Sophia Tesfamariam
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Articles by Sophia Tesfamariam
November 06, 2009
The campaigns to undermine Eritrea´s economic, social and political developments over the last 10 years have taken many forms. There seem to be more articles and books published about Eritrea today, than in the entire 100 year history of Eritrea. Today, the United Nations, the African Union, self se...
November 06, 2009
The DDDs and their handlers
In the Diaspora there are individuals who have managed to associate themselves with international NGOs in order to curry favor on their behalf for a few crumbs here and there. About 8 years ago they made their appearance on cyberspace and it was then that I baptized ...
October 23, 2009
On my flight back from London, UK, I decided to catch up on my reading and began by going through some articles that were compiled for me by a friend. It was amongst the pile that I found the piece on Somalia by J. Peter Pham; it turned out to be yet another lazy analysis… I say lazy because his ent...
September 02, 2009
On 25 August 2009, the sad news about the death of Senator Edward Kennedy was everywhere; it seemed everyone wanted to say something about the man who had done so much in his lifetime. He was a man of integrity and great honesty, a man who will be remembered for his courage, humanity, and passion fo...
August 26, 2009
I read the 9 August 2009 article "U.S. Policy Shift Needed in the Horn of Africa" by Ms. Bronwyn E. Bruton of the Council of Foreign Relations with great interest, as I too believe that a policy change is desperately needed. There are a few issues raised in her paper that are of concern to me and wo...
July 17, 2009
Much has been written and said about Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, the new President of Somalia. Washington is presenting him as the "moderate" Islamist-not sure what that means anymore. In Washington politics, it looks like a "moderate" is someone that is amenable to the West, and someone who will advance w...
July 15, 2009
The Somalia Arms Embargo was put in place to safeguard the lives of innocent civilians and control the arms flow in Somalia. Unfortunately, despite the embargo, individuals and groups in neighboring states funneled arms into Somalia in support of the various warlords allied with them. The minority r...
July 07, 2009
The other day, I was listening to Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State as she announced the release of the annual Human Trafficking Reports by the US Department of State (DoS). With Eritrean Americans such as myself, with every dubious list that the DoS released, it has become very important to no...
June 17, 2009
The minority mercenary regime in Ethiopia led by Meles Zenawi, the Bush Administration's "staunch ally" in the "war on terror", finding itself in yet another self-created quagmire, has unleashed its loyal cadres, K-Street lobbyists and members of the Eritrean Quislings League to divert attention awa...
June 08, 2009
On 24 May 2009, Eritreans around the world were celebrating Eritrea´s 18th Independence Anniversary with grand carnivals, galas, festivals and more. Jubilant Eritreans were too engrossed to pay attention to other news, least of all news emanating from Africa´s sin city, Addis Ababa, the capital of E...
May 22, 2009
The BBC and other media are reporting the "return of Ethiopian troops to Somalia". How can they "return" when they never left? My sources, who served as advisors to Abdulahi Yusuf, leader of the Eldoret formed Transitional National Government of Somalia (TNG), tell me that Meles Zenawi´s forces neve...
April 29, 2009
I was in the middle of writing about the latest Human Rights Watch event scheduled for 30 April 2009 at Chatham House, wherein HRW intends to peddle its latest distortion on Eritrea, when I received an interesting article from a friend. The article entitled, "If you think Dubai is bad, just look at ...
April 27, 2009
President Barack Obama got a taste of what Eritreans around the world have had to deal with for the last 8 years- Astroturf campaigns-where digital media is used to generate "fake grassroots activity". The recent campaign against President Obama was orchestrated by none other than Dick Armey, the fo...
April 23, 2009
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon will be heading the upcoming Donor´s Conference on Somalia to be held in Brussels on 23 April 2009. The meeting, which is to be attended by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and the latest Somali President, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, is said to be both "a policy and do...
March 11, 2009
The story is long, so bear with me…it will take a while...but in the end, I hope that we would have learned from the mistakes of the last 8 years and most importantly, that the incoming Obama Administration will not commit the same blunders that have wrecked havoc in the lives of millions in Africa....
February 25, 2009
It was Christmas Eve in Asmara and I decided not to attend midnight mass, choosing instead to go in the morning, to attend services at the Asmara Cathedral. I felt as if I had been at church, the night was filled with joyous choruses coming from the various churches in the city. I could almost hear...
February 12, 2009
I returned from Eritrea just days before the inauguration of President Barrack Obama and like the millions around the world, I listened to his inaugural speech. It had a message for all and for a fleeting moment, I felt that he was speaking about me…or it seemed that way. His words were familiar; he...
February 03, 2009
My visits to Eritrea have always taken me outside Asmara, the beautiful capital… not this time. Arriving there just after Christmas, in time for the New Year, I spent almost all of my two weeks in the city, walking along the famous promenades, relaxing with friends in the many outdoor cafés and of c...
December 11, 2008
There are some stories that are reported that make your head turn and the latest unsubstantiated report by Joseph Grieboski, another Zenawi-phyle takes the cake. The 8 December 2008 report, "Iran deploys Troops, Ballistic Missiles to Eritrea", is transparent in its motives. its sources are also not ...
December 04, 2008
The recent drama taking place in the Horn of Africa is nothing more than an orchestrated scam designed to skim the US public once more, and force the incoming US Administration to accept and legitimize the illegal, immoral and down right stupid US-backed Ethiopian invasion and occupation of Somalia....
December 04, 2008
24 December 2008 will mark the 2nd Anniversary of the US-backed Ethiopian invasion and occupation of Somalia in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1725 as well as the Intergovernmental Agency for Development´s (IGAD) 2005 resolution that authorized the formation of IGAD Peace Support ...
November 27, 2008
The last ten years have been both a challenge and an eye opener for Eritreans living in the Diaspora. Eritreans have consciously challenged the well orchestrated and financed anti-Eritrea campaigns from the get go. These campaigns have exposed the key players in the higher echelons of governments in...
October 15, 2008
It´s election season and the American public is now bombarded with all sorts of statistics to show which candidate is in the lead. There is nothing wrong with using statistics to illustrate a point, if the facts on the ground can back them up. Someone said that there were three kinds of lies: ...
September 30, 2008
The news headlines have focused on the US financial crisis and the corrupt business practices that are now going to cost the American taxpayers billion of dollars as the federal government contemplates bail outs for the various financial institutions that are on the verge of collapse and just this w...
August 26, 2008
Whilst there is no denying that the entire country is swept up in the "Obama Fever", you would have to travel outside of the United States to truly realize the international magnitude of his popularity and the incredible support he has amongst the youth across the globe. His message of "hope and cha...
June 19, 2008
My trips to Eritrea are always too short, not enough time to visit with all the members of the family, not enough time to shop at shuq, to find that clay pot to finish the set I got on the last trip, and always not enough days to see all the development projects in all the 6 regions. As much as I tr...
June 12, 2008
When I heard that US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs was going to speak on 30 May 2008 at the University of Washington, I was hoping that Eritreans, Ethiopians, Somalis and others who have been negatively affected by US Policy for Africa could attend. Many did and I have been readin...
June 02, 2008
In my previous article, "Food Security: A Look at Eritrea's Strategies of Success", I addressed Eritrea´s self-reliance policy and development of Eritrea´s agricultural infrastructures to ensure food security, a strategy pursued long before independence, improved and enhanced after liber...
May 13, 2008
It´s the duplicity and hypocrisy of the Council that has me writing today, to take a look at two very similar demarcation cases, the Eritrea Ethiopia case and the Iraq-Kuwait case, to examine the conduct of the Security Council and the Secretary General in both instances. The EEBC´s 27 ...
May 07, 2008
"…True generosity consists precisely in fighting to destroy the causes which nourish false charity. False charity constrains the fearful and subdued, the "rejects of life" to extend their trembling hands. True generosity lies in striving so that these hands — whether of individuals or entire p...
April 29, 2008
"…[i]mpartiality is the oxygen of peacekeeping: the only way peace keepers can work is by being trusted by both sides, being clear and transparent in their dealings, and keeping lines of communication open. The moment they lose this trust, the moment they are seen by one side as the 'enemy', they be...
April 11, 2008
"…[W]e are ushering in an epoch of law among peoples and of justice among nations. The UN Security Council´s task is a heavy one, but it will be sustained by our hope, which is shared by the people, and by our remembrance of the sufferings of all those who fought and died that the rule of law ...
April 09, 2008
I came back to Washington in time to attend the 11 March 2008 Senate Hearing "Evaluating US Policy Options on the Horn of Africa", and listened as Jendayi E. Frazer, the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs whitewashed and down played Ethiopia´s Meles Zenawi´s violations inte...
February 24, 2008
From time to time, I take my children to the animal petting farm nearby, and their first reaction as we enter the farm is p-h-e-w! The smell of animal waste and feed fill the air and almost makes one gag, but after a while, their little noses become deadened to the smell and they stop noticing it. T...
February 13, 2008
On 27 November 2007, the US Institute for Peace (USIP) convened an interesting discussion with Jean-Marc Coicaud, Head of the United Nations University (UNU) office at UN headquarters in New York and author of Beyond the National Interest: The Future of UN Peacekeeping and Multilateralism in an Era ...
January 29, 2008
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon released the latest Report to the Security Council on Eritrea and Ethiopia on 23 January 2008. Unfortunately, Ban Ki Moon, adopting an ostrich like approach, attempted to dilute important and relevant developments such as the demarcation of the Eritrea Ethiopia borde...
January 15, 2008
BBC News reported in its 31 March 2006 excerpts from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice´s major speech on foreign policy delivered in Blackburn, one of her stops during her 2-day tour of the United Kingdom. According to BBC, after her speech, during a session of questions Ms. Rice said:
"…I know...
January 11, 2008
A large peaceful demonstration will be held at Downing Street in London on the 16th of January 2007 from 13:00 to 18:00 Hrs. The demonstration will be one of its kind and will involve from a wide range of nationalities and ethnic groups including the Somalis, Eritreans, People from Ogaden and Oromo...
January 05, 2008
The US and UK media have been relentless in undermining Eritrea's self reliance policy for development and have ridiculed just about every Eritrean initiative. They have distorted Eritrea's policy on aid, misrepresented the people of Eritrea's aspirations and dreams. Allow me to share with the reade...
December 28, 2007
There is a lot of talk about the Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) and much has been written about its decision to demarcate the Eritrea Ethiopia border by placing coordinates on maps, also known as “virtual demarcation”, as opposed to placing border markers on the ground. Eritrea consider...
December 28, 2007
At a time when Eritreans around the world are standing firm, reaffirming their unity and support for the people and government of Eritrea, the mercenary minority regime in Ethiopia led by the life long terrorist Meles Zenawi has launched another campaign of vilification and defamation against Eritre...
December 05, 2007
In his recently published memoir – “Surrender Is Not an Option: Defending America at the United Nations and Abroad” (Threshold Editions) – former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton states that in February 2006, Jendayi Frazer, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs informed him that s...
December 05, 2007
The announcement of Condoleeza Rice, the Secretary of State’s visit to the Horn region comes at a critical juncture and the people of the region see her belated interest in what is happening in the region with great skepticism and distrust. The State Department has recklessly pursued a dangerous, in...
November 29, 2007
Today, the media is once again frantically writing about the Eritrea Ethiopia border demarcation issue and so called “Horn experts” and “analysts” are once again engage din their favorite pastime, pushing for war in the region, as if the lives of Africans were dispensable. They have also misrepresen...
November 18, 2007
Ethiopia: Dying regime with curious supporters
I borrowed the title from Donald E. B Jameson’s 1990’s article in the Washington Times in which he questioned the prudence of the Israeli and Soviet Union’s support for the regime in Ethiopia, led by Menghistu Hailemariam, while fully cognizant of it...
November 17, 2007
When I read the 15 November 2007 New Times Op-Ed “ Don’t Turn on Ethiopia” penned by Vicki Huddleston, the former US Charge D’Affaires in Ethiopia and Tibor Nagy, former US Ambassador to Ethiopia (1999-2002), I was ashamed at the level of erosion in American diplomacy and the low calibre of the peop...
November 13, 2007
Press Release: Organization of Eritrean Americans
Former senior Bush Administration official John Bolton has publicly and unambiguously revealed that U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer sought to prevent demarcation of the Eritrean/Ethiopian border according t...
October 19, 2007
On 2 October 2006 Congressman Donald Payne (D-NJ) and members of the United States House Subcommittee on Africa had another hearing on the state of democracy and human rights in Ethiopia. Telling the audience that the House was finally voting on HR-2003, Congressman Payne began his statement with th...
October 01, 2007
Every country has its own “Quisling League” and Eritrea is no different. As a matter of fact, members of Eritrea’s Quisling League (EQL), like most other quislings, are motivated by fame and fortune. The most senior member of the group is Bereket Habte Selassie. The EQL is an unlikely alliance of ar...
September 25, 2007
On 4 August 2004, James Swan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs addressing the 4th International Conference on Ethiopian Development Studies at the Western Michigan University, in Kalamazoo Michigan took the opportunity to “discuss U.S. policy and engagement in the Horn of Africa”, and ...
September 12, 2007
In continuation of her unprovoked and incessant defamation and vilification of Eritrea, its people and its government, Jendayi E. Frazier the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs addressing the press at the American Embassy in Ethiopia, probably trying to appease the minority regime in A...
September 10, 2007
Eritrean Americans are outraged by the vitriolic Statements made by Jendayi E. Frazier, the Deputy Secretary of State for African Affairs about the State of Eritrea, its government and people. Charged with an area in the world by virtue of the color of her skin, exposing her lack of knowledge about ...
September 04, 2007
On 17 August 2007, Jendayi Frazer, US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs had an on-The-Record Briefing on U.S.-Eritrea Relations in which accused Eritrea of violating the Vienna Conventions and also threatened to put Eritrea on the list of countries supporting terrorism “not because of U.S. rel...
August 18, 2007
As I read President Bush’s remarks on terror delivered on 6 October 2005 at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), I sensed that he was trying to clarify his policies vis a vis predominantly Islamic nations and the war or terrorism, which has been wrongly and deliberately misinterpreted by some...
August 18, 2007
On 3 May 2006, the Annual Report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) was released and if you are like me and have been following the outrageous and unsubstantiated reports submitted to the Commission by disgruntled runaway diplomats, reporters sans couth, “unnamed Asma...
August 18, 2007
The Deputy Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi E. Frazier has launched a vicious campaign against the State of Eritrea, its Government and people. During a Press Conference today, 17 August 2007, Frazier exposed her ignorance of Eritrea’s history, culture, traditions when she attempted ...
August 15, 2007
In light of the recent developments in the Horn of Africa and the continued hostility of and unwarranted attacks by the US State Department on Eritrea, the Government and its people, I have decided to share the following article with Chronicle readers.
U.S. Officials stop demonizing Eritrea, a yo...
August 08, 2007
As I traveled across Eritrea, I have had the pleasure and opportunity to see the many development projects being carried out by the people of Eritrea and most especially the members of the Eritrean Defense Forces. Ever since the Warsai Yikaalo Program for development (WYP) was launched in 2002, I ha...
July 29, 2007
I just returned from yet another enchanting and memorable trip to Eritrea…leaving grudgingly and promising to return… next time for a longer stay.
From Asmara, Eritrea’s captivating capital to villages and towns across Eritrea, I traveled by road and also by sea, to various towns and villages in...
April 28, 2007
This week, lawmakers and a scandal weary, suspicious, disillusioned and jaded American public, listened as the family of Patrick Tillman, who was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan and Jessica Lynch, who was injured in an ambush in Iraq, testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform...
April 10, 2007
An anonymous email from a senior security official sent to the European Union Ambassador Eric Van der Linden, based in Nairobi, Kenya, illustrates the need for a sober and honest analysis of the facts relating to the US-backed Ethiopian invasion and subsequent occupation of Somalia, which have been ...
April 02, 2007
I am writing today to respond to Medhane Tadesse’s unfounded accusations against Eritrea, published in the Sub Saharan Informer on 23 March 2007 under the title, “Kidnapping: quest for relevance”. Meles Zenawi’s latest childish ramblings to the rubberstamp Ethiopian Parliament were similar in conten...
March 26, 2007
President Isaias Afwerki (PIA) held an interview with journalists from the China Business Weekly Magazine (CBWM). In his televised address broadcasted on Eritrean Television (Eri-TV) on Saturday, 17 March 2007, the President discussed about Eritrean business ventures with China, investment prospects...
March 11, 2007
On 9 March 2007, Somali men and women demonstrated outside the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington, DC as part of a worldwide effort to bring international attention to the grave and deteriorating situation in Somalia. They carried banners and placards in protest of the US-backed Ethiopian war of aggres...
March 05, 2007
On 3 March 2007, the National Union of Eritrean Women-DC Chapter hosted its annual International Women’s Day Gala at the Sheraton National Hotel in Arlington, VA. This year’s event held under the theme “To develop an educated and confident Eritrean woman” was attended by over 800 people who came to ...
February 24, 2007
On 22 February 2007 I attended a meeting, “Somalia, Second Chance?” at the Council of Foreign Relations in Washington, DC. Since it is an area of great interest to me, I decided to attend the lunch hour meeting and listen to what was being said in the hopes of hearing some good news on Somalia. I he...
February 21, 2007
Paul B. Henze, the ex-CIA man and Meles Zenawi’s advisor and confidante is back to defend his premier client in the Horn-the minority regime in Ethiopia. In defense of Meles Zenawi’s malfeasance and lunacy, he is trying to pass another one of this childish propaganda pieces for an intellectual analy...
February 19, 2007
Africans, especially Somalis, stood by stunned by the manner with which international law was violated, trampled on and discarded by the US-backed Ethiopian war of aggression and invasion against Somalia. Why was the international community as deafeningly silent as innocent Somalis were bombed by US...
February 11, 2007
“…To initiate a war of aggression, therefore, is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole…”
Chief United States prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials
On 6 June 2...
February 06, 2007
Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.
-- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Chatham House’s, Sally Healy and Martin Plaut, presented a briefing paper on the Eritrea Ethiopia conflict, titled “Ethiopia and Eritrea: Allergic to Persuasion”. The report a...
February 02, 2007
Raising issues that have absolutely nothing to do with the rule of law or the implementation of the Final and Binding decision of the Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission, these two “analysts” in order to elevate the stature of the megalomaniac regime in Ethiopia, suffering from an incurable, debili...
February 02, 2007
The US led International community has emboldened the mercenary minority regime in Ethiopia, led by the deceptive, street smart Prime Minister Meles Zenawi who has defied international law, violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of neighboring states, has occupied sovereign Eritrean terr...
February 02, 2007
On 26 January 2006, Steny Hoyer (D-MD), House Majority Leader addressed the Brookings Institute forum- “The way forward in Iraq- Embracing our collective responsibilities”. As I listened to his speech, I realized how difficult the situation in Iraq had become, not just for the Republican Party, but ...
January 23, 2007
“…A government which needs foreign support to enforce obedience from its own citizens is one which ought not to exist; and the assistance given to it by foreigners is hardly ever anything but the sympathy of one despotism with another…”
John Stuart Mill
A month since Meles Zenawi’s deceptive, g...
January 10, 2007
News reports tell of civilian casualties in Ethiopia’s illegal invasion of Somalia. Ethiopia invaded Somalia on Christmas Eve using the pretext “hunting down terrorists” and “extremists” with the tacit approval of the US State Department and US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Jenda...
January 05, 2007
The Tigrayan minority regime in Ethiopia, which waged an unprecedented propaganda campaign exalting its prowess and might as it conducted its illegal war of aggression and invasion against the Union of Islamic Courts militia using various pretexts, including “defending Ethiopia’s sovereignty”, “rout...
January 04, 2007
Dan Simpson in a 3 January 2007 article posted in the Pittsburg Post Gazette under the title “A bad year in foreign affairs” listed what he concluded were the most important foreign affairs developments of 2006 and listed 6 of them. I agree with his astute and conscious assessment of developments in...
December 28, 2006
Meles Zenawi’s war of aggression against the people of Somalia was not a surprise to folks like me who have been watching the developments in Somalia since June 2006 when the Union of Islamic Courts took over Mogadishu and restored peace in Somalia after 15 years of anarchy and chaos. It was obvious...
December 13, 2006
Meles Zenawi, the deceptive, erratic, flip flopping, street smart leader of the genocidal vote rigging minority regime in Ethiopia is once again lining up cheerleaders and apologists as it prepares for its diversionary war against the people of Somalia. In the past, the minority regime has used a va...
December 12, 2006
I have long maintained that a Tigrayan minority clique headed by the genocidal, flip flopping, vote rigging defiant Prime Minster Meles Zenawi rules today's Ethiopia. Although a great majority of Ethiopians, and others who know and understand the reality in Ethiopia, agree with my assertions, there ...
December 11, 2006
“…A government which needs foreign support to enforce obedience from its own citizens is one which ought not to exist; and the assistance given to it by foreigners is hardly ever anything but the sympathy of one despotism with another…” - John Stuart Mill
Resolution 1725 on Somalia has all t...
December 11, 2006
September 2001 and the attacks in the USA brought attention and awareness to the issue of terrorism. The Bush Administration encircling itself with some unlikely “allies” in the fight against terrorism has made “the global war on terrorism” central to US Foreign Policy. As the world moves forward to...