Day: March 23, 2022

Memorialization of important national events has become part of the normal life of Eritreans. The historic town of Nakfa was liberated from the Ethiopian colonial army on 23rd March 1977 by the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) to become a second liberated area after Karora. Since independence, Nakfa has been a site of grand ceremonies and visitors’ site.

The commemoration of the liberation of Nakfa is one way of expressing gratitude to the sacrifices of the brave men and women, who fell in the battle. Until it was interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, the liberation of Nakfa was celebrated colorfully in the presence of thousands of civilians, families of the martyrs and veteran liberation fighters. The commemoration is important because it tells a story not only about the past but also a story that continues to influence the life of Eritreans today. The collective resolve to remember significant events of the armed struggle for liberation constitute defining characteristics of the Eritrean people. Occasions of remembrance have created a sense of historical continuity which ultimately enhances the unity and cohesion of the Eritrean society.

During the thirty-year armed struggle (1961 to 1991), Eritreans witnessed brutality and destruction. Sahel, in general, and Nakfa, in particular, served as base areas of the struggle and became strategic, symbolic and ideological center of the long struggle. Nakfa has become a national symbol of Eritrea and foundation for Eritrean nationalism. In honor of its contribution in the history of Eritrea, the EPLF held its third congress in Nakfa. In a similar vein, the post-independence cadre school was also built in Nakfa. Above all, Eritrea’s national currency, which was issued in 1997, was named Nakfa.

Nakfa, also referred to as “Nakfa hamelmal” by the people of Sahel, was later described as a “mother of perseverance and resilience,” “mother of revolution” and “the capital of the revolution”. It was the center of gravity of the Eritrean revolution. One cannot visualize the profundity of the revolution that brought radical transformation on Eritrean society without referring to Nakfa.

The EPLF was sheltered in the formidable mountains of Sahel, around Nakfa, successfully repelling successive Ethiopian assaults one after another. The defense of Nakfa was vital for the protection of the command center, logistics, and communication services of the organization.

In the national narrative of Eritrea, Nakfa was a symbol of resilience and perseverance. During the long and bitter struggle, Nakfa proved to be a reliable sanctuary of Eritrean fighters. When the EPLF decided to liberate the land and people step by step, Nakfa was one of the first places to be liberated after a long siege and an all-out offensive by the freedom fighters. The initial attempt to liberate the town was undertaken in September 1976, and the EPLF experienced positional warfare for the first time since its formation. Once it was liberated by the EPLF, Nakfa was never captured by the invading Ethiopian army that made so many attempts in the subsequent years.

The first surgical unit of the EPLF was set up in Nakfa. In his book ‘Journey From Nakfa to Nakfa,’ Dr. Tekeste Fekadu, a veteran liberation fighter, wrote: “On August 26, 1976, I was ready to go to Nakfa as a frontline surgeon with four other medical personnel that included Berhana Haile, then a senior nurse with much experience in the field of surgery. The other three were barefoot doctors, agar hakim, who were assigned to the battalions in the Nakfa Frontline.”

As part of the EPLF’s strategy to liberate cities and villages, the journey from Nakfa reached the besieged city of Asmara in 1977. The advance by the Eritrean liberation front was later reversed by the massive intervention of the Soviet Union, and the EPLF was forced to make the historic strategic withdrawal to save and continue the revolution.

The EPLF that once departed from Nakfa and reached the outskirts of Asmara returned to and stationed in Nakfa in 1979. The EPLF’s resilience was demonstrated in its ability to attack while retreating. The battles of Elabered, Ma’emide and Bogo are just few examples. In February 1979, the Nakfa front was created, marking the end of the strategic withdrawal. The immense sacrifice and endurance of the fighters to stand against the adversity was a bold mark in the modern history of humanity. In the mountains of Nakfa, the fighters faced the new reality with courage and determination.

The greatest quality of EPLF fighters is not in never falling, but in rising every time they fell. Like a tiny seed with potent power to push through tough ground and become a mighty tree, the EPLF stationed in the mountains of Nakfa bred unimaginable strength to push back the enemy with the biggest army in Sub-Sahara Africa. The difficult conditions left the organization stronger and more resilient. Resilience and commitment helped the fighters to persevere and defend Nakfa for ten years.

Throughout the armed struggle and particularly during the last few years of the struggle, various types of ammunition, including cluster and napalm bombs, rained day and night over Nakfa and the freedom fighters. But Nakfa and the freedom fighters had developed a secret to resist and stand against the incredible suffering. They tolerated the inevitable pain to gain and regain the liberation and dignity of Eritrea. The immense grief made Eritrean freedom fighters more resilient. In the face of global aggression, they discovered humility, dignity, and discipline.

Eritrean freedom fighters suffered and fought against the Ethiopian army and its allies, on one hand, and against the hostile natural environment of Sahil, on the other. In the course of the struggle from the gates of Nakfa to the heart of Asmara the fighters bounced back and stood up numerous times. In the process, they explored and expanded their fullest potential as liberators. Therefore, the commemoration of the liberation of Nakfa is one way of expressing appreciation to the bravery, resilience, tenacity and endurance of the heroes and heroines of the Eritrean revolution.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. General Assembly began a lengthy debate Wednesday over two draft resolutions that seek to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, where millions wait for food, water and medical supplies or the chance to escape their besieged country safely.

“Thousands of Ukrainians have lost their lives over this month: young and old, women and men, civilians and military,” Ukraine’s U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya said of Russia’s war, which began in the early hours of February 24. “They died because Russia decided to attack — attack Ukraine, attack peace, attack all of us. Every day of the Russian war against Ukraine aggravates the humanitarian situation further and further.”

The numbers are staggering. In barely one month, the United Nations says, 3.5 million people have fled to neighboring countries, and 6.5 million are displaced within Ukraine. The U.N. estimates that 12 million people in the country need humanitarian assistance. The situation deteriorates daily.

U.N. member states have before them two resolutions. Both call for an immediate cease-fire and protection of civilians, critical civilian infrastructure, aid workers and medical personnel.

But there is one glaring difference: One text names Russia as the aggressor and calls on it to cease its actions against Ukraine, while the second text names no aggressor and essentially puts Ukraine — which was attacked — on the same level as its attacker.

Mexico and France, along with Ukraine, were among the 25 countries that drafted the text that names Russia, and their resolution has more than 80 co-sponsors in the General Assembly.

South Africa is the author of the second text.

“South Africa believes that the political and strategic issues pertaining to the conflict in Ukraine should be discussed but not in the context of a resolution addressing the humanitarian situation,” Ambassador Mathu Joyini told the assembly. She said her government’s draft resolution attempts to do that.

Wednesday’s debate saw more than 60 delegations take the floor. The discussion will continue Thursday morning, and a vote is expected to follow.

Any result would not have a legally binding effect on Russia, but with strong international backing, it would express the will of the world that the hostilities should stop and people should be helped.

An overwhelming number of speakers expressed support for the Western draft, underscoring Russia’s destruction of Ukraine, including its siege on the southern port city of Mariupol, and the indiscriminate shelling and bombing of civilians and critical infrastructure.

“In light of the tragedy that is unfolding, the General Assembly has to take its responsibility to address this humanitarian catastrophe and urgently call on Russia to respect the basic principles of international humanitarian law that applies to everyone,” European Union Ambassador Olof Skoog said on behalf of the 27-member bloc.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield pointed to the humanitarian impact of the war, which is disrupting global supplies of critical items such as wheat and fuel, which was also addressed in the resolution under consideration.

“The accelerating spike of food prices, food shortages and corresponding insecurity threatens to further destabilize fragile societies, increase hunger and drive migration,” she said. “And this comes at a time when the global humanitarian system was already stretched more than ever before — a time when the World Food Program is feeding more than 138 million people in over 80 countries.”

Only Syria took the floor to support Russia. Moscow has provided military backing to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad since 2015 in its brutal war against its population. Even Belarus, which hosts Russian troops on its territory and is believed to be considering involving its own military in Ukraine to support Russia, did not address the General Assembly.

Also absent from the debate were Eritrea and North Korea, which round out the countries that have publicly supported Moscow at the United Nations.

Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia dismissed the Western text as having “blatantly anti-Russian elements.”

“Let me be clear: This scenario will make a resolution to the situation in Ukraine more difficult,” Nebenzia said. “Because more likely, it will embolden Ukrainian negotiators and would nudge them to maintaining the current unrealistic position, which is not related to the situation on the ground nor to the need to tackle the root causes, which meant that Russia had to start, almost a month ago, its special military operation in Ukraine.”

Isolation

Nebenzia said if countries want to help the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, they should vote for Moscow’s draft resolution in the U.N. Security Council.

That draft went for a vote late Wednesday. Non-council members Belarus, Syria and North Korea were the co-sponsors.

Of the 15 council members, only Russia and China supported the text (China was not a co-sponsor, though). In a rare occurrence, 13 council members abstained from voting. Without nine positive votes and no vetoes, the measure failed.

Several council members pointed out that the resolution did not call for an immediate and unconditional end to the hostilities or name the cause of the humanitarian crisis — Russia’s invasion.

Honoring Albright

On Wednesday, former U.S. Secretary of State and onetime U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Madeleine Albright died. Council members stood for a moment of silence in tribute to her. Thomas-Greenfield cited her ahead of the vote.

“Secretary Albright once warned, ‘Take it from someone who fled the Iron Curtain, I know what happens when you give the Russians a green light.’ And that is what we will do today if we pass this resolution.” Thomas-Greenfield warned.

Meanwhile, humanitarians continue, without strong guarantees for their safety, to try to bring livesaving aid to millions of Ukrainian civilians, many of whom are stranded in areas with active hostilities.

Source: Voice of America