Category: Articles

  • Eritrean Law Society

    Congratulations! Of course the sky is falling down. It is only that skies fall down from so high that they need time before they physically crush down so loud and every body hears the noise. In fact, it has already fallen down in all of the most important aspects of falling down. The Eritrean government

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  • Eritrean Resistance: Between the Hammer of the Media & the Anvil Of Polarization

    On the twentieth of December 2009, Mr. Michael Abraha published  an inflammatory article on the American Chronicle  website in which he called for the unraveling and dissolution of the Awate institution, accusing the Awate.com website of being in serving the projects of Islamic extremism and boldly calling Mr. Saleh Johar, the editor of the website “President of

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  • Eritrea: Serious Consequences Of An Unjust Educational Policy

    Shaebia has been pursuing a warped educational policy; I can confidently say that education is not alive in Eritrea. But at least there is a relatively good infrastructure (solely big buildings) and promising bright students that overcame the obstacles of Shaebia who is good at constructing schools, roads and dams―you can barely find a single

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  • United Nations Sanctions Against Eritrea: Missing Perspective

    Background   On December 23, 2009 the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) through Resolution 1907 imposed sanctions against the State of Eritrea. The decision to ostracise Eritrea was almost unanimous, and followed a vote by the 15 Council members in which China and Libya abstained and objected respectively. The Security Council identified Eritrea’s bellicose and

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  • Sanctions: A Prelude to Hague, the Netherlands

    One the early morning in a chilly winter day, at a hamlet in the highlands of Eritrea, an wise old man parts his son with the following wishes: hawi bizuhat ayendidka, ganzeb bizuhat ayebl’eka (may you stay safe from the fires of many and may you be saved from the craving to swindle funds from

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  • Gap in CDRiE Conference News Report

    A conference organized by Citizens for Democratic Rights in Eritrea (CDRiE) was held on Jan 9, 2010. As usual participants came very late and the conference was opened about half an hour later than scheduled. Though this is typical of any Eritrean gatherings I had high expectation given its high publicity and the academic nature

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  • Curse god and Die

    ‘Curse god and die’ has evolved from an imprudent advice of an embittered wife of a patient patriarch to ascent to be the chief foreign policy of Eritrea vis-à-vis the temporal god, the United States of America. Curse this god and say it as loud as you can, ‘Tekormika mot, AsfiHka mot! hade iyu Hilfetu!’ Because

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  • The Politics Of Disenchantment: Seeking An Alternative

    Well, 2009 has come to a close and what a year it has been! I am a regular of many Eritrean websites, particularly Awate.com, Assenna.com and to some extent Asmarino.com although mostly as an observer and occasionally as a sleepy participant. And starting last month, I have been visiting some of the paltalk homes (again

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  • Roles Reversed: Now PFDJ Needs Coupons To Travel

    When Shaebia came to power in 1991, we welcomed them clapping our innocent hands in delight considering that freedom belongs to the entire Eritrean people and not only to the Tegadelti. However, our optimistic expectation proved to be disappointing. They punished the Eritrean people in a series of episodes. The targets of the first blow were

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  • Isaias: It Is Time to Leave

    My son was surprised by the conduct of his computer rival in a chess game and he asked me: Why does my contender in the game withdraw and acknowledge defeat before the end of the play which I am about to win? I replied these are khawajat (the civilized people); they don’t scratch it to

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  • In The Foxhole Where He Belongs

    After the humiliating defeat of the Axis powers in the Second World War, Mussolini, Italy’s prime minister and the leader of Fascism, was captured attempting a flee to Switzerland. Of course, he was later summarily executed and his dead body brought to Milan. As the Mussolini’s corpse was displayed in public, an old woman emerged

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  • The spirit of Adei Semainesh (Part II): Timely Issues

      In the first Part of this series, I paid a tribute to Adei Semainesh and hoped that her spirit would guide us to understand and cherish each other across ethnic, cultural and religious divide. I commented on Ali Salem’s tone and suggested the need for a code of conduct in the Eritrean cyber space.

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  • “I Thought We Were Friends…” : A Lesson From History

    The rioters were small in number when this entire melee begun, around midday in the city of Urmqui, Xingjian Autonomous republic, China. But their number and their fury started to swell by the day and things become more dangerous and out of hand In that otherwise peaceful dull city of some two million. Lee Dao

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  • Cabbages and Kings and Why the Sea is Boiling Hot – X

    The Leadership Handicap Syndrome   November 2009 has marked itself as one of those peaks when the independent Eritrean websites and talk rooms were once again boiling hot. Apparently emotions have now calmed down, a couple of admonitions have been retracted from the websites, and the dust is settling.  The wish that the whole episode

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  • Freedom of Expression In Eritrea’s Media: A Journalist’s Perspective

     Dear Awate.com Editor and staff      Greetings to you. The purpose of this writing is not to comment or write an article regarding the ever-deteriorating situation of our Eritrea, the countless undemocratic actions of the Asmara regime or other related stuff. It is also not intended to comment about the famous or infamous writer

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  • The London Conference

    It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it.  And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.  –Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) According to an announcement on asmarino.com, a peace conference has been organised by an ad-hoc group based in London and the group is led by Paulos Tesfagiorgis,

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  • In The Sprit Of Adei Semainesh (Part I)

    This article is a tribute to Adei Semainesh Woldu, who also happens to be the mother of the martyr Weldedawit Temesgen, with whom my family and myself have a close relationship that stretches as far as I can remember. It is a relationship that endured the thin and the thick, the good and the difficult

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  • An Altered “Interview”

    Editor’s note: Over a week ago, Michael Abraha, Mike Woldu, Mike Ab and Michael Woldu (all one person) sent e-mail questions to Habtom Yohannes who replied to the written questions. Habtom read the “interview” at asmarino.com and contacted awate.on-forge.com to publish the unaltered version. Here is Habtom’s explanation:   “Indeed this interview needs some introduction. Some

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  • The Pseudo PFDJ Cartel

    I do advice you not to waste your time reading the Eritrea AlHaditha garbage of December 1st 2009, just gaze at the dim face of the bloody dictator, indicators counting down to last day, scroll down and look at the picture of a new found celebrity, a Muslim student wearing Khimar, headscarf, apparently the only

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  • Human Rights in Eritrea – Facts And Fiction

    There are contradictions in the ground: PFDJ horrors Versus Claims Of Human Rights Respect Propaganda all-around.    Honestly, I am not a fan of the Regime and do not entertain wasting my time reading or watching its propaganda outlets but it just happened as I was surfing the web I have been lured by Awate’s

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