Dear Netters:

If you have visited the main page of my website, you will see the following disclaimer:

"The Eritrea-Ethiopia Conflict Webpage is maintained using publicly available information obtained from newswires, scholarly journals, official press releases, and through independent library research. This website is a personal, independent, noncommercial website run by an Ethiopian, and is not affiliated with any private or public organization."

Several months ago, the main Eritrean website providing information on the Ethiopia-Eritrea conflict, (Visafric) copied the above statement and posted it on their website to serve as their disclaimer. Here's how it reads:

"Visafric Webpage is maintained using publicly available information obtained from newswires, scholarly journals, official press releases, and through independent library research. This website is a personal, independent, noncommercial website run by Eritreans, and is not affiliated with any private or public organization."

It seems strange that a self-proclaimed "award-winning" Eritrean company is incapable of writing its own disclaimer and must resort to plagiarism. But the sad thing is that Visafric is simply lying when it asserts that it is "independent" "non-commercial" and "not affiliated with a public organization" [See attachment]

Anyway, this is not an important issue. I just wanted to note that I wished they could have plagiarized my latest article (from March 18) as accurately as they plagiarized my disclaimer statement.

Deliberate Misrepresentation:
The latest Visafric cut-and-paste activity at my website involved an article I wrote expressing sadness at the latest events in the war. In the article ( "A Waste of Heroism"), I also made it clear that I supported alternative approaches to the war. But the Visafric plagiarists took one sentence out of context and made it appear as if I was advocating the exact opposite.

Shameless Insincerity:
If there is one human characteristic I despise more than any other it is insincerity. Sadly the defining characteristic of the Eritrean public relations effort is its shameless insincerity.

The Eritrean propaganda is not really directed at Ethiopians. Instead, the Eritrean public relations campaign is targeted at a Western audience. Its primary goal is to solicit support for the Eritrean regime from the West.

The true attitudes of Eritreans are not revealed in the polished press releases from Asmara that are parroted by Visafric. No, the true attitudes of the Eritrean elites can be seen in the extensive quasi-racist vocabulary of hate that characterizes their attitudes towards Ethiopians. It can be seen in the torrent of insulting e-mails that Eritreans regularly send to this website.

The true atttitudes of the Eritreans is also revealed by the statements of their Eritrean military commanders. For example:

An Ethiopian helicopter shot down last Sunday lies near the trenches that weave along the desert ridge at the border. The pilot's charred body remains in the wreckage; the other crew members have been incinerated. They do not deserve burial, says Colonel Alem Seged. "They were trying to kill us, so why should we do that for them?" The Independent (UK); Friday, Feb 19 1999

Ethiopia buries the Eritrean dead quietly and with respect. Eritrea however, stages a garish publicity stunt at every opportunity. This behavior started from the time they attacked Zalanbessa at the very beginning of the war. At the time, the local Eritrean commander coldly stated "It is not our job to bury the Ethiopian dead." Corpses were left lying in Zalanbessa town for days so that foreign correspondents could photograph Eritrean soldiers standing over them in triumphal poses.

And after all this, the Eritrean government puts out a press release talking about respect for the dead! This is what I mean by shameless insincerity.

Where is the Integrity?:

I would like to know when it was that Visafric or some of the prominent writers at Dehai, or any other Eritrean organization called for acceptance of the OAU peace plan.

• Was it on Tuesday Feb 23, when hundreds of young Eritrean conscripts were lying dead in their trenches at Gemhalo?

• How about on Wednesday Feb 24, when thousands more young Eritrean conscripts were sent to their deaths in pointless counterattacks at Deda? Did the Eritrean elite call for acceptance of the OAU peace plan in order to save the lives of the conscripted girls who were forced to carry kitchen supplies, and ended up slaughtered in the midst of the battle at Deda? No, actually we know what the Eritrean elites were doing. They were dancing in the streets of Asmara after the government gave them a misleading news report.

• Perhaps on Thursday Feb 25, when underage Eritrean teenagers, forced into the army against their will were lying abandoned on the battlefield; wounded, and dying of thirst?

• Perhaps Friday, February 26, when two Eritrean Mig-29's were shot down (together equal to the value of Eritrea's total hard-currency export earnings in 1997). On this day, it became clear that Eritrea had lost the battle and its retreat was announced. Did Visafric call for the OAU peace plan on this day?

• How about on Saturday, February 27, when the Eritrean army fled from the battle again for a second day in a row leaving behind their dead wherever they lay? What were the Eritrean elites waiting for, graphic pictures of their dead soldiers lying everywhere unburied?

Well, we all know how the Eritreans who were vociferously denouncing the OAU peace plan behaved after their dictator performed an about-face and belatedly declared his acceptance They immediately reversed themselves and began parroting the Eritrean dictators stand. What a disgusting lack of integrity!

This 9-month delay caused the death of thousands of Eritreans and Ethiopians. And still Eritrea refuses to withdraw from Alitiena and Zalanbessa!

Let the record show that I advocated acceptance of the US-Rwanda peace plan as soon as it was announced - Here is the article I wrote on June 3, 1998 one day before the Ethiopian government announced its position and two days before the Eritrean government responded. During this critical period, the Eritrean elites were silent. They didn't oppose or support the plan. They were waiting to see what their dictator would say. As soon as he rejected the plan, so did they. Nine months later, both the Eritrean dictator and his supporting elites claim to have accepted that plan… AFTER ALL THIS BLOODSHED. This blood is a product of the sickening cowardice of the Eritrean elites. An elite that has surrendered its integrity and has become incapable of expressing independent opinion.

Conclusion:
A spoken or written dialogue between independent Ethiopians and Eritreans would be a useful start to reconciliation. Instead the Eritrean elites have nothing to offer but highly insincere articles that parrot the official line out of Asmara. These are designed to win approval from the Western audience that the Eritrean regime is depending on for its survival. As far as communication between Ethiopians and Eritreans is concerned, these shamelessly insincere articles have simply increased the level of distrust.

- Dagmawi

Attachment: Visafric's Petty Lies

Let us take these one-by one:

1. Independent?: Visafric claim they are independent "freelance" journalists. In reality they are dependent on their relationship with the Eritrean regime. A person like Ruth Simon, is more appropriately called an independent journalist. She was the Eritrean AFP reporter thrown into prison for reporting on an Eritrean governmental meeting where the Eritrean president disclosed that Eritrean troops were fighting in Sudan. At the very time when Mrs. Ruth Simon was languishing in prison without charge, our self-proclaimed "independent" Visafric journalists were interviewing her jailers (Eritrean dictator Isayas Afeworki, Yemane Gebreab and Co.) Needless to say, they did not bother to inquire about Mrs. Simon's welfare and why she was in prison for over two years without charge. Instead, to its eternal discredit, Visafric enlisted itself in the Eritrean PR campaign to justify the military invasion of Ethiopia and the rejection of the US-Rwanda and OAU peace plans. When the Eritrean government suddenly and dramatically changed its official position on the OAU peace plan, Visafric lamely followed suit. Nothing independent there…

2. Non-commercial?: This is a joke. Visafric has a big banner advertising its internet products. They also state "we will be introducing online ordering system in the near future for those who are interested in buying some of the music cassettes and CDs produced/recorded by Visafric Productions."

3. Not-affiliated?: Visafric is an official internet outlet for the Eritrean government's propaganda machine. "Dimtsi Hafash and Eritrean TV on-line brought to you by Visafric in partnership with the [Eritrean] Ministry of Information and Broadcasting"

Recommendation to Visafric: Get rid of the silly little lies contained in the disclaimer at the main page of your website. Try your best to write an original disclaimer statement. Let me know if you need editorial help.