Tag: eritrea
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Bridging the Intellectual Gap
In a book review article authored by Dr. Bereket Habteselasse and published in Awate.com on August 11, 2017, Dr. Bereket concludes his book review with the following appeal: “I also issue a personal appeal to Eritrean scholars, particularly Muslim Eritreans, to write biographies of Ibrahim Sultan Ali, Abdulkadir Kebire, Idris Awate and other great leaders
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Eritrean Opposition Faces an Imminent Ultimatum
Since its formation in Hawassa in November 2011, the Eritrean National Council for Democratic Change (ENCDC) has been in a coma with no signs of waking up, though not yet declared dead. Many frustrated members and supporters of the ENCDC have all but formally withdrawn their enthusiastic allegiance. For the last six years, the ENCDC
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EL AL Pilots And African Refugees And Asylum Seekers
Israeli pilots refused to take part in “the illegal and inhumane deportations of African refugees and asylum seekers from Israel. Pilots of EL AL, the Israeli national carrier refuse to cooperate with the deportations of refugees and asylum seekers who were not provided with proper and legal vetting of their claims. For more than a
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Announcing Awate IGAD Forum
Dear friends, Two days ago, we launched the 2018 fundraising entitled “Support Awate.com” campaign which will continue for some time. The response during the last two days has been encouraging to the extent that it inspired us so much we have decided to announce one of our enhancement plans ahead of time–we believe we do
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A Somber New Years’s Eve In Eritrea
New Year’s Eve of 2018 has been the most somber night compared to how Eritreans celebrated the night in the past. Reached by phone in Jeddah, An American visitor to Eritrea Said, “Eritreans who do not need a reason to party strolled lazily with nowhere to go,” The top echelon of the ruling party, however,
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The Eritrean Government Admits Its Banking Blunder
In an unusual admission to problems it faces, in yesterday’s edition of Haddas Eritrea, a Tigrinya newspaper it owns, the Eritrean government issued an editorial entitled “Appropriate Correction.” The editorial raises more questions than it answers as it fails to restore the exceeding loss of confidence in the government-owned financial institutions that allows depositors only
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Eritrean Economy in Limbo
The recent government decision to withdraw the licenses of businesses and freeze their bank accounts has resulted in freezing the entire economy. Eritreans are complaining that the unpopular government policy has destroyed the already weak economy and made many people lose their means of livelihood. So far, over 300 businesses that didn’t deposit their revenues in banks
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Hajji Mussa Refuses to Walk Out of Prison
After almost two months in jail, sources reported to Gedab News that Hajji Mussa, who was arrested by the government security forces, is seriously ill. Though there is no specific information about the illness that he is suffering from, the presidential office has instructed the prison warden to release Hajji Mussa on bail and put
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Eritrean Depositors Lose Control of Their Funds
In a move reminiscent of past campaigns, over the last few weeks, the Isaias Afwerki’s government has arrested many people and sealed their businesses. Government sources indicated the reason for the far-reaching arrests is to investigate alleged crimes of corruption. The doors of at least 200 businesses in Asmara and other places in Eritrea have
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A Notch Up in Eritrea’s Struggle For Liberty and Justice
Circumstances surrounding a student-led public protest that took place in the Eritrean capital, Asmara on October 31, 2017, were lauded by many citizens as a historical event that marks the beginning of an end of one of the modern world’s ugliest tyrannies. Accounts of the protest were extensively reported by opposition websites and radio stations
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Nevsun Loses Appeal to Dismiss Slave Labor Case
A British Columbia court dismissed Nevsun’s appeal to have the case filed against it to be rejected. Three Eritrean refugees who worked in Nevsun’s mine in Bisha, Eritrea, had filed the case in November 2014. Nevsun had argued over jurisdiction and appealed to have the human rights-related case be moved to Eritrean courts claiming that the
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Did the Eritrean Regime Embrace Wahabism?
The State of Qatar, until recently one of the main financiers and patron of the Isaias Afwerki regime, is now its enemy, together with Iran and Turkey, the triad that the Eritrean regime alleges they promote the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood. The shift began two years ago. In March 2015, a Saudi led coalition,
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Unrest In Asmara, US State Department Issues Warning
An unusual rally against what the protesters consider the ruling party’s excesses has been raging since the early morning of Tuesday in Asmara. The rally’s epicenter is in the Akhria neighborhood in the northern section of the capital city Asmara. Today’s protests were ignited by the government’s heavy-handed actions when it attempted to confiscate a
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Isaias Afwerki Channels Haile DeruE in Interview With Eri-TV
1. Every time President Isaias Afwerki has an interview with his captive media (Eri-TV), a very large segment of the population take the very sensible decision of ignoring it, leaving a few of us obsessive types to watch it and divine meaning from it. Then the few of us who watched it disagree on what
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Eritrean Economy: Transportation Crisis And Turf War
A turf war has surfaced and it involves the Eritrean ministry of transportation and the economic arm of the ruling party. The squabble is expected to escalate further. Informants indicated that “a few other ministries are also awakening to the unfettered monopoly of the national economy by the ruling party.” The ruling People’s Front for
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Eritrea: The Constitution
Here is a follow-up on “gual mengedi” – the constitution. I will stick to word limit and make it short. Maybe I should just have posted it as comment. Anyway, for some reason people seem interested in revisiting the subject. I tried to read as much of the discussion on the subject as possible. Things
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Eritrea’s 150th Anniversary!
My adopted nation, Canada, recently celebrated its 150th anniversary on July 01, 2017. The celebration was huge, passionate and colorful. Even though Canada wasn’t the place of my birth, I passionately celebrated this anniversary. Canada has offered me its citizenship, education, health care, opportunities and rights that were denied to me elsewhere. Most importantly, Canada,
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The USA May Impose Visa Restriction on Eritrea
Since 1967, Eritreans have been escaping their country and ending up in different countries of the West where most are now naturalized citizens. In the Middle East however, where the laws do not allow naturalization, many have lived for decades and died as aliens. Still, many others were deported and handed over to the regimes
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WOLDEAB WOLDEMARIAM: A Biography of a Visionary Eritrean Patriot, by Dawit Mesfin
Review by Bereket Habte Selassie He spent a major part of his adult life fighting for freedom and human dignity, in a passionate struggle on behalf of his people, the forgotten people of Eritrea. His struggle was frequently a lonely one under bitterly disappointing circumstances—under conditions of mortal danger to his life and amid continued
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North Korea and Eritrea: Two Pariah States, Two UN Resolution Violations
The United Nations Security Council yesterday unanimously passed a resolution imposing new sanctions on North Korea, the toughest the UNSC has ever imposed on any country. The sanction was prompted by North Korea’s continued intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) testing and violations of UN resolutions. The sanction aims at reducing North Korea revenue stream from exports and joint ventures in foreign