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Semere Tesfai
Person source name · identity unresolved
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Original spelling: Semere Tesfai. No reviewed aliases or translations have been assigned.
3 unique documents. Authored by: 1; Mentioned in source: 2. Role counts can overlap within a document.
According to a certain Semere Tesfai that is a big taboo, because power is the domain to which only the ethnic Tigrignas are entitled. According to him, the Tigrignas constitute 50% of the Eritrean population, therefore their inherent right to rule the country is fully justified. The other 50% of the population, the so-called minorities, should kill their ambitions for power, lest they want to drag the nation into yet more bloodshed. And by the way, no one dare ask how 50% could be a minority, or a majority for that matter – wela t’nfer tiel’ya (typical hgdef logic).
Semere Tesfai may have been the front person, but the sheer contradictions in the absurdly long posting, the paradoxes and the inconsistencies both in tone and in verbiage—all indicate that the posting was a collaborative effort of a cabal of bigoted writers.
See how their front man, Semere Tesfai tells you “since I don’t know the specifics and the exact numbers in the current government, I don’t want to argue based on assumption or gut feeling.” This, for an official data which is readily available on HGDEF’s websites and is only a click away—and then on the same breath, hear him say emphatically“But these are the facts of our ethnic make-up. In a perfect ethnic representation of 1000 Eritreans 820 or close will be ethnic Tigres and Tigrignas, about 180 will be the other seven ethnics between 20-30 representatives each.” And this “factual” analysis for a data which has never been attributed to any official census except hearsay. How amazing!
“Therefore, I don’t care how you slice it, ethnic Tigrignas are the dominant ethnic group in Eritrea and due to their sheer numbers ethnic Tigrignas right to govern should be honored in order to have a stable and prosperous Eritrea otherwise Eritrea will be unstable country.” Semere Tesfai.
“fetikhum tselie’kum abzi adi z’merih mengsti hezbawi gnbar’yu” – remember that line? Does it ring a bell, when the dictator arrogantly declared that the nation had no free will? The mostly Tigrigna audience gave him a standing ovation. Do you notice a striking pattern here? A confluence of ideas? I will leave that to you, you be the judges.And the Semere Tesfais also want you to swallow this too – “Many people Muslims and Christians including me are not opposing Islamic Law because it is Islamic Law. We are opposing it because it is Unfair, Cruel and Unjust Law.” Semere Tesfai.
Firstly, the Semere Tesfai’s Article consists of fallacies, abuses and accusations against Muslims and it deserves a response and clarification. Secondly, as an acceptance and a response to the spirit of challenge that Semere Tesfai exhibited, I have opted to take part and share my views over the article. I would like to start with this quite long introduction, as to the landmarks and the features of the problems which led to a sectarian regime in our society. This being the first part of my article, the second part will discuss what Semere Tesfai’s article brought forth.
It is much easier task for me now because many of the misconceptions and fallacies that Ustaz Semere Tesfai presented may have been answered in other articles. Why does the mentioning of the facts cause frustration and disappointment? Semere Tesfai declares his frustration and disappointment upon the articles of Ustaz Ali Salim and at the same time describes the articles as a chattering with little effect on Muslims, attributing his shock to the unfamiliar nature of the Ustaz Ali Salim’s articles. For the likes of Semere, the familiar are the silent Muslims who don’t articulate their grievances, those who keep calm when their legitimate rights are sequestered by the sectarian regime. Anyone who exposes and reveals the regime's crimes would be out of Tigrigna familiarity, because they are accustomed to silent Muslims who are patient to injustices and oppressions; Muslims who are temperate to whatever the governor would offer—according to him anyone who spell his grievances is perceived customary nature of silence must be fought and shaped. That is what Semere Tesfai attempts to perpetuate; he never expected that one day someone would come to remind him of the facts of our time, the humiliating and shameful facts which resembles a black spot in their relationship with Muslims. Mr. Ali Salim highlighted the black spot to revealed the magnitude of the injustice and oppression suffered by Muslims at the hands of the ethnic Tigrigna rulers, who crushed the values of dignity, freedom, justice and equality among citizens under their sectarian project (we and our objectives).
Eritreans had passed the stages of submission and subordination which benefited the dictatorial regime. Ustaz Ali Salim is but a people’s arrow that shot at the exclusionists fatally, his articles poured down on them like thunderbolts and expose their secrets and disclosed their crimes, they have fallen prey to frustration, shock, anxiety and insomnia, afraid of what the future might carry for them. It is an abnormal feeling that is the nature of wrongdoers throughout the history of mankind. I would like to advice the likes of Semere Tesfai who suffers from a phobia of an honest open debate not to put challenge lest they expose themselves to more and more bouts of frustration and shock. Oh Semere, isn’t it a courageous act for someone to admits failure? Why the lamenting about “national unity” now? Where were those who are now asking to people to forgive and forget when the regime was destroying the basic rights of Muslims, be it land, culture or religion? And who would trust those who never have apologized for the people after escaping the regime?
Semere Tesfai says (what Ali Salim has brought forth of the aggressions are incitement against Christians, even though they have suffered equally to what the Muslims have suffered) considering what Ali Salim has argued as selective grievances and unpatriotic.
The objective of this minority is to weaken the resistance and save the regime, or at least save the regime’s face, and reserve the gains of power, wealth and dominance that the regime have achieved for them. Perhaps, Semere Tesfai might be a member of this minority which plays the above mentioned roles.
The Arguments of Ali Salim are enlightening and stirs the effected populations. This doesn’t mean an incitement against Christians as Semere would claim, because Christians have their share of the injustices and oppressions under the dictatorial regime, therefore, what Ali Salim has been writing could stir the injured communities, Muslims or otherwise. The likes of Semere are those who incite and drive a wedge between Muslims and Christians, their roles resembles those of Isaias Afwerki and his sectarian group who incited the Christians against the Eritrean Liberation Front ELF, depicting it as the greatest danger that must be destroyed prior to fighting the Ethiopian occupation. The Isaias of our time (Semere Tesfai) has been inciting the Christians against the Tadamun, organization saying it is the greatest upcoming danger for the Christians. In his heart, Semere knows that the survival and continuation of the regime in power is dependent on the national disunity between Muslims and Christians that the regime has created.
Recently, our ears have been familiar to the saying “Christians had suffered equal to the Muslim and even more.” These allegations are mostly heard from those who are in the opposition when they are its rivals. If proofs are required to confirm the theory of equal injustice among Muslims and Christians in general, and between the Muslims and the Kebessa Christians in particular, one needs a reliable proofs in the forms of statistics and numbers. Those who repeat such misinforming lies, are lifting and slogan of “repeat lies until the people believe you.” I challenge Mr, Semere Tesfai to prove the equal injustices in names and figures. Non-Tigrigna Christians have suffered more than the Kebessa Christians but less than the suffering of Muslims. I would refer to the Suwera Center’s report published in April 2007, I found 145 Muslims prisoners against 58 Christian prisoners, I couldn’t figure out the non-Tigrigna Christians from among the 58 prisoners, the reason behind the higher number of Muslim prisoners is obvious, the sectarian project of Nhnan Elamana had directly targeted Muslims and only Muslims since its publication. Non-Tigrigna Christians were targeted for their patriotic attitudes against the sectarian exclusionist project. Muslims highly appreciate such patriotic stance. The saying that Ali Salim is exercising selective grievances is true hundred percent. How true? Since the injustices befalling Muslims are selective, it is natural for grievances to be selective; Muslims have particular suffering and very special pain compared to the suffering of Christians.