General Ogbe Abraha (jailed in September 2001 and held since incommunicado...reportedely dead in detention):
20200521 Habtom Yohannes (Kinzareb)
“The Struggle of Man Against Power is, The Struggle of Man Against Forgetting” Milan Kundera,
“ቃልሲ ሰብ ኣንጻር ስልጣን፡ ቃልዚ ተዘክሮ(ምዝካር): ኣንጻር ተረስዖ (ምርሳዕ) እዩ። " ሚላን ንዴራ።
In 1972, Ogbe joined the EPLF when he was a college student at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. In 1977, he became member of the Politburo. Bureau of the Front and assumed the post of head of logistics, alongside his position as commander of a military front in 1978-1984. Since independence, he held the following positions: member of the Central Council of PFDJ, member of the National Council, Secretary and then Minister of Trade and Industry, Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Chief of Logistics, Administration and Health in the Ministry of Defence, Chief of Staff of the Eritrean Defence Forces. Ogbe suffers from a serious case of Asthma.
There are unconfirmed reports that General Ugbe Abraha has died in mysterious circumstance while in detention in Embatkala. Some say he was wounded while trying to escape and others contend that he died as a consequence of a suicide attempt. According to still unconfirmed reports, Ugbe Abraha was secretly transferred to a military hospital around Keren (Glass). After two days of treatment he was ferried back to Embatkala where he died. Nobody can verify this or the situation of the other countless prisoners of conscience in Eritrea as long as the regime of Isaias Afewerki remains in power and keeps the country airtight.
LEST WE FORGET THEM, our prisoners of concience, our brothers, sisters, our fathers, our mothers, our daughters, our sons, our religious leaders. Lest we forget them! This season is the season of new year and celebrations; but not for the countless prisoners of conscience in Eritrea. Not for their family members. Day and night, now for 10, 13, 15 or more years, they have been surviving like half-dead. They can't sleep normally, they can't eat normally, they can't live normally. Where is my daughter? Where is my son? Where is my father? Where is my mother? Where is my sister? Where is my brother? In what conditions are they in? Are they still alive?
The regime has deleted the prisoners of conscience from historical audio-visual archives. The regime tells us: "we don't know them!" "They have never existed", "How can the Eritrean regime of PFDJ tell you where they are, if the regime doesn't know who these people are". These have been the reactions of the regime. What is ours? If we don't dare to ask about these Eritreans, if we don't act and stand up for them, then we are worse than the dead. No excuses... Imagine if you were one of them, if your father was one of them, if your mother was one of them, if your brother was one of them, if your sister was one of them, if your sone was one of them, if your daughter was one of them; would you keep quite and forget them?
Ogbe Abraha (jailed): In 1972, Ogbe joined the EPLF when he was a college student at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. In 1977, he became member of the Politburo. Bureau of the Front and assumed the post of head of logistics, alongside his position as commander of a military front in 1978-1984. Since independence, he held the following positions: member of the Central Council of PFDJ, member of the National Council, Secretary and then Minister of Trade and Industry, Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Chief of Logistics, Administration and Health in the Ministry of Defence, Chief of Staff of the Eritrean Defence Forces. Ogbe suffers from a serious case of Asthma.
There are unconfirmed reports that General Ugbe Abraha has died in mysterious circumstance while in detention in Embatkala. Some say he was wounded while trying to escape and others contend that he died as a consequence of a suicide attempt. According to still unconfirmed reports, Ugbe Abraha was secretly transferred to a military hospital around Keren (Glass). After two days of treatment he was ferried back to Embatkala where he died. Nobody can verify this or the situation of the other countless prisoners of conscience in Eritrea as long as the regime of Isaias Afewerki remains in power and keeps the country airtight.
Still unconfirmed reports state that after this tragic end of General Ogbe Abraha, the regime was quick to build a special prison, Era Ero, for the former fighters and government officials. They are kept there in total isolation and under extremely harsh conditions. To avoid public outcry and international condemnations, the regime has probably chosen this inhumane “punishment to death” instead of official capital punishment. The regime keeps the Eritrean people ignorant, punishes them as if they are its own slaves; worse than that! The current Eritrean Ambassador to the European Union had a chat with a European diplomat about the G15 and the journalists. You know what the Eritrean Ambassador to the European Union told the diplomat: “Don’t ask us about them and certainly the international community should not and must not demand a trial of the G15 and journalists. Some of them are my own family members. If the international community pushes for trial then these people will get capital punishment. So it is better for them if the international community doesn’t put pressure on the Eritrean Government”. It is true when intellectuals serve dictators instead of the people, they become stupid and crooked. The person who said this carries the title “Dr.”
In case you have good quality pictures of General Ogbe Abraha, please share them with me. I thank you. We should and must build a monument for every prisoner of conscience who is languishing at the hands of Isaias Afewerki and his PFDJ. Remembering them regularly is sustaining the threatend dignity of Eritreans & humanity. Silence is conspiracy. As long as you don't know their crime and as long as you haven't heard their word, you should defend truth and justice. As long as these people remain incarcerated truth, justice and peace are also incarcerated with them. We, you and me, will face the consequences of the miscarriage of justice in Eritrea; we already are being haunted by the consequences.