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"The Precision Bombs" of Mr. Hiruy Tedla Bairu
Rushing For Power Before Death Arrives
By Habtom Yohannes
May 8, 2003

"It is not going to be against individuals, it is not going to be used against personnel, but things like institutions and the economy," Hiruy said. "Like for example the television and radio centres." IRIN, May 1, 2003 Hirui Tedla Bairu

"We wouldn't use force to do that(...) If push came to shove, we would use force for defensive purposes. [But] I would rather not use force to replace Isayas because that would be anti-diplomatic and that would be extremely damaging, because that would involve some aspect of terrorism wouldn't it, and we are committed against that." IRIN, October 29, 2002 Hirui Tedla Bairu

"The opposition Eritrean National Alliance (ENA) says it has set up a military wing aimed at bringing down President Isayas Afewerki. General Secretary Hiruy Tedla Bairu told IRIN the 13 opposition groups that make up the ENA had agreed to set up a single military force at a key meeting in Khartoum early last month." IRIN, May 1, 2003 Hirui Telda Bairu

The above mentioned quotations are from one and the same person: Mr. Huruy Tedla Bairu,the new secretary-general of the Alliance of Eritrean National Forces (AENF), a coalition of 13 Eritrean opposition groups. As we could read in the above mentioned article of IRIN, the Alliance agreed last month to set up a united military wing at bringing down President Isaias Afwerki. According to Tedla Bairu the AENF members will get some two months training inside Eritrea before targeting "institutional centres" connected with the government using Precision Bombs. How else is he and his AENF going to target "institutions" and "the economy" without harming innocent people let alone members of the Eritrean Defence Forces? Mr. Tedla Bairu must have much more precise bombs than those used by the United States of America on both Gulf Wars and in Afghanistan, and which were responsible for thousands of innocent casualties. What has come over Mr. Huruy Tedla Bairu? Is he driven by genuine democratic concerns for the Eritrean people or is he driven by old grudges against the self-appointed President of Eritrea, Ato Isaias Afwerki and his cohorts? Why did he abandoned his peaceful struggle for change in Eritrea?

What indeed has come over Mr. Hurui Tedla Bairu and his Alliance? Might it be that he wanted to ascend to power (by the barrel of the gun or by democratic means?) before he gets old and grey?

I was shocked by the following developments:

When Tedla Bairu invited me to the Stockholm Conference in December 2000, I flew almost directly from Asmara to Stockholm to join the conference which was peaceful and to some extent democratic. I have no regret that I had participated in the conference.
It was an opportunity to meet many democrats who genuinely have been engaged in the struggle for freedom and democracy in Eritrea. I was not the organiser of the conference but later on I understood that Tedla Bairu was using the conference as a step stone to participate in the never held elections of December 2001 in Eritrea. As Tedla Bairu himself stated: "The goals and resolutions have been formulated in such a way that encourages further discussions; in fact, what is required now is an intensive debate that shall clear the way to a powerful movement to Election December 2001", Stockholm Conference, By Hurui Tedla Bairu, December 2000. Telda Bairu has the full right to participate in any election or be a member of the Alliance or even the PFDJ. I am not contesting that holly right but I find him - in retrospective - inconsistent and unpredictable. The problems of Africa are not only the dictators but also the uncommitted opposition parties and their leaders. But the largest problem is the lack of a viable and vibrant civic society that could challenge the regimes and the opposition parties equally.

Most of the participants of the Stockholm Conference were eager to set up an independent civic movement for a peaceful change in Eritrea but our entertainer had his own hidden agenda: use every opportunity to come to power in Eritrea. How else could I explain the unpredictable steps he had taken ever since?

Acknowledgement
After I left Stockholm I used to receive regular calls from Tedla Bairu asking me to organise conferences in The Netherlands. I refused to honour his requests. We had by the way very fruitful exchanges of views. I acknowledge his contribution for the Eritrean struggle, his experience and knowledge but the merits of leadership entails much more than the aforementioned good qualities: integrity and consistency.

The conference was organised by others and I participated. Afterwards I wrote a critical article on the luck of democratic processes ..\Successful Amsterdam Conference, Hirui under close scrutiny June 21, 2001. Since then I have heard nothing from Mr. Hurui Tedla Bairu. This kind of behaviour is characteristic of not only government officials but also of opposition leaders, mainly the older generation. They are accustomed to be adored and not to be criticized. I will respect Tedla Bairu as a person, applaud him if he achieves some good for the Eritrean people and criticize him if he seems to lose his mind.

Mr. Hurui Tedla Bairu seems to be obsessed with removing President Isaias Afwerki from power. To achieve that he is ready to deploy everything; even working with Ethiopia that openly is rejecting the territorial integrity of Eritrea. Have you heard a word from the Alliance or Mr. Telda Bairu when Ethiopia rejected the outcome of the Eritrean Ethiopian Border Commission (EEBC) allocating the city of Badme to Eritrea? On October 29, 2002 IRIN interviewed Tedla Bairu and asked him if the close relationship of the Alliance won't discredit his organisation. His reply was astonishing. Kbel-Iewa Zideleyu Aba-Gumbahsi Zesha Yiblwa. Read his reply:
"When the [border] war was going on it would not have been politically correct. But now that the border thing has been settled, people are moving towards normalisation and I think our relationship might contribute towards that." The border issue settled?

We know that the Alliance supported Ethiopia in its war against Eritrea. Peter Gilkes reported for the BBC on May 23, 2000 "Ethiopia appears to be leaving, deliberately, the western provinces to the opposition Alliance of Eritrean National Forces (AENF). Like Sudan, Ethiopia appreciates the possibilities of the Alliance for weakening the government in Asmara, but is taking considerable care not to provide any overt sign of support which would be widely resented. Instead, Ethiopia and Sudan are leaving the Alliance to respond in its own way to the opportunity created by Ethiopian military successes."

Removing the Asmara regime is one thing but replacing that regime by a viable and democratic government is totally different. Some civic movements seem to condone the activities of the Alliance and Mr. Tedla Bairu. Why? I don't understand. We all will be held accountable for the steps we take: collaboration with the regime in Asmara by condoning its deeds or condoning the irresponsible acts of the so called opposition groups.