Eritrean tyrant and his henchmen to be tried for crimes against humanity

By Berhane Kahsay
Tigrai Online, Ethiopian News, June 27, 2016

The Eritrean tyrant and the butcher of Ayder elementary school kids is about to be sent to ICC to face justice.

Shabiya’s army stationed in Tserona and has been severely punished by the gallant Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) in early June, and no doubt this will deter Esayass from initiating suicidal skirmishes in the future. ENDF penetrated deep inside Eritrea and pulled back to its previous position in its own time after successfully accomplishing its mission.

The paranoid dictator was so stunned by the humongous defeat, he has been releasing conflicting press releases every day blaming America one day and ‘Woyane’ the next. The fact is that, the ‘’lions of Nakfa and Afe Abate’’ are simply not in the same league as ‘Woyane’ and this has been conclusively proved during the border war of 1998 that was commenced by Eritrea as confirmed by the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission.

The previous EPLF military commanders who defeated successive Generals of the previous regimes are now members of the high echelon of the Eritrean Defence Force but this time around they are finding it immensely difficult to cope with the formidable Generals of ‘woyane.’’ But what was the need for Esayass to provoke Ethiopia into a military conflict at this moment in time?

Recently the UN’s Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea (CIHE) released its report after two years of exhaustive probe, and called for Eritrean leaders to be tried by the International  Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity which includes torture, rape, murder and enslavement of between 300,000 and 400,000 people in Sawa concentration camp. Esayass foolishly believed that instigating a military conflict with Ethiopia would enable him to garner support from Eritreans at home and in the Diaspora hoping that this would thwart the Commission’s findings that called for his referral to the ICC.

But what transpired instead was that hundreds and thousands of Eritreans living throughout the world including Ethiopia took to the streets in support of the UN body’s recommendations. UK Parliamentarians have also given their backing to the findings of the Commission of Inquiry. It interesting to note that there are at least 400,000 Eritreans living in Ethiopia but it was only the refugees that came out en mass to express their feelings against their tyrant leader. Those residing in Ethiopia are leading a comfortable life thanks to ‘woyane’ but they ought to at least empathise with their own people who have been subjected to an unrelenting persecution for the last quarter of a century.

The Ethiopian government should seriously consider damping the so called inept Eritrean opposition groups it back because they are simply in it to line their pockets and not out of concern for their own citizens who have been at the receiving end of Esayass’ persistent and austere chastisements. Instead the focus should be on the leaderless youth who are determined more than ever to see the back of the ruthless despot. 

Out of sheer desperation, the criminal Eritrean leader has despatched his henchmen to Europe and America to gather petitions believing that this would stop him from being tried by the ICC for committing crimes against his own people. His boys in G-7 have also been instructed to round up their minuscule supporters and coerce them to sign the petition and this campaign is spearheaded by Berhanu Nega who supposedly ‘’gave up life in America to lead the struggle for freedom from bases in Eritrea.’’ One of G-7’s websites that supported signing of the petition an unashamedly stated’’ Unlike most countries in the Horn of Africa, including Ethiopia, Eritrea is the most stable, peaceful and secure country that has managed to keep the harmony and peaceful co-existence of its society that is multilingual and multi-ethnic with varied religions.’’  This is a political prostitution of the worst sort and no wonder G-7 has completely failed in its endeavours to disrupt the stupendous multifaceted progress in Ethiopia on behalf of the envious repressive Eritrean criminal.

The Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea has spoken loud and clear, and the European Union (EU) should also come on board and seriously consider its finding when dealing with the Eritrean autocrat. In light of the CIHE’s judgement, it is imperative for the EU to declare a moratorium on its cooperation with Eritrea which is expected to receive part of the 62 billion Euros earmarked for developmental plan. Sudan which is part of this plan is already forcibly deporting hundreds of Eritreans in violation of international law on refugees and no doubt these people will either be killed or locked up in one of the many inaccessible and climatically hostile areas.          

It is morally erroneous to collaborate with a repressive regime simply because the European border agency, Frontex, reported that more than a quarter of the 128,619 migrants who arrived in Italy between January and September 2015 were found to be Eritreans. Funding a dictator to prevent a few thousands from entering Europe will perpetuate the gross human rights violation in Eritrean as reported by the COI.

Ethiopia has done a marvellous job in exposing the crimes of the Eritrean leader but to ensure that the COI’s report is accepted by the UN’s Human Rights Council, it should continue to lobby the UN and the international community. Eritreans must also persist in making their voices heard until their criminal self-appointed leader ends up in the dock of the ICC.