Liberty Bi-Monthly English Organ of the Eritrean People’s Democratic Party - EPDP
ERITREANS IN DEEP GRIEF
ASMARA REGIME BLOCKING PROPER AND TIMELY RETURN OF 357 COFFINS
September-October 2013
Issue # 23
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Eritreans, Friends Mourn Lampedusa Victims………………………..……………..3-5
EPDP Urges African Union to Help Avert Failed State in Eritrea..………………6-7
Dr. Mirjam van Reisen Calls for EU Action on Eritrea Situation .........................8 - 9
EPDP Delegation to Sweden Conducts Successful Mission…………..…………9-10
EPDP Draws Attention of Progressive Alliance to Plight of Eritreans……………11-12
Mission to Sweden Addresses Eritreans…………………..…………………………13
EPDP Leaders Join Public Action in Boston; Hold Open Meeting...……..…...…14
EPDP Censures Excessive Use of Force against Refugees in Ethiopia...……..15
ENDF on Lampedusa, Shootings on Refugees……………………………………...15
EPDP Mourns the Death of Father Marino Haile..…………………. ....…………....17
Star Singer Wedi Tikabo Abandons Regime..………………………………………18
As the EPDP Chairman Menghesteab Asmerom stated in his Festival speech this summer, Father Mussie Zerai of Switzerland; Dr. Alganesh Fesseha Gandhi of Italy; Ms Meron Estefanos of Sweden and Ms Elsa Chyrum of UK are human rights activists worth the name who have contributed more than their share by becoming voice for voiceless Eritrean refugees in Sinai, Libya and other places. As usual, they were on the limelight when the Lampedusa tragedy shocked Eritreans and the world at large - of course except the regime in Asmara, the root cause of Eritrea’s unfolding catastrophe.
2
Eritreans, Friends Mourn Over 350 Victims of Lampedusa; Criminal Regime in Asmara Ignores/Belittles the Tragedy In the early morning hours of 3 October 2013, yet another tragedy befell Eritreans in the Mediterranean Sea, which, like the Sinai and the Libyan deserts, has become another graveyard for our countless young asylum seekers. Of more than 520 aboard the rickety boat that capsized and fell down to 47 meters of sea floor, only 155 survived. All in the boat except 8 were Eritreans fleeing from an extreme repression at home. Eritreans mourned their dead, but were not alone. Italian President Napolitano called it “a European tragedy”; Pope Francis described the day as “a day if tears” ; UN’s Ban-ki-Moon and many other prominent world figures felt shame that the potential actors are idly watching such heartbreaking disasters to continue happening in Eritrea and similar parts of the world. The African Union has decided to honour victims of the tragedy on 3 November. Yet, the callous Eritrean president and his regime failed even to mourn our dead. Instead, their media was calling the tragedy for nearly the first full week “a boat accident that caused the death of many illegal African migrants”. Eritreans in the diaspora expressed their deep sorrow and anger through candle vigils and demonstrations. Eritrean political and civil society organizations in their part issued statements condemning the Eritrean regime for been the sole cause of the chain of tragedies facing Eritreans fleeing home because of the situation that the dictatorial regime created in its 22-year misrule of the once promising Eritrea. On its part, the Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) expressed deep sorrow and sympathies to immediate families of the victims and urged the international community to help Eritreans overcome the unsustainable situation they are in.
White coffins are for under-age children
3
In
a message addressed to Mr. Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, with copies to Lady Ashton, the EU High Representative for Foreign Relations, Policy and Security, and EU member states, the EPDP reminded that the EU has the responsibility to protect lives in danger in and around its immediate borders. It said EU member countries should consider granting very special attention to problems of Eritrean asylum seekers and refugees until the situation is changed in Eritrea. EPDP repeatedly asked and continues to ask EU states to initiate an educational package programme that includes higher academic education with scholarships abroad and vocational skills training Eritrean refugees in East Sudan and North Ethiopia by rechanneling the development grants already suspending from reaching the repressive regime in Asmara. This could build better human beings out of those young Eritreans who could eventual serve post-dictatorship Eritrea. It is also being suggested to EU to use some those idle resources to empower Eritrean political and civil society organizations so that diaspora Eritreans could build a viable democratic alternative in Eritrea without Isayas Afeworki and his PFDJ. Another EPDP message to the Italian Government asked Italy to continue its intention of giving proper burial to the victims and watch out and avert the sinister intentions of the Eritrean regime that works to reduce the negative impact the coffins have on its very existence as a regime.
Under the repressive regime in Asmara, one cannot see any bright future for one’s children. Helen symbolized the sad situation in the present-day Eritrea. Helen wanted to take the risk of reaching a safer place under the sun before her children (Esrom, Delina and Bilen) attained the age of becoming child-soldiers for the Isayas Afeworki regime. Like many others, she could not make it.
4
Eritreans mourn their
dying people
Pretoria, South Africa
Seattle, USA
EPDP, Frankfurt
Boston, USA, demo against regime festivity
5
On AU Commemoration Day of Lampepdusa Victims, EPDP Chairman Urges African Union for Concrete Action The chairman of the Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) commended AU Commissioner, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, for the designation of 3 November as Memorial Day for the Lampedusa victims, 97% of whom were Eritreans, but urged the African Union to help in averting Eritrea’s becoming another failed state in the fragile Horn of Africa region.
The chairman of the Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) commended AU Commissioner, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, for the designation of 3 November as Memorial Day for the Lampedusa victims, 97% of whom were Eritreans, but urged the African Union to help in averting Eritrea’s becoming another failed state in the fragile Horn of Africa region. EPDP Chairman Menghesteab Asmerom’s memorandum, also copied to many African missions abroad, demanded that the African Union Commission to establish a special body to review the fast deteriorating situation in Eritrea and suggest any possible action to salvage the six million distressed Eritreans both at home and in the diaspora. The message also indicated the necessity of empowering Eritrean non-state actors to become democratic alternative in post dictatorship Eritrea. Printed below is the full text of Mr. Menghesteab Asmerom’s message to Dr. N. Dlamini Zuma. Dear Excellency AU Commission Chairperson, We Eritreans are pleased to see the African Union honouring the victims of the Lampedusa disaster of 3 October 2013 that caused the death of nearly 400 Africans, over 97% of them Eritreans. Eritreans inside the country are in deep mourning but in hiding from showing their tears pouring because they are silenced by the repressive regime not to express their sorrow and anger in anyway possible! But we in the diaspora, including this party in exile - the Eritrean People’s Democratic Party/ EPDP - are joining you, with tears in our eyes, to honour our dead. We also commend your decision to designate 3 November as Memorial Day for the victims of Lampedusa.
6
However, we expect you, African Heads of State and Government, to do more. We believe that you need to act in any way possible to avert the birth of another failed state in the Horn of Africa. It is fast becoming a reality in highly militarized Eritrean milieu, and another Somalia in this fragile region will not bode well to Africa and the rest of the international community still watching the situation with less enthusiasm. Dear Madame AU Commissioner, Eritrea’s autocrat Isaias Afworki and his small clique denied our people the rights that they aspired to enjoy after a 30-year costly liberation struggle that ended in 1991. Sadly, the last 22 years under the repressive regime had proven to be the worst period in the life of our people. The unfathomable tyranny in Eritrea is manifested by the mass escape of people from the country. On top of political repression and gross human rights abuses, the endless national service and military conscription have caused total desperation among the helpless population. The young people could see no hope in life under that system. Many die while crossing the border where shoot-to-kill policy is in force. Others become victims of human traffickers. It is estimated that up to 10,000 Eritreans suffered in the hands of human traffickers for ransom and organ harvesting. All of them paid the ransoms, but still 3,000 of them disappeared without trace. Other thousands are also believed to have died in the Sahara Desert and in the Mediterranean Sea. The death of over 350 Eritreans near Lampedusa and a similar boat disaster causing the death of over 330 of Eritreans in the Mediterranean Sea in May 2011 are only two incidents in the ongoing human tragedy affecting Eritreans. Your Excellency, You may well know that there is no properly functioning government structure in Eritrea. Mass exodus is unstoppable. Today, the only difference of Eritrea from such states like Somalia is that the security apparatus and army in the country are still holding semblance of order through intimidation and killings. This may not last long. And the probable breakdown of law and order in Eritrea can get much uglier. In short, we call upon the African Union to act. It can form a special task force that can review the fast deteriorating situation in Eritrea and propose what can be done to reverse the fast decline of state and society in this young nation. Empowerment of democratic alternative forces can be among the priorities for action. In a word, the extremely autocratic regime in Asmara has failed the once promising birth of New Eritrea. We wait for your most immediate action to avert the worst from befalling us, Eritreans. Sincerely yours,
Menghesteab Asmerom, Chairman, the Eritrean People’s Democratic Party/EPDP 7
Dr. Mirjam van Reisen Urges Europe and the World to Find Soluton to Tragic Eritrean Situation In a powerful article on the Lampedusa tragedy, Dr. Mirjam van Reisen, professor of International Social Responsibility at the Tilburg University in Holland, and founding director of the Europe External Policy Advisors (EEPA) in Brussels, emphasizes the failure of Europe and Africa to protect the rights of refugees fleeing unsustainable political, social and economic situations in their home countries like Eritrea. The writer went on as follows: “Eritrea is one of the most repressive and isolated African countries. It is estimated that some 5,000 Eritreans leave their country every month, most risking death for crossing the border without official sanction.... People leave Eritrea in desperation and despite a shoot-to-kill policy at the border. They are smuggled and trafficked, often kidnapped along the way...The EU still has a diplomatic mission in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, yet there has been an utter failure to bring about any change in this country. Being in an extremely strategic location on the Red Sea and with the high plateau overseeing the Arabic peninsula, the EU’s presence should be seen as essentially strategically motivated. “In Libya they face detention, torture and hunger and risk being deported back to Eritrea. Many refugees are kidnapped and taken by force to Sinai where they face cruel torture and killing and where incredible sums of ransoms are demanded. In Egypt the situation has dramatically worsened since the political crisis there erupted and refugees are held in closed detention centers. Europe’s failures: “The Lampedusa tragedy emphasizes Europe’s failures to address the needs of the refugees. While the EU Frontex policy has been focused on keeping the refugees out, at all costs, no investments or policies have been made to secure the safety of the refugees who are trapped. Official policies that aim to prevent unauthorized migration into Europe are partly to blame. “Italy’s immigration law is inhumane,” Giusi Nicolini, Lampedusa’s mayor, says. “Three fishing boats didn’t offer rescue and left the vessel to its destiny because our country has put fishermen who helped migrants at sea under trial accusing them of facilitating illegal immigration.” Being trapped and desperate they risk everything, including their lives, to try and reach Europe. Italy’s secret agreement with Libya to keep the refugees out is dismally failing, especially because Libya has no asylum-policy. “The EU has done far too little to bring coherence in its own policy. While the Italian policy is in flagrant contradiction of international law, the European Commission and Member States have entirely failed to establish a policy that is based on solidarity with the Southern Member States who carry the brunt of the refugee problem. The refugees are stuck in countries hardest hit by the financial crisis: Greece, Italy and Spain. Pope Francis, who recently visited Lampedusa, said “the recent tragedy is one of the results of the European lack of solidarity with countries affected by hard economic conjunction and political persecutions”. Human commodity: “The tragedy off Lampedusa is shocking. Yet it is only one part of a much larger tragedy taking place in Eritrea. Eritrean migrants have become a human commodity to be bought, sold and exploited for profit, even by their own government, as the latest UN Monitoring Report on Somalia and Eritrea points out. It thrives on the back of conflict and repression.
8
“The ultimate solution lies in bringing democratic, accountable governance to Eritrea. Until this is realized, the EU has no other option but to grant asylum to Eritreans who are fleeing the country. “According to Human Rights Watch, worldwide, some 80 percent of Eritrean asylum seekers “are granted some form of protection because of credible fears of persecution relating to punishment for evading indefinite military service in Eritrea and other widespread human rights abuses”.The tragedy in Lampedusa shows that the issue of legitimate asylum-seekers must be addressed and that Europe must offer protection and demonstrate internal solidarity and coherence in providing for this need. Without delay, the EU must provide protection and asylum to Eritrean refugees.”
EPDP Delegation to Sweden Conducts Successful Mission A three-person delegation of the Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) led by the head of the party’s foreign relations office, Mr. Wolde-Yesus Ammar, conducted a successful mission to Sweden between 23 and 30 October 2013. The tasks it accomplished by the mission included the following:
Took part in a two-day seminar of the Progressive Alliance (PA) for adopting a Global New Deal between labour and capital; Met with the Horn of Africa Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Conducted public meeting for the Eritrean community in Stockholm; Had brainstorming session with 7 branches of Eritrean political organizations; Met with the Ethiopian Embassy in Stockholm representing 5 Nordic countries; Met with a prominent Swedish legislator; Exchanged notes with an old friend of the Eritrean liberation struggle. Addressed the entire Eritrean Stockholm community through a local television. Progressive Alliance Seminar In the PA seminar on Global New Deal held between 23 and 24 October, the delegation which also included Messrs Rezene Tesfazion, head of social affairs, and Ghebrezghi Nashih, chairman of the Scandinavia committee for foreign relations, seized the opportunity to explain the disquieting situation in Eritrea to the 150 gathering participants from 45 countries, and pinpointed to the new global networking of democratic forces what it could and should do to address the problems encountered by Eritreans and other peoples under similar situation. The delegation continued extensive side talks with different delegations and distributed a party statement addressed to seminar participants.
9
Talks with Swedish Social Democrats During the seminar, the EPDP delegation held talks with Mr. Stefan Lofven, leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party; and his prominent leadership colleagues in the party and explained to them the disturbing situation in Eritrea. Suggestions were also made on what the Swedish party can do to empower democratic forces opposed to the regime in Eritrea. It is to be recalled that the 37th congress of the Swedish Social Democrats earlier this year passed two motions on Eritrea in connection with the 2% tax of the Eritrean regime and in regard to possible support to Eritrean nonstate actors like the EPDP. The Swedish party is leading in current polls for victory in September 2014 general elections.
. EPDP delegation in between meetings held repeated talks with the Swedish party leader Stefan Lofven in presence of Ms Ann Linde, the party’s International Secretary. Mr. Urban Ahlin, the shadow minister for foreign affairs, was also contacted for a fruitful chat on Eritrea.
. Mr Jens Orback is head of the Olofe Palme Center of the Social Democrats, and Mr. Tomas Eneroth, shadow minister for social affairs, is deputy head of parliamentary committee.
10
EPDP DRAWS ATTENTION OF PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE TO PLIGHT OF ERITREANS
In a statement distributed at the Stockholm seminar on a Global New Deal of the Progressive Alliance, the Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) blamed sisterly democratic parties and organizations for lack of concerted pressure on Africa’s most repressive regime in Eritrea. The statement also regretted the absence of the minimum support to empower Eritrean non-state actors that could play a role in bringing about the required change in Eritrea. Text of the EPDP statement, which listed under four points the required urgent action by PA member organizations, is copied below: *** Distressed Eritreans Deserve Your Attention: We in the Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), an opposition organization in exile that struggles peacefully for democratic change in Eritrea, are pleased to be here amongst you and submit to fraternal parties and organizations this short briefing about the sad situation in Eritrea. As many of you in the Progressive Alliance know, Eritrea’s autocratic ruler Isaias Afworki and his small clique denied our people the rights that they aspired to enjoy after a 30-year costly liberation struggle that ended in 1991. Unfortunately, the last two decades under the regime had proven to be the worst period in the history our people. The repression befalling the six million Eritreans is manifested by the large number of refugees crossing the borders to Ethiopia and the Sudan every month. Other than the political repression and gross human rights abuses in the country, an endless national service and military conscription have pushed the nation to the brink of collapse. Dear Friends-in-Struggle, Eritrea is fast heading towards becoming a failed state just like Somalia in the neighborhood. The probable breakdown of law and order in highly militarized Eritrea can get much uglier due to internal and external factors. The only way to help stop the looming total collapse in Eritrea is to shorten the
11
the life of the repressive regime. The factors that help the regime to say in power comprise the following: Lack of concerted world pressure on the regime. These include the delay to effectively implement the targeted UN sanctions and the failure to help end the border dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia. The absence of regional or international initiative to empower Eritrean non-state actors that could bring about the required change. . We believe that a continued failure of not taking action towards averting the worst from coming to Eritrea will have very bad consequences to regional peace and security. The forces aligned within the newly formed Progressive Alliance can, we believe, help Africa avert having another failed state. Encouraging the success of the following steps could be greatly helpful:
1. Express Concern: The Progressive Alliance member parties and organizations to openly express their deep concern about the unsustainable situation in Eritrea and call on all potential actors to take the necessary measures to stop Eritrea’s fast slide towards a failed state. 2. Encourage Support to Eritrean Non-State Actors: PA member parties and organizations to engage with Eritrean non-state actors in the diaspora towards empowering them to take part in a non-violent transition. 3. Save Lives of Asylum Seekers: Call concerned UN agencies and governments, including regional bodies like the EU, to save the lives of Eritrean asylum seekers in the Middle East and North Africa who are dying in the high seas and in the deserts in the hands of human traffickers in places like the Sinai. About a quarter of a million Eritrean refugees in Eastern Sudan and Northern Ethiopia suffer because of lack of security, sufficient food, health care and related social services. Swedish support in these fields could be crucial. 4. Refugee Package Programmes in Ethiopia and Sudan: The young Eritrean refugees in East Sudan and Northern Ethiopia are without basic academic and vocational education. The PA member parties and organizations can help by calling for the launching of package projects to educate Eritrean refugees through development assistance funds suspended from reaching the Asmara regime. This would give hope to the refugees who are desperately taking risks and losing their lives in the Sinai and the Mediterranean Sea. The Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) 12
EPDP Addresses Eritreans in Sweden
The EPDP delegation also took time to hold a public meeting in Stockholm in which all concerns of Eritreans today were discussed. The sad situation of the country was described in a graphic manner, and the status of the opposition forces discussed with transparency.
A separate meeting of 7 branches of Eritrean political organizations also reviewed the situation of the opposition camp and agreed to continue similar dialogue for enhanced struggle. A one-hour interview of the delegation with Mr. Antonio Tesfai of the TV-Voice of People conveyed a strong message to residents of Stockholm about the moral responsibility of every compatriot to rise up to defy the repressive regime at home and help in changing the worsening situation in Eritrea.
13
EPDP Leaders, Members Join Public Action in Boston; Hold Lively Open Meeting On 19 October, young Eritreans in the Boston region organized a successful peaceful demonstration that named and shamed in the streets to sycophants of the Eritrean regime who were going to attend a musical event at the city’s Plaza Hotel, at a time when the rest of Eritreans were still mourning the death of over 350 compatriots in the Mediterranean Sea. Mr. Tesfai Woldemichael (Degiga), Executive Committee member of the Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), and other party members from Washington DC, Virginia, New Jersey and Boston were part of the successful demonstration that conveyed its clear message to those who have not yet shed their fear of the Asmara regime.
Later on 20 October, Mr. Tesfai Degiga addressed a well attended public meeting which involved participants in live discussion about the current situation in Eritrea, the status of the opposution camp and what is to be done to create a new and better Eritrea in the post-dictatorship period.
14
Peaceful demonstration in refugee camps in Northern Ethiopia
EPDP Executive Committee Issues Statement on Incidents at Refugee Camps in Northern Ethiopia At the end of an intensive follow-up of what has been unfolding since 5 October at the refugee camps of May-Ayni and Adi-Harish in northern Ethiopia, the Executive Committee of the Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) on 12 October 2013 held an extraordinary meeting and discussed the fatal incidents and the incarceration of several refugees by Ethiopian security and local militia. Having seriously scrutinized and evaluated the claims and counter claims of the two sides, the EPDP Executive Committee thus reached the following conclusions: 1. The unwarranted action taken by the Ethiopian security personnel against peaceful demonstrators was nothing but an excessive use of force. 2. The meeting believed that it is now time for all concerned bodies to appropriately address the administrative and human rights demands raised by the demonstrators in the refugee camps. We, therefore, ask the Government of Ethiopia to seriously investigate the incidents in the refugee camps and reach just conclusions. The EPDP Executive Committee 12 October 2013
15
ENDF Reviews Incidents of Lampedusa and the Refugee Camps in Northern Ethiopia At its ordinary meeting of 12 October 2013, the Coordinating Committee of the Eritrean National Democratic Forces (ENDF) reviewed important developments affecting Eritrea and its people. These included: The tragedy that befell over 350 Eritrean asylum seekers near Lampedusa; the disquieting situation of refugee camps in northern Ethiopia, and significant meetings of Eritrean civil society movements and political organizations during the past few weeks. After welcoming the Eritrean Movement for Democratic and Human Rights (EMDHR) of South Africa as full member of the networking of democratic forces, the meeting expressed consternation and anger at the Lampedusa tragedy and the repeated deaths of Eritreans in the deserts and the high seas. The meeting reaffirmed that the regime in Asmara is the sole cause of the chain of tragedies visiting thousands of Eritrean refugees, and that the only remedy to the problem is the replacement of the repressive dictatorship by a democratic system of governance. The ENDF also appealed to the European Union to do what it takes to saves lives dying in the southern borders of Europe. It also asked EU to give the deserved legal protection to Eritreans asylum seekers who fled from the hell at home. . The other topic discussed was the situation in the refugee camps in northern Ethiopia where security personnel and militias used live ammunition against unarmed refugees and caused unwarranted casualties. The meeting expressed outrage at the excessive use of force by the security force and demanded that justice be served following an independent investigation. Likewise, the ENDF meeting urged the Ethiopian government to take appropriate measures that can truly address the multiple problems of Eritrean refugees in those camps. The ENDF Coordinating Committee meeting received reports about the recent chain of meetings of the Eritrean political organizations in Ethiopia as well as about the Bologna conference and a seminar of young Eritreans in Germany. Both the later two events were addressed by an ENDF Coordinating Committee member who emphasized in those occasions the paramount importance of correct public mobilization, an effective use of the media, all forms of diplomacy and also explained in great detail the merits of people-centered non-violent means of struggle.
16
EPDP, Wad-Sherifey School, Kassala Center for Disabled Mourn the Death of Father Marino Haile Members of the EPDP, the Wad-Sherifey Refugee School and the Kassala Centre for Disabled Persons deeply mourn the untimely death of Padre Marino Haile on 5 September 2013, an Eritrean Catholic priest of the Capuchin Friars in Milan, Italy, who was an active supporter of needy Eritrean refugees.. The remains of Padre/Father Marino were buried in Milan on 9 September.
For the past 8 successive years, Father Marino Haile has been the backbone of support for the Wad -Sherifey Eritrean Refugee School in the border between Eritrea and Sudan that he helped to be fully rehabilitated in 2005 and encouraged other humanitarian donors in Italy and Switzerland to continue supporting the school. Besides the Wad-Sherifey school that teaches about 600 children each year, the late Capuchin priest and his partners have been aiding Eritrean refugee community schools in Khartoum, Kassala and Port Sudan. It is to be recalled that Father/Padre or Aba Marino Haile in 1989 led a delegation of donors, among them the Italian benefactor Roberto Rabattoni, to liberated territories in Eritrea. The Italian benefactor then started supporting over 500 orphans at the Solomona camp in northern Eritrea that continued to receive his full assistance till the liberation of the country.Earlier in 1983, Padre Marino encouraged the same benefactor Rabattoni to help needy children in Ethiopia. For the last 30 years, Roberto Rabattoni’s “Help Centre for Ethiopia” has been supporting needy children in that country. In 2013, the Help Centre for Ethiopia is providing education, food and shelter for over 25,000 Ethiopian children. The passing away of Padre Marino Haile is indeed a big loss to many needy Eritrean refugee children in the Sudan. In a condolence message to Padre Marino’s Capuchin Mission and his family members, the Wad Sherifey School Administration wrote: “The sad news of Father Marino’s passing away is received as a big shock in every home of the 650 refugee students currently registered at our Wad Sherifey school and the thousands of others who attended classes in the school since it started to receive the support of Father Marino and his partners in Italy and Switzerland.” May his soul rest in peace!
17
STAR SINGER YOHANNES TIKABO ABANDONS REGIME Following the disaster near Lampedusa, Eritrean star folkliric singer Yohannes Tikabo has dropped his support of the repressive regime in Asmara and asked asylum in the United States while in tour with a musical troupe of the regime. Wedi Tikabo has announced that he will work to help pull the rag from beneath the one-man regime in Eritrea by trying to promote the unity of Eritreans - both those still wrongly supporting the regime and those struggling to bring about a better Eritrea over the ashes of the anti-people oppressors.
Eritreans have been abandoning the regime in their thousands every month for the past 12 years. These included countless high-ranking government officials and diplomats. In the past two months alone, the thousands of youth fleeing the country were joined by the former Information Minister, Ali Abdu; sports teams, including the national football team; renown artists, and personal plane pilots of the dictator. Even the chief pilot who went to the Arabian peninsula to reclaim the hijacked plane of the president absconded by asking asylum in Saudi Arabia.
Eritrea could not be home even for Michael Adonai and his wonderful artworks.
18