In a previous edition of Gedab News, we reported the following:

In a meeting at Massawa--the one preceding the recent meeting in Dbarwa--Mr. Woldemichael Ghebremariam, Eritrea’s Minister of Land, Water & Environment, expressed his frustration with the direction of the country. He asked, “How long? Where are we heading to.” 

President Isaias Afwerki gave him an answer that is often a handy tool: he walked out of the meeting. His Chief of Staff and Spokesperson, Mr. Yemane “Charlie” Gebremeskel, went after him and begged him to return to the meeting--which he did. And the subject was changed.

Since then, President Isaias Afwerki has been agitating to imprison Woldemichael Ghebremariam and fortunately for the minister those who have influence on the president have managed to persuade him by exploiting his paranoia: “arresting him will make our enemies happy.”  But there is a limit to how far reason can carry one with Isaias Afwerki: to punish Woldemichael, he has shut down the entire ministry and ordered all its employees to report to Massawa where they were dispersed to different units. 

There is shortage of everything, all companies are on the verge of bankruptcy and the government is not collecting taxes.  Senior officials from the party regularly meet with Isaias to meekly suggest that the prevailing policy is leading the nation into an abyss and something should be done. The most recent one was headed by Zemehret Yohannes—who was told that he should refrain from emotional speeches and do it the right way, by forming a committee and presenting a white paper.  

Darelwa: The New Badme?

After weeks of insisting that Eritrea is nowhere near Djibouti and that the recent claims that the Eritrean Defense Forces (EDF) are in Djibouti is a “fabrication by our enemies”, the PFDJ cadres have been providing hints and clues.

One claim is that the Eritrean government received intelligence that Weyane was going to occupy the strategic Mt. Mussa Ali, and the Eritrean move is a defensive one.

Another is that the two countries do have a dispute that they have been “handling” but that Djibouti, on the orders of America and “Weyane”, is “exaggerating the issue.” The dispute is supposedly centered on Darelwa.  

What is undeniable is that all police force units have been ordered to stay indefinitely at their respective stations, and the round up (giffa) has intensified for over a week.

E-TV (Ethiopian TV)

“Diaspora Eritreans watch Eri-TV and domestic Eritreans watch Ethiopian TV” and for similar reasons, for a sign of change.

The Ethiopian media has given extensive coverage to the Eritrean opposition meeting which has been going on for almost a week. The fact that there was no negative development was seen as a huge morale booster for the people and a downer for the government.

The joke in Asmara is: “Ali Abdu is talking about registering all dishes in Asmara  because people neglected the boring programs of Eri-TV and switched to EtV and other channels. Any more good news about the opposition from Ethiopia and Ali will probably order the confiscation of all Sat-dishes in Eritrea.”