Our Martyrs Are not Disturbed

:: By Amanuel Biedemariam

Over the past six months and particularly the last three, we witnessed the anti-Eritrean camp run a unique campaign that focused on questioning everything about Eritrea. They question the struggle for independence, the name Eritrea; and lately, they are claiming the lives of those heroes and heroines that were lost to free and defend Eritrea was in vain. These desperate lost-souls are trying everything in their power to diminish Eritrea, Eritrean values, Eritrean-isms, Eritrean way of life and the traditions put in place during the struggle for liberation. In short, they are fighting Eritrean martyrs and against the causes and principles they died for to grab power by any means necessary.

Who are these lost-souls? They are a collage of losers. Some are ex-fighters that never accepted the independence of Eritrea that was won by EPLF and as such they have never obtained Eritrean nationality. Some are religious extremists with Al-Qaeda connections. Some are disgruntled Eritreans who at one time were ardent supporters of the government but once their family members were imprisoned, they started campaigning against the Government. Some are religious zealots affiliated with Western anti Eritrean campaigns who are trying to sabotage Eritrean independence using religious freedoms as a rallying cry. Some claim to represent certain regions. Some are innocent misguided Eritreans who truly believe and fight for democratic, religious, press and other freedoms, but their causes are hijacked by radical anti Eritrean elements. Some are Weyane agents from Tigray disguised as Eritreans, and the rest are criminals from Eritrea. While it is hard to come up with a definite number of their supporters; based on the events they organized in the past and careful observations, one can conclude it is INSIGNIFICANT!

Their leaders are geriatric shady, unprincipled, egocentric and immoral. They are traitors that deserve to face the people of Eritrea for their crimes. They lack cohesion, standards and a united value system. It is a marriage of convenience. In fact, in reality they are natural enemies that aim to destroy each another for supremacy if and when an opportunity arises. One can use the clashes between Islamic extremism and evangelical movements in Ethiopia as an example. That means, Eritrea’s fate is sealed because, these lost souls will kill each other before they can set foot on Eritrea victorious. That happens to be the agenda of Weyane and the Western enemies who want to split Eritreans by region, religion and ethnicity. They are directed and financed by Weyane and the West. That means they are working for Weyane and foreign interests directly or indirectly.

Over the past ten years, these lost-souls have conducted many campaigns and did everything at their disposal to change the political landscape and leadership in Eritrea and failed to make a dent. They failed because they have nothing good to offer and because Eritreans in the Diaspora remained and remain firmly united in support of their country and government.

Therefore, in order to break the UNITY of Eritreans, they focused their latest campaigns on the Annual Eritrean festivals because the events serve as catalyst to Eritrean unity. Eritreans are united around the traditions established during the struggle for liberation. These traditions are the core and the foundation of Eritrean unity. They stand to honor and celebrate Eritrean martyrs on Martyrs Day. On Independence Day, Eritreans celebrate their hard won victories. While the Annual Summer Festivals and the Soccer tournaments serve as reinforcement to that unity.

So, to have any chance of achieving their objectives, the lost souls are trying to minimize the impact and meaning of the events as if they serve the interest of one individual or a system and attack the participants as supporters of PFDJ and a “dictator.” They demonstrate during Eritrean festivals, hackle annual Eritrean soccer tournament participants, and try to disrupt Independence Day celebrations. They try to confuse and disintegrate Eritrean unity any way they can including using disruptive terrorist methods to scare Eritreans from attending Eritrean gatherings. They write countless articles, wage disinformation and misinformation campaigns. Eritreans have watched these desperate lost-souls attempt every trick and mischief to scare Eritreans from continuing the legacies established by Eritrean Martyrs. In addition, these actions are deliberate and designed to generate reaction and create confusion and division amongst Eritreans.

However, to their dismay, they were always met by a gracious and brilliant community that understands where the focus should be and as such kicked these dirty-cans-of-Weyane-human-waists to the curb, by paying them no attention.

So, out of frustration, the lost-souls took a much brazen and daring step that exposed their true nature this time. In order to create the impression that they have a bigger pool of supporters around the world, to create confusion and frustrate Eritreans in DC and to diminish the weight Martyrs-Day carries; they waged a “major” campaign called “Enough is Enough.” The campaign was a call to demonstrate a day ahead of the Annual Martyrs Day candle light vigil that takes place on June 20th in Washington DC.

They used every tactic to drum-up publicity for their event and to encourage people to participate in the DC demonstration. They dispatched their people from around the world to expand the event. They used fear, anger, money, legal immigration assistance for those without status, and everything else in between to motivate people to attend their event and possible hurray. The campaign was furious and tenacious, and for the gullible it could have served as a trap.

This is how a witness described the event. “Their massive drive and noise aroused my curiosity to see how the event will turn out. So, when the dreaded day arrived, my curiosity took me right into the action and drove to the demonstration site with stereo blazing Yohannes Tkabo “yeghermenalo”. The demonstration took place at Constitution Avenue by the State Department. It was hot, steaming and unsettling. And by sheer coincidence, when I arrived at the location the traffic came to a complete halt due to the usual traffic jam in Washington DC. Therefore, I was stuck like a sitting duck in front of all the demonstrators. Which means, I was able to comfortably see who, where, how-many and the signs they carried and clearly. It was chaotic, disorganized and out of control with the police trying to control them. They stood on the sidewalk dispersed with signs that were placed strategically and prominently in order to make look like there were more people. And by the time I drove to the end of the line; I was relieved, completely satisfied and I drove away thanking God for witnessing a failed effort.”

A failed effort because after all the advertising, the public drive, the articles that questioned if Eritrean independence was worth all the sacrifice ( De-romanticizing Ghedli) and told people why they should be angry and how to express that anger, Eritreans prevailed by ignoring their calls.

I waited to write this article because I wanted to see how they will spin their failed event. And as expected, their reactions are laughable. The first reaction came a day after the demonstration on their radio broadcast in DC. This was a genuine reaction by event spokesperson that expressed his frustration about lack of participation. A day later, a key website (assena) showed six pictures from the entire event. It is a good sign that they were embarrassed and didn’t want to report their failure, but since they were one of the organizers; they gave minimal account. And as usual, the den of liars Asmarino claimed, “Hundreds, 800 to1000 attended.” However, even if the numbers are correct, the event is a failure relative to the effort they put in and the campaign they waged.

But, that is a lie! Only 120 to 155 people stood looking like they were lost in the hot sun, on midday. The event was a total failure for many reasons, but I will point to two key reasons:

A) They failed to make a dent on the Eritrean public.

B) After a massive drive to bring Eritreans from around the world, they failed to impress The State Department, because they lack followers!

I was hesitant to write this article because I feel it is important not to give these bankrupt lost souls recognition or attention since that feeds their purpose. However, this event touched a cord because Eritreans were offended by the calloused disregard and brazenness they displayed on the day and the weekend Eritrean Martyrs were being honored.

Eritreans were martyred for independence and defense of the country. They fought united for a United-Nation. They understood and believed the freedom of Eritrea can only be sustained if and when Eritrea stands united. To insure that, they made deliberate and calculated strategies that can help restore peace, stability, harmony, respect, understanding and knowledge of all the people irrespective of region, and the distances of the remote locations. They focused on the poor and isolated in order to bring equality in regards to development, education and healthcare to avoid disparity and to break societal progress gap. Our martyrs made every effort and worked hard to create a religious harmony because they knew a religious crack can divide a nation. Our martyrs understood, unity meant the very existence of Eritrea and did everything to achieve it.

To the contrary, in order to undermine these achievements and to destroy Eritrean unity based on ethnicity, region, religion, income, status and other qualifiers; the lost-souls planned a PR strategy to:

A) Drum up major publicity for their causes

B) Create fissures amongst Eritreans by inciting controversy

C) Diminish the value attached with martyrdom and sacrifices, a backbone of Eritrean way of life and victories.

D) And to frustrate Eritreans! They failed, failed, failed and failed in all categories!!!!

These lost souls wanted to disturb the martyrs and their families by creating havoc on the day and weekend they were being honored. The fact that they demonstrated at the Embassy of Eritrea on a solemn occasion shows they are oblivious to the fact that the Embassy stands in DC because of Eritreans martyrs. It is also ironic that these lost souls marched to the State Department, an organization that created the circumstances that led to their martyrdom.

Furthermore, providing evidence of their pomposity and hyper-inflated egos, instead of honoring Eritrean Martyrs on Martyrs Day weekend; they honored each other with awards and released a picture that resembles the cartoon characters of Beavis and Butthead, inadvertently describing their depth.


Conclusion

What these lost souls did on Martyrs Day was blasphemous and equivalent to the dance on the graves of the martyrs during the war. There is no opposition in the world that works to desecrate a nation, defame a nation and nationhood by attacking the core values of that nation and think of gaining support. No group that serves a stick, and works the agenda of a mortal enemy can be considered opposition or a party. These people are not opposition; they are the avowed enemies of the people of Eritrea detached from reality and devoid of any ethical standards. This is why Eritreans reject these lost souls time after time.

Martyrs Day doesn’t belong to any party or government. It is a solemn occasion that Eritreans honor united. Eritreans came in droves to honor the martyrs in Freedom Plaza. A fitting location because Freedom Plaza was named in honor of the late Dr. King, since that is the location he gathered his people before he went on to give the famous “I Have a Dream” speech to the nation at the National Mall. Eritreans have a united dream to lift Eritrea. Eritreans are united when they come to honor the legacies and memories of the Martyrs who died to free Eritrea. Eritreans have accepted the torch and kept the promise of a united Eritrea. Eritrea honors her heroes every day and renews the promise with a candle light vigil every year and every where around the world silently without fanfares. Eritrean Martyrs know full well the promise will be kept because their kids just graduated completing Round-22 Sawa Training to ensure their legacy. Eritrean Martyrs are confident their legacy will thrive. That is why our Martyrs are not disturbed!

Zel-Alemawi Zikri N Swa-atna

Wetru Awet N Hafash