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Dear Eritrean friends and supporters of Eritrean Justice Seekers,

Dear Eritrean friends and supporters of Eritrean Justice Seekers, We chose to stand and raise our voices today, to bring our concerns to the attention of the Norwegian Peace Nobel Committee and the International community about

Dear Eritrean friends and supporters of Eritrean Justice Seekers,

We chose to stand and raise our voices today, to bring our concerns to the attention of the Norwegian Peace Nobel Committee and the International community about the misery and severities of the life of the Eritrean people.

Despite the Committee´s well-meaning intentions, we feel that it was a rushed decision to award Prime Minster Abiy with a Nobel peace prize. The Nobel Peace Prize Committee underlined for the motivation of its decision to be: “… in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea”.

We don’t only question the viability of the said agreement and peace, but also its intentions. Now, many Eritreans and Ethiopians are questioning if the peace accord was a sincere effort intended to put an end to the border dispute and the woes of the peoples concerned. Yes, peace could be achieved, and livelihoods improved through peace processes, only if the feuding parties really mean to respect and implement it.

Let’s just say the issue is out of ordinary cases. Making agreements with a tyrant, excluding the people concerned from information and participation in the decisions made should be a recipe for failure.  This is simply a serious betrayal of the principles of Human rights, and history will be very merciless against the violators of these principles.

An elected leader of a neighbouring country, Nobel Committee Peace Prize Laurent Dr Abi, is expected to be fully aware of the misery of the Eritrean people who are suffering under the brutal dictatorship of President Isaias.  The Eritrean people are gravely disappointed with Dr. Abiy who embraced the world known brutal dictator as his close personal friend and as his ally.  How could Dr. Abiy, who professes love, democracy, peace and freedom be a friend of such a ruthless dictator?

Let me say it clearly; Eritreans welcome to have a peaceful neighbourly relations with Ethiopia. We are not against economic cooperation with Ethiopia. In fact, we see it as something imperative. However, that cooperation should be governed by rules and principles, and mutual respect.

Our concern is that Eritrea does not have a government that accepts these principles and defends the national interests of the country. And we say that the right partner for Ethiopia is a government of the Eritrean people that has yet to come.

Will the two regimes delineate the boundary which has been the main bone of contention between the two countries for a long time? Now we can confidently say that demarcation is a subject matter that is conveniently forgotten. Ethiopia, the country of Dr. Abi Ahmed still occupies all the territory such as Badme and environs awarded to Eritrea.

Border crossings, which are much more important when it comes to public transportation and movement of goods, and which were opened with a lot of fanfare, have recently been closed again.

The “peace agreement” was supposed to change people’s livelihoods, putting an end to the open-ended nature of the national service; and bring peace and hope to the Eritrean and Ethiopian peoples.  But it hasn’t.  Instead Eritrea is still being governed with an iron fist and utmost secrecy.  The Tyrant Isaias continues to rule as if Eritrea is his personal property. Sadly, Eritrea has become a country where events are orchestrated, and its citizens are kept quiet as government officials depict false realities.

The human rights and political situation in Eritrea is very worrisome: clear patterns of grave violations of human rights, absence of Rule of Law and arbitrary detention, torture and disappearances still take place.

It does not make any sense to expect the Eritrean people to support Dr. Abiy’s Peace Prize Award and his ‘Medemer’ philosophy that takes aim only at the Eritrean ports and supports the tyrannical rule of Isaias. In his recently published book, ‘Medemer’, Dr. Abiy wrote about his colonial dreams, and he explicitly stated that the 1000km long Read sea coast line is Ethiopian natural resource that it should use for its economic and military advantage. (Medmer, page 262).

The Eritrean people have sacrificed so much to achieve their sovereignty at the cost of over 65,000 lives.  But Dr.  Abiy does not seem to respect Eritrean sovereignty.  It is now becoming obvious that the peace deal he signed with Isaias is motivated by his dream to provide free access to Ethiopia and its naval forces without any regard to the interest of the Eritrean people.

The Eritrean people are for peaceful coexistence with our neighbour Ethiopia, and that is why there was so much jubilation when Dr. Abiy officially announced his unconditional acceptance of the decision of the International Boundary Resolution Commission.  Unfortunately, the peace deal, which Isaias signed without any input from his cabinet or the Eritrean people has proved to be a phony peace agreement that has not yielded any peace dividend to the Eritrean people.

The Eritrean people’s initial positive jubilation was based on the anticipation of serious reforms similar to those Dr. Abily boldly introduced in Ethiopia, such as freeing political prisoners, lifting the state of emergency, allowing political parties  and media outlets to freely return and operate in their county. Eritreans’ hoped the peace deal with lead to the implementation of the ratified constitution, the release of political prisoners, newspaper editors, those who have been languishing in inhuman prison for over 20 years.  The Eritrean youth hoped there will be an end to the endless national service that amounts to virtual slavery that drove many young Eritreans to flee the country where many perished in the deserts of Sahara and Sinai and drowned in the Mediterranean Sea. According to the UN refugee agency, Eritrean refugee numbers worldwide, 2014-18, has surpassed half a million   In fact, things have gone worse since the peace deal was signed between Dr. Abiy and President Isaias Afeworki.  No substantive work has been undertaken to normalise relations between the two countries since the signing of the “Peace Accord”.

Unfortunately, by awarding Abiy the most prestigious Peace Nobel prize, Norway, is reminding Eritreans  of what the Government of Norway did in December 1950 (69 years ago) when it became the only country at the UN that voted for the annexation of Eritrea by Ethiopia. By awarding the Noble Peace Prize to Dr. Abiy Ahmed, you are scratching long healed wounds.

On a positive note, we would like to let the Norwegian people that Eritrean people are grateful for what the Government of Norway has done to accommodate and to give a safe haven to a large population of Eritrean refugees. We would also like to to appeal to the Norwegian Government to assist the Eritrean people in the endeavours they are making to democratize their country.

Victory to the Eritrean people!

May the friendship between Norway and  democratic Eritrea flourish

Enough is Enough! ይኣክል

Thank You

Berhane Kidane

For Eritrean League for justice and democratic change in Gothenburg and

Surrounding

 

aseye.asena@gmail.com

Review overview
8 COMMENTS
  • Muller-Mulugeta December 10, 2019

    Waste of a noble prize given to a fake preacher and Arab/Egyptian agent/kurkur.
    Like the late great man Meles Zenawi, this fake preacher should give the prize to an Ethiopian charity organization.

  • k.tewolde December 10, 2019

    One player goes another one emerges,an Emperors reign ends a tyrant one starts,it a perpetual political story of individual brutal characters which plagues the country,the only positive story was when the people fought together and did the unthinkable against all the odds– liberated their nation and put it on the map with clear distinct borders and delineated topography,today the same forces who we fought against to achieve that miracle have resurrected from with in by collaborating with the occupiers to erase it.How do we fend off and fight this forces? same way we did decades ago,simple!!! it doesn’t have to be the same replica of war theater,but the genuine Eritrean has to be on the same page,the same frame of mind and fight the enemy tooth and nail to keep the promise of those who has fallen and preserve the dignity and true identity of our nation.Talking and asking questions why do these shady characters do what they do ain’t gonna solve our problems,Abiy is going to collect his hardware today and deposit a million dollar in his bank account,the one ab adi halo is going to scoff and down a couple of shots of whiskey and grimace with envy, where do you see the Eritrean people in this ornate drama?!!!! we need to get back to the basics,roll our sleeves,tighten our belts and work together to put an end to the misery of our people who deserve better,>>>>> before the official announcement of annexation.

  • Woldegabriel December 11, 2019

    Dear Berhane kidane
    Thank you for your well researched post that reflects almost all Eritrean’s stand regarding the Nobel Peace Prize award to PM Abiy. (Had you read deeper into the PM’s book you would have found more disturbing information on the his empty “medemer” philosophy.) All the same, the PM is just s pawn in a well orchestrated masters chez game. He has neither the intelligence nor the experience to comprehend the repercussions. He would not have mentioned isayas in his acceptance speech without the consent of the Nobel Prize (most likely, it was authored by them). Would such an appeasement change the imposter’s heart? Would he be cajoled by such clumsy acknowledgment? Not at all!!but it gives him the borrowed time for his self preservation. Most of all, his blind supporters who have no idea on the final objective of such a trajectory would be elated. What a pity and catastroph? Both isayas and PM Abiy are enemies of Eritrea. We should call ” a spade a spade ” and strategize our struggle before it is too late.

  • Fetsum Abraham December 11, 2019

    Dear Author;
    Thank you for the nice article but Abiy is in total contradiction between his approach to Eritrea and to Sudan. He certainly showed his democratic values in Sudan (agreement between the Army and the FFC) but his colonialist or imperial views in the case of Eritrea.( to dominate Eritrea using the dictator)..There is a clear distinction in between that does not help the two societies in the long run. Their relationship appears dangerous to Abiy and impractical to the dictator. Dangerous in a sense considering Abiy’s swift condemnation of the weyanes and dreaming about access to the sea trusting or depending on the dictator (he failed in both). Impractical in a sense because Isaias’s dictatorship cannot blend with Abi’y’s democratic view no matter how much they pretend, otherwise. The relationship that earned him the Noble Prize cannot sustain the weight of its contradiction, thus destined to fall apart sooner or later!

    TNX

    • k.tewolde December 11, 2019

      ‘because Isaias’s dictatorship cannot blend with Abi’y’s democratic view no matter how much they pretend,’ indeed,it’s like one is trying to break dance while the other want to tango,one is trying to introduce an open market economy while the other want to keep the hawala driven enda haraj command one,however,these two polarized characters in their view and age,they have something in common which keeps them smitten and calling each other baby names— the insatiable appetite for power,dominance,and expansionism at the expense of us,the Eritrean people and the hefty price we paid to achieve for thirty yrs,and I don’t see democracy in that,except an African Crimea. Happy Holidays wedi Abraham.

    • Berhane Kidane December 13, 2019

      Thank You Woldegabriel and Fetsum, your comments encourage me to write more articles.
      Berhane Kidane

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