I am writing these few paragraphs to express sadness about the death and burial in exile of Idris Mohammed Adem, one of Eritrea�s patriots with remarkable roles in awakening our nationalism and in the establishment of the armed struggle that was eventually crowned with resounding success in May 1991.

A few months after the liberation of Eritrea, I, like many compatriots, felt that Isayas Afeworki�s �new� Eritrea was not going to be what we dreamt it would be for all of us. To express that sadness, I wrote in a small book I published in October 1992: �Woldeab Woldemariam has returned home, but not yet Idris Mohammed Adem. And without the happy return of all those [of us], the future of Eritrea could be considered to be still hanging in the scales �. 

To be frank, though, I never thought that it would take us this long (and probably more) before we returned home. Idris Mohammed Adem has not made it;  and the fear is�(I will not fill the blanks). I was not regretting that Woldeab Woldemariam returned home. We all were happy that he did return home. We were happy that he had the chance to live in Asmara and tell his long story to old friends. We all were also happy that Woldeab could die and be buried at home with great honour that he deserved.

Many of us would  have wished the same for Ibrahim Sultan (buried in Kassala) and now for Idris Mohammed Adem.  By lamenting that Idris Mohammed Adem had not returned home by 1992, I was telling compatriots then blindly supporting the new �provisional� government that the �Hashewiye Wudbat� talk of the then emerging dictator was dangerous to our future. I was telling the reality of Isayas Afeworki�s Eritrea in a few words, as a British writer on Eritrean affairs, David Pool, had said quoting that phrase at a seminar on Eritrea in the 1990s. For sure, I was  NOT �dividing� Eritrea into blocks, as Keleta Kidane of London would interpret it.

I don�t claim to know much about Idris Mohammed Adem except the big influence his name had in the growth of nationalism in me in my childhood. The first time I heard his name was when I was told he resigned from the Presidency of the Eritrean Parliament. When I asked why he had to abandon a post �higher than that  of our school director�,  I was told that he did not agree with the lowering down of the Eritrean flag in 1958. Since then, I adored the flag and respected the role of the man in that period.

In an interview with veteran ELF fighters in 1982, I was told the following pieces of first- hand information about Idris Mohammed Adem:

1.  Al Haj Mussa Ali, Martyr: � In the spring of 1959, Idris Mohammed Adem and Ibrahim Sultan [left Eritrea to go abroad]. It was me who took them to Kassala.�

2.   Abdulkerim Ahmed, Martyr: �  [In 1958, we sent from Cairo] Mohammed Adem Gessir to Eritrea with a letter to Idris Mohammed Adem. Later on, Idris Mohammed Adem, Ibrahim Sultan and  Idris Nur came to Cairo. Saeed Hussein was the most active coordinator of our movement in � At a meeting at Jebel Muketem near Cairo [in 1960], we named our organization ELF. There were suggestions to call it National Liberation Front, National Resurrection etc� We demoted [our young chairman] Saeed Hussein to the post of deputy and named Idris Mohammed Adem as our new leader�.

One would see it as shameful to the present generation not to be respectful of the makers of Eritrea. It would indeed have been a great honour to all generations of our patriots if we were able to create a country that welcomed all its people, including a great patriot like Idris Mohammed Adem. The man, who defended the federation, the Eritrean flag and constitution with great vigor and who headed the major liberation movement of the day between 1961 to 1975, would indeed deserve return back home and then a small piece of Eritrean land for his remains after death which was reported by Gedab News yesterday. I am hoping someone who knows better would tell us more about the late Idris Mohammed Adem. May his soul rest in peace.

Regards.