Publshed in Uppsala Nya Tidning 4 August 2023
by Tedros Amanuel
Publisher: Uppsala Nya Tidning 4 August 2023
Dawit Isak, the Swedish Eritrean journalist has now been languishing in an Eritrean prison for 22 years without trial, without prosecution and without visitation or access rights. At the same time, every summer a lavish festival has been organized at Järva Fältet, this year 4–6 August, often with cultural contributions from Stockholm Municipality. The festival is organized by exiled Eritreans loyal to the regime in Eritrea with the active support of the regime’s embassy in Stockholm. The purpose of this festival has been to pay tribute and glorify to the regime in Eritrea, collect money and show the outside world the support the regime commands among exiles and the Swedish public.
There is no doubt that the regime in Eritrea oppresses its citizens and that there are extensive and gross violations of human rights in the country. Both Swedish and international newspapers, human rights organizations have written columns about the regime’s abuses, including a 600-page report by the UN Special Commission of Inquiry into the human rights situation in Eritrea. The report, which accuses the regime of numerous human rights abuses including crimes against humanity, also states that Eritrean embassies abroad are recruiting spies for diaspora surveillance and, through direct or subtle pressure, coerce Eritreans in exile to support the regime or remain silent.
Swedish authorities, including the police, are well aware that the Eritrean regime conducts illegal activities in Sweden such as 2% tax collections on the gross income of exiles, money laundering, money transactions, sale of illegal spirits at the festivals and persecution and harassment of dissidents in Sweden. Many reports have been submitted about these activities.
It is also known that many perpetrators of gross violations of human rights in Eritrea, including the regime’s ministers and generals, have all or part of their families transferred to Sweden as political refugees and often come to Sweden with Italian Schengen visas to visit their families. Not only that, their relatives who once came to Sweden as asylum-seeking refugees, also travel to Eritrea on regular visits.
For many years, democracy and justice activists both exiled Eritreans and Swedes have together held many peaceful protests and demonstrations outside Järva Folkets Park, organized seminars, written to Swedish newspapers and politicians and reported the illegal activities of the Eritrean regime to the relevant authorities, unfortunately so far without any major results.
What kind of signal does this send to the 48,000 people born in Eritrea and today living in Sweden? Eritreans in Sweden are only a fraction of the 1 million people a fourth of Eritrea’s population often aged 15–45, who have fled Eritrea since independence in 1992 due to oppression, endless military service, war, conflict, political instability and economic poverty.
Many of the Eritrean refugees are traumatized by the regime’s cruelty and oppressed. They find it difficult to understand how the world’s most hardline dictatorship is allowed to use Sweden as a hub for their illegal activities. They feel extremely provoked and oppressed by the regime in Eritrea, which uses Sweden as a platform for its exercise of power and demonstration of power.
It is, therefore, high time that the Swedish authorities take their responsibility and stop the Eritrean regime’s illegal activities in Sweden. The regime’s activity is a threat to fundamental freedoms and rights, to Swedish democracy and counteracts the intention of the government’s policy for integration. The Eritrean regime is today even a threat to the Sweden´s national security as the dictator openly supports Russia’s Putin. Sweden can no longer give free rein to a dictator, internationally known for having destabilized and undermined the security of several countries in the Horn of Africa. Sweden must act and stop the Eritrean regime’s persecution and harassment of dissenters in Sweden. Sweden should stop the Eritrean regime’s propaganda festivals from spreading undemocratic norms and values in a free and democratic country and soliciting support and collecting money for Dawit Isaak’s executioners.
ሰላማት ኣሕዋት
ከመይ ቀኒኹም
ጉዳይ ፊስቲቫላት ህግደፍን ፣ ብሪገድ ንሓመዱን ፣ ኣቃልቦ ቡዙሓት ኤርትራውያን ረኺቡ ቀኒዩ።
ኣንጻር ምልካዊ ጉጂለ ህግደፍ ዝግበር ተቃዉሞ ፣ ዓይነታዊ ለዉጢ ኣብ ምግባር ይርከብ።
ገለ ካብኡ ንምጥቃስ ፤
– መንእሰያት ፣ ምስ ህግደፍ ምግጣም ወሲኖም።
– ናይ ህግደፍ ባንደራ ደርቢዮም ፣ ነታ ሃገራዊት (ሰማያዊት) ኣልዒሎም። እዚ ፉሉይ ኣገዳስነት ዘለዎ ዉሳኔ ኢዩ። ዓዋተ ናዓኣ እንተ ዘየልዕል መን ምሳዓቦ !።
– ሓቢርና ንቃለስ ፣ ካብ ጭርሖ ኣብ ተግባር ሰጊሩ።
እዚ ኣወንታዊ ምዕባሌ ደንበ ተቃዉሞ ፣ ሙሁራትና እንተ ዝሕወሱዎ ፣ ብፍላይ ኣማኸርቲ ሕጊ ፣ ናይ ህዝባዊ ርክባት ኪኢላታት … ወዘተ ፣ ዝያዳ ኣድማዒ ምኾነ።
ከም “ኣዕናዊ ናይ ጎነጽ ጉጂለ” ወይ’ዉን ብትግራዎት ዝምራሕ ናይ ዑሱባት ጉጂለ ሙዃኑ ንምርኣይ ዝግበር ፈተነ ንምፍሻል ፣ ናይ ኩሎም ሃገራዊያን ተሳትፎ የድሊ።
” … Eritrean regime conducts illegal activities in Sweden such as 2% tax collections on the gross income of exiles, money laundering, money transactions, sale of illegal spirits at the festivals …”
Tedros Amanuel
ህግደፍ ፣ ገንዘብ ከዋጽእ እንተ ዘይኪኢሉ ፣ ፈስቲቫላት ክቅጽል ኣይክእልን።
ነዚ ጉዳይ’ዚ ምስ ላዕለዎት ሓለፍቲ መንግስታት ብምርድዳእ ጠጠዉ ከም ዝብል ምግባር ፣ ኣንጻር ምልኪ ኣብ ዝግበር ቃልሲ ወሳኒ ግደ ክህሉዎ ኢዩ። ዘይሕጋዊ ቁጠባዊ ንጥፈታት ዕላማ ዝገበረ ዲፕሎማሲያዊ ስራሓት ፣ ህግደፍ ኣብ ምድኻም ዓቢ ግደ ክህሉዎ ኢዩ።
መንእሰያት ብሪገድ ንሓመዱ ፣ ሕጊ ናይቲ ዝቅመጡሉ ሃገራት ብምኽባር ፣ ሕጊ ዝፍቅዶ ምንቅስቃሳት ጥራይ ክግብሩ ይግባእ። ከምቲ ኩሉ ኣብ ምዕራብ ዝነብር ሰብ ዝፈልጦ ፣ ምስ ኣኽበርቲ ሕጊ ኣብ ጎነጽ ምእታዉ ፣ ሕማቅ ሳዕቤን ስለ ዘለዎ ፣ ምጥንቃቅ ኣድላይ ኢዩ።
ንህግደፍ ብሕጋዊ መገዲ ምድኻም ይካኣል ኢዩ።
ምኽንያቱ ፣ እዚ ናይ ማፊያ ጉጂለ ፣ ሕጊ ኣኽቢሩ ክሰሪሕ ኣይክእልን።
ወ ዳሓንኩም።
‘እዚ ናይ ማፊያ ጉጂለ ፣ ሕጊ ኣኽቢሩ ክሰሪሕ ኣይክእልን።’ Kemey Qenika W.H., I concur, since its inception, never did and never will. The day this marauding barbaric group accepts and abides by the rule of law, is the day it will cease to exist, until then it will devour anything and everything that will stand in its path. Finally, the youth is beginning to articulate the language of their oppressor. The optics in Sweden evoked butterflies in my stomach because the last time I confronted this menace to society, I was carrying something else in my shoulder, and the lucifer got the upper hand, our homeland never been the same since.
This infliction is symbolic, but until we all Eritreans join hands and make him slurp his own medicine——– DIQAS YELEN.
ሰላማት ኩቡር ዶቶረ
ከመይ ቀኒኻ
“Finally, the youth is beginning to articulate the language of their oppressor.”
እወ … መንእሰይ ፣ ባዕሉ እንተ ዘይተንቀሳቂሱ ፣ ብምጽባይ ዝመጽእ ለዉጢ ከም ዘየለ ተረዲኡ ኣሎ። ምስ ህግደፍ ናይ ምግጣም ዉሳሴ ፣ ቡዙሓት ካብኣቶም ፣ እዚ ዕግበት ከም ዘለዎም ዘመልክት ኢዩ።
ኩሉ እቲ ህግደፍ ዝጥቀመሉ ፣ ናይ ምምቅቃል ሜላ ፣ ኣድማዕነቱ እንዳ ተዳኸመ ይመጽእ ኣሎ።
እቲ ኣካታዒ ኮይኑ ዝጸነሐ ጉዳይ ትግራይ መዕለቢ ምርካቡ ፣ ሓጋዚ ኮይኑ ኣሎ።
ጉጂለ ኢሰያስ ፣ ካብ ዉግእ ንዘዕረፈ ሰራዊት ፣ መጠበሪ ኣብ ምድላይ ይርከቡ። ግን ፣ ሰላም ስለ ዘስጎኦም ፣ ሃገር በምሊእታ ኣብ ዕስክርና ክትነበር ዘለዎም መደብ ገና ቦቱኡ ኣሎ።
ኣብ ደገ ዝገብሩዎ ዲፕሎማሲያዊ ሸበድበድ ፣ ክሳብ ሕጂ ንህዝቢ ዝጠቀም ኢዩ ዝባሃል ዉጺኢት የቡሉን።
ምስ ዑጡቃት ኣምሓራ (ፋኖ) ፣ ሰራዊት ኤሪትራ ምትሕብባር ኣሎዎ ዝብል ክሲ መንግስቲ ኣቢይ ኣሕመድ ፣ ዕላዊ ብዘይኮነ መገዲ ክግለጽ ጸኒሑ ኣሎ። ዝገብሩዎ ምቱክታኽ ፣ ናይ ኢሰያስ “ድሕረይ ሳዕሪ ኣይብቆላ” ሙዃኑ ፉሉጥ ኢዩ። ናይቶም ምሱኡ ኮይኖም ፣ ኣብ ህልቂት ህዝቦምን ጥፍኣት ሃገሮም ዝሳተፉ ዘለዉ ጀነራላት ጉዳይ ግን ፣ ኣንታ እምበር’ዶ ሰብ ኢዮም !! ዘብል ኢዩ።
ሃገራዊ ክሕደት ፣ ዓቢይ ገበን ኢዩ። ናቶም ካብኡ ንላዕሊ ኢዩ።
ሰላም ይሃበና
Treason indeed in its highest form W.H. in exchange for a little villa, SUV and a meager salary which they supplement by human trafficking and organ harvesting their own children ———– ‘ኣንታ እምበር’ዶ ሰብ ኢዮም !!’… this is the question which every conscientious Eritrean has been asking since my days in the field when I saw a young shaebia beating a village man with a stick old enough to be his grandfather for not bringing the food ordered fast enough. What ensued after that incident is documented in the history books. Sadly, today there is nobody there to stand for the people.
There is a lot of work waiting to be done, this little deeply traumatized nation will need a comprehensive social, economic, political and cultural… rehabilitation to get it back on track.
32 years later we can’t even field a women’s national team in the world cup. I am jealous.
Somebody despises the name.
This youth movement is a continuation of a series of milestones in challenging the extractive authoritarian regime back home, the geriatric monarch in adi halo is not fazed by them because he thinks they are his kids who he raised, molded and shipped where they are today, he thought he fixed them just like he fixed the nation to suit his needs—– pros and against the regime, far away from his enclave he watches the drama unfold with a smirk in his face and he murmurs ‘the old plan is still working’.
Brigade Nihamedu is diamond in the rough, yes! legitimately pissed off, mad as hell, wants to kick anything and everything that looks and sounds like HGDEF, however this anger needs to be channeled positively and constructively to dismantle the web, which was woven to trap us, one strand at a time. To accomplish this, we need to retool, recalibrate, seek a broader participation of human, intellectual, material and financial… of every Eritrean stake holder, that includes those part of us who are lost in the enemy’s camp.
That would spook the moustache out of his lips.
It can be done! Let’s grab a fresh olive branch and march forward.
‘Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, free at last.’
“… this anger needs to be channeled positively and constructively to dismantle the web, which was woven to trap us, one strand at a time. ”
k.tewolde
ሰላማት ኩቡር ዶቶረ
ብርግጽ ፣ እዚ ናይ መንእሰያት መንቀሳቀስ ፣ ሕርቃኑ ፣ ኣብ ልዕሊ መሪሕነት ምልኪ ነኸቀንዕ ፣ ናይቶም ብዕድመን ተመክሮን ዛዓብዩዎም ኣሕዋቶም ሓልዮትን ደገፍን የድሊ።
ህግደፍ ፣ ቀጻልነቱ ነኸዉሕስ ፣ ኩሉ ዓይነት ፍልልያት ኣብ ሙዕማቅ ይርከብ።
እዞም ሕጂ ብበትሪን ዶንጎላን ፣ ዝታሃራረሙ ዘለዉ ኣሕዋት ፣ ጸላኢኦም ሓደ ኢዩ።
እቲ ኣብ ዓዶም ብሰላሞ ንኸይነብሩ ከልኪሉዎም ዘሎ ጉጂለ ፣ ብዘይካ ዉሑዳት ተበለጽቲ ፣ ንሙሉእ መንእሰይ ወለዶ ንእስነቱ ከም ዝኸስር ዝገበረ ኢዩ።
እቶም ኣብ ዳስ ህግደፍ ክስዕስዑ ዝመጹ ታራ ሰባት ፣ ምስ ህግደፍ ፣ ብዝተፈላለየ ግዜያዊ ጥቅሚን ዱሑር ስሚዒታትን ምትእስሳር እኳ እንተ ሃለዎም ፣ ለዉጢ ንጥቅሞም ሙዃኑ ዘይሩዱኡ ኣይኮኑን።
ስለዚ ፣ ኩሉ ህዝቢ ኤሪትራ ፣ ካብቲ ተመዲቡሉ ዘሎ ምድሞማይ ሪሒቁ ፣ ሕርቃኑ ፣ ኣብ ዝባን እቲ ቀንዲ ጸላኢ ከም ዝዓልብ ክገብር ኣሎዎ። ብርግጽ ፣ ቀሊል ኣይኮነን ፣ ግን ዉሑስ ሰላም ከሚጺእ ዝኽእል ንሱ ኢዩ። ኣንጻር ምልኪ ፣ ዓብይ ሃገራዊ ጥርናፈ ሙቋም ፣ መድረኽ ዝጠልቦ ስትራተጂ ኢዩ።