Mesfin Hagos
Mesfin Hagos (* in the 20th century in Quazien , central region Maekel , Eritrea ) is an Eritrean politician who has lived in exile since 2001.
Life
Hagos left school at the age of 19 to join the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) in 1966 . He was selected, also because of his language skills, to learn the basic techniques of guerrilla craft at the Whampoa Military Academy in Nanking in the People's Republic of China . At that time, the People's Republic supported the Eritrean rebels in their fight against the Abyssinian Empire for the country's independence. Hagos then became sub-commander of ELF combat zone 5.
In 1970 Hagos and Isayas Afewerki left the ELF, but continued to fight for Eritrea's independence. Hagos was a founding member of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) and very soon became the chief of staff of the party's combat units. His greatest military success was the victory in the Battle of Afabet , in which the Eritreans succeeded in encircling and defeating larger Ethiopian formations. In the battle, Hagos had disregarded Afewerki's orders to retreat to Nakfa . The victory paved the way for the liberation of important cities like Asmara or the port of Massaua .
After Eritrea's independence in 1991, Hagos Afewerki was narrowly defeated in the presidential election and became the country's defense minister for a year. The EPLF gave itself a democratic look in 1993 and is still called the Popular Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) today . In 1995 Hagos left the post of Minister of Defense and became head of the regional administration of Debub , southern Eritrea.
In 2001, Hagos and 15 other politicians and military officials in Eritrea (Group of 16 - G16) signed an open letter to Afewerki, who has now acted as a dictator, in which they demanded the constitution promised with the country's independence, the admission of opposition parties and free elections. Of the 16 signatories to the letter, only a few are abroad and at large; the rest have been arrested and interned. Hagos was out of the country at the time of the arrests and now lives in Frankfurt am Main , his family lives in Sweden .
Hagos is now a member of the Eritrean Democratic Party , which works in exile.
swell
- Tom Killion: Historical Dictionary of Eritrea , 1998, ISBN 0-8108-3437-5 .
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hagos, Mesfin |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Eritrean politician in exile |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 20th century |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Quazien, Maekel , Eritrea |