Skip to content

Eritrea: Zenawi deflecting attention from internal troubles

Ethiopia Military Aggression Diversionary Ploy, Says Eritrea

By Peter Clotty | Voice of America (VOA)

Eritrean Information Minister Ali Abdu said Ethiopia’s admission of its military attack is a calculated ploy to divert the international community’s attention from its continuous 10-year occupation of Eritrean territory.

He expressed little surprise that Ethiopia embarked on what he called “a military bellicosity that encroaches on Eritrea’s sovereignty.”

Abdu said Eritrea is not to blame for what he said is Ethiopia’s failure to resolve its internal crisis.

“By its own admission, it’s an aggression against the sovereignty of Eritrean territory,” said Abdu.  “The internal crisis in Ethiopia is due to the marginalization and exclusion of minor Ethiopian groups [because] of the regime’s narrow and backward policy of divide and rule being conducted by the Ethiopian regime.”

Ethiopia announced its forces attacked a military base inside Eritrea as an act of retaliation after accusing its neighbor of sponsoring groups that have carried out attacks inside Ethiopia.

Ethiopian government spokesman Shimeles Kemal said Ethiopian troops moved 16 kilometers into Eritrea early Thursday and launched what he called a “successful attack” against two military posts used by “subversive groups.”

Ethiopia has often accused Eritrea of backing rebel groups that attack targets in Ethiopia’s Afar area.  But, Abdu said Ethiopia’s accusations that Eritrea supports terrorism are like accusing (inventor) Thomas Edison of supporting darkness.

“We have fought terrorism long ago before it became the talk of the town for politicians… and who are these terrorist subversive groups?” asked Abdu.  “Almost all Ethiopians are fighting against the regime for the obvious reason because the regime is pursuing a narrow, corrupted policy, which services a very small family of the elite.”

Abdu said Asmara resists being dragged into “this kind of acrimony and provocation.”  He said the Eritrean government is pondering its next line of action.

In its “final and binding” ruling on April 13th 2002, the UN-backed Eritrean and Ethiopian Border Commission awarded the town of Badme to Eritrea. But, Asmara insists Addis Ababa has repeatedly refused to implement the ruling.

Abdu said the UN Security Council has yet to take disciplinary action against Ethiopia’s decision to ignore the ruling for the past 10 years, despite Asmara’s repeated requests.

“We have been asking the Security Council to take serious measures against the Ethiopian regime, which is occupying our sovereign territory. The United Nations has not fulfilled this mandate and has not taken necessary measures,” said Abdu.  “The United Nations should take action, legal punitive measures against the Ethiopian regime for its violations against the Eritrean and Ethiopian Border Commission verdict.”

The United States has urged both sides to exercise restraint.  State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Washington is seeking further clarification from Ethiopia about its intentions.

45 thoughts on “Eritrea: Zenawi deflecting attention from internal troubles

  1. The Eritrean minister is right on this woyane evil plan. This is a calculated move by Meles to divert our attention from the crucial current topic of Ethiopians tragic situation on the day of our mourning to our daughter and sister Alem-Dechasa. He is afraid that Alem’s tragic death which happened under his Ambasdor to Lebanon supervision would be the spark that would lead to an effective unity and opposition of all Ethiopians to Meles government. Alem is our Rosa Park who became the spark to American Civil Right movement in U.S. when she refused to give up her seat on abus. The young paster Dr. Martin Luther King captured the occasion to launch the Civil Right March starting the Montgomery Bus Boycott, followed by the March from Selema to Montgomery. That was 50 years ago.Last week the Jubilee memorial celebration last week that initiated a new national campaign against the Alabama Immigration Law that is targeted to discriminate against new Immigrants and their children. Let us not fall to the evil trap of EPRDP/ TPLF to drop our attention from the tragic murder of Alem. Let us condemn the Woyanes war in Eritrea, and show our opposition to this adventure! Long live the solidarity of Ethiopians and Eritreans. Alem-Dechasa lives in our hearts and will never forget her.

  2. please guys who are those killed or attacked successfully. As the ETV report? Are those Arbegnoch ginbar? or any other group who went there to fight in a fool way, going to Eritrea to fight Ethiopia? I mean that is shameful and meaningless to try to be hide in to the mother house to attack her daughter, while the mother loves her girl and she cares about her. It is like that Shabya wants Wayane to stay in power. Therefore those who go to Eritrea to fight Ethiopia are doing wrong by trusting the very and the primary enemy Shabiya and want him help them. He will call any time the woyanes and make you be killed. Because you go there in the name of one Ethiopia, which Shabiya do not like to hear about it.

    samuel replies:

    Hey , woyane banchi bet jebdu mesratishna sew masamenish niew . Tultula yetim ayadersm .

    haKhu mewTatu ayqere newna !

  3. HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF, ALL OVER AGAIN?

    Just like Yohaness of Tigray lost his head serving ENGLAND, helping General Napier to wage war against King Tedros & Sudan, TPLF-APARTHEID waging ENDLESS ETHNIC WARS against Ethiopians or INVADING SOMALIA & ERITREA, might SERVE THE POWERS OF THE DAY, but it does NOT save TPLF-APARTHEID from falling on it’s own sword, by Ethiopians, Eritreans & Somalis, forced to fight back to stop TPLF-AGGRESSION.

    Check it out for yourself.

    THE INDIAN OCEAN NEWSLETTER-ETHIOPIA
    N°1328
    10/03/2012

    -Insecurity rules on the steps of the empire.
    After two decades in power, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has still not been able to bring a lasting peace to certain of the country’s peripheral regions and establish regional administrations that are considered legitimate by the local populations (…) Read more

    -Exit General Bacha Debele in Ethiopia
    In July 2011, General Bacha Debele received the “Patriot of Development” award from the Addis Ababa local authority. (…)

    -The old guard is still at the helm
    The results of the party conventions of the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM) and the Oromo People’s Democratic Organisation (OPDO), which have just come to an end, made little change at the top (…) Read more

    -The political bigwigs in Addis Ababa
    While some Western embassies had been expecting Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to make a substantial changes in the teams leading the various factions of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF in power in Addis Ababa), the outcome of the congresses of these parties was something of an anticlimax (…) Read more
    ,

  4. Diversion is the keyword here. The Weyanes must be in desperate situations to do this on their brothers across the border. After 20 years in power Weyanes can’t be at peace with anyone. They need a lot of diversion from the pressing issues facing them in the country. Managing a country is much harder than sending troops to Badioa or Asmera.
    A string of bad polices they have followed in the last 10 years are hunting them back and problems of all sorts are now physically manifesting themselves in form of persistent hyperinflation, increaseing disparity, destit. People are dying in the street of towns, as the result the long entrenched fear that was instil on Ethiopian people, starting by the Dergue regime, is being broken by the desperate situation people are in, so the weyanes are panicking, hence they are bombing empty spaces in the backyard of their cousin village in Eritrea .

  5. You cannot take the rethoric of Shimeles Kemal and Meles Zenawi serioursly. The woyane have a habit of saying things that are totally inconguent with their reality. They would love to say, ‘Houston, the eagle has landed’ while inventing a uniquely Ethiopian economy – the gurisha market.

  6. Death to weyane and shaebia!! Long live the Ethiopian and Eritrean people!!

    Anonymous replies:

    I say death to Woyane only. Long live Shabia!

  7. The only thing i can say here,Ethiopia is pregnant and waiting to Eritrea to help her for birth.and it will be soon her birth whether with Eritreans help or without.
    wait and see.

    God bless etiopians and eritreans people

  8. The TPLF Drama

    Hello Elias the Great (Keep it up),

    Woyane is trying to divert the attention of Ethiopians by instigating a war against Eritrea based, as usual, on lies. Woyane is a pathological liar. Woyane is genetically a champion in deceiving people which emanates from an inferiority complex that was gathered during the years of serving as servants in Ethiopian households. As we all know, it is not far that it detained our brothers, journalists and politicians, on false allegations (By the way, they are still suffering a lot for us, because we (their brothers and sisters) have done nothing to help them out.).

    Woyane is a thief in a broad day light. Let us recall that through ballot boxes, the Ethiopian people told Woyane to go home before years. But it is still on power by stealing elections simply because it has “the army” and the blessing of the USA. Today in Ethiopia, to stand for the right of your people means a punishment with death. Although this is the case, it must not deter us from standing for our rights and for the rights of our people. But one thing we must know is that there is no freedom without sacrifice. That was the case in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and now in Syria.

    Oh, my people, our time has come to send the beggars home for ever. The first bullet must be a bullet of hope, tranquility and justice for our region without the Woyanes. So, Woyane must not be given the chance to send our children as canon fodders again. We have not forget the thousands of dead Ethiopians during the nonsense war (1998-2000) initiated by Woyane (TPLF). So, having this in mind, to play with our futurity will be simply foolishness.
    For sure, Woyane will go to war. BUT THIS TIME THE WAR MUST BE THEIR OWN. All ethnic groups of Ethiopia, especially Amharas and Oromos, as being relatively big in number, should know that this is not our war. TPLF must be shown that we will not go to war according to their whim. And I am deadly sure that Shaebia will not give them (without Amharas and Oromos) even a day to survive. So, all political parties of Ethiopia must tell their followers not to be prone to the daily Woyane propaganda (lies) machine. We must use the chance to desert the army and join the others in toppling this wicked government.

    Let us join our Ethiopian Moslem brothers and sisters who are fighting for their rights during their Friday prayers. Life is getting harder in Ethiopia. As such, teachers are demonstrating day out and day in. Others must follow soon. Where are the youngsters of Ethiopia, especially the Amharas and Oromos? Your mother and father are bleeding. Your young siblings are crying for help. Famine is everywhere and corruption crippled the economy.

    Let us fight the beggars with what we can. The best way to do this is to sabotage everything what is Woyane. Let us fight them from within. We can achieve this through little means, because Woyane is already dead and instigating war against Eritrea is the proof.
    AGAIN, LET US PROTEST WITH OUR MOSLEM BROTHERS. They are well organized.Together, we will achieve our freedom. YES WE CAN.

    A Peaceful Ethiopia will prevail.

    One Ethiopia replies:

    Typically depressed hamasen, member of coword shabia:)Eli pls post it

    SELAMAWI replies:

    Who are trying to deceive “TIGRAY REPUBLIC”, according to TPLF’s “Tigray manifesto”?

    Since one did you care about “ONE ETHIOPIA”, after you & your TPLF spent 33 years waging wars against ALL Ethiopians to “DIVIDE & CONQUER ETHIOPIA”, along ethnic, tribal, clan, town, village, family & religious lines?

    BTW: Did you say something about “coword shabia”?
    In that case, TPLF must be coward to be trained, armed & crowned to Minilik palace by “”coword shabia” :).

    TOO BAD, TIGRAY-APARTHIED IN THE NAME OF “ONE ETHIOPIA”, CAN NOT FOOL ALL ETHIOPIANS ALL OF THE TIME.

    Good try any way!!!

    The blood of Ethiopians, Eritreans & Somalis plunderer by TPLF will come to seek justice & haunt TPLF-Apartheid.

    SELAMAWI replies:

    Since one did you care about “ONE ETHIOPIA”, after you & your TPLF spent 33 years waging wars against ALL Ethiopians to “DIVIDE & CONQUER ETHIOPIA”, along ethnic, tribal, clan, town, village, family & religious lines?

    BTW: Did you say something about “coword shabia”?
    In that case, TPLF must be coward to be trained, armed & crowned to Minilik palace by “”coword shabia” :).

    TOO BAD, TIGRAY-APARTHIED IN THE NAME OF “ONE ETHIOPIA”, CAN NOT FOOL ALL ETHIOPIANS ALL OF THE TIME.

    Good try any way!!!

    The blood of Ethiopians, Eritreans & Somalis plunderer by TPLF will come to seek justice & haunt TPLF-Apartheid.

    One Ethiopia replies:

    Thats why people call you insane (Miss)elsa kkkkk

  9. To all,

    Ignore the Weyane cadres on this forum who always tell us Weynae and Shabia are the cause of our problems. The crimes of Weyane is so naked and obvious even to those Weyanes in the last 5-10 years. What they are doing is an attempt to share the burden of guilt with Shabia.

    Otherwise, who cares about Shabia. We can only help neighbors only after we help ourselves first.

  10. Weyane and Shabeia they are the same they keep power by force

    Anonymous replies:

    No they are not! only a fool can think like that!

    Anonymous replies:

    Comparing woyane and shabiya is stupid. Shabiya is a blessing to the eritrean people.

    one love replies:

    A blessing? hmmm. May almighty keep a blessing of shabia to Eritrea..kkk

  11. The only good thing zenawi has done to Ethiopia was deporting eritreans out of Ethiopia and if this attack escalates to a full war and return our righteous port, it’ll be the 2nd work of zenawi in favour of Ethiopia, even though it was him who handed them in plate platter. I know war is bad but in this case it’s the opposite.

    Anonymous replies:

    You are suffering from a disease called Eritrphobia. You need your head examined.

    Anonymous replies:

    the history will not support your claim you will have port over our deadbody you get it. dream can only remain dream, I wish you to have gut and courage to fight the heroic Eritreans

    tjmacks replies:

    History willn’t support your unatainable wish i think we fought eritreans for the last three decades i hope you and others like you will wakeup

  12. True and I am agree fully with the minster of Eritrea.Woyane will came to die slowly as he came to torn of power in Ethiopia and it is the time NOW!!!

    tederos replies:

    I you generalling things without analyzing get your facts right before making folish comments

  13. Almost all Ethiopians are fighting against the regime for the obvious reason because the regime is pursuing a narrow, corrupted policy, which services a very small family of the elite.”

    Abdu

    You said it all and the west is well aware of the whole situation in Ethiopia but they imagine that their petty dog has every thing under controll which is only a day dreamer assumption,The only thing what the U.S embassy has done is the promise to make the nation a middle class country to let their petty dog to keep on power,and to burry democracy once and for all as long as their assigned disordered brain that all the way takes his guidance straight from west organization it can be from Britain or the U.S after the rejection of the Ethiopian peoples towards the small traitor who is lööting the nation since day one,So Ethiopia is now under occupation through proxy son of a traitor all the way from his ancestors shumbash asres who has been killing the nation by collaboration with facist Italian during its invasion and using the Ethiopian Tegrians as his weapen which is absolutely rubbish the real Ethiopia tegreans like Abrha Belay that has been fighting the gang since arriving Addis and the others like seye Abrha after finding out the hidden agenda of the Meless Sebhat distractin long time agenda which is better late than never.

  14. TPLF has tricked and traped in to the so called eppf recent google
    earth supported video by ganjaa smoking professor.look at the video and compare places or posts that tplf called successfull attack. tplf
    are running around in thier sleep.
    i dont realy expect eritrea to respond militarly for such clan style in
    cursion .instead they should claim as avictory on cases in UN that are pending .FOR tplf all people living in the country [ethiopia] are as enemy as the eritrean to rule of minority or tigray colonizaion.
    tigray colony should end.

  15. Abdu said it once. He just had to repeat it yesterday. The weyane thugs are nothing but a dying beast/regime. A very dangerous one too. These are beasts who massacred their own people just to score on the dummy butcher government called the Derg. Eritrea has nothing to gain by bombing a lifeless village in Tigray.

  16. Please!!!! The attack is coordinated by both shabia and woyane. They have been playing us for a long time. Sometimes I wonder the contribution Ethiopian Review for this drama. Just check the Forum section. You can see the devils in actions. There has not been quarel between a shabia and woyane. It is front to exploit all of us. I also find it funny when ER is bashing woyane while allowing full participation of woyane and shabia coordinating an attack on Ethiopia for several years. As long as one can fatten their pocket, anything goes. Simply sad!!

    dedebit replies:

    go back to dedebit or is it DEDEB IT !

  17. well said #1
    The word ‘diversion’ rings to me another incident about how woyane is also desperately attempting to exploit the unfortunate death of the former Eritrean information minister ato Naizghi Kflu by using some of its mouthpiece terrorists, a future toxic clil warlord wannabe puppets in the north for personal profits. Tough luck, the justice respecting Eritrean people are way too poletically concious to just swallow woyane’s poisonious pill (no wonder, now made him resort to military aggression under various pretensions),that fantasizes to score at least the following points according to my wild humble opinion: a) Divertiting the Eritrean people’s attention from their mortar enemy in the Menelik Palace whom it slickly call them ‘one-man/tryant/Eseyas, etc’ meant to avoid united oposition voices until ofcours, it reaches to the promised land of fortune; then, shows its true color and evetually hopes to corrupt and terrorize the whole region more brutally with no checks and balance whatsoever! b) Exporting its 18 century divide and rule aparthied system to entroduce among the ‘one heart one people’ unity and peace loving Eritreans that was tested in the ancient proud land. c) Trapping his once trusted shepherd shaebia for whatever hidden ajendas that used and thrown him when the new handlers showed up with thier jenerous hard to resit promises; such as regional and global statesmanship powers; protection of poletical/financial cover ups, etc.
    Quite frankly, the monster woyane characterstics reminds me about the spoiled Mondendez brothers who sloughtered thier caring and loving parents for pure evil greedness.

    Anonymous replies:

    The bottomline is the west is trying to destroy Eritrea using its puppets for the simple fact that it’s succeeding without thier conditional aid by setting good example for the dark continent of corrupted dictators!

  18. …..Speaking of ato Naizhgi, one thing is obvious: the mercenary choas producer woyane gives niether a shit about him or his families. Isn’t it sounds comic though when woyane pretends caring for some ulterior motive more than his beloved family whom yet to utter a word so far? Not surprising here a certain shaebia cadre was once quoted stating regarding the late patriotic and brilliant heroic shaebia military strategist commander, Abrahim Afa that had the false pretender sympathizers found him first hardly would they hesitated sparing his life.
    Another thing is also for sure: whatever reason ato Naizghi, one of the true sons/daughters of sahel may allegedly accused by some opportunits for poletical prostitution, he performed it simply for the love of his people as every where patriots do. Anyone who ever entertains the notion that the road to freedom is a smooth straight journey got to be poor dick head soul or still half druk from last night’s hard liquor consumptions. If that was the case, 30 years wouldn’t have taken had the match was only against dictator col. Mengstu. Definetely, no matter some natural human errors might occured, ato Naizghi’s contribution to his country will be reconized and honored like any other Eritrean freedom fighter, alive or dead regardless the cause.
    In the mean time, may your soul rest in peace, comarade tegadalay Naizghi. Shout out hello for us as well for the many innocent children of habesha soldiers that bravely martyred for us, but never got proper burial chances b/c of fierce unfogiving situations so ended up into the jaws of haynas/sharks in the Ethio/Eritrean open landscapes for the just causes.
    Shame on your corrupt, irrisponsible, traitor and adventurist leaders! May alah throw them to hell and bless you all my dear sisters/brothers!
    Peace&Love!

    United We Stand replies:

    That’s rite that our dedicated arimies seem betrayed by thier corrupt leaders who some of them refused to learn from past lessons. Seriouly, i feel Eritreans sucrificed for 30 years only for the benefit of Tgreans. Indeed, guiding them unexpectedly to paradise really turned them into corrupted crazy wild animals.
    To be brutally frak, i wish shaebia got control of the whole ancient lady for the betterment of our region as well as the earth planet. After all, the trendy of the future looks toward the unity of the world slowly, responsibily but surely not the woyane voilence way.

    curious replies:

    I’m sure tgreans were happy when eritrea got separated so eritreans wouldn’t compete with them for power and resource. I think that woyane and puppets should also be blamed for the unfortunate death of our youth in the deserts and oceans.

    Anonymous replies:

    the reason Naizghi’s family didn’t speak out is probably they know the whole facts and care about their people

    curious replies:

    Tt seems pretty common sense that it’s against the eritrean government interest pretenting decent burials especially such big figures like Naizghi at least in their ancestoral lands. Therefore, there must be more than just and probably the personal issues between the deseased and president. I would be real suprised if his family are not told yet about this matter as well.

    Anonymous replies:

    Yes, it’s funy indeed, watching foxes shedding crocodile tears over fellen lion:)

  19. most Eritrains balming weyane for thier own bad habbit and mistake.some of you have ego problem.get over it. forget about bombing places in tigray…have no chance to cross the tigray border.if you do that will be sucide and will be eaten by weyane alive.

    samuel replies:

    ofcourse everybody knows that weyane bombed Asmera first and they killed innocent civilians and later Shaebia bombed too and innocent civilian got killed too,

  20. Most of you who write on this page are big idiots. Please read the article well and understand the content before you open your mouth. Please check your spellings too.

  21. a certain shaebia veteran once told us Naighi was one of the few selfless shaebians that rescued EPLF from absolute liquidation by its internal conflicts in the early 70’s. I think that is his most brave national contribution which sadly eventually cleared the smooth birth of the devisive so called woyannes.

Leave a Reply