Believe me SaleH, you memory is playing tricks on you, or maybe it's mine.
In any case, let me relate some history from "defective" memory:-)
In 1977 when most of our cities were liberated, controlled either by the ELF
or EPLF, the voluntary participation of young people in the fronts
continued. In the ELF, the "Falul Movement" which emerged around January
1977 had a devastating effect on the Front as thousand its fighters defected
(or forced to defect because they were attacked by the ELF forces, which is
another story) to the EPLF later that year. This situation coupled with the
enemy's recapture (in the middle of 1978) of the cities and towns produced a
more negative effect to the moral of the fighters and a few thousand more of
ELF fighters again left "Mieda" either for Sudan or Ethiopia. It was a time
when battlions were short a company, and companies were short platoons. It
was then (I would say starting early 1978) the ELF decided to forcibly
conscript. And that is when the EPLF particularly in the Hamasien area
started the campaign of ridicule. The EPLF was much more stronger than the
ELF at that stage even after the furious battles to capture and later defend
the cities. Enough of writing from memory for today!
Paulos.
>What do I say, Paulos. Well, I guess maybe my mind is playing tricks
>on me. Since I wasn't relating the story second-hand, I thought I was
>fairly certain that it was the EPLF that first started forced
>consciption. I am certain of this because there was a truly memorable,
>venomous critique that appeared in ELF newsletters about the subject.
>It was so memorable, one of my friends--a ex-ELF cadre--has it
>memorized and will, at times, blurt it out to show off his
>Tigrigna-prowess. It goes like this (loose translation offered for
>Mary and other Tigrigna non-speakers):
>
> B' Har-gots-gotsn der-gots-gotsn (through hustle and bustle)
> z-te-aka-Kebe Hylee (power hatched)
> Ab Sinkufin tehawasin (in weak and incapacitated)
> medreK (stage)
> k'shltemn k'gltemn (to collapse and to disintegrate)
> ny Gdin y-Kewin:: (is a certainty)
>
>Translation: "It is inevitable that a power-base hatched through hustle
>and bustle will, in periods of inactivity and incapacity, disintegrate
>and collapse." Hardly prophetic, huh?
>
>So, brother Paulos, what do you say?
>
>Saleh
>
>PS: Tekie, a response to your tough questions is coming up. But I have
>to collect my thoughs for a while...
>
>
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