Abiy and Isaias’s war has drifted into Looting and killing civilians in Tigray: The Tragic situation of Eritrean Refugee

Demonstration in California USA

Petros Tesfagiorgis

In this war the flaw of Isaias is as fascinating as the tragic flaw of Abiy Ahmed for involving Isaias. The war is planned and executed by both Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia and Isaias Afeworki of Eritrea. This war is an Ethiopian internal war and it is illegal for any foreign country to intervene militarily or logistically. Isaias’s intervention has become a serious divisive issue in Ethiopia and gave rise to protests by several politicians. For example the popular Amhara politician Lidetu Ayalew has protested saying that Ethiopia is a sovereign country and Isaias has no right to interfere. So many others protested among them the Oromo populist Johar Mohamed – who had the support of the Oromo Youth Movement (Kero). Both Lidetu and Johar are now in prison together with more than 900 politician’s and civil servants from various regions who oppose the effort of Abiy to kill the federal system that gave the various nationalities the   chance to run their local affairs.

But who is this Isaias that got this high prominence in Ethiopianaffairs?

Isaias is a person who   subjected the Eritrean people to extreme repression and is destroying the fabric of the Eritrean society and the economy. In June 2014 the UN Human Rights Commission established an Inquiry Commission on the violations of human rights in Eritrea.  Presenting their findings in June 2015, Mike Smith gave this assessment. “Our findings are sobering. The many violations in Eritrea are of a scope and scale seldom seen anywhere else in today’s world. Basic freedoms are curtailed, from movement to expression; from religion to Association. Torture, extrajudicial executions and forced labour predominates”.  The commission reported that in Eritrea crimes against humanity has been committed.

Isaias is a criminal confirmed by the report of the UN   inquiry commission.  Abiy Ahmed is in bed with a criminal. This raises another question. How come A Prime Minister of a country of 110 million people conspires with a criminal to invade fellow Ethiopians of Tigray   with a population of 7 to 8 million population. There is no doubt about it they share the same values. They both are corrupted by power.  They are morally bankrupt.   On Sunday 22 November PMA Abiy gave 72 hours to the half a million residents of the capital Mekele to leave the town because he will use Tanks and heavy armaments to capture it.  For Isaias and Abiy the loss of life and destruction in Mekele  is simply a collateral damage.If these is not war crime what is it?

Because of the fatal mistake of the UN for failing to bring Isaias to justice or  give him an ultimatum to stop repression he continued his repression unabated. In 2019 the regime closed 27 health centres   run by the Roman Catholic Church at the time when peace was signed with Ethiopia. This inhuman action denied health services to more than 10, 000 people a year.  In the region inhabited by the people of Afar, 30-year-old pregnant woman, Halima Mohammed died in the Badda crater area on Sunday 31 May 2020. The pregnant woman passed away bleeding for lack of medical assistance. Many other women and children may have died of starvation and disease in silence.

Isaias is comfortable to engage in another crime. He is sending thousands of Eritrean soldiers to perish in the genocidal war that does not concern them. The UN has the key to push for peace by threatening Isaias to raise the issue of the crime against humanity he is accused of.   Abiy cannot continue the war without Isaias’s participation and he would have made peace if Isaias reason out with him.  But for UN and the big powers the life of those Ethiopians and Eritreans perishing in the war does not matter. In addition, when the Isaias’s   and Abiy’s army set foot in Tigrean Towns they captured, they kill civilians, loot their properties and destroy any left overs. A 14 years girl in    Zalambassa hospital gave testimony that she has witnessed when her father and mother were shot dead. It is obvious that war crimes are taking place in the captured areas.

The tragic situation of Eritrea refuges: Catherine Sozi the UN Humanitarian   coordinator in Ethiopia begged the opening of the infrastructure of roads, water pumped out by   generators and access to food which they are in short supply.  In the four camps of 100,000 refugees in Tigray there are large numbers of children.   She said for the 800 humanitarian workers in Tigray- it is difficult to do their work.The refugees found themselves helpless, starving   and destitute.

Future demonstration and campaign:  Esaias has sent the Eritrean youth to fight a brutal war of destruction, looting and killings.   Ethiopia, a country of 110 million people, is not short of manpower so what is the motive of Isaias to send the Eritrean army to fight against determined and committed people fighting for their survival? The war has illuminated Eritrean darker side and Isaias’s hidden motive. Isaias fears the people that they will turn against him one day for subjecting them to gross human Rights violations and he always tried to weaken them.  This time he found an excuse, the war, to plunge the youth to their death.  It is happening they are perishing in this genocidal war. Eritrea is losing its youth the flower of Eritrea.  Most of them are ill-trained members of the indefinite national service. Before the war thousands arerounded up and collected from streets to be cannon fodder for Abiys war.  A tragedy of historical proportion. The demonstrations must include the call to send Eritrea’s solders back home from the front line. And also call the arrest of Isaias for crime against humanity like what the Swedish did in Sweden. Isaias and his collaborators are sued for crime against humanity for imprisoning the Swedish Eritrean journalist Dawit Isaak for 19 years without due course of law. Anyone of them could be arrested if they ever go to Sweden.

The people of Tigray and Eritrea in Diaspora have become the vice of the voiceless.  Together they are organizing  demonstrations for peace all over the world.  By working together, the Eritreans and Tigrean’s are moving to words a greater sense of common purpose of building peace.   The demonstration should continue with more strength and determination to call for peace. This time peace is the only way to save thousands of lives.  “Make Peace no War”.