Eritrean News, analysis & information. - Update on the G-15, the G-1 & The People

On Aug 1, UNMEE ceased operations. What will this mean to Eritrea and Ethiopia?

	This will make a military conflict more likely.
	This will make a military conflict less likely.
	This will have no signficant impact.
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Update on the G-15, the G-1 & The People

By Stringer 96 - Oct 08, 2006

On August 17, 2006, Aiga Forum, an Ethiopian website published information on the whereabouts of the "G-15" (reform-seeking Eritrean officials), journalists and other government officials. Awate.com found the information so credible, it translated it to English. The following is additional information on the G-15 and what we call the G-1, the group who are the main obstacle for reform and progress in Eritrea: Isaias Afwerki & his hand-selected advisors.

The G-15

The prisoners are indeed held at Era Ero. They used to be held at Embatkala; however, due to their incessant demands that their case be brought to trial, the G-1 found it necessary to move them to a more isolated place.

In addition to Red Sea Trading Corporation ("09"), all affiliates of the ruling party, including the armed forces and the "mass organizations" are allowed to have their own enterprises. The prison at Era Ero was constructed by Sembel Serehat Haxin'n Enceytin, a company owned by the Eritrean police and headquartered near the Red Sea Soap Factory on the road to the Asmara Airport.

Of the 9 deaths reported by Aigaforum.com, Gedab News can confirm the death of General Oqbe Abraha. However, the cause of his death is unclear: there are conflicting reports that it is due to wounds inflicted from his attempted suicide or his long battle with a severe case of asthma. What is known is that he was rushed to Halibet Hospital and Glass Hospital and the nurse who leaked the story of his admission was subsequently arrested.

General Oqbe Abraha was uniformly believed to be a clean fighter, but when the G-1 was building its case against him, it invented a corruption charge, then declared him guilty through its "special court." It is notable that unlike others, this veteran had no hand in the arrest and liquidation of dissidents of the EPLF. He was also the first individual to initiate the correspondence with Isaias Afwerki, which eventually led to their disappearance.

The G-1

Isaias Afwerki is still feared by the people, but he has lost all respect and trust from the people. People in Asmara have now come to refer to him as "Tifanos", a reference to a bandit in an Eri-TV series.

Much of the loss of prestige is associated with his almost-nightly bar-room brawls, which are commonly-known in Asmara, and his performance during and following the border war with Ethiopia.

Two of his most famous fights were with Alamin "wedi Gereweyna" Mohammed Said, a boyhood friend; and Naizghi Kiflu, his former security chief. The incident with ï¿½wedi Gereweynaï¿½ happened on November 3, 2005, at the West End, a fashionable night club at the Expo compound, while the two were drinking. Isaias Afwerki, who enjoys discussions on people's heritage and ethnicity, reportedly told "Wedi Gereweyna", who is dark-skinned and has negroid features: nesikako Tukrir Ika! (You are a Tukrir) to which Wedi Gereweyna responded nisikas zey Agame ika! (You are an Agame!) [Tukrir is a reference to a tribe from Nigeria who settled in Eritrea; Agame is a region in Tigray, Ethiopia.] Abruptly, Isaias Afwerki smashed a whiskey bottle on Wedi Gereweyna, then he pinned him against a pillar and hit him again.

His fights with Naizghi Kiflu, who is notorious for his foul mouth, are numerous but the most public incident occurred four years earlier, while Isaias Afwerki, Naizghi Kiflu and the late Ali Said were having a drink at the Shamrock night club. Naizghi told Isaias Afwerki, "Listen you Agame! Why don't you release your jailed colleagues?" Isaias Afwerki punched Naizghi's face and when Ali Said tried to break the fight, he was dealt a blow, which required hospitalization in Saudi Arabia.

More and more, Isaias Afwerki has sought comfort in the trappings of his office. He now travels with a three land-cruiser entourage, which Asmara residents refer to as Eten mehazut, a reference to yet another popular movie. The joke in Asmara is that his frequent visits to Debarwa and Massawa are to reclaim the title of Bahri Negasi, King of the Seas. Although war with Ethiopia is considered unlikely, following the Lebanon-Israel war, he and his generals have come to believe that Ethiopia will launch long-range missiles to Eritrea. In his visit to Debub, Isaias Afwerki reportedly reached the peak of Emba Soira to inspect the terrain for such eventuality. Yet another military training center has been developed at Me'etir, near Shi'eb to supplant Sawa, Wia and Kiloma.

........................

The People

The incidents of Wia and Adi Abeito have confirmed to the G-1 that there will not be an uprising for the sake of human rights and democracy. The Warsay are waiting for the Yekalo because they have more experience; and the Yekalo are waiting for Warsay because they donï¿½t have ï¿½family responsibilities.ï¿½ The only popular uprising that can come about is the denial of basic necessities.

More and more, Asmara is looking almost like Pyongyang. There is a shortage of every commodity in Eritrea: the lines for bread now go on for days. But the most critical shortage has been in petroleum, a commodity more expensive in Eritrea than the United States.

To ward off a popular uprising, the G-1 has been frantically repairing their relationship with Yemen and Sudan and shuttling there to import petroleum.

Mereb Gas, a tanker owned by the HAMAMETE (one of the ruling partyï¿½s ï¿½mass organizationsï¿½), recently returned from a trip to Yemen empty handed because one of Yemenï¿½s two petroleum refineries is in the process of renovation; thus, government delegates returned empty-handed from their trip to Yemen.

However, their trips to Port Sudan have borne fruit. A month ago four trucks headed off to Sudan to fetch cooking gas and came back after ten days full with cylinders. But this was quickly distributed to the G-1. The diesel oil coming from Sudan is a ï¿½gift from the government and the people of Sudanï¿½, a payoff to the G-1 for refraining from igniting conflicts in the Sudan. Although the warming of the relationship has helped in relieving shortages of cooking oil, there is still severe shortage of benzene, creating daily problems with bus and taxi fares for the people.