Author: saay
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Eritrea: 10,000 Prisoners Ago
Of late, to the delight of the Eritrean people, the Government of Eritrea has released dozens of prisoners. In a press release, the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that while this news is encouraging, the Government needs to do more because there “are estimated to be more than 10,000 people…
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Oh My IGAD: Eritrea Says Goodbye (Again)
“Distinguished representatives of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and other concerned parties: “IGAD, whose founding principle is the “sovereign equality of all member states”, was established in 1996 with certain objectives: to promote cooperation, stability, and development in the Horn of Africa. We have observed, over many years, the functioning of this regional organization.…
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Romancing Tigray: An Eritrean Story (1946-2025)
Like any two bordering people, the people of Tigray and Eritrea have had a long bond which included all the ups-and-downs of relationships: intermarriage, war, deportation, love and enmity. Here’s a brief timeline: see if you can detect a pattern. 1. #Tigray-#Tigrini: 1946-47. An Eritrean movement of Tigrinya speakers demand union with Tigray. Tigray, which…
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Abiy Ahmed Takes His Case To Permanent Court of Souped-Up History
To try to explain how far back Ethiopia’s sense of ownership about the Red Sea goes to, this Eritrean Digest article had said it goes back to the D’MT Kingdom (10th century BCE to the 5th century BCE), a maritime power which controlled the Red Sea. I was off by a millennia or two. “Because…
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Eritrean History (As Told By Ethiopians & Eritreans)
Too bad for Ethiopia, there is no Permanent Court of History because if there were, it would win its case against Eritrea by the sheer grandiose, swashbuckler narration which, compared to our boring matter-of-fact history, is quite a page-turner. Eritreans win on law; Ethiopians win on “history.” 1. The Ethiopian Narration: Eritrea has always been…
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No, Egypt Was No Reliable Ally To Eritrean Rebels
A perennial story told by Ethiopian politicians for decades is that Egypt incubated and then consistently supported Eritrean rebels because it is “our historic enemy.” The facts show otherwise. Here’s a timeline from 1956-1991. To ensure Prosperity Party cadres remain engaged I will include talking animal Aesop story at the end. 1956–1963 (7 years) Egypt:…
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Burning The Termite Mound: An Autopsy of Gedion’s Speech
Dr. Gedion Timothewos, Ethiopia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, gave an unflattering speech about Eritrea. Where did he speak, in which language, to whom? are all clues to the message itself. We will get to all of it in good time, but for those of you who would like to receive your messages in micro articles,…
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Ethiopian Governments, Unlike TPLF, Consulted Their People? Sure.
Some of Ethiopia’s elite, who have been making bogus claims about Port of Assab on the basis of history and nature, are trying a new one: legitimacy. Eritrea became independent while TPLF was in charge but TPLF never consulted Ethiopians; therefore, its recognition of Eritrea (and therefore Ethiopia’s landlocked-ness) is invalid. You can see their…
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The Price Paid for the Imperialization of Eritrea Under Isaias Afwerki
Over a 25-year period, President Isaias Afwerki has caused and used external actions and reactions to entrench his power. This is not atypical for Africa: more than half of African countries are governed by authoritarians. If you count the “hybrids”—partly authoritarian, partly power diffused– the percentage is over 70%. Opposing Isaias is not about how…
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Abiy’s Long Speech and Ethiopia’s Short Memory
Just think: when, in 1991, Al Gore invented the world wide web (hush), ushering in the Information Age, the promises, explicit and implicit, were many. How we got from there, to where we are now, where we have wars without correspondents, journalists are distrusted by most, and our lives are shared in clips, clips that…
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Flattering the Host, Forgetting the Facts: UN Day in Eritrea
The “rules-based international order”, or RBO, is a term often used by the US and EU to describe a system of international norms, institutions, and laws centered on the UN Charter, human rights treaties, and multilateral diplomacy. Listen to any address (speech, article, interview) by an Eritrean government official and it will not be five…
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Eritrea & Its Ministries – Justice
Eritrea’s Ministry of Justice is headed by Ms Fawzia Hashem, who has held the position since it was created. The primary role of a Minister of Justice is to uphold the constitution, the nation’s supreme law. The job description includes ensuring that all citizens including the government officials, maintain the integrity of the constitution and…