Remembering Brigadier General Habtezion Hadgu who has been incarcerated since 2003

 

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Researched and compiled by Resoum Kidane  15/01/2025

Introduction

The intention of this compilation is to remember Brigadier General Habtezion Hadgu who has been incarcerated without justice for 22 years.    The question this immediately raises is:  why, after Eritrea has gained its independence, are the Eritrean people have still the victims of repression, imprisonment, and disappearance by the PFDJ ruling party?

Eritrea has been turned into the largest prison camp in Africa. which It is sad to see the misery and suffering of the Eritrean people that has now lasted for more than half a century and has no end in sight.

Looking back at the history of Eritrean people, it was the British Military Administration (1941-1950) for the first time allowed  the Eritrean people some measure of freedom of expression, assembly, and political activity.  However, this came to end shortly after Eritrea formally joined the federation with Ethiopia in 1952.

By 1953 the political situation in Eritrea had deteriorated as the repression of the Eritrean people by the Emperor Haile Selassie began. Consequently a considerable number of Eritrean political activists and their sympathisers fled to Sudan, Egypt and the wider Middle East to escape harassment, intimidation, and persecution.

In the late 1950 the Eritrean people began to search for an alternative way to challenge the Ethiopian policy of coercion which contributed to the birth of Eritrea Liberation Movement (Harakat) in 1958. 

In early 1960s with the beginning of the armed struggle, the Second Ethiopian Army division committed countless atrocities against civilians and burned many villages.  

In responding to the atrocities committed against the civilians by the Second Ethiopian Army division, the Ethiopian Airlines became target by the member of the ELF and EPLF in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

According to veteran ELF fighter Iris Humedai, when the atrocities suffered by the Eritrean civilians went unnoticed by the world, Osman Sabbe formed a group called Ikab to hijack airplanes, without the acknowledgement or approval of the ELF leadership and condemned because it would kill the innocent. It was formed in 1968 and disbanded in 1970. (source http://www.harep.org/Africa/69h.pdf)

 The Ikab organisation statement stressed that the decision to destroy Ethiopian Airlines planes was taken in view of the Ethiopian air force continued bombing of peaceful Eritrean villages and its murder and displacement of thousands of Eritreans.

The following members of Ikab hijacked the Ethiopian planes:

In 1969, Ethiopia Airlines not only became the target of ELF fighters but also of the progressive Ethiopian university students who protested at the feudal system in Ethiopia  and the right of self-determination for all people. ( Kidane, 2022)

Furthermore in the 1970s and 1980s the Ethiopian military planes also became target by Eritrean pilots who defected with their plans to Somalia and Aden.  

Brief background information on Ethiopian Air Force and General Habtezion Hadgu

 During the Cold war the Soviet Union and the USA were started providing assistance to Somalia and Ethiopia respectively, during the Ethio-Somalia conflict in 1977  the Soviet Union  ceased its military assistance to Somalia and set aside with Ethiopia to provide military assistance and training.

In 1980 both the flying school and Air Academy at the air force base Debre-Zeit in Ethiopia were closed due to the Soviet offered to train all pilots for all their satellite state at a joint training center.in Soviet Union.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_Air_Force). Consequently all recruits pilots from Ethiopia were sent for training to the Soviet Union, Habtezion Hadgu among them who went to attend at flying school in the Soviet Union

The picture below shows that when Habtezion Hadgu attended at the flying school in the Soviet Union in the 1980s

Brief background about General Habtezion Hadgu

General Habtezion Hadgu who established Eritrea’s air force in the early 1990s and the first Commander of the Air Force was born on 21 November 1954   at a small village called Ira located in the mountainous regions of Anseaba a few kilo meters from the town of Adi Tekelezan. As his father Hadgu Debas Kafle was being a member of the police force, he was transferred from place to place where his assignment took him.  As a result of his father shifting from town to town Habtezion went to schools in different town to attend primary and secondary schools. From 1968 to 1971 Habtezion was a student at Asmara's Prince Mekonnen secondary school. Before completing his high school education Habtezion took the Air Force entrance exam and went to the Air Force College at Debre Zeit for pilot training in 1971.

By the late 1980s Habtezion who was trained at both USA and Soviet in different combat jets (F5 and MIG 17) rose up to the Air Force Colonel and was one of Ethiopian’s most experienced fighter pilot.  Habitation served in the Ethiopian Air force until the coup d'état attempt took place on 16 May 1989.

Between May 1989 and May1991

The coup of May 1989 began shortly after Mengistu left for a state visit to East Germany.  The aim of attempted coup against Mengistu was  to establish a transitional military government included the exiled supporters of the Free Ethiopia Soldiers' Movement, This movement was established by Major Dawit WoldeGiorgis in exile.     

According US Library of Congress (1991) the exiled supporters of the Free Ethiopia Soldiers' claimed that the coup-makers planned to negotiate a settlement in Eritrea.http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-  
.In connection to the above claim, in 1989 Dawit WoldeGiorgis went into the area controlled by the EPLF in Nakfa to discuss the role of the EPLF.to participate a transitional government of Ethiopia (1989)

The coup was led by former Air Force commander, Major General Fanta Belay, 2nd Revolutionary Army commander, Demessie Bulto; the Minister of Defence and several military commanders. Several senior air force officers also participated in a coup attempt against Mengistu.  Habtesion was among them.

Regarding to the role of  Habtesion in the 1989 coup, Merhaw () states that  Major General Fanta Belay who led the coup had planned  to shoot the plane  which Mengistu boarded  before it  land’s at  the  Airport (Addis Ababa Bole). . He assigned the task to Habtesion however, in last minute they realised there were civilians on board and cancelled the operation.  (http://www.ehrea.org/generalhab.php) 

Additionally, the coup was  crushed by forces loyal to his Soviet-backed government within three days, and the then the Air Force commander Major General Fanta Belay and 12 more high-ranking military officers were executed in 1990 for their role in the coup attempt.. Commander Habtezion Hadgu who was involved in the coup escaped to Yemen by flying a Mig-21 then  joined the EPLF

There are two different versions of  how  Habtezion  joined the EPLF.
According to information obtained from twitter https://twitter.com/RemEPOC/status/  
 Petros Solomon who was member of the EPLF Politburo came from field, Eritrea to meet Habtezion in Sena in 1989.

The other version  of the story obtained  from comments on facebook mentionts that  Habtezion met  Petros Solomon in Massawa in 1990. (መንነቱ ካይነገሩኒ እንዳ ሻዕብያ ካብ ፖርት ሱዳን ናብ ባጽዕ ናብ ጴጥሮስ አብጸሐዬ ተባሒለ
SOURCE  comment of facebook  post on 16/05/2023   https://www.facebook.com/michael.abatregh.
 

The picture  below  is an evidence of  Petros Solomon met  from the left   and  Habtezion Hadgu from the right  meeting together, but  this could be either at Sana, Yemen or Masaaw, Eritrea

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SOURCE https://twitter.com/RemEPOC/status/1358115071977734145

After meeting  Petros Solomon, Habtestion joined the EPLF  and he was assigned  a position within the department of Military Intelligence known as 72  unit which was headed by Petros Solomon.   So, he  became a member between 1989 and 1990  inaddition to his assigned position within  the department of Military Intelligence.  He wasalso involved for the planning and establishment of Eritrean Air force in post-independence

Brigadier General Habtezion Hadgu  Founder and first commander of the Eritrean Air Force

1991-2002

This section provides an overview to the contribution of Brigadier General Habtezion to establishment and development of the Eritrea Air Force.

When Habtezion Hadgu joined the EPLF  in 1989, he was involved in the planning and development of the Eritrean Air Force  . Following the liberation of Eritrea he succeeded in establishing the nascent Eritrea Air Force  from  those aircraft that had been abandoned by the defeated Ethiopian armed forces. According to  information obtained from   (topwar.ruwebsite),  after the fall of Mengistu Haile-Mariama Eritrean rebels captured six MIG-21mf / bis (on board 1058 rooms, 1065, 1082, 1127, 1461 and 1464), a MIG-21um (1012), two Ni-8t (2006, 2008) and nine US-made Lockheed T-33 training aircraft at the Asmara airbase.

 On 24 May 1993, for the first time Habtezion flied over the sky of Asmara in Mig-21 fighter jet from one of those jet which was abandoned

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By the early 1994 an Eritrean Air Force was formally established and Habitation Hadgu became the first commander of the Eritrean Air Force. Habitation Hadgu was the only professional and experienced air warfare pilot within the Eritrean Air Force.
To make the air force firmly established and strong enough to be able to serve its purpose, in 1994 the provisional Eritrean Government sent 50 young Eritreans abroad 25 of them for aircraft technology, and 25 for pilot’s training.
According information obtained from Solomon Yohannese(2022),  Habitation Hadgu  recruited a core group of pilots & technicians officers who who had served in the Ethiopian Airforce .. Those  officers weresuspended from the Ethiopia Air Force  because of Atrocities were committed by  member of Ethiopia's air force bombed the northern Tigray region in 1988.
By the early 1994 an Eritrean Air Force was formally established and Habitation Hadgu became the first commander of the Eritrean Air Force. Habitation Hadgu was the only professional and experience of air warfare pilot within the Eritrean Air Force when it was first established.
To make the air force firmly established and strong enough to be able to serve its purpose, in 1994 the provisional Eritrea Government sent 50 young Eritreans abroad 25 of them for aircraft technology, and 25 for pilot’s trainee.

By the early 1994 an Eritrean Air Force was formally established and Habitation Hadgu became the first commander of the Eritrean Air Force. Habitation Hadgu was the only professional and experienced air warfare pilot within the Eritrean Air Force.
To make the air force firmly established and strong enough to be able to serve its purpose, in 1994 the provisional Eritrean Government sent 50 young Eritreans abroad 25 of them for aircraft technology, and 25 for pilot’s training.
According information obtained from Solomon Yohannese,  Habitation Hadgu  recruited a core group of pilots & technicians officers who who had served in the Ethiopian Airforce .. Those officers were suspended from the Ethiopia Air Force  because of Atrocities were committed by  member of Ethiopia's air force bombed the northern Tigray region in 1988.
These experts consisting of  8 Eritreans, 7 Ethiopian, 1 Italian  and 1 Ukrainian  played a great role, in training members of the Eritrea Air Force in the mid-1990s. For the list of names, see Appendix.
 Among those expelled from Ethiopia's air force were Col. Abrahan (Chief of Staff), Col Kidenmariam Asefa,  Col. Melake, Col. Mesfin, Col. Dr. Efrem, and some others like Major Shekay who came from Lebanon.  Indeed, during  the early stages of  the Eritrea Air Force’s establishment those officers also played a crucial role in providing  training and  other technical supports. As part of their contributions the first batch of pilot trainees graduated in June 1995.   During that year 27   member of the third round National service were also assigned to the Air Force   to train them in different aspect of the combat aircraft : 

For detailed information on the pilots trained between 1995 and 1999, see appendix.

 In begining of the  border conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia in June 1998, the newly formed Eritrean Air Force (ErAF) was still in its early development.  The Eritrean Air Force in possession of some aged MiG-21 fighters and a few helicopters with some training aircrafts acquired from Italy. The Ethiopian Air Force had numerical advantage in aircrafts over the Eritrean Air Force in a ratio of 10:1. 

 On 6 June 1998   two Ethiopian MiG-21s attacked on the airfield in Asmara and the air base. In retaliation, Commander Habtezion who was the only professional and experience pilot, attacked Mekelle air force base with a lighter MB.339FD Italian made training aircraft.    [https://www.rbth.com/history/334639-how-flankers-fought-fulcrums]

During the summer 1998, Eritrea purchased eight MiG-29A fighter jets and two MiG-29UBs.    According to information obtained from (site)   Eritrea purchased a few second-hand MiG-29s (smaller than Su-27) from Moldova and ordered ten new Fulcrum-Cs from Russia. Young Eritreans like Dejen were trained by Russians how to fly MIG-29s.  

 On 6 June 1998   two Ethiopian MiG-21s attacked on the airfield in Asmara and the air base. In retaliation, Commander Habtezion who was the only professional and experience pilot, attacked Mekelle air force base with a lighter MB.339FD Italian made training aircraft.    [https://www.rbth.com/history/334639-how-flankers-fought-fulcrums]

 

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During the summer 1998, Eritrea purchased eight MiG-29A fighter jets and two MiG-29UBs.    According to information obtained from (site)   Eritrea purchased a few second-hand MiG-29s (smaller than Su-27) from Moldova and ordered ten new Fulcrum-Cs from Russia. Young Eritreans like Dejen were trained by Russians how to fly MIG-29s.  

After Eritrea acquired Russian MiG-29s, Ethiopia quickly signed contracts to purchase the Su-27SK. The MiG-29 benefited from a faster climb rate and advantages in some aspects of manoeuvrability, but was otherwise in a poor position to tackle the heavier Su-27 [https://m HYPERLINK "https://militarywatch  
 
 Thereafter, the first dogfighting between 'Sushkas' and MiGs took place on February 21,1999.   according information obtained from this site https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/mig-29-vs-su-27-how-the-two-top-soviet-fighters-went-head-to-head-an-east-african-air-war. On February 21, 1999, two Eritrean MiG-29s saw their first engagements against Ethiopian Flankers, attacking from a low altitude of around 6km. The Su-27 pilot deployed an R-27 missile from a range of around 45 km but failed to gain a hit, with the MiG-29s subsequently turning away to return to base.

On February 25, in the skies over the Eritrean town of Badme, two Su-27s joined battle with a quartet of MiGs.

On May 16, 1999  of the same year, two MiG-29s were patrolling the skies over the Eritrean town of Barentu, when they suddenly came under attack from several Su-27s.

Shortly after the Ethiopian-Eritrean War, Eritrea itself acquired Su-27s from Ukraine to bridge the performance gap, as well as four more Russian MiG-29s to replace the four shot down during the conflict...
 
 Furthermore in 2000, the ERAF bought eight Su-25's from Georgia, and six more MiG-29's from Moldavia)The Eritrean Air force trained and grew enormously in a short period and was able to challenge the Ethiopian army  during border conflict. .  https://sudantribune.com/article34270/

 According to information obtained from this site (https://www.rbth.com/history/334639-how-flankers-fought-fulcrums) the Eritreans were impressed with the combat capabilities of the Su-27SK. Soon after the end of hostilities and despite their difficult economic situation, they mustered the resources to buy several of these jet fighters from Russia for their own air force.

 By and large   the Eritrean Air Force  expanded and grew enormously in a short time, By  1998 it became one of the strongest  military forces within  the Eritrea Defence Force  in challenging the Ethiopia Air Force.      The Eritrea Air Force couldn’t have been this potent without the dedication and commitment of its   leader General Brigadier General Habtezion Hadgu. In the history of the Eritrea Air Force   the  contribution of  General Habtezion Hadgu  in developing  the Eritrean Air Force   from 1991 to 2002 should  always be  remembered by the  members  of the Eritrean Air Force and  future generations.

 Source Solomon Yohannese(2022)

ኣብ መወዳእታ 1992 100 ናብ ሓይሊ ኣየር ስልጠና ተመዲቦም ካብ 50 ሓይሊ ባሕሪን ተመሪጾም። ካብ ዚኦም ድማ ብኩሉ ብቅዓት መለኪዕታት ሓይሊ ኣየር ዘማልኡ 25 ተመሃሮ ፓይሎትን 25 ድማ ብጽገና ዝስልጥኑ ሒዙ ሓይሊ ኣየር ኤርትራ ብብ/ጀነራል ሃብተጼን ሓድጉ ንመጀመርታ ተመስሪቱ።
ብ/ጀነራል ሃብተጼ ሓድጉ ዝነበሮ ብልሒን ኣብ ሓይሊ ኣየር ኢትዮጵያን ውጻኢ ሃገራትን ብዝቀሰሞ ትምህርትን ሞያ ተሞክሮን ኣኻዕቢቱ፡ ምስ ኩሉ ዝነበረ ብዱሆታት ሰጊሩ ኣብ ሓጺር ግዜ ብቅዓት ዝነበሮ ሓይሊ ኣየር ኤርትር ዝመስረት ሓደ ካብቶም ጀጋኑ ዘፍረየቶ እዩ። እንተ ሎሚ ብምካዊ ስርዓት ህግደፍ ተሓይሩ 20 ዓመት ኣቁጺሩ ኣሎ።

1996 Aermacchi MB-339 Helicopter MI8 MIG L39 Y12 ዝዓተን ነፈርቲ መስልጠኒ ተጥቂሞም

ፓይሎት ብ Aermacchi MB-339 ዝዓይነታን ነፈርቲ ዝሰልጠኑ 1996  
 

  1. ዮናስ ምስግና (ስውእ 27/2/1999)
  2. ሳሚኤል ግርማይ (ስውእ 28/2/99)
  3. ደጀን ዓንዲ ሽሕል
  4. ኢዮብ ስእላይ ኣስመራ

MI8 Helicopter ዝዓይነተን ስርሓት ራሻ ንምብራር እተማህሩ (ፓይሎት)

  1. ሃብቶም ካሕሳይ
  2. ታደስ ተስፉ
  3. ኢብራሂም እድሪስ
  4. ሰሎሞን ተስፋማርያም (ስውእ)
  5. ዮናስ ሄኖክ
  6. ስምኦን ዑቁባገርግሽ

1997 ኣብ ደብረ ዘይቲ ኢትዮጵያ L39 ዝዓይነታ ነፈሪት ስርሓት ራሻ እተመሃሩ፡

  1.   ሰናይት ኪዳነ
  2.   ሃብቶም ተወልደ
  3.   ዮናታን ኣብርሃም
  4.   ኢሰያስ ብርሃነ

           
1995 ካብ ኣባላት 3ይ ዙርያ ናብ ሓይሊ ኣየር ዝተጸንበሩ

  1. ክብሮም ኣለም (ስውእ)
  2. ዮናስ ወልዳይ
  3. ኣማን ፍስሃየ
  4. ግርማይ ፍስሃየ
  5. ተስፋልደት ገረዝግሄር
  6. ማና ገብረክርስቶ
  7. ኢዮብ በርሀ
  8. ዮናስ (ኣቦነ)
  9. ንጉስ ናይዝጊ
  10. ሃብትሽ
  11. ትስፋይ ተኽለ
  12. ኣሮን
  13. ዳዊት
  14. ሩት
  15. ተስፋልደት
  16. ዓሻ እድሪስ ዓብደላ
  17. ሓረጉ ተኽላኣብ

Helicopter ኣብ ኣስመራ እተማሃሩ

  1. ግርማይ ፍስሃየ
  2. ንጉስ ናይዝጊ
  3. ተስፋልደት
  4. ግርማይ ፍስሃየ

MIG ኣብ ኣስመራ እተምሃሩ

  1. ክብሮም ኣለም(ስዉኡ)
  2. ዮንስ ወልዳይ

3. ዮናስ (ኣቦነ)
4. ሃብትሽ
5.ተፋይ ተኽለ
6. ድዊት

ኣብ ራሻ MIG 29 ዝተማሃሩ (ታሕሳስ 1998)

  1.  ብ/ጀነራል ሃብተጼን ሓድጉ
  2.  ዮናስ ምስግና
  3. ደጀን ዓንደዕሸል 

 ብ/ጀነራል ሃብተጼን ሓድጉ ሓይሊ ኣየር ኤርትራ ንምቋም ዝተጠቀሞ ምንጭ እንተ ነይሩ ዝነበሮ ብልሒ ኣወዳድብኡን አዩ ነይሩ። ነቲ እሱ ዝስልጠነሉ ሓይሊ ኣየር ኢትዮጵያ ነበር፡ ምስ ገለ ካብ መሳልጥንቱ ኣባላት ሓይሊ ኣየር ኢትዮጵያ ዝነበሩ ተጠቂሙ ካብ ባዶ ተበጊሱ ኣብ ሓጺር ግዜ ኣብ ኣፍሪቃ ብቅዓት ጸብለለ ዝበለ ገይሩ ሃኒጽዎ።

1ይ ሚ/ር ኢትዮጵያ ነፍስሄር መልስ ዜናዊ ብርክት ዝበሉ ኣባላት ሓይሊ ኣየር ኢትዮጵያ ዝነበሩ ብምኽንያ ተሳትፎ ኣብ ደብዳብ ናይ ዕዳጋ ሓውዜን ተራ ነይርዎም ብዝብል ክሲ ካብ ስርሖም ኣባረሮም። ብ/ጀነራል ሃብተጼ ድማ ነዚ ኣጋጣሚ ኣብ ሽቅሊ ኣልቦነት ዝነበሩ ኣባላት ሓይሊ ኣየር ኢትዮጵያ ንገለ ካብ ኣቶም ንሓይሊ ኣየር ኤርትራ ከስልጥኑ ቆጸሮም። እቲ ጅግንነት ኤርትራዉያን ኣብ ምድርን ባሕርን ጥራይ ተሓጺሩ ነይሩ። ምስ ሕልሚ ጅግና ኤርትራዊ ብ/ጀነራል ሃብተጼን ሕድጉን ዘቆሞ ኣባላቱን ድማ ጅግንነታዊ ቅያታት ዉልዶ ሓይሊ ኣየር ኤርትራ ምስ ሰማያት ኤርትራ ግርም ገይሩ ኣወሃሃዶ። ዉልዶ ሓይሊ ኣየር ኤርትራ ኣብ ሓጺር ግዜ ተዋዳደርነቱ ዘመስከረ ሓይሊ ኣየር ኤርትራ ብምምስራቱ ድማ ብደረጃ መለኺዒዑ ኣብ ዞባና ኣብ ቅድሚት ተስረዐ። ኣዚ ድማ ኣብ ታሪኽ ሓይሊ ኣየር ኤርትራ ዓቢ ሰረት ኣንጽፍልና ኣሎ።

ሓይሊ ኣየር ኤርትራ ኣብ ምምስራት ተራ ካብ እተጻወቱ መምሃራንን ኣባላት ቤት ጽሕፈት ዝነበሩ

ኤርትራዊያን
ብ/ጀነራል ሃብተጼን ሓድጉ ሓላፊ ሓይሊ ኣየር ኤርትራ
ኮ/ል ኣብርሃም ዑቁባስላሴ ጻሓፊ
ኮ/ል መልኣከ ምምሕዳር ገንዘብ
ኮ/ል ወዲ ካሕሳይ
ኮ/ል ሙሴ ለባሲ
ዶር ኤፍረም
ማስተር ኪዳነ ሓላፊ ጽገና ዝነበሮ ተመኩሮ (ኣብ 50ታት ኣብ ሓይሊ ኣየር ኢትዮጵያ ዝኣተወ ኣዩ ነይሩ)
ተፋይ ዮስዮፍ (መምህር)
ስሎሞን ዘሙይ (መምህር) በረራ ወላዲኡ ኣቦይ ዘሙይ ድማ ኣብ ጽገና ነይሮም
እዚ ኣቶምን ካልኦት ዘይተጥቅሱ ብዙሓት ካብ ዚ ወጻኢ ዝርከብዎም ገይሩ ኣዩ ዝመስረቶ።

ኢትዮጵያውያን

  1. ኮ/ል ወጋረ ገመቹ
  2. ግርማይ ጭላ (Y12)
  3. ታደስ (MIG)
  4. ማሪቆስ (Helicopter)
  5. በላይ (ጽገና)
  6. ግርማ (flight
  7. ኣራጃ ፓራ ( grund technicial)  

ኢታላዊ

1 ማሪዮ (መመህር)

ሓደ ካብቲ ጉኑን ጸይቂ ኣሰራርሓ ውልቀ መላኺ ኢሰያስ ኣፍወቂ ጉራማይለ መርድእ መስዋእቲ ውልዶ ኣባላት ሓይሊ ኣየር ኤርትራ ደጊምዎ፤፥ ኣብ መዓልቲ ጽንብ ሓይሊ ኣየር ኤርትራ 2001 (Airforce Day) መስዋእቲ ናይ ዮናስ ምስግናን ሳሚኤልን ግርማ ኣብ ዚ ዝነበረ ናይ ዶብ ግጭት ኢትዮ-ኤርትራ ብጅግንነት ተስዊኦም ኣለው ክብል ኣብ መድረኽ ደይቡ ኣቃሊሑ። ናይቶም ካልኦት ግን ወግዑ ቀይሩ ኣብ ገዛኦም ብምኻድ ተረዲኦም።

እንተ ሎሚ እቲ ኣብ ምህናጽ ሓይሊ ኣየር ኤርትራ እምኒ ኩርናዕ ኮይኑ ዘገልገለ ጅግና ብ/ጀነራል ሃብተጼን ሓድጉ እንሆ 20 ዓመት ብዘይ ድሃይን ፍርድን ተሓይሩ ኣሎ። ሎሚ እቲ እምኒ ኩርንዑ ብ/ጀነራል ሃብተጼን ሓድጉ ምስ ትሓየረ፡ እቲ ዉልዶ ሓይሊ ኣየር ኤርትራ ድማ ከም ሕልሚ ውልቀ መላኺ ኢስያስ ኣፍወቂ ኣብ ምፍራሱ ይርከብ ኣሎ። ጉዳይ ብ/ጀነራል ሃብተጼ ጉዳይ ሃገር እንበር ጉዳይ ውልቀ መላኺ ኢሰያስ ኮይኑ ክተርፍ የብሉን።     

 
1996 ብ Aermacchi MB-339, Helicopter MI8, MIG 21-29, L39, Y12, Valmet L-90 Redigo

ፓይሎት ብ Aermacchi MB-339 ዝዓይነታን ነፈርቲ ዝሰልጠኑ 1996 MB-339, Valmet L-90 Redigo
 

  1. ዮናስ ምስግና (ስውእ 27/2/1999)
  2. ሳሚኤል ግርማይ (ስውእ 28/2/99)
  3. ደጀን ዓንዲ ሽሕል
  4. ኢዮብ ስእላይ ኣስመራ

 

MI8 Helicopter ዝዓይነተን ስርሓት ራሻ ንምብራር እተማህሩ (ፓይሎት)

  1. ሃብቶም ካሕሳይ
  2. ታደስ ተስፉ
  3. ኢብራሂም እድሪስ
  4. ሰሎሞን ተስፋማርያም (ስውእ)
  5. ዮናስ ሄኖክ
  6. ስምኦን ዑቁባገርግሽ

1997 ኣብ ደብረ ዘይቲ ኢትዮጵያ L39 ዝዓይነታ ነፈሪት ስርሓት ራሻ እተመሃሩ፡

  1.   ሰናይት ኪዳነ
  2.   ሃብቶም ተወልደ
  3.   ዮናታን ኣብርሃም
  4.   ኢሰያስ ብርሃነ

           
1995 ካብ ኣባላት 3ይ ዙርያ ናብ ሓይሊ ኣየር ዝተጸንበሩ

  1. ክብሮም ኣለም (ስውእ)
  2. ዮናስ ወልዳይ
  3. ኣማን ፍስሃየ
  4. ግርማይ ፍስሃየ
  5. ተስፋልደት ገረዝግሄር
  6. ማና ገብረክርስቶ
  7. ኢዮብ በርሀ
  8. ዮናስ (ኣቦነ)
  9. ንጉስ ናይዝጊ
  10. ሃብትሽ
  11. ትስፋይ ተኽለ
  12. ኣሮን
  13. ዳዊት
  14. ሩት
  15. ተስፋልደት
  16. ዓሻ እድሪስ ዓብደላ
  17. ሓረጉ ተኽላኣብ

Helicopter ኣብ ኣስመራ እተማሃሩ

  1. ግርማይ ፍስሃየ
  2. ንጉስ ናይዝጊ
  3. ተስፋልደት
  4. ግርማይ ፍስሃየ

MIG ኣብ ኣስመራ እተምሃሩ

  1. ክብሮም ኣለም(ስዉኡ)
  2. ዮንስ ወልዳይ

3. ዮናስ (ኣቦነ)
4. ሃብትሽ
5.ተፋይ ተኽለ
6. ድዊት

ኣብ ራሻ MIG 29 ዝተማሃሩ (ታሕሳስ 1998)

  1.  ብ/ጀነራል ሃብተጼን ሓድጉ
  2.  ዮናስ ምስግና
  3. ደጀን ዓንደዕሸል 

 መምሃራን ዝነበሩ

 ኢትዮጵያውያን

  1. ኮ/ል ወጋረ ገመቹ
  2. ግርማይ ጭላ (Y12)
  3. ታደስ (MIG)
  4. ማሪቆስ (Helicopter)
  5. በላይ (ጽገና)
  6. ግርማ (flight
  7. ኣራጃ ፓራ ( grund technicial)  

ኢታላዊ መምህር

1 ማሪዮ (መመህር)

መምሃራን ናይ MIG 21
ዩክረያውያን ነይሮም

Brigadier General Habtezion Hadgu : 2002 – 2003

On September 11, 2001, the former Members of Parliament (G15 group) who oppose the policy of President Isayas Afewerki for failing to implement the Constitution was imprisoned without trial.Following the G15 group’s imprisonment, other high level government and military leaders  also became victims of Isayas Afeworki. Among them was Brigadier General Habtezion Hadgu

General Habtezion was suspended from his duty in 2002, the reason for it may have been  related to Afwerki’s interference in the Air Force administration. According awate.com (2003)  General Habtezion  was disagreed with Isayas  how the air force was managed and why air force staff such as Dejen Andehishel had been unlawfully imprisoned in 1999.  By 2002 the rift between General Habtezion and Isayas Afwerki exacerbate which contributed for his suspending from the Eritrea Air Force.

While he was suspended from his duty, Isayas Aforki delegated Hagos Kisha and Yemane (Monkey) to purchase fighter jets. After completing the procurement procedure they sought advice from General Habtezion  who told them it was not worth to buy these jets because they were not of good quality.  Despite this, Hagos Kisha and Yemane (Monkey) went ahead to purchase them and asked General Habtezion’s approval which he refused. Thereafter Isayas called Habtezion to his office to ask him why he had refused but  Habtestion  clearly answered this question by saying he did not want to be involved in this matter.

 Dekebat website also states that  before his arresting  Issayas Aforki  instructed to the Eritrea Air Office authority to purchase figther jets and  gave responsibity  for purchasing figther jets to  Hagos Kisha and Yemane monkey not to  General Habtezionin

 After Hagos Kisha and Yemane bought the  figthter jets without heeding Habtesion’s advice there were reported problem with these  jets which had been bought  from Ukrain in 2002  According source of information from this site(https://www.flickr.com/photos/kurtsmocs/13187870963)  (2014) “two Su-27 and two Su-27UBs.were purchased in 2002 from Ukrainian Air Force surplus stocks and not new aircraft built for export.  The ErAF reported trouble with the aircraft and had them returned to the Zaporozhye Aircraft Repair Plant (ZDARZ) in Ukraine for repairs. The workmanship had been substandard and they were sent off for repairs again, this time to ARZ No. 558 in Baranovichi in Belarus”.  

In the light of above and other related issues Commander Habtezion was replaced by Major General Teklay Habteselasie in 2002.

Mr. Habtezion Hadgu was first arrested in late January 2003, shortly after an Ethiopian fighter plane piloted by Major Teshome and another unidentified crewmember diverted from its route (Mekele-Addis) and landed in Asmara.

Officials in the Asmara air base, who were communicating with the approaching Ethiopian pilot, contacted Brigadier General Habtezion Hadgu at his home to seek advice on how to deal with the situation, a move that gravely angered President Isaias Afwerki.   Within minutes of the peaceful landing of the plane, the president ordered the arrest of Brigadier General Habtezion Hadgu and other officials including a young officer named Amare (no last name), then in charge of administration in the Eritrean Air Force.
 
At the time of his first arrest, Brigadier General Habtezion Hadgu had already been “frozen out” and replaced, first by his deputy, Colonel Abraham Ogbaselasse, and then by Major General Teklai Habteslassie.   On 23 July 2003, Hadgu, was arrested again, with the government giving no reasons for his arrest,. The Eritrean government has freed a few prisoners then re-arrested them shortly which had become common since 1996. This had happened to  Bitweded Abraha who was released  in December 1997 but quickly rearrested  in March 1998, and to Ermias Debessai  who was arrested without trial until his release in 2003 and then detained shortly again along with his sister in late 2003. They remain imprisoned

Similar to the G 15 and other prisoners, Hadgu has been held incommunicado in prison for over 20 years, and his fate is unknown,  During the years of armed struggle, Isayas had never’ felt comfortable with well-educated people.  General Habtezion was the most highly educated of all high ranking military leaders within the Defence Force including the person who replaced him. This could be the main reason for General Habtezionin arrest in 2003. According awate.com   Brigadier General Habtezion Hadgu Arrested, Again, The general had been released from serving a five-month term only in May 2003. . Salem Solomon (2018) also states that Brig-General Habtezion Hadgu, former Commander of the Eritrean Air Force had been out of jail for only two months when re-arrested on 07/2003. Since then, Habtezion has been incarcerated and kept incommunicado, his family is unable to ascertain his whereabouts.  

Commemorating the incommunicado detention of Brigadier General Habitation Hadgu  


Thousands of prisoners were detained without access to lawyers and disappeared under the PFDJ ruling clique during the last 34 years. The imprisonment without trail and disappearance of prisoners were exacerbated when the Constitution, (which guarantees freedom of speech and press, and other basic human rights), was stopped from implementation in 2001. Today, Eritrea is not  only one of the most repressive regimes in the world with the highest level of disappearances but is also also state prison. There are numerous reports of disappearances without any trace since September 2001. Seyoum, known as a former freedom fighter and war photographer,   was among the disappeared. He was arrested on the 21st of September 2001, according to his family.

“On the 21st of September 2001, there was a knock on Seyoum Tsehaye's door in Asmara, Eritrea. He was already up but his 7 months pregnant wife was still in bed and his 2 year old was still sleeping peacefully. A few minutes later, he came back to the bedroom and told his wife that some policemen wanted to speak to him at the station and that he was going to be back later that afternoon. 19 years later, Seyoum Tsehaye has still not come home " source One Day Seyoum

Similar to Seyoum’s story, there are thousands of Eritreans (veteran liberation fighters, civil servants, peasants, students, journalists, and religious believers alike who are languishing in ‘secret’ detention camps throughout the country. According Abraham T Zere (2016)  there are more than 360  detainee facilities and  more than 10,000 prisoners of conscience,  Here are  links which provide access to : 1 List of people who disappeared mysteriously: 1991–present       2.  Eritrea-Prisoners-and-Disappeared-

Although the government is still refusing to disclose their whereabouts to their families, campaigns in Eritrea by human rights activists continue to demand the release of all prisoners of conscience.  In May 2007, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights called upon the Eritrean government to release the men and compensate them. The Government of Eritrea has ignored the ruling and the journalists arrested in September 2001 remain in detention [https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2019/09/seyoum-tsehaye-eritrea-hrds-arrested-never-seen-or-heard-from-again/]



Families of prisoners also campaign for releasing of their loved one, as evidence of this can been seen from a  demonstration “held at in Giessen, German, 2011” Against state terror in Eritrea”  In this demonstration Ermias Debessai’s daughter (http://www.ehrea.org/aboutsenait.php) who has not seen her dad since she was a baby,  participated in this  demonstration to make the international community aware of her father’s whereabout by displaying a message on boards with her dad’s picture. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V1dSG_tl28   [http://www.ehrea.org/aboutsenait.php
There is a similar campaign which is organised by a family of a prisoner, called Seyoum, [One Day Seyoum[https://onedayseyoum.org/]. Seyoum's niece who grew up in Sweden chose the name to highlight our to fight until the day Seyoum is free


 
Abi Seyoum was two and half years old in 2001 since then she has never seen her dad.

Abie Seyoum’s  speech at the Assembly on June 6, 2013 : “I have not seen him since September 2001. I was two years old. He was arrested with the reformists and the Eritrean journalists during major raids ordered by our government. One of the only memories I have of him is a video. In this film, he plays with me. He loved children. My little sister Belula was born while he was in jail. ("ን16 ዓመታት ዝተኣስረ ኣቦይ ናፊቐ" - መንእሰይ ኣቤ ስዩም ኣቦይ ክእሰር እንከሎ ኣይተወለድኩን ነይረ" በይሉላ ስዩም https://www.bbc.com/tigrinya/news-41241974)  She does not know our father, but like me she knows he is still alive somewhere in prison in Eritrea. (https://hrc-eritrea.org/abie-seyoums-plea/)

 


 
WHERE IS MY FATHER


In 2006, Habtezion’s daughter, Semhar Habtezion also posted on the website to make the public aware and to enquire about the whereabouts of her father

Semhar in her post  states that President Isayas Afewerki clipped my father's wings, and had thrown him in jail, like so many before and after him: to rot to death! And like so many before and after him, no charges were brought forward. No doctors, lawyers or his children  can visit him! And may be like so many, I will be told of his death. But then again, I prefer him to be in jail than be with this regime. Current Eritrea is not for the independent and free mind, not for the outspoken, and not for those who criticise.

Semhar adds that my father’s dream of flying a plane in a free Eritrean air space came to reality in 1991. When he took to the skies in an old MIG 21, a left-over from the former Ethiopian regime and roared the skies of Asmara. That day of September 1st marked the beginning of a long journey to give the newly independent Eritrea, her own Air Force! An Air Force that will have its own national emblem, to be flown by Eritrea’s children and to defend her territory. That journey, which begun with no more than fifteen staff members accomplished what no nation in Africa, or anywhere else, had achieved; a full-fledged air force, the Eritrean Air Force (ERAF). In only seven years, in April 1998, ERAF graduated its pilots, technicians, teachers etc.
 
Semhar’s decades-long campaign for justice for her father on Social Media can be seen below ·

25 Feb 2018
For many non-Eritreans who are not familiar with the country, hearing your family member is held incommunicado is simply incomprehensible. When I first moved to the UK, my neighbour, innocently asked “what if I travel to Asmara and ask to see your father?”

What has also been consistent from Eritrean regime & its supporters is the attempt at separating prisoners in the county by religion, profession, and so on. Ultimately an attempt to disable any united request for access to prisoners.

26 May 2018
Thank you all. I am actually Ok. There is no alternative but to remain strong. It is not actually about me but on the 27th anniversary of the country, to remember so many held Incommunicado in a country celebrating its independence.


  In 2018 in an article which was published on VOA,  Semhar said her father, who founded the Eritrean Air Force, was incarcerated in 2003.
“He had direct altercations with the president”. Those disagreements concerned how the air force was managed and why colleagues like Dejen had been imprisoned.

To conclude

.After the crackdown on internal dissent in 2001 which contributed for numerous  prisoners disappearance without trace  Brigadier General Habtezion Hadgu is  one of  those prisoners  who has disappeared without a trace by the PFDJ in 2003.

According Amnesty International report of  2004  There were many others detained shortly after September 2001. Many are held in same conditions and not seen. They include dozens of senior civil servants, diplomats, military commanders, health professionals, businesspeople, and more journalists. etc  
https://www.amnesty.org › uploads › 2021/09

Sadly Brigadier General Habtezion Hadgu  has been held incommunicado for 22 years, and his family’s attempts to even learn about his health have got nowhere.

 

Bibliographical note