May 24th brought Suffering, Oppression and Humiliation To Afar

People Of Horn Of Africa.

President Isaias Afwerki: Straw That Broke The AFAR Camel’s Back.

Since it’s inception President Issayas Afewerki's one-party military machine has transgressed and violated every rule on human rights. The Regime has rejected every attempt by International Communities for dialogue on human rights and rejected any scrutiny of violations.

"The government's refusal of openness and accountability about its human rights practices is contrary to human rights safeguards in the Eritrean Constitution and laws, and the international human rights treaties Eritrea ratified," Torture, killing, arbitrary detention, "disappearances" and ill-treatment of political prisoners have become entrenched in Eritrea, Amnesty International said in it’s new report, Eritrea:' You have no right to ask' - Government resists scrutiny on human rights.

Who are AFAR People?

The Afar is the earliest people to live in the Horn of Africa. They claim to be the descendents of Noah's son Ham. Ham was the second son of the biblical Noah. "Afar is the origin of human species". "Afar People are The Cradle of Humankind". It is believed that the first human civilization of Africa was most likely started in the coastal area of Afar land of the Red Sea.

The Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs called the Afar country as a land of gods, Punt,

and a land of Genesis, a land of nonsense by Parisian, a land of remote and death by British, a region of Birthplace of Humankind" (WIC- 2003). It is also geographically known as the Afar Triangle, Afar Danakil Depression or Afar Desert.

Afar society is governed by Afar traditional customary laws, convention, Precedent and case laws as in British and Jewish societies. "The Afar traditional customary law is based on pastoral traditions rather than religious values".

ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS:

Archaeological evidence shows that the 3.5 million years old. Australopithecus Afarensis skeleton, Lucy, was discovered on in November 30, 1974 by Dr. Donald Johanson in the Hadar area of the Afar region in southern Ethiopia. The 5.8 million years old Ardipidthecus R Kadabba, was found in Afar

Region Middle Awash. The 4.4 million years old Ardipidthecus Ramidus, Aramis was also found in Afar Region. In additions, in 1929 and 1932, researchers including French Jesuit Teilhard de Chardin and the Abbe Breuil discovered traces of civilizations, especially cut stone tools, dating back to 6000 BC, Homo erectus, dating back 100,000 BC, and signs of stone-cutting worship dating

back to between 800,000 to 400,000 BC in the Northern and Western parts of Afar country in Djibouti. Afar is familiar as one of the cradles of hominids. These discoveries highlighted how important the Afar Triangle is in humanity's history so far. It was also agreed that the people of the Afar Triangle formed trade and commercial relations with the Pharaohs of Egypt, the Persians, the Greeks, the Yemeni kingdoms and with the Romans and other Mediterranean powers. In the 7th century, the Islamic civilization flourished over the Afar land from which grew amazing powerful Kingdoms and Sultanates of Afars. These were established in different areas of the Afar Triangle, while the ancient Afar kingdoms gradually declined.

The GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION:A f a r l a n d i s g e o g r a p h i c a l l y l o c a t e d o n t h e c o a s t a l a r e a o f t h e R e d S e a o n t h e N o r t h e r n p a r t o f t h e E a s t A f r i c a n s i d e o f t h e G r e a t R i f t V a l l e y. I t s p a n s t h e c o n t e m p o r a r y s t a t e s o f E t h i o p i a , D j i b o u t i a n d E r i t r e a . I n D j i b o u t i, A f a r p e o p l e l i v e i n b o t h t h e N o r t h e r n a n d W e s t e r n R e g i o n s , w h i c h m a k e u p a b o u t 8 7 % o f 2 3, 2 0 0 s q k m (8,9 50 s q m i l e s) o f t h e c o u n t r y. T h e i r r e g i o n s a r e k n o w n a s D i s t r i c t o f T a d j o u r a h , D i s t r i c t o f D e k h i l a n d D i s t r i c t o f O b o c k . A f a r p e o p l e a l s o l i v e i n t h e c i t y o f D j i b o u t i w i t h o t h e r e t h n i c g r o u p s . I n 1 9 7 7 , t h e A f a r s c o n s t i t u t e d a b o u t 6 0 % i n t h e c o u n t r y. T h e p r e s e n t g o v e r n m e n t c l a i m s t h a t t h e A f a r s a r e 4 0 % o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n o f 6 0 0, 0 00, a n d t h e y r e p r e s e n t 4 5 % a t t h e N a t i o n a l A s s e m b l y.I n E r i t r e a , t h e A f a r s l i v e i n t h e S o u t h e r n R e g i o n , w h i c h i s k n o w n a s D a n k a l i a . I n 1 9 9 6, E r i t r e a w a s r e s t r u c t u r e d i n t o s i x s e m i-a u t o n o m o u s z o n e s o r r e g i o n s . T h u s , t h e A f a r r e g i o n i n E r i t r e a w a s d i v i d e d i n t o t w o z o n e s . T h e y a r e S o u t h e r n R e d S e a a n d N o r t h e r n R e d S e a Z o n e s . S o u t h e r n R e d S e a Z o n e ' s h e a d a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f f i c e s a r e b a s e d i n A s s a b , B a i l u l, T h i i ' o , a n d N o r t h e r n R e d S e a Z o n e ' s h e a d o f f i c e s a t H i r g i g o , M a s s a w a , Z u l a , M e r s a F a t m a , N e f a s i t, G h i n d a a n d N a c f a . T h e N o r t h e r n R e d S e a Z o n e h a s a l a r g e

p o p u l a t i o n o f p e o p l e o f m a n y d i f f e r e n t e t h n i c g r o u p s . A b o u t 8 0 0 k m o f t h e 2, 2 3 4 k m R e d S e a C o a s t l i n e o f t h e S t a t e o f E r i t r e a i s A f a r r e g i o n . I n E r i t r e a t h e A f a r s c o n s t i t u t e 4 % o f t h e c o u n t r y.I n E t h i o p i a , t h e A f a r p e o p l e i n h a b i t o n t h e N o r t h e a s t e r n p a r t o f t h e c o u n t r y. T h e i r r e g i o n i s c u r r e n t l y k n o w n a s T h e A f a r N a t i o n a l R e g i o n a l S t a t e . I t i s a d m i n i s t r a t i v e l y d i v i d e d i n t o 5 Z o n e s a n d 3 1 W e r e d a s (co n s t i t u e n c i e s), 2 8 T o w n s a n d 3 2 4 P e a s a n t A s s o c i a t i o n s . T h e A f a r T r i a n g l e i n c l u d e s t h e l o w e s t p o i n t i n A f r i c a , L a k e A s a l (155 m e t r e s {500 f t}). T h e c l i m a t e v a r i e s f r o m w a r m 2 5 ° C (77 ° F) d u r i n g t h e r a i n y s e a s o n (Se p t e m b e r-M a r c h) t o e x t r e m e l y h o t 4 8- 5 0 ° C (1 1 8 ° F) d u r i n g t h e d r y s e a s o n (Ma r c h-S e p t e m b e r).

The Regime’s Impact on Afar Existence

The indigenous AFAR peoples have suffered from historic injustices as a resultof, inter alia, their colonization and dispossession of their lands, territories and resources, thus preventing them from exercising, in particular, their right to development in accordance with their own needs and interests,

The Afewerki’s total disregard to respect and promote the inherent rights of AFAR peoples which derive from their political, economic and social structures and fromtheir cultures, spiritual traditions, histories and philosophies, especially their rights to their lands, territories and resources, is leading Afar people in to being extinct fromthe horn.

Imposing policies of division and depravation towards Afar families and communities who lived peacefully over thousands of centuries, that are now torn apart by these new boundary and boarders, that used to live nomadic lifestyle with animals (camels and cattle) that do not know boarders being shot by trigger happy Eritrean soldiers, denying Afar people and their land to retain and regain its original form to shared responsibility for the upbringing, training, education and well-being of their Children and families, consistent with the rights of the child, that Afar people have the right freely to determine their relationships with respective States in a spirit of coexistence, mutual benefit and full respect. Crimes being perpetrating against Indigenous Afar people By Eritrean Regime

• Systematic Separations of Indigenous Afar families from relatives in

Ethiopia and Djibouti, by completely destroying thousands of years of Culture, Language and social fabric.

• By taking away the right to own, use, develop and control the lands,

territories and resources that they possess by reason of traditional ownership or other traditional occupation or use, as well as those, which they have otherwise acquired.

• Confiscation of afar property, and water resources (Sea, ports, mining, cross boarder trade, fishing ect.)

• collective punishment for those who dare to speak out for their rights, by imprisoning, torturing in some cases disappearance and killings.

• Expelling of Afar intellectuals by accusing them for their aspirations of greater afar triangular country.

• Prisoners are held in atrocious conditions - damp underground cells, overcrowded and sweltering shipping containers, secret security sections of official police stations or prisons, military prisons and makeshift rural prison camps. They have a poor diet, little water for drinking or washing, and virtually no medical treatment for torture injuries or illness.

• The situation has created massive flow of Refugees in to neighboring counties, Like Ethiopia, Djibouti, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. (Appx: 100,000 historic first for afar people.

• Initiating Conflicts and wars with Ethiopia, Yemen and now Djibouti it strongest Ally in the region, its invasion of Afar territories in Djibouti in April is proof of that Aggression. The afar people are receiving brunt of this aggression first hand.

On the occasion of the 17th anniversary of formal independence on 24 May, Afar community of Canada, USA, EU, Middle East, Our Brother in Ethiopia and Djibouti are coming out in a peaceful protest of this aggression and call up on International community and Peace Loving Nations Every where to join us in condemning the Government of Eritrea on treatment of it’s defenseless citizens. (Below are Afar Refugees from Eritrea, Mostly Women and Children)

Date: May 23rd, 2008, Time & Place: 9:00am, In front of Eritrean Embassy in Ottawa, Canada In front of US & French Embassies in Ottawa

For More Info: Email: ahmedy.mohamed@gmail.com

Telephone: Ahmed Y Mohamed 613-266-0929

Ibaro Oudoum 613-796-6418, Omar Mohamed 613-261-0348