Mereja Forum

[Fiyameta]

Africa’s Role Model; Eritrea’s 30 Years of Independence

— by Thomas C Mountain — 21/05/2021



Africa’s role model, Eritrea, located on the Red Sea will mark 30 years of independence this coming Monday, May 24. When a rag tag band of afro coiffed Eritrean rebels drove captured Ethiopian tanks into the streets of our capital Asmara thirty years ago it marked the first successful armed struggle for national liberation on the continent. Others had fought but only Eritrea took it all the way, defeating the occupying colonial army of Ethiopia and winning power “by the barrel of a gun”.

This Independence Day has seen Eritrea overcome many obstacles to name and not only preserved our national sovereignty but build a Pan Africanist unity here in the Horn of Africa that is threatening the very basis of neo-colonialism’s continued exploitation of Africa’s people and resources.

Eritrea, under the leadership of President Issias Aferwerki has brought about a remarkable transformation in our erstwhile enemy, Ethiopia, next door. Where once the gangster government of Ethiopia, the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front, were our sworn enemy all the while brutally repressing the Ethiopian people, today Ethiopia has destroyed the TPLF and begun to move away from its history of famine and war towards a self sufficient, independent and peaceful country.

And this was all brought about by almost two decades of behind the scenes diplomacy and trust building with the new government lead by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. When in 2018 Issias Aferwerki announced at our Martyrs Day program that it was “ game over” for the TPLF in Ethiopia we were all shocked. It had all been done secretly and when PM Abiy flew into our capital Asmara a short time later he had a lot of very positive things to say about Eritrea. How he wanted to emulate Eritrea’s self sufficiency and independence to the point where he said he would be our “unofficial foreign minister…so he could help fight the lies being told about Eritrea”.

This wasn’t the end of the TPLF, it wasn’t until November of 2020 that following a desperate attempt to regain national power via a coup and the subsequent final destruction of the TPLF on the field of battle that the next chapter of Ethiopian freedom and prosperity was begun.

Of course there are still major problems in Ethiopia, daunting challenges to those without a firm grasp of what is really going on. But as PM Abiy said when President Issias first visited Ethiopia on July 8, 2018, (to paraphrase the Amharic spoken by Abiy Ahmed) “ we have a lot of problems in Ethiopia to overcome but don’t worry Issias [Aferwerki] is leading us”.

Straight from the horses mouths so to speak, this statement couldn’t be denied only ignored, which of course it was. But there was no ignoring the new, close friendship and solidarity that has been growing between Ethiopia and Eritrea. PM Abiy credited Eritrea with playing “a crucial role” in defeating the TPLF coupsters and thanked us publicly for our support in this speech to the Ethiopian Parliament days after the final battle that finished off the TPLF army.

Ethiopia is about to hold an election and all signs indicate a landslide by Abiy Ahmed and his supporters. PM Abiy has promised to write a new constitution for Ethiopia that will include the nationalization of all the land in Ethiopia and thus lay the basis to end the centuries old ethnic based violence over land ownership. If the government owns all the land how can they fight over what land belong to what ethnic group. The land will be assigned by the government to those that will use it and to hell with all the foreign bloodsuckers that have been ripping off Ethiopias wealth under the TPLF.



Nationalizing the land, which is what Eritrea did upon winning independence on the battle field thirty years ago is a major change in Africa, and when adopted by the rest of the continent after they see just how important it was to do this by Ethiopia, how it lead the way in transforming Ethiopia from a backward, war and famine blighted country to the beginnings of a modern, self sufficient independent country similar to Eritrea, a major step will have been taken in the critical move away from western, mainly EU theft of African wealth and the beginning of a new truly Pan Africanist continent.

Land nationalization is the first step in ending the bloodthirsty grip of neo-colonialism on our continent and this is what has got the western imperialist so upset, upset to the point where they have launched a vicious slander disinformation campaign about what is really going on in Ethiopia today, especially in the former stronghold of the TPLF, Tigray.

Expect a lot of lies and slander about the upcoming election in Ethiopia to try and denigrate PM Abiy’s upcoming landslide. The TPLF regime was overwhelming hated by all Ethiopians and the destruction of the TPLF has been cheered by Ethiopians at home and in the diaspora. The popularity of PM Abiy and his program for change in Ethiopia will be demonstrated conclusively in this upcoming election so all the western banksters and their lackeys in the UN and the human rights mob will be able to do is try and spread disinformation and slanders in an attempt to taint the legitimacy of the election.

The role model Eritrea has been for the last 30 years has begun to be noticed in Africa and the new government in Sudan is just one example of how Eritrea is leading the way in bringing peace to what used to be known as the Horn of Hunger in Africa.

The end of the TPLF was publicly welcomed by all of the nations comprising the Horn of Africa, Kenya, Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti and others as well. While the future is still fraught with challenges and difficulties there is a role model for our neighbors, and eventually the rest of Africa to follow. Eritrea is Africa’s role model and has 30 years of independence proving it.

Thomas C. Mountain is an educator and historian living and reporting from Eritrea since 2006. See thomascmountain on Twitter, thomascmountain on Facebook and he can be reached at thomascmountain at g mail dot com

https://countercurrents.org/2021/05/afr ... ependence/

[Fiyameta]

1993

[Fiyameta]

Aba Awash and his dead dream.

[Zmeselo]

Keynote Address By President Isaias Afwerki 30th Independence Anniversary

GENERAL

https://shabait.com/2021/05/24/keynote- ... niversary/

May 24, 2021



Dear Compatriots at Home and Abroad,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

My profound Congratulations on this auspicious Day of the 30th Anniversary of our Independence!

Let me also express my gratitude to those who have organized this event.

The significance and splendour of this momentous day radiates more with time; year-in and year-out. And beyond instilling immense jubilation and pride, it impels us to ponder on, and mull over, several indelible truths.

Eritrea’s inalienable legal and natural rights to independence and sovereignty were suppressed and trampled upon at the end of the Second World War. The Eritrean people refused to succumb to slavery, colonialism, deceit, the logic of force, and subordination. They waged a ferocious struggle with heroism and resilience for fifty years – from 1941 until 1991 – to assert the independence and sovereignty of their country through heavy sacrifices. This is the historical backdrop, the bedrock and statue, on which the significance of Independence Day rests.

The significance of this memorable day is also amplified by the resilience of the Eritrean people to confront and thwart myriad challenges, in the past thirty years after independence, so as to preserve and defend the national sovereignty that they had secured through precious sacrifices and justice. The fact is, the agendas of greed and domination are still prevalent without effective deterrence. As a result, the predicaments that we had to face in the past 30 years – just as it was the case in the preceding 50 years – were complex and multi-faceted.

One of these subterfuges was putative border disputes. Indisputable colonial boundaries were misconstrued to stoke conflict among neighbouring countries. The Hanish and Badme conflicts are conspicuous testimonies of these subversive schemes whose ultimate objective was to keep Eritrea hostage through the continuous fomenting and “managing” of crises. In the case of Badme in particular, the attempts to perpetuate illicit occupation of our sovereign territories, in spite of the final and binding Arbitral Award of 2002, were vivid manifestations of insidious hostility towards the country.

Instigation of conflicts under the pretext of border disputes was not enough and could not fully mollify the appetite of the agendas of domination. The fact is these subversive schemes could not dampen or vanquish the resistance of the Eritrean people. In the event, fabricated allegations of “terrorism” were concocted and harmful sanctions imposed on Eritrea in 2009 through heavy-handed pressure on the UN Security Council. In this additional gesture of hostility, albeit with a different facet, Eritrea’s principal detractors had no qualms to act as the prosecutor, witness, judge, and enforcer of punitive measures

Furthermore, economic and political tools, campaigns of defamation and demonization, were pursued without let-up by churning out cheap lies to reinforce and ramp up the hostile agenda.

But, the relentless schemes and hostilities woven to undermine our national independence and sovereignty foundered on the bedrock of our people’s steadfastness and resilience. In tandem with these trends, their principal surrogate, the TPLF clique, became increasingly ensnared in an intractable bind and was ultimately sidelined as its “Game was over”. Our patience, in the face of occupation of our sovereign territories for twenty years, had also paid off.

All these events pushed them to resort to desperate measures which culminated in the reckless attacks of November 4 last year. Eritrea was attacked by missiles. When the unprecedented and reckless attack was foiled, intensive and mendacious propaganda campaigns were, and continue to be, carried out for the past six months to wrongly indict Eritrea and deflect attention from the real culprit. This is an outrageous act of transparent deceit and bankruptcy.

In the circumstances, the significance of this memorable day of our 30th Independence Anniversary is measured by the extraordinary resistance and resilience of the Eritrean people; by their victory in protecting and preserving their sovereignty and independence. I thus extend – again – my congratulations to the Eritrean people and its heroic armed forces.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Protecting and preserving national independence and sovereignty was not confined to combating the security threats emanating from the forces of greed and domination. Nation building through effective developmental undertaking was also a mission pursued with equal priority. Although we may not have managed to achieve all-rounded progress, sector by sector, and in various fields and projects – with the pace envisioned and to the extent of our aspirations – the track record in our priority areas is satisfactory. We have no doubts that overall progress will be expedited in the period ahead on the basis of the programmes charted out and reviewed already. The experiences gleaned so far will also be crucial in this endeavour.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Another factor that has direct impact on our developmental programmes and undertakings is the COVD-19 pandemic. The commotion and staggering loss of life that the pandemic has inculcated globally in the past year cannot but constitute a “Wake-Up Call” for humanity. This has provoked and amplified serious questions on different economic concepts and indicators; developmental choices as well as social, ecological and health precepts. In Eritrea, it has enabled us to identify our shortcomings – both in our health policies and operational modalities – and to implement requisite adjustments at the outset. In this context, we shall not spare efforts to put the threat from the pandemic under full control in order to eliminate deleterious consequences to our safety and developmental objectives. This will require perseverance in our vigilance and the bolstering of our all-rounded research, preventive measures, and therapeutic capabilities.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The prevailing turbulent global and regional setting underscores the imperative to strengthen our developmental endeavors above and beyond the efforts we exert to preserve and protect our national independence and sovereignty. In the event, I urge for more dynamic and vigorous initiatives for the effective implementation of our national security and developmental programmes on the basis of the revised broad road-map of mobilization and that is predicated on extensive popular participation. In particular, I urge for greater participation of our compatriots abroad in view of their greater potential and particular opportunities.

Let me express our pride and gratification in our Defense Forces who continue to play pivotal role both in our national security and developmental tasks by preserving the rich heritage of our liberation war and national civilized values and norms.

Glory to our M höartyrs!

Victory to the Masses!

24 May 2021


___________________


Friends:

[Aba]

Thomas who?

Eritrea, Africa’s gulag state, is on the march

President Issaias Afwerki is fanning war and undermining democracy across the region

May 22nd 2021 edition

It is an unlikely pairing. Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia’s prime minister, is young, charismatic and says he is committed to democracy in Africa’s second-most-populous country. Until war erupted in November in Tigray, a northern region, he was a darling of the world. In 2019 he won the Nobel peace prize for ending a war with Eritrea. Yet he is now knee-deep in blood alongside Eritrea’s president, Issaias Afwerki, an ageing dictator who locks up dissidents in shipping crates in the desert.

When the two leaders met to sign a peace deal in 2018, many hoped their reconciliation would reshape the region. Abiy was liberalising Ethiopia, releasing political prisoners and freeing the press. Some thought Issaias might learn from his new friend. Outsiders rushed to encourage the thaw. The un lifted an arms embargo (imposed because of Eritrea’s support for jihadists in Somalia). Western donors poured in cash. Eritrea’s decades of isolation seemed about to end. “Love is greater than modern weapons like tanks,” declared Abiy on his first visit to Asmara, Eritrea’s capital.

The bromance has indeed changed the region, but not in the way many had hoped. It seems that Issaias influenced Abiy, rather than vice versa. Encouraged by Issaias, and emboldened by promises of Eritrean military support, Abiy sent troops into Tigray for what he hoped would be a quick “law enforcement” operation against its rebellious ruling party which had attacked federal bases. The fighting has since turned into a bloody stalemate. Ethiopian and Eritrean troops control the cities and, intermittently, the main roads. Tigrayan rebels control much of the rest. Stuck in the middle are millions of starving civilians.

Eritrean troops, sometimes accompanied by those of the Ethiopian government and its militias, are pulling unarmed Tigrayan men from their homes, churches or buses and shooting them. Soldiers are methodically raping Tigrayan women. To cut supplies to the rebels, they are blocking food convoys and preventing farmers from planting crops. Around 4.5m of Tigray’s 6m people need food aid, says the un.

The only winner is Issaias. His troops, who died in their tens of thousands in their unsuccessful border war with Ethiopia, are now deep inside their neighbour’s territory. They have massed troops along parts of Ethiopia’s border with Sudan, threatening to inflame a separate dispute between those two countries. More worrying is that Issaias seems to be trying to export his model of despotic rule.

He is said to have egged on a power grab by Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, Somalia’s president, who has stayed in office despite his term having ended in February. To back his man in Mogadishu, Issaias has trained a Praetorian guard loyal to Mr Mohamed. “Issaias is the Svengali of this affair,” says a foreign diplomat. “He’s been unyielding in pushing a centralised state and bugger having elections.”

Western governments are belatedly waking up to the horrors in Tigray. In April the European Union cancelled €100m ($122m) of aid that would have gone to Eritrea. In March it imposed financial sanctions on Eritrea’s intelligence agency. Diplomats say that wider American and eu sanctions may be imposed soon.

Few hold out much hope that sanctions will sway Issaias, whose state is already largely cut off from the world. But sanctions, or even a credible threat of them, would provide greater leverage over Abiy, who needs access to export markets and international finance if Ethiopia is to grow quickly enough to quell protests by its young and restless population. Abiy can probably be convinced to ditch Issaias if the costs of their alliance become too high. Donors should therefore press Abiy harder.

Without his new ally, Issaias would have less clout in the region. There is not much, alas, that outsiders can do to make him less cruel to his own oppressed people, though neighbours and rich countries can and should grant them asylum if they flee his gulag state. Even if Issaias cannot be persuaded to change his ways, he can be prevented from remaking the Horn of Africa in his own tyrannical image

https://www.economist.com/leaders/2021/ ... -the-march

[Abe Abraham]

This great song was brought to you here for the first time by brother tarik. Enjoy it !!

[Dawi]

— by Thomas C Mountain — 21/05/2021



defeating the occupying colonial army of Ethiopia and winning power “by the barrel of a gun”.

Fiyameta,

"Colonial" Army of Ethiopia? Really?? Even at this moment?

This foreign transplant B!tch! [deleted] him!

[Fiyameta]

— by Thomas C Mountain — 21/05/2021



defeating the occupying colonial army of Ethiopia and winning power “by the barrel of a gun”.

Fiyameta,

"Colonial" Army of Ethiopia? Really?? Even at this moment?

This foreign transplant B!tch! [deleted] him!

Dawi-the-Juntawi-Tigrawi

Shaleqa Dawit Woldegiorgis in one of his books said, his fallout with the Derg regime was over the 3000 Soviet generals stationed in Eritrea that were leading the war and calling all the shots. Consequently, the war in Eritrea was between the Eritrean people seeking independence and the then-super power Soviet Union using Ethiopia as a proxy for its colonial ambitions. Yes, we defeated a global super power Soviet Union and even captured some of its top generals who were leading the war hiding behind enemy lines. And, yes, we defeated the colonialism that later attempted to come back riding YOU agame slaves, but was met with the same fate.

[Dawi]

— by Thomas C Mountain — 21/05/2021

defeating the occupying colonial army of Ethiopia and winning power “by the barrel of a gun”.

Fiyameta,

"Colonial" Army of Ethiopia? Really?? Even at this moment?

This foreign transplant B!tch! [deleted] him!

Dawi-the-Juntawi-Tigrawi

Shaleqa Dawit Woldegiorgis in one of his books said, his fallout with the Derg regime was over the 3000 Soviet generals stationed in Eritrea that were leading the war and calling all the shots. Consequently, the war in Eritrea was between the Eritrean people seeking independence and the then-super power Soviet Union using Ethiopia as a proxy for its colonial ambitions. Yes, we defeated a global super power Soviet Union and even captured some of its top generals who were leading the war hiding behind enemy lines. And, yes, we defeated the colonialism that later attempted to come back riding YOU agame slaves, but was met with the same fate.

Fia - አንቺ ውታፍ ነቃይ!

This is better! I can live with the above. Still say FK C Mountian for inserting "colonial" Ethiopia at this day and age when the so called "colonized" Shabia is running the show in our country.

I was about to start calling the present Eritrean regime "occupation" of Tigrai as "colonialism" & see how you morons react? You selfish [deleted]!

Stupid is as stupid does!

[sebdoyeley]

In our new colony, we rule as we feel fit to our subjects Dawi,
we don't spare your sister and your mam even your stink A$$ Dawi,
All you have to do is bend and take it. hoping a new day will come.

— by Thomas C Mountain — 21/05/2021

defeating the occupying colonial army of Ethiopia and winning power “by the barrel of a gun”.

Fiyameta,

"Colonial" Army of Ethiopia? Really?? Even at this moment?

This foreign transplant B!tch! [deleted] him!

Dawi-the-Juntawi-Tigrawi

Shaleqa Dawit Woldegiorgis in one of his books said, his fallout with the Derg regime was over the 3000 Soviet generals stationed in Eritrea that were leading the war and calling all the shots. Consequently, the war in Eritrea was between the Eritrean people seeking independence and the then-super power Soviet Union using Ethiopia as a proxy for its colonial ambitions. Yes, we defeated a global super power Soviet Union and even captured some of its top generals who were leading the war hiding behind enemy lines. And, yes, we defeated the colonialism that later attempted to come back riding YOU agame slaves, but was met with the same fate.

Fia - አንቺ ውታፍ ነቃይ!

This is better! I can live with the above. Still say FK C Mountian for inserting "colonial" Ethiopia at this day and age when the so called "colonized" Shabia is running the show in our country.

I was about to start calling the present Eritrean regime "occupation" of Tigrai as "colonialism" & see how you morons react? You selfish [deleted]!

Stupid is as stupid does!

[Dawi]

In our new colony, we rule as we feel fit to our subjects Dawi,
we don't spare your sister and your mam even your stink A$$ Dawi,
All you have to do is bend and take it. hoping a new day will come.

Barbaric sebdoyeley,

That's called incest for you!

Be carful pervert! They're your sister/brothers too! I and most Ethiopians can't tell the difference between you & them.