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The Woyane Duplicity

The Woyane Duplicity When I write this piece, some people may question the necessity of attacking the Woyanes, when we have more pressing issues at home, that we do have the enemy in our midst to

The Woyane Duplicity

When I write this piece, some people may question the necessity of attacking the Woyanes, when we have more pressing issues at home, that we do have the enemy in our midst to deal with first and, they remind, any outside threats against Eritrea is secondary.  I admit, I couldn’t agree more.  I do, however, want the Woyanes’ bogus and, frankly, quite dangerous peace overtures has to be put in perspective.  Because, without context, words or phrases or statements don’t mean anything, if not misleading.  Therefore, it is within the context the Woyanes’ statements have to be evaluated.

So, have you been surprised, as I have, by the Woyanes’ sudden love for Eritreans?  I bet you do, If you have an iota of concern left for the well being of Eritrea and Eritreans.  And if you were looking for a confirmation of the Woyanes’ duplicitous love towards Eritreans, then, their recent ኤርትራውያን ትግራይ ዐድኹም ኢያ፡ ሰራዊት ኤርትራ ውን ገዛኻ እዩ pronouncements should do the trick.  So what made the mischievous Woyanes, despite the crimes they committed against civilian and peaceful Eritreans in Ethiopia, for them to profess their love for Eritreans now?   Indeed, what made them do a change of heart?  Unless one is gullible and naive to accept such statements at face value, the astute one should have to have a closer scrutiny of the hairy details of these pronouncements.  Details matter now; because, it is in the details where the devil hides.

So how can we translate the Woyanes’ new found love, in spite of their well known hatred of Eritreans?  What is the motive behind their attempt at detente with Eritreans?  The answer can be found in the annals of history and in the context of what is going on in Ethiopia today.

Narrating here of what historical events had happened, which was a precursor to the Woyanes’ strange vagaries today, would be a tall order.  Doing so would require volumes.  Therefore, any mention of past historical episodes via-a-vis the Tigrayan elites toward Eritrea would only be to reinforce my point.

Some people, perhaps the few uninformed ones, who think, only the Woyanes, and, not their ancestors, were hostile to Eritrea has to refer to history books to understand the context.  Since the 19th century, the Tigray elites have never wavered in their incessant desire to subdue Medri Bahri – today’s Eritrea.  Featured prominently in this episode was Rasi Weldemichael Solomon, whose struggle to ward off the Tigrayan elites’ attempt to control Medri Bahri became his final undoing.  Initially aligned with them against the Egyptians, which culminated in the battle of Gundet and Gura in 1876, Rasi Weldemichael – himself a brutal one, in the manner he dealt with the TseAzegans – became increasingly wary of the motives of Emperor Yohannes – the great paternal uncle of Isaias Afewerki, the dictator of Eritrea – and, rebelled against the Emperor to preserve the sovereignty of Medri Bahri.  Ras Alula, the Emperor’s military man in Medri Bahri, though a military genius himself, was nonetheless wary of Rasi Weldemichael; for he feared, in Rasi Weldemichael, he would find a match.  Upon learning of Alula’s concern, the Emperor had offered a truce to Rasi Weldemichael and tricked him to come to Tigray to sign a peace treaty.  The Rasi took the bait and, once there, in a classic case of betrayal by the Tigrayans, the vanquished Rasi was arrested – some oral history suggest that he was invited, liked there and married a Tigrayan.  It is a murky history.  What is certain is that, he was outwitted by Alula to go to Tigray, never to see Medri Bahri again; thus the beginning, though for short time, Alula’ undisputed reign in Medri Bahri.  By this time though, the British had already recognized Massawa as Ethiopian territory in the Hewett Treaty; not in spirit, but as a bait to Tigrayan elites to help them evacuate the Egyptian forces trapped by the Sudanese Mahdists.  Also by this time, the Italians were already in Massawa with the tacit approval of the British.  This caused the furious Alula to say this to a British Consul:

 “What does England mean by destroying Hewett’s treaty and allowing the Italians to take my country from me?… Did I not relieve the Egyptian garrison..?…  Have I not done everything I could?  You English used us to do what you wanted and then left us.” 

“An Unofficial Mission to Abyssinia” Manchester Guardian, May 17, 1897

 The deceiver of Rasi Weldemichael was himself deceived by the British.  But note how Alula described Medri Bahri as “my county”.  It is a clear testament that the Tigrayan elites have always looked up North, and, not down South.  Is it any wonder then when the so-called General Tsadkan predicted the Eritrean port of Assab to eventually be Ethiopian – or, “a matter of time…”, as he described it?  They will, as always, try to subdue Eritrea in perpetuity.

Which brings me to the Woyanes’ ‘‘ኤርትራዊያን ትግራይ ዐድኹም እያ፡ ሰራዊት ኤርትራ ውን ገዛኻ እዩ‘‘ deception.  If Eritreans had not seen the brutality of the Woyanes, these kind of statements would have been superb and marvelous.  But it was a mere two decades ago, the Woyanes, in the glory days of their power, – I doubt they thought they would be confined to Tigray today – they brutally deported peaceful Eritreans from Ethiopia by expropriating their properties; and, in a text book case of banditry, they also divided the loot among themselves.  One, among many, of the cruelty they often used against Eritreans was the separation of families.  If, for example, they deported the father, they left his family behind, only to deport them later; or, if they deported the family, they left one or two teenagers behind, only to deport them later.  They had the younger Eritreans scooped from the streets and from their homes and threw them into concentration camps.  Yea! That is the brutality they inflicted on Eritreans – the people they call “our brothers” today.  Just to satisfy their wounded ego and nurse their self esteem, they had to inflict maximize psychological trauma on the deportees; a trauma still felt by many to this day.

Regrettably, nor did the Tigrayans show a token of opposition to these brutal Woyane policies towards Eritreans.

Therefore, it is within this context that the Woyanes recent overtures deserve close scrutiny.  Since they were chased out of Addis Abeba and their glory days gone, the Woyanes are in an acute siege mentality now.  They suddenly hit the learning curve to understand that the world is strange enough to let you drink from the chalice of victory today, only to let you down the steep hill the next day.  They are vulnerable, or felt vulnerable now.  But vulnerability is good sometimes; because it helps you to be proactive, accept your mistakes and strive to build trust.  But not the Woyanes; that is why they are talking about war or the enterprise of war these days.  It is, therefore, from the point of vulnerability that they are extending an opportunist hand to Eritreans.

Hence, the Woyanes’ recent pronouncements ‘‘ኤርትራውያን ትግራይ ዐድኹም እያ፡ ሰራዊት ኤርትራ ውን ገዛኻ እዩ‘‘ have, in my opinion, two equally dangerous motives:

The first, short term and tactical reason, is to protect their northern flank.   In case a war would break out, for they feared that will eventually happen, by enticing the rank and file of the Eritrean military to flee from the brutal regime in Eritrea, they want to make sure nothing significant happens in the north.

The second, long term and strategic reason, is to empty Eritrea.  Already, due to unbearable living condition under the brute dictator, Eritrea is hemorrhaging of its youth at an alarming rate.  Thus , under the guise of “peace”, the Woyanes want to accelerate the demise of Eritrea; which would then be easier for them to invade.  It is pure deception, cruelty and chicanery.

It makes you wonder how cunning the Woyanes are in their double dealings to lull Eritreans into submission.  Are the Woyanes playing their last straw?  Perhaps so!

Be very wary Eritreans; as with all things Woyane, what the lulling voice says is not what the crafty mind wants.

 

Tesfamichael Kidane

 

aseye.asena@gmail.com

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7 COMMENTS
  • Woldegabriel March 12, 2020

    Selam all,
    In communication or information sharing and consultation, there four aspects that experts usually use. Based on what they want to achieve, they may apply any or all of them.
    1. Open knowledge (what we (experts) know and what they know)
    2. Their hidden knowledge (what they know and what we don’t know)
    3. Our hidden knowledge (what we know which they don’t know)
    4. Blindness (what we don’t know and they don’t know).
    Higdefites and their cadres always use the first aspect of communication. With captivating demagogy and proficiency they talk about the subject and people will swallow easily with interest, enthusiasm and applause because everyone is within his comfort zone (I.e within the periphery of his knowledge). That is what has been happening for the last 20 yes. But now things are changing and people are challenging to know what has been hidden from them. They are daring to look into their hidden knowledge, our hidden knowledge, which we must share, and our blindness, which we all must courageously explore. I think that is the way forward to break away from the conundrum we are in.

  • Tesfamichael Kidane March 13, 2020

    Selam Woldegabriel, Kemey aleka!
    With all due respect, I think you are too philosophical In your comment to the post, which quite frankly, you also deviated from the topic. The post is about Woyane, yet, your comment is about Higdef. Plus, if Higdef uses the first aspect, open knowledge, why do you think people “swallow easily with interest, enthusiasm and applause?” Wouldn’t that be the opposite of the second aspect, their hidden knowledge? Because people swallow easily if, and only if, they are not privy to the knowledge.

  • Tewelde Gebremariam March 13, 2020

    Hi Tesfankiel Kidan,

    Who expects Woyane to change its heritage of libi tigrai twi twai? As our old adage affirm, Amel Ms Megnez. The question I have been unable to come up with an answer is that, If there is kinship between the Eritrean Highlanders and tigaru, to what can we attribute to the huge difference of character? They are treacherous and untrustworthy , while the Eritrean Highlanders are very credulous?

    Incidentally,the Amhara have a proverb that goes like this…. Agow Lbu Zetegn, Smntu Tto Bandu Achawetegn… And we must acknowledge the area coverage of Agow population was a lot wider than it is now. Ironically though, their number could be a lot larger today than they had ever been before. But how do we reconcile this paradox I am asserting ?

    Just like the native population of South America were forced to abandon their culture, language, religion etc. for that of the Spaniards, similar coercive measure must have been taken on the Agows to adopt the culture, language and religion of their masters. But the Agow do not seem to have lost their main weapon, their Character, which their masters adopted and have been using ever after. They also must intermarried.

    To answer my own question: Tegaru must be predominantly of Agow heritage and here in lies the reason for our difference in Character. Any way, some day, DNA will render its justice.

  • Wedi Hagher March 14, 2020

    ብግዜ ጥልያን ኣብ ግራሞፎን ተቀሩጹ ነይሩ ከምዝባሃል ፥ ዛንታ ጅግንነት ራስ ወልደንኬል ኣብ ልዕሊ ሸፋቱ ትግራይ (ኣሉላ ፥ ባርያይ … ውዘተ) ንወሎዶታት ክንገር ይግንእ ነይሩ ፥ ብዘመናዊ ሽፍታ ትምራሕ ዘላ ኤርትራ ግን ኣይካኣለቶን።
    ብራስ ባርያይ ዝምራሕ ጉጂለ ሸፋቱ ፥ ክዘርፍን ክዝምትን ቀኒዩ ፥ ኣብ ዓዲ ሶግዶ ንዕረፍቲ ምስ ዓስከረ። ብራስ ወልደንኬል ዝምራሕ ሓይሊ ልሕስ ኣበሉዎም ። ብድሕሪኡ ህዝቢ ካብ ቀረጽን ምዝራፍ ኣዋልድን ዕረፊቲ ረኺበ።
    “ዋኻሪያ ዓዲ ሶግዶ ጸጊብኪዶ
    እወ ጸጊበ ወልዳይ ዝሓረዶ
    ብእደይ ሓዲገ ብጉማዶ ”
    ድማ ተባህለ።
    ራስ ወልደንኬል ሰለሞን ፥ ኣብ እምነቶም ጹኑዕ ከም ዝነበሩ ይንገር።
    “ማርያም እክሱም ታቦታ ኣዉጺኣ ንዕርቂ ትጽበየኩም ኣላ ” ዝብል መልእኽቲ ምስ ሰደዱሎም ፥ ወደም ሒዞም ብድድ እሎም ንትግራይ ክዱ ። እቶም ጎራሓት ሸፋቱ ፥ ትቅብል ኣቢሎም ኣብ እስሪቤት ደርበዩዎም ይባሃል።
    ታሪክ ዓብይ መምህር እዪ ።

  • abel March 15, 2020

    It is Simple,
    Eritrean Elites, DO NOT COME TO TIGRAY Should have been a better fitting. Your master’s buddy has ordered all refugee camps in Tigray closed, I do not see why the Tigray government has to risk collision with the central government for the sake of thankless people. Why talk all the backstabbing nonsense, tell ur brothers, sisters, mother, father and great grandfathers to go to Sudan or your Arab cousins instead. ክብረተ ውሻ ዝኾነ ልሂቅ::

    • Wedi Hagher March 15, 2020

      The government of Tigray is not interested in genuine peace with Eritrea. They have helped Iseyas to remain in power by dividing the Eritrean opposition groups along ethnic and confessional lines for more than two decades. They denided those with military wings any presence along the border.
      Even now after the so-called peace accords, Tigray has vetoed Dr. Abiy border demarcation initiative. “We are ready to do what is required from us” that Mr. Debrezion keeps repeating on every occasion is nothing but a lip service.
      Weyane leaders have shown us that Tigray’s interest is in divided and weaker Eritrea.
      What about the fascist groups now active in Tigray: Agazian, Buruh Meztai ..etc.
      These fascist groups are created by Weyane.
      Mr. Abel Erirea is not an ordinary African country.
      If Tigray is interested in peace it has to stop working against the unity of the Eritrean people and work for peace between the two countries.
      After demarcation of the border and settling any issues related to it, the people of Tigray and Eritrea can live in peace and enjoy prosperity that comes with it.

    • Hdrisuehalalmariet March 15, 2020

      Abel,
      Tigrai has been aready in collusion with every one of its neighboring regions because of its underlying foul character of treachery, plunder,murder, illegal land annexation etc. It has been doing all these evil activities not of course relying on its own power which has none but masquerading as patriotic Ethiopian and as proxy of the western countries. But now defeated by the young Oromos, vehemently hated and despised by Ethiopians, Eritreans, Somalis and subsequently abandoned high and dry by its masters, the western countries, it has become a sandwich nervously waiting to be devoured. In a nutshell, armageddon is awaiting tigrai, to say the least. But there is a way out of this impending apocalypse. The people of Tigrai must condemn and disown woyane, return the plunder of Thirty years, vacate peacefully the land they have been occupying illegally, and above and beyond, repent and ask for forgiveness

      But can tigrai honestly redeem itself of its heinous crimes and live in peace with its neighbors thereafter? Unfortunately, the answer is emphatically, No!. Why?: Because it’s past history precludes such moral highground.. Just ask your self how the bandit traitor king yohnnes came to be. It was a result of a
      his treasnous act of collaboration with foreign invader. He jumped into the bandwagon of the invading British General, Napier, led him straight to Meqdela and collaborated with him in killing his own king,Tedros. Napier rewarded him with training of his soldiers, left him all of his guns and weapons, and finally anointed him as the British Queen’s puppet king of Ethiopia.

      Did he after wards feel any guilt and remorse for his treason? No, on the contrary. Pretending to be a legitimate patriotic christian king, he plunged the country into relentless war on Muslims allegedly to make Ethiopia exclusive sanctuary of Christians. The Sudanese finally put his restless soul to rest. They captured him, beheaded him and took his head with them back to the Sudan as a trophy of their victorious expedition. His skull is still at Khartoum Museum.

      And the history of woyane is rehash of their bandit traitor king yohannes. The only difference is that they were piggyback of the Mighty EPLFs, who ,after defeating the dergs and their evil surrogates, the Soviet army, put them as government of of Ethiopia in order to recognize Eritrean independence in the UN. They complied , and Eritrea became independent and member of the United Nations. Obviously, inhrently treacherous as they are , they tried to backstab Eritrean Sovereignty but of course vain.

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