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GALLOWS IN ERITREA 1965
ERITREAN LIBERATION FRONT PRESENTS:
GALLOWS IN ERITREA
(A dramatic grab of a bloody reality)
narrated by a Swedish Journalist
PART ONE
1965
(fig.1 Map of Eritrea)
It is true that once the Federal Act and the Eritrean constitution have
come into force, the mission
entrusted to the General Assembly under the Peace Treaty with Italy will
have been fulfilled and
the future of Eritrea must be regarded as settled; but it does not
follow that the United Nations
will no longer have any right to deal with the question of Eritrea.
The Federal Act and the Eritrean Constitution will still be based on the
resolution of the United Nations and that international instrument will
retain its full force. That being so, if it were necessary either to
amend or to interpret the Federal Act, only the General Assembly, as
author of the instrument, would be competent to take a decision.
Similarly if the Federal Act were violated, the General Assembly could
be seized of the matter.
From U:N: Commissioner Final Report, para.201
BRIEF INFORMATION
Population: 3.000.000 composed of Muslims & Christians; 78%
agriculturists.
Area: 119.000 sq.km., mostly mountains, altitude 3.000- 9.000 ft.
Kind of land: 5.000.000 acres arable; 22.289.000 acres grazing land.
Livestock: 7.000.000 heads of cattle and sheep.
Products: Cereals, tropical fruit, sisal, tobacco, cotton, slat.
Minerals: Iron ore, potash, mica, petroleum, gold & aluminium.
Rivers: Setit, Gash, Barka
Cities: Asmara (cap. 168.000), ports: Massawa & Assab.
Years to remember
1557 Turkish occupation of Eritrea.
Italian occupation of Eritrea.
1890 Renamed (Eritrea) after the ancient Greek name (Cinus Erythreus),
i.e. the Red Sea
1941 Occupied by the Allied Forces, administrated by the British.
1950 U.N. adopted federal resolution.
1951 The Federation between Eritrea and Ethiopia came into effect.
1961 The Eritrean armed struggle started.
1962 Ethiopian forces occupied the country.
Fig.2 newspaper clipping
"The report published by Kvällensposten in 30 Sep. 1965"
Fig 3. Picture
"The Eritrean Liberation Army in action"
FOREWORD
Mr. Bertil Rubin, a Swedish M.P., and Mr. Lars Braw, a journalist, were
among the first foreigners to
come in touch with the Eritrean revolutionists in their inaccessible
mountains.
Last September, while they were on their way to an isolated village on
the heights of Eritrea's
mountains at the invitation of a Swedish missionary, the two foreigners
chanced upon a fortified
stronghold of the Eritrean Liberation Army ( E.L.A. ). They were
arrested for 24 hours, crossly
examined and questioned in order to ascertain their innocence, and later
they were released.
Mr. Lars Braw, the editor in chief of (Kvallsposten) had written a
dramatic account of the 24 hours
they spent as ' prisoners' of the E.L.A. He described this «ignored war»
as a «bloody reality».
He was touched with the inhuman carnage he saw in the towns of Keren and
Ginda, where 22 and 17
corpses respectively of young Eritreans swayed by the wind in gallows
for long hours.
We reproduce here their account as they narrated it in the
(Kvällsposten) of 30th September and lst
October 1965, in order to give a true picture of the Eritreans' misery
and their gallant struggle
for freedom and independence as seen by neutral and impartial men who
were interested in nothing
except the truth they lived and saw.
We should like to call our readers' attention to the fact that the
account we reproduce here, does
not necessarily agree with our opinions, in particular to our
relationship with the Arab World
and the outside in general, where some of the account contrasts with the
fact. The journalist here
has mainly expressed the West's views in the matter. Nevertheless, we
thought it better to
produce it as it was without any omission or addition in order to
exhibit the situation in Eritrea
as viewed by foreigners who accidentally discovered the 'bloody
reality'.
Before we conclude we thank the two Swedish citizens, Mr. Bertil Rubin
and Mr. Lars Braw, who
honestly introduced their sad spectacle in Eritrea to the Swedish public
opinion. Meantime,
we invite any pressmen and news agencies who like to know the truth
about Eritrea to come and
see this living unknown tragedy which has been hidden under the guise of
Ethiopia's diplomatic
manoeuvres over the African scene. Fig. First page of Kvällsposten
newspaper of
Thursday 30 September 1965. "Cover of Kvällsposten showing Mr. Bertil,
P.M. (right) and
Mr Lars Braw (left) Editor in-chief of the Paper" Fig. picture of 21
soldiers in uniforms.
" A detachment of the E.L.A. relaxing"
We also request the United Nations to intervene immediately pursuant to
paragraph (201) of their
Commissioner's Final Report that (If the Federal Resolution was
violated, the U.N. General Assembly
could be seized of the matter). As we request the Organisation of
African Unity to enrol the
problem of Eritrea into its agenda and help to reach a peaceful solution
before the matter is
aggravated by the loss of many lives. Justice should not be trampled to
satisfy Ethiopian
lust of expansionism at the expense of their African neighbours.
Translated from Swedish
Full Text of the Account Given by the (Kvällsposten)
The Representative of «Kvällsposten» and a Member of Parliament
Prisoners of the Rebels !!..
A deadly fight is raging just now in Ethiopia between the Government
troops and the rebels from the
former Italian colony, Eritrea. Mr. Bertil Rubin (Right) M.P. and Mr.
Lars Braw (left), the chief
editor of « Kvällsposten», visited the inaccessible mountain region, and
they were taken prisoners
by the rebels !!..
« We were surrounded by soldiers carrying arms and were led as,
prisoners to their leader. There we
were questioned with weapons drawn».
Mr- Bertin Rubin and Mr. Lars Braw, Editor in Chief of « Kvällsposten»,
give today a dramatic
account of 24 hours spent as prisoners of the rebel fighters, who in the
inaccessible mountain
regions of Eritrea are fighting a bitter war against Ethiopia.
The fights concern the independence which Eritrea lost in 1962, when the
country was occupied by
Ethiopia. It is a war which is not known to the out side world. For
those who have involved in the
implacable fights, it is, however, a bloody reality.
Pages 16 & 17.
A Dramatic Grab.
Asmara. 22 gallows at Keren, one of the larger towns in Eritrea, and 17
at Ginda, between the capital
town of Asmara and the port of Massawa at the Red Sea, provide today the
most telling proof of what is happening here : Deadly fights between
young Eritreans and Ethiopian Government troops. The outside world has
but little knowledge of this.
The press and radio in Ethiopia are silent, and very few foreigners have
penetrated into the region controlled by the rebels. The ride on mules
which we did between Keren and an isolated village in the mountain
regions thus became far more dramatic than we could even have imagined
There is no road to the village situated far beyond high mountains and
the rapid rivers. All transport
between the villages in these parts and Keren must be effected by mules
or camels. We chose mules and started out one morning before sunrise.
The tough little mules negotiated the stone paths partly
destroyed by the rains. Hour after hour the ride continued. The heat
became increasingly intense
and the sun blazed down mercilessly.
Surrounded!!!
Finally we reached a river with water and shade. Exhausted we dismounted
and prepared ourselves to rest during the hottest hours.
As suddenly as lightening from a blue sky we were surrounded by
soldiers! First we saw a couple of
them behind some bushes, then more and more, all with guns trained in
our direction. When we turned round we found soldiers behind us as well
ready to shot !! Slowly they advanced upon us with
their drawn weapons.
One of them came up and spoke to us in « Tigrinia » a language of which
we only understood a
couple of words. But the gestures were expressive enough : Hands up !!!
He called to a couple of his subordinates, and then it started -
pockets, camera-cases, everything
was examined and taken from us - everything except our notes, which we
carried in our trouser
pockets. The whole time a rifle prodded our backs and a couple of them
in our sides, while
the soldiers all around us in the bushes were ready to shoot.
What was to happen ?!!
Protests were of no avail. I pointed to my reporter's block and begged
to be allowed to keep this at
least. Energetic shakings of the head and rifle against my front were
the only answer.
What would happen ? It is true we had heard of «patriots» as they are
called in the Eritrean villages,
but we had not taken this talk seriously. The Ethiopian Government has
strong police troops
stationed in Eritrea, and the Ethiopian air force is very active. Could
the rebels really be
in command of this area?
We were ordered to mount our mules, and the soldiers made two
formations, one on either side.
Where to? We had no idea, but our heads were buzzing with thoughts. Some
spoke about Israel.
Were we being mistaken for Israeli agents? If so, we were sold. Israel
is considered the
principal enemy by this liberty Front- which, as we have been told
earlier - receives support
from the Arab World. Passports, press cards and other documents of
legitimation we have left
behind us in order to avoid the risk of losing them.
Were we to be shot or used as hostages?!!
Nassir's support for the Eritrean fight for liberty!!!
In Eritrea one was never happy about the union with Ethiopia. After the
occupation three years ago,
the national movements towards obtaining independence were strengthened,
Nassir - ever sympathetic towards African rebels with the ulterior
motive to strengthen their ties with those of Egypt sent a steady stream
of weapons over the border.
In Eritrea as well as in some other parts of Africa, people clamoured
for independence and freedom
from Ethiopia. Horrible deeds from the rebels against the Ethiopian
usurpers in Eritrea and in
the borders of Sudan and French Somali land lent weight to the rebels'
arguments. At the same
time, Haile Selassie was manoeuvring to take strong measures against the
rebels in order to
retain his power in the coast state which is of importance politically
and economically.
The exiled rebels in Cairo have during the last years indulged in an
intensive propaganda war
against Ethiopia and 'Lion of Judah' in order to justify their claims.
The U.N. secretariat
has been bombarded with requests to investigate the situation in
Eritrea.
Eritrea has been a ball in the hands of European colonizers. During the
Italian suzerainty
from 1882 to the Peace Conference in Paris in 1947, the country was
ruthlessly exploited,
and was a platform for the Italian war against Ethiopia before the
breaking out of the
Second World War. Eritrea became united with Ethiopia in 1952, but was
occupied in 1962,
and thus the limited autonomy which had been maintained earlier ceased.
E N D
Source: Nordic African Institution, Uppsala - Sweden
UPPSALA AFRIKAGRUPP
Box 2059
S-750 02 UPPSALA
Sverige/Suede
Pg. 613192
1965
pages 1-16
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