Day: March 30, 2022

H.R.6600 is a foreign policy mistake which would appoint Washington imperialist judge of Ethiopian domestic affairs. Jon Abbink March 30, 2022| 12:01 am The Russian assault on Ukraine is pushing other global conflicts into the shadows, but the latter keep festering nonetheless. Some of these will also have important geostrategic consequences. One of them is the still ongoing armed conflict in Ethiopia, initiated by the TPLF (Tigray Peoples Liberation Front) with a massive and unprovoked attack the night of November 3, 2020. The United States has not played an enlightening role in the conflict, as it primarily blamed the federal government for the violence. Politically, U.S. efforts over the past year and a half have been even marked by undue interference and sanctimoniousness. U.S. policy circles have not demonstrated honest understanding of the war, of its context, and of the means to help end it. The State Department as well as USAID (which is self-admittedly an arm of U.S. foreign policy) have rarely sided with Ethiopian government efforts to bring this conflict to an end and seem to have condoned the TPLF—incorrectly equating it with the Tigrayan people. The U.S. Congress has not stayed far behind the executive branch foreign policy establishment. The latest Ethiopia gaffes to be produced by the United States will be in the discussion and voting on H.R.6600, proposed in Congress on February 4 by Rep. Tom Malinowski (D, New Jersey), and Rep. Young Kim (R, California). The initiative is surrealistically called the “Ethiopia Stabilization, Peace, and Democracy Act.” In practice, it will do more of the opposite: produce destabilization, hinder peace, and undermine the democracy in Ethiopia. Here is why. In brief the bill says that the State Department is required to develop a plan for supporting democracy and human rights in Ethiopia, including plans to combat hate speech online and support accountability measures for atrocities and efforts to buttress a national dialogue. Moreover, it proposes that the U.S. president impose sanctions on individuals who undermine negotiations to end the conflict, commit human rights abuses, exacerbate corruption, or provide weapons to any hostile party. The bill suggests that security assistance to the government of Ethiopia should be suspended until it ceases offensive operations, takes steps towards a national dialogue, improves protection of human rights, allows unfettered humanitarian access to conflict areas, and investigates allegations of war crimes. The bill also determines that the U.S. must oppose loans or other financial assistance from international agencies such as the World Bank and IMF to the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea unless for humanitarian purposes, until they take steps to end the war and restore respect for human rights. It concludes that a determination from the State Department is required concerning allegations of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide in Ethiopia. This series of proposals is a program of unprecedented interference in the internal affairs of Ethiopia, based on a lot of ignorance and bias. Many of the conflict issues and food aid efforts are under the brief of the Ethiopian government and are being addressed already as much as their financial means allow. Nowhere does the bill mention the TPLF and its war actions. This is surprising if not laughable; it almost looks like TPLF people were co-drafters of the legislation. The target of the sanctions and strictures in the bill are Ethiopian and Eritrean government people. Again, no one denies that the humanitarian problems in Tigray are serious and painful: There is a huge lack of food supplies, fuel, medical facilities, etc. In the early phase of the conflict there were unlawful killings and expulsions by federal army soldiers, Eritrean soldiers, and militias—in a spiral of TPLF-induced violence. But Ethiopian federal force excesses were and are being tackled via the courts. TPLF violence and abuse is not: Impunity reigns, as the TPLF does not call any of its forces to account. In the course of 2021, notably after their rejection of a government ceasefire offer in June, the TPLF’s violence was dramatically expanded in the Amhara and Afar Regions in a spirit of revenge and destruction. The onus of initiating, perpetrating, and sustaining the violence thus lies with the TPLF. And there has been no more ground fighting in the Tigray Region since June 2021: All of it occurs in the Afar and Amhara regions, still partly occupied as of March 2022. Any serious analysis would reveal that responsibility for the huge damage, the large number of victims, and the abhorrent nature of the violence as a war policy was on the TPLF side. The problems were compounded by hundreds of thousands of civilians in the Amhara and Afar Regions made international displaced persons by the TPLF; they are still waiting in camps, with nothing but their bare clothes as possessions. In addition, many in western Ethiopia are still terrorized by the “Oromo Liberation Army,” allied to the insurgent TPLF and engaged in what some are describing as an “ethnic cleansing” operation—they are not mentioned in the H.R. bill either. The same goes for Gumuz violent rebels in the west, who appear to get support in Sudan, probably with Egyptian backing. On March 24, the Ethiopian government proclaimed a “humanitarian truce.” The TPLF, fearing to lose the propaganda battle, later that same day issued a bizarre statement indicating that they accepted the idea. Unfortunately, it was not a clear commitment. TPLF has not shown an interest in stability or cessation of conflict, neither in Ethiopia as a whole nor in “its own” region, Tigray. New fighting continued to erupt even after their statement on cessation of hostilities. In response to the bill, Ethiopian government spokesperson Dina Mufti said: “The [H.R.6600] bill doesn’t measure up to the level of historic relationship between Ethiopia and the United States.” That is putting it in an admirably mild way. The bill would be an unprecedented and an unjustifiable blow to an elected government and will jeopardize a long and dynamic relationship between two countries. It would alienate not only the Ethiopian government but also the Ethiopian people from the U.S., and regrettably so, because most Ethiopians value a good relationship with America. Millions of Ethiopians have family and friends living there, thousands have studied there, and economic and strategic relations are important. To jeopardize this growing and often mutually beneficial relationship is irresponsible. The H.R.6600 bill and its aggressive and arrogant tone would add extra damage to the situation, after the already absurd delisting of Ethiopia from the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, which is only hurting ordinary workers and not members of the government. As law, H.R.6600 would even be imperialist: The Biden Administration could wield control over Ethiopia in social media, traveling, domestic politics, economic affairs, international loans, etc. under a 10-year sanctions regime. Ethiopia’s right to economic development would in fact be denied; as it says in Section 6(c) of the bill, Ethiopians would only benefit from support for projects on “basic services.” These economic impacts would also lead Ethiopia to intensify relations with China. Apart from its intrinsic failings, H.R.6600—if made law—would impose a harsh regime on Ethiopia that will not be productive or bring the desired results; only more socio-economic hardship and misery will follow. If the U.S. Congress wants to see stabilization, peace, and democracy efforts in Ethiopia, it will do well to start developing a more balanced approach to the Ethiopian conundrum. A better approach should be based on an analysis of what in fact happened: an armed insurgency by a rogue party that aimed to overthrow the federal government and went on to destabilize the country by war, mass killings, destruction, and economic sabotage. While the Ethiopian government can be urged to do more, it is time for the U.S. to put heavy pressure on the TPLF and call them to abandon armed insurgency and be accountable under the law. The severe sanctions approach in H.R.6600 smacks of the sanctions against Russia in the Ukraine war. But Ethiopia is not Russia. H.R.6600 is entirely unhelpful and should go where it belongs, in the dustbin. * Jon Abbink is a senior researcher at the African Studies Centre and professor of Politics and Governance in Africa at Leiden University. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * Ethiopia’s ethnically divided Map ruled by 20th/21st Warlords… * Tunaydbah, Sudan – 10 February 2021; Ethiopian refugee steps out of bus. Ethiopian refugees live in Um Rakuba refugee camp in Sudan. (Amors photos/Shutterstock)…

Source: Dehai Eritrea Online

The Philosopher, George Santayana, is known for declaring that “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This saying speaks to the importance of remembering history. Highlighting the importance of history, Howard Zinn also wrote: “If you don’t know history it is as if you were born yesterday. And if you were born yesterday, anybody up there in a position of power can tell you anything, and you have no way of checking upon it.” In Eritrea there are numerous historically important dates worth remembering. Here are some of the important dates that happened in the month of March.

March 9, 1975, Black Sunday in Akordet: Successive Ethiopian governments intensified genocidal acts to crush the armed resistance of the Eritrean people and pursued a scorched earth policy of destruction and terror to impair the fighting spirit of Eritreans. Black Sunday of Akordet was part of the many barbaric and brutal killings of innocent Eritreans. On that cursed day people were dragged from their houses and a mosque to be slain like animals. Soldiers tore pregnant mothers’ wombs and severed the heads of children and the elderly. The aim of the mass killings in Akordet, like other places of Eritrea, was to terrorize and demoralize the people.

A former senior Ethiopian government official, who was by no means sympathetic to the Eritrean legitimate cause for national liberation, said “The army made a crucial error in this operation; it did not concentrate on attacking the guerrillas directly; instead it devastated the villages suspected of harboring them.” Recounting his personal memory, he further writes: “I remember soldiers slaughtering cattle, eating what they wanted, and then leaving the rest to rot. Sometimes soldiers would kill cattle just to get the livers.”

The immediate cause of the March 9, 1975 massacre was the assassination of a security officer in Akordet by freedom fighters. When Major General Werku Chernet came to see the Ethiopian army based in Barka, he held a meeting in Akordet. In the midst of the meeting he heard the news about the assassination of the well known Ethiopian agent in the town. Before leaving the town, the general gave an order to his subordinates to kill the inhabitants of the town. The atrocious massacre started at around 4:15 pm and continued well up to 7:00 o’clock. Within three hours, more than 375 innocent people were killed and more than 350 houses burned. Eritreans refer to the day as ‘Black Sunday.’

March 23, 1977, the liberation of Nakfa: During its first congress, the EPLF had resolved to continue the strategy of ‘liberating the land and the people step by step.’ Karora was the first town to be liberated; it was liberated in January 1977. Nakfa was second and was liberated in March 1977 following a siege that lasted six months. Nakfa was a symbol of resilience and perseverance. The Ethiopian army fought many deadly battles to regain Nakfa shouting “Nakfa or death” but to no avail. Nakfa saved the symbolic and material aspects of the Eritrean struggle for independence. In recognition of Nakfa’s incredible role during the struggle for independence, Eritrea’s currency is named Nakfa.

March 26, 1983, the seventh or stealth offensive of the Derg: This offensive was different from the military campaigns before it because it was conducted without fanfare. It lasted five months until the EPLF forces carried out a counter offensive. The Derg initiated the military campaign because it thought that the EPLF had been weakened during the sixth offensive in 1982. It’s true that the sixth offensive drained more than half of the EPLF’s combatants. But the numerical disadvantage of the EPLF was compensated by its fighters’ perseverance, dedication and creativity. During the seventh offensive, the Derg army sustained a heavy loss: around 25,000 dead and wounded.

March 19-21, 1984, the demise of Wuqaw Command in North Eastern Sahel: Following the strategic withdrawal of the EPLF in 1978 up to 1983, the Ethiopian army had a relatively superior position over the freedom fighter. But after the sixth (1982) and seventh (1983) offensive attacks, the war entered a stage of stalemate. The EPLF withstood the strongest offensive attacks the enemy had ever launched. This success boosted the EPLF’s morale to launch counter-offensive attacks to end the stalemate and change the balance of power in its favor. The EPLF’s offensive on March 19, 1984 against Wuqaw Command garrisoned in North Eastern Sahel, marked the beginning of the burial of the Ethiopian army in Sahel. The surprise attack by Eritrean freedom fighters drowned the Ethiopian army into the Red Sea. The Derg lost around 7000 soldiers in the plains of Sahel.

March 17-19, 1988, the demise of Nadew Command and the liberation of Afabet: After the second and unity congress, the EPLF had decided to intensify its military operations. On March 17 Eritrean People’s Liberation Army (EPLA) began its most comprehensive military offensive to annihilate Nadew Command and liberate the town of Afabet. The Nadew command was a 22,000-strong army, stationed permanently at Nakfa and Afabet fronts for nine years. As planned, the EPLA destroyed the Nadew Command and liberated Afabet within 48 hours. The strongest of the Ethiopian army couldn’t withstand the offensive of the EPLA. Afabet, which since 1979 had been the main garrison town of Ethiopia’s strongest army, fell in the hands of the EPLA on March 19. The center of gravity of the Ethiopian army was smashed and the Derg lost one of its most experienced and war-hardened army of 18,000. Lt. Col. Afewerki Wassae, political commissar of the Ethiopian army in Eritrea, and three Soviet officers were captured. In the operation 50 tanks, 100 trucks and a large number of light and heavy weapons were seized.

The battle of Afabet was described by historian Basil Davidson as “the biggest victory ever scored by a liberation movement anywhere since Dien Bien Phu.”

March 12 – 19, 1987, the Second and Unity Congress of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front and the Eritrean Liberation Front (Central Leadership) conducted: the Congress was attended by 1,287 representatives of freedom fighters and civilians, nationalist organizations, representatives of 25 governments, political parties and organizations. As national heroes, two elderly Eritrean political leaders, Woldeab Woldemariam, in person, and Sheik Ibrahim Sultan, via video, delivered messages of unity and heroism to the participants. A Central Committee was elected and in turn the Central Committee elected Issaias Afwerki as the Secretary General of the EPLF.

March 29, 1991, EPLF released three Soviet prisoners of war: The Derg received unrestricted material and military support from the Soviet Union, which sent senior army officers to plan and lead the war in Eritrea. After years of fighting, for the first time, three Soviet military advisors (two colonels and a lieutenant), had fallen in EPLF’s hands during the Operation that crushed Nadew Command.

March 14-16, 1999, crushing intensive offensive by TPLF units against Eritrean position in Egrimekel: On 14th March 1999, the TPLF-led government of Ethiopia started an attack to break the defense lines of Eritrean Defense Forces in Egrimekel with huge human wave and strong armory. This battle demonstrated the fighting capabilities of Eritrean forces. TPLF units were destroyed egregiously. In the battle 50 tanks were burned, one MI-35 helicopter was shot down while 30 tanks were captured by Eritrean forces. The humiliating defeat of the TPLF army was witnessed and reported by Eritrean and foreign journalists.

When we speak about remembering the past our focus should not be on single and scattered events. Historical events should be studied not in isolation, but by making connections to the bigger picture.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea