By M&G Africa

Be prepared to be surprised. Asmara, the capital city of Eritrea, has one of the largest collections of modernist architecture in the world, impressive features that bolster the application made on February 1 for it to be listed as a World Heritage site.

Unesco World Heritage Sites are natural and cultural legacies of “outstanding value to humanity” and these approximately 400 buildings and their legacy make Asmara a unique contender for the esteemed status. The fate of the application, submitted by the Asmara Heritage Project (AHP), will be known before July 2017 and, as the Asmara project already meets several of the ten criterion for heritage status, there are high hopes.

For centuries, Eritrea was influenced by the cultures and religions of different rulers, from the Egyptians and the Ottomans to the Europeans. These all left their traces on the culture and architecture of the country, but it was Italy’s occupation that had the strongest mark.

Miami of Africa

Asmara was under Italian occupation from 1889, but it was Mussolini’s invasion of Ethiopia in 1935 that transformed the small town then into Africa’s most modern metropolis.

Asmara grew to become a capital city, with zoning, sanitation and modern drainage systems and buildings that followed the design principles and architectural styles indebted to European tendencies at the turn of the century.

Then, during the urban expansion programs in the 1930s, hundreds of Modernist buildings went up. As described by Edward Denison - an independent architectural specialist, co-author of “Asmara: Africa’s Secret Modernist City” and a member of the AHP team - last year at the Africa Research Institute: “overnight, the skeletal form of a modern and brilliant urban plan, conceived in the 1910s by a particularly enlightened Italian architect-engineer Odoardo Cavagnari, was lavishly clothed in modernist architecture.”

It should, however, be noted that there was some was some architectural experimentation and innovation also happening with one of the city’s most striking structures, the Fiat Tagliero service station, for example, being built in 1938. It was a bold tribute to futurism which is an Italian artistic movement that had comparatively little architectural exposure.

The spectrum of the Modernist buildings exist in an area of about four square kilometres in the town centre and earned Asmara the title as the “Miami of Africa” in reference to the US city’s famous style which features geometric shapes, curves and soft colours.

But these plans and structures also had African influence.

Denison again mentioned this, explaining how many of the structures were built using local materials, local workers, with parts of them inspired by local techniques - such as the “monkey head” building technique which uses wooden dowels to bind the walls - and how the Italian planners embraced the topography of Asmara as they developed the urban plans.

“Their designs sought to create a modern city that addressed the uniquely modern requirements of transportation, communication and sanitation, but did so in a way that respected and responded to the local environment while embracing modern planning principles. In doing so they created a very distinct urban plan. Although the city has since expanded and evolved substantially, the core characteristics have been retained, highlighting the success of the original designs.”

Hope for restoration

Many buildings are in run-down condition requiring an overhaul and modernisation of facilities including sanitation and electricity. An important step in this process will be the recognition of the Asmara architecture as a World Heritage by the UNESCO.

Through recognition there’s hope that the huge costs of renovation and preservation can be met if Asmara’s architecture can become the cornerstone of gainful tourism in Eritrea.

The potential is there.

Though the city’s striking architecture is the icing on the cake, Eritrea has many attractions to offer; the Red Sea, scenic mountain region, diverse fauna and flora, the historical landmarks of antique cultures of the Axumite Empire, Christian churches and monasteries, the Ottoman urban culture with the port of Massawa and the renovated railway from Massawa to Asmara.

Recently, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) highlighted an exciting skills development program being implemented in Eritrea. The program, which specifically targets youths, was scaled-up from a pilot project that was conducted from 2007 to 2011. It aims to enhance the capacity of various vocational training institutions and equip Eritrean youth with tangible work skills. To date, numerous trainees, both male and female, from Keren and the surrounding Anseba region have benefited from training in an array of sectors, including graphics, videography, metalwork, woodwork, pottery, and electricity installation, amongst others.

Although seemingly small in scale, the project is not only a poignant reflection of important ongoing collaborative initiatives between the Eritrean government, international development partners (e.g. the UNDP and Norway), and civil society groups and organizations, it also represents a positive step by the country in working towards general economic growth and broad developmental outcomes.

In previous articles, I have explored Eritrea’s nascent mining and energy sector, which has played a considerable role in the country’s economic growth and wide-ranging national development efforts. However, as Eritrea continues to grow and integrate into the broader regional and global economy, it is vital to raise and vary exports, moving away from low-value added Eritrea Profile, Saturday, 20 February, 2016 Vol 22. No 101 3 and potentially unstable primary products. Manufacturing is essential to growth, and with rapid technical change and global economic integration, it is becoming important as a means of modernizing and diversifying the economic base.

Consequently, focusing on and investing in technical and vocational programs and human capital development are key since they can help build and refine the population’s skills and capabilities to compete within fiercely competitive markets. Notably, advanced skills are not just a requirement for “hi-tech” sectors; even supposedly “simple” areas such as apparel, footwear, and basic engineering products require a degree of skills to compete. Of further importance, a skilled, knowledgeable workforce dramatically improves the investment climate since trained, skilled workers create an attractive economic environment for investors.

Beyond their necessity for competing in regional or global markets, Eritrea should invest in technical and vocational skills programs and human capital development since they help in the fulfillment of a range of fundamental human rights, significantly contribute to social inclusion, can considerably raise productivity and earnings (particularly of the working poor), reduce unemployment, increase the efficiency of entrepreneurs, and play positive, influential roles in crime and poverty reduction (AfDB; BCG; World Bank 2014).

The importance of technical and vocational skills and human capital development is particularly apparent in relation to skills gaps. Skills gaps are prevalent across much of the developing world – such as in Eritrea – and they persist despite generally high unemployment rates. Potential workers, lacking the skills and training required by various industries, remain idle and unproductive.

An insightful case is Sri Lanka; while the country has the most educated workforce in South Asia, with 87 percent of citizens completing secondary school, its workforce is not equipped with the right skills to be machine operators, technicians, sales associates, and managers (World Bank 2014). In this context, vocational and technical training programs can provide workers with the vital skills required by dynamic, evolving economies, and can ultimately help address problems of unemployment and lack of productivity (BCG).

Notably, skills acquired from or honed within technical and vocational programs are especially significant for youth. Young people frequently remain at the end of the job queue for the formal labor market because they lack adequate skills and experience (Boateng 2002). With little access to formal employment, youth may instead turn to the informal sector. While the informal sector can frequently offer certain tangible benefits, it can also be characterized by long, unpredictable hours and limited protections, returns, safety, or security. More problematically, youth unemployment can also potentially lead to crime or other harmful or dangerous behaviors, such as sex work or illicit drug use.

Overall, vocational and technical programs and human capital development are critical elements in encouraging and accelerating development, inclusive growth, and poverty reduction through economic transformation and job creation (AfDB). Moving forward, Eritrea should continue to invest in vocational and technical programs, and seek to enhance their overall effectiveness and impact. Doing so will require firm political commitment, the ongoing participation and cooperation of local and international partners, sustainable financing (especially for equipment), and the foresight to ensure that expansion does not dilute the quality of training.

To augment impact, the potential for enterprise-based training should be explored, while technical and vocational programs should be carefully assessed, diversified, and matched with the skills required by the labor market, possibly with the active participation of employers (Kanyenze, Mhone and Spareboom 2000; World Bank 2014). An illustrative example is the system of productivity councils that was a fundamental component of the rapid growth and success of the East Asian economies. Specifically, the system involved the specific skills profile required by the private sector being fed directly into the curricula of the educational and technical sector.

Finally, the Eritrean government and relevant stakeholders can further develop awareness campaigns illustrating that technical and vocational programs are an important means of empowering individuals to fully develop their capabilities and tangibly improve their lives. Importantly, these campaigns will help garner greater attention and participation, while counteracting potential obstacles related to perceptions of the alleged low prestige of technical and vocational programs.

Vocational Training to Enhance Employment Skills for Youth in Eritrea UNDP and featured on www.er.undp.org

The National Union of Eritrean Youth and Students (NUEYS) is equipping the youth with vocational skills to help them engage in economic activities and access employment. The trainings are facilitated through the youth employment skills development project in all the six regions of Eritrea. Currently 198 trainees from Keren town and its environs in Anseba region, Eritrea, have benefited from training in graphics, videography, metalwork, woodwork, pottery and electricity installation.

A committee of representatives from the National Union of Eritrean Women (NUEW), NUEYS, local administration, Ministry of Labour and the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), selects the beneficiaries. The selection criteria takes into consideration; gender balance, youth from female headed households, youth who have been demobilized from the military service, internally displaced people and youth who have special needs.

One of the trainees, Daniel Kitre, is 18 years old and has been training in metalwork for the last six months. He said that the training exceeded his expectation because he has learned a lot in those six months. He is confident of his newly acquired skills and aspires to have his own workshop after the training. “I would recommend this training for my friends who are looking for jobs,” he added.

Bierhane Teare (30) is a woodwork trainer and is a former trainee. The trainee job has enabled him to have regular income which he uses to support his family. “I would have loved to start my own business but I didn’t have capital. I am glad to be using my skills to teach others.” He has been at the training centre for five years. He said that most of the furniture they make at the workshop have been sold and there is adequate demand for their items.

Another trainee, Hadgu Araya (36) is a father of two children and is one of the trainees that were demobilized from the military. He has been in training for the last seven months and plans to open his own workshop after the training.

Woodwork is not gender neutral. Though it is a male dominated field in Keren, Mrs. Tsega Teklemenot (28) is a testimony that women can thrive in this field. She has been a trainer at the Keren centre for the last eight years. “There is a perception in the society that woodwork is hard for women. This is not necessarily true. I am [proof] that a woman can do well in this field, I love what I do,” she said. “Most ladies prefer to work as waitresses and make quick money, they don’t want to spend time in training but I hope that they will realize that time spent in training actually pays off once one starts working,” she added.

To promote women participation in male dominated fields, NUEYs, in collaboration with the National Union of Eritrean Women, held awareness raising campaigns in all the six regions of Eritrea to create awareness on gender balanced roles.

One of the challenges of the project is that they have limited space in the centres and can only admit 50 youths at a time. However, the project is boosting the capacity of the training centres. They have purchased additional training equipment and in future hope that they will be able to admit more trainees.

 The youth employment skills project was scaled-up form a pilot project that was implemented from 2007 to 2011. It is supported by UNDP and the Government of Norway.

The project aims to enhance the capacity of various vocational training institutions and equip the youth with work skills. There is a lot of demand for training and they are planning to train 325 additional youth in 2016.

By HRW

Ethiopian security forces are violently suppressing the largely peaceful protests in the Oromia region that began in November 2015. Almost daily accounts of killings and arbitrary arrests have been reported to Human Rights Watch since 2016 began.

Security forces, including military personnel, have fatally shot scores of demonstrators. Thousands of people have been arrested and remain in detention without charge. While the frequency of protests appears to have decreased in the last few weeks, the crackdown continues.

“Flooding Oromia with federal security forces shows the authorities’ broad disregard for peaceful protest by students, farmers and other dissenters,” said Leslie Lefkow, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The government needs to rein in the security forces, free anyone being held wrongfully, and hold accountable soldiers and police who used excessive force.”

The Ethiopian government has said that the situation in Oromia is largely under control following the government’s retraction on January 12 of the proposed “Addis Ababa Integrated Development Master Plan.” The controversial proposal to expand the municipal boundaries of the capital, Addis Ababa, into farmland in Oromia sparked the initial demonstrations.

The plan’s cancellation did not halt the protests however, and the crackdown continued throughout Oromia. In late January 2016, Human Rights Watch interviewed approximately 60 protesters and other witnesses from various parts of the Oromia region in December and January who described human rights violations during the protests, some since mid-January. They said that security forces have shot randomly into crowds, summarily killed people during arrests, carried out mass roundups, and tortured detainees.

While there have been some reports of violence during the protests, including the destruction of some foreign-owned farms and looting of some government buildings, most of the protests since November have been peaceful. On February 12, federal security forces fired on a bus after a wedding, killing four people, provoking further protests. A February 15 clash between federal security forces and armed men believed to be local police or militias, resulted in the deaths of seven security officers, according to the government.

On January 10, security forces threw a grenade at students at Jimma University in western Oromia, injuring dozens, eyewitnesses reported. Multiple witnesses told Human Rights Watch that security forces stormed dormitories at Jimma University on January 10 and 11, with mass arrests and beatings of Oromo students.

Security forces have arrested students, teachers, government officials, businesspeople, opposition politicians, healthcare workers, and people who provide assistance or shelter to fleeing students. Because primary and secondary school students in Oromia were among the first to protest, many of those arrested have been children, under age 18.

“They walked into the compound and shot three students at point-blank range,” one 17-year-old student said describing security force reaction to students chanting against the master plan. “They were hit in the face and were dead.”

Human Rights Watch spoke to 20 people who had been detained since the protests began on November 12, none of whom had been taken before a judge. Fourteen people said they were beaten in detention, sometimes severely. Several students said they were hung up by their wrists while they were whipped. An 18-year-old student said he was given electric shocks to his feet. All the students interviewed said that the authorities accused them of mobilizing other students to join the protests. Several women who were detained alleged that security officers sexually assaulted and otherwise mistreated them in detention.

The descriptions fit wider patterns of torture and ill-treatment of detainees that Human Rights Watch and other rights groups have documented in Oromia’s many official and secret detention facilities. Numerous witnesses and former detainees said that security forces are using businesses and government buildings in West Shewa and Borana zones as makeshift detention centers.

At time of writing, some schools and universities remain closed throughout Oromia because the authorities have arrested teachers and closed facilities to prevent further protests, or students do not attend as a form of protest or because they fear arrest. Many students said they were released from detention on the condition that they would not appear in public with more than one other individual, and several said they had to sign a document making this commitment as a condition for their release.

Human Rights Watch has not been able to verify the total numbers of people killed and arrested given restrictions on access and independent reporting in Ethiopia. Activists allege that more than 200 people have been killed since November 12, based largely on material collated from social media videos, photos, and web posts. Available information suggests that several thousand people have been arrested, many of whose whereabouts are unknown, which would be a forcible disappearance.

Human Rights Watch has documented 12 additional killings previously unreported. Most of these occurred in Arsi and Borana Zones in southern Oromia, where protests have also been taking place but have received less attention than elsewhere. This suggests that the scale of the protests and abuses across Oromia may be greater than what has been reported, Human Rights Watch said.

The Ethiopian government’s pervasive restrictions on independent civil society groups and media have meant that very little information is coming from affected areas. However, social media contains photos and videos of the protests, particularly from November and December.

The Oromia Media Network (OMN) has played a key role in disseminating information throughout Oromia during the protests. OMN is a diaspora-based television station that relays content, primarily in the Afan Oromo language, via satellite, and recently started broadcasting on shortwave radio. The Ethiopian government has reportedly jammed OMN 15 times since it began operations in 2014, in contravention of international regulations. Two business owners told Human Rights Watch they were arrested for showing OMN in their places of business. Federal police destroyed satellites dishes that were receiving OMN in many locations. Students said they were accused of providing videos for social media and of communicating information to the OMN. Arrests and fear of arrest has resulted in less information on abuses coming out of Oromia over the last month.

The Ethiopian government should end the excessive use of force by the security forces, free everyone detained arbitrarily, and conduct an independent investigation into killings and other security force abuses, Human Rights Watch said. Those responsible for serious rights violations should be appropriately prosecuted and victims of abuses should receive adequate compensation.

On January 21, the European Parliament passed a strong resolution condemning the crackdown. There has been no official statement from the United Kingdom, and the United States has not condemned the violence, instead focusing on the need for public consultation and dialogue in two statements. Otherwise, few governments have publicly raised concerns about the government’s actions. As two of Ethiopia’s most influential partners, the United Kingdom and the United States should be doing more to halt the violent crackdown and to call for an independent investigation into the abuses, Human Rights Watch said.

“Ethiopia’s donor countries have responded tepidly, if at all, to the killing of scores of protesters in Oromia,” Lefkow said. “They should stop ignoring or downplaying this shocking brutality and call on the government to support an independent investigation into the killings and other abuses.”

For additional information and accounts from eyewitnesses and victims, please see below.
Student protests in Oromia began on November 12, 2015, in Ginchi, a small town 80 kilometers southwest of Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, when authorities sought to clear a forest for an investment project. The protests soon spread throughout the Oromia region and broadened to include concerns over the proposed expansion of the Addis Ababa municipal boundary, known as the “Addis Ababa Integrated Development Master Plan.” Farmers and others joined the protest movement as the protests continued into December.

Many protesters allege that the government’s violent response and the rising death toll changed the focus of the protests to the killing and arrest of protesters and decades of historic Oromo grievances came to the forefront. Oromia is home to most of Ethiopia’s estimated 35 million Oromo, the country’s largest ethnic group. Many Oromo feel marginalized and discriminated against by successive Ethiopian governments. Ethnic Oromo who express dissent are often arrested and tortured or otherwise ill-treated in detention, accused of belonging to the Oromo Liberation Front, which has waged a limited armed struggle against the government and which parliament has designated a terrorist organization.

On December 16, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said that the government “will take merciless legitimate action against any force bent on destabilizing the area.” The same day, the government communication affairs office minister, Getachew Reda, said that “an organized and armed terrorist force aiming to create havoc and chaos has begun murdering model farmers, public leaders and other ethnic groups residing in the region.” Since that time, federal security forces, including the army and the federal police, have led the law enforcement response in Oromia.

On January 12, the ruling coalition’s Oromia affiliate, the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO), announced on state television that the “Addis Ababa Master Plan” would be cancelled. While the decision was an unprecedented change of policy, people Human Rights Watch interviewed suggest that there has been confusion over the actual status of the plan and whether government will follow through with the cancellation.

After the Addis Ababa master plan had originally been announced in 2014, protests occurred throughout Oromia, which security forces dispersed using live ammunition, killing at least several dozen people. Hundreds were arrested. Many of the arrested remain in custody without charge. Most of the approximately 25 students that Human Rights Watch interviewed from the 2014 protests who had been detained alleged torture and other ill-treatment. Many formerly detained students have not been permitted to return to their universities. On December 2, 2015, five Oromo students were convicted under the counterterrorism law for their role in the 2014 protests. There has been no government investigation into the use of excessive and lethal force during the 2014 protests.

Summary Killings, Unnecessary Lethal Force 

In the early weeks of the 2015 protests, security forces who responded to the demonstrations were largely Oromia regional police, who used teargas against protesters, although with some incidents involving live ammunition. Many of the killings initially reported occurred after dark when security forces went house-to-house searching for protesters. They killed some students who tried to flee and others in scuffles during arrests, while the exact circumstances of many deaths are unknown.

Under international human rights standards, law enforcement officials may only use lethal force in self-defense or to prevent an imminent threat to another’s life.

After a December 16 announcement by the prime minister that the government would “take merciless legitimate action against any force bent on destabilizing the area,” witnesses said federal police and military forces were deployed in more parts of Oromia alongside the regional police. Many protesters alleged that the federal police and soldiers fired into crowds.

Wako – a 17-year-old protester from West Shewa whose name, along with others, has been changed for his protection, described the change:

During the first protest [in mid-November], the Oromia police tried to convince us to go home. We refused so they broke it up with teargas and arrested many. Several days later we had another protest. This time the [federal police] had arrived. They fired many bullets into the air. When people did not disperse they fired teargas, and then in the confusion we heard the sounds of more bullets and students started falling next to me. My friend [name withheld] was killed by a bullet. He wasn’t targeted, they were just shooting randomly into the crowd.

Gudina, a 16-year-old Grade 10 student from Arsi Negelle, described the authorities’ response to a protest in early December:

All the schools got together and took to the streets. As we protested, teargas was thrown, we kept marching and then from behind us we heard bullets, many students were hit and fell screaming. One very young student from my school I saw had been shot in throat and blood was pouring. I have dreams every night of that student.

Protesters from Arsi, West Shewa, Borana, and East Wollega zones all described similar events in which security forces, predominantly federal police, shot into crowds with live ammunition, especially since mid-December. They gave little or no warning about using teargas and live ammunition.

Three high school students from Arsi who were interviewed separately described an incident at their school. Kuma, a 17-year-old student, said:

We heard a Grade 6 student was killed in [neighboring village]. To show our solidarity we decided to protest. When the different classes came together and started marching toward the government office, security forces moved toward us. They threw teargas, and then we heard the sound of gunfire. My friend [name withheld] was shot in the chest, I saw him go down and bleeding. We ran away and I never looked back. His mother told me later he had been killed. He was 17 years old.

Security forces entered a school compound near Shashemene apparently to discourage their participation in a planned protest. Gameda, a 17-year-old Grade 9 student, said:

We had planned to protest. At 8 a.m., Oromia police came into the school compound. They arrested four students [from Grades 9-11], the rest of us were angry and started chanting against the police. Somebody threw a stone at the police and they quickly left and came back an hour later with the federal police. They walked into the compound and shot three students at point-blank range. They were hit in the face and were dead. They took the bodies away. They held us in our classrooms for the rest of the morning, and then at noon they came in and took about 20 of us including me.

Arbitrary Arrests, Detention

Several dozen people told Human Rights Watch about friends and colleagues who had been arrested without a valid basis, including many whose whereabouts remain unknown. Fifteen protesters from various parts of Oromia described their own arrests. Usually in the evening following a daytime protest, security forces would go door-to-door arresting students, including many who had not participated, including an 8-year-old in the Borana zone on January 9. They primarily targeted men and boys, but many women and girls were also arrested. Those arrested were taken to police stations, military barracks, and makeshift detention centers.

Kuma, a Grade 7 student from Borana zone, was arrested in early December, held for five days in an unknown location, and beaten with a wooden stick:

They said to me “Why were you in the demonstration? This means you do not like the government. Why? We do good for you.” Then they kept saying we had relations with the OLF [Oromo Liberation Front, which the government considers to be a terrorist group]. What does demonstrating have to do with the OLF? I was released after signing a paper that I would not go in public with more than one person. Many people in our town were released after signing this paper. Several days later there was another protest, I didn’t go, but knew I would be arrested again. I sat at home hearing gunshots all day long hoping I didn’t know any of those that would be killed.

Gameda, a Grade 7 student, said he was arrested at his school compound on the day of a planned protest:

For 10 days I was held at the police station. For the first three days, they would beat me each night on the back and legs with a wooden stick and ask me about who was behind the protests and whether I was a member of the OLF. I was released and several weeks later the protests started again in our town. They arrested me again. Same beatings, same questions. My family bribed the police and I was released.

The authorities have imposed collective punishment on people deemed to have been helping protesters. Lelisa, a woman who assisted students fleeing the security forces in Arsi in early December, said:

I wasn’t at the protests but I heard gunfire all day long and into the night. Students were running away and hiding themselves. Ten students came to me and asked for help so I hid them from the police. The police were going door-to-door at night arresting students. They came to my house, arrested all the boys and I convinced them that the three girls were my daughters. Then an hour later they came back and arrested my husband. They beat him in front of me, when I begged them not to kill him they kicked me and hit me with the butt of their gun. They took him away. I have heard nothing from him since.

Negasu, an owner of a private school, said he was arrested because students at his school were involved in the protest:

I owned a private school in [location withheld]. The students protested but the police did not break it up violently, they just filmed it and then arrested many people at night. Four of the protesters were from my school. So the police came at night and arrested me and took me to a military camp [name withheld]. For five days I was held in a dark hole by myself. It was freezing and they did not feed me for two days. I was beaten each night and accused of giving money to opposition groups, to the Oromo Federalist Congress and to OLF. They also accused me of posting videos to social media and sending to OMN. They just make things up. They closed my school and froze my bank account. They took my house also. Now I have nothing and the students are either going through what I did in detention or are not able to go to school because it’s been closed.

Students who were perceived to be vocal or had family histories of opposing government were particularly at risk. Lencho, 25, said:

I was known to be vocal and was a leader among the students. My father was known to oppose the government. I did not even participate in the protests because of fear but I was identified as one of the mobilizers. I was arrested, and when I got to the police station I saw local government officials, a local Oromo artist [singer], my teacher, and all of the outspoken students of our high school. They were arresting those that they thought were influential. I don’t even think any of them were in the protests because of fear.

Prominent Oromo intellectuals, including senior members of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), a registered political party, have also been arrested. On December 23, Deputy Chairman Bekele Gerba was arrested at his home and taken to Addis Ababa’s Maekelawi prison, where torture and other ill-treatment have been documented. On January 22, he appeared in court, and prosecutors were granted an additional 28 days for investigation, suggesting he is being investigated under the abusive Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. Bekele has been a moderate voice in Oromia politics and a staunch advocate for non-violence.

In addition to those perceived to be actively involved in the protests, security forces have arrested influential people, including prominent Oromo businessman, teachers, professors, and numerous singers and artists. One teacher said:

The students protested. At night they came and arrested many of them, my students were calling me all night to tell me the police were at their door. Then I heard that most of the teachers had been arrested, too. I was away from town at the time. Then the woreda [district] administrator called and told me I was to be held responsible for my student’s behavior since I did not talk them out of it. I had already been in trouble because I did not attend a workshop at the school on the master plan and how we were to convince students it was good for them.

A well-known Oromo singer, now living in exile, said:

I released a song on Youtube [in December] that spoke about the protests and the need for students to stop the silence and speak out about the abuses our people face. I had been arrested three times previously for my songs. My songs have always focused on Oromo history and culture but I was always careful for the songs not to be seen as political in any way. But they arrest you anyway. After my third detention, I stopped censoring myself and spoke openly through my music. Hours after my song was released, I got word from the local administrator that I was to be arrested so I ran away from my home and haven’t been back.

An Ethiopian intelligence official acknowledged to Human Rights Watch in January 2016 that targeting public figures was a deliberate government policy. “It is important to target respected Oromos,” he said. “Anyone that has the ability to mobilize Oromos will be targeted, from the highest level like Bekele, to teachers, respected students, and Oromo artists.”

Human Rights Watch also interviewed a number of students who had been detained during the 2014 protests, eventually released, and then were arrested again as soon as the protests began in November 2015. Some described horrendous treatment in detention. Waysira, a then-second year university student, said:

[In 2014] I was arrested for two weeks. I was stripped to my underwear and beaten with sticks. They applied electric wires to my back. They wanted me to admit being OLF and to say where my brother was – who they suspect was OLF. Eventually they released me. I wasn’t allowed to go back to school, so I have been sitting around doing nothing ever since. I went back to my family’s village. When the protests started again in Oromia, they came to my house and arrested me again. There hadn’t been protests in that area, but there were on the campus I had been suspended from. They accused me of mobilizing students, and beat me for two days. Then I was released. They wanted to target anyone they thought might be thinking of protesting.

Torture, Ill-Treatment in Detention

All of the students interviewed who had been detained said the authorities interrogated them about who was behind the protests and about their family history. They said interrogators accused them of having connections to opposition groups – typically the legally registered Oromo Federalist Congress and the banned Oromo Liberation Front. Interrogators accused some students of providing information to diaspora or international media and a number of students said their phones, Facebook accounts, and email accounts were searched during detention. These descriptions of interrogation match patterns Human Rights Watch has documented in Oromia over several years.

Tolessa, a first-year university student from Adama University, said:

It was the evening after the protest. We were recovering from the teargas and trying to find out who had been shot during the protest. Then the security forces stormed the dormitories. They blindfolded 17 of us from my floor and drove us two hours into the countryside. We were put into an unfinished building for nine days. Each night they would take us out one by one, beat us with sticks and whips, and ask us about who was behind the protests and whether we were members of the OLF. I told them I don’t even know who the OLF are but treating students this way will drive people toward the OLF. They beat me very badly for that. We would hear screams all night long. When I went to the bathroom, I saw students being hung by their wrists from the ceiling and being whipped. There was over a hundred students I saw. The interrogators were not from our area. We had to speak Amharic [the national language]. If we spoke Oromo they would get angry and beat us more.

Meti, in her 20s, was arrested in late December for selling traditional Oromo clothes the day after a protest in East Wollega:

I was arrested and spent one week at the police station. Each night they pulled me out and beat me with a dry stick and rubber whip. Then I was taken to [location withheld]. I was kept in solitary confinement. On three separate occasions I was forced to take off my clothes and parade in front of the officers while I was questioned about my link with the OLF. They threatened to kill me unless I confessed to being involved with organizing the protests. I was asked why I was selling Oromo clothes and jewelry. They told me my business symbolizes pride in being Oromo and that is why people are coming out [to protest]. At first I was by myself in a dark cell, but then I was with all the other girls that had been arrested during the protest.

A 22-year-old woman told Human Rights Watch she was arrested the night of a protest in late December and taken to what she described as a military camp in the Borana zone. She was held in solitary confinement in total darkness. She said she was raped on three occasions in her cell by unidentified men during her two-week detention. On each occasion, she believed there were two men involved. She was frequently pulled out of her cell and interrogated about her involvement in the protests and the whereabouts of her two brothers, who the interrogators suggested were mobilizing students. She was released on the condition that she would bring her two brothers to security officials for questioning.

Right to Health, Education

The authorities have targeted health workers for arrest during the protests, and as a result some wounded protesters have been unable to get treatment. Demiksa, a student from Eastern Wollega, said that he was refused medical treatment in late December for his injured arm and face after he was pushed to the ground in a panic when Oromia regional police fired teargas at protesters: “[The health workers] said they couldn’t treat me. The day before security forces had arrested two of their colleagues because they were treating protesters. They were accused of providing health care to the opposition.”

Health workers said security forces harassed them and arrested some of their colleagues because they posted photos on social media showing their arms crossed in what has become a symbol of the protest movement. A health worker in East Wollega said he had been forced at gunpoint to treat a police officer’s minor injuries while student protesters with bullet wounds were left unattended. The health worker said at least one of those students died from his injuries that evening.

Many students said the local government closed schools to prevent students from mobilizing, or because teachers had been arrested. Some students said they were afraid to go to class or were refusing to go to school as a form of protest against the government. Four students who had been detained said that security officials told them that they would not be allowed to return to their university. A Grade 6 student who said she had the highest marks in her class the previous year said that the principal told her she would not be allowed to go back to school because she attended the protests. As a result, she decided to flee Ethiopia.

Human Rights Watch previously documented cases of students who were suspended after they participated in the 2014 protests, a pattern that is also emerging in the aftermath of the current protests.

In 2009, Susan Rice, the then U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and her close friend, the late Ethiopian dictator, Meles Zenawi, hatched a plan to sanction secular Eritrea on the false pretext of supporting the terrorist group Al-Shabab in Somalia. The goal of the sanction was to economically cripple Eritrea in order to induce regime change in the country.



Beyond Lifting the UN Sanctions Imposed on Eritrea

February 21, 2016

By Haile Abraham

On February 18, 2016 the UNSC held a briefing on a report presented by the SEMG (Somalia-Eritrean Monitoring Group) and by all indications, it appears that the Security Council is poised to lift or at least facilitate the means and ways to lift the sanctions it has imposed on Eritrea for the past 7 years.  Many Eritreans and other justice-seeking people around the world are very optimistic by this recent development and are looking forward for the sanctions to be lifted.  After all, the sanctions are illegal as well as unjust, and the pressure among member states to lift the sanction has also been increasing.  Thus it is fair to assume that the Security Council itself has also a great desire, as well as interest, to lift the sanctions as quickly as possible for multiple reasons.

First, the false allegations. By now it has been clear that the allegations the Security Council had based to justify the sanctions on Eritrea are running out of steam.  The sanctions have continued to tarnish the already questionable work ethics of the UN as a fair playground for all Nations.  In Eritrea’s cases, sanctioning a poor young African nation without any justification has been one of the most embarrassing moments in UN’s history.  So the sooner the Council ends this illegal and unjust act on Eritrea the sooner it will end its own embarrassment

Second, sanctions could not bring Eritrea down to its knees. There is no question that the evil intentions behind the UN sanctions were to bring Eritrea's economy down to its knees; create instability within the population and the government; and finally create a puppet-state or a failed state.  But thanks to the self-reliant and forward-thinking government apparatus in place, Eritrea instead flourished in all sectors including agriculture, mineral resource exploration and self-defense strategies.  In a neighborhood where there is a constant instability, Eritrea found itself as an island of peace and stability; in a neighborhood where famine is rampant, Eritrea fed its people without donors handout or bank loans.  In a nutshell, Eritrea's prevalence as a proud nation during one of the tightest illegal and unjust sanctions, it has become an embarrassment to the UN and its Western sponsors. Therefore, the sooner the UN lifts the sanctions the sooner it will end its embarrassment.

In conclusion, it is not far-fetched to say that at this juncture the UN is more anxious to lift the sanction than Eritrea because not only did the UN and its Western sponsors fail to achieve their evil agenda, but all the conspiracies and the false allegations they have committed to carry out their evil agenda had been embarrassingly exposed for the whole world to see.    

For this reason, I think it is reasonable that Eritrea makes the following three demands before the UN lifts the sanctions:

1.  Formal Apology: Eritrea should demand a formal apology from UNSC through its formal channels to the Eritrean people and the Eritrean government for imposing illegal and unjust sanctions based on false and unfounded allegation for the past 8 years

2.  Monetary Compensation: The UN must make a monetary compensation to Eritrea for all the economic hardship Eritrea suffered due to these illegal and unjust sanctions, including for interfering in Eritrea's mine exploration; diaspora remittances and foreign investments

3.  Susan Rice to ICC: Eritrea should demand Susan Rice, the former US Ambassador to the UN, to be brought up for a hearing at the International Criminal Court for stepping outside of her duty and commit and illegal act to enforce a sanction on Eritrea single-handedly.  Her reckless and irresponsible action has caused an economic hardship in Eritrea, which forced thousands of young Eritreans to flee their home country and perish at the hands of human traffickers.

Remembering Asmerom Adhanom

By Haile Bokure

It was in the late eighties, the final decade of the Eritrean liberation struggle. A group of revolutionary artists from the mighty mountain of Sahl crossed the Atlantic shores to display their moving and creative art works. Some of the art works depict a little child running toward approaching tank in a desperate attempt to look for his dear mother who was a victim of mass murder. Another color picture also shows a chubby child hugging his cheerful mother. But most of the countless opuses of these highly gifted Eritreans highlight the Eritrean landscapes with the freedom fighters in action.

While the show was in progress in down town D.C., I stopped by a club house run by the Eritrean Mass Organization. As usual, I ordered tea while reading EPLF publications after boring hours of the day. Some one who sat beside me motioned to greet me by invoking my name. I could not recognize him, and for this, I asked his name. He told me in a low voice that he is Birhane Adonay, my closest friend during my scholastic years at the then Haileselassie High, the present Red Sea High in Asmara. We didn't see each other for about sixteen years. Even so, he recognized me all of a sudden by virtue of his photographic memory  associated with highly visually-oriented artists.

Birhane Adonay,  as I know him then was shy, quite and imaginative person. In 1969 he participated in the art competition sponsored by the United States Information Service to commemorate the landing of  manned lunar spaceship known as "Apollo Eleven." The two top winners were from Eritrea, and Birhane being the second. By the same token, the successful landing was a moving force that influenced me to engage in the craft of penmanship. Because back then,  I promised to translate Shakespeare tales into Tigringa in case the Apollo Eleven landed on the moon. It did so!!! No wonder,  these tales will be published after forty seven years in  upcoming Spring. Traditionally,  it is a perfect season of poetry in the States. (la primavera).

In 1970, I and Birhane stopped by Amserom Adhanom's house located at Mekane Genet (Paradiso). Asmerom let us in after knocking the door. To my surprise, he was looking at me steadily for the reason I could not tell at all. In this response, I said to him, " Didn't' you see me before?" But Asmerom said, " At first encounter, it is my nature to see a person in detail; not in holistic manner. This is true from the perspective of discriminative perception attributed to artistic eyes.

At that time,  his villa was quite like his private studio or a mini art gallery. He was highly excelled in portrait and abstract drawings as well. Asmerom pointing at one figure and asked me to describe what I was perceiving. In this response,  I told him as if I was seeing some short, long and broken lines with rainbow colors. But upon his description, I was surprised to see acrobatic figures with sensual messages that untrained eyes could not observe at all.

Asmerom was a handsome, short, soft-spoken, observant, and of course shy as most artistic people are. He was also generous and helpful as testified by his fellow artist, Birhane Adonay. It is sad that he terminated his life as most happens with highly artistic and literary figures. But his mission that carried over by his friend Birhane Adonay, the founder of Revolutionary Art School would endure forever.

* The attached art work that you see was sent to me yesterday by a young Italian lady  named  Signorina Zarie Vostok who lives in Genoa, Italy. That is what she said to me in her e-mail with admiration:-

 " I live in Genoa, so I can't understand how this beautiful woman arrived here. I found her in the block where I lived before and where I was born."

Till this point in time, it is one of some drawings (by the same artist)  sent to me by three collectors from Canada, USA and Eritrea.

Aron Kibreab: Transcending Eritrean culture through music & books.

By Michael Seium

In 1984 Aron Kibreab made his way to the United States. He settled in the west coast near the San Francisco Bay area. Aron quickly became immersed in education and attended San Jose State University where he graduated with a degree in Accounting. Aron’s love for music and his Eritrean culture drove him to play with a group known as KANA ERITREA which was encouraged to perform by the late Saleh Meky former Minster of Health of the State of Eritrea. As most of you may be well aware Minister Meky was a long-standing community member of the Bay area Eritrean community. Along with a couple of friends Aron formed the group and started to play for audiences throughout the west coast.

Aron whose passion for the old traditional Tigrinia culture became his specialty improved his skills in the Traditional Krar. He was able to combine his strong ability to master words with the many traditional beats that attracted his listeners. With simply his voice and Krar, musicians like him are the unplugged artists who tell our collective stories through their songs. Their music conveys many great messages of love, happiness, moments of inspiration and can also often be a call to action in the form of protest songs. They can even rally audiences around historic causes such as movements like the Eritrean struggle before and after independence.

I first met Aron at an annual soccer tournament held in California in the early 1990’s. As a part of the host team at the time, Santa Clara’s Worira, who also happen to be the current defending champions of the ERSFNA (Eritrean Sports Federation in North America) in 1994, I heard a rap song in Tigrinia that was titled simply “Sport” and I was blown out of my mind. As a matter of fact I played Aron’s song in the booth in between games to get the crowd involved. The song was produced for the annual sports event. However, Aron’s first love was to make sure that children of the diaspora were not losing sight of their culture and language. It was with that in mind he also produced one of the very earliest video tutorials for the Tigrinya language that was ever produced. The video was a hit and to this day its remnants can be seen lurking the “YOUTUBE” circles. Aron then moved to Las Vegas Nevada where he lived for many years. He was able to put together children of the community and had them perform on many occasions including a festival in DC where I had the pleasure of seeing it along with a huge audience. His canny ability to work with kids allowed Aron to go on an instant to any city and work with children on developing a strategy for a show dealing with culture.

While some of you may take time to look at his past work, Aron has also come up with a new CD, which will make you proud. The album titled “Keebdana Elen” loosely translated “To drive us crazy” in a musical sense is one of the best works of the year in my opinion. It’s better for the audience to judge and I can almost assure you that you will not be disappointed. Ten songs including the very famous “Awlo” “Meseley”, “Sini Tseba”, “Mesikaley do” and other great wedding songs which was a collaboration effort with other song writers, musicians and traditional folk story tellers are on the album and it is sure to be a collectors item. It is a nice CD to have at home for any occasion.

Meanwhile, Aron has also produced a new book titled “Tigrinia & English in 10 days” which can come in handy for children of the diaspora as well as for anyone willing to learn Tigrinia in a short time. It is also a great gift set for anyone especially those traveling to Eritrea. Aron took his time and worked on it by consulting many different people. The book is a great start for anyone wishing to understand new words but also veteran’s speakers who may want a quick glance to make sure that they are communicating the right words. Aron has also been open for suggestions and would love to get feed back from his audience.

Both for his book & CD Aron Thanks the support of all Eritreans and wishes his community throughout the world and within Eritrea nothing but the best as he embarks on more educational projects that have been his passion for a long time. He has invited everyone to join him on his celebration this coming weekend on Saturday Fe. 27th, 2016 at the ECCC (Eritrean Cultural & Civic Center) on 6th an L streets in Washington D.C starting at 7pm. Along with the Eritrean music association of North America this will be an event that celebrates the work of Aron Kibreab who has been a great advocate for maintaining our culture and allowing future bright generations to understand and learn their culture and the BAHLI of their forefathers. Congratulations to Aron Kibreab on a Job well done and every Eritrean should encourage this type of work as it only benefits our people collectively.

British Eritrean Community Organisation & Network - UK conducted successful Forum in Birmingham!

Birmingham, February 21, 2016

In a Forum conducted in Birmingham UK on Sunday 21st February 2016, the British Eritrean Community Organisation Network (BECON) / (Hagerawi Shimagele) in the United Kingdom, resolved to defend their nation and stand alongside their people and government.

The Forum was attended, by the Eritrean Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ireland H.E. Estifanos Habtemariam, Embassy staffs, representatives of 45 chapters from London, Birmingham, Leeds, Coventry, Nottingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, of PFDJ, NUEW,  YPFDJ, Eritrean Professional Networks, Civic & Communities organisations.

May and its significance to the Eritreans is now being commemorated in a way that highlights the future of Eritrea and its development prospects. It is with this fortitude that the purposeful Forum in Birmingham was conducted with the objectives of a greater mobilisation, higher organisation and creation of nation capacity building among the Eritreans in the UK. The forum was a platform where extensive discussions, critical reflections, responsible participation and work-plan for 2016 in current affairs took place.

Mr Ahmed Mohammed Mahmoud, Chairman of British Eritrean Community Organisation Network BECON, who made an introductory statement and gave an insight into some major activities of the public campaign, and work plan of the Eritrean National Organisation UK for 2016/2017, outlining the purposes of the public campaign being on strengthening organisation, and conspiracies and psychological warfare being waged against the Eritrean people.

He also remind participants on looking on the background of the Eritrean struggle on political, cultural, economic, and diplomatic experiences thereby the reshaping of strengthening of these activities on the ever changing dynamics of current affairs and called upon citizens to redouble their efforts to this regard based on the experiences gained so far.

The Eritrean Ambassador to the UK & Ireland, H.E. Estifanos Habtemariam was invited to address and gave extensive briefing regarding situation in Eritrea. He said, Eritrea has come through successive obstacles and animosities in the past years and the disguised hostilities against the Eritrean people. He carried on saying that, history is witness of the Eritrean people’s triumph to the fact that they have always prevailed against all odds. With the cultured and rule abiding people and leadership that has progressive and realistic policies, Eritrea has become exemplary that those who have agenda of domination have openly become hostile against the Eritrean people. He expressed conviction to resist, during which the development progress of Eritrea is registering promising results and citizens expressing resolve to invest in their country.

Following this via video link from Asmara Eritrea, Mr. Yemane Gebreab, Head of Political Affairs of PFDJ, expressed satisfaction on the commencements of various organisations throughout the UK and stressed that participants see through the success and called up on all representatives to become active participants for further strengthening the National Organisation UK.

Also taking stage the Head of Consular & Public Affairs Mr. Suleman Hassen, gave updates on future plans it has drawn up giving detailed explanations on each plan and its work that it has delegated to various organisations which includes NUEW, YPFDJ, PFDJ, Public Diplomacy.

Towards the end of the Forum  Mr. Suleman Hassen and the BECON panel gave detailed answers and elaborations to the questions asked and the comments forwarded relating various matters and issues. After a deeper discussion on ways of getting involved in the national board activities, the participants of the forum concluded with attendees agreed to initiate and will come with an framework to manage the project and will be submitted soon for discussion and implementation.

The participants on their part expressed their willingness and readiness to enhance their contribution towards the ongoing nation building process and that they will always stand alongside their people and Government and will rebuff any external conspiracies by strengthening their unity and will defend their nation whatever the cost.

Eritrea EmbassyMedia,

Warm greetings between longtime friends and former freedom fighters, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and his South Sudanese counterpart, Salva Kiir Mayardit


Socialized Diplomacy: Its Relevance to Eritrean Experience

By Haile Bokure

For some, diplomacy it is an art of give and take, and for others it is mere act of making things possible. The main protagonists in this political game are expected to be flexible and well-versed in diplomatic cunning. The main dictum is the end justifies the means in satisfying the rugged materialism or utilitarianism. That is why we are suffering social pathology in an age of degrading humanity.

Currently, we may be stunned to see how the civilized art of diplomacy manipulated by “socialized diplomacy” that does not promote the interest of majority. I remember in the late sixties, Israel and Egypt had a series of diplomatic conferences brokered by the U.S. It was unnegotiable state of affairs between the rival powers in the Middle East. But in ensuing period, a cordial relationship evolved among the diplomats by crossing the ethical standard of diplomacy. In the process, President Anwar Sadat invited Dr. Henry Kissinger who was the Secretary of the State during Nixon administration for his daughter’s wedding. In a bid attempt to exploit this happy event, Kissinger the crafty diplomat said privately to Sadat, “Thank you for your official invitation. But we would like to dramatize your daughter’s wedding by signing a peace agreement between Egypt and Israel.” President Sadat yielded to his will; right at the spot without consulting his staff members.

The rest is history.

In this connection, the socialized diplomacy (ብዓርከይ-ዓርክኻ) that the US employed by way of its delegates in dealing with Ethio-Eritrean conflict is clear in the words of Henry Kissinger:-

“Since there was no geopolitical basis for the Versailles order, the statesmen were driven to invoking their PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP as a means of maintaining it – a step none of their predecessors had ever taken. The aristocrats who had conducted foreign policy in the nineteenth century belonged to a world in which intangibles were understood in the same way. Most of them were comfortable with each other. Nevertheless, they did not believe that their personal relations could influence their assessments of their countries’ national interest. Agreements were never justified by the “atmosphere” they generated, and concessions were never made to sustain individual leaders in office. Nor did leaders address each other by their first names as a way of understanding their good relations with each other for the sake of their public opinion.”

Such abuse of politics which is anti-thesis to the  interest of DEMO (people) is a bankrupt in the eyes of Eritreans who are very assertive in case  justice and truth are denied.

Their long struggle reflects this. Period!

Note:-

Kissinger, Henry ( 1994). Diplomacy. Page 276.

Team Eritrea wins first place in team time trial for the 6th year in a row at the African Continental Cycling Championship


By Usher Komugisha

Eritrea won the men’s elite team time trial gold for a record sixth consecutive time on Monday at the ongoing Africa continental cycling championships in Morocco.

The defending champions led by Team Dimension Data new signing Mekseb Debesay inspired the trio of Tesfom Okubamariam, Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier and Elyas Afewerki as they covered the 59km distance in Benslimane in 1:15:07.53, 58.18 seconds ahead of second-placed Algeria.

Debesay said, “This is a great moment for our country because it is not easy to win six years in a row. We are very pleased with our performance.”

Morocco finished third 1:02.38 behind the winners while Ethiopia and Rwanda settled for fourth and fifth respectively 1:26.02 and 2:29.99 in that order in the event that attracted 11 participating countries.

Men’s Elite TTT top 10 

1.Eritrea1:15:07.53
2.Algeria1:16:05.71
3.Morocco1:16:09.91
4.Ethiopia1:16:33.55
5.Rwanda1:17:37.52
6.Egypt1:20:29.97
7.Tunisia1:21:44.67
8.Angola1:21:54.27
9.Burkina Faso1:22:41.32
10.Gabon1:26:17.62
11.Ghana1:35:06:52

By Mike Seium | Eri-International Sports

 Eritrea's Daniel Teklehaimanot, wearing the best climber's dotted jersey, greets supporters prior to the start of the eighth stage of the Tour de France (Credit: AP)


By Pierre Carrey | Cyclingnews

Is the new African hero coming back to an African race? Abdul Razak Umar, of the Ghana National Team, is a big fan of Daniel Teklehaimanot and is looking forward to race in the same peloton as him, at the African Continental Championships, next Friday, near Casablanca, Morocco.

"Some people say Daniel won't come to the event because he has nothing to do anymore with us, African riders. But me, I know he will come. He has to come, African Championships made him," Razak Umar told Cyclingnews.

Speculations stopped when Team Dimension Data's pro cyclist, the wearer of polka-dot jersey at the last Tour de France, landed in Morocco on Monday, flying straight to the Tour of Oman where he supported Edvald Boasson Hagen in his two stage victories.

"I need to be here to share something with Africa," Teklehaimanot told Cyclingnews on Tuesday morning after he trained on the time trial course, prior to the race Wednesday.

This is the Eritrean's first time on an African competition after his unforgettable Tour de France, his first time since the 2014 African Championships. This is also his first time back to Casablanca since 2008, where he met his mentor, paving the way to Europe.

After a first participation into the African Championships in Yamoussoukro [capital of Côte d’Ivoire, ed] in 2007, Teklehaimanot raced in "Casa" the following edition and showed himself to Michel Thèze, the World Cycling Centre's coach, who offered him a training camp at the headquarter of Aigle, Switzerland. The Frenchman took care of Teklehaimanot, who was 19 at that time, supported him into his sports development and some severe heart surgery to cure arrhythmia.

"My career certainly started in Casablanca," the Eritrean recalls. "Without that race, without Michel [Thèze], my life would probably have been different. In the same way, I know someone else than me could have been the first black African rider at the Tour de France. But this is me. I was the first one in a Grand Tour, at the 2012 Vuelta, the first one in London Olympics, and the first one to compete in the Tour de France alongside Merhawi Kudus. This is life, this is my life and now I must take that responsibility."

As he spoke on Benslimane road circuit, north of Casablanca, Teklehaimanot was obviously exhausted by the flight, the jet lag and the five hours he spent at the airport at his arrival, to sort out a visa issue.

African cycling's icon looked happy, though, to see again Michel Thèze, now the national coach of Algeria, and another coach, Jean-Pierre van Zyl, the director of World Cycling Centre in Africa.

Thèze, who enjoyed the moment too, was concerned his protégé was overbooked. "Daniel is pushing himself too hard by wanting to make everyone happy!", warned his former trainer. "He flew three weeks ago to receive his 2015 Best African rider's prize at the Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Gabon, now he is in Morocco, he raced Tour of Dubai and Tour of Oman in between..." The Frenchman insists "Daniel's place is now in Europe and pro races".

This African appearance is a bless for his fans, though, more exactly his rivals, who ask him some photos, autographs and advises, when they dare to talk to him and take the risk to "disturb him".

"I know I have a special responsibility now," Teklehaimanot tells Cyclingnews. "I am not the guy who won the African Championships five times but the guy who raced in the Tour de France. This is all the riders' dream and I hope there will be more African riders in the pro peloton."

A pro cyclist since 2012, he says he is "glad to share some knowledge and experience with riders who asked him what to do".

Abdul Razak Umar is over the moon to see his idol again and he will try to take his slipstream in Friday's race, like many riders who, as a result, will make impossible the attacks of their hero. Ghana's rider remembers Teklehaimanot was already a star to many Africans in 2013.

"I saw Daniel at the African Championships in Egypt and I spoke to him," the 20-year-old cyclist told Cyclingnews. "I wanted to know his secret. He told me: determination and training. No drugs, absolutely no drugs. Just hard work!"

With his consistent humility, Teklehaimanot added a little comment that his fan hasn't forgotten three years later. Umar has deep emotions in his voice when he thinks about these words again: "You perhaps can be like me one day."

By Suna

Khartoum, Feb. 24 (SUNA)- President of the Republic, Field Marshal Omer Al-Bashir, has received a written message from the Eritrean President, Isaias Afwerki, dealing with progress of the bilateral relations and promotion of the mechanisms of cooperation between the two countries.

The message was handed to President Al-Bashir by the Eritrean Foreign Minister, Osman Salih.
President Al-Bashir and the Eritrean Foreign Minister discussed issues of mutual concern and the situation at the region.

The Eritrean Foreign Minister has conveyed the greetings of President Afwerki to President Al-Bashir.

Ethiopia warns protesters
By BBC

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has warned that the government will take "decisive action" to prevent a secessionist movement from growing in its Oromia region, state television reports.

Mr Hailemariam said "destructive forces", backed by neighbouring Eritrea, had launched an armed campaign to promote the region's secession, ambushing security forces and burning government property.

"The people have understood that these destructive forces are on a mission to subvert the system and change the government," he is quoted as saying.

"The government has realised that there is need to take a decisive action based on law," he added.

On Monday, a leading campaign group, Human Rights Watch, said activists had reported that about 200 people had been killed by security forces in Oromia since November.

The protests were mostly peacefully, it said.

Ethiopian regime deploys anti-aircrafts in Dambi Dollo ( Qellam Walagga ) against Oromo protesters.


By AFP

Fear is so pervasive in Ethiopia's largest region Oromia, where the government is accused of killing scores in a crackdown, that people don't even like to give their names.

Oromia, which surrounds the capital Addis Ababa, is dotted with machine-gun mounted vehicles and Ethiopian soldiers who locals say have disrupted daily life with incessant checks, harassment and intimidation.

"If you go out in the evening, the police will arrest you, check your papers and your phones. If you have music or photos linked to the protests, you're in serious trouble," a young man in his twenties said in Ginchi, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from Addis Ababa.

"I am very scared for our children, for our youths. I no longer sleep at night. Our life has become hell and it has no meaning," said a mother of two aged in her forties.

Demonstrations began in Oromia in November due to a government plan to expand the boundaries of Addis Ababa into the region, raising fears among the Oromo people that their farms would be expropriated.

Authorities dropped the urban development plan on January 12 and announced the situation in Oromia was largely under control.

But the demonstrations continued, along with the brutal response, which Human Rights Watch said has claimed the lives of more than 200 people, according to Ethiopian activists.

The Oromos are the largest ethnic group in the east African country, estimated at 27 million in a total population of some 99 million.

Their language, Oromo, is distinct from Amharic, spoken by the Ahmara people and used by the national administration.

In Ambo, 40 kilometres to the west of Ginchi, policemen and soldiers patrol the streets. Some shops are open but schools and hospitals have been closed for three months.

Three young bank employees, huddled on small paved street, discreetly recount the latest protests that erupted at the end of last week.

"There are more policemen in Ambo than there are cobblestones," said one.

"We are scared of soldiers. There have been a lot of arrests. Tension has been growing since the start of the protests," added another.

At a nearby dimly-lit billiard hall, a dozen-odd students relate their version of last week's events.

- 'Fired live bullets' -

"One of our professors was arrested and we have had no news of him since. We decided to go to the ministry of education to get some news. The police came and asked us what we wanted. We wanted to explain why we were there but they fired tear gas," said one.

"Then special army commandos arrived and started firing live bullets."

They said a young man, named Elias Arasasa, died of bullet wounds and his sister Nagasse was injured by gunfire.

"The soldiers do not speak our language. We cannot communicate with them. Weapons are their only language," said the mother of two.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said security forces have arrested several thousand people since November and are holding them without charge.

"Almost daily accounts of killings and arbitrary arrests have been reported to Human Rights Watch since 2016 began," said the New York-based non-governmental organisation.

The HRW's Horn of Africa expert Felix Horne told AFP that while the expansion of the capital was the spark that triggered the protests, the Oromo people had been feeling marginalised for a long time.

"There is also less and less information coming out from the areas where the protests are happening," he said.

"Many individuals who provided updates and information have either been arrested, have disappeared, or are afraid to provide further information."

Addis-based expert Tadesse O'Barr said the "Oromo people have underlying unanswered cumulative political and socio-cultural questions.

"Language is the major and oldest question of the Oromo. The government of Ethiopia denied to make it a federal language ... (but) while Addis Ababa is the centre of the Oromia region, the government denied even a single school in Oromo language in the capital.

"Oromos often ask for self-rule, language and freedom," he said.

Ethiopia has rejected the criticism as lies and said the recent violence did not involve protestors but criminals.

"Now they are armed gangs who are committing crimes; they destroyed bridges, burned down churches. It's nothing like before," Communications Minister Getachew Reda said.

"If one thinks these are demonstrations, it's far from the truth."

But despite the overriding fear, the youths say they will press on with their movement.

"We are not going to abandon our right to freedom. It's too late for that now."

FenKil II towards Economic Emancipation

From the outset, the Eritrean national struggle spearheaded by the EPLF was conducted with two objectives in mind.

1. The total liberation of Eritrea and
2. The economic emancipation of the Eritrean masses with social justice at its core.

Operation Fenkil is one of the major military feats in the history of the Eritrean national struggle, if not in the annals of the history of the last century’s national liberation struggles. It did open the door for the total liberation of Eritrea from the yoke of atypically colonialist / neo-colonialist domination by successive foreign dependent regimes sitting in Addis Abeba. Indeed, a year and three months after the Operation, the gallant EPLA—Eritrean People’s Liberation Army--- marched to Asmera realizing the first goal of the EPLF. On top of that, before certain insidious neo-colonialist interests regressively got involved, its leading role in the coordination and support to the anti-Derg coalition unleashed a new spirit of freedom and liberation among the Ethiopian masses.

Not many appreciated or may have overlooked the fact that with the official declaration of the hard won independence in May 1993 that the EPLF was only half way through or less to its final goals. Now, looking back into the last quarter of a century since independence, one may also include a third objective or a combination of the original two: the safeguarding of the Eritrean sovereignty from a myriad of hostilities essentially aimed at rolling back the hard won independence and the gains made by the Eritrean national struggle spanning for more than half a century.

In its totality, the Eritrean liberation struggle which is rich with elements of surprise--- pleasant only for those with real sense of justice--- be it in military or political terms, has not given respite to those quarters who have been miscalculating ever since. The biggest surprise, so far, came with the realization of the total liberation in 1991 and the meticulously and efficiently run referendum which led to the official declaration of the independence of Eritrea in 1993.

Those quarters who think Eritrea stands on the way of their insatiably greedy and exclusive self interests, did not learn from their past miscalculations and no sooner did they started to instigate conflicts with bordering countries; they instigated early on, the so called Hanish crisis with Yemen; by and large, it got resolved faster. Then they found yet another dependent group sitting in Addis ready to do their bidding to try again a historically proven impossible mission of reversing and denying the Eritrean people of their sovereign right.

A preposterous calculation with a set time table was projected whereby the Eritrean economy was supposed to stop to a grinding halt THREE MONTHS after the mercenary state sitting in Addis Abeba opened war under the pretext of Badme in May 1998. Well, despite all the negative consequences of the renewed aggression by their client state in Addis, literally with the full support and direction of its handlers , Eritrea is neither subdued militarily nor its economy came to a grinding halt. Instead, to the directors and actors of this untenable drama that runs over a span of 18 years, it turned out to be a frustrating 200 plus month long episode.

Their frustration comes for two reasons: despite all the hostilities, as Eritrea stands its ground, the client state in Addis is finding itself in an increasingly dangerous state of implosion with unpredictable consequences to the integrity of Ethiopia itself and also to the perceived interests of its sponsors. Nevertheless, as a matter of principle and also self interest, Eritrea always does its part to the stabilization of the region; it could have done more if its rights and dignity as a sovereign nation were respected by those ever miscalculating quarters. Well, is there any other option, or has there been any?

Now, are the typically Eritrean elements of surprise gathering momentum on Eritrea’s march towards its national development goals? There may not be a total surprise there, however the recent announcements and measures taken on the issuing of a new currency has taken many by surprise. The move by the Eritrean government represents only one aspect of the unfolding program for economic restructuring.

In an extensive interview given to the national media, President Isayas Afewerki spoke on the extent of the program without going into specifics. Can one draw some parallels between some aspects of Operation Fenkil and the tone and contents of the interview? Obviously, at least at these initial stages, it cannot as yet claim with certainty that victory is imminent. Following the Operation in 1990, when Eritrea’s liberation became more apparent and the then Secretary General of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front, tegadalay Isayas Afewerki, had said in an interview: “Eritrea’s independence is only a matter of months”. However, there are some aspects of the operation from which one can draw some analogies to the efforts and achievements being made by the Eritrean people and its leadership as they surmount the prevailing challenges and hostilities.

Operation Fenkil was planned to be conducted in four phases. The first two mainly targeted the Western flank where the command center of the 6-th Division was located. Overlooking enemy fortifications had to be first dismantled making sure that the rest of the Derg divisions and its navy come to a total encirclement and finally subdued. Accordingly, within the first two days since the start of the operation, units from 61-st Division, routing the first enemy defense lines and clearing the GaHtelay- ShebaH road for mechanized units, advanced south to Semienawi BaHri escarpments and secured new defense lines. At the same time, after destroying all area fortifications like the strategic “taba” Kentibay and Degdegta, units from 85-th and 70-th Divisions stunned and surprised the targeted Derg 6-th army command at Ad-Ele and brought the whole Western flank under total control, thus cutting the Asmara-Massawa road at GaHtelay, thereby paving the way for the other phases of the operation that lead for a quicker and efficient liberation of Massawa.

The disproportionately well armed and manned Derg armed forces and the then 35 years experienced navy was with astounding defeat made to leave for good the pearl of the Red Sea, the port city of Massawa and its environs.

After the GoE issued Legal Notice Number 124/2015 by which the new NaKfa currency was issued and the old outstanding notes were collected in exchange of the new notes, the general public started to wonder and make many interesting observations. Why a very significant number of merchants and businesses been keeping/ hiding and hoarding cash, to the extent that in some cases, tens if not hundreds of millions were kept somewhere away from the Eritrean banks? How did it all started and are there some “invisible hands” directing and/or encouraging such conspiratorial practices?

Well, part of the answers can be found in the first segment of President Isayas’ New Year’s interview as he identified the main causes of the economic distortions and anomalies.

The first cause can be attributed to external subversion that has been going on for the past 18 years. These include obstacles to our saving and development programs, rendering monetary policies ineffective, instigating unwarranted depreciation of the NaKfa, establishing Banks for illicit transactions, weakening local financial institutions, encouraging illegal and cross border trading and the like. These subterfuges fall within the general scheme of external subversion and constitute the first factor that has impacted negatively – with variably intensity –on our economic growth.

The second factor is speculative practices by few players who have exploited and profited from prevailing difficulties and aberrations inculcated by external subversion. These practices have resulted in spiraling price hikes, a rise in the cost of living, deprecation of the NaKfa etc. with deleterious consequences on the country’s economic growth and the well being of the general population. This phenomenon must be accurately identified and appraised, in tandem with the first factor, in order to gauge the damages that it has entailed. 

Generally speaking, these two factors are interrelated and reinforce each other if left unchecked before they inflict heavy and irreparable damage to the targeted societies. The “economic hit men”, so to speak, do employ the criminal services of the few greedy speculators who do work independently or in tandem with servile institutions or client states which are under their control; it is now becoming more clear to the general public who the directors and actors have been behind the fast depreciation of the NaKfa, to say the least.

Dedicated cross border banks were established in the client state and elsewhere to hoard billions of NaKfa enabling them, to a certain extent, the control of the money supply and deprive the GoE the ability of tracking funds against tax evasions and other security concerns. Certain merchants and businesses benefitting from such criminal operations turned out to be like branch operators. Besides, they spread rumors against putting money in the legally established banks across Eritrea, thereby creating an atmosphere of suspicion discouraging the general public from carrying out proper economic activities using normal bank services.

During the short time given to redeem the old NaKfa notes, banks were overwhelmed by long line-ups of people with large sacks stashed with cash. Overwhelmed banks started to demand that their clients-mostly, clients-to-be- use boxes. Within a week the cost of the boxes spiraled and Medeber—historic location of artisanal shops---got a new booming business. Sections of banks stacked with boxes looked like warehouses and employees assigned to handling the storage and the counting of the old notes had their hands full. Besides, it did not escape from their attention, the presence of several clients, normally taken for granted as ordinary farmers or workers were bringing in disproportionate amount of cash to be redeemed.

Even if it is too early to expect any official account, if not on its effect to the value of NaKfa, at this stage, one thing is evident about the outcome of the launching of the program. The special banks established in the client state and elsewhere, along with their operatives, now find themselves isolated from pursing their criminal activities further; they are now left hanging dry with billions of hoarded unredeemable old NaKfa notes; hundreds of millions of the old notes got into the hands of the authorities with the “owners” names tagged in the boxes which lead to further inquiries into the networks engaged in the systemic sabotaging of the Eritrean economy and other criminal activities like human trafficking.

Just imagine for a moment a cross border Asosa type op. is taking place; some of the now unredeemable old NaKfa billions collected to be displayed in the war museum in Asmara? ... (Prior to the initiation of Op. Fenkil, units from 70-thinfantry Division and some mechanized units made a spectacularly major diversionary attack in the heartland at a town called Asosa, south of Addis)

By and large, this part of the calculated move by the Eritrean government can be compared to the surprise attack and the capturing of the command post of the 6-th Division at Ad-Ele with all its top commanders, documents and weapons; as described above, the Eastern flank was isolated and paved the way for the rest of the successful liberation of Massawa.

Are there other analogies that we can draw from Operation Fenkil to the present move by the GoE in restructuring the Eritrean economy? Well, as the move is barely at its initial stages with only few official pronouncements after Legal Notice Number 124/2015, one may find useful directions concerning the organizational and motivating values which made the rest of Operation Fenkil successful. In that respect, it doesn’t make it different from other successful military victories of the EPLA. The success of the operation was made possible with astounding speed and efficiency because of the thorough preparation in terms of surveillance, training, and above all, the leadership provided by dedicated, resilient and tactful commanders who mobilized and motivated the fighters and the populace with values of resistance and resilience that produced miraculous feats.

The post independence challenges mostly originate from external hostilities which have also been impacting institution building efforts. The Eritrea house, so to speak, with its foundation solidly intact, has also cracks here and there. Consequently, such shortcomings and deficiencies factor in among the causes of the economic distortions and anomalies. President Isayas Afewerki put it as the third main factor:

The third and principal factor is the subjective or internal factor that has ensued from the policies and practices of government institutions. Poor institutional performance, starting from budgetary implementation to the lack of proper tax collection have aggravated the problems of inflation and weak currency, thereby providing operating space for the destructive two factors cited above. 

In a nation subjected to continuous and systemic hostilities “poor institutional performance”, small scale or not, does present a weakest link within the government operations by which the hostile elements try to exploit or even push to make it worse. Apart from the insidious acts of the rare but eventually inconsequential Trojan horses, “poor institutional performance” is basically caused by negligence and/or incompetence.

Institution building has been one of the primary objectives of the GoE. To that end, in-staff training and facilitating various continued education opportunities to government employees has been going on for years. More has to be done though to fill in gaps and correct deficiencies including assigning at appropriate postings more of the motivated and educated youth.

There can be several causes of negligence; over a long haul, the pressure that comes from financial hardships because of inadequate remunerations can negatively affect the behavior of an otherwise diligent employee. Addressing this shortcoming unleashes new energies within the workforce. So, as part of the economic restructuring program, the civil service is expected to benefit from the on-going salary increases and adjustments. That timely measure, among other things, may increase the productivity of the workforce.

After taking the necessary measures, tackling the causes of “poor institutional performance” may reach a new level whereby the government will have less of an effort and hesitation to taking decisive steps against those involved, at all levels, in conspiring against the Eritrean economy; as President Isayas has put it with an unwavering tone:

“But one thing is certain; distortions and anomalies will not be entertained anymore.”

As the economic restructuring program unfolds, the hostile elements and their emissaries are not expected to stop their regressive ploys and may come with various new ways of creating new conditions to regain back their lost ground where, among other things, they had hoped to breed and spread greed destroying community values that carried Eritrea through thick and thin.

The Derg and its backers did not give up easily once Operation Fenkil was completed with a stunning victory. They blanket bombed Massawa with Napalm followed by a fierce life and death counter-attack which lasted three months, causing more causalities and material damage than in the Operation itself. But how and why did the counterattack eventually fade and the EPLA moved to the next step, finally liberating Eritrea? Simply put, it was the shield inside Tegadalit/ay Freedom fighter - clad with armour of higher values of dedication and sacrifice for the common good.

That is where one has to explore other dimensions of nation building besides developing government and state institution and what not. In that realm, it is imperative that the Front gets reinvigorated, to effectively mobilize the Eritrean masses. By using innovative means to building more awareness for optimal level of participation, it ought to take the lead in the second phase of our national struggle for economic emancipation, all firmly rooted in social justice.

Haileab Luul Tesfai

Feb. 16, 2016

By ESAT

The Ethiopian government has been building up its army and weaponry near the country’s border with Eritrea in the last two days, according to information ESAT received from reliable sources. The fortification of the border with troops and armaments has been mainly on the Humera and Badme frontlines, close to the border with Eritrea.

Political analysts saw the move by the Ethiopian government as an attempt to externalize the political turmoil inside the country which has been exacerbated by the relentless and ongoing protest in the country’s largest Oromia region.

The Ethiopian government has been accusing Eritrea and armed Ethiopian opposition groups based in that country of orchestrating the ongoing protest by the Oromo people, the country’s largest ethnic groups, for political and economic rights. Oromo political and civic organizations however stress the sporadic protests were self-organized and the protests, mainly by students in the Oromia region, were peaceful; and that they were a reaction to years of economic and political marginalization against the Oromos by the minority government. The protesters were met with deadly response by the regime’s Agazi forces, killing at least 200, while hundreds of others sustained gunshot wounds and thousands were put behind bars.

Ethiopian armed opposition groups have recently made several surprise attacks against the regime’s army along the border and deep inside Ethiopian territory. There have been reports of attacks by the Patriotic Ginbot 7 forces against the Ethiopian army; and there were incidents where hundreds of people, especially traditional gold miners in Tigray, have been captured by forces of the Tigray Peoples’ Democratic Movement and taken to Eritrea. TPDM is one of the armed groups based in Eritrea and has formed an alliance with Patriotic Ginbot 7, a popular armed group which is also based in that country.

“The regime is moving its armaments to the border and one possible reason could be to show off its might, as it does not want to be seen as weak by the people, especially by the people of Tigray, the region where opposition armed groups have recently launched several surprise attacks against the Ethiopian army,” said Sisay Agena, a news analyst and producer with EAST.

“But we cannot rule out the possibility that officials of the regime, considering their past behavior, could just decide to venture into another war, which would hasten their demise,” Sisay said.

The Ethiopian regime has over the years made several attempts to recruit people to join its army, but was to no avail. Having seen that no one showed up to register and join the army, the regime resorted to forceful conscription, especially in the rural areas, reportedly telling the unsuspecting youth that they would be sent abroad for a contractual job.

Thousands of Ethiopian youth, frustrated by the political and economic alienation by the minority regime, have been crossing the country’s north border to join the armed opposition groups in the north, recent reports revealed.

The 1998-2000 Ethio-Eritrean war, sparked by a dispute over the territory called Badme, claimed the lives of at least 100,000 people on both sides, according to estimates by the International Crisis Group, ICG.

The UN Boundary Commission in its ruling awarded Badme, the flashpoint for the two year war, to Eritrea. Refusing to heed to the binding rule, Ethiopia has not handed over Badme to Eritrea yet.

By Edmund Blair

ASMARA, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Eritrea expects to have four mines in operation by 2018 producing gold, copper, zinc and potash as one of Africa's poorest nations looks to build an industry that can kick-start its economy, a top mining official told Reuters.

Eritrea's artisanal miners have long scratched for gold nuggets on deposits that stretch along the Red Sea, a geological formation known as the Arabian Nubian Shield, but the country currently has just one working commercial mine.

The industry is growing, however. A new gold mine, a joint venture with a Chinese firm, will start commercial production by the end of March, the director-general of the Department of Mines told Reuters.

It will be followed by a mine that will in stages produce gold, copper and zinc, which is expected to start operations by the end of 2017, then a potash mine, Alem Kibreab said in an interview in his office in the capital Asmara.

"In 2018, we will have four mining companies," he said, giving one of the most detailed outlines yet for the development of the industry. "Eritrea is very prospective. It is investor-friendly."

Alem said the government was looking to the nascent industry to boost economic growth in the small Horn of Africa country, which officials say has a population of 3.6 million and that has long relied heavily on remittances from Eritreans abroad for foreign exchange.

"Mining in most countries is used to kick-start the economy," he said.

The government says the threat from Ethiopia, from which it won independence in 1991 and fought a border war in 1998-2000, makes investors wary. The African Development Bank estimates growth in 2015 was 2.1 percent, up from 2 percent a year before, but Eritrea itself does not issue figures.

In mining ventures, the government gets an automatic 10 percent stake free and then usually takes up its right to buy 30 percent more.

HURDLES

Bisha mine in the north of Eritrea, a joint venture between Canada's Nevsun Resources and the state mining firm ENAMCO, is the only mine now in full production.

It began by producing gold in 2011, though output of that metal has since been phased out. As excavations have moved deeper, it has been producing copper and will soon mine zinc.

Based on current reserves, production will continue until around 2025, but further exploration could extend its life. Nevsun says the mine contributed $800 million to Eritrea's coffers in its first five years of operation through taxes, royalties and return on investment.

Eritrea's ambitions to expand its mining industry face hurdles, however, with the planned new projects still needing to raise some capital or debt.

A slide in metals prices over the past five years has made mining less lucrative and left some companies struggling to raise cash to invest in operations.

Meanwhile Bisha has been dogged by allegations from Human Rights Watch, other groups and former workers who are now outside the country, about the use of poorly paid workers on national service when the mine was built. Human Rights Watch and others describe the use of conscripts as "forced labour".

The government and Nevsun deny any national service workers had been used in commercial mining, and the Canadian firm says its own investigations failed to find any evidence of this. Alem also dismissed the allegations. "I don't know why they put on this smear campaign. It is absolutely incorrect," he said.

But some mining executives say companies are wary of investing in Eritrea, partly because it is still new territory for most miners and also due to the worker allegations.

So far Eritrea has attracted only smaller, so-called junior, mining firms - but Alem said: "They are aggressive explorers."
He and firms involved in the new projects say they are confident they will go ahead.

"Great deposits get mined and this is a great deposit," Seamus Cornelius, non-executive chairman of Australia's Danakali , told Reuters about his firm's potash venture which lies near the coast for export. (Editing by Pravin Char)

26 Feb, 2016 – Eritrea took the individual and team honors of the 2016 African Continental Cycling Champion held in Morocco.

The result of today's final road race:

1. Tesfom Okubamariam (Eritrea) 04:06:45
2. Reguidui Youcef (Algeria)
3. Mekseb Debesay (Eritrea)
4. Haddi Soufane (Morocco)
5. Amanuel G/biher (Eritrea)
6. Elyas Afewerki (Eritrea) 00:00:04
7. Metkel Eyob (Eritrea)
20. Daniel Teklehaimanot (Eritrea) 00:00:31
21. Meron Teshome (Eritrea)
28. Aron Debretsion (Eritrea) 00:04:02

Under 23 results:
1. Amanuel Gerezghiher (Eritrea)

By CCTV

The global rout in commodity prices has not deterred Eritrea from venturing into the once lucrative sector. The horn of Africa nation expects to have four mines in operation by 2018 producing gold, copper, zinc and potash.

Press Statement 


In the past few days, the TPLF regime's propaganda apparatus have resorted to the worn-out cheap patterns of peddling wild accusations and smear campaigns against Eritrea. The purpose of these spurious accusations is to cover up the truth and externalize the spontaneous and growing protests of the Ethiopian people against the regime.

As it is well-known, the people and government of Eritrea are patiently pursuing and focused on their developmental objectives in spite of the occupation of their sovereign territory and relentless campaigns of subversion and demonization. In this context, they have no appetite to entertain and indulge in acrimonious agendas.

That the TPLF regime is in fact the real cause and architect of the ongoing spontaneous protests is also an indelible truth well known to all Eritreans and Ethiopians.

The TPLF regime has been pursuing misguided policies of "dividing the Ethiopian people in order to preserve its rule and to monopolize the economy". Subservience to powerful allies and "victimization of Eritrea" constitute key pillars of this misguided policy. Furthermore, it has enshrined the "right to secession" in the Ethiopian Constitution as a residual or contingent option in the event that its efforts of political domination fail. The TPLF regime has marginalized the Ethiopian people in the past twenty five years to install an economy beset by endemic and unbridled corruption and that is controlled by embezzlers. It is this grim reality, at odds with a spurious and embellishing narrative, that has prompted and underpins the ongoing protests of the Ethiopian people. In the event, a hysterical campaign to externalize the cause and blame Eritrea or opposition movements cannot suppress the truth.

As stated above, the Government of Eritrea has no intention to dwell and waste time on fruitless acrimonious campaigns. Its current statement is designed to expose the underlying motivations behind the TPLF regime's repetitive and insidious lies.

Ministry of Information
Asmara
28 February 2016