Month: December 2022

The Embassy of the State of Eritrea to the US strongly con¬demns and vehemently rejects the unfounded accusations made against the country in the ar¬ticle, “Ethiopia Peace Process Undermined as Eritrean Forces Continue Attacking Civilians,” recently published by Bloomberg (30 November 2022). It is deeply concerning that an outlet presum¬ably dedicated to accurately and objectively informing the public has instead chosen to spread crass disinformation and falsehoods. Regrettably, this is not the first time that the outlet or the particu¬lar authors have made allegations about Eritrea without a shred of evidence.

In the first place, the conflict in Ethiopia was triggered when the TPLF launched a surprise, unpro¬voked attack across all outposts of Ethiopia’s Northern Command on 3/4 November 2020. According to different estimates, between 3,000 and 6,000 federal troops were callously slaughtered in the attack (many as they were sleep¬ing and defenseless). Thousands more were maimed and forced to desperately flee. The TPLF’s war plans included concomitant mili¬tary measures against Eritrea as part and parcel of its hostile poli¬cies of territorial aggrandizement and “regime change” that it had doggedly pursued for almost two decades when it was at the helm of power in Ethiopia.

Unfortunately, throughout the conflict, the TPLF’s major crimes and sole culpability for both launching the war, as well as repeatedly breaking cease¬fires and truces, were completely ignored or downplayed, while it has continually, yet wrongly, been portrayed as a victim. The baseless allegations and disinfor¬mation now being made against Eritrea aim to shift blame and provide wiggle room as the TPLF drags its feet and raises stipula¬tions to avoid fully implementing the conditions of the Permanent Cessation of Hostilities Agree¬ment it signed last month. Recall, too, that the historical record, spanning recent years and past decades, clearly shows that it is the TPLF that has been the main obstacle to peace and the central cause of so much of the tension, violence, and instability that have plagued the entire region.

As a final clarification, Er¬itrea’s regional policy is con¬sistent and clear: it is otherwise firmly anchored on the promo¬tion of regional peace, stability, and economic cooperation on the basis of full respect for the sov¬ereignty and territorial integrity of all countries. Indeed, Eritrea deeply cherishes genuine, lasting peace and stability as it has been affected by externally imposed and intermittent wars in the past decades. As always, it will con¬tinue to work cooperatively with others to play a constructive role toward establishing lasting peace, development, and prosper¬ity in the region.

Around the world, people look to the mainstream media, includ¬ing global outlets such as Bloom-berg, to maintain high standards of integrity, objectivity, and bal¬ance. Unfortunately, in its latest article on Eritrea, the outlet has been cavalier with the truth and widely missed the mark. The Em¬bassy of Eritrea implores Bloom¬berg to cease spreading false¬hoods and strongly encourages it to deal with Eritrea and the region in a truthful and objective manner moving forward.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

International Day of Persons with Disabilities, 3 December, was observed in Barentu for the 27th time at national level under the theme “Transformative Solutions for Inclusive Development”.

Mr. Mihreteab Fesehaye, Director General of Social Welfare at the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, said that according to the study conducted by the UN, about 15% of the world’s population live with some sort of disability and 7% in Eritrea.

Mr. Mihreteab went on to say that aside from the minor negative and backward outlooks being observed, handling and treatment of issues related to disabilities in Eritrea emanate from community based noble societal values.

Perceiving disability beyond physical appearance of people hinders productivity of people with disability, Mr. Samuel Mamungnganidze, Deputy Representative of UNICEF in Eritrea, said that creating conducive environment with a view to enable people with disabilities become self supportive and productive members of the society is the responsibility of every citizens as well as the Government and public institutions.

Indicating that social service provision institutions being put in place take disabled citizens into consideration, Mr. Franco Kubaba, Director General of Social Service in Gash Barka Region, said that supporting citizens with disabilities is not to be left to specific institutions only and called for integrated effort.

The event was attended by Ms. Leul Gebreab, Minister of Labor and Social Welfare, Ambassador Mahmud Ali Hirui, Governor of Gash Barka Region, Ms. Tekea Tesfamicael, President of the National Union of Eritrean Women, Ambassador Mahmud Ali Jabra, Secretary of PFDJ in Gash Barka Region as well as other officials and invited guests.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

The National Union of Eritrean Women branch in the Southern Region conducted activity assessment meeting of 2022 and implementation of charted out programs for 2023.

At the meeting held on 1 and 2 December in Mendefera, Ms. Senait Afwerki, head of the union branch, reported that in 2022 the union has been working by giving priority to strengthen organizational capacity, increase awareness of members, capacity building, as well as enabling members become beneficiaries of educational and health services.

Indicating that in cooperation with partners encouraging achievements have been registered in avoiding harmful practices, Ms. Senait said that compared to that of last year under age marriages have significantly been reduced and called for integrated effort to develop the awareness of the public to that regard.

Ms Senait went on to say that strengthening regional and global relations, ensuring health service of women, as well as development of human resources and capacity of the union branch are among the priority programs for 2023.

The participants conducted extensive discussion on the report presented and adopted various recommendations.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Habteab Tesfatsion, Governor of the Southern Region, indicating that the role of Eritrean women in all sectors has been encouraging, called on women to develop self-confidence, become self supportive and conduct follow-up on the performance of their children in school.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

West African leaders said on Sunday they would establish a regional peacekeeping force to intervene in member states to help restore security and constitutional order in a region that has witnessed several coups in the past two years.

West and Central Africa has made strides in the past decade to shed its reputation as a “coup belt,” but the Economic Commission for West African States (ECOWAS) wants to do more to boost constitutional government in its member states.

“The leaders of ECOWAS have decided to recalibrate our security architecture to ensure that we take care of our own security in the region,” the leaders said in a communique after an annual summit in Nigeria’s capital Abuja.

“The leaders are determined to establish a regional force that will intervene in the event of need, whether this is in the area of security, terrorism (or to) … restore constitutional order in member countries.”

ECOWAS did not give any details of how the force would be constituted but said defense chiefs would meet next month to work out how it would operate.

The ECOWAS leaders also expressed concern over the continued detention of 46 Ivorian soldiers in Mali. They asked Malian authorities to release the soldiers by the end of this month.

If the soldiers were not released, ECOWAS leaders “reserve the right and they have taken the decision to take certain measures, but they would appeal and call on the authorities of Mali to release the soldiers.”

On Guinea, the leaders said the military authorities should immediately have an inclusive dialog with all the parties and politicians, and also expressed serious concern about the security situation in Burkina Faso, which had a coup in October.

Source: Voice of America