Amanuel Biedemariam

The unofficial official voice or website of TPLF/Greater Tigray or Abbay Tigray, Aigaforum, posted a notice from the Public Relation and Government Bureau. I found the piece interesting for many reasons. But, there are three that I think people need to note, at least for their peculiarity.

The first thing that jumped out was the header The Government of Regional National State of Tigray (GRNST). This raises many questions. What is the reasoning behind combining the words Government, Regional, National and State? Why not call it the State of Tigray? Or as is customary for the Amhara Kilil and others, why not call it Tigray Regional (Kilil) administration? Why call it a National government? Why call it a government? Then again why does Tigray need a Public Relation and Government Bureau? Is it a PR for government? Or is it just a name of a government organ? But why repeat the words government and national?

The second reason; while the letter acknowledges Ethiopians in passing, it is written in Tigrignya that many Ethiopians could not understand. So, why not write a letter in Amharic and English as well? What is the reason behind doing that? Were the musicians representing Tigray only? The questions are many.

The third reason; what is the main objective of the letter? Why now, after a good amount of time passed since the death of the musicians? These questions are questions that make you go ehm…

This is a true reminder of what Ethiopians are dealing with, duplicity. This is what is called chewing with both sides of the mouth with a mouth full of food on both sides ready to pop out of the chcks cheeks. It is underhanded call or a plea for Tigrayans. It is a call for uniting Tigrayans. This is a coded message designed to satisfy those with Abbay Tigray aspirations that have been disillusioned and sidelined by Meles. It is a move by the Tigray Govenemnt PR Bureau. It is a PR move to try to recapture a lost constituency by using patriotic dead musicians.

This was also an introduction of Tigray as government and as a nation. It is a PR move by the “Public Relation and Government Bureau” to introduce Tigray as a Government, as a Nation and or a State. They put it all out there. One can have his or her pick of what to call Tigray be it a State, Government, Region or a nation. All the words that define Tigray are there.

Conclusion

Never in history have we seen a governing body reluctantly leading a country with competing agendas of equal sovereignty in this case Tigray and Ethiopia simultaneously. It is also ironic for Ethiopian opposition leaders to have to grapple with this sensitive issue while condemning this isolationist agenda and at the same time retaining the nationalist camp. In the long run however, this will prove to be deadly for the people of Tigray because they will carry a bull’s eye by everyone from Somalia, Ogaden, Oromo, Amhara, Gambella, Anuak and Afar…

Amanuel Biedemariam

During the difficult times of Eritrea, when Eritreans were being scattered, forced to flee from their homes en mass; they cried for support of the international communities and received a deaf ear. Napalm bombs were torching villages and mutilating Eritrea’s children with impunity. As Eritrea appealed to the world for any attention, appealed for relief, no one was there to listen to that plea of respite; instead, the barrage of assault became harsher. That continued until the land became barren, the streets emptied devoid of youth, the social structures dismembered, the economic viability of the nation stripped bare and, the once joyful streets and villages became a prototype of destruction unrecognizable to Eritreans. Eritreans fled torture, and were forced to settle in many places around the world unexpectedly. It is ironic because what I am writing represents my life story and the story of millions of Eritreans. I am telling the story that I lived.

The interesting part is, as I passed through the journey like many; in the process, I witnessed and heard horrific stories of torture, rape and killings of Eritreans that followed the same path. These are public stories.

However, Eritreans went through it and came out victorious without any help. Eritreans had no choice but to count on each other, on families, brothers and sisters and the resilient nature of Eritrean spirit to withstand the onslaught and buy time, buy a chance to live to fight, to sustain the revolution and ultimately the very Existence of Eritrea.

And through the grace of the almighty Allah/God Eritreans sailed through it like the blessed children that they are and came out stronger and wiser. They came away believing on themselves and, they came believing on no one else but Eritreans will ensure their future.

Now, Eritrea is flourishing country – getting brighter every day. The once barren land is full of waters and greenery from coast to coast and east to west turning once abandoned desert into luscious green agricultural land. Eritrea, once left to decompose is now Gold that glitters. Eritrea’s direction stands like no other, because of her ability to chart her own path. The brilliance of the Eritrean people is becoming more and more apparent to the world because Eritreans keep showing the world that they can work together, grow together, live together, support each other, educate each other, nurture and treat each other as they should and more. They are doing it with zest and joy celebrating every possible moment and working hard to attain a high standard of living.

This is complemented by a pragmatic approach to governance that integrates the various sectors and makes them work in concert. For example, one of the main areas that Eritrea focuses on is food security. To ensure food security, Eritrea needed to build infrastructures that can support it. Therefore, the entire country, led by the construction sector, engaged on water retention programme by building small and large dams in strategic areas all over the country. The beauty is once the dams are full, the agricultural sector becomes viable and in turn supports other spinoff benefits such as animal husbandry, local produce production capacity while stabilizing local markets and creates jobs etc…And that is the reality of life in Eritrea today.

A careful look at Eritrea’s economic sectors will reveal that Eritrea, in a short time would have a shortage of manpower in every sector because the population will not be able to fill all jobs that will become available. This will include fishery, banking, education, healthcare, mining, tourism, construction etc… It was not easy to get to this point however, hard work, discipline, determination and a clear vision guided Eritrea. This is the reality of Eritrea. The Eritrean dedication and willingness to sacrifice is unparalleled. That is why Eritrea was able to attain victory and maintain independence against every odd. It is the unity and the ability to persevere that sustained this condemned nation.

This was a nation that was colonized by bigoted whites that enslaved Eritrea for decades. This is a nation that was condemned to death by the US and European countries and given away to a far less developed entity. And that is why Eritreans were subjected to years of unnecessary hardship. Unfortunately, the Westerners have never given up on their dreams of re-colonizing this pristine rich country of beautiful people.

They have waged wars, attempted all types of covert and overt sabotage, assassination attempts and illegal sanctions. Central to all these inhuman crimes is, their consistent demonizing campaign waged against Eritrea from every angle using every conceivable tool, and it is always based on fabrication, exaggeration and misrepresentation of the truth to fit their agenda.

One of the main tools of the West is the people they send to spy and penetrate countries of interest. As soon as Eritrea became independent, scores of NGO’s flocked into Eritrea with hopes of running a country from a scratch only to find out, the people that freed Eritrea had a different idea on how to run the country. This became a serious disappointment to many such as the disgruntled Dr Mirjam van Reisen. She went to Eritrea with the hopes of putting her stamp and found her hopes dashed when she realized that Eritrea was not like other countries that the Westerners pillage and plunder as they have for centuries.

In a recent interview, his Excellency President Isaias Afwerki revealed, shortly after independence, the World Bank asked to write a country program for Eritrea and became disappointed when told that Eritrea will write her own program based on her needs. Dr. van Reisen happens to fall in that category.

However, this racist bigot Dr. van Reisen has been using Eritrea and Africa to make money publishing books and selling regurgitated fabrications hatched and rehashed by the likes of Selam Kidane who happens to be blanketed by the spirit and gunpowder of dictator and butcher of Eritreans Mengistu Haile Mariam of the Derg. Selam Kidane and her likes are the principal authors of the article Dr.Reisen mimic and publish. And as these people get desperate, they are more brazen and their defamation campaign knows no bounds. Lately, Tesfa-kihdet Me-Har-ina and ilk are literally selling human organs in the most graphic ways to demonize the name “Eritrea” to score political points.

Furthermore, in a recent article, the bigoted Dr. van Reisen reached to her racist roots when she decided to divide Eritreans using EU funds that Eritrea did not ask for. She said the EU needs to stop funding Eritrea, and fund refugees in Sinai and blame Eritrea for the plight.

No one is opposed to helping refugees. But, what Dr. van Reisen has done is use these poor souls to score political points and that is blasphemous. The people of Eritrea are not seeking for handouts from her racist hands but she is forcing it upon them as if asked. More importantly, Eritreans are perfectly capable to take care of their own as they have for decades. The Euro or Dollar that she is politicizing is the same tender that Eritreans help each other with. The criminals perpetrating the crimes are those that she needs to focus on. However, justice is not on her racist agendas.

The point of this response is not to challenge her points because she has none. Her article is nothing but a demonizing campaign that we see posted on Asmarino website all the time. She is “Compadres” and collaborator with the anti Eritrean campaign that frequent Ethiopia. Furthermore, her assertion is in contradiction to the assessment Ambassador McMullen gave about Eritrean youth. He clearly articulated that the Eritrean youth is tight nit with their communities abroad meaning that we Eritreans work hand and glove.

Hence, the purpose of this article is to tell Eritreans that these people are conducting major campaign against Eritrea and if we allow them, they will attempt to destroy Eritrea. That is their aim. It is even more important to attack the credibility of these fraudulent Nazis and make sure we do it publicly by writing and lambasting their names to make sure they don’t dare misuse and disrespect Eritrea.

It is repulsing to see a bigoted woman belittle Eritrea, a country that our heroines gave their life for. That is why I felt strongly and determined not to allow Eritrea be defined by this evil lady. It is also an opportunity for us to turn around and creatively use their name to spread the good news and beautiful history of Eritrea.

Dr Mirjam van Reisen is a bigot that needs to know that Eritrea will never bow to handouts, will never be deterred from moving ahead, and will live the life she aspire. Furthermore, Eritreans have brave mothers and sisters that stand for their own in ways the world has never seen. Hence, it is insult to be used and exploited by a bigot.

Awetnayu@hotmail.com

By Amanuel Biedemariam

For Eritreans, the very existence of the nation as recognized by the UN is a testament to how victorious, hard working, independent, resilient and self reliant people that they are. The reason being, Eritrea was a condemned nation by the British, US, Italy and others from existence. These nations collectively decided that it would serve their interest if they make Eritrea a part of Ethiopia and imposed unnatural annexation of Eritrea by Ethiopia. As a result Eritreans were forced to endure untold hardships, immeasurable lose of life and years of instability. Millions became refugees and scattered. Eritrea’s chance of becoming a viable independent nation was severely degraded to below zero. Eritrea became a barren-dry-land due to successive brutal puppet Ethiopian regimes that wanted the land and not the people. As a result, after independence, Eritrea was forced to dig-out from the deep dark-whole into what it is today; an oasis in the middle of desert and thorny bushes.

Hence, the true measure of Eritrea’s successes needs to be looked back to the start of Eritrean revolution in 1961. The seed of independent Eritrea was sown then. At that time the wise leaders and the people of Eritrea decided to organize, arm and embark on a political awareness program unseen anywhere. That became the basis and a trajectory to the success that is Eritrea today. If one says Eritrea is the only independent nation in Africa today, it is a fact without exaggeration.

Eritreans are pragmatic and hard working people that faced the devil that is the West and won handedly without bowing to any one-nation or entity. Eritreans are smart people that know true freedom can only be attained with grit, determination, commitment and perseverance. They know what winning and victories meant from the inception of the revolution. They know what it entailed to ensure perpetuity. Hence, the liberation fighters-then sacrificed in ways that are impossible for the average person to imagine. They travelled in the harshest of climates, and the most difficult of terrains almost barefoot. They embarked on a national health and education programs in caves and under bushes. They build factories for products that they desperately needed in areas that are not ideal. They became masters of their destiny by doing many things creatively.

They embraced the public and in return the public embraced them-tenfold creating a harmonious partnership that is the foundation for the unity amongst Eritreans that exists nowhere-else in the world to date. They supported each other while building institutions that can stand the test of time. They worked hand-and-glove with villagers and farmers to create a farming partnership that expanded Eritrea’s agricultural capacity to ensure food security and expand the agro-industry for export. They developed indigenous mechanisms to build infrastructures in ways unseen anywhere in Africa. Eritrea turned every challenge imaginable into opportunities. Above all, Eritreans were able to accomplish all these miracles with joy and unparalleled generosity. All around the world Eritreans were supporting the war for liberation efforts while lifting one another from dire situations and dangerous places around the world. They were sending monies in everyway possible. Even the strictest of Ethiopian rulers were never able to control Eritreans from supporting their families.

This is proof that Eritreans are determined to leave poverty behind once and for all. There is also one undeniable fact here. If Eritreans waited to be saved by anyone, their hands will still be raised in prayer like a statue without a country or even history. With that knowledge in mind, Eritreans have done all they can to rely on Eritreans entirely to save and sustain them in good or bad. Eritrea has seen it all. For Eritreans drought, hardship and war is not new, in fact, it is has been a way of life thus-far. However, above all Eritreans have a very high hope, determination and confidence that their hard work and sacrifices will payoff for certain. And it is paying off big time.

The combination of principled approach to life and determination to-set their own destiny is bearing fruit. Their grateful and humble nature is making life easier because they are able to be thankful to the small victories that they have been able to amass into a gargantuan. Eritreans have learned that there is no small victory because they know when one kid plants a tree it is the cumulative effect that greens the country. They know one micro dam can change the life of a village in many ways and it is that knowledge that propelled them to build one of the largest dams in Africa in Gerset. This is taking place throughout Eritrea greening a nation that was once a desert due to neglect. Mountains are being terraced to reforest and protect the soil from erosion.

All these happen because there is harmony, understanding and cohesion amongst all the people. There is a great understanding amongst all Eritreans that the greatest resource Eritrea has is her people. Therefore, the focus has been-and-remains to be health, the successful nurturing of her pupils and education without exception and no matter where. To achieve that, Eritrea in her short existence has built schools and clinics in every village. There exists all types of social services in every part of Eritrea. The success Eritreans achieved in a short time is miraculous considering the hostilities that has been mounted against Eritrea. Consequently Eritrea is rich with all types of resources. And relative to the rest of Africa, Eritrea’s achievement is a standard that may never be reached!

This is a brief narrative of what Eritrea is about. Eritreans are not and will no be measured by the standards that the bigoted Westerners have set for Africans. They will not be cornered into the stereotypes of Africa that is hungry and dependent on handouts from the West. That is what Eritrea fought against in-principle and won independence. Self Reliance is a motto Eritrea breathes, eat and live by. Self reliance is not a proclamation for show or dogma; it is assurance to the very existence of Eritrea.

That is why it was perplexing to see a white South African Martin Plaut report about Eritrea based on fabrications, innuendo’s and assertions in order to create a new narrative of what Eritrea is or isn’t. Martin Plaut went to Ethiopia, a country at war with Eritrea, and reported stories about Eritrea based on the direction of Ethiopian authorities and proclaimed there is famine in Eritrea. Due to the sensitivities of naming the draught situation it took countless of reports for the UN to declare famine in Ethiopia and Somalia. Yet, Plaut took it upon himself to declare famine on Eritrea. How deceitful is that? The UN uses five categories to determine famine and the UN did not even place Eritrea in the list of countries affected yet, Martin Plaut took it upon himself to declare it.

To buttress his claim, Plaut sited, “satellite imagery from a weather monitoring group,” as if satellites can look inside a village or a home; noted personal accounts from people he spoke to in the Ethiopian side; sited Susan Rice’s insinuation that there may be famine that Eritrean authorities are hiding and flew with that.

This clearly shows Martin Plaut of the BBC and ilk are not journalists. They are agents of government-media organizations that are determined to create wars, instability, and hatred-based killings amongst people of a nation. They are agents of destruction, mayhem and genocide. They are experts at creating falsehood and misinformation in countries and governments of interest. They are brutal media mercenaries unconcerned about the people and issues they are reporting about. It is about the agendas they try to further. In this case, it is to make a long standing case against the government of Eritrea. To show pattern of civilian abuses so they can take actions as they have in Libya and other places.

It is not necessary or a standard for the BBC and other Western media organizations to send reporters in order to do due diligence and provide facts for the reports they give anymore. Instead they are relying on second and third hand information and report, as if it is factual information. And unfortunately, there is no scrutiny or penalty for gross misrepresentations these agents of evil spew regularly.

Martin Plaut is a South African-byproduct of the apartheid-era that thinks nothing about the suffering of the African people. If he did, he would have dared to look into his own homeland and cry for the suffering of his people that are facing starvation, the highest HIV infection rates and deaths due to AIDS related diseases. He would have gone to the shanty towns and face the inequalities his predecessors are subjecting South Africans into. Or he could have talked about his current residence UK that was mired by riots stemming from economic hardships. Instead Plaut-BOY found it convenient to talk about the only African country that found proven answers to poverty. How sad!

Let this be known to Plaut; Eritrea has reached a platform that no African country has reached strictly by relying on her self. There is also nothing Plaut or ilk can do about the riches of Eritrea poses. In addition, there is nothing Plaut can do to change the path of success Eritreans have created. And nothing he can do about the impenetrable unity amongst Eritreans. There is also another fact Plaut-BOY needs to know. Eritreans never abandon their own like he abandoned his African “brethren.”

All Eritreans need to expose the agents of evil BBC, Plaut and their hired Eritrean agents like Amaniel Iyasu!

By Semirnna Adhanom

I am starting to wonder, why would a sole super power work so hard to hurt a young country that wants just to be left alone? Could the potentially huge natural gas and oil reserves in the red sea making the sole super power to work against us?

Through out history the US never cares about a country unless it has oil and natural gas (energy sources). And this could be  the reason why the sole super power is anti-Eritrea’s economic progress.

The special interest groups don’t want the Eritrean people to control or have a big share of the pie and that is what is going to happen if we start extracting the huge natural gas reserves in the red sea under the current nationalist government in Eritrea.So they are using agent meles to distract us from progressing by creating a border issue, somalia,djibouti, and God knows what they will bring next.