Escape from Eritrea

The BBC World Service had a harrowing documentary on the plight of those who escaped the giant prison known as Eritrea.

Once a military commander, always a military commander (pt. 52)

If you want to delusional rants that would make Robert Mugabe blush, check out this al-Jazeera interview with Eritrean dictator Isaias Afewerki. In addition to calling al-Jazeera a mouthpiece of Washington, he also denied that there was any opposition inside Eritrea. Presumably, he meant there was no opposition outside Eritrea's prisons. In some cases, though, he lacked the spin of many other dictators. When asked when Eritrea would hold elections, he said maybe within two or three decades, maybe not. Not years, but decades.

Yet more war fears in the Horn

Earlier this week, fears of yet another war in the Horn of Africa were raised after Eritrea evicted the UN mission monitoring the border between itself and Ethiopia. The move was ratified by the Security Council shortly thereafter.

In the last decade, the countries have fought a bloody and incomprehensibly stupid war over a patch of sand known as Badme. It was so insane that the war was likened to 'two bald men fighting over a comb.'

Eritrea tried to allay fears of a new war by stating the the UN mission's presence was merely 'symbolic' so its departure won't matter much. It also accused Ethiopia of continuing to occupy Eritrean territory.

Probably a more compelling reason that makes another war unlikely is that Ethiopian forces are otherwise engaged in their US-backed aggression against Somalia.

You can take the man out of the guerrilla but you can't take the guerrilla out of the man

It looks like the Eritreans just can't get along with anybody. In its brief 15 year existence, Eritrea has clashed with Yemen and fought an incomprehensibly stupid and destructive war with Ethiopia.

Now, the Eritrean regime is trying to picking a fight with Djibouti, a country that traditionally gets along with its neighbors.

Note: Michaela Wrong's excellent I Didn't Do It For You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation is a fascinating historical study of just why the Eritrean regime is so paranoid.

Eritrean opposition starts broadcasts

Radio Netherlands' Media Network blog reports that a coalition of opposition exiles have launched radio broadcasts against the regime of Eritrean dictator Isaias Afewerki. Not surprisingly, the broadcasts emanate from Ethiopia, specifically the country's northern Tigray region.

The coalition also recently started television broadcasts based out of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

They denied that the Ethiopian government had any role in the broadcasts.