Mereja.Forum

[Zmeselo]

__________________

Eritrea Statement in Africa Human and People Rights 2021

Statement by the Delegation of the State of Eritrea at the 68th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) On agenda item 3, “Human Rights Situation in Africa”

23 April 2021, Virtual Session

Mr. Chairperson,

It gives me a great pleasure to address the 68th ordinary session of the ACHPR on behalf of the Government of the State of Eritrea.

At the outset, I wish to convey my Government’s condolences on the passing of a member of the ACHPR, Commissioner Ndiamé Gaye.

Mr. Chairperson,

The AU Assembly designated ‘Arts, Culture and Heritage: Levers for Building the Africa We Want’ as theme for 2021. The theme has direct relevance to Africa’s renaissance, to the implementation of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Commission’s work.

The lofty ideals of human rights, development, democracy… are often times framed as concepts that we copy from outside and transplant in our continent; sidelining Africa’s millennia old culture and rich and diverse heritage. The theme brings to the fore the necessity of preserving our rich cultural heritage, using them as inspiration for our developmental visions, and situating our plans in Africa’s reality predicated on national context, priorities and human betterment ideals.

The theme resonates with the importance Eritrea gives to cultural heritage in the nation building process. Eritrea’s National Charter adopted in 1994 outlines the vision of

[d]rawing on our rich cultural heritage and on the progressive values we developed during the liberation struggle, to develop an Eritrean culture characterized by love of country, respect for humanity, solidarity between men and women, love of truth and justice, respect for law, hard work, self-confidence, self-reliance, open mindedness and inventiveness.

Mr. Chairperson,

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to inflict considerable harmful impact globally. In Eritrea, thanks to the pragmatic approach and protective measures deployed, the degree of the transmission of the virus has been low. As of 22 April 2021, there were 3597 confirmed positive cases, out of which 3406 (94.7%) have recovered, with 10 fatalities. These figures, even though encouraging do not warrant putting our guard down. The Government and People of Eritrea are redoubling their efforts to contain the pandemic and minimize its adverse socio-economic impacts, including through providing assistance to vulnerable sections of the society.

Based on careful assessment of the situation in the country, the lockdown measures are gradually being reversed in phases. Schools at all levels have reopened as of the beginning of this month. Similarly, public transportation services have restarted, and international flights have partially resumed. The resumption of the services is being undertaken, with strict adherence to COVID-19 protective procedures.

The detrimental effect of the pandemic on the pace of progress in achieving developmental goals, and the economic impact of the protective measures notwithstanding, the people and Government of Eritrea are dedicating their time, energy and resources to laying down the foundation for economic development and improving the standard of lives of the population by focusing on key productive sectors in accordance to the new national development road-map.

Mr. Chairperson,

Unfortunately, the pandemic is not the only emergency that the Horn of Africa region has grappled with recently. Despite the emerging and promising progress that resulted from the Eritrea – Ethiopia Peace, Friendship and Cooperation Declaration and Agreement signed in July and September 2018, respectively, and with the promising implications to regional peace, security and development, a new crisis emerged in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. The crisis emerged during the harvest season in a humanitarian situation where the significant portion of the population depended on humanitarian assistance under the Global Safety Net, and has become an urgent priority.

The fundamental issue is that the crisis erupted by the TPLF clique’s attack in early November 2020, on Ethiopia’s largest army contingent, the Northern Command stationed in the Tigray region. This was followed by missile attacks on a neighboring region in Ethiopia and several targets in Eritrea. The reckless attack, with the ill-intent to seize power in Ethiopia and eventually invade Eritrea constituted a threat to the national security of both countries with grave consequences to the emerging and promising progress in the revitalization of peace, security and development in the Horn of Africa Region. It is to be noted that this clique, with the support of certain powers has served as the main agent for the destabilization of the Horn of Africa region, while in power for 27 years since 1991.

Once the evil plan started to fail immediately, the TPLF resorted to intensive propaganda campaign of defaming Eritrea. Disinformation through the cyber domain has remained the only weapon of the TPLF clique and pursued through desperate fabrications and recycling of fake news and photo-shopped images of events that never occurred. Certain media outlets, some of them hired by the TPLF clique, since its time as the ruling power in Ethiopia, continue to be involved in the propagation of the fake news, Eritrea being taken as scapegoat and main target.

In this regard, the baseless allegations made against the Eritrean armed forces are alien and an affront to the history and culture of Eritrea, a country with a strong legal and institutional basis for respect and protection of human dignity in any situation. Eritrea’s strong advocacy and practice for adherence to international human rights law and international humanitarian law during armed conflicts; including during the 30-years national liberation struggle is well known.

The allegations leveled by the TPLF clique and Eritrea’s arch-enemies highlighting the defamatory portrayal of sexual violence, looting and crimes by the Eritrean army in the pretext of Ethiopia’s rule of law operations in the Tigray region of Ethiopia are thus baseless. These allegations are meant to deflect attention from the war launched and atrocities committed by the defunct TPLF. It is unacceptable that the same external entities who aided and abetted TPLF’s murderous reign in Ethiopia for almost three decades by providing financial, political, diplomatic and military support, are now working desperately to cover up its crimes, give it a lifeline and use Eritrea as scapegoat in the situation.

Ethiopia has been affected from the conflict launched by the TPLF clique and the humanitarian problems the attack engendered. The crimes of aggression, ethnic cleansing, war crimes committed by the TPLF are not limited to the past few months but span three decades, and go beyond Ethiopia to neighboring countries; including Eritrea. The impact of the TPLF’s clique war of aggression on Eritrea in the pretext of the border war and the protracted existential threats for almost two decades is a recent memory. No amount of deflection and propaganda can absolve the clique of the crimes it continues to commit.

In conclusion, it is essential to remind, that any attempt to deflect attention from the high crimes perpetrated by the TPLF clique and downplaying its culpability will not, indeed, serve the cause of peace and security, and human rights and development. This will also entail a historic betrayal to the ongoing effort of genuine peace, security and development in the Horn of Africa. Furthermore, it is an outright denial of the unparalleled damage the TPLF clique made during its 27 years as a spoiler in the region. Any party motivated by human rights concerns and peace, security and development in the Horn of Africa, shoulders responsibility to condemn the TPLF clique’s crimes and hold the perpetrators accountable.

I thank you!

[Zmeselo]

PIA & Romodan MohammedNur, late 1970's. La Lotta, continua!



__________________


Why is Norway's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (@NorwayMFA) misrepresenting facts & acting so shamefully hostile, towards Ethiopia & Eritrea? In the UNSC statement, there's no mention at all of Eritrea's troops withdrawal from Tigray.

The Resolution, in full:

[Zmeselo]

Why is the West Trying to Revive the Fortunes of the TPLF?

April 24, 2021

Written by: Yafet Zerou



Africa is a vast continent with huge natural resources and unlimited potential — a potential that is yet to be harnessed for the benefit of the people. Despite the wealth that Africa has, it has come to be seen as being synonymous with abject poverty and human suffering.

Though the reasons behind the failure of Africa to fulfil its potential are complex, suffice to say that Africa’s descent into the abyss of poverty and deprivation began with European colonialism.

Whether one argues for or against the legacy of colonialism in Africa, one cannot deny that during the period of colonialism, the Europeans were able to control the entire continent and exploit its resources with impunity.

Taking into account the degree of control European governments and the length of time they stayed in Africa, one would be forgiven to think that they were able to exert their influence by deploying a vast European army, but history tells us that this was not the case.

If Africa was not awash with European soldiers, how did European politicians sitting in London, Paris or any other European capital manage to rule the entire continent, with an iron fist at that? The answer is simple, they got Africans to do their dirty bidding and used African troops to control Africans; while they simply stood at the helm and gave directions.

The modus operandi of the Europeans was rather simple, the first step was to identify a minority group. The second step was to put the minority group in charge and give it more privileges than the rest. By placing the minority group in authority and supporting it, the colonial powers were creating a system whereby the group in power was entirely reliant on them and would be subservient to them, doing whatever they ask of it if it wished to retain its status.



Though most African nations are considered to be independent nations in their own right today, unfortunately their affairs are still being influenced — mostly adversely — through the same mechanisms as that of the colonial times, with the only difference being that nowadays the interference of Europeans is somewhat covert as opposed to being overt during colonial times.

It therefore can be said that Africa had been colonised by the Europeans through empowering insecure minorities, who were entirely dependent for their continued rule by the Europeans. More importantly, these minority groups were willing to do absolutely anything to hold onto their privileged position bestowed upon on them.

To understand why the European Union, the British government, and a plethora of western ‘experts’ are throwing their weight behind the now defunct Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF), one should try and understand the nature of the TPLF and the character of its 27 year tight grip on the reigns of power in Ethiopia.

When the TPLF took power in Ethiopia back in 1991, it had managed to carefully disguise the fact that it was a hungry wolf poised to devour Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa by putting on its European tailored sheep skin clothing.

For 27 years, the West had tried very hard to convince Ethiopians and the people of the Horn that the TPLF was just a cuddly lamb, misunderstood by many. They made excuse after excuse for the repeated intransigence of the TPLF, turning a deaf ear to the cries and wailings of the people of Ethiopia in places like Amhara region, Gambela, Wolkait, Raya, Somalia Region etc as the people felt the Europe funded cold steel of the TPLF pressed against them.



The sole purpose of the TPLF was to cause unrest in the Horn and destabilise it, it managed to do this by first declaring war on Eritrea in 1998, then by invading Somalia in 2006. The antics of the TPLF was not limited to trying to destabilise its neighbours, but it was also busy violently suppressing the Ethiopian people, as the Europeans looked on.

Taking into account the violent history of the TPLF and its inherent flagrant disregard of Human Rights, any sane and reasonable person would not expect such a vile organisation to be given support by the European Union — a political entity which would like us to believe that it aspires for the highest standards of Human Rights.

Any real expert on the Horn of Africa who is worth their salt, would not hesitate to condemn the TPLF and find it difficult to put in words the profound relief that they would have felt at the demise of the TPLF, let alone advocate for it or worse, endorse its plans.

Sadly, since the TPLF’s stupefying miscalculation in November 2020 when it tried to seize power in Ethiopia by trying to bring under its control the Ethiopian Army Northern Command — which made up about 60%-70& of the Ethiopian army — by launching simultaneous attacks on Ethiopian army bases in the dead of the night, we have seen a great deal of western experts willing to sacrifice their career, creditability, and their moral standards in trying to give support to the defunct TPLF and exhume it from the political grave in which it is buried in.

The reason behind this continued support for the TPLF by the West is simple, they see the TPLF as an integral part of their plans to destabilise the Horn and confound the development efforts of countries like Eritrea.

The TPLF is an insecure, amoral, savage and malicious group of unimaginative short-sighted thugs, making it an ideal tool of the West in their quest to keep Africa in eternal poverty and subjugation.

It is therefore no wonder that when the true children of Africa are rejoicing at the demise of the TPLF, the West is not only trying to revive the fortunes of the dead TPLF, but is actively engaged in a futile attempt to try and restore this most despised group to power.



The time has come for the West to realise that the people of the Horn of Africa and the wider region have breathed the same sigh of relief that Europeans breathed at the demise of the German NAZI party and that people of the Horn are as equally determined in ensuring that the TPLF will never walk in the corridors of power, as the Europeans are about seeing the NAZI party coming to power.

[Zmeselo]

_______________________



Faytinga: @DahabFaidTinga

_________________________




Black is Beautiful

By: Asmait Futsumbrhan

https://shabait.com/2021/04/24/black-is-beautiful/

Q & A

Apr 24, 2021



Meet Haben Gebreab, a 26-year-old Eritrean professional makeup artist, designer, and painter. Playing with colors when she was just a kid, colors led her to draw and combining colors in clothing materials. As years passed by, Haben decided to turn her hobby into a full-time job by taking courses in fashion and other related fields. Academic education was something she strived for, alongside her passion for fashion. Haben managed to get her diploma in accounting, in 2015.

“No makeup, is makeup”: is a principle she truly believes in. The young makeup artist advises us, to maintain our natural skin and refrain from applying hazardous chemicals on our faces.

Tips- for a healthy-looking skin

1. Drink water
2. A healthy diet (more vegetables)
3. Regular exercises
4. Moisturizers
5. Sunscreen
6. Natural homemade masks

• Drawing dresses in the middle of Biology Class!
• “I loved Colors”



I was drawn to art, at an early age. I had the talent of painting and drawing and art in general became my passion, for as long as I can remember. I used to paint and draw in the middle of my classes, beginning from elementary school. There actually were always drawings of dresses, in my notebooks. I honestly don’t know why, but most of my paintings were of girls. That maybe the fashion side that pulled me in, later on. I participated in painting competitions, in elementary school. When I was in 4th grade, I won my first painting competition. When I grew up, at a time that I could make my own decisions, I started taking an Art class at Satreb Art School. At the art school, I met people who had the same passion and interest as I did. I think, that added to my devotion to become an artist. Afterwards, fashion meant everything to me. I became more interested in fashion and things related to it: designing, hair and makeup. I got my diplomas and certificates in designing, hair, and makeup while I was a freshman at EIT College.

• Education First!
• “Accounting & Fashion had its hand in hand”

My parents have always tried to make sure, that I fully understand the value of education. Most of the time I see people make the decision to completely shift from school to the world of art, which is the world I love. However, I feel it is always best to support your artistic talents with education. Inspired by my mother, who is an accountant; I studied accounting at SMAP Institute and graduated in 2015. Studying Accounting has allowed me to see, that there is nothing wrong in mixing professions. It’s an addition in life, another dimension to be creative, productive, and responsible in life.

• Growing to be a Fashionista
• “I want to have my own brand”

Some people may see just clothes, but I see the style. People have truly understood and followed fashion, since the early times in our country. This isn’t something new to us, Eritreans. Our grandmas were stylish; we can always refer to old photos of every Eritrean family. I see fashion as an important factor in the world. It’s not simply about wearing an outfit; it goes way deeper than that. Fashion is a common language of the world, at this point. Not only that, but it is also about identity, one’s culture and history. It is a way the world shares, all those things mentioned.



Fashion, is also about beauty. I believe there is beauty in everything: our history, culture, customs, makeup, and much more, and I think Fashion can represent that. I only work hard, to achieve a dream of making my own brand. I want to be able to have a brand that people would recognize, every time they see an outfit. My works reflect our traditional designs, mixed with different international clothing designs. So far, I have had two fashion shows in collaboration with colleagues and I plan to have more soon. As In Eritrea, we have a beautiful culture and traditional attires, but I don’t think we have made our brands recognized internationally. It always pains me to see our traditional Zuria dress, our local food Injera and many other things are promoted and sold as if they were exclusively Ethiopian products. As designers, we have the responsibility to put in some work that would represent our community or where we come from and earn recognition for our country. Even though my focus has been on makeup and hairstyles, this is also something I work on and plan to give more weight in the future.

• Makeup & the Beautiful Eritrean Skin
• “Whoever said, white is the only beautiful thing?”

Your skin is simply the reflection of what’s happening inside you. Make-up doesn’t get you a radiant look, healthy skin does. If you eat a healthy diet and drink sufficient water to hydrate your body and your skin, that is more than enough for healthy radiant-looking skin. We have got the most beautiful skin, but I see many girls and few guys use skin bleaching creams to get lighter skin. Who said, black is bad? I honestly believe, that we are using the media the wrong way. We might not pay much attention, but subconsciously the media are putting in us some thought without our knowledge that white skin is perfect.



Some of the companies that make the hazardous chemicals put on phrases such as “White Perfect”, on their products. Those chemicals, have contents that damage our skin and lead to cancer. Not only that, but in the online courses I took, I learned about many makeup products that have hazardous contents and which to avoid and which to use. But, many girls use such products without knowledge. My advice is for people to know their faces, before applying any type of makeup product on the face. We all have different types of skin and only some types of products would go well with our skin. There are products that we can find at a cheaper price, that can be harmful to the skin. We shouldn’t apply makeup to totally look like a different person; it should be applied only to enhance the beautiful features of your face, your looks.

People don’t think of the makeup artist, as having a big role. To be honest, a makeup artist can make or break your day. Nowadays, makeup artists are the ones that control the media. Everyone who appears on the television screen needs a professional makeup artist, behind the scenes. Makeup artists play a big part, in the making of a movie. This field is a big deal worldwide, but I don’t think we get professional respect here. To be frank, one can’t just get to this profession if there is no passion for it. It is the most tiring and requires great devotion, but it’s very rewarding. No one would get to know the feeling you get when, after putting make-up on a bride, you see her open her eyes in front of the mirror and be so happy to see herself. I love that feeling, and that feeling is what I crave every day.

International companies are brainwashing us Africans, to have lighter-looking skin. I say that is totally wrong, and we should all try to keep our originally beautiful skin.

• Big time Feminist
• “It’s time to do our part”

My biggest inspiration is my mother, Beyenesh Oqbaldet. She has shown me, that a girl can be anything she wants to be. I always hate, to see people degrading a woman. A woman is a daughter that makes you smile, and a mother that cared for you. Education is the most important thing, for a better life. To make yourself better and have a profession that would support you for life, is something we should work for. I am married and my husband, Medhane, is my number one fun. I get the support that I need, to plan further in my career. Any girl can manage to follow a dream and lead a life. This is something I got, from my mother. And, I wish to see more girls following a path our mothers showed us. Eritrean mothers are the strongest, I have ever seen. They fought for freedom and they came back. It’s time to do our part, to carry on their legacy.

At last, I want to thank my family. My mom and dad, Gebreab Teferi and little sister Qalkidan (who was my guinea pig, when I started working on fashion). I also want to thank my husband, Medhanie Abai for all his support. At last, I want to tell you that I am going to work harder and am currently planning on having another show (specifically hair and makeup) very soon in the future.

_______________________

[Zmeselo]

“Safe Return to Work”

By: Kesete Ghebrehiwot

https://shabait.com/2021/04/24/safe-ret ... eaPrevails

GENERAL

Apr 24, 2021



Everyone wants to go to work and go back home safely. But the outbreak of COVID-19 has made the day-to-day living conditions of people around the world miserable. An escalation of the infection by COVID-19 has been compelling policymakers and task forces to take immediate and necessary measures to curb the transmission of this fast-spreading disease and to deter the subsequent increase in the death rate. The safe return of workers means saving society by preventing the spread of the disease.

Eritrea acted early on when a handful of cases were confirmed before the disease could pose a serious threat to the lives and livelihoods of the people. The country twice announced strict lockdowns. Although the manufacturing sector, agriculture, commercial enterprises, industrial activities, and other production activities were allowed to operate fully. Some service rendering organizations have been reopened and this month schools and public transport have resumed their operations. A gradual relaxation of the strict lockdown seems to be underway. However, as the threat has not yet been eliminated, an ongoing campaign against COVID- 19 is still needed.

Considering the considerable socio-economic problems and the severe impact of the infectious disease on public health, the National Confederation of Eritrean Workers (NCEW) has, in collaboration with the International Labor Organization (ILO), held a virtual workshop on communication strategies that should be applied in launching awareness-raising campaign against COVID-19.

Mr. Tekeste Baire, NCEW General Secretary, and Wafaa Abdelkader, ILO Workers Activities Specialist, gave welcoming remarks for the three-day virtual workshop.

Mr. Tekeste affirmed that the efforts to combat COVID-19 will be redoubled in line with the reopening of various services and the relaxation of the lockdown.

NCEW will stay committed to increasing awareness of workers on the prevention measures they need to take while they are at their work places,

he said.

The virtual workshop would be a venue for sharing of experience among ILO specialists, representatives from the Ministry of Information as well as the National Union of Eritrean Youth and Students (NUEYS), the National Union of Eritrean Women (NUEW) and other organizations,

Mr. Tekeste added.

Ms. Wafaa, on her part, said that the workshop would be centered on strategies on safe return to work. She also informed the participants that the webinar would be launching a successful joint awareness-raising campaign against COVID-19 in which every participant of the workshop would play a role to ensure a safe return to work.

Representatives from the Ministry of Information, NCEW, Eritel, NUEYS, and NUEW took part in the virtual workshop held from 19 to 21 April at the Conference Hall of the NCEW. The participants extensively discussed ways and means of carrying out an effective awareness-raising campaign against COVID-19 in connection with the upcoming commemoration of International Workers Day, 1st May.

Taking into account that various service rendering institutions have reopened and resumed activities, the participants identified target audiences for the awareness-raising campaign based on their vulnerability to COVID-19. Thus, most of the topics for a discussion focused on service providers who have frequent contact with people. They include health workers, public transport drivers, vendors, and catering service providers.

The reopening of various service rendering institutions is a step forward towards normalizing some socio-economic activities that were hampered by the outbreak of the disease. And the virtual workshop was quite essential in reminding the representatives from different ministries and organizations to plan and work on awareness-raising campaigns in an enhanced manner. The workshop called on the participants to take Workers Day as a starting point for making a commitment to prevent the further spread of the disease by making service rendering workers more aware of the prevention mechanisms of COVID-19.

Besides sharing experiences with the ILO specialists, the participants of the webinar made deliberations on various communication assets that would be utilized during the awareness-raising campaign, which is expected to be launched on May

Some of the communication tools considered to be effective in carrying out the campaign include programs to be broadcast on radio and television, articles to be published in newspapers, posters, and leaflets.

The participants further recommended that working from home and working in shifts should be encouraged whenever possible and necessary, while unnecessary travels and a large concentration of people in public transport should be avoided.

Mr. Mamadou Souare, ILO Communications and Publications Specialist, presented various helpful topics on Effective Advocacy and Campaign, Best Practice for website and Social Media, as well as on Effective Communication Strategies and skills in campaigning against COVID-19.



Mr. Mamadou stressed that exponential death rates have not been registered in Eritrea owing to the strict policies, directives, and other measures the Government of Eritrea has taken to combat the spread of the disease.

Eritrea so far has confirmed infection cases of about 3500 and 10 deaths. The participants of the virtual workshop agreed that this figure should not fool anybody and underlined that COVID-19 is still a worrisome threat and everybody should seriously consider it as a killer disease. Let us ensure a safe return to work through collective efforts of waging awareness-raising campaigns, against COVID-19. That was the primary concern of the virtual workshop.


_________________






ሃኮሰኤ፡ ብምኽንያት ኣህጉራዊ መዓልቲ ሰራሕተኛታት 2021 ካብ ዝወደቦ ንጥፈታት ናይ መወዳእታ ዝኾነ "ማእቶታዊ ጽሬት"፡ ሎሚ 24 ሚያዝያ 2021 ኣስታት 200 ሰራሕተኛታት ብምውዳብ ኣብ ቀጽሪ ሃገራዊ መወከሲ ሆስፒታል ኦሮታ ኣካይዱ፡፡ #NCEW #EritreanWorkers
(Abraham: @AbrahamNCEW)

[Zmeselo]

“ቀርኒ ኣፍሪቃን ፖለቲካ ጸቢብ መንነትን”- ብዓብዱልሓይ ሃሽም