new th, 2015 president isaias receives...

Vol 22. No. 34 Saturday, june 27th, 2015 Pages 8, Price 2.00 NFA

Workshop in Germany

Members of national organizations in Nord Rayne and West fallen cities conducted a workshop as part of ongoing efforts throughout Germany to set up a National Committee. The tasks of strengthening national unity, promoting all-round participation in national and communal affairs, raising capacity, mounting staunch resistance to external conspiracies, and enhancing engagement in the diplomatic arena constitute the broad scope of activities envisaged for the National Committee.

Contribution in support of martyrs families

The inhabitants of Haikota sub-zone have contributed over 370 thousand Nakfa in support of 124 families of fallen heroes. Similarly, NUEW branch members in Agordat sub-zone launched a campaign at Patriots Cemetery and extended financial support to the same families. NUEW members raised a thousand Nakfa each in support of this noble cause.

ConstruCtion of dirt road Completed

The construction of a dirt road linking Gilas with Dob’aat has been completed. Father Ogbagabir Woldegergis, Secretary General of the Catholic Church’s denomination in Keren, stated that the 16 Km. road was built at a total cost of 1 million Nakfa. The new road will be utilized by inhabitants of a cluster of small villages of Gilas, Dob’at, Ashera, Shebeq, Ad-Omar, Kermed, Ad-Fakay, Ad-Hamad, as well as those in Mensura sub-zone.

youth teaChers Week in Central reGion

The Youth Teachers Week convened in the Central region has highlighted the significant impact of the young generation in the nation-building process. The Chairman of Youth Teachers Association in the region explained that education-related contests and sports competitions featured on the occasion. Mr. Samson Kifle, branch head of the NUEYS in the Central region, stressed the need for enhanced organizational capacity by Association members.

neWs briefs

President Isaias Afwerki re-ceived on Thursday this week top Eritrean cyclists who will take part in next month’s Tour de France.

president isaias reCeives CyClists

The Eritrean cyclists are part of the South-Africa based MTN team which will participate in the pres-tigious race for the first time.

President Isaias stated that the unprecedented achievement of the cyclists attests to the high techni-cal level that cycling has reached

in the country. The participation of Eritrea’s top cyclists in interna-tional races of high reputation will inspire the youth who see these

successful cyclists as role models, President Isaias underlined.

The President surmised that this remarkable achievement is surely the outcome of individual as well as collective endeavors of the national cycling team in the past years. President Isaias renewed the commitment of the GOE and relevant sport’s associations to extend the requisite support to cy-cling in order to maintain and aug-ment, both in numbers and higher capabilities, Eritrea’s participa-tion in such prestigious race with higher results.

President Isaias gave racing bi-cycles and other gifts to Eritrea’s top cyclists in recognition of their outstanding achievements. The Commissioner of Sports and Cul-ture, Ambassador Zemede Tekle, was also present at the meeting.

A total of 150 students have graduated from Mai-Habar Technical School at the cer-tificate level. The students attended a 2-year practical and theoretical courses in Me-chanics, Building, Drafting, Electronics, Plumbing, Gen-eral Metal and Wood Works, Electricity and Surveying.

Mr. Tesfai Siyum, Director General of Technical and Vo-cational Training at the Edu-cation Ministry, expressed his hopes that the graduates will live up to the high expecta-tions placed on them in the various work places.

Around 3,600 students have graduated from Mai-Habar Technical School with Diplo-mas and Certificates so far.

Mr. Saleh Omar, Eritrean Am-bassador to South Africa and Southern Africa region, has pre-sented his credentials to King Letsie III, King of Lesotho.

During the presentation cer-emony, Amb. Saleh conveyed President Isaias Afwerki’s greet-ings and goodwill and expressed readiness to strengthen Eritrean-Lesotho relations. Mr. Saleh also stressed the significance of strengthening relations in pro-moting mutual interest of the two countries.

King Letsie III on his part wished President Isaias good health, and peace and prosperity to the Eritrean people. The King added that his country gives due importance in promoting bilateral ties between Lesotho and Eritrea.

In the course of his stay in Le-sotho, Amb. Saleh met and held talks with the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Le-sotho on bilateral and current is-sues in the region.

amb. saleh omar presents Credentials to kinG of lesotho

150 students Graduate from

mai-habar teChniCal

sChool

Amb. Saleh in Lesotho

President Isaias meets Daniel, Merhawi and Natnael

Photo by Dirar Fessahaye

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azieb habtemariam

Eritrea Profile, Saturday june 27th, 2015 2

G/tnsae Damr

According to the 2006 devel-opment report of the UN, the minimum threshold per person for a day is about 20 litters. yet about 1.1 billion people, basicly from the developing world use only 5 litres per person a day “ an amount used to flush toilets in rich countries” to borrow a phrase from that report, while people in Europe use more than 200 litres and in the United states 400 litres daily.

Well the cmmulative truth is a little unpleasant. Whenever a person is showering in the United States or flushing a toilet in Eu-rope s/he is actually using more water than is available, both in terms of qauntity and sanitation to millions of people residing in the poorer parts of the world.

There is nothing justifiable about it either as a policy prac-tice or as a personal behavior and nothing can be done in the short term to change it exept to remind the public again and agian to use water “wisely”. My pessimism is based neither on the indifference of people to advice or authorities nor on the potential insarmount-ability of the mandate of manag-ing drying water sources, but on the fact that it is a difficult task to engage an entire society in any part of the globe in the sceintific dailoge about the possible wa-ter shortage in the near future in many corners of the world and the global water problems that might

Eritrea’s fight for Water and Soil Conservation

define some of our globe’s battle-lines in the 21st century, without losing their serious attention.

The danger of water crisis has so far been grasped only by few geologists, conserned environ-mentalists and doomsdayers. Water as a “fugutive resource” traversing borders through rivers lakes, and aquifers has a potential for creating cross-border tensions in water-stressed regions. And the inevitable national competetion that might ensue because of a real or percieved water-dryout will intensify the already existing eco-nomic and geo-political tensions around the globe.

Apart from the dozen or more ecologicaly vulnurable ecosys-tems around the globe (East Af-rica, the Sahel, southern Africa, North and Cetnral Asia, Australia and many other pockets of eco-logical zones), Nile basin, the Levant and north western China are some of the places that has already witnessed potential wa-ter crisis that might transform in to water battlelines any time. The tragic part of the story is the par-rallel worsening of global climate which at the same time is the cause and consequence of envi-ronmental degradation. Taking to mind the fact that global warming will exacerbate the water crisis through its direct effect on rain-fall and climate, it is scary to see governments perilously ignore an issue that demands an immediate attention and action. It is not dif-ficult to understand why they are reluctant to take any action – cor-porate interests.

Thanks to the selective behav-iour of the media and corpora-tions, for many reasonable people it is easier to fantasize about the infant technologies that can trans-form salty water into potable one (many actualy choose to ignore any discusions about the cost) than how to protect the environ-ment and its most precious min-eral – water.

Sadly any meaningfull public discussions regarding the envi-ronment have always been over-shadowed by corporate interests and the unwillingness of the main-stream media to do any thing bet-ter than serving those interests.

Water infrastructure - the abil-ity to store water is the most im-

portant element of any efficient water management. But the dis-parity in that capacity between the developed and the developing countries is alarming. If we take individual cases for instance, the US has the capacity to store 6,000 cubic meters per person while Ethiopia stores only 43 cubic me-ters per person annualy.

It is a pitty that many of the poor countreis are located in regions that are categorized as ecologi-caly unsustainable and those with enough access to water physicaly are the ones with the poorest in-frustructure.

What is more alarming is the unfortunate fact that, poor coun-tries with extremely low rainfall or ground water are also much poorer both in catching and stor-

ing it. If we take the countries forming the Nile basin or Sahel region which Eritrea is a member, the prospect of water crisis is all the more real. Many of them lack the neccessary infrastructures that can be taken seriously as relaible for catching and storing water. With the exeption of few, many of the countries have yet to privide more than 56% of their popula-tion with access to potable water.

As bad lack would have it these countries make the frontier re-gion between the water abundant equatorial region and the Sahara desert. According to metrologists and environmental experts the Sahara, moving tens of killom-eters south to the green belt of the continent within a couple of decades is the fastest expanding ecosystem the world has so far seen. Ranking low in the develop-ment index of the UN, the Sahel countreis, which are located in this gray zone posses neither the financiel capacity nor the technol-ogy and man power to neutralize any effects of desertification.

All the more the prevalent chal-lenges facing the horn of Africa; poverty, climate change, fast growing population and food se-curity are directly tied to water resources. The magnitude of the ecological pressure facing the population of the region is im-mense. Theoretically speaking the region is one of the wealthi-est spots in the globe in terms of

continued on page 7Fanco Dam

Youth engaged in conservation activities at Adi Embeito

3Eritrea Profile, Saturday, june 27th, 2015

Robel T.

The city of Asmara grew from a mere scattering of four villages to what we know today as our nation’s beautiful capital. Its development as an urban center came mostly with the advent of the Italian occupation of Eritrea in 1889. Initiated by Mus-solini’s imperialist engagement in East Africa, a phenomenal expan-sion of the city took place with the design principles and architectural styles wholly indebted to European tendencies at the turn of the centu-ry. Asmara was to become the new Rome of the “Africa Orientale Itali-ana” (the Italian East Africa).

Between 1935 and 1941, Asmara

developed rapidly, and transformed itself from a relatively provincial city of the European style into a highly sophisticated metropolis, one of the most modern cities in the whole of Africa. The character of its appear-ance today derives from this period. Italian architects designed and built for the needs of the growing city.

A spectrum of Modernist build-ings came into being which, on an area of about four square kilometers in the town centre, unites the most diverse architectonic movements and characteristics of the period.

Most of these use the architectural language of the Architettura Razi-onale, the Italian Modernism of the 1920s and 1930s.

For centuries, Eritrea was influ-enced by the cultures and religions of different rulers, from the Egyptians and the Ottomans to the Europeans. Over the course of history, these left their traces on the culture and archi-tecture of the country. Today, this coexistence of different cultures and religions still has an impact on the vitality of the city.

From 1900, the intermixture and neighborhood of diverse formal languages and styles (Syncretism) in combination with local building techniques influenced the architec-ture of the new capital city of As-mara and, above all, that of its sacred buildings. A specific example of the

fusion of styles and techniques was the orthodox cathedral Enda Mar-iam built in 1938/39. Elements of the local African building tradition were absorbed into the design of the tower roofs, the portal, and the main building.

Art Deco gained a wide audi-ence only at the exhibition “Ex-position Internationale des Arts Décoratifs” held in Paris in 1925. Art Deco embraces the creative al-liance of elegant, often geometric forms, new materials, bright colors and sensuous themes. Following the ornate Art Nouveau, Art Deco, with its clear, linear and functional lines, was in keeping with the spirit of Modernism.

Cinema Impero is one of the most elegant buildings in Asmara in the Art Deco style and, at the same time, a remarkable example of the cinema architecture of the 1930s. The tiered interior has an organically curved form. Rows of pillars crowned by lions’ heads separate the auditorium from the screen. Stucco motifs of African scenes, dancers, palms and antelopes, which distantly recol-lect Art Deco, adorn the walls. The décor of the external façade, on the other hand, incorporates elements of technical aesthetics.

The Razionalismo movement be-gan rivaled the Novecento and the traditionalists of the Scuola Romana. Razionalismo combined an artistic concept, which, first and foremost, incorporated a new understanding of spatial concepts, with the appli-cation of contemporary scientific insights into, among other things, technology and hygiene. Architec-ture was to evolve from the analy-sis of its functions and its everyday usage. The formal language thereby referred to basic geometric elements such as spheres, cuboids, cylinders, cubes and pyramids.

A large number of buildings in Asmara follow this architectonic tenor: with its clear structure, plas-ticity and coloring Selam Hotel is the most brilliant example of ratio-nalist architecture in Asmara.

Futurism, with its vigorous ref-erences to the changes wrought by modern industry and technology, held one of the most radical artistic positions. The speed of machine-powered vehicles and violence, destruction and war were glorified as breaks with tradition. In archi-tecture, the designs focused on fac-tories and multi-storey apartment blocks, whose formal language was directly derived from the world of machines.

In Asmara, the Fiat Tagliero ser-vice station, designed by Giuseppe Pettazzi and built in 1938, is the most impressive example of the in-fluences of this movement. With its 30 meter-long freestanding concrete cantilever roof, it not only echoes the design of an aircraft – the ma-chine most admired by the Futurists – but also symbolizes the innovative confidence of Italian technologies and businesses in the international context.

In the 1920s, the Italian archi-tectural scene was deeply divided. The most significant movements of Futurismo, Razionalismo, the Nove-cento and the Scuola Romana were characterized by divergent formal languages. Nevertheless, to varying degrees each group in its own way invariably claimed, with reference to ancient Rome, to create a new na-tional style.

With Mussolini’s takeover in 1922, the state’s desire for a signifi-cant image to represent a glorious It-aly received a new dimension. This issue was resolved in the second half of the 1930s, with the advent of Monumentalismo: the coming together of all aspects of each indi-vidual movement.

The Casa del Fascio building (present day Ministry of Educa-tion) is the clearest example of this transition in Italian architecture. The frontage was erected in 1940 as an amendment to the rather mod-est headquarters of the fascist party lying behind it, which was built in 1928 – a strategy, which testifies to a politically demonstrative motivation rather than to practical necessity.

The end of Italian rule brought Asmara’s rapid growth to a stand-still. With the invasion of the united British and Ethiopian forces in April 1941, the Italian engineers and ar-chitects withdrew. They left behind, as the British Ministry for Informa-tion reported in 1941, “a European city with wide boulevards, fantastic cinemas, imposing fascistic build-ings, cafés, stores, two-lane streets and a first class hotel.”

As far as architecture is con-cerned, the British military admin-istration did not do much compared to the bold rationalism that had char-acterized the late 1930’s. Asmara’s idle architectural growth persisted during the period of federation with Ethiopia and the 30-year long strug-gle of liberation. The later caused extensive devastation but Asmara survived the period relatively un-scathed.

The beauty of Asmara’s build-ings conveys the image of moder-nity despite peeling paint, falling plaster or unhinged shutters. Since independence Asmara has grown rapidly extending its coverage over a wide area of the hinterland. Fortu-nately, Asmara’s expansion has not followed the pattern of other Afri-can cities where slums and squatter settlements prevail.

Asmara’s growth has been rela-tively controlled, although major challenges still remain. The issue of rebuilding after independence and decades of foreign rule when noth-ing happened, has infused all Eri-treans with the hope of future devel-opment. While facing the problems of urban planning there is growing concern that this world-renowned centre of early twentieth-century ar-chitecture should be preserved by all means.

An incident of 1996 illustrates perfectly the determined and liberal attitude of Eritreans: a German ar-chitectural firm, commissioned to design the new headquarters of the National Bank of Eritrea, suggested that the most prestigious location for the building was the site in front of the Catholic Cathedral. An out-of-place, fourteen-storey, glass building with numerous smaller structures around it occupying four blocks of historic Asmara was proposed. The central building was to be the tallest in the city, soaring high over the bell tower of the Cathedral.

Before the bank could be con-structed the building occupying the site, the notorious former Italian prison “Caserma Mussolini“, would have to be demolished. When the

Asmara: A Museum of Architectural Treasures

Eritrea Profile, Saturday, june 27th, 2015 3

plans for this move were made pub-lic, a group of Eritreans, mainly for-mer inmates, protested vehemently and successfully against the destruc-tion of the prison building.

However another construction project was put into practice: when the colossus building called Nakfa House rose at the Southern end of Semaetat Avenue, dwarfing that icon of Asmara’s modernist archi-tecture – Fiat Tagliero – the people of Asmara, began to feel the horror of something that was going ter-ribly wrong. The Nakfa House did not only desecrate Fiat Tagliero, that fine example of modernist ar-chitecture, but also reduced the area around it to a mean and disorient-ing small space. There were several other buildings (Nyala Hotel, The Red Sea Corporation Building, etc) that upset the delicate qualities of Asmara’s Modernist Architecture, but the building of Nakfa house pro-vided the wake-up call.

Realizing the special character of Asmara, the government and people of Eritrea set out to preserve this exceptional heritage for the benefit of its own population and for pres-ent and future visitors. At the same time there is an increased awareness of the need to ensure further devel-opment. In 2001 a historic perimeter in Asmara was established, encircl-ing an area of about four square ki-lometers of 4% of the total area of the city. This area contains the city’s historic centre and the majority of its historically significant buildings that need protection from unwarranted modification.

The government promulgated a moratorium on new buildings or modifications of old buildings in the historic perimeter until new guide-lines and regulations have been final-ized. The guidelines and regulations will establish stringent criteria that aim to ensure that the integrity, har-mony and scale of Asmara’s unique urban environment are kept intact.

(Excerpted from Asmara: Af-rica’s Secret Capital of Modern Architecture and other online publications)

4

Sophia Tesfamariam

In just one week, it seems very cold water has been dropped on the media frenzy designed to buttress a sensationalized politically moti-vated report on Eritrea released by the Commission on Inquiry on 8 June 2015. The headlines bemoan the lack of action by policy makers-who seem to be having a hard time reconciling facts presented by the opposing sides of the arguments on Eritrea’s reality. As if the pomp and charade being played out at the UN Human Rights Council was not enough, the reaction of the main-stream media is further evidence of the powers behind the grand perfor-mances in the chambers of the Palais des Nations - “Where global solu-tions are shaped for you”.

The week began with a huge 10K strong #HandsOffEritrea Europe-wide Eritrean demonstration on 22 June 2015, in Geneva. Those who have visited Geneva, a small city, which boasts the presence of almost every imaginable UN agency within its city limits, will know that it is not easy to ignore a gathering of that magnitude, but with the exception of few, the hundreds of journalists of every association and caliber that scour for news around the city, for whatever reasons, probably blinded by the Eritrean colors and sounds, could not cover the event. The ex-cuse from one of them was that he “didn’t have the time to publish something on the demonstration”. With thousands taking videos and pictures and a superb all Eritrean media team, the entire event has been recorded for posterity so all will have to rely on Eritrean media to get their feed on this one. The ef-fective Eritrean response even gar-nered the attention of the Commis-sion - proof that Eritrea is not short of independent press.

Insulting? Well that seems the running theme of the COIE’s report.

If they can label Eritrea’s hard-working youth who are working to develop their young nation as slaves, we should not then be surprised by anything else they say about Eri-treans. There should also not be any surprise that they could dare to belit-tle the achievements of the Eritrean people in general, and the women of Eritrea in particular, and that they would present the Eritrean people as cruel and savage, not to mention without values and principles. The fact that they deliberately distort

Eritrea’s history, misrepresent the unparalleled struggle for indepen-dence and the extraordinary role of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) and the Front’s role in the extraordinary nation building ef-fort, only shows the Commissions’ contempt and racist attitude towards the people of Eritrea and their lead-ership. This kind of attitude has been exhibited by Eritrea’s mortal enemies.

The Eritrean Diaspora watched the media spectacle associated with the Commission and its surrogates in the Eritrean quislings’ league and the self-serving condescending re-marks that were passing as facts on the floor of the Human Rights Coun-cil. In addition the COIE had a press conference following its session on the floor of the Human Rights Coun-cil. In an exchange with a journal-ist during the Press Conference in which the COIE was asked several questions about the contents of the report, when a journalist as if there was any “modifying of practice’ or “adjustment of policy in any way” to suggest changes in the Govern-ment of Eritrea, Mike Smith had the effrontery to attribute Eritrea’s announcement of the publishing of the new Civil Procedure and Penal Procedures Codes to pressure result-ing from the work of the Special Rapporteur and others in the inter-national community.

Had Mike Smith and his partners bothered to professionally and ob-jectively gather information about Eritrea and its legal system, they would have discovered that the re-cent announcement was a culmina-tion of work done since Eritrea’s in-dependence. According to the Min-ister of Justice, Ms. Fawzia Hashem, the new Codes were to replace the Transitional Codes that were en-acted after liberation. The drafting process of these laws took several years, accompanied as it was, by profound research and examination of relevant customary laws and uni-versally recognized legal principles and norms. The exercise did not only involve professional legal experts but involved extensive consultations with all relevant stakeholders in the country and in the Diaspora.

Justice Habteab Y. Ogubazghi, a judge at the Court of Final Appeal of Eritrea and an adjunct lecturer of pe-nal law and criminal procedure at the School of Law of the College of Arts and Social Sciences in Eritrea and Mr. Senai W. Andemariam, a former

judge and a Fulbright scholar, and lecturer of criminal procedure and evidence law at the School of Law, are just two examples of those who have been doing tremendous work in revising and finalizing the draft penal code and draft criminal proce-dure code of Eritrea and in adopting some of the sentencing characters of indigenous Eritrean laws into the draft penal code. In their 2013 pub-lication, “Eritrean Customary Laws: ‘Old-Modern’ Treasures For Intro-ducing an Effective Sentencing Re-gime – the “Just Desert” System”, they explain:

“…There is a general principle that laws, especially public laws like criminal law, should reflect the norms, values and traditions of the society for which they are enacted. The experience with many penal codes of decolonized countries has been that since most of the laws (notably the basic laws such as civil, penal, criminal, com-mercial as well as civil and crimi-nal procedure laws) are copies or slight modifications of the laws of their ex-colonizers, they usually collide with the indigenous norms and values of the inhabitants. Now that the developed world is realizing the ineffectiveness, in part, of its criminal justice system and that the just desert system has championed the reform process, discovery of a traditional, just des-ert criminal justice system leads to the conclusion that the developing world does not necessarily have to look up to the developed world to improve the sentencing regime because the solution may be found in the indigenous criminal justice system…”

Ignorance about Eritrea’s legal institutions is one thing, but to la-bel them “dated laws” exposes the Commission’s contempt for the people of Eritrea and their institu-tions of governance, not to mention their civilized customs and values.

During the same Press Confer-ence, Mike Smith told journalists that the Commission was looking for “substantive” evidence from the Government of Eritrea beyond “rhetoric”. Here is the Commission of Inquiry and the Special Rappor-teur making accusations without any evidence and then asking Eritrea to prove that the allegations leveled against them were untrue.

Is that not what the Somalia Eri-trea Monitoring Group did to Eri-trea? There was never any evidence

presented to show Eritrea’s violation of the arms embargo on Somalia, but because the SEMG and its handlers were able to weave a net of decep-tion that included the manufacture of evidence, elaborate fake media reports and the dissemination of outright lies, they managed to divert attention from the real issue, which was Ethiopia’s invasion and occupa-tion of Somalia. Eritrea was placed in the position of being presumed guilty and was being asked to dis-prove erroneous and unsubstantiated allegations made by Ethiopia and its handlers. Eritrea was asked to prove that it did not support terrorism, that it did not arm groups-specifically Al Shabbab in Somalia, that it did not have Eritrean forces “fighting along-side the ICU” etc. etc.

Ethiopia and the US, with the me-dia in tow, created a very difficult, if not impossible situation. How does one go about producing evidence that will refute an imaginary crime? Disproving a negative is a logical impossibility, but since 2006, it has been the blunt reality of Eritrea, its people and its government. Ditto for the Commission of Inquiry today, and its accusations made by face-less, nameless people. Speaking of the SEMG, reminds me of a rel-evant fact that seems to have been omitted in the discussions about the COIE. Whilst Sheila Keetharuth’s past employment with Amnesty In-ternational and her association with anti-Eritrea groups and individuals prior to her appointment as the Spe-cial Rapporteur are now a matter of public record, what about her team mates? Who are they? How were they appointed to the Commission?

Mike Smith, the Chairman of the Commission, was the Executive Di-rector of the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED). So he was associated with the sanctions committee, which was associated with the Somalia Eritrea Monitoring Group and the enforce-ment of the Resolution 1907 and 2023 against Eritrea. But that was not all. Mike Smith was also the Chairman of the UN Commission for Human Rights (UNCHR), the

predecessor to the now UN Hu-man Rights Council in 2004. He was the Chair of UNCHR when an NGO called War Resisters Interna-tional presented on 14 March 2004. What struck me was the similarity between what was presented then by Eritreans seeking asylum in Ger-many, and the testimonies provided in the current Commission’s report on Eritrea. At that time, the War Re-sisters International presented their statements, with names, pictures etc. Amnesty International also reported their testimonies in its 2004 report. As a matter of fact, the very same pictures that are being circulated by the Commission in the media about “torture methods” were presented back then.

For further details see: https://www.wri-irg.org/system/files/eri-trea-en.pdf

Now if we were to use the same standard of proof, “reasonable grounds to believe”, that the Com-mission based its findings on, and to make their conclusions about Eri-trea, there is reasonable ground to believe that Mike Smith, like Sheila Keetharuth and Victor Dankwa, has had prior dealings with groups that were against the Government of Eritrea. In Smith’s case he also had dealings with the SEMG and Sanc-tions Committee where Eritrea, then, like today is being asked to produce evidence that to refute an imagi-nary crime, as told by faceless and nameless individuals and groups. So do we have a tainted jury? Can this group of persons deliver a credible, independent and impartial report on Eritrea? Would any country sitting in that UN Human Rights Council agree to be investigated by such a biased group? I leave it to their con-science…

Anyway, let us get back to the media and its coverage of the Com-mission and its report. Al Jazeera in its 25th June piece wrote about the COIE team being intimidated and harassed on the same day that the massive demonstration was tak-

Question: why didn’t the mainstream media cover the massive protest against the commission’s politically motivated report?

Answer: because it could not possibly reconcile the hype and hysteria that preceded the official presentation of the report to the UN Human Right Council with the 10K plus Eritreans who were protesting against it. They were probably as convinced as Mike Smith was and that his team represented the “real Eritreans”, implying the thousands demonstrating outside were not.

ERITREA in Mainstream MediaYellow Journalism:

Mainstream Media Ignores 10k+ Eritreans

continued on page 5



ing place in Geneva-but somehow missed reporting about the massive demonstration. Once again, using the same standard of proof that the COIE is using in its report, know-ing that Kjetil Tronvoll is associated with Al Jazeera English, and since it is a fact that he has co-authored many of the reports and articles ref-erences by the COIE, could we then infer that he was behind Al Jazeera’s snub of the 10K #HandsOffEritrea demonstrations that rocked Geneva on 22 June 2015? Je ne sais pas…

In the 25th June Al Jazeera report also divulged this bit of information: “…Eritrea’s neighbours Djibouti and Somalia are backing a Hu-man Rights Council resolution to extend the team’s mandate for a year to enable it to say if crimes against humanity were commit-ted…”

In other words, the COIE had not established beyond reasonable doubt, Eritrea’s guilt, but wanted more time to go on yet another fishing expedition, in search of the phantom evidence to indict Eritrea.

Looks like the architects behind the 5-year shenanigan are having a

hard time coming up with another “African Initiative” to strengthen the illegal sanctions regime against the state of Eritrea. So they are will-ing to compromise the integrity of the UN Human Rights Council and use Djibouti and Somalia again-of course Ethiopia and the United States being the key architects be-hind the scene, to table the resolu-tion they need. Does that not ring of a conflict of interest? After all, Dji-bouti has an ax to grind and has an active conflict situation with Eritrea, ditto for Ethiopia. So what do we make of the impartiality, neutrality, fairness etc. etc. of the UN Human Right Council, when it is clear that the resolutions are all politically motivated and anything borne out of those resolutions will also be taint-ed? Guess nobody cares…the end justifies the means.

The conflict of interests men-tioned above resigns the legitimacy of the report, which is based almost entirely on anonymous informants – and brings to question the cred-ibility, integrity and efficacy of the UN Human Rights Council in the protection and promotion of hu-man rights. Like its predecessor, it is fast becoming a political tool for advancing political agendas against member states. The COI’s report

reflect a predetermined conclusion about the situation in Eritrea and the information gathered was designed to fit this pre-conceived agenda. The information gathered was not gathered independently, was biased and not objective, or even lawful and ethical as it violated the rights of asylum seekers and refugees by making them provide political opin-ions and statements under difficult situations in Ethiopia, Libya and the Sinai.

Screed stringing together every imaginable cliché and trope from every anti-Eritrea individual and group, the COIE produced a 500-page document hoping to shock morals and force the internation-al community into taking action against Eritrea and its government without ever producing an iota of evidence. Who is behind the COIE? Who appointed it? From where I sit, it seems to be an extension of the failed SEMG and since there are no grounds to sanction Eritrea on any-thing relating to terrorism or Soma-lia, the architects of the Sanctions, Ethiopia and its patrons, are now hoping to use the UN Human Rights Council to embroil Eritrea and its leadership and subject it into another vicious political slandering in order to force it to relinquish its sovereign

continued from page 4

Yellow Journalism: ...

Ray ja Fraser

As mainstrean hysteria about Eritrea and the recent UN Com-mission of Inquiry (COI) report continue, Ms. Bronwyn Burton recently offered some level-head-ed, rational insights into both the country and the report.

Bronwyn, you’ll recall, is Deputy Director of the Africa Center at the Atlantic Council. She has written extensively on Africa in general, and the Horn of Africa specifically, and several months ago gave a de-tailed interview about her trip to Eritrea.

While the COI report was widely covered by the mainstream press, and has led to a substantial amount of discussion regarding Eritrea, it has also come in for considerable criticism, with several detailed ar-ticles rebutting different parts of the report.

Bruton’s recent comments on the issue also suggest that the general narrative about Eritrea and the pic-ture painted by the COI are inac-curate and quite unhelpful.

In a series of tweets, Bruton ac-knowledges that she recognizes the “sincerity of my human rights colleagues, but pointing fingers at decades-old problems [is] not very constructive.” She goes on to note that the COI report is “weak” on the most important issue (i.e. ex-amining Eritrea today compared to 5, 15, or 20 years ago). Specifical-ly, the situation in Eritrea is “fluid, not static, as implied.”

Bruton also identifies the con-tradictions that exist between per-spectives about Eritrea from those who have been to the country and reports from outside. As such, “[p]olarized views [are] usually a sign of poor scholarship [or] hidden agendas…”

As an example of the problems and inaccuracies that can arise from poor access or understand-ing of the situation, Bruton refers to the assumptions leading many to believe that Somalia’s Union of Islamic Courts were affiliated with Al-Qaeda in 2006. Instead, as has been subsequently documented and concluded by numerous analysts and scholars, the Western-initiated

intervention in Somalia, based on miscalculations, actually served to give rise to Al-Qaeda in Somalia.

Bruton’s critiques are not only restricted to the COI, as she also criticizes the international commu-nity’s general approach to Eritrea. She correctly notes that “isolation [policies] and accusations have failed to help those suffering in Er-itrea.” Consequently, it is clear that it is “time for a new approach.” Here, she points to advice she has received from Africans, suggesting that “the best way to get human rights is to put food on everyone’s table.”

Last, in a telling statement that contradicts the broader narrative of Eritrea’s intransigence and inflex-ibility, Bruton states (as has the

Eritrean government on numerous occasions), the “Eritrea [govern-ment] is ready to partner with any-one [and] everyone for economic transformation [and] the rest will follow.”

Exploring the Broader Narrative on Eritrea

rights, and forget about the 15-year long Ethiopian occupation of sover-eign Eritrean territories.

That will not happen.

So the week comes to an end and as predicted, the COIE is now marred in controversy of its own creation. Those who were paraded like herd goats in front of the Hu-man Rights Council to spew insults and denigrate the people and gov-ernment of Eritrea will wake up and find out that they have been had. That they have served their purpose-served as the Eritrean faces needed for the agenda, that they are now dispensable or is it disposable…

Allow me to end using the words of Al Jazeera’s Kjetil Tronvoll, words taken from a 2013 article about the Eritrean system, which by the way Mike Smith is also ea-ger to see abolished. For those who are waiting in the wings to see the Eritrean system collapse, don’t hold your breath, it “has so far proven to be surprisingly resilient”.

As for the mainstream media...it has long lost its luster. The fad today is, progressive media and citizen journalism

With Bruton’s comments com-ing on the heels of yesterday’s mass protest in Geneva (where thousands of Eritreans flocked to demonstrate against the COI pro-

cess and conclusions), it has be-come increasingly apparent that both the COI and the general nar-rative about Eritrea are plagued by considerable problems.

Bronwyn Burton vs. #cOIEritrea

Eritrea Profile, Saturday, june 27th, 2015

Job Title & number required MaintenanceForeman (02)

Duties & Responsibilities

Mechanical maintenance of ZMSC.’s fleet of earth moving equipment; all fixed plant, generators, pumps and construction equipment.Repair and maintain the equipment mentioned above.Mechanical maintenance of ZMSC’s fleet of light vehicles and trucks including regular servicing, puncture repairs, only if driver is not available. Train new employees. Minimize any down time of vehicles and machin-ery.Any other agreed work requested by the Senior Manager.Specificactivitiesmayincludewelding,enginerebuilds,lightvehicleandtruckmechanics,generalfittingand field fitting.Electrical Maintenance of light & heavy vehicles, fixed plant, generators, pumps and camp facilities. Ensuring that the Maintenance of plant, vehicles and machinery is carried out.Being accountable for all safety in the workshop.Provide leadership for the Maintenance department.Coordinate all maintenance activities for plant, mobile equip-ment and infrastructure.

Knowledge & Skill Require-ment

Full trade qualifications for a diesel mechanic/fitter and turner. Strong communication and interpersonal skills. Team playerMust be able to work and perform under pressure.Knowledge of Light & Heavy Vehicles, Welding equipment, Water pumps, core splitters, Generators, jack hammers, grinders, work-

shop tools.

Education Minimum Secondary School. Full trade qualifications for a diesel mechanic/fitter and turner.

Experience Required Minimum of 10 years working with machinery, equipment or similar.

Physical Requirement To be able to pass a full Doctor’s examination. To be available to work in accordance with ZMSC rosters.

Job Title & number required Chief Mining Engineer (01)


Understand, support and fully endorse, by way of example, ZMSC JV principles throughout all operations. Develop team under-standing and compliance with ZMSC JV principles.Ensure all mine engineering employees are supervised, trained and assessed in accordance to the ZMSC JV principles. Maintain Mine Long Range and Short Range Plans. Inform and provide direction to Short Range Planning and Mine Operations teams in particular, but also to other interested parties. Estimation and reporting of the Koka Mine Reserve. Maintenance and safe keeping of all data, computerized models and any information used in the compilation of the long range plan and reserve. Coordinate all the short range planning functions. Coordination with the Medium, Long Range Plan-ning and Geotechnical Engineers. And as per Job Description.


English literacy to a conversational level.Excellent leadership and organizational skills.Excellent interdepartmental communica-tion skills.Excellent working knowledge of all aspects of mining operational theory including open pit Mining Operations.Excel-lent knowledge of consumable products used in the mining industry including their safe use and applications.Ability to effectively plan daily, weekly and monthly work activities.Computer literacy in Microsoft Office suite of programs.

Education Engineering Degree preferred, however a well experienced hands on mining professional without formal qualifications would also desirable.

Experience RequiredMiningexperience of 10 years (Significant experience in open pit operations and processing a must).Must be conversant with Mine Design using CAD software. Surpac preferred but experience other similar packages would be

acceptable.


Job Title & number required Maintenance General Foreman (01)


Supervision of maintenance operations which includes heavy and light vehicle workshop, Mining and TSF fleet/ LV fleet/ Fixed Plant and maintenance workshop employees. Understand, support and fully endorse, by way of example, ZMSC JV principles throughout all operations. Develop team understanding and compliance with ZMSC JV principles. Ensure the safety and welfare of all maintenance personnel, machinery and all company property. Ensure that all maintenance personnel work in a safe manner, in a clean and safe environment and according to Company policy. Ensuring that quality, safety and environmental plans are known to all maintenance personnel and implemented in respect to equipment maintenance.


Excellent leadership and organizational skills. English literacy to a conversational level. Excellent leadership and organizational skills. Excellent interdepartmental communication skills. Excellent working knowledge of all aspects of mining maintenance matters particularly for open pit mining Operations. Excellent knowledge of maintenance spares used in the mining maintenance industry. Ability to effectively plan daily, weekly and monthly work activities. Computer literacy in Microsoft Office suite of pro-grams.

Education Engineering Apprenticeship Essential.

Experience Required Mobile maintenance experience. Must be conversant with mobile equipment maintenance in open pit mining.


General Information and other requirements: Place of work: Koka Gold Mine Site. Occasional assignment to other locations. Salary: As per Company scale.

Additional Requirement for nationals: Having fulfilled his/her National Service obligations and provide evidence of a release paper from the Ministry of Defense. Having finished registration and duty performing for the National Army, and present the release paper or registration card issued by National Army. Provide a Clear-ance paper from office of the Eritrean Police and present Medical Certificate from Hospital. Present Clearance paper from the current/last employer. Only short listed applicants would be considered as potential candidates for an interview. Application documents will not be returned back to the sender and/or applications should be sent through the Post Office. Deadline for application: 10 days from the day of publication in the Newspaper.

Address: Please mail your applications to: ZARA MINING SHARE CO. P. O. Box 2393. Asmara, Eritrea.

Note to Eritrean applicants: Please send a copy of your application to: Aliens Employment Permit Affairs P.O. Box 7940 Asmara, Eritrea.

ADS

THE STATE OF ERITREA

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

SUPPORT TO SKILLS DEVELOPMENT FOR EMPLOYABILITY AND ENTREPRENEUR-SHIP (SSDEE)

Grant Number: 2100155029467Loan Number: 2100150032843

GENERAL PROCUREMENT NOTICE

1. This General Procurement Notice is being published in the current Development Business.

2. The Government of The State of Eritrea has received a Grant and a Loan from the African Devel-opment Fund (ADF) in the amount of UA 5.92 million and 7.58 million respectively towards the cost of the Support to Skills Development for Employability and Entrepreneurship (SSDEE) and it intends to apply the proceeds of this Grant and Loan to payments for institutional support goods, works, related services and consulting services to be procured under this project. Bidding for contracts financed by the ADF will be governed by its eligibility rules and procedures.

3. The principal objective of this project is to: The specific objective of the project is to contribute to improve equitable access, quality and relevance of technical vocational education and training.

4. The project will include the following three components:

(i) Component I - Increasing access and improving equity in enrolment in TVET(UA12.53m). this component will support the TVET subsector by constructing and equipping one tech-

nical school in Mendefera, constructing and equipping one agricultural school in Gash Barka, providing equipment for technical workshops, laboratories, farm demonstration units, ICT labs. Through this project i) enrolment will increase by at least 1,400 students in the two new technical schools in five years, 50% be-ing females; ii) Provision of fire protection, adequate water and sanitation, waste handling; and iii) Design and construction of the technical schools ensuring the adequate gender activities mainstreaming and con-sideration for Special Needs groups, to access technical and employability skills in the new technical and agricultural schools.

(ii) Component II - Capacity building, curriculum development and quality assurance of TVET (UA 1.75 m). This Component will support the following activities: i) Upgrading qualification for 180 TVET teachers , of which at least 30% are females; ii) Training of 60 TVET staff and school managers , of which 30% being females; iii) Mentoring and training 125 women in science and technology; iv) Training 75 women on gender policy; v) Developing competency-based curricula for 3or more trades; vi) Developing quality assurance manual for TVET training; and vii) Assessment of internal efficiency of the TVET training schools.

(iii) Component III - Project management (UA 0.72 million): This component will provide resources

for operating costs and procurement of goods and services needed for implementing the overall project, technical assistance for capacity building, financial management, training and use of ICT, audit as well as monitoring and evaluation; and provision of monitoring of project implementation in the field and at office level.

5. Procurement of goods and/or works will be in accordance with the Bank’s Rules and Procedures for the Procurement of Goods and Works. Acquisition of the services of consultants will follow the Bank’s Rules and Procedure for the use of consultants. Bidding documents are expected to be available in Novem-ber 2015.

6. Specific procurement notices (SPNs) for contracts to be bid under the African Development Bank’s International Competitive Bidding (ICB) procedures and for large-value consultants’ contracts will be an-nounced, as they become available, in Development Business and Market, and also in local newspapers.

7. Interested bidders may obtain further information, and should confirm their interest, by contact-ing:

PROJECT MANAGEMENT UNIT – MINISTRY OF EDUCATION(PMU - MOE)HDAY STREET, DEMBE SEMBEL, BLOcK A, ZIPcODE 748-1MR. MIcHAEL GHEBREGZIABHEREMAIL: [email protected] Tel: +291-1-151614Fax: +291-1-152181

water sources. But practically it remains one of the unsustainable ecological zones in the world. These highly interconnected chal-lenges can only be addressed through a prudent developmental policy regarding water and soil conservation.

Yet the prospects for this region might be more positive. Though an exception than a rule, Eritrea has achieved admirable progress when it comes to managing water resources on the surface.

The Eritrean Government has promised to provide basic serv-ices to the people since independ-ence. True to its words almost all parts of the country, including the remotes one are now sending their children to school, getting health facilities just an hour walk in the case of the remotest and fetch-ing water from water taps. More than 75% of the Eritrean people now have access to potable wa-ter. More importantly numerous water diversion canals, reserveirs, microdams and medium sized dams has been built, enhancing agricultural production through-out the country.

Eritrea’s exeptional achieve-ments, relative to its meager re-sources, short history as an inde-pendent state with too much odds on its way and an unnecessarly destructive war, in building the fundamental infrustructures for water management might help to sow some seeds of hope. True enough, but Eritrea’s exclusive focus on water as an agricultural resource leaves the image half drawn.

The main objective behind the construction of different in-frustructures in the country was ensuring food sufficeincy. And what is done so far seems to be more than enough for a start.

Beyond Developmental objec-tives

The governments’ recent em-phasis on soil and water conser-vation is a supportive campaign to its developmental agenda that gives priority to industrialization half led by agriculture. The need to prioritize the water and soil con-servation campaign is also pushed and reinforced by the forecasted sombre climate for the region. A significant rise in the number and

frequency of extreme droughts and extreme rainfall could pro-duce a systemic crisis, affecting agricultural production as well as millions of pastoralists across the region. Climate change is altering the Horn of Africa’s agricultural base and water ecology. Systems are already under pressure from human-induced resource degra-dation, failed past policies and population growth.

Eritrea, as a Sahel state border-ing the Sahara receives an aver-age of 700ml of rainfall annualy. The slopy topograh of the coun-try however makes impposible the retention of this few water suficeintly. And what is saved in reserviers, micro-dams and dams have to be distributed for house-holds, industrial uses and agri-cultural ventures. Initiatives to reserve water individualy either in farms or households has been very limited.

The retention and storing of water should be part of our de-velopmental policy. Our hous-ing infrustructures either built by owners or companies should include ground reserviers within their strucures. And farmers, even traditional ones have to be en-couraged to use micro rserviers collectively.

If these things could be contem-pleted I am sure it wan’t be dif-ficult to see their added value in increasing the amount of rainfall that can be trapped inside Eritrea for a good use.

Saving water from its value

These statistics and argeu-ments might be less apealling to ordinary people who know the value of water very well and use it accordingly. If people over-use water it is not because they are ir-responsible, rather because it is extremely valuable.

The need to cultivate the cul-ture of wisely utilizing water is as important as retaining and storing it - we need to save water from being over-used, from its value. And that is why the need to raise public awareness about the effi-cient use of water should be part of the campaign for soil and water conservation.

Eritrea’s fight for ...

continued from page 2

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could you introduce yourself?

My name is Selam Goitom. I was born in 1989 in Sahel. I was educated at Finland Mission and Barka schools. I am a member of the 20th batch of the National Service. I took technical train-ing and diploma in accounting from SMAP as well as three years training in painting.

Multiple professions at the same time

I think it is good. It enlarges your creativity. Alongside paint-ing I also try to produce poems … though I give priority to painting. I produce poems occasionally as a hobby and not as a profession.

Art is my world, so I am always, even subconsciously, in contact with various artistic activities. To me a world without art would be monotonous. I think that is why I always have my hands full with whatever has to with arts.

When did you find your artist self?

I felt love and interest towards art since my early childhood. I remember how my father had an assignment of drawing a sort of map or something of the kind for his work. He was very much disturbed on how to do it. And I asked him if I could help; He was not convinced but he agreed.

When he saw that I was gifted with some talent that I didn’t even know about, he took me to Mirara School of painting and with that I had the opportunity to get three years training in painting and eventually advance my abilities.

What do you think of your ar-tistic inclinations?

I usually find myself following abstract painting. And I believe that often times I pick themes re-lated to my gender. I believe wom-en should not be estimated at all. I want to tell the world that women are a vital part of the community that could make miracles without expecting any outside assistance. And I represent that woman with my painting.

Who is your role model?

There many role models for me. Musie, Habtom and others who helped me become who I am to-day. These were my teachers.

Any final thoughts?

I would like to thank my father for giving me the opportunity of training. I would like also to thank

“My paintings reflect my gender”

Tell us about yourself

My name is Kidane Girmai. I was born in 1962 in Asmara, Aba-Shaul area. I attended elementary at Medeber Elementary school, junior high at Arbaete Asmara School and high school at Ibrahim Sultan. I was deeply involved in art that I decided to quit my edu-cation at 11th grade.

When did you start acting?

First time I took the stage was when I was in the fourth grade; I acted in a drama produced for school year closing ceremony. My professional debut was in 1984, when I acted in a drama “Tsibah kebri intebeluwo Shebed-bed” (literary meaning, “Getting

restless when told that there is funeral ceremony for to-morrow”). That was my first stage drama exposure.

What pushed you to shift in the production of com-edies?

I honestly don’t know. I am not sure, I guess I found myself more resourceful in producing comedies that act-ing. And I also think because I gained many followers when I took on comedies. I have been an actor for a long time in my career. When then I tried to direct some of my dramas and eventually I continued directing and pro-ducing comedies and I found

less challenges. I did not take any trainings or studies related to acting and produc-ing. It is through hard work and developing experience that I am engaged in theater.

What character do you prefer to act as?

I like to act as a low in-come person or a person with mental disability.

Why?

I very much sympathize with people with mental dis-ability. They are people who we should take special at-tention and care of.

“Art is part of my life”What is your future plan?

My life is connected with arts. And I like to live with that. That means I will go on producing as many dramas or comedies that I hope will satisfy the public.

Good luck!Thank you!

all my friends, my teachers and the staff of Alliance Francoise

Good luck!Thank you!

Yishak Yared

new th, 2015 president isaias receives...

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