The over-capacity crowd started to flock-in as nostalgic songs and video clips from ERI-TV played on two large screens. The Hizbawi Mekete program convened with a “ziKri sematat” and a welcome message from the Hizbawi Mekete task force chair Mr. Bereket Tecle.

Following the welcome message, Mrs. Sophia Tesfamariam succinctly explained to the audience that Eritrea is an exemplary nation that has been betrayed by the international community. She added that Eritrea abides by the rules and it continues to respect the rule of law. And that Eritrea will stand firm in its position on issues that it believes such as the border demarcation and standing up for justice in the horn of Africa.

Mr. Bereket Tecle followed by expressing that the best way to fight the lies and wrong-headed accusations against Eritrea is to fight back; and to be supportive of the GOE policies which are in the best interests of the nation. Mr. Bereket then introduced the speakers. Eritrean Ambassador to United States, His Excellency Mr.Ghirmai Ghebremariam, was the first guest speaker.

H.E. Ambassador Ghirmai began his short speech to a roar from the crowd and adeptly explained that Eritrea is not and will never be a terrorist state. He went on to add that in the past Eritrea has worked with the United States to fight against terrorism at a high level. He mentioned, as an example, a meeting that took place in Eritrea with former U.S secretary of defense Donald Rumsfield and Eritrean President Issaias Afwerki. And the then top American official at the Pentagon confirmed that the US could learn a lot from Eritrea in fighting terrorism. The Ambassador concluded his presentation by reminding that Eritrean people have withstood and defeated many intricate designs in the past and will always stay vigilant to make sure that Eritrea remains a strong independent nation.

Following our Ambassador, the Eritrean youth media task force lead by Yohannes Sium, Bsrat Mezghebe and Saba Sebhatu gave spectacular powerpoint presentations. Yohannes, a masters candidate at GW university, focused on the Western media’s unfair coverage of the border issue and the tactics employed by the media & interest groups to delay the rule of law. Bsrat, a masters student studying international policy at John’s Hopkins school of public policy, explained how the U.S policy on the war on terror been, on more than one occasion, misused and abused by individuals in higher positions at the State dept. Saba, a graduate in journalism from George Mason University, then followed with a concise statements and a show and tell of the mistakes and inconsistencies that the U.S state dept and it’s assistant secretary made in trying to designate Eritrea as a state sponsor of terror. Saba also showed the trend that some greedy, corporate-owned media use to defame and attack African nations in general and Eritrea in particular.

Dr.Asgede Hagos, a professor of Communications at Delaware State University elaborated on how most western media have been used as a tool to influence the psyche of the Eritrean people by making up stories and in most cases working with enemies of Eritrea. Dr. Asgede used classic and thought-provoking examples of how the media have been portraying negative images of Africa in general.

Dr. Ghidewon Asmerom of Virginia Commonwealth University spoke with amazing clarity and depth about the historical blunders of some Western nations and how they betrayed Eritrea. He concluded by reciting portions of poems such as “Lemin Leminey”, a 1987 popular song by Wed Tikul that was written by Issaias Tsegai. Dr. Ghidewon used many examples of our strengths from the past and how we were able as a unified movement to crush all types of enemies and became a nation.

The next guest, who was a breath of fresh air, came all the way from Europe to be part of this successful Hizbawi Mekete. Mr.Abdelkadir Hamdan a journalist, activist and man in charge of HornofAfrica.de website spoke and expressed that anyone who does not stand with the nation of Eritrea at this vital moment in history should be ashamed and will definitely regret it. He elaborated on how we should stand up to the media and that Eritreans will never be forced to kneel down for our history is our testament.

Later, the program opened for a public debate whereby many wonderful ideas and thoughts were shared to make the Hizbawi Mekete a stunning success. The Hizbawi Mekete concluded with a passing of an 8-point resolution and a formation of a 10-person committee to follow up on pledges and resolution.

Awet nHafash!

Hizbawi Mekete Task Force, Washington, DC Metro Area

In Pictures:

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