EDA works in daylight, in an open and transparent way, and within a clearly defined democratic principle and political process.

From my reading, EDA leaders have developed a tolerant attitude towards discourse and have managed to open up to all political groups, both the moderate and the secular. The leaders of EDA have reassured Eritrean citizens that they will not interfere in their personal lives and that they will respect their right to choose their future government. EDA also knows the importance of international relation in the economically and politically interconnected world of today. They do not need a lesson from Semere.

Diehards like Semere always existed in Eritrea and they are inflicted by all kinds and forms of Islamphobia—an irrational fear of Islam—and bigotry that threatens the very fabric of the Eritrean way of life; He is kind of person who will never reform, change or attempt to build bridges. As always, the efforts of bigots to demonize Islam and Muslims have become a political football and it is high time that they are isolated, exposed and dismantled.

Semere’s  article and purpose is to create fear. Obviously his aim is to inspire fear in a small segment of  our population in order to enhance the imposition of Isaias regime’s  agenda from a deeper psychological and metaphysical perspective.

EDA Values Human rights and lives

In every effort it took, be it for political, moral, or religious reason concerning the value and importance of human lives, EDA has emphasized its commitment to safeguard and protect them. Since peace and friendship are essential to safeguarding and protecting life and human rights, all war and conflict should be opposed and overruled. Peace requires an understanding that physical conflict and killings cannot be avoided without wiping out the motives for war in the behaviour of human beings.

Now there is a unique opportunity for Semere and his likes: to demonstrate that they will no longer support the despotic regime of Asmara and instead support the democratic process of the opposition.

By refusing to intervene in favour of one party against another, and by accepting the results of the democratic process and unity of the EDA, even if it is not to their liking, the leaders of Ethiopia have remained consistently disengaged.

Throughout history Eritrea has suffered a lot as a result of the attempts to exclude same ethnic groups and Muslims by denying them a role in the public sphere and that is what needs to be corrected. Democracy is the only option for bringing stability, security and tolerance to the region, and it is the dearest thing to the hearts of Eritreans who will not forgive any attempts to derail the pursuit of those values. But in the discourse of the Isaias regime, Islamists are seen as newcomers to politics, as gullible zealots who are motivated by radical ideology and lack of experience tyhat is why in Isaias’ Eritrea Islamic institutions are suppressed. Muslim and Christian activists are imprisoned, tortured and killed. And such experiences has given rise to profound bitterness among the population.

It is important that EDA is careful not to fall into the trap of overconfidence: it must accommodate other trends, even if it means making painful concessions. Our societies need political consensus, and the participation of all political groups, regardless of their electoral weight. It is this interplay between the main group and others that will both guarantee the maturation needed to lead us to a democratic transition in order to achieve an Eritrean political consensus and stability that has been missing for decades.

Semere is a chauvinist bigots just like the PFDJ regime and the insane master in Asmara who is cut from the same cloth and followed by  the ‘Sheep-people’ who like to travel in packs. Those are people who associate with persons of similar social class, age, and values—if not for any other reason it is because in their eyes, it makes their life more controlled and comfortable. Their associates inside and outside Eritrea, their colleagues and friends, validate their beliefs because they believe in what they believe. Yes, the tendency is the perpetual need to be part of a majority… a herd that follows opinion leaders like docile sheep. There is total ignorance, arrogant satisfaction and comfort in knowing they are correct, even safe, among folks of similar beliefs. That is largely why a totally false information and opinion is expressed in the mainstream opposition media of the Eritrean people; and ironically, independent media oulets like awate are not accepted by them without any thought or reflection, much less challenge. They possess a distinct propensity to avoid unpleasant ideas, realities and prospects.

Denial is a coping mechanism common to the herd regardless of their intelligence, education, knowledge, and background. Therefore they deliberately remain ignorant except that they willingly accept the conventional wisdom of the PFDJ regime that pursues its separate foolish but easy agendas. Does this suggest that persons in high position of authority within the Isaias regime are responsible for deliberate killing and lyng? Of course! As an absolute minimum they speak in 1% truths, omit highly relevant information or say nothing at all. Is this so difficult to believe given the fact that so much of their personal and organization’s self interest is at stake? Yes, they want to rule over all Eritrea unhinged. We are trying to tell the bigots to get their “head out of the sand” and face up to the realities that are impacting our fatherland and ancestral home.

It is well known to Eritreans that the extremely dangerous and demagogue group live by the energy of hate and prejudice against others. Self-anointed, they claim to own the role of defenders of secular and enlightened values—many, if not all, are guilty of too many crimes and blunders that can be volubly attributed to the theocratic warmonger ambivalence, and at times hostility, towards facts and truths that stand to refute their empty rhetoric. They stagger and stumble, shamelessly. They are exposed and they are screaming nonsensically, with implausible and wholly debunked ludicrous contention, that the Eritrean opposition is under siege by Islamic theocratic megalomaniacs: Blaming “the Muslim generically for anything is intellectually disrespectful and highly ethnocentric.” And obviously it is always cloaked in the mantle of the so-called Isaias regime’s secularism and the enlightenment. Much of the Godless’ narrow secular, un-progressive energy has been wastefully channelled into the minds of naïve Eritreans, and it is a crime against our people. 

For that matter, they do not have the temerity to dispute their demagoguery regarding their claim of threats posed by EDA, whom they brand as an umbrella of Islamic theocrats. Unfortunately, their disingenuous repeated rhetoric lends some credence to their argument when they mischievously denounce any opposition to the PFDJ, particularly the EDA, without evidence. This group that is part of the Isaias regime in terms of political values, can easily be described as “the worst elements among Eritrean society” because they reject the liberal-secular Eritrean society over a reactionary, ethnic, narrow-nationalism that has traditionally been the bane of most  Eritreans.

Unlike the EDA, as most of us know, Isaias favoured his narrowly selected and trusted Ethno-centrists, the uneducated and indoctrinated elements, and the undemocratic atheists, to fill the positions of his personally created obedient government. His regime is not made from the pool of  highly educated professional technocrats. In the end, however sadly, the transformation had been complete. This result is an Ethno dominated Eritrea—pure and simple, no matter how many sugar-coated layers one tries to add to it. In all of that, surely you cannot fail to recognize the disdain with which the unelected Eritrean regime has taken over all of Eritrea—its  land and its people’s pride.

Eritreans are great people who have paid heavy price for their freedom. Indeed, they are among the noblest people on earth. They fought for freedom and continue to so. You cannot fail to see that Eritreans should not and cannot tolerate the upstart Isaias regime. It is an old enemy of our people equipped with new garb and a sinister agenda to rule over Eritrea. It is a regime that has built its identity based on the indoctrination and ideology of yesteryears communism and all kind of trash ending with “ism.” It has alienated all religions though from the begining it has focused on Islam.

New Power Realities

Semere and the small folks in his group are trying to prove that they have already won the game and must keep the spoils by the gun (“Power Realities.”) They are gloat that they and the Isaias regime are ‘in what they call the reality—power based Ethno group and community. They falsely hurl racist insults in an attempt to define the democratically elected and seasoned Eritrean opposition, particularly the EDA which they brand as  an Islamist and Ethnic Organization. They believe that solutions emerge from their judicious study of discernible reality. But that’s not the way the world really works anymore. True, now the Isaias Ethnic-regime has power,  and it is acting with confidence that created its own new reality. Semre and his group forget that the EDA and the opposition is also studying that reality—judiciously—and soon action will follow to create another New Reality. That too needs to be studied by the bigots, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re all actors in a play called history though Semere and the Isaias regime would like to hold to Power Realities while the EDA, and all other opposition, are left to just study what Isaias’ regime and its cohorts do. Isn’t this how very sick the Isaias regime and its followers are?

Semere’s is trying to act like a Think-tank on international and domestics affairs. I wish he would spare us that because he is not qualified to be even a student in that field. His analysis of global and Horn of Africa affairs are idiotic opinions that foolishly advocate the Isaias regime’s interest. It is not worthy of any consideration. Eritreans have heard that kind of music and they are living it—they cannot be deceived to relive the same situation again.

The doctrine of the megalomaniac Isaias, his regime and that of the PFDJ for which Semere is advocating,  would always unleash Eritrean’s immense military resources against the weak and defenceless Eritreans. This sad chapter of our history is about Eritreans who are suffering silently and it is a direct result of the oppression by the Isaias regime and its PFDJ thugs—all those who subscribe to the chauvinist agenda, its relentless obsession to defeat, destroy and dismantle the Eritrean social fabrics.

Most Eritrean are witnesses to the wars against their religion and the persecution of the minorities among them. In all civilizations, there are forces that represent tribalism and forces that represent humanism. Isaias’ regime is composed of a very small, a very tiny minority, with a fixed caste hierarchy that represents almost a tribal exclusiveness. Eritreans are generally kind to their neighbours and they always hope for a better tomorrow. But they being pulled from two sides by two contradictory worldviews that cannot coexist: they are ruled by a dictator but aspire for a liberal democracy. Living in a police state, ruled by the PFDJ gangs, they cling to their hopes for freedom, holding to their faith in their God and maintaining their humanity.

Our people do want any war with any of our neighbouring countries though Semere conjures it; the people want to live in peace, a genuine peace. Now they are totally consumed and  preoccupied in internal and domestic issue centered on living for the day. On the other hand, ordinary people—solders, students, teachers and the like—are perplexed about life under a regime that controls them and limits their opportunities to achieve their full potential. Men and women from Asmara to Zalanbesa routinely chafe at their sense of powerlessness to influence national politics and foreign policy, or to check the corruption and abuse of power they see all around them. They can neither articulate the full sense of their own humanity nor exercise the total rights of their own citizenship. They react by getting on with their lives, working hard yet getting nothing in return, educate their children when they know their fate is bleak—and that is a result of a useless curriculum, under-paid teachers, underfunded education, poor health system and non-existent social program.

It seems we are now living in a new era in which reality is making us. Our people are witnessing change all around them and they are attempting to adjust and to imagine another way of living and soon their sun will have to shine.

It is obvious that one could ask what kind of governance could serve to remove the obnoxious practice of marginalization in our nation? What form of government or statecraft in its modern term holds the unity of our diversities with its grain of principle for equitable justice? The answer to these questions is: our approach should be marked by dialectics as a method of discussion that involves profound insights and cognitive optimism into the nature of our reality. As I already mentioned in my previous writings, to bring the best rational and righteous political order, which leads to harmonious unity of our society, “decentralized unitary governance” which I call “a storehouse of ultimate unity keeper and a scheme to seal our political thrust for unity.” As a result, I will never leave it or forsake it.

If I try to make politics more of science than it should be, I could bring “life science” as a vehicle that carries my argument to find tractions in the thinking mode of our people. In medicinal chemistry, the new drugs which are bio-similar are intended to replicate the therapeutic effects of medicine – similar to their counterpart brand, in terms of “safety” and “effectiveness.” In politics also there are similar theoretical frameworks of governance, conditioned by specificity, but intended to replicate “unity” and “equitable justice.”  At this point all the forces within ENCDC and EPDP are advocating for decentralized unitary governance at least in theory. The argument will be then, what kind of framework of decentralization is applicable to our diversity? Here we should focus on the replicable nature of the framework of our reality.

 Scholars, especially in the field of social sciences, law, politics and anthropology, could tap into the theoretical and constitutional frameworks based on research designs and interpretations, within the context of democracy and justice, to address the mistrust and social grievances of our diversity. I have written few articles to reflect my take on the subject. But let me go to the issue that compelled me to write this essay: the difficulties of the predictable pathway and how to overcome them. I will try to extrapolate through the value of justice. Hence, to make my point, I will visit the issue of loyalty to justice and the argumentative delinquency for justice.

Character of loyalty to justice

Politics does not go by ruffles, flourishes and celebration of the obvious. It is about courage and loyalty to justice. It is about character—a rare commodity in the business of politics. Justice should be reflected in all that we think, in all that we say, and in all that we do. Nations will be stronger and secured, citizens will be harmonious and tolerant only as a consequence of the measure we exercise on loyalty to justice. Justice is not a charade or absurd pretence. It is a virtue that lives within the highest standard of behavior and distinctive qualities built into an individual or society. Justice is a real deal in raw politics and it benefits the ignorant as well as the villains. Once it becomes a lesson learned, we would never forsake it.

When common sense is not common, which reflected in our current debate, I saw a strike with a “political axe” to the process of our congress from those who advocate for justice. It baffles your mind. But, is it an exhibit of loyalty or hypocrisy to justice? Is it another way of marginalization or an act of franchising? Ah! Reality gives you pain, and one wouldn’t stop from rolling his eyes or utter “ugh” for that matter, as if he is pinched by a needle suddenly. They forget all the ups and downs we have gone to bring into a common platform for all the presumed stakeholders in the congress, including a justifiable electoral process by the way. All the attempts were how to be inclusive and formulate an equation that holds the equilibrium like a “homeostasis” in a biologic-blood. Justice by its nature is three dimensional—distributive, interactional, and procedural. I believe that is done within the standard of Eritrean reality. In fact Justice was given equally to equals and unequals in proportion to their contribution to the common good. Not perfect but one step forward. There is no perfect calculation in politics.

When all are set and done, there is a surprising inconsistency in this “dual duel issue of justice by subtraction” argued by our counterpart. We can’t let marginalization in the making against anyone in the current struggle. Now, instead of launching the real battle against the common enemy, they are trying to take us into a pity personal battle who will be in the congress and who will not be, just to upset the equilibrium. Justice is needed not only for our friends, it is also for our enemies. If we are crying for justice we have to exercise justice within ourselves also. We don’t need this political hypocrisy from the other side of the political spectrum. We are tired. Enough is enough. We were not in the congress and now in the council to remove our haters and embrace our lovers.  For heaven sake, we can’t stand justice only when it suits us.

It is ironic that they are caterwauling in chorus, to insinuate conspiracy by the leadership—doing something with the Ethiopian government to mess up the election. When for fact they know that the process wasn’t. Not at all! But sadly enough, we are watching in the daylight lobbying and maneuvering to the leadership to remove their haters. The leadership must show now strong leadership and must not vacillate in any circumstances—a discourse of statesmanship holding a scale and sword in the foreground. There is no unity by subtraction and no justice by hypocrisy.  We can’t stand like a whirling dervish on this issue. We need to exercise retail politics and make the necessary outreach to our people and explain the basis of our decision—and yes give them the spark to ignite the potential energy in them.

Argumentative Delinquencies

Policy is dictated by reality. It is laid down by factoring-in all the determinant variables around that particular circumstance, in an effort to help us and change the momentum to our strategy (the strategy of our common cause). Keep in mind that Social science is subjective and it does not follow the methodology of hard sciences (chemistry, physics, biology, and their branches). In this case, our political policy then should factor in, the entire social forces who participate in the process. From the get go, the goal of the congress was to bring all the forces to chart a “common strategy and a road map” to fight in unison against the tyranny. In doing so the forces who participated in the process should be sorted-in (without sorting-out any) in the strategy we came out from the congress. Now, any argument against the goal we already set forth will be characterized as “demagogue argumentative delinquency” or “diversionary argumentation.”

Myself I was satisfied by the outcome of the congress on two things (a) on the political supra-structure (b) on the distribution of the seats to the stakeholders. The political supra-structure was envisioned to reflect decentralized governance by which it devolves the power of representation to the stakeholders (the seven regions and political organizations). This gave us the microcosm of democratic exercise in a decentralized administration—a new introduction to supersede the old practice of centralized administration. The distribution of the seats was proportional relatively to the stakeholders who participate in the congress. As to how much is understood the concept by the rank and files, is still a big question. Why? Because there are still lobbying from inside and outside (a) to reverse the new administrational structure to the old practice of centralization of power by appointments (b) to expel some of the stakeholders who contribute to the process with money, energy, and personal sacrifice, all despite a clear instruction that is given by the executive. This is an absolute defiance to common sense and hints an act of insipidity any way.

This short essay is specifically directed to those who wrote about justice and tried to be proponent of justice but failed to be loyal to the spirit and words of justice. Most things are easier said than done. Now it is clear to me that justice is only when it serves them. This is my message to them: Justice does not play politics but fairness. Justice does not dictate by majority but by its equanimity. Justice does not take side with the strong only but also with the weak. Justice does not have hidden agenda but open with its value to serve. Justice does not segregate but it accommodate. These are the words of justice written on the wall, either you will live with it or abandon it and give it to another’s control or mercy.

1. Rhetoric and bravado aside, Meles will never invade Eritrea to topple the PFDJ regime. Not out of respect for the Eritrean people or the sovereignty of Eritrea, but for lack of power and resources to execute the regime change project.
2. Counting on the fragile EDA, if Meles ever decides to remove the PFDJ regime, before EDA sets its foot on Eritrean territory, the Eritrean opposition umbrella will shatter in pieces; leaving him without any “credible partner” to work with.

Well, to be credible myself, I’ve to make a compelling case argument on the above two points. And – challenging the wisdom and questioning the capability of Meles’s regime change rhetoric, and arguing about – the absence of “credible partner” for Meles on the Eritrean side would be the argument of this article. Let’s roll:

Argument #1: The Wisdom and Capability Argument

When it comes to regime change, after twenty long years in power, with an apparent Meles fatigue in his nation, and his legs stuck in the muddy political quagmire of his Eastern project, Meles could only dream toppling the PFDJ regime. For him, any military adventure to the North would be suicidal; and Meles is not one. Don’t get me wrong – when I say Meles will not invade Eritrea, I don’t have any illusion about Meles’s wishes and dreams. Meles or not Meles, no matter who is in power in Addis, the Amara and Tigrayan-Elite obsession with the Red Sea and the constant Roar (Tuta, Zeraf, Gedai…) to have it their way, will always be there. I don’t have any doubt in my mind, before the ink is dry on the recent sanction-papers, under any pretext, the Meles government will start lobbing and volunteering to sell its service for another round of sanction “to punish the regime in Eritrea”. And due to its narcissistic and belligerent attitude, the regime in Asmara won’t have any shortage of “enemies” that would lineup with Meles’s Ethiopia to put the last nail on its coffin. But for now, just for now, Isaias can breathe a sigh of relief at least until another round of political drama starts on the diplomatic circles of Western capitals. And Meles now and for the rest of his reign could only wish and dream to roll his tanks across Mereb River, topple the Isaias regime, and mesmerize us with his ቁስልኹም ኣይትሕከኹ ….(don’t scratch your wounds..) speech from Asmara with “love”.

Those of you who truly believe Meles is going to remove the PFDJ regime to empower EDA – please, please don’t kid yourself. Meles, aligning himself with powerful Global Powers is good and all; but that is not going change Ethiopia’s limitations. Still Ethiopia will be Ethiopia – a poor African neighbor to our South just like us. If the Addis policy makers were capable of regime change, which they are not – if they were serious about sending a regime change message to the PFDJ regime, which they were not – they would have convened the EDA Waela at Zalambessa during the Abune Ambes festival. And at the end of the Waela, they would have taken the 600 Waela participants to the hill-tops of Zalambesa, to enjoy the view of the beautiful hills of Kisad Emba, Debre Shimejana, Emba-Metera, the shining port city of SenAfe, and the exuberant festive celebration of the dancers and spectators on the open fields of Shimejana. Such provocative move would have sent unmistakable message and a shock-wave to the Nerve-Center. But, The Addis policy makers refused to play high stake gambling. Not for lack of evil intent, but for fear our “irrational Mad-Man” might overreact and things might spiral out of control.

To avoid any mishap, the Addis policy makers chose to play it safe; so safe they chose to shoot the “scoring goal” from Awassa (Ethiopia’s Southern Town) by a handicap kicker. They played it so safe, in a way they told the 600 Waela participants and their cheering supporters, ‘the road to Asmara goes through Libreville, Abuja and New York’. And the EDA crowd accepted it with cheers and applauds; because they know full well, they don’t have the legs that could carry them to sprint the distance. Yes, alone or on the back of Ethiopian tanks. They know how many back-flips and somersaults they have to do before they could stand still to govern. After all, didn’t they reinforce the very self-fulfilling prophecy? Didn’t they perfectly fell into the narrative of the skeptics? Doesn’t their “democratically elected” leadership and their “fair representation” of every ethnic every faith and every region on their leadership, speak valium about their post PFDJ “democratic” Eritrea? I don’t know if that was the intent, but the EDA leadership is as popular, as representative and as flawless as the Meles government itself.

So, tell me, unless coerced to do so, how could the Addis policy makers possibly open another War Front to their North to topple the PFDJ regime to empower EDA? They have already sealed their fate. They have already bit off more than they could possibly chew. They have already failed to lead their country and their people into stable and prosperous future. Their reign is already hanging by a thread. They are already in the middle of an explosive war that has Regional, National, Ethnic and Religious flavor. They are fighting a war they could never end. They are fighting a war they will never have a victory parade. Yes it is African war; yes it is African blood; yes it is African lives; yes war of poor African nations don’t make world headlines….but for heaven sake, in some shape or form – it is a Regional War that is involving Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, AU and the West by proxy. It is a Regional War that is claiming the lives of tens of thousands due to shooting war, starvation and mass displacement. The whole Horn Region is in flames. And Meles’s Ethiopia is at the center of this raging fire. Any sane person would tell you, the last thing Meles’s Ethiopia needs is opening another War-Front.

Ethiopia is a country of 80 million people, with about 3.2% annual population growth; yes Ethiopian population is going to grow by 25 million in the next ten years; and it is projected to reach 175 million in the next forty years (2050). For the next decade, Meles’s Ethiopian has to create at least 2.5 million new jobs every single year to keep up with its population growth. Not to prosper but just to stay afloat, yes just to keep the cost of living and the quality of services as is – Ethiopia has to double the size of its economy, the size of its workforce and the size of its services in the next thirty years. Now tell me, I don’t care whose side Meles is on, how could Ethiopia change the lives of its people from poverty and destitution if it keeps squandering its meager resources on regime change projects? How could Ethiopia remain stable when it is at war with itself and with its neighbors? How could Ethiopia prosper without having prosperous trading partners in its neighborhood?

Listen: it is a proven fact, when nations are at war their economy suffers as a result. And when nations face a declining/sluggish economic growth and an increasing population growth, their middle class shrinks dramatically falling into poverty each day. And the gap between the few haves and the impoverished majority widens so much so, it reaches a breaking-point where the status quo becomes unsustainable. War is the primary cause of poverty and destitution. Poverty and destitution are the primary causes of instability. As long Ethiopia continues to wage wars of choice – to suppress ethnics with dissenting voices and to remove “hostile regimes” of neighboring countries, Ethiopia will remain poor and unstable until it changes its policy. And if it fails to change its policy, its government will collapse as a result of internal violence.

But, just for the sake of argument, let’s say I’m wrong and you are right. Let’s say, economically, diplomatically and militarily Ethiopia is more than capable to topple the regime in Asmara. And I agree with you, removing the PFDJ regime is not that hard especially when you align yourself with Western Global Powers. Libyan experience has showed the world, with few ragtag militias that have lingering grudges, Western Media, and Western Air Power any third world country-government could be toppled at any time. But then what? How are you going to stabilize the country? Eritrea has about 200,000 armed men and women in uniform. To completely defeat the Eritrean Army and control the whole country (not stabilize), Ethiopia is going to need an army that is three times bigger (at least half a million men) for about ten years if not longer at a price tag of billions of dollars. And that is an expense Meles’s Ethiopia could not afford. To make matters even worse, the cost of regime change in terms of human lives and resources is only half of the problem. The other half: the war won’t be Addis vs. Asmara.

Eritrea is a buffer zone that could tip the scale of the whole regional politics – the Nile Politics (Sudan and Egypt), the politics of the Arab Israel conflict, and the newly emerging Arab (Muslim) Black Africans politics. If the Meles government dares to invade Eritrea with the intent to install Ethiopia friendly (puppet) regime in Asmara in order to flex its muscle to the Red Sea, then the Ethio-Eritrean war is going to attract the unwanted attention of many players in the region. And that would definitely make Eritrea a failed state. A failed state to Ethiopia’s North, will torch the whole Horn Region on fire from Tanzania, to Kenya, Somalia, Eastern Ethiopia, Yemen, Eritrea and North Sudan. Also a failed state in Eritrea would connect the Horn Region fire to the African Sahel through Sudan, Chad – and all the way to Mali, Nigeria and Senegal. Then to say the least, the disadvantaged Amara will be armed by Eritrean and Sudanese insurgents; and a third war front will be opened on Western Ethiopia; and as a result, Ethiopia would be destabilized and the Meles government will collapse.

Therefore, one could say with absolute confidence, knowing the consequence of war to their North, the current policy makers in Addis will never, never bend, aim and shoot their arrows to the North while butt naked in the South. They are already experimenting regime change project in Somalia hoping to flex their muscle to the Indian Ocean. Trust me, their Eastern project is going to give them so much headache, they won’t have any appetite for real military confrontation in their Northern Front. If you think about it, the political move for the Meles government is very predictable. The people to the East of Ethiopia have nowhere to go but to fight and die at home until they see fundamental policy change from Addis. By the same token, since the Addis policy makers are hostages of their own Eastern Project, they could only refrain themselves from opening another unprovoked war of choice to their North. Seems straightforward, doesn’t it?

But again, just for the sake of argument, let’s say I’m wrong. Let’s say Meles’s Ethiopia doesn’t have any problem to the East of its territory that it couldn’t handle. Let’s say Ethiopia is rich enough and powerful enough to open another war front to its North. Let’s say the argument that the Arab region is going to fight a proxy war in Eritrea is a bogus argument. And let’s say Ethiopia has all the diplomatic cover it needs at IGAD, AU and at the UN to remove the regime in Eritrea. But again the problem is more than Ethiopia’s economic strength, military might and diplomatic cover. Ethiopia’s ability to topple the PFDJ regime bears only one side of the political challenge. The other side: The Eritrean opposition.

Argument #2. The “Credible Partner for Peace” Argument

When I say with a very assertive tone, Ethiopia doesn’t have a reliable partner in the Eritrean opposition; and when I say EDA will break up in pieces if Ethiopia makes a serious move to remove the PFDJ regime; the first question that comes to mind is, how do you know?  Well, let me tell you how I know: in Addis we have sensors. These sensors are so sensitive and so accurate, they can detect the slightest presence of dangerous fume, light, motion, proximity and taste in a split-second with 100% accuracy. If Ethiopia makes a serious move to topple the PFDJ regime, not only we’re going to see a flashing red light from our sensors, but also a deafening loud noise that would be heard from one end of the world to the other. And our reliable sensitive sensors are none other than the Eritrean Islamists and Ethnic Warriors in Addis (please spare the Kunamas). Let me give you a little background to the story.

At one time or another, almost all Eritrean political leaders have fought against the current policy makers in Addis. As a result, lives of most Eritreans have been affected negatively due to the decisions made by the current leaders of Ethiopia. Therefore, it is fair to say, there is suspicion and mistrust between Eritreans in general and the current policy makers in Addis in particular. Also, the Eritrean opposition organizations are divided into two camps; those who prescribe violent regime change and those who believe on nonviolent regime change. At this moment, the only political organization that is working with Ethiopia to remove the PFDJ regime using violence is the opposition umbrella EDA. But, if you pay attention to the political positions of Ethiopia and EDA, forget about agreeing on the main issues that matters the most, they are not even on the same planet. Yes, beyond the temporary shallow relation to use each other, there is no common thread that connects the political objectives of EDA and Ethiopia. And let me show you the comparison between EDA and the Meles government – political objectives and political positions vis-a-vis the PFDJ regime and our Region. Good luck if you can make any sense out of it.

►Despite all the rhetoric against Isaias and his PFDJ regime, all things considered – if an election was to be held in Eritrea today, Isaias and his PFDJ party would win fair and square. If you disagree, tell me who would?

►The Addis policy makers and their Western allies don’t want Isaias; they want someone exactly like Isaias. The EDA Islamists and Ethnic Organizations in Addis don’t want anyone who would walk, talk, look, breath like Isaias; they want someone who fits exactly their image.

►The Addis policy makers and their Western allies love everything that Isaias does; they just don’t like him because he refused to stop flirting with the wrong crowd in the region: Kaddafi, Ahmadinejad, Omar Al-Bashir, Al-Shebab….. The Anti-Ethiopia, Anti-Israel, Anti-West Arab Region despises Isaias and everything that Isaias does; they just keep pampering and cuddling him to keep Israel off Eritrean Islands and to keep Ethiopia in the box.

►The Addis policy makers and their Western allies hate Isaias because he is flirting too much with the Anti-Israel and Anti-West Arab Region. The Eritrean Islamists and Ethnic Organizations in Addis hate Isaias because he is not flirting enough with the Anti-Ethiopia, Anti-Israel, Anti-West Arab Region (they accuse him of – abandoning our traditional Arab allies).

► The Addis policy makers and their Western allies want us to believe – Isaias is an Arab agent on a mission to destroy Ethiopia and Western Interest in the region by supporting Somali Islamic Terrorists. The EDA Islamists and Ethnic Organizations in Addis want us to believe – Isaias is a CIA agent with a mission to destroy Eritrean Muslims by denying them their God Given Ancestral Muslim Land and by depriving them from speaking and learning “their” historic Arabic Language.

►The Addis policy makers and their Western allies don’t see any difference between the EDA Islamists and Ethnic Organizations in Addis, and the Arab Region that despise Abyssinians. They are just keeping the EDA organizations in Addis because they are the only opposition to Isaias they could find. The EDA Islamists and Ethnic Organizations in Addis don’t see any difference between the Weasel Meles government in Addis and the “Chauvinist Isaias government” in Asmara. They are just staying in Addis because they have nowhere to go.

►Winking their eyes to the Arab Region, when the EDA Islamists and ethnic organizations in Addis say “Ethiopia is our strategic ally”, literally you can see the Addis policy makers blood boiling hot; because they don’t want anyone to insult their intelligence. And when the EDA Islamists and Ethnic Organizations in Addis hear people like me (Semere Tesfai) claiming to be an opposition to the PFDJ regime, literally you can see their blood pressure and blood sugar level shooting through the roof; because they think that is a mockery of their intelligence as well.

►The Signature Objective of the EDA Islamists and Ethnic Organizations in Addis is – to empower Eritrean Muslims by reversing Ethnic Tigrigna (Christian) Domination, to claim their God given Muslim Land as existed pre-1952, to restore the status of the Arabic language in Eritrean society, and finally to live happily ever after in the company of our traditional Arab allies. And the Signature Objective of the Addis policy makers is?/was – to build a Shining Economic Tiger on the ashes of “our” old dynasty – Axum, Bahre-Negash, Qohaito, Adulis…. Yes a Shining Black Jewel on the Hill for all to see and envy. And to guard their precious Black Jewel, their master plan is?/was, to build an invincible modern military fighting machine that could protect and defend their Grand Frontier that stretches from the Shining Sea to the river banks of Alewaha. Because they know full well, at the end of the day, no amount of hardware, no amount of resources and no amount of alliances will stop and secure their Shinning Black Jewel, when the inevitable long wave length,  high-amplitude Southern Tsunami rolls thundering with rage to hit their shores. I don’t know if their dream still lives on, but that seems to have been the original play-script for the stage performance. Well, you got the idea.

Now tell me – how do you bridge these diametrically opposing dreams? In all honesty, you can’t. You can’t reconcile the irreconcilable. If you believe the above stated points are wrong and want to challenge back, be my guest. If you believe whether the above stated points are right or wrong, Ethiopian policy makers will still topple the Isaias regime to empower the EDA Islamists and Ethnic Organizations, you are insane. If you believe EDA is not dominated by Islamists and Ethnic Organizations, you are in denial. If you believe, the Eritrean Islamists and Ethnic Organizations will reform EDA to become a genuine National Political Organization that would give hope to Eritreans of all faiths, ethnics and regions, you are hallucinating. And let me tell you why:

In a multi ethnic society, there is no common denominator that would lead to National unity and then Democracy when political organizations are trenched in Religious and Ethnic Politics. If there was success in such politicking, Lebanon would have been a living example of democracy and National Unity on this planet; but it is not. In ethnic politics, the mistrust is not limited against the sitting government but also against each other as well. On our home front, if ethnic politicking happens to be the preferred blue print for our politics, then one could dare to argue – Tigres don’t trust Tigrignas. Kunamas don’t trust Tigres and Tigrignas. Afars don’t trust Tigres and Tigrignas. Jebertis don’t trust Tigrignas. Sahos don’t trust Tigres and Tigrignas, Naras don’t trust Tigres and Tigrignas…. In ethnic politics, since the only ethnic you trust is your own ethnic, the objective would always be your ethnic to sit on the driver seat. Since there could only be one driver sitting on the driver seat, either your ethnic is sitting on it, or some other ethnic is. And if some other ethnic happens to sit on the driver seat, the rest of the ethnics would turn into porcupines: they will turn their back and they will raise their sharp quills. If anyone comes up with a national plan that involves the ethnic territory of the “loser” ethnics, it would be tantamount to declaration of war on them. Remember: all the issues that are being raised by our ethnic organizations are real issues that deserve real solutions. Issues of ethnic rights, fair representation, allocation of resources, opportunities, services… all must be resolved in a way that would give confidence to all stakeholders. But to argue – we have to divide ourselves into ethnics, clans and sub-clans to preserve our national unity, to protect our rights, and to become democratic nation is insanity beyond anyone’s comprehension.

By the same token, in a multi-faith society, when a political organization is carrying a gun to govern on the name of its God/Allah, there is no common-ground short of marginalizing or converting those with “the other faith”. There is no illusion about the objective of the Islamists in EDA. They are not carrying a gun to assert their right to practice their faith. They are fighting for a well thought-out agenda:  to grab state power in order their faith to dominate; and to legitimize the domination of their faith over other faiths using the power of the National Government. If you believe that’s not the case, then tell me – why in the world would they custom-design, produce, advertise and aggressively market to sell a political brand in the name of their God/Allah with the intent to govern us all? If they happen to win and govern the nation with their political brand, as they intend to do, the “others” could only have two choices: to buy their political product (Islam) or to remain marginalized. This is not rocket science. The writing is on the wall for all to see.

Again, the argument is very simple: we all should respect and accept the full rights of all the Faithful and all the ethnics, to organize and to fight for the narrow interest of their faith/ethnic, and to belong to any national political party of their choice as organized body. But to govern the diverse Nation as an ethnic or on the name of their God/Allah is insanity that should not be tolerated. And that applies to every ethnic and to every faith.

Well, with the majority of ethnic Tigrignas outside his fishing net, and EDA being the best playing card he got, one could argue – Meles doesn’t have a “reliable political partner” for his Northern Project. That being the reality, neither Meles nor his Western Allies would topple the PFDJ regime, to empower the EDA Islamists and Ethnic Organization to control the Red Sea. Accepting the fact that Meles is not in a position to pull the strings but to sell his service to milk the project, if those who call the shots ever decide to drop the last straw that would break the PFDJ back to land from our South, which is very unlikely, then without a doubt we are going to witness a major overhauling, restructuring and face-lifting project on the Eritrean opposition in Addis way, way – years before the last straw is dropped. And if ever – the groundwork for overhauling, restructuring and face-lifting project starts to take place, not only the Eritrean Islamists and Ethnic Organizations (who would lose the most) are going to show their strong objection, but also they will flee the scene in an instant (again please spare the Kunamas). And when they leave their current habitat, they are not going to leave the scene quietly. Their deafening alarm will be heard from one end of the planet to the other. Then our Region, smelling the fume of danger will react with its own signal: the Eritrean Islamists and Ethnic Warriors will be welcomed to regroup and to convene their MuAtemer Al-Weteny (National Congress) in some Arab capital. And you can bet your last penny on that.

Folks, you don’t need crystal ball to see how the Meles government, the Eritrean Islamists, and the Eritrean Ethnic Warriors would play their game at the eleventh hour. The Eritrean Islamists and Ethnic Warriors are not going to be outfoxed by the Slick Willies in the Meles government. They are not going to hand over the driver-key and sit quietly on the back seat. They are not going to take “everything will be discussed and resolved once we get to Asmara” for an answer. Because they know where they will end up if they somehow landed in Asmara sitting on the back seat – yes you guessed it right – Era Ero. And that is not going to happen; never. Either having full control – they will be driving all the way to Asmara or they won’t board on the train at all. But for sure they won’t mind relaxing in Addis until opportunity knocks their door.  

So please – unless there is a major overhauling restructuring and face-lifting project on the Eritrean opposition, unless some ethnic Tigrigna Ahmed Chalabis with a shady past are occupying key leadership positions in the opposition, unless Eritrean Islamists and Ethnic-Warriors are fleeing from Addis right and left, unless the regime in Asmara the Eritrean Islamists and the Eritrean ethnic warriors are screaming their lungs-out reading from the same note – saying: Agames, Weyane, Ethiopian invasion, foreign intervention…., nothing, yes nothing alarming will happen. Yes, the regime change objective is still there. Yes, there is a price you pay when you flirt with Ahmadinejad, Muammar Gaddafi, Omar Al-Bashir, Al-Shebab and the likes. Yes, sanctions are intended for one and only one reason: regime change. But if you look the pattern and connect the dots, so far the game plan for regime change has been very consistent: induce change from inside. The method for regime change: tighten the screws on the skull of the Alpha-Male until it cracks open. And if you think about it, how much pressure could possibly exert a Tortoise-Skull staffed with inflated ego before it cracks open? Not much. It is just a matter of priority for those who call the shots.

But the fact that there are so many blips on the radar screen, the fact that the Meles government rhetoric is only there to sell its service to milk the regional political restructuring nothing more and nothing less, the fact that there is so much uncertainty in the horizon, and the fact that the regional and global politics are evolving more rapidly than any time in our lifetime to shape the global power politics of our future - PFDJ Eritrea may not even be on the short list of the Regional Political Restructuring menu. If that’s the case, which seems more likely than not – again, against all odds, the survivor (Isaias) might ride the storm and still stand on his own two feet only his fate to be determined by internal dynamics; exactly like many of us are predicting to be the case. And there is testament to this argument:

If Isaias and his TV-ERI are busy analyzing “the truth” about the politics of Somalia, Darfur, South Sudan, Arab Spring, the Cold War, economic recession and unemployment in the West…..for eight long hours times three (Tigrigna, Arabic and English), if the Eritrean Islamists and Ethnic Warriors are lying relaxed in Addis praising the Meles government more than the Ethiopians themselves, if the Meles-Team offensive players are in the high rising building-corridors of Addis and New York waiting a phone call for their next assignment – please, please don’t wake me up with your nonsense false alarms. I’m sick and tired of you people screaming, every time Meles or one of his lieutenants opens his mouth – telling me Ethiopia is going to invade Eritrea, Meles is going to take Assab. Ethiopian official in DC said….watch-out… this time it is different…. blah, blah, blah…..

Listen: we all Eritreans are survivors; we know better than that. Our Tegadalay (Eritrean) survival instinct has thought us with perfection how to distinguish an Ethiopian incessant chatter from a real move. If you really want to differentiate real move from incessant chatter – please don’t watch the lip-movement of Ethiopian public officials; watch the movement of their logistics. And you’re not seeing any. If you are not seeing any, then the status quo has not been challenged (militarily); at least not yet. But that doesn’t mean we have to let our guard down. Let’s not fool ourselves, the timing might change but the main objective never will. The Amara and Tigrayn-elite will never stop salivating at the smell of the Northern gentle breeze; and the weary eyes of Eritrean mothers will never tire watching the dark clouds on the Southern Horizon. For the Amara and Tigryan-elite it is all about political power and economic lifeline, for Eritrean mothers it is all about the safety and the wellbeing of their children. Of course Meles would beg to differ. He would say “the grapes are sour anyway”; and if need be he would say “it is service rendered that could be bought from any neighbor without a fuss”; but I say baloney.

N.B. Time permitting, The Ethiopian Roar… P. III will argue about – a lasting solution to the Ethio-Eritrean political problem.

The expression stems from World War I when the train was the main means of transportation of the day. For German soldiers who were fed up with the war that took much longer time than anticipated, the train station became a symbol of returning back home. Therefore a soldier who hoped to return safely to his home would say, “ich verstehe nur noch Bahnhof’—meaning he really didn’t care about much else than going home.

I really don’t understand why Hailemariam is voicing his concern for Saleh Johar’s article. We, the puplic are waiting for the answer of how and why.  Moreover, what is the legal argument for Teklay Abraha to become a member of the Eritrean National Congress for Democratic Change (ENCDC) without being elected? I don’t really care about Hailemariam’s role in the EDF or his role in the EGS issue because the question has been posed to Mr. Tessegai Yohannes, the chairman of NCDC. Honestly,  I care more about Hailemariam’s previous role as a chairman of North America for Eritrea National Commission for Democratic Change. What happened in the Commission was covered up in broad daylight though. Both Hailemariam and Teklay know very well what happened. 

I want to know how Teklay Abraha became a member of Council? How is that legal?

“Sunlight is the best disinfectant” is a well-known quote from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis; it refers to the benefits of openness and transparency. We should not only accept criticism and suggestions, but we should also embrace them. If questions from the constituents, the public, or the media make leaders or other responsible parties obfuscate, the questions are usually valid and the answers are not. People who feel uncomfortable under the bright light of scrutiny and criticism often have something to hide. A high level of openness is an identifying characteristic of democracy. Should Eritreans be proud that the Eritrean opposition groups, ENCDC, EDA, Eritrean political organizations, Eritrean opposition websites, etc. are not continuing to take strides forward in this direction?  In regards to openness and transparency, the public should know the number of paying members of our political organizations and civic society.

1. Hailemariam wrote:

Having an independent media probing and inquiring about questionable events in a democratic institution is healthy in itself and must be encouraged at all times. The role of the independent media is necessary to pressure “the state and its institutions”, thereby enabling us to correct any wrong doing and take actionable policy and resolutions, to help us grow institutionally and democratically as a society.

My opinion is:  We can all agree with this! And welcome to free media club! As Hailemariam said independent media “ thereby enabling us to correct any wrong doing and take actionable policy and resolutions, to help us grow institutionally and democratically as a society” If he believes that  independent media can correct  us from wrong doing.  I would like to ask him a question regarding his role as a chairman of Eritrea National Commission for democratic Change in North America because he is the right person to ask:

I: How many people did you select from North America to participate in the Congress? What were the criteria used to choose them and what makes you free from being biased?

II:  EYGM was represented in the Congress in two ways, as EGS and as also as EYGM members. Why?

III: The quota for youth in North America was five and you donated that to EYGM only. Why not EYC or other individual youth who live in the USA?

As the result of Hailemariam’s leadership and personal judgment, the youth in North America were not represented in the ENCDC. Even though EYGM is a youth organization and contributed their share in our struggle, at the same time they represent their members only, not all the youth who live in the USA.  I want to know why and the public want to know the truth.

2. Hailemariam wrote:

On the other hand we should be watchful and avoid over politicization, and stretching the issue beyond its limits which in turn can hurt the institutions we collectively envisioned to evolve into a bigger being.

What is he trying to say on the above paragraph? If he is saying government institutions should interfere with independent media when rhetoric is too hot, I strongly disagree. The truth will only come from a free and open debate.  People who suffered under the rule of oppressive regimes have discovered that a free political society cannot exist without free news media. Without a doubt, democracy encourages public participation in debates and decision-making, after an open and free exchange of ideas. And since information is essential to nurture such a democracy, newspapers, magazines, radio, and television serve as both forums for debate and sources of information on which decisions can be based.

I’d like to take a few minutes to explain what I understand about “independent media.”  I think it’s better  to think of independent media as media projects that are free of institutional dependencies, meaning truly autonomous institutions.  But in a weaker sense, we can think of “independent media” as media that is free of government or political organization influence. This is probably what most have in mind when thinking about this class of institutions. And there are plenty of independent media websites that exist and that are representative of Eritrean opposition groups which exhibit very weak independence in this regard.  Independent media  should serve public needs in information, culture, education, and entertainment and reflect diversity of opinion. Program content should respect the diversity of cultures. There is a basic right to communicate in conditions of pluralism and equality of opportunity among democratic groups and political parties. Terms like “objective,” “balanced,” and others are often thrown around when talking about the media coverage. I don’t think they add much clarity to the topic, at least not how they’re typically used. A better way to understand the character of media coverage, I think, is to just evaluate it in terms of what facts and perspectives get emphasized or deemphasized, included or excluded. This sifting process requires determining what’s important—in other words, determining what’s worthy of making it into print or online, and what’s not. Underlying all considerations of importance are values. Identifying such values offer an understanding then type of coverage of events by the media. (Something to think about: Media is never wholly independent it constitutes a power of its own)

3. Hailemariam wrote:

Out of the 66 seats EDA was given 38 seats, while the rest of Non-EDA political organizations took 28 seats .Out of the 28 Non EDA seats, 10 seats were given to EDF-a front consisting of 4 organizations. The other 18 seats were given to the rest 19 organizations (mind you, I am saying 19). No one noticed this numeration error until the next morning when the Council came in to session.

“Ich verstahe nor noc banhof” because this equation or the question is about how to distribute or divide 28 seats to 23 organizations, this is a simple and elementary calculation. First, What was the motive behind giving 10 seats to 4 organizations? If non-EDA organization received 28 seats for 23 organizations you have to know how to distribute the seats! You should distribute each one equally, and the rest should be distributed by consensus.

4.Hailemariam wrote:

“Twice the congress encountered with a discrepancy in its allocations of seats, EDF helped to settle the discrepancy by giving away from its allocated seats. It is unfortunate that this effort of conciliatory process of taking away a seat from EDF to give it to the Islamic Congress party (ICP) has neither been mentioned nor been made an issue by Saleh “Gadi” Johar or anyone else as they did in the case of EGS”.

You should not blame the congress for a discrepancy in its allocation of seats because, if you received 28 seats for 23 political organizations, you have more than enough seats for 23 organizations. Give me a break! You should blame yourself for incorrectly distributing the seats. The Islamic Congress Party (ICP) asked the Congress for their share of seats and has the right to do so. ICP didn’t demand for more seats like EGS. ICP has never walked out of congress. Also ICP has never asked the seat after the ballot box and the negotiations had closed and ended. Furthermore, it is a different issue and the two cannot be compared to each other; that’s why I am saying, “Ich verstehe nur noch  Bahnhof”.

 Saleh Gadi’s question is my question.  I am too waiting for answers!

This is a beautiful clip from Western Eritrea criticising modern Eritrean songs and comparing today’s music, artists and the characters that accompany them with the dignified, refined music of  other giants of Eritrean artists [the singer admires Ogbagaber, Yemane Barya, Hamed Wed Sheik, Wed Amir, and Abrar Osman.] The sarcastic and intelligent music is delivered in a style known as Kmbob, where the spoken word in the form of poetry is accompanied by Rebaba, a six stringed instrument similar to a lyre. In this Kmbob, the artist is talking about Song as if he were a person. The following is Awate Team’s translation of the Kmbob from Tigre to English. Unfortunately, we do not know the name of the poet or the musician or the producer of the clip which we found posted on the facebook page of our friend Sheikh Mohammed Juma’a from the UK. We will try to to find the artists and producers who deserve all the credit. When we find them, we will ask for more of such great work to satiate our thirst for refined art form.

                               “SONG”

Is your talk better than the history of the worldly?
Everyone sings Song, all expressing what is on their minds,
Song: deserves the earth, watching its seasons,
Song: deserves the brave, to prepare its death shroud,
Song: deserves our people, with their history and pride,
Song: deserves a martyr, who for his nation dies,
Song of love is just a fashion, with time, away it fades.

Song: is bloodied, shall we complain to the police or the judge?
If you listen to the radio, “let me kiss your lips!”
If you watch the TV, all legs and butts,
This is not Song, but bodies cheaply [displayed].

Song is destroyed, it fell and [and fell with a thud],
Song: let me borrow from you, and I will pay you later,
Song: brush away the debts, forget it altogether,
Song: is Yemane Barya, but the evil eye* dried it up,
Song: is Idris Son of Amir, that burned in its sleep,
But today’s Song: it neither traveled nor returned,
Oh Song! Sadly, today you are sick; bad luck befell you,
Wake up, get ready, we need to take you to the doctor.

Song: you are diminishing in this bad age,
You are wandering like fenced goats,
Today you have become bitter; you were sweet before,
You didn’t find Barya or Son of Amir,
Your market went dry, and you are thirsty,
You depend on water from the goatskin of the minister**,
Didn’t we know you with the lyre, drums and dancing of braided hair?
Alas, the demons landed on you, those with organs and brass.

Oh men! Bear witness as Song is being assailed,
You see an “artist” jumping and the organ crying, neeq, neeq,
We saw the stolen Song and its complaining owner,
Where would the debts of Song be paid from?

Song is Oqbagabir, if you wish for a meaning and history,
Song is Abrar son of Osman: listen to the lyrics and the melody,
And Song is Hamad son of Sheik, as he raises the dust.

Song: remained in the streets, it neither left nor returned,
Song: is sick, its ailments unknown
It is laying in a hospital, neither alive nor buried with the dead,
It lost Son of Amir to death, and the rest have become old.

Song: is sung by one, and listened by the ears of many,
Song: is sung by one, and watched by the eyes of many,
They tell me to bury Song, that it is dead,
I say, “Song is not an army that is led by commanders!”
And….[that is why] I lost sleep last night.

A new law has come, we don’t know a source for it!
Song needs a solution, it is dying, it is to depart!
It is not a border demarcation, advised by a committee.
Song is judged by the people: they reject or choose it.

(Translated into English from Tigre by the Awate Team, 2/16/2012)

*mn ayunu neshfa could mean ‘dried from its source’ as ZHaile says, but we think it could also mean ”when an evil eye befell it’ (as in Tahassidu, as in ‘ayenewu.’ )

** A reader hears zeer (clay pot for water.) Ours is more poetic; since Zeer for water is not common in the culture of the singer as is Harrb, a goatskin. He says, mn may Harrb wezir. Given the context, border demarcation, army, commanders, and committee, minister makes sense. Thanks Mahmood Abdalla! One more time, poetry yields to reality. 

Act (IIX)

This a play by Wedi Batuta. So far seven parts (Act 1 – 7) have been published, this is Act 8.

Character’s Name                  Sobriquet                        Party/Affiliation
Yemane Baliho                 Wedi-Baliho                 Selfi-Swa
Mohamed Birhan Imam     Wedi-Zemzem             Selfi-Alamel
Abdela A Zerom              Wed-Inharish               Selfi-Gebil
Amanuel ReDae               Wedi-Tiebe                  Selfi-L’fnti
Tirhas Kindya                 Trishi (Gual ‘Gbitan)       Demit Eritrea
Mohammed I Abdella        Wed-Sudan                 Hizb Aljemahir

Zewdi Andemariam          Gual Bashay                 ??????????
Najib A Khasay                Hargets                       Selfi-Abaeke
Dr. Basilios Angesom       Gnogno                       Selfi-BuN
Osmano Ibrahimo            YaAsina                       Selfi-Shahi
Melake Gebrekidan           Dem-Draru                  Selfi-Ts’ray
Dr. Semira OuraFura        Hakim Snni                  Selfi-Halib
 
Scene: Enda Gual Bashay (አንዳ ጓል ባሻይ)  and the Street nearby.
 
( Characters sitting on their chairs in the verandah/patio of Enda Gual Bashay (አንዳ ጓል ባሻይ) – the Daughter of Bashay’s Joint– facing the main street of Misyam. Engaged in a full-on no holds barred debate, in which a scintillating conversation ping-ponged along thusly :)
 
Two donkeys approaching each other from the opposite side of the street.
 
Wedi-Baliho:  Look at those two donkeys. They are pecking each other’s nape (back of a neck)
 
YaAsina: Yeah, you are right Wedi-Baliho. Donkeys habitually peck the nape of another donkey at any and all encounters. Since I was a kid, I am always taken aback by this phenomenon.
 
T’rishi Gual ‘Gbtan: There is nothing stupefying about it, YaAsina. Sure, it is quite a miraculous sight, but that is God’s work. You know how God’s work miraculously reveal itself. We see it here and I think the donkeys are exchanging greetings. Sort of saying hiya, you know, hi.
 
Wedi-Tiebe: That may well be so, Trishi, according to one’s beliefs. Scientifically speaking, however, it is merely instinct at work. Kind of recognizing or acknowledging your own species.
 
Wedi-Zemzem: This is indeed an eye-popping sight. It really is. Do all donkeys do this pecking thing or does one espy it in Eritrean donkeys only?
 
Hakim-Snni: Well, it stands to reason that all donkeys to act and behave similarly. One can and should expect that unless…….
 
Dem-Draru: Wey Gud. Entay Ekhum Ketzarbuna Hiji. B’ZaBa Seb Gedifkum si B’zaba Ensisa T’zarebu Alekhum. S’rah Z’saane Felasi Qobiou Qedidu Y’sefi Z’behal Nezi Kemzi Natatkum Guday Eyu ( ወይ ጉድ አንታይ ኢኹም ከተዛርቡና ሕጂ ። ብዛዕባ ሰብ ገዲፍኩም ሲ ብዛዕባ እንስሳ ትዛረቡ ኣለኹም። ስራሕ ዝስኣነ ፈላሲ ቆብዑ ቀዲዱ ይሰፈ ዝተባህለስ ነዚ ከምዚ ናታትኩም ጉዳይዝሕብር  አዩ ።) — Oh, my goodness. What are you going to say now. Instead of talking about humans, you have opted to talk about animals? The saying that an idle monk tearing his hat just to end up sewing it back again appositely captures the futility of what you guys are talking about—.
 
Wed-Inharish: Hold on for a second here, Dem-Draru. Please, don’t spoil it for all of us. What we are witnessing here right in front of us is quite compelling, if not utterly enthralling. Instead of telling us the reasons why donkeys exhibit such a behavior, you are here trying to drum it out by belittling it. Just answer the query at hand or just……
 
Hargets: Or, just shut up and put a sock in it. Just for once, be very quiet and LISTEN, may be and that is a BIG may be, you may learn a thing or two.
 
Dem-Draru: Bejakha Eske G’defena. Ezi Natka Zereba Kemti Sudanawyan Z’bilwo ‘Wela Y’sherb Moya. (በጃኻ ‘ስከ ግደፈና። አዚ ናትካ  ዘረባ ከምቲ ሱዳናውያን ዝብልዎ ‘ወላ ይሸርብ ሞያ’።)
 – Oh, please leave us alone. As the Sudanese say, what you said ain’t worth a cup of water–.
 
Hargets: Oh, my God. Stop mouthing these Delphic pronouncements Dem-Draru. But, tell you what? I know what you are trying to intimate. You are attacking me for stating firmly that I will never drink that alcohol-free S’wa (ስዋ) and opted, instead, for pure water.
 
YaAsina: Listen, Hargets. You may do well to remember that where Dem-Draru comes from it is: HniEu Zeyfedi Wedi-Adgi Eyu. (ሕኒኡ ዝይፈዲ ወዲ ኣድጊ አዩ ።)
 
Wed-Sudan: So, you are saying that Dem-Draru was in such a high dudgeon that he is trying to get even with Hargets for his firm stance against the alcohol-free Swa?
 
Wedi-Baliho: I absolutely concur with YaAsina’s assessment.
 
Dem-Draru: Wedi-Baliho Ezi Aab Zezidemeqe Guayla Mitqae Meas Ekha Kitgedfo (ወዲ ባለሆ እዚ ኣብ ዘዝደመቀ ግዋይላ ምጥቃዕ መዓስ ኢኻ ክትገድፎ?) – when are you going to stop hopping into a jamming party, Wedi-Baliho?–.
 
 Dr. Basilios(Gnogno): Please, Dem-Draru, don’t get crosswise with Wedi-Baliho. I think they are into something very interesting. I veridically remember my own experience as a tween growing up the village of Deq Seb (ደቅ ሰብ) — The Progenies of humans– in the vicinity of Zagir — . In the summer time, my father, my older brother and I used to travel and go to the coastal plains (Semhar) for farming. It was during those peregrinations that I found the pecking rituals of donkeys to be  quite vexing, if not utterly irksome. We were often delayed because the donkeys won’t flinch even an inch before completing their nape pecking rituals. Ever since those days I always wondered why donkeys were given to this ritual.  However, I have resigned to and accepted the notion that it is what donkeys are supposed to and meant to do. After all, a donkey is a donkey. Though I haven’t thought about it much, the sight of donkeys pecking ritual is nonetheless seared in my memories. 

Wed-Inharish: You are not alone in your puzzlement and perplexity regarding the pecking rituals of donkeys. It puzzled me so much so that, I asked my father about it when I was a child. My father was all, ” you see, son, the reason why donkeys go through this ritual of nape pecking at any and all encounter is because they are asking about the delegation they sent to the United Nations (UN) and if the delegation has returned.(አቶም ንሑቡራት መንግስታት ዝላኣኽናዮም ሽማግለ ተመሊሶም ዶ ኣይተመልሱን?). You know, they were awaiting the UN to come up with a solution to the predicament/plight of the Eritrean donkeys.

Wed-Sudan: So, all the nape pecking is to inquire about the delegation that the Eritrean donkeys sent to the UN about their miserable conditions?

Hakim-Snni: Sure. Yea. Yes, indeed. The Eritrean donkeys deemed their lives to be so harrowingly agonizing that as a last resort they sent a delegation for some sort of redress. 

Wedi-Tiebe: Why the Eritrean donkeys sent their delegation to the UN when they could have easily gone to the OAU ( Organization Of African Unity). Addis Ababa is much more closer than New York City.

Hakim-Snni: Sending their delegation to the OAU would have been a pure waste of time, Wedi-Tiebe. In those days, the Addis’s OAU was awash with complaints from all kinds of African domestic animals.

Trishi Gual-’Gbitan: Hakim Snni’s  is right on the money. I recall in the early part of the 70s, when I was barely a six years old child growing up in Addis Ababa, my dearest daddy was reading a book in Amharic. The picture on the book’s cover was of a donkey in a three piece suit sauntering along the street of Addis Ababa and heading towards the OAU headquarter. The title of the book was (ከማን ኣንሸ ?)  — To whom am I inferior to? —.

YeAsina: There you have it, Wedi-Tiebe. As Trishi is telling us the OAU had a lot on it’s plate and the Eritrean donkeys case would have surely gotten a short shrift.

Gual Bashay: Well, don’t forget that the country where the OAU is located used to be known as the land of the mules or Mule-Land.

Dr. Basilios: Well, legend has it that the mule was an offspring of a a donkey-father, from around here, and a horse-mother,well, we don’t know where she hails from, but it is believed  that the horse was WHITE.

Wedi-Baliho: So you are saying the mule is hybrid of a black donkey-mother and a white horse-mother?

Gual Bashay: You bet.

Wedi-Tiebe: Here is what I don’t get. What was the need for the Eritrean donkeys to send their representatives to the UN in the first place?

Wed-Sudan: Well, the Eritrean donkeys were searching for some sort  of justice. I guess when they felt that their struggle has hit a blind alley or a cul-de-sac, they were forced to try anything that may ameliorate their wretched and pitiable conditions. 

Dem-Draru: You see folks, the locus of all the problems facing Eritrea springs from this: Instead of rebelling and starting an armed struggle and a revolution, the donkeys wasted all their exigious resources begging and pleading their case in the UN. And, to add insult to injury, they belatedly started their armed struggle or revolution spontaneously without a clear-cut political program (ብጎነጽ ሰውራ ጀሚሮሞ።) If that wasn’t the case, I am sure we will not be having this conversation.

Hakim-Snni: So, Dem-Draru, you are saying that you have no quarrel with Wed-Inharish’s rendition/interpretation of the “Eritrean Donkeys nape pecking rituals”?

Wedi-Zemzem: I am really dumbstruck. For the first time, Dem-Draru’s contrarian impulse is no where to be found. I can’t believe he is concurring with Wed-Inharish’s take on the issue at hand.

Wedi-Baliho: It is indeed refreshing to note that Dem-Draru has finally learned to go along with the flow of a conversation, so to speak.

Dem-Draru: Not so fast, both you Wedi-Zemzem and Wedi-Baliho. I do have very serious reservations with Wedi-Inharish’s take. In my eyes, his rendition of the Eritrean Donkeys nape pecking rituals suffers from what is known as “The Rumplestiltskin problem” (ግድል ጋኒነ ዓንዲ).

Hakim-Snni: What Dem-Draru is alluding to as the Rumplestiltskin problem is nothing but what is commonly known as a plot hole where one notices a gap or inconsistency in a storyline. Something illogical in the plot of a story.

Wedi-Zemzem: And if you think that (ግድል ጋኒነ ዓንዲ) is the literal translation of ’The Rumplestltskin problem’, because it is.

Hargets: What Dem-Draru has literally translated into Tigrigna is actaully what is known in Amharic literature as “Dereba Derbraba” (ደረባ ደርብራባ).

Wedi-Zemzem: Hey, Trishi, do you remember the story of Rumplestiltskin?

Trishi Gual G’bitan: Of course, I remember the story. Wasn’t he that naughty dwarf.

Dr. Basilios: Well, to characterize Rumplestlitskin as a naughty dwarf  may be a little bit inaccurate. But, it could as well be a very subjective interpretation. I guess it all depends on the eye of the ‘reader’.

Hargets: I bet Trishi doesn’t remember or know the Rumplestiltskin song in Amharic.

Trishi Gual G’bitan: What is with you two, Hargts and Wedi-Zemzem. One of you always challenges my command of Amharic while the other incessantly hectors me to learn Arabic.

Wedi-Zemzem: Here is how the English version of The Rumplestiltskin  song goes: 

Today I brew, tomorrow I bake
And the prince child I will take
For no one knows my little game
That Rumplestiltskin is my name

Hargets: And here is the Amharic version             

ልጅትዋ ኣታውቅ: ልጅትዋ ኣታውቅ — The Girl Doesn’t know; she doesn’t know 
ስመ ደርባ ደርብራባ ነው — That my name is Dereba Derbraba.

Dem-Draru: Trishi, don’t pay attention to Hargets and Wedi-Zemzem. I may need your help as I am working on the Tigrigna version of the Rumplstiltskin song. I have the lyrics, but I am still working on the music of the song. I have one and I hope you will tell me what you think  and it goes like this: 

እታ ቀያሕ ቆልዓየ ተጋዳሊት ዓማ — The Light Skinned ELF(Amma) Fighter
ኣብ ክንዲ ካላሺን ቆልዓ ተሰኪማ — She ended up having a child instead of carrying a Kalashinkov.
 
( While the two donkeys started braying and heehawing and heading their separate ways, two colts ( young donkeys) approached each other from the opposite side of the street and…..)
 
Wed-Sudan: There they go again. Look at the colts. They are doing the same thing that the donkeys did, pecking each others nape. Did they also send a delegation to the UN??
 
Wed-Inharish: That may well be so, Wed-Sudan. Who knows, they could be inquiring about their forefathers delegation to the UN.
 
( Characters hear some music/song coming from the TV inside Gual Bash’s Joint)
 
ጻዕዳ ብተይ ወሊዳ ላሕሚ — My WHITE cow birthed a bull
ዓዲ ግራት ሓሊፉላ ሎሚ : ላሎየ — This day Adi Grat is  much better — Ahhh..ahh
ኣታ ሓወይ ኣይትኪደኒየ አኻ —- Oh, my brother don’t you leave
ዓጋመና ወጺኣ ፋብሪካ : ላሎየ—- A factory is opening in our Agamme 
 
And, followed by someone speaking and saying:
 
አንቋዕ ካብዚ ህዝቢ ፈጠርና — Oh, thanks God we were came from this people
አንቋዕ ካብ ርሑቅ አንዳ ረኣና ንቀንኣልም ኣይኮና —Thanks, we don’t envy you from afar. 
አንቋዕ ናይ እንዳማትና ኣይኮንኩም። — Oh, thanks God, you are not strangers.

Wed-Inharish: What that song coming from inside Welt-Bashay’s joint all about?

Wedi-Baliho: I guess the singer is very ecstatic that his WHITE cow has given birth to a BULL.

Hakim Snni: You are saying that the color of his cow is WHITE?

Dr. Basilios: As the legend has it, the mother of the mule was a WHITE horse.

Gual Bashay: Eza TsaEda Neger Alata — There is something more to this WHITE thing.

YaAsina: And, that tirade. What is up with the person yammering like that?

Wedi-Zemzem: That person is Mr. Prime Minster telling his people how proud and privileged he feels to be from ” This People”.

Hargets: I guess Mr. Prime Minster is relieved not to have been from ” That People”. If there is ” this people”, it follows that there has to be “that people”.

Wedi-Tirbe: For the life of me, I can’t figure out for how long  these Eritrean donkeys will keep doing their nape pecking rituals? Before it was with the donkeys (the first generation) and here it is now with their progenies, the colts, doing exactly the same thing. When will this end?
 
Wedi-Zemzem: Well, I guess they will continue to struggle until the time the feel that their grievances are fully addressed and their life becomes much more better.
 
Hakim-Snni: The Eritrean donkeys and their offsprings can never rest till the time that they feel that their life is dignified and they are the epitome of DIGNITY, if you know what I mean.
 
Dem-Draru: In my mind, you folks don’t get it at all when it comes to the issue of the Eritrean donkeys. As far as I am concerned, the plight of the Eritrean donkeys will remain WRIT LARGE till they come to realize that their one and only option is : to organize, raise their consciousness and get armed.
 
( It was past 4 PM and the Main Street across from Gual Bashay’s Joint has become a maelstorm of activities by a flotilla of Dickensian (In appearances and in jollity) tweens beetling around the entrance of the joint.)
 
Wedi-Baliho: Hey, you tweens what are you upto?
 
Tween 1: Well, we are kind of planning to play a game around here.
 
Hargts: What kind of a  game do you have in mind?
 
Tween 2: Marbles or Ummm , I don’t know.
 
Tween 3: Let us all play soccer.
 
Tween 4: No. I am beat and the others don’t seem like they want to play soccer now.
 
Tween with a Green Shirt: Let us play The Crowing Crow.
 
Tween with a Red Cap: Yeah, I like that. The game of Crowing Crow (ክዋክ መኾክቶ).
 
( The tweens start their play of the crowing crow. A tween is sent to sit far away from the group. And, if the twin correctly picks the right choice or answer, s/he is rewarded by a piggyback (ሕንግሮ) on the back of the tween whose choice was correctly picked.)
 
Wedi-Zemzem to the Tween with a Green Shirt: Break a leg on your game of the crowing crow.
 
Dem-Draru to the tween with a red cap: ንዓ አስከ ቀይሕ ቆቤዐ: ብርኪ ስበር; ብርኪ ስበር። ( Come here, The Red Cap Tween. Go kneecap and break some knees)
 
Wedi-Zemzem: Here you go again with your literal translations. Your tween is going to end up kneecaping some of the kids, Dem-Draru. Literally, your ‘literalism’ is going to get us into a heckuva of trouble.
 
Dem-Draru: Do you really expect my tween to sit idle and do nothing while your tween is ‘breaking the legs’ of the other kids. Of course, he is going further and  whack the knees of those who dare to break his legs.
 
YaAsina: I told you earlier about Dem-Draru and his prpoensity for getting even.
 
Hargets: But now he has outdone himself. While Wedi-Zemzem is wishing his Green-Shirted tween nothing but good luck in the game of the crowing crow, here he is Dem-Draru trying to introduce the language of violence to this innocent game/play of the tweens.
 
(Tween 2 has won as the selector and moves away from the other tweens who were assigning names and designations to each tween.)
 
The group of tweens: ክዋክ መኾክቶ —- The Crowing Crow
 
Tween 2:ክዋክ —- Cawn! Cawn!
 
The group of tween:  ካብ ኮንስቱቱሽን፣ ካብ ልበረሸን፣ ካብ ካላሺን ፣ ካብ ሳንክሸን ዝሓረኻ ምረጽ።
 — from Constitution; from Liberation; from Kalashinkov; from Sanction; choose your selection or pick your choice —.
 
Tween 2 didn’t pick the right choice and ends up carrying the other tween in his back.
 
The Group of Tweens: ክዋክ መኾክቶ —- The Crowing Crow
 
Tween 3: ክዋክ —- Cawn! Cawn!
 
The group of tween: ካብ 390,  ካብ 1991, ካብ 1907,  ካብ 2023, ዝሓረኻ ምረጽ። 
 
Tween 3: He also couldn’t pick the right selection.
 
The Group of Tweens:  ክዋክ መኾክሕ —- The Crowing Crow
 
Tween 1: ክዋክ —- Cawn! Cawn!
 
The Group of Tweens: Tween 1, ካብ ስሞቲ ፣ ካብ አምባሕራ ፣ ካብ ቀብር ዎኣት፣ ካብ ርአሲ-ዓዲ፣  ዝሓረኻ  ምረጽ ። — From Simoti; From Embah’ra; from Qebir Woat; from Resi Adi; pick your choice –.
 
Tween1: አምባሕራ — Embah’ra
 
( Tween1 gets leisurly piggyback with smiles on his face)
 
The group of tweens: The Green-Shirted tween, pick your choice. ካብ ናቕፋ ፣ ካብ ግፋ ፣ ካብ ወዲ-ዓፋ፣ ካብ ሰልፊ እቲ ተስፋ (ኣል ኣመል)፣ ዝሓረኻ ምረጽ ። — From Nakfa; from round-up; from son of Afa; from The Party of Hope; choose your selection or pick your choice—.
 
The Green Shirted Tween: ሰልፊ ‘ቲ ተስፋ (ኣል ኣመል) — The Party Of Hope
 
Even if the group of tweens have already agreed the Party of Hope was the winning selection, The Tween with the Red Cap, refused to go along and an imbroglio supervenes and……
 
Next: ACT IX

wedibatuta@hotmail.com

Ethiopia claims that the attack was carried by gunmen stationed in, and supported by, Eritrea.  The Eritrean envoy to the AU denied the accusation.

The Ethiopian government was referring to Qafar Uguugumoh Demokrasiyyoh Inkiinoh Fooca [Uguugumoh for short; or Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front (ARDUF for short)], a rebel group whose goal is to unite Afar nationalities of Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti under one political entity. Although, technically, Uguugumoh should be in confrontation against all three governments, its attacks have concentrated only on Ethiopian forces.

The five killed tourists include two Germans, two Hungarians and an Austrian. Two others were wounded, an Italian and a Hungarian. Four people were captured and taken by the attackers.

Uguugumoh (ARDUF) claims that the tourists were killed in an attack initiated by the Ethiopian security forces.

In a statement it issued on January 21, ARDUF confirmed that the two German tourists and two Ethiopian soldiers captured in the attack were in its custody. It also stated that “Ethiopia’s continuous fresh attack on its forces has stifled the release of the captured tourists” warning “If these two remaining German [tourists] are killed in the fighting, [the] Ethiopian regime” would be responsible.

On February 8, 2012, ARDUF issued another press release where it claimed to have clashed with Ethiopian forces and killed several troops and destroyed vehicles. ARDUF also repeated its earlier warning that, “If these two remaining German nations are killed in the fighting, [the] Ethiopian regime will bear another responsibility for the killing of European nationals, as the regime was responsible for the previous killings of 5 European[s] on 17th January 2012, in Erta Ale, Afar region.”

ARDUF also stated that it would “release the two German citizens unconditionally, as soon as the Afar Elders arrive to the designated area to receive them. Meanwhile, any groups or individuals who claim facilitating the release of these two people should not be trusted by concerned authority.”

Afar tribal elders from the region have been trying to secure the release of the two Germans with no success so far. The elders have been instrumental in releasing several kidnapped tourist in the past.

Meanwhile, Ethiopia has warned the international community that unless it takes action to restrain Eritrea, it would take action to protect itself.

According to the Algiers Peace Agreement, Eritrea and Ethiopia were to have a 25-km buffer zone, monitored by the United Nations, along their common border until the area was demarcated. The UN monitors (UNMEE) were placed in 2001. The Ethiopian government would not agree to demarcate the border in accordance with the terms of the Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) unless the fate of the people and the villages in the border area are resolved first through a dialogue with the Eritrean government. The Eritrean Government rejected Ethiopia’s call for dialogue and insisted on demarcating the border as per the ruling of the EEBC. That deadlock resulted in EEBC’s decision to “virtually demarcate” the border. Subsequently the Eritrean government initiated a campaign to make the work of UNMEE so difficult that it had to withdraw. The border, now, is entirely un-monitored and it takes only a trigger action to restart the conflict.

Background

This is not the first time that ARDUF has taken Europeans as prisoners. On March 1^st 2007, five Britons, all employees of the British Foreign Office, along with 8 of their local tour guides, were kidnapped from Hameid Eila (village bordering Eritrea) by ARDUF. The police chief of the local government reported that the kidnapped had been taken to Weima, a military base in Eritrea. The Britons were released two weeks later, after Afar elders negotiated their release and surrendered them to the Eritrean government. The Ethiopian hostages were held for two more weeks, then released.

The chairman of ARDUF, Mussa Ibrahim, who was visiting Eritrea was quoted by Eritrea’s Ministry of Information saying that “even now it [ARDUF] would take similar measures against any foreigner who ventures into the same area” and “warned foreigners not do so without permission from the Front.”

The Ethiopian government saw this as clear evidence of collusion between ARDUF and Eritrea.

The accusation and counter accusation of the Eritrean and Ethiopian government is a far cry from the 1990s. In March 1995, ARDUF (or its predecessor) was accused of kidnapping Italian aid workers in the Afar region. At the time, the Eritrean and Ethiopian governments were close allies, with a mutual defense agreement, and the two co-operated closely in the hunt for ARDUF rebels. The Ethiopian government’s “hot pursuit” sometimes resulted in crossing the Eritrean border, an issue that came to light when the mail exchanges between Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and President Isaias Afwerki were shared with Eritrean state media shortly after the ignition of their border war in 1998.

Throughout the two-year border war, ARDUF declared a “unilateral ceasefire with the government of Ethiopia.” In a statement its Executive Committee issued, ARDUF stated that its goal had always been to liberate the Afars of the Western Red Sea “from the military occupation of the EPLF [Eritrean government] and incorporate the region with its mother land” and that it had only been the Ethiopian government’s “short-sighted military accord and unholy alliance with the EPLF government of Eritrea” that forced its hand.

Since 1991, then, there has been a shifting alliance between the three entities:

1991 – 1997:      Eritrean and Ethiopian government versus ARDUF
1998 – 2003:      Ethiopian government and ARDUF versus Eritrea
2004 – present:   Eritrean government and ARDUF versus Ethiopian government

The death of Naizghi Kiflu was not mentioned in any of the Eritrean government media almost ten days after his death in London where he had been receiving medical treatment for almost six-years.

In 2005, Naizghi arrived to London with the understanding of becoming Eritrea’s ambassador to the UK. However, insiders believe that his credentials were rejected by the UK and he stayed there for sometime until he became sick and suffered from a host of ailments including kidney failure. Since then, he had been on dialysis and his health steadily deteriorated.

When his family took him to Eritrea two years ago, he was often going through memory lapses and couldn’t remember people who were close to him. People who visited him believed he was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

He told many of his visitors that, “everyone of my comrades visited me except the Pharaoh” referring to President Isaias Afwerki.

When Isaias Afwerki heard of this, he ordered Naizghi’s family to take him back to England to die in peace instead of dying in jail.

Naizghi was flown back to London and stayed there in critical condition until he died last week.

Naizghi Kiflu is a veteran of the armed struggle and has served as security chief, ambassador to Russia, deputy Interior Minister and Minister of Information under the Isaias regime. In 2008, Eritrean human rights activist Elsa Chyrum, with the help of British NGO Redress,  attempted to develop a case against him for committing “crimes against humanity” for his role as Deputy Revolutionary Guard (“Halewa Sewra”), deputy to the Interior Minister (Ministry of Local Government) in the early 1990s, as well as for his role as a Minister of Information in 2001 when he ordered the arrest and exile of Eritrea’s journalists and, eventually, the crackdown against non-sanctioned churches.  British prosecutors interviewed several Eritrean victims in Europe but the case was never brought to trial.

In 1971, there appeared Nehnan Elamanan (We And Our Objectives), a document that Isaias Afwerki and his friends authored to justify their sectarian split from the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF), which they considered a “Jihadist” organization. They embarked on establishing an organization to mobilize Eritrean Christian Highlanders. Today, many believe that Nehnan Elamanan is the cause for all the fragmentation and polarization that Eritreans still suffer from.

Nehnan Elamanan came with allegations of grisly murders committed by what it called the “Jihadist” ELF against Christians; and after more than forty years, the allegations still circulate as truth among Isaias’ supporters. With time, the unsubstantiated allegation became urban legend, elevated to a myth, and further deepened the mistrust among Eritreans and to this day continues to divide Eritreans. In fact, it is difficult to understand the cultural disharmony, the sectarian mistrust, and the regional frustration that Eritrea suffers from without scrutinizing Nehnan Elamanan. Unfortunately, save for some loner pens here and there, not many have challenged the allegations made in the document. On the contrary, a number of so-called Eritrean scholars have been repeating the contents of the manifesto as divine truth. But those who read the polished English translation cannot be blamed for the translators themselves are certainly influenced by the message. It suffices to show that the title of the manifesto, Nehnan Elamanan, was translated as ‘Our Struggle and Its Goals’ whereas the correct translation is We And Our Objectives. The manifesto is all about “WE”—its authors identify themselves “most if not all of us are Christian highlanders”—which carried so many subliminal messages directed to a focused audience: Christian Highlanders. It was not (as the translated version tried to make it appear) about the STRUGGLE which, in the Eritrean psyche, means something of a national nature, with an all encompassing Eritrean scope, not a sectarian clarion call.

The manifesto still cries to be researched and analyzed; and we encourage qualified scholars to do just that. On our part, this article is our modest attempt to shed some light on it. We will challenge and explain the evolution of the manifesto because we believe that knowing the details of Isaias’ destructive designs in the past will help us better understand him and be better equipped to fight his tyranny.

Nehnan Elamanan is widely believed to be a creation of Isaias, his master plan. Therefore, we think a more fitting title for it would be ‘He And His Objectives.’ The manifesto is the seed of Isaias’ tyranny of today, and it is the reason why we have him at the helm of power in Eritrea.

In this article, we will first present an introduction to Nehnan Elamanan followed by an insight into how it came into existence and how it hastened Isaias’ sectarian split before he joined two other splinter groups with whom he formed EPLF, which he soon controlled, and which, after the liberation of Eritrea, became today’s PFDJ. Finally, we will explain how Isaias and his clique exploited the killing of Kidane Kiflu and Welday Ghidey, the only two names of casualties that appeared in Nehnan Elamanan and which it treated sensationally.

Nehnan Elamanan: The Eritrean Mein Kompf

Nehnan Elamanan was an attempt by Isaias to rewrite history to fit his grand plans for Eritrea. From the outset, he identified his constituency and focused on mobilizing the Christian population of the Eritrean Highlands, by addressing their baser instincts, cleverly using their fears and suspicions, spreading out any feeling of collective guilt (over Eritreans dealing with the Haile Selassie regime) and calling on them to rally behind him against what he portrayed as the dangerous other.

The dangerous other is “Qiada Al’Amma” (the General Command—the leadership of the Eritrean Liberation Front of the time—derisively, thereafter, referred to as “Amma.”). The General Command is described as a people who had no clear political principles, no military strategy (tebenja hizka m’kkublal…zttakhosu zneberu: roaming around and firing off guns haphazardly); who opted to use religion instead of nationalism as an organizing principle and therefore defined Haile Selasse as “Kaffr” and the Eritrean struggle as “jihad fi sebilli Allah” [struggling in the path of God]; whose favorite activity was looting Christian properties. It accused them of looting 10,000 cows belonging to Christian highlanders and, with the spoils, it explained, the General Command bought houses in Sudan, they got drunk, “the single among them got married and the married among them got remarried.” When they were not looting the properties of Christians, getting drunk and marrying and re-marrying, they were slaughtering Christians by the hundreds (“karatatom ksiHlu…nkrstyan kHardu” sharpening their knives to butcher Christians.)

With the “other” clearly defined as corrupt, bigoted, thieving and murderous thugs who used religion as an organizing principle, the document went on flattering the “we”—always defined as Christian highlanders. It told them that if they are suffering any guilt for the role of their forefathers in the 1940s, they shouldn’t because “The Eritrean people—after 1940—were divided into two political fortresses. When the majority of Christians were calling for union with Ethiopia, the majority of Muslims were calling for union with Sudan.” (never mind that this is not what the UN Commission reported at the time.) It told them that they should feel empowered because the last census which was done in 1957 showed the “we” are 55.7% of the population and “aslam hzbna” are 44.3%. It told them that the Christian highlander was just as nationalist, just as willing to fight for Eritrean independence in 1961—had it not been for the restrictions of geography.

It also claimed that the consensus which was reached in the 1950s to have dual official languages was forced by the UN because the UN saw everything through a religious prism. The idea of the ELF to divide Eritrea into 4 operational sectors [copied from Algerians in their fight against colonialist France] was based on the ethnic differences of the ELF leadership and it was right for the Christian highlanders to ask, “why is a Muslim/Saho leading us?” And even when he was replaced by a Christian highlander, it was not good enough because he was “Hade se’Abi’om zkhone kristanay Haleqa”[a Christian chieftain who was one of them.] And there was nothing wrong for the Christian highlander to make these demands because “natka yeHmmeka” [what is yours is what concerns you], it argued. All attempts for reforming the ELF failed because “wedi dmu ney gedf nay e’mu [bad habits die hard--but the expression describes "bad habits as hereditary] explained the document. And so, since the only two choices are to (a) surrender to the enemy [Ethiopia] or (b) be butchered by the ELF leadership,  we don’t have the luxury of sitting on a razor blade and that’s why we are splitting.

The document played up every stereotype of the Muslim Eritrean: disorganized, barbaric, murderous, sectarian. It was 28 pages of “Aslamay entenegese yHarrd e’mber neyferrd” (put a Muslim in a position of authority and he is severe.) And it did its job: to this day, 40 years later, Eritreans who know nothing about Eritrean history know one thing: the ELF ["Amma"] was led by sectarian butchers. Not just Eritreans: even foreign “revolutionaries” internalized its message and called the ELF a “Muslim organization”. How did this document come about?

The Birth Of The Mysterious Document

For a long time before Nehnan Elamanan was openly distributed, Isaias and his group were clandestinely circulating parts of it, and messages with similar content to it. Apparently the originals of the messages were kept in Kessala [Eastern Sudan] and many of those who were part of the planning, writing or disseminating the propaganda of Nehnan Elamanan have repeatedly, and vaguely, mentioned them just as “documents”. They all stated that Kidane and Welday were in possession of some “important documents” in Kessela, Sudan.

An interview conducted by Isaias Tesfamarian [an Eritrean librarian who resides in California and works at Stanford University (?)] with several EPLF (the precursor of the PFDJ) party officials is very revealing. They state that at one time after Kidane and Welday were killed, Ghirmay Mehari (now Brig. General in Eritrea) and Wolderufael Sebhatu (martyred in Nackfa) were sent to retrieve the documents from Kassala. [i]

Brig. General Ghirmay states: “they were very important documents…. Wolderufael knew the whereabouts and the importance of the documents because he used to work with them [Kidane and Welday] …Once we got to Kassala we got some of the documents but not all.”[ii]

Woldenkiel Gebremariam, a current minister of the PFDJ says: “the documents were very important. Kidane Kiflu was in Kassala and Kassala was the coordinating point with the field. He used to follow up the situations in the field and record them. They were very important historical documents. Some of the documents (letters) were sent to the field. With the situation that we went through in the field, it is hard to say where they are. Some documents were taken by Tekue Yhidego and etc. to Aden from Kassala. We used to have them with our Hafash Wudubat (Mass Organizations). After we went to the field we did not know the situation of the documents.”[iii]

And Naizghi Kiflu, an ex-Minister of the PFDJ and its one time security director, who had been critically ill for some years, and died on Feb. 6, 2012 in the UK said: “The documents were very important. They used to describe the situations in the field. Who did what? Who got killed by whom …etc. are the sort of things that were in the documents. We left some of the documents with our Hafash Wudubat (Mass Organizations) in Aden, Yemen. Later, we heard that the documents were stolen.”

Mesfin Hagos, in a recent interview (we translated the relevant part of it to English) also mentions some documents: “…At the end of 1969… I was told that I was appointed to the engineering department, but shortly after…I went to the Sudan. There were some books in Sudan that I brought along with me from China, and that would help us in my appointed position [military engineering ]… [iv]

In a testimonial booklet, Gebremedhin Zerezghi, a veteran combatants who lived the events says: “Members of Srryet Addis[v] started to communicate and correspond through letters. When there was an attempt to read letters that were intercepted, it was impossible [to read them]. Some were in secret codes, some were in numbers, some were [written] in alphabets that seemed like Russian.”[vi]

We believe that those messages, and the repeatedly mentioned documents [referred to as “books from China” in Mesfin Hagos’ case], or some of them, are in the possession of the PFDJ, and once released they would surely clear a lot of grey information. But until such a time, the available information is enough to deduce what the documents were about: perhaps the seeds of Nehnan Elamanan.

At a time when there was rampant political conflict within the Eritrean liberation forces, and obviously Isaias and his group were weaving conspiracies, and the heavy-handed manner with which the ELF leadership tried to resolve the problems, one side would naturally want to defeat the other, at least in the propaganda war—that partially explains the motive behind Nehnan Elamanan. Also, in many instances, the ELF leadership proved to be seriously inept in solving some problems and resorted to extreme solutions. It is difficult to understand, let alone justify, some of its damaging actions—for instance, its decision to jail six-members of the General Command, all hailing from the Semhar region. This cannot be explained except in terms of regional bias even if they had committed subversion, a not-convincing explanation given by the General Command. It was amid this political turmoil, mass surrender and spying cases, and internal maladministration that Kidane and Welday were killed. They could have been innocent; but even then one doesn’t expect the revolutionaries of the day to set up courts for them and deliberate meticulously before passing a sentence—within the ELF, a serious attempt to establish a proper court system only started in 1975. And though Nehnan Elamanan alleges that hundreds of Christians were killed within the ELF, it didn’t mention any names save two: Welday Ghide and Kidane Kiflu.

In that environment of wild “revolutionary justice,” many innocent people—not just Christian highlanders—were killed, and many who fought against a more powerful entity were defeated. But it doesn’t follow that the defeated are always innocent who should be treated as helpless victims; had they been the victors in the power struggle, it is almost certain the role would have be reversed. In short, the price of revolutions is high, and liberation struggle it not peaceful either, nor is it a slow evolution. And everywhere and anytime, revolutionaries are led by zealots and it is the nature of revolutions to divide people into enemies and allies, nothing in between. It is because of such complexities that it is important for Eritreans to know the nature and content of the documents that were kept in Kassala. And why they were so important that Isaias and his group badly wanted to retrieve them from Kidane and Welday’s house.

It is not far-fetched to consider the “books from China” that Mesfin Hagos mentioned in his interview is a reference to the same documents that Ghirmay Mehari (now Brig. General ) and Wolderufael Sebhatu (martyred in Nackfa),  were trying to retrieve from Kassala. It is very possible that they are the same documents that Naizghi Kiflu and Weldenkiel Haile mentioned. And it is very possible that the clandestine letters, that Gebremedhin Zerezghi mentioned in his testimony, were circulating among the combatants were the cause for the killing of Kidane and Welday, whose names automatically appeared on Nehnan Elamanan.

A serious question has been asked for decades regarding the allegation of Nehnan Elamanan: If the ELF was into the “slaughtering” business as alleged, why were “Christians combatants” like Mesfin Hagos, Isaias and many, many, others spared?

Theories: Why Kidane And Welday Were Killed

The ELF never formally denied or admitted killing Welday and Kidane though many who lived the era confirm privately that it did. They explain the killing differently, and in general terms. As Nehnan Elamaman, and many senior members of the EPLF testify, in the days when the two were killed, the ELF witnessed mass surrender by combatants from the highlands to Ethiopian garrisons and the Ethiopian consulate in Sudan. Given the politically polarized society, perhaps the events of the time threw a shadow of suspicion and mistrust on the Christian combatants. The polarization was definitely sharpened by the political situations that prevailed at the time, for example:

1. A relentless and heavy Ethiopian propaganda that labeled the Eritrean revolution as a Muslim project and encouraged Christians to surrender by taking advantage of the blanket amnesty offered by the Ethiopian king. Many did.
2. The onslaught on the Muslim population, wiping their villages, mass arrests, robbing of cattle and other properties carried out by the Ethiopian forces, particularly the commandos forces, who were composed of predominantly Christian highlanders.
3. The general treatment of Muslims as second-class citizens as Ethiopia declared Orthodox Christianity as the official religion of the state.
4. The military setback of the ELF after the Halhal debacle where the ELF was weakened and appeared un-salvageable.
5. The Israel-Arab war that drained supply lines from the Arab countries and weakened the ELF.
6. The emergence of ideological (Marxists influence from Yemen and Sudan) philosophies in the ranks of the ELF and the struggle that ensued between urban (who were more accepting of Marxist ideas) and rural (conservative) members of the organization.

The above could have been some of the reasons that made the doubtful combatants surrender in droves. But for other patriotic Christian combatants who remained behind and were totally against the surrender, it must have been painful to be categorized with those who surrendered when they chose to fight on. Such frustration would understandably trigger in them the urge to develop a counter narrative to vindicate themselves or at least ward off the suspicion. For Isaias, this must have been a grand opportunity to exploit and revive his old bigotry and prejudice as some of his schoolmates attest. The cause of the “hundreds” killed and of “Srryat Addis wiped out,” could only be a natural human reaction, a defensive mechanism by the injured to fight against the labeling and to defend themselves from being stereotypically perceived in a negative light. For Isaias, though, it meant a golden chance, an energy that would propel his sectarian split, a successful attempt to turn the tables on those he perceived as the other. And he cleverly used the incidents to mobilize Christians from the Highlands whom he considered his constituency.

Nehnan Elamanan: The Mother Of The PFDJ

In 1970, according to a number of veteran combatants, handwritten copies of some of the documents somehow ended in the hands of ELF security officers of the time. They contained allegations and language similar to what come out later on Nehnan Elamanan. The sectarian allegations were spreading wildly, and the security officers of the ELF began a surveillance task to check who was behind it. Kidane and Welday were implicated in the propaganda war (documents) as the statements of the above-mentioned veteran combatants indicate. Around the same time, a Sudanese officer tipped the ELF security personnel that Kidane, Welday and others were communicating with the Ethiopian consulate in Kassala—the consulate was aggressively luring the doubtful  to surrender and it facilitated the surrender of scores of ELF combatants. It was in such circumstances that Welday and Kidane were killed and their bodies found around a place called Hafera, near the town of Kassala in Sudan.

No one claimed responsibility for the killing but fingers began to point towards some zealous officers of the ELF. Veterans of the revolutionary justice environment of the Eritrean Struggle are very secretive and do not allow themselves to be quoted publicly, but many of them recall versions of rumors that spread at the time: Kidane and Welday were accused of subversion against the ELF and treason for causing the surrender of combatants. The zealous security officers might have thought the killing would serve as a warning for others; or they might have been trying to contain and hide the damaging sectarian allegations that exposed the struggle to grave risks.

Others claim that after the leadership of the ELF became aware of the killing and wanted to punish them, the killers leaked some of the documents to gain sympathy from the public who would not condone but be angry at the combatants who were surrendering to the Ethiopians. But the leak and the wide spread of the documents had another unintended result: it hastened the split of Isaias. If not for the embarrassing situation the leadership found itself in after Welday and Kidane were killed, and if it didn’t panic and properly contained the damage, it would have certainly continued the surveillance calmly and reached a conclusive result. But the exposure of the documents and the panicky move of the leadership placed Isaias, the mastermind of the whole propaganda onslaught, in a precarious situation. He in turn panicked and began to devise an escape strategy.

At about the same time, the General Command assigned Isaias Afwerki and Saleh Fekak (both members of the General Command) to organize the people of the Highlands. They left the ELF bases accompanied by nine-combatants and they carried along typewriters, duplicators and other resources that would help them set up a local information unit. Once the group reached a place around the village of Fgret, Isaias excused himself for a few hours to visit his relatives in the area—he selected the three Christian combatants in the group to accompany him. Hours went by and Isaias didn’t return. Saleh Fekak and the six-combatants waited for another day and he didn’t show up. On the third day, Saleh Fekak sent three combatants to look for Isaias and his three companions; they failed in tracing his path in any of the villages in the area. Saleh Fekak abandoned the mission and returned to the ELF bases and reported that Isaias has disappeared with three combatants. Weeks later, Isaias met other scout forces in the Merrara area and told them that he could not work with Qiyadda AlAmma (General Command) and that is why he abandoned his colleagues in Fgret—that was the beginning of his split. It was then that Isaias edited Nehnan Elamanan and publicly disseminated it after adding the names of Kidane Kiflu and Welday Gidey to it.

In 1991, members of what was known as United Organization (UO), a conglomerate of parts of many struggle era groups, entered Asmara. They had hoped to be recognized as a political party to compete in Eritrean politics; but Isaias’ PFDJ had another idea. The UO members were told that they were just individuals and should stop dreaming of continuing as a political party. A small number of them, the helpless, were absorbed in the public sector, the rest either went into exile anew or were left to wander in Asmara in confusion. Shortly thereafter, many were silently snatched by the PFDJ’s security apparatus and disappeared. One of those who disappeared a few years later from his hotel room in Asmara was Mohammed Osman Dayer, a veteran who was the security chief of the ELF when Kidane and Welday were killed. In a short time, the PFDJ successfully blocked any future testimony or impartial investigation into the case that propelled the tip of Isaias propaganda spear.

The ambition of Isaias to have his own organization goes back to 1969 when weeks before the convening of the Adobha conference, he approached the late Mohammed Ahmed Abdu to agree with him “to establish and lead a military division composed purely of Christians from the Eritrean highlands.”[vii] Woldeyesus Ammar laments, “History has attested that Isayas Afeworki, a born loner, was not able to heed to that important advice from his senior commander, Mohammed Ahmed Abdu.  Isayas carries on that absolutely negative trait to this day. “ [viii]

To achieve his goal, Isaias has perpetuated the mistrust among Eritreans for over forty years and to this day continues to do so. From the outset, his attitude and views foretold what he was planning: destroying the Eritrean Liberation Front from within, a goal he made clear on his first day he arrived to Kassala via Tessenei in Western Eritrea. He said, “The first day I arrived in Kassala, I was frustrated, people telling me about the ugly nature of the ELF. It was a nightmare. For some reason that no one explained, we were ostracized.” [ix]

Isaias’ statement comes regardless of the fact that he had just joined, and he couldn’t have observed anything about the ELF on his first day of joining. Why then such a serious allegation on his first day? As many who know him testify, his statement exposes his bias and prejudice that he carried along with him from his past. Today, Eritrea is under the mercy of Isaias because he was not challenged since a long time ago when he was paving a path for his current tyrannical rule. He consistently perpetuated a strategy of victim mentality until he achieved the goal of creating an organization molded in his shape: the PFDJ.

Conclusions

The November 1971 document entitled “Nehnan Elamanan” [literally translated to “We And Our Objectives” (but in its English translation “Our Struggle And Its Goals”)] most likely started out as a document written by reformers but was eventually changed into a Clarion Call of us (Christian highlanders) vs them (Muslims) by Isaias Afwerki. It appeals to the baser instincts of Christian highlanders and it flat out lies and exaggerates and, when necessary, omits the motives and magnitude of the persecution of Eritreans by the ELF leadership. However, because it was interlaced with revolutionary rhetoric, it was presented as a respectable document to a selectively targeted group of influential Eritreans and fellow-travelers in the socialist camp.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, as in now, the Eritrean people could not forgive two infractions: (a) surrendering to the enemy and (b) splitting and weakening their liberation organization. In trying to justify the former, and trying to prepare the Eritrean people to accept the latter, the author of the final version of Nehnan Elamanan (Isaias Afwerki) wildly exaggerates the number of Christian highlanders that were killed by the ELF leadership (the document claims that 300 Christian highlanders were killed over a two year period but gives the name of only two) and it uses specific language to suggest how they were killed: knives slit with throats.  However, despite all the inflammatory language, in the mid 1970s, when Christian highlanders were given the opportunity to join the field, a large percentage of them still joined the ELF—either because they didn’t believe the accusations or because they hadn’t heard them yet.   The EPLF (precursor to the PFDJ) intensified its campaign of painting the ELF as a “Muslim organization bent on slaughtering Christians” (“Amma Haradit“) non-stop, until the organization collapsed in 1981 eaten within, and assaulted without by the combined efforts of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF.)

Note: next, in an article entitled: “Srryet Addis: Blatant Lie?”,  we will shed some light on the allegation of what came to be known as Srryet Addis, the most sensational allegation of Nehnan Elamanan. Subsequently, we will publish Gebremedhin Zerezghi’s testimonial, available in Tigrinya booklet, which we translated to English. In due time, we will also present to you the English translation of Nehnan Elamanan after we thoroughly check its accuracy compared to the original Tigrniya version.

Recommended Reading:

1. An Eyewitness In The History of The Eritrean Revolution, Gebremedhin Zerezghi, May 1997. (Will be published soon and this will be replaced by a link to it)
2. Woldeyesus Ammar, “From The Mystries Of “Siriyet Addis.” April 25, 2004, (This article first appeared on awate.com, on a column called Spotlight. Weldeyesus Ammara was a high school classmate and a university colleague of Isaias Afwerki in the 1960s.
   _____________________________

What is attitude?

According to Wikipedia, attitude is the evaluation and associated belief and behavior towards some objects. It is not stable and because of the communication and behavior of the people, it is subject to change by social influence.

Attitude can be changed through persuasion. Emotion is a common component in persuasion; social influence, and attitude change. Much of attitude research emphasized the importance of affective or emotion components. Emotion works hand-in-hand with the cognitive process, or the way we think, about an issue or situation.

While this is the scientific definition of the term attitude, one can ask a question: What are the attitudes of the Eritrean society towards the PFDJ regime? Obviously, the attitude of the Eritrean people towards the regime is divided into two groups. The first part which is the majority of the people defines the regime as dictatorial and totalitarian and believes that it should be replaced by a just and democratic system. Unfortunately, the second part accepts the regime more or less as legitimate and believes that it is doing good for the people. This group wishes the regime to stay as it is and it stands against the on-going struggle. Here one may raise another question: Which part is right? Both can’t be right. Nor can both be wrong.

The objective situation of the Eritrean society can answer this question. It is not a matter of judgment. It is an objective reality. The majority of the Eritrean people are suffering from the totalitarian regime. The Eritrean people, especially those who live in side the country don’t have any right. So many people are imprisoned or missing every day. The country is changed into prison camps. The PFDJ regime has ruled the country without any constitution or rule of law for 20 years. Almost one third of the population is living in exile. Tens of thousands are living in refugee camps in Ethiopia and Sudan. Eritrea is one of the poorest countries in the world and its leader ranks first as a dictator in the world. This evaluation was not made by Eritreans alone but by independent media of the world. Therefore, the supporters of the Eritrean regime cannot justify their support for this evil regime.

While the regime in Asmara is so naked in its subversive act against its people in front of the world, why are some Eritreans still supporting it? This is important question that should be addressed.

This group can be divided again into two parts. The handful who benefit from the regime and those who are innocent but wrongly acting against their interest. Leaving the first one aside and taking the second, the majority of this group is innocent. They have been deceived by an empty nationalism. On the eyes of this group, the PFDJ regime is “the most nationalist”. The regime has brainwashed them by saying that “the EPLF is the sole organization which struggled for the independence of the country”. While in reality the ELF had equally contributed for the Eritrean independence. In fact many Eritreans fail to realize that other Ethiopian democratic organizations like the TPLF, OLF etc. had also equally contributed in defeating the DERG.

The supporters of the regime need a change of attitude. These people must realize that one cannot be a nationalist by defending dictatorship. In fact these people have to realize that Isaias is destroying the nation. Eritreanism without an educated young generation has no future. These people have to be persuaded that they are defending the despotic regime, acting against their interest.

Another instrument of the PFDJ regime which deceives the people is the idea of “enemies”. It creates enemies easily. The regime created conflicts with Yemen, Sudan, Ethiopia and Djibouti. Especially, Ethiopia is portrayed as “number one enemy of the Eritrean people”. This false propaganda serves the regime’s policy of the Sawa military training camp. The regime brainwashes the people day and night by saying “if I stop Sawa the enemy will come and occupy your country”. In addition the PFDJ regime uses this propaganda for another purpose. Opposition organizations or individuals who fight the regime based in Ethiopia are labelled “traitors”. This propaganda is designed purposely in order to isolate the opposition forces from the people.

The main point here is that an effort has to be made to change the attitude of the ‘HIGDEF’ supporters towards their regime. There must be a change of attitude in the minds of these people before an actual change takes place. We have to fight the indoctrination and ideas of Isaiasism systematically.

Another attitude which has to be changed within the supporters of the Eritrean regime is chauvinism because chauvinism leads to racism. They believe that they are the most educated while they are not. They think they are the richest while they are poor . They consider their regime the strongest of all while in reality it is the weakest in all aspects: call it economically, politically and militarily. They don’t see that it as an isolated regime which is struggling for its survival.

As mentioned above, attitude can be changed through persuasion. Efforts must be done to change the wrong attitude of the supporters of regime. They have to understand clearly that the existence of the regime in Asmara benefits no one except creating misery and slavery. The Eritrean people don’t have any interest from this regime except misery and slavery. The supporters of the regime should understand clearly how the odd leader (Isaias) is isolated from the rest of the world. He is isolated from the African Union, IGAD, the United Nation etc. There is no advantage supporting a loosing regime .

There must be a change of attitude in the opposition camp too. Generally speaking the Eritrean struggle is characterized by less tolerance and stubbornness. It is dominated by internal conflicts. Even today if we observe the contemporary relationship among the various opposition organizations and parties, their time and energy is wasted in bickering with each other and splitting from one another. Most of them concentrate on minor issues. Basically their priorities tend to be party or organizational issues. Despite all these it was possible to form the ENCDC in the recent AWASA congress.

The vast majority of the Eritrean society is vacillating between the PFDJ regime and the opposition camp. The majority of this group are the highlanders (from Kebessa). Most of them want the downfall of the regime. But at the same time they don’t trust the opposition organizations and parties. I wonder  why! They want a change. But who will bring the change? By just sitting and observing, things cannot be changed. The people who have such attitude have two choices: a) either they create an alternative opposition b) or they join the existing opposition forces and improve the politics of the organizations or parties.

Dear reader! I have another amazing idea to share with you. I have been in Addis Ababa for almost a year working in a capacity building program initiated and financed by the Dutch government. It is not based on scientific research, but according to my personal observation, 70% to 80% the Eritrean community in Addis Ababa are sympathizers of the PFDJ regime. The first time I had observed this phenomena was really shocking to me. What is the reason behind this? It is paradox. In spite of the fact that they live nearer to Eritrean and they get daily information about  how the regime oppresses the people and they see tens of thousands people coming from the country as refugees, yet they have positive attitude towards the regime! Another paradox is that the various Eritrean opposition organizations and parties are located here and yet these organizations could not change the mentality of these people.

Conclusion

One of the important instruments which is used in promoting change of the public attitude is mass media. The media outlets such as  Eri-TV, Radio Dimtsi Hafash, Hadas Eritrea etc. hammer the minds of the victims day and night. On the contrary, one of the weaknesses of the opposition organizations and parties is poor media rely to the public. Today the opposition camp  have  a golden opportunity because it is united to fight the dictatorship by forming a common program and a common leadership under the National Council. Now it is up to the executive body of the Eritrean National Council for Democratic Change (ENCDC) to implement the program. It is time to centralize the dispersed resources of the various political organizations and parties and implement the following key resolutions passed at the Awassa congress :

1. The different military units run by different organizations must be brought under one command.

2. The political and diplomatic activities should be conducted under the leadership of the ENCDC.

3. The media coverage should be coordinated and controlled by the ENCDC.

4. The financial resources should be centralized and controlled by the ENCDC.

These are the main responsibilities of the leadership of the ENCDC given by the congress. If these tasks are fulfilled, I believe progress will be made and the defeat of the PFDJ regime will not be far away.

A.Fitiwi1993@kpnmail.nl