Tag: Ethiopia
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US To Eritrea: Nice Try, But No Reform, No Sanctions Relief
It is a bad day for PFDJ which almost always means it is a good day for the Eritrean people. The Isaias Afwerki regime appears to have calculated that if it makes peace with Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti, why, then, there is no reason for the United States not to normalize its relations and, more…
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Finally, Our Peace Dividend
The much-anticipated opening of the Zalambesa and Bure points on the Eritrea-Ethiopia border, occurred today. Zalambesa connects Eritrea capital Asmara to Tigrayan capital Mekele and towns further south to Ethiopia, whereas Bure is a mere 60 miles to Eritrean port Asab. Both are strategic towns which were the sites of heavy casualties in the 1998-2000…
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Refreshing: An Honest Ethiopian Reportage On Eritrea
If you have been watching Ethiopian media in Eritrea, whether due to its desire not to be a “downer”, or its fear that it will spoil the environment of peace, or because it genuinely believes it, the most generous thing one can say about it is that it has allowed its wishes to cloud its…
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Eritrea: Promises of More of the Same
Eritrea’s Charge d’Affaires to the United States is Berhane G Solomon. A protege of Yemane Gebreab, the ruling party’s Director of Political Affairs, Berhane even has Yemane’s body language: the exaggerated hand movements, the awkward smile and, of course, flashes of brilliance. In short, he is very good at his job, a job that requires…
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Eritrea In Pictures: Geneva, Massawa, Asab
In a hall full to capacity, Eritrean demonstrators for justice assembled to plan the next steps for taking their movement forward. A day earlier, on August 31, a large crowd variously estimated at 2,000 to 3,000, had marched the streets of Geneva calling on the Government of Eritrea to lift the state of siege it…
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Pride and Happiness
What is happiness, anyway? Scientists will tell you it is about dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins. But what do they know. I mean, have you ever met a happy scientist? Plus, they are always complicating things: “Using new computer software to observe and record people’s faces, scientists mapped no fewer than 21 emotional states, including…
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Game Over. Play Again? Game Over. Play Again?
The following was written in reply to an article at awate.com, “The Game Is Over”, by Ismael Ibrahim Mukhtar, where he quotes Isaias Afwerki’s “Game Is Over” and argues that the games that have to be over are games of domination, game of justifying the unjustifiable, and game of “I win, you lose.” All are…
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Eritrea: Betrayals and Pyrrhic Victories
What was the war about? And what is this peace about? And why did peace happen in June 2018 and not, for example, in November 2004? Why was there a “border war” in May 1998 to begin with? What is our peace dividend? It was not about borders or demarcation. If it was, 7 weeks…
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Eritrea: Own the Momentum for Peace
On Tuesday, June 5, 2018, the Executive Committee of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) issued a formal statement that says Ethiopia will fully honour the Algiers Agreement and the decision of the Boundary Commission. The statement was previewed by the Ethiopian Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff in a tweet the same day: #Ethiopia…
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The Grand Dam, National Sovereignty and Hydro-politics
The building of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile by a major Italian construction company, in a contract with Ethiopia, remains a source of great tension between Ethiopia and Egypt. Began in 2011, the grand dam is due for completion in the middle of this year. The dam will hold a…
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A Prime Minister Resigns (Yawn). In Africa (!!)
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn tendered his resignation and it was promptly accepted. This makes him the first in modern Ethiopian history to voluntarily resign his position. He is giving up his post as Prime Minister and the Chairman of the ruling coalition Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF.) In his resignation statement, the Prime…
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Eritrea, Ethiopia Put Their War Masks On
[spider_facebook id=”4″]War logic has taken over Eritrean and Ethiopian leaders: the skirmish that ignited last weekend is careening towards a dangerous confrontation with war now all but inevitable–unless we all act. As we write this, Eritrea and Ethiopia are exchanging uninterrupted artillery fire across their border, each aiming to soften the positions of the other. Tension is…