhine Berad of Abashawel. Eritrea and Issayas Afewarki are
behaving in the same way as Hitler was behaving just before WWII.
Issayas is building his military might and will soon be noticed by the
international community. Issayas conscripts the youth into armed forces
far more than Eritrea needs; and is eventually planning to carry out his
nuclear ambitions. Likewise Wodi Afom exports instability by backing
rebels in Chad, Ethiopia and Sudan, and now in Somalia.
What a bunch of communist retards that we are forced to face in Eritrea.
May God bless the brave Hizbi Eritrea and the so-called “Gang of-15”?
We consider them all as our heroes; and all these hardships shall soon
pass just like the earlier ones; it will not be long when true Wedibat holds
the power in Asmara.
9 June, 2009 | By Abrham Berhe
Whenever they see critics of Issayas Afewarki some commentators ask
what about Meles Zenawi. Usually a writer has a specific goal and bounds
to restrict one’s views when the writer starts composing on a given topic.
That means I don't have to jump all over and address all leaders in the
region inclusive of Meles. Here and now my very sole concern is to write
about the agonies faced in Eritrea by Eritrea’s highly feared leader Issayas
Afewarki.
- In his recent interview message, Issayas
Afewarki makes it clear that he is unhappy
with the current leader of Somalia, the
moderate Islamist President Sheikh Sharif
Sheikh Ahmed, and urges Al Shabab - the
radical Islamists, and the people of Somalia to
overthrow him because he “changed to
partner up with the infidels – the hypocrites
of the Western World”. Why is Issayas
Afeworki so worried by the turn of events in
Somalia?
are no longer going to make deeper roots in Somalia – a hope that could
only materialize under the leadership of Al Shabab. But his major worry is
that, if Sheikh Ahmed succeeds in uniting and stabilizing Somalia, then the
Islamist revolution will remain confined within Somalia’s borders only,
and that there will be no further interest or incentive for the Islamist
revolution to spread outside of it into neighbouring nations. Under Sheikh
Ahmed, the nationalist cause would trump the regional and global cause
(that of Islamist Jihad). Issayas Afeworki realizes that if Somalia is
stabilized as a nation, the first thing that it has to do is normalize its
relations with Ethiopia and Kenya. And that means, at minimum, reigning
over the militant groups that want to destabilize Ethiopia - and that would
be the worst nightmare scenario for Issayas Afeworki. Instead he
foresees that the anarchy in Somalia is essential to his contemporary
designs both on the international and regional arena, where he is dead set
to derail any prospects of Somali nationhood under the rule of Sheikh
Ahmed where the Islamist cause would remain confined to the nation.
What are the likely reasons for this line of thinking by Issayas Afeworki?
What is in there for him? The strategic location of Somalia, very close to
Middle East and other African nations that are considered to be in the
“infidel” camp (Ethiopia and Kenya), makes it ideal to his efforts to
destabilize few neighbouring nations and internationalize his support to
Islamic revolution. While training, and materially and financially
supporting Islamist fundamentalist groups in Somalia, the last thing
Afeworki strives these days is on ‘how to destabilize Ethiopia through
Somalia’. So it is not surprising that when Ethiopia pulled out of Somalia
earlier, Afewarki couldn’t hide his unhappiness. To him, the Somalia
insurrection was relevant so far as it bogs down Ethiopia in an endless
quagmire from which it would be unable to extricate itself; the last thing
he wanted to see was for these two forces to disengage from fighting
permanently. Moreover, he was hoping that this Islamist insurrection
would spread not only to the Ogaden region, but throughout the South
Eastern parts of Ethiopia (Balie, Harar, Arssi and Sidamo) where the
majority of the population is made up of Oromo and other ethnic Muslims.
Thus Issayas Afeworki has put all his hopes mainly on Al-Shabab militant
Islamist group that has, self-admittedly, a close connection with Al Qaida
and, consequently, has been listed as a terrorist organization by the US.
In fact, at this particular moment, Issayas Afeworki is quite dangerous to
the region. Issayas Afeworki’s help to opposition groups coming to
Eritrea from all direction is more handy and potent: First, given the
geographic proximity of Eritrea, the country has become a hub of armed
groups that, at one time or another, have been deployed in Sudan, Ethiopia
and Somalia. Second, Issayas Afeworki is footing the bill for the training,
arming and transporting these armed groups. In the latest UN report on
Somalia, Eritrea was identified as the main financier of the armed groups
in Somalia. And third, the latest footprint of Iran in Eritrea tells us that it
has become a conduit of arms smuggling to militant groups all over the
area, one that reaches as far as Hamas in Ghaza. This is what WIC had to
say on an interview with the Israeli Ambassador to Ethiopia (on March
19, 2009): “In an interview he held with WIC, Ambassador Ben-Haim said
the Eritrean government is providing military training, and supplying
military logistics for a number of terrorist groups. Ambassador Ben-Haim
said that the Eritrea government, in addition to its attempts of destabilizing
the Horn of Africa region, is also working to subvert the peace process in
Somalia by supporting and arming Al-Shabab, a terrorist group in Somalia.
The Ambassador said the Eritrea government, which has put its hands in
smuggling weapons, is an arm supplier of Al-Shabab in Somalia and other
internationally recognized terrorist groups including Hamas.”
With all the evidence built-up thus far, there is not the slightest bit of
doubt that Eritrea has established itself as a terror-sponsoring nation.
Given this fact, it is unfortunate that the Bush Administration left the
White House without designating it as such. And it is even more
unfortunate that Eritrean in the opposition waffled on this issue and
missed a great opportunity to unseat the tyrant. But that doesn’t mean all
is lost. Now, the same kind of momentum is building up against the
Issayas regime, and we should make the most of it. An alliance is in the
making, and we shouldn’t miss this boat. Already the US, Israel and
Ethiopia are in this boat and France might join soon if the Djibouti case
remains unresolved.
The African Union (AU) has taken the unprecedented step of calling on
the UN to impose heavy sanctions on one of its own members. It wants
to punish Eritrea for helping Jihad’s fighters in Somalia with arms and
training which it says have caused the deaths of many civilians and AU
peacekeepers. The union has also called for a no-fly zone over Somalia
and a blockade of its ports. Neither is likely to happen. Air patrols by
America and others might win the Jihad’s more support; a blockade of the
long coastline is almost impossible. But the AU may have better luck with
sanctions. The UN Security Council has already expressed “concern” that
Eritrea may have breached an arms embargo on Somalia.
Some say Eritrea’s arms shipments to Somalia have been paid for partly
by Iran and individual rich Arabs. Maybe it is so. But Eritrean support for
the Islamist insurgency in Somalia is long-standing. And the AU is fed up
with it.
More than any other foreign entity, it is the Eritrean people that have been
daily experiencing the terror unleashed under this totalitarian regime. Not a
single population group has been spared: students, merchants, farmers,
parents, minority religions, ethnic groups, etc. The whole nation has been
turned into a huge prison. And lately, with the mass exodus picking up
speed, with the killings and massacres at border crossings and prisons,
with a full blown famine raging all over the country and with the plan to
dislodge entire villages and to dismantle centuries-old monasteries, there is
a Khmer Rouge like apocalypse looming over the nation. If we are to save
our people from a catastrophe of Khmer Rouge like proportions, the time
to act is NOW. And the urgency of the matter gives us no luxury to pick
and choose the means by which to finish off this regime. We should be
able to grab this opportunity and join this alliance, and do whatever we
can to convince this alliance-in-the-making to finish off the Issayas
regime by whatever means necessary.
All past actions and reactions of Issayas Afewarki have proven beyond
doubt - to the world at large - the sheer irrationality of the man. His
associations and diplomatic relations cannot be expected to have any
logic. The 95-page report, “Service for Life: State Repression and
Indefinite Conscription in Eritrea,” documents serious human rights
violations by Issayas Afewarki regime including prolonged military
conscription, arbitrary arrest, torture, appalling detention conditions,
forced labour, and severe restrictions on freedom of movement,
expression, and worship. It also analyzes the difficult situation faced by
Eritrean youth who succeed in escaping to other countries such as Libya,
Sudan, Egypt, and Italy.
Nothing could be more diversionary than Afewark’s perceived actions in
the service of Iranian and Al-Shabaab’s designs. The interim Somali
government recently accused Afewarki of sending two plane-loads of
weapons to Somalia in violation of UN arms embargo on that war-ravaged
country. The Somali government alleged that two planes from Eritrea
landed at an Al-Shabab controlled airstrip in Lower Shebelle Region in
Southern Somalia on April 28 and May 1. Voice of America says the
accusation is a repeat of events in 2007, when the United Nations said
Eritrea was secretly sending arms and missiles to Al-Qaeda-linked al-
Shabab.
Hell on Earth
It is an open secret that Eritrea is not only a grand prison but also hell on
Earth. The only Eritrean people who are doing fairly well are those who
live in Diaspora or outside Eritrea. Those inside Eritrea are helpless and
voiceless held in military and labor camps. Especially those people who
live in Soba Debub of the Senafie area; Seraye in Gohaine Eritrea, in
Barentu and Tesenei areas are suffering much by Afewarki’s authoritarian
regime and its labor camps. For them the road to success and prosperity
has become through Wodi Afom’s arrogance and belligerence.
Because of his stubborn attitude and consistent mistakes committed there
of, Issayas Afewarki never sees problems that Eritrea is facing; he never
ever apologizes; rather he diverts both the problem and the blame to
someone else. A case in point is what has happened to Haile Derue. While
on a visit to Europe Issayas Afewarki (Telamat Ugum) told many Eritrean
residents there about the 1998-2000 war stating that we were beaten by
Woyane and decided to retreat. A month later when Haile Derue told the
same statement to journalists he was critically considered as
“Temberkaki” for leaking the issue to external journalists and thrown to
jail; while Telamat Ugum Issu remains as a hero telling us all throughout
his motto: “Hade Lib Hade Hizbi”.
Holly Molly there is no rule of law; no justice; and no liberty for Hizbi
Eritrea. Issayas Afewarki is the jury; Wodi Afom is the judge and the
executor. Regular citizens find themselves in hell locked by Ugum Issu
Wedi Medhine Berad of Abashawel. Eritrea and Issayas Afewarki are
behaving in the same way as Hitler was behaving just before WWII.
Issayas is building his military might and will soon be noticed by the
international community. Issayas conscripts the youth into armed forces
far more than Eritrea needs; and is eventually planning to carry out his
nuclear ambitions. Likewise Wodi Afom exports instability by backing
rebels in Chad, Ethiopia and Sudan, and now in Somalia.
What a bunch of communist retards that we are forced to face in Eritrea.
May God bless the brave Hizbi Eritrea and the so-called “Gang of-15”?
We consider them all as our heroes; and all these hardships shall soon
pass just like the earlier ones; it will not be long when true Wedibat holds
the power in Asmara.
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