June 20 Is Martyrs Day In Eritrea

By Berhane M Tekeste

June 20 is Martyrs Day in Eritrea. Ever since Eritrea re-claimed its rightful national independence in 1991, the day June 20 has been set and declared national holiday for one and the sole purpose of respecting and paying tribute to all those who paid the ultimate price, life, in the great 30-year war to re-claim national independence and liberation of the country and people of Eritrea including those who lost their lives in yet another heroic war against Abyssinia’s (Ethiopia) renewed attempt to re-invade, re-conquer, and reverse the so attained national independence under the lame pretext of ‘border dispute’ (1998-2000).

Just by way of refreshing the record, Eritrea is not a country that suddenly and out of the blue assumed national and territorial sovereignty in 1991 as those who are in schizophrenic perpetual denial of the irreversible geo-political realities precipitated by the 19^th Century Colonial Scramble for Africa would like to pretend [ColMapAfrica], or in1993 as the international media would like to portray it. The latter is, on the one hand, all but a sorry attempt to camouflage, obscure, even justify and legitimize Ethiopia’s forcible 30-year occupation of Eritrea and to insinuate secession, thereby perpetuating Ethiopia's expansionist and irredentist claims over sovereign Eritrean territories. And on the other hand, it is a design to provide political cover for and to blur the mortifying military defeat their mighty protégé Abyssinia suffered in the hands of the heroic combatants of a tiny nation by imputing Eritrea’s national independence to a political charitable act of Ethiopia in the form of the right of nations to self-determination rather than the result of the blood, sweat, and tears of the people of Eritrea and the life sacrificed by those that we on this day solemnly commemorate.

Like all other African countries as we see them today, Eritrea was first established in the geopolitical form and shape that we see it today during the 19^th Century colonial Scramble for Africa [Colonialism] in 1890 as Italy’s Colonial territory in the form of a Nation State with distinct territorial sovereignty secured by distinct colonial treaties.

At the end of Colonialism, all colonial territories except East Timor, Spanish West Sahara [Rio de Oro], and Eritrea, were granted what they were entitled to by virtue and as a consequence of the nature they were first established, national independence. But at the end of Italian Colonialism 1941, Eritrea was forcibly denied of its rightful claim for national independence first by British military occupation (1941-1951), then UN imposed ‘federation’ with Abyssinia (1952-1962), and finally by Abyssinia’s willful dissolution of even the forced ‘federation’ and subsequent military occupation for 30 years (1961-1991).

In 1991, Eritrea finally re-claimed its rightful national independence that was forcibly denied to it for a total of 50 years then by the same means after all and every peaceful venues had failed and at the precious and ultimate price paid by those we commemorate today and the sacrifice of comparable number of the disabled and un-disabled Eritrean war veterans, thereby delivering a final military and political blow to Ethiopia’s occupation and ending all international dreams and machinations to link Eritrea to Abyssinia.

By virtue of the way they were first established, colonial territories like Eritrea were destined and entitled to pursue an independent and self-governing political existence at the end of Colonialism.

While a colonial territory strives for national independence, the people of a colonial territory strive for both national independence and liberation from subjugation by Colonialism, colonial occupation, or any other form of subjugation by whomever. The latter is the cause and the dream all Eritrea Martyrs that we commemorate on this day died for.

Our Martyrs gave us the republic that we all so proudly call home today, Eritrea. It is now up to all of us and we are all indebted to our Martyrs to keep it too the only way they wished it to be: An Eritrea of all, by all, and for all.

Today Our Martyrs would be moving in their tombs if they knew that Eritrea has become a private estate of one-party and the people of Eritrea have been subjected to one-man, one-party dictatorial rule by the barrel of the gun in betrayal of the precious sacrifice they paid by their life to the contrary.

Eternal glory and fame to all Eritrea Martyrs

Contact author at bmtekeste@yahoo.com