[AI] Asmarino Independent

ICER Alert on Afar

There is human catastrophe unfolding in Yemen  at this very minute. Two hundred and forty four Eritreans ninety five percent of whom are Afar citizens of Eritrea are in prison some for almost one year. Their crime is simply for entering Yemen without document. Their claim for political asylum until situation at home is improved was completely ignored by the Yemeni authorities and the UNHCR is on the sideline simply watching helpless.

As it is true with most Eritreans, this particular ethnic group is driven out of their traditional areas, prevented from leading their subsistence existence which is fishing on the Red Sea and forcibly conscripted in the open ended military National Service which has become scourge ....

Desperate Situation of Eritrean Afar Refugees in Yemeni City of Al-Hudeyda

Regrettably, the 300 Afar refugees are languishing in Al-Hudeyda prison where their lives are trapped in a serious threat. Apart from consistent warnings of forcible return to Eritrea, they are facing communicable diseases caused by contaminated food and water. Amongst them are around 50 Afar refugees are in a grave danger of losing their lives to this disease outbreak.

Unfortunately, the ongoing political uncertainty in Yemen exasperated the situation of Red Sea Afar refugees. Going on almost a year in captivity, they haven’t had any access to UNHCR and Human rights organizations, representatives of Yemeni government or any access to medications and basic needs, which is guaranteed to them under UN Geneva convention on rights of refugees.

Yosief Ghebrehiwet on Smerrr Paltalk on Saturday, May 12

On Saturday, May 12, at 12:00 PM (Los Angeles Time) or 21:00 (Berlin Time) Yosief Ghebrehiwet will give a presentation at Smerr Paltalk. The topic is "The Fallacies of the Democracy Project and Nationhood in the Eritrean Context" In this presentation, the following points will be discussed:

1. What is wrong with the Democracy Project as practiced by the Opposition? On this part, more than a dozen fallacies will be discussed.
2. After discussing the notion of "nationhood" in the Eritrean context, this question will be addressed: What is being done to hold Eritrea together as a nation?
3. After looking at the rationale of the past (the Eritrean revolution) and the present (the opposition) movements regarding (1) and (2), we will look at this question: Given the above fallacies and failings, how do we anchor the Eritrean nation in the future?

ICER APPEAL: Save Eritrean Refugees from Human Smugglers

The International Commission on Eritrean Refugees (ICER) would like to appeal to all the political groups in particular to those whose operational base is Ethiopia to give focus on the issues affecting refugees in particular to the shady operation going on in the refugee camps. Frankly, since their base of operation is located stone throw away from Eritrea where the bulk of the refugees originate from we believe they are better placed than most of us to influence events, at least in as far as regulating the flow of persons from the refugee camps in Ethiopia and the Sudan. ...

This being the case, therefore, why is it so difficult for the political parties and in particular those operating from Ethiopia where part of the illegal activities is occurring cannot act in earnest to stop it?  Is it because  they are too preoccupied dealing with the more burning issues, for example, the overthrow of the unrepresentative regime and replacing it with democratic one? ...

Famine in Self-Reliant Eritrea?

But don’t tell that to the regime’s foot soldiers in diaspora. As usual, the foot soldiers at Deahai and other Shaebia-oriented websites are at their denial and gloating best. They are again invoking that idiotic mantra that every totalitarian system (Kim El Sung’s North Korea, Mao’s China, Khmer Rouge’s Cambodia, etc ) used to hide a raging famine in their soils: “Self- reliance!” ...

Here we have it then in a nutshell: while all the other governments are scrambling to save their people, as usual the primary goal of the Eritrean regime and its supporters in diaspora is not saving Eritreans from the ravages of the famine, but saving the IMAGE of Eritrea and its leader from the ravages of that same famine!

The Language of Shabait.com: The Incompetence of the Ministry of Information

In the normal world, when reporters use the phrase “senior government official” without a name attached to it, it is because he/she is not supposed to provide the public with that information and the reporters feel obligated to hide his/her identity. But for the clowns at the Ministry of Information, it looked normal to identify their source as “a senior government official”, even though such anonymity is entirely unnecessary in this context. They are suggesting that Eritrea is a normal nation with a normal government, where unauthorized information leaked by government officials could be published without any retribution whatsoever to whoever is reporting it. They totally forgot that it is the government itself that is doing the reporting! What a tragedy for a nation to be lead by such Neanderthals!

Isaias Regime’s Hysteria Concerning Stiffening Sanctions

In his latest interview in Al-Ahram, President Isaias Afwerki claims that the sanctions are military and not economic. He clearly knows that it would be his end if the sanctions are extended to include economic sanctions. What the above Shabait.com hysteria shows us is the fear of the regime in this regard; its mention of the Eritrean Airlines and the Bisha project in particular tells us that economic sanctions would be its worst nightmare. And that is exactly what the opposition should focus at: at sanctioning Eritrea at its two main income sources – the mining companies and the diaspora population.

Ministry of Information: Egypt Failed Because, Unlike Eritrea, It Violated Basic Human Rights

When it comes to “political openness”, here is how Eritrea's MOI admonishes all those who violate basic human rights:

“It thus became obvious that Sadat’s resort to ‘political openness’ was not to his advantage taking into account the growing internal and external opposition.  Although he allowed nominal political pluralism and freedom of expression, he was not at all willing to tolerate any opposition as regards the Camp David accord. Hence, it is not surprising to witness that he not only applied force but also prevented the exercise of basic human rights in a bid to suppress the mounting opposition.”

The Minstry of Truth: Egypt Failed Because It Lacked Ethnic Harmony and Self-Reliant Economy Eritrea Has

Now we have come to the icing in the cake: nations like Libya, Tunisia and Egypt are falling like a house of cards because, unlike the glorious Eritrean economy that is the envy not only of our jealous neighbors but also of the entire world, their economies were never self-reliant! There you have it: the truth, nothing but whole the truth! Here is how the notoriously truthful Shabait.com puts it:

“Under this global scenario, it demands the requisite political will and strong courage to pursue political and economic path free from dependency. … In this regard, resorting to the principle of self-reliance is imperative. Viewed within this framework, the nations that resolutely pursued an independent path are the ones that emerged victorious, while those which compromised their independent choice are being exposed to all-round failure.”