Eritrea’s Assab: The Cash Cow of Disgruntled Ethiopian Officials Turned Book Sellers.

Coastline near Assab, Eritrea

Eritrea’s Assab: The Cash Cow of Disgruntled Ethiopian Officials Turned Book Sellers.

By Abel Kebedom

Eritrea became an independent country 24 May 1993 and it was recognized as a member of the United Nations 28 May 1993. However, contrary to the international norm of relations between two independent countries, we have noticed that the independence and sovereignty of Eritrea has become the subject of book business and a false argument in Ethiopia aimed at settling scores with whom is in power in the Ethiopian federal government.

When Yacob Hailemariam, ex CUD prisoner, wrote a book, his main topic was putting the ownership of Assab under question mark. That was meant to exploit the old Ethiopian expansionist ruler’s dream and drive demand for his book up. No doubt that the wicked strategy earned him a good amount of money. Later it was the despicable Gebru Asrat’s turn. As everyone knows he is the disgruntled member of the TPLF minority clique, who was single handedly expelled by Meles from the party. When he was the governor of Tigray region, he was a major architect of TPLF’s antagonism towards the people of Eritrea that resulted in the TPLF’s aggression against the state of Eritrea. After becoming destitute and barred from even working as a high school teacher, for him selling a book was the only option to survive financially. He too raised the question of Assab as a major book selling point to the unsuspecting Ethiopians. He told the Ethiopian people that he had a magic that would bring Assab back to Ethiopia. The realty was to bring Assab to the future greater Tigrai republic as its gate to the Sea. By the way that was tried hard during the 1998-2000 so called border war but miserably failed. Also, Tsadkan Gebretnasiae, another ex-member of the TPLF minority clique who cried like a child at the Tserona front, gave an order to Ethiopian troops to rape old Eritrean Muslim women in kohaito as a revenge, and later expelled from the party, claimed that during his study in the US he came across an information that would help Ethiopia to bring Assab back through legal means. Yes, Tsadkan was telling us he uncovered a none existing legal means that will bring back Assab to Ethiopia that was not discovered by the high-profile world renown lawyers represented Ethiopia during the Hague arbitration. It is a big fat joke. At last Abebe Teklehaimanot, who is also a disgruntled member of TPLF, used the issue of Assab to sell books. He is still active in the business. With the expulsion of TPLF to Tigrai, he may have lost his business connections and his income stream.

The common denominator of those people who are invoking the false dream of bringing Assab back to Ethiopia is they are financially driven disgruntled officials. They know it is wrong but had to do it to cushion their financial need. Otherwise the video below explains the truth about Assab. “There is no legal hope to bring Assab back to Ethiopia”. All the claim to bring Assab back to Ethiopia is a hoax.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcmjPUo3FtY

However, the current propaganda by Abebe Teklehaimanot has another dimension. Currently TPLF is in deep trouble. It is cordoned off in Tigrai and may be heading to a possible collision course with the Federal government soon. The recent words by Meaza Ashenafi are a hint to what is going to come. Therefore, the fact that TPLF dream to reconcile with Eritrea and find an ally to challenge the Federal government is becoming impossible, TPLF’s mouthpiece Abebe is looking for plan B. If the Eritrean government will not reconcile with TPLF, then TPLF should work to antagonize the federal government with Eritrea. It is a very silly calculation. If the vendetta achieves its objective, that will help TPLF to kill two birds with one stone and neutralize the two major obstacles to its Greater Tigray Republic project. By the way TPLF sees Abebe and Tsadkan as its microphone in Addis and beyond.

As they say, you cannot teach an old dog a new trick, TPLF knows that the self-initiated 1998-2000 war with Eritrea was the major reason for its current failure. Do not forget that TPLF turned against Eritrea to make the Dergue sympathizers in Ethiopia happy and consolidate its power in Ethiopia. But that had its own cost and we have seen it ending with TPLF failure in more grandiose way than the Axumite Kingdom. Now TPLF is trying to use the old trick, that led to its downfall from grace, on the current federal government. Therefore, it not difficult to understand, after preaching for months that TPLF pushed for peace with Eritrea, what led to the sudden change of heart with Abebe Teklehaimanot that advises the federal government to claim for Assab and make the Alger’s agreement and EEBC decision null and void.

Well the Ethiopian Birr and enormous amount of foreign currency that TPLF stole from the Ethiopian people is about to be depleted. With the monopoly of the Ethiopian market by its chain of EFFORT owned companies coming to stop, the TPLF loot-based economy is regressing significantly and ultimately TPLF’s demise is inevitable. Therefore, coupled with the inevitable TPLF’s collusion with the Federal government, Abebe Teklehamanot is working hard to create a diversion by stocking hatred and possible conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia. He thinks that will work to the advantage of TPLF. What Abebe does not know is the current federal government of Ethiopia smarter than TPLF and is capable of not to repeat, but to learn, from past mistakes.

In conclusion, The Ethiopian Federal government has accepted the Alger’s agreement and the EEBC decision without preconditions. Currently the two sisterly countries are very healthy neighbors rebuilding their economic, political, and security relationships from scratch. It may require more hard work, but there is no doubt that the effort will end up establishing a very healthy neighborhood. Having said that it is important for all Ethiopians and Eritreans to stand guard against TPLF ethnic clique spoilers. They see a healthy relationship between Ethiopia and Eritrea a death sentence to their dream of Tigrai republic and they will do any thing to undermine it.

Awet N’s Hafash and Eternal Glory to our Martyrs.

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