The Question of the Eritrean People and Political Alliances with the TPLF: A Call for Accountability, Justice, and Transparent Peace
The Unresolved Eritrean Question: Historical Grievances, Political Alliances, and the Need for Truth
The question of the Eritrean people and the current political discussions surrounding alliances with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) remain among the most sensitive and important issues affecting the Horn of Africa.
For many Eritreans, the last three decades represent a period of tremendous loss, missed opportunities, displacement, and social hardship. The consequences of the prolonged political confrontation between Eritrea and the TPLF-led Ethiopian government continue to affect millions of Eritrean families inside Eritrea and throughout the global diaspora.
The central question raised by many Eritreans is:
How can a sustainable peace and genuine political partnership be achieved without openly addressing the suffering, grievances, and unresolved questions created over the last decades?
The Impact of the “No War, No Peace” Situation
Many Eritrean communities argue that the “no war, no peace” situation following the Eritrea–Ethiopia border war created severe consequences for Eritrea’s social and economic development.
According to this perspective, Eritrea lost significant opportunities for:
- regional economic cooperation;
- trade and investment;
- development of its ports and maritime economy;
- youth participation in national development;
- stronger relations with neighboring countries.
Critics argue that prolonged hostility contributed to the migration of a large number of Eritrean youth, creating one of the largest refugee and migration crises in the region.
They argue that more than one million Eritrean youth left the country over the years and many faced severe human rights abuses, exploitation, trafficking, detention, and life-threatening conditions through migration routes, including:
- the Sinai Desert in Egypt;
- Sudan;
- Libya;
- the Mediterranean Sea.
The suffering experienced by Eritrean migrants and refugees remains one of the greatest humanitarian tragedies affecting Eritrean families worldwide.
The Eritrean Refugee Question and Political Responsibility
Critics of the TPLF argue that Eritrean refugee issues were not only humanitarian matters but also became instruments of political pressure.
They accuse the TPLF-led Ethiopian government of establishing refugee structures and political networks that, in their view, used the suffering of Eritrean refugees for political purposes.
They further argue that organizations and forums created around Eritrean political issues contributed to divisions within Eritrean communities abroad, creating additional social and economic difficulties for Eritrean families.
As a result, millions of Eritreans became scattered throughout the world, separated from their families and communities.
The Treatment of Eritreans in Ethiopia
Another major grievance raised by Eritrean communities concerns the situation of Eritreans living in Ethiopia during the TPLF-led government period.
Critics argue that thousands of Eritreans were forced to leave Ethiopia and experienced discrimination and political targeting because of their Eritrean identity.
They point to statements and actions they describe as ethnic-based discrimination, including allegations that Eritreans were treated as outsiders and told they did not belong in Ethiopia.
For many Eritreans, these experiences remain unresolved historical wounds that require acknowledgment and discussion.
The Question of Ports and Economic Interests
Another major issue concerns Eritrea’s Red Sea access and the use of Eritrean ports, particularly Massawa and Adulis.
Critics argue that the TPLF-led Ethiopian government rejected meaningful use of Eritrean ports and instead shifted economic dependence toward Djibouti.
According to this viewpoint, this policy weakened Eritrea economically and increased its vulnerability.
Supporters of this argument believe that cooperation between Ethiopia and Eritrea over Red Sea access could have created mutual economic benefits and regional integration.
Allegations Regarding Political Pressure on Eritrean Youth
Some Eritrean critics have referred to statements by individuals associated with the TPLF period, including comments attributed to Teacher Muluwork Kidanemariam, questioning why Eritrean youth had not yet left their country.
Such statements, according to critics, reflected a political attitude that viewed Eritrean migration as a political advantage rather than a humanitarian tragedy.
They argue that the suffering of Eritrean youth should never become a political tool.
The Role of PFDJ and Opposition Alliances
Supporters of the Eritrean government argue that the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) worked continuously to resist political pressure from the TPLF-led Ethiopian government.
According to this perspective, PFDJ developed strategies to challenge TPLF influence, including supporting opposition groups and political actors who opposed the TPLF/EPRDF system.
The Eritrean government and its supporters have claimed that they provided political space and support to various Ethiopian opposition figures and movements, including:
- Dr. Berhanu Nega and Ginbot 7;
- Lencho Leta and Oromo political opposition groups;
- Abiy Ahmed and OPDO-related political currents during earlier periods.
They also argue that Eritrea supported alternative media platforms, including:
- ESAT media activities in the United States, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and other locations;
- OMN and other opposition media initiatives connected with Ethiopian political movements.
Political Developments Within the TPLF
Supporters of this argument also claim that Eritrean political strategy attempted to encourage divisions within the TPLF by supporting individuals and factions opposed to the leadership of Meles Zenawi.
They refer to figures such as:
- Sebhat Nega;
- Dawit Gebreziher;
- Fetlework Gebreziher;
- Debretsion Gebremichael;
- Isaias Wold Giorgis;
- Arkebe Oqubay;
as examples of political figures connected with internal TPLF debates and power struggles.
They further argue that Eritrea supported earlier TPLF founders and former leaders, including Dr. Aregawi Berhe and Gidey Zeratsion, who had disagreements with the Meles Zenawi faction.
They also argue that after the 1993 TPLF internal division, efforts were made to reconnect with commanders and political figures who had been removed from influence.
The Current Question: Why Alliance Without Accountability?
Today, many Eritreans ask a fundamental question:
Why would Eritrea establish political cooperation with the TPLF without first addressing the grievances of the last thirty years?
The questions include:
- Where is the accountability for Eritreans who lost their lives, property, and opportunities?
- Where is justice for families affected by displacement and migration?
- How can trust be rebuilt without acknowledging past mistakes?
- How can a genuine partnership exist without transparency and honesty?
Many Eritreans believe that peace cannot be based only on temporary political interests or changes in leadership.
A Call for Honest and Transparent Peace
Sustainable peace between Eritrea and Ethiopia requires:
- acknowledgment of historical grievances;
- respect for victims of past conflicts;
- transparent political agreements;
- accountability for abuses committed by all sides;
- cooperation based on mutual respect and national interests.
The future of the Horn of Africa cannot be built by ignoring the experiences of ordinary people.
A lasting peace requires truth, justice, reconciliation, and a commitment that the suffering of Eritrean and Ethiopian communities will never again be used as a political instrument.
By Zoskales Agaezi (ANU member)
ሕቶ ህዝቢ ኤርትራን ፖለቲካዊ ምትእስሳር ምስ ህወሓት (TPLF)፡ ጻውዒት ንተሓታትነት፣ ፍትሒን ግልጺ ሰላምን
ዘይተፈትሐ ሕቶ ኤርትራ፡ ታሪኻዊ ቅሬታታት፣ ፖለቲካዊ ምትእስሳርን ድሌት ሓቅን
ሕቶ ህዝቢ ኤርትራን እቲ ሕጂ ብዛዕባ ምትእስሳር ምስ ህወሓት (TPLF) ዝካየድ ዘሎ ፖለቲካዊ ዘተን ኣብ ቀርኒ ኣፍሪቃ ካብቶም ኣዝዮም ተኣፋፍን ኣገደስትን ጉዳያት ሓደ እዩ።
ንብዙሓት ኤርትራውያን፣ ዝሓለፉ ሰለስተ ዕስራ ዓመታት ናይ ዓቢ ክሳራ፣ ዝጠፍኡ ዕድላት፣ ምፍንቓልን ማሕበራዊ ጸገማትን ዝተሓወሶ ዘመን እዩ።
እቲ ነዊሕ ፖለቲካዊ ግጭት ኣብ መንጎ ኤርትራን እቲ ብህወሓት ዝምራሕ ዝነበረ መንግስቲ ኢትዮጵያን ክሳብ ሕጂ ኣብ ህይወት ሚልዮናት ስድራቤታት ኤርትራ ኣብ ውሽጢ ኤርትራን ኣብ ሓያሎ ሃገራት ዓለምን ጽልዋ ኣለዎ።
እቲ ቀንዲ ሕቶ ብብዙሓት ኤርትራውያን ዝልዓል፦
ብዘይ ብግልጺ ምፍታሕ ናይቲ ዝወረደ ስቓይ፣ ቅሬታታትን ኣብ ዝሓለፈ ዓመታት ዘይተመለሱ ሕቶታትን፣ ዘላቒ ሰላምን ሓቀኛ ፖለቲካዊ ምትሕብባርን ክህሉ ከመይ ይከኣል?
ጽልዋ ናይ “ዘይ ኩናት፣ ዘይ ሰላም” ኩነታት ህወሓት (TPLF)
ብዙሓት ማሕበረሰባት ኤርትራ ድሕሪ ኩናት ዶብ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ዝተፈጠረ ናይ “ዘይ ኩናት፣ ዘይ ሰላም” ኩነታት ኣብ ማሕበራዊን ቁጠባዊን ዕቤት ኤርትራ ከቢድ ሳዕቤን ከምዝነበሮ ይገልጹ።
ብመሰረት እዚ ኣረኣእያ፣ ኤርትራ ዝሰኣነቶ ዕድላት፦
- ዞባዊ ቁጠባዊ ምትሕብባር፤
- ንግድን ኢንቨስትመንትን፤
- ምምዕባል ወደባትን ባሕራዊ ቁጠባን፤
- ተሳትፎ መንእሰያት ኣብ ሃገራዊ ልምዓት፤
- ምሕያል ርክብ ምስ ጎረባብቲ ሃገራት።
ነቐፍቲ ከምዝብሉ፣ እቲ ነዊሕ ጽልኢን ግጭትን ብዙሓት መንእሰያት ኤርትራ ካብ ሃገሮም ክወጹ ብምግባር ዓቢ ናይ ስደት ሓደጋ ፈጢሩ።
ንሳቶም ልዕሊ ሓደ ሚልዮን መንእሰያት ኤርትራ ኣብ ዝተፈላለዩ መስመራት ስደት ከቢድ ሰብኣዊ ጥሕሰታት፣ ምጥቃዕ፣ ምሻጥ ሰባት፣ ማእሰርቲን ሓደጋ ህይወትን ከምዘጋጠሞም ይገልጹ።
እዚ ድማ ኣብ፦
- በረኻ ሲናይ ግብጺ፤
- ሱዳን፤
- ሊብያ፤
- ባሕሪ መዲተራንያን፤
ዝተፈጸመ ሰብኣዊ ሓደጋታት የጠቓልል።
ጉዳይ ስደተኛታት ኤርትራን ፖለቲካዊ ሓላፍነትን
ነቐፍቲ ህወሓት ከምዝብሉ፣ ጉዳይ ስደተኛታት ኤርትራ ጥራይ ሰብኣዊ ጉዳይ ዘይኮነስ ከም ፖለቲካዊ መሳርሒ ተጠቒሙ እዩ።
ንሳቶም ብህወሓት ዝምራሕ ዝነበረ መንግስቲ ኢትዮጵያ መዋቕራት ስደተኛታትን ፖለቲካዊ መርበባትን ብምፍጣር ስቓይ ስደተኛታት ኤርትራ ንፖለቲካዊ ዕላማታት ከምዝተጠቕመሉ ይኸሱ።
ከምኡ’ውን ኣብ ዙርያ ጉዳይ ኤርትራ ዝተፈጠሩ መድረኻትን ፎራማትን ኣብ ማሕበረሰባት ኤርትራውያን ወጻኢ ምፍልላይ ከምዘስዓቡ ይገልጹ።
ብሰንኪ እዚ ሚልዮናት ኤርትራውያን ኣብ ዓለም ተበቲኖም፣ ካብ ስድራቤቶምን ማሕበረሰቦምን ተፈልዮም ኣለዉ።
ሕቶ ሎሚ፡ ምትእስሳር ብዘይ ተሓታትነት?
ሎሚ ብዙሓት ኤርትራውያን ሓደ መሰረታዊ ሕቶ የቕርቡ፦
ስለምንታይ ኤርትራ ምስ ህወሓት ፖለቲካዊ ምትሕብባር ክትገብር እንከላ፣ እቲ ዝሓለፈ ሰላሳ ዓመት ቅሬታታትን ስቓያትን ብቐዳምነት ዘይተፈትሐ?
ሕቶታት፦
- ንዝሰኣኑ ህይወታት፣ ንብረትን ዕድላትን ተሓታትነት ኣበይ ኣሎ?
- ንስድራቤታት ዝተፈናቐሉ ፍትሒ ኣበይ ኣሎ?
- ሕሉፍ ጌጋታት ብዘይ ምእማን እምነት ከመይ ክህነጽ ይኽእል?
- ብዘይ ግልጽነትን ሓቅን ሓቀኛ ምትሕብባር ክህሉ ይኽእል ድዩ?
ጻውዒት ንሓቀኛን ግልጽን ሰላም
ዘላቒ ሰላም ኣብ መንጎ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ንምህናጽ፦
- ታሪኻዊ ቅሬታታት ምእማን፤
- ንግዳያት ሕሉፍ ግጭታት ምኽባር፤
- ግልጺ ፖለቲካዊ ስምምዓት፤
- ንጥሕሰታት ብዝኾነ ወገን ተሓታትነት፤
- ኣብ ሓባራዊ ክብሪን ሃገራዊ ረብሓን ዝተመርኮሰ ምትሕብባር፤ የድሊ።
መጻኢ ቀርኒ ኣፍሪቃ ንተሞክሮ ሓፋሽ ህዝቢ ብምርሳዕ ክህነጽ ኣይክእልን።
ዘላቒ ሰላም ብሓቂ፣ ፍትሒ፣ ዕርቂን እቲ ስቓይ ህዝቢ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ዳግማይ ከም ፖለቲካዊ መሳርሒ ከይውዕል ብዝግበር ቃል ኪዳንን ጥራይ እዩ ክረጋገጽ ዝኽእል።
ብዞስካለስ ኣግዓዚ (ኣባል ሃገራዊ ሕብረት ኣግዓዚ — ANU)