By Molla Mitiku
The Horn of Africa has seen more regional conflicts and instability. One among many other reasons that has been aggravating conflicts in the region is the irresponsibility of the Eritrean government.
The people of Eritrea have been suffering of murder, torch and imprisonment in their homeland. They haven’t got an attention yet from the international community. In the past decades, hundred thousands of people displaced from their very places and escaped to neighboring countries: Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Egypt, Yemen and other parts of the world. According to some documents, Eritrea has about 300,000 refugees in neighboring countries.
Aradom, 35, is an Eritrean living in Cairo, Egypt. He has been living there since 2005. Before he immigrated to Egypt, he was one of the Youth Association participants in his homeland. I encountered with him in the streets of Cairo while I was searching for an internet cafe in the city. We feel one another that we belong to same country and talked for some minutes.
Aradom said “The Ethiopia people and government are really helping their Eritrean brothers and sisters. They provide Eritrean refugees the necessary things including the right to attend universities in Ethiopia, which clearly indicates how the Ethiopian government is bound to international conventions. Besides, it is the reflection of the commitment of the Ethiopian people and government to help the people in the region.”
He continued saying while his tears was washing his cheeks, “When I was in Eritrea the dictatorial regime jailed me along with many other youngsters under the pretext of opposing the government without any tangible evidences and court trial. It was very annoying that the jails in Eritrea are really hells.”
He continued, “You see people are murdered, torched, imprisoned and harassed as a result, thousands of youngsters including myself preferred to leave our country for good. Despite the persistent terrible conditions in Eritrea, no one dares even to tell their suffering stories to the international community and the international community gave little attention to them.”
The people of Eritrea are deprived of their democratic and human rights. Most of them feel the same thing as what Aradom has felt. The regime never allows them to either demonstrate or come together for political discussions. Neither do they get the chances to express their opinions and run their political agendas. The bond they had for centuries with neighboring people has disconnected due to the warmongering and aggressive behavior of the State in Asmara. The Eritrean government focuses on teaching children about war and terror. While the people of Eritrea are suffering, the dictatorial regime allocated ample budget to arm Al-Shabab and other terrorist groups in the Horn.
The people of Eritrea faced extensive detention, torture of citizens and prolonged military conscription since 1991. These abnormal and
dictatorial actions had prompted increasing numbers of Eritrean to flee the country and become refugees.
The State in Eritrea is turning the country into a giant prison. The international community should meaningfully act against the despot government in the region that waged war against its people.
Some concerned countries called the United States and European Union to coordinate with the UN and the African Union to resolve regional tensions by taking appropriate measures upon the Eritrean government. In contradictory to facts on the ground, they seem reluctant to take tough major. But the government has never ceased accommodating modern weapons and sponsoring terrorists.
Despite all these anti peace activities of the state in Asmara and the deteriorating socioeconomic situations in the country that coerced the people to live in misery, the situation gets little attention.
No country, except a few, backs the Eritrean National Commission for Democratic Changes that has been attempting to overthrow the dictatorial regime in Asmara.
The international community remained reluctant either to take a serious measure up on the aggressive State in Eritrea or to back those Eritreans who have been attempting to bring democracy in Eritrea so that the people could live in harmony with their neighboring peoples. The international community should give attention to the victims of desperate Issayas.