Former Eritrean minister of finance challenges Isaias Afwerki to step down

Diplomats and representatives of international aid organizations who were posted in Eritrea in the 1990s will remember Berhane Abrehe as the stern head of the Macro Policy and International Cooperation department. Mr. Abehe later served as finance minister until his mysterious fadeout in 2014. It is not uncommon in Eritrea, indeed rather the norm, for senior officials to be fired or simply sidelined, and for new ones to replace them, without any official announcement. It was soon revealed that Mr. Abrehe had for some time been at odds with the leader of the Eritrean regime, president Isaias Afwerki, over key aspects of economic policy and broader governance issues. He had, especially, made it clear that he could not be accountable for policies for which he had increasingly been only nominally in charge. Particularly at issue was revenues from the new gold operations and other mining activities, as well as a range of public enterprises, which are controlled, not by the Ministry of Finance, but the economic affairs office of the ruling PFDJ party, and hence, not subject to regular government oversight. The PFDJ economic affairs office is headed by Hagos (Kisha) Gebrehiwet, a member of the President's inner circle.

In the last couple of weeks, Eritrean social media has been abuzz with news about a new two-part book that the former minister has authored, in which he severely criticises Isaias’ one-man rule. And just two days ago, Mr. Abrehe, who still lives in Asmara, released an audio message confirming his authorship of the book and reiterating his views on Isaias Afwerki and the general conditions of his country. He did not mince words!

Mr. Abrehe had messages for both the Eritrean public and Isaias Afwerki. Addressing Eritreans within the country and outside, he stated that the dire conditions they find themselves in because of Isaias’ repressive and dictatorial rule should change; and reminded them that only they can bring about that change.

He called on Mr. Afwerki to convene urgently the National Assembly [parliament] “for there are many important issues that we need to address” without delay. “You have no reason to dilly-dally anymore.” Even if several members of the legislature have died, and many others are behind bars or forced to flee the country, he told the President, it's incumbent on you to do the only sensible thing and call all remaining members to meet immediately.

He further called on Isaias to stop, until proper National Assembly authorization is obtained, the ongoing non-transparent and haphazard diplomatic contacts, sanctioned by no authority but Isaias himself, and about which the Eritrean public has been kept in the dark, as well as the signing of hasty agreements that could potentially compromise Eritrea’s national strategic interests.

Mr. Abrehe also invited Isaias Afwerki to a public debate between them proposing a range of topics including the past, present and the prospects of Eritrea’s political, economic, social and cultural realities.

He reminded Mr. Afwerki that, once convened, the National Assembly is bound to take key decisions, including: 1. in a peaceful, legal and civilized manner remove Mr. Afwerki from his position as head of state and chairman of the National Assembly and replace him with a new leader; 2. holding of national parliamentary elections at the earliest possible time; and 3. pass other important and timely resolutions.

Mr. Abrehe concluded by reiterating that the owners of the coming change are Eritreans themselves, and not Isaias or any other individual or group; and those who would try to stop the coming wave will fail, as they would be faced with the wrath of the Eritrean youth.
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The price of peace

At long last, the crisis in the Gambia is over and the country seems to have avoided a potentially protracted and bloody conflict. Gambians, and everyone who followed the anxious standoff, have breathed a collective sigh of relief at seeing Jammeh boarding the plane that took him to his exile. The will of the Gambian people can now be upheld. Kudos to the African states and their leaders who were relentless in their efforts to defuse the crisis and bring it to a peaceful resolution. Many talk about what they call chronic incompetence of African institutions, but, by all accounts, this was a triumph of African diplomacy – and not for the first time. People forget that these institutions, including the African Union and regional bodies such as the ECOWAS, have been making steady progress in the last two decades, first by redefining their mandates to align with the continent’s gradual movement towards better governance and by increasingly asserting themselves to enforce those mandates.

But the most salient lesson to be learned from the crisis is the importance of prudence (or, in this case, how potentially damaging lack of prudence can be) in dealing with precarious political transitions. Jammeh’s initial acceptance of the election results, was met with bewildering statements on the part of the victorious leaders of the opposition coalition vowing to prosecute the defeated president. Those were extremely irresponsible and shortsighted pronouncements that set off the alarm in Jammeh’s already paranoid mind. What made the opposition’s declarations and prematurely triumphalist posture even more reckless was the very real risk of a conflict along ethnic lines that hung over the nation. Indeed, Jammeh didn’t waste any time to stoke those sentiments by attacking the Mandinka majority, and soon divisions started to appear in the military.

Yahya Jammeh was a brutal and deeply corrupt dictator who has amassed considerable personal wealth during his 22 years of rule, and Gambia will be a better place without him. Yet, sometimes it is best to sacrifice justice, or, at least, defer the day of reckoning, in the interest of peace.

Swedish TV crew defects to Eritrea

This satirical piece first appeared on awate.com in June 2009

Swedish TV crew defects to Eritrea

Ahmed Raji, ZNN News

(This is not a satire)

A Swedish TV crew which recently conducted an interview with the Eritrean president has sought asylum in Eritrea. Journalist Donald Boström, his producer, and his cameraman have adopted the East African country as their new home, renouncing their Swedish citizenship. Reached by telephone from Nairboi, a jubilant Boström confirmed the news of his defection along with his two colleagues. The news has shocked Swedish society and made headlines across Europe. Pundits and analysts have been pondering the possible motives for such unprecedented move.

In the now famous interview, the Eritrean president dissected the atrocious realities of Western societies, taking Sweden as a blatant case study of societal inequalities and state malfunction. He patiently catalogued the virtues and achievements of his own rule, leaving no choice for his interviewer but to conclude that Eritrea’s was the best system of governance he had ever come across. The next morning, Boström and his colleagues were standing at the door of general Affan, Eritrea’s immigration and citizenship tsar, to make their application for asylum.

An exciting array of programs is lined up for the three journalists for the summer, including a six-week political education camp in Nakfa and a one-month live-in internship at Weddi Legges’ farm in the vicinity of Tessenei. The latter is believed to give the three men a unique opportunity to observe, first-hand, the Eritrean economic miracle. “It is going to be very exciting”, said Boström, his voice exuding genuine enthusiasm. “I can’t wait to be heading down to Gash-Barka”. He plans to make his stay at the legendary Weddi Legges ranch “a total immersion”. “I expect this to be an almost spiritual experience”, he said. He also proudly mentioned that the President himself and numerous other prominent officials, including general Wucchu, often spend their weekends at the famed ranch, which would make the prospect of the internship all the more rewarding.

While these developments have baffled many back home in Sweden, Boström maintains that their act was the natural thing to do once the truth about their own inadequate system was revealed to them. The interview with the Eritrean president was an eye-opening experience. Indeed, their whole trip to Eritrea proved to be a life-changing journey. “Before the interview, we were living in complete ignorance” Boström said. “How such a despicable and unjust system as the one we have in Sweden was able to conceal its true nature for so long is baffling” he said, adding, “My life in Sweden was a sham.”

Asked by the Tigrinya service of the VOA whether the three journalists would join the ministry of information’s cadre of reporters, Mr. Ali Abdu, Eritrea’s minister information, answered in the positive. “That’s correct” he said, “They will be given the opportunity to serve the truth. But, as prospective citizens of this country, they would first have to fulfill their national duty.” An 18-month national service is mandatory in Eritrea (although, in practice, the majority of recruits volunteer to extend their service to several years). Sources close to Forte Baldissera¹ told ZNN that minister Abdu has assigned News guru Weddi Barnosai to coach the newcomers in the workings and techniques of the Ministry of Information, in strict adherence to the ethos: ‘Serving the Truth’.

Meanwhile, the trio was given a room at ‘Enda Zena’, the Ministry of Information’s residential building in the Kagnew compound. A spokesman for the ministry said that, once their families join them, they would be given more spacious accommodation at Segen houses in Mai Temenai or ‘enda quteba’. It didn’t take long for the three men to adapt to their new surroundings. One neighbor described the new tenants as pleasant, courteous and extremely cooperative. They are already participating in the community’s sports and social activities with exceptional passion and have volunteered for a project or two. Their Tigrinya classes are progressing at a phenomenal speed, while the fashion of their blending in the local scene has been seamless. The cameraman was spotted early in the morning on Thursday standing in a queue in front of the neighborhood’s dkuan Hidri, to receive the trio’s first monthly ration of sugar, cooking oil and pasta. He later expressed his admiration for the discipline, patience and optimism of the shoppers, which struck him as a complete contrast to the individualism of Western societies that he had gladly turned his back on. “This is a truly egalitarian society” he said.

A request for an interview with general Affan (concerning Mr. Bostrom and his two colleagues’ naturalization process) was not answered. However, one of the general's assistants disclosed to ZNN News that, depending on the progress that the three journalists make in their education and rehabilitation (tehadso) programs, there was a strong possibility that they would be put on a fast-track towards full Eritrean citizenship.

1 The Eritrean Ministry of Information headquarters

[The following clarification was published a week later on awate.com]

The irony in Isaias’ Swedish TV interview

Ahmed Raji - Jun 12, 2009

Under Isaias, Eritrea has managed many ‘firsts’ and broken quite a few world and African records – albeit at the wrong end of the spectrum. It is the world’s biggest prison, the biggest jailer of journalists in Africa, the most oppressive among 169 countries of press freedom, and it has one of the highest per capita outflows of young refugees in the world. In every tragic tale of refugees perishing in the high seas, in the desert, or at some border crossing, there is an Eritrean story. 

This is the country that Isaias has bragged about in his interview with Donald Boström. This is his paradise – a place where the only choices available to young people are indefinite servitude, languishing in one of countless dungeons, or fleeing the country even at the risk of being killed. The man who turned his country into a giant gulag, boasted the merits of his rule. He reduced his people to destitution and yet has the audacity to talk about economic growth and food security. He shamelessly declared that Dawit Isak will never receive justice. Presiding over the ruins of a land that once promised a lot, he lashed at Sweden, a nation that is the envy of many. Just think about it – a brutal despot whose country is losing en masse its most productive population claims that his regime is better than that of the country providing refuge to those same young exiles. Do you see the irony? The surrealism, the almost barbaric hilarity of the situation?

This is the backdrop against which the parody I wrote a week ago should be read; which is exactly what many readers did. The irony, I presume, was not lost to the interviewer, Mr. Boström, either. Consider, for example, his question (to Isaias): “Since you have this very good system, where do you see Eritrea in 2015?”

I didn’t expect that my satire would be taken as real news by some readers! My first reaction was: "really?! Can anyone take this seriously?"  Indeed, can anyone familiar with the Eritrean reality be fooled that this is serious news? What happened to our sense of humour? We probably need good doses of The Colbert Report and The Onion, or any of their witty cousins elsewhere.  Yet, serious news is what some readers thought the piece was. My apologies to those who did. I tell those readers: rest assured; following the interview with our unelected ruler, Mr. Boström was duly back to his home country, Sweden, enjoying the blessings and amenities of one of the world’s freest, most prosperous, and most humane societies.

And here is a link to Victoria Bernal's article on Eritrean politics and the powers of humor, which analyzes the above satirical piece.

Please forget democracy and justice:

Eritrean politics and the powers of humor

http://www.academia.edu/7277517/Please_forget_democracy_and_justice_Eritrean_politics_and_the_powers_of_humor

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2014: A Great Year?

I’m glad for my Facebook friends whose year-end pictorial synopses keep coming with the happy affirmation that “It’s been a great year!” I’m sure it has been for most of us, at least at the personal/family level; and that is something to rejoice and be thankful for.

Yet, I wish I could say the same. 2014 has been an awful year. Yes, one of the worst years in memory. And, I’m talking about the suffering of children, here. I hardly remember a time when so many children had been so callously victimized in so many places. Just think back to the images of suffering children that kept coming to our screens throughout the year.

Think of South Sudan where more than 600 children have been killed and over 200 maimed; Central African republic, where 10,000 children were recruited by armed groups and 430 killed; Syria, where, at least 35 attacks on schools have been carried out, killing and injuring hundreds of children, (the suffering of children in Syria, according to UNICEF, has more than doubled compared to 2013); Yazidi and other minority children in Iraq; Gaza’s defenseless kids; Nigeria’s school girls; and Pakistan’s innocent victims of unhinged extremism, just to mention a few.

And this is on top of the tens of millions of children who have become refugees or internally displaced and those who have died of, or are suffering from, diseases and malnutrition, or have, otherwise, fallen victim to the many other effects of war and conflict.

2014’s iconic image is unfortunately not one that evokes happy memories, but that of a dust covered toddler being dug out of rubble (Syria).

Closer to home, Eritrean families continue to be traumatized by the news of their young children dying in deserts and high seas, all that to be topped by the recent cold-blooded execution by the Eritrean regime of 13 kids on the Eritrean-Sudanese border.

I just hope for a world that spares children the deadly consequences of adult follies. And may 2015 see the beginning of a saner future. Happy Holidays to All.

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My Last Espresso in Asmara

Leaving the neighborhood of Alfa Romeo behind me, I wander along the gently sloping street, and once I step onto the larger avenue, the oval-shaped roundabout to my left and the surrounding buildings come into view. I cross to the other side of the street. Tucked in the base of the blue-and-gray old Insurance building, Latteria Awet is brimming with the usual crowd of men in work overalls who have stopped by for sweet tea and brioche, and the occasional cyclists in their colorful tight lycra suits helping themselves to yogurt-topped fatta after some strenuous training. I pause briefly to look in the direction of the setting sun. The iconic ocean-liner-shaped Zilli building appears silhouetted against the setting sun, itself half hidden behind patches of fiery clouds. A quintessential Asmara dusk. Am I really saying goodbye?!

I quickly turn eastward and continue my walk. I need to cover as many of my favorite places as possible before darkness takes over. My eyes strain to behold for one last time those pastel colored, rain washed facades and my lungs are craving the riveting mix of scents peculiar to these streets.

Soon, having negotiated the winding alleys of the little hillside quarter known as Enda Finjal, a cluster of single story houses huddled around the ceramic factory, I find myself at the top of the stairs that join the neighborhood with the southern fringes of Geza Banda – an ideal location for a wide vista of the city center. I linger a while gazing intently as if willing my mind to etch in its deepest recesses the view in front of me.

My mind flashes back to another goodbye nearly three decades ago and another town I love. The sight of a sun-drenched Keren gradually receding and finally disappearing in the haze, as our little convoy made its way through Megareh that July afternoon, is still vivid in my mind. Sure enough, I was sad to leave my family, friends and childhood hangouts behind, but, whether it was my tender years, or the general air of profuse optimism of that time, or the mere excitement that I was about to venture for the first time deep into the Eritrean rural hinterland (my mother’s village), my heart was not as heavy as it is this moment.

Half an hour later I am walking past Bahibeishi building and a moist breeze caresses my face. A blanket of slow-moving fog, usual to this time of the year, has descended on the city from the direction of Bet Gergish, covering the entire eastern hills and eucalyptus woods. Only the twin spires of the church on the hilltop are visible above the white shroud.

I ramble on. More familiar streets, buildings, store fronts, intersections, sidewalks, bars, old cars, street lamps, vendors, faces. The evening Maghreb prayer has just ended and groups of men are trickling out of the big mosque. Some of them linger in the front yard to catch up on the day’s news. Farajet, animated as ever, is standing beside one of two half-walls flanking the open space in front of the mosque, surrounded by half a dozen admiring young men and boys. Surely, he is in the middle of one of his spectacular recitals of Eritrea's colonial history. A couple of blocks down the street two elderly women, grocery baskets in hand, and a bunch of kids, are rushing towards a bus. Through the glass front of a café, I see mimed gestures of a group of middle-aged men playing billiards. I can already smell the familiar aroma of fresh roasted beans.

Bar Vittoria looks as welcoming as ever. Will Memhir be there? It would be nice for one of my last memories of Asmara to be one of those friendly chats with Memhir (yet, I feel little pangs of guilt for not being able to share with him my impending plan).

I pay the customary 5.50 Nakfa at the cashier, receive my ticket and robotically head towards my favorite (and coziest) spot on the counter – the corner where the bakery meets the coffee bar. I stand leaning on the gray marble counter-top and nod to the bakery girl who, without thinking, plucks a piece of cake out of the glass-covered case, puts it on a small plate, half-wrapped in a thin layer of napkin paper (napkins here are meticulously shredded into little pieces before use), and smilingly hands it to me over the counter. Lettezghi, the bartender (who has operated the coffee machine for as long as I can remember), is already set on preparing my yet unspoken order. I hand her the ticket. In no time, my steaming dark macchiato is sitting gloriously beside its longtime companion – Vittoria’s famous cake, known locally as zebib, ostensibly for the little raisins dotting the fleshy cake.

The after-work visit to Café Vittoria has become a daily pilgrimage for me. I hardly remember a day, except when I was out of Asmara, in which I didn’t end up in that homely relic of Asmara of the sixties. The only slight change to this routine happens on weekends when my visit to café Vittoria takes place in the morning rather than at the end of the business day. Then it is the turn of the delightful little pizzetta, which comes in two shapes – round and rectangular slice – to keep my macchiato company.

No sign of Memhir. The weather outside is starting to chill. I feel melancholy. Not so much on account of the weather or the darkening sky, but for the realization that this was my last cup of coffee in the city which for the last fourteen years had become part of my existence. The pain I feel at the thought of departing is almost physical. How long will it be before I see Asmara again?
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