By Yohannes Habteselassie Adhanom
Eritrean festivals in the diaspora have been marred by violence in Canada, Sweden, Germany and now in Israel.
The violence is incomprehensible as any protest staged against one’s country of origin for political grievances as a refugee, does not warrant the breaking of the laws of a country that gives you refuge and gives you the freedom to protest peacefully against the country of origin.
What has unfolded to be violent now in 2023 is a new phenomenon that deserves study and scrutiny. It is raising international concerns.
These festivals have been running for decades starting from the days of the struggle for Eritrean independence from Ethiopian rule. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that peaceful protests have marked previous Eritrean diaspora festivals since 2001, a response to the governance of the non-elected Isayas’ regime.
A regime that has been in power without the consent of the governed for over three decades.
No longer mystery
These protests, that were peaceful, have now, in 2023, given way to a series of carefully orchestrated violent demonstrations. The question arises: what has caused this sudden shift?
For those closely monitoring the ongoing crisis in the Horn of Africa, deciphering the driving force behind these events requires minimal effort.
But it is a known fact that a high percentage of asylum seekers with Eritrean identity cards in the diaspora are Ethiopians from Tigray. The TPLF (Tigray Liberation Front) regime, which ruled Ethiopia for 27 years before its ouster in 2018, started a war against the central Ethiopian government.
This aggressive move, including an assault on Eritrea, ultimately culminated in the TPLF's resounding defeat just last year.
The TPLF and its adherents have since revamped their concerted campaign to infiltrate Eritrean opposition groups, planting agents and instigating discord to undermine the Eritrean people and nation, all in the pursuit of their ambition for a ‘Greater Tigray’.
Their calculated strategy to supplant authentic Eritrean peaceful opposition with Tigrayan individuals, and with a few renegade Eritreans that serve as a mask to hide behind, is no longer a mystery.
During the years when Eritreans sought refuge in Ethiopia to evade a national service with no end in sight, many ended up in Tigray.
Extent of atrocities
Seizing this opportunity, the TPLF regime, then in power over all Ethiopia, confiscated Eritrean identification cards and furnished their own Tigrayan agents with these documents, enabling them to claim asylum in the Western world under stolen identities.
This duplicitous tactic was further propagated through extensive radio propaganda luring Eritrean youth with promises of easy access to Europe, USA, and Canada upon arrival in Tigray.
Additionally, the regime subjected Eritreans to heinous acts of rape, torture, and murder, cultivating an atmosphere of division and subjugation within refugee camps.
While the full extent of these atrocities is beyond the scope of this article suffice, it is imperative to say that the refugee camps in Tigray became a nightmarish ordeal for Eritreans.
As discernible as it has become, not all those who speak Tigrigna and claim Eritrean identity are genuine Eritrean natives; many are, in fact, Ethiopian Tigrayans.
The infiltration of these Ethiopian Tigrayans into Eritrean diaspora opposition circles has spanned for decades.
Legitimate opposition
The zenith of exposure of this infiltration coincided with the TPLF's aggression against Eritrea, prompting Eritrean opposition and regime supporters alike to rally around their country's armed forces, the defenders of the motherland.
This united front has curtailed the influence of the TPLF, bringing Eritrean opposition and supporters of the regime closer. The issue was the defence of the mother land in times of war and not necessarily an endorsement of how the country is being governed.
Legitimate opposition voices, while differing politically from the ruling regime, maintain a nationalist stance as always, advocating for peaceful change from within Eritrea, without external interference.
The formation of a conscientious, responsible Eritrean movement within the country remains the sole avenue for peaceful resolution of the internal problem not this foreign instigated violence that intended to breed chaos.
The level of violence that overwhelmed Israeli police and led to hospitals in the city declaring mass emergency, this was reportedly the biggest outbreak of violence since the second Palestinian intifada back in September 2000.
It is difficult to view the emergence of this newly violent "opposition" as a movement rooted in the genuine pursuit of Eritrean rights. True Eritreans would seek to enlighten and persuade their fellow citizens toward a peaceful path of genuine change, rather than subject them to the horror of violence like the ones we have been witnessing across the world.
Sceptics
What is evident is that the defeated TPLF has orchestrated the involvement of imposter Tigrayan agents, armed with stolen Eritrean identities, to undermine Eritrean solidarity and depict them as violent within the democratic societies they now call home. One fact about Eritreans is that they are law abiding due to their long inherited legal norms and native laws.
The showing off the historic blue flag, once symbolic of a bygone era, is now being subtly wielded to evoke memories of the Ethiopian colonial rule, a period of subjugation and bondage that Eritrea endured and uprooted with its long 30 years armed struggle.
The showing of this flag by these Tigrayan actors and coupled with the employment of violence, is the evil work of the TPLF and its tacit supporters, who allow these acts of aggression to persist.
Unlike their peaceful predecessors, the 2023 Eritrean diaspora festivals have been marred by violence. The question is: what has changed?
It is our hope that this brief exposé sheds light on the true source and intended outcome of these events, revealing them for what they are—a TPLF stratagem aimed at tarnishing the image of the Eritrean people.
The skeptics who are inclined to framing these attacks as Eritreans turning against each other will do better by getting their information from sources other than the comically shallow reports of western media, who often get it wrong when it comes to Africa and Africans.
The author, Yohannes Habteselassie Adhanom, is a former lecturer at the University of Asmara. He is a researcher focusing on how Eritrean customary law has evolved over the centuries.
Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints and editorial policies of TRT Afrika.
