A Protest To Mend 50 Years Of Injustice And Unfairness

The entire hullabaloo about the ‘unjust’ and ‘unfair’ sanction is becoming a nightmare. Assuming the Resolution was hatched up in the US; this time one would fail to find the rational. We know the reasons behind the 1950s decision of the UN to federate Eritrea with Ethiopia, but can anyone from the ‘Mekete’ camp convince me what the UN Sanction is intended for in 2010, if any? 

 

The Unfair/Unjust World 

 

Aside from PFDJ paranoia and malicious invention, upon closer look we see that the US power rivals, Russia and China, are still in play when it comes to Security Council decisions. US moral authority around the world has diminished over the years and it is no more the same playing field as it used to be. In 2006, when the ‘West’ tried to impose Sanctions against Sudan, Russia and China blocked the Resolution alleging that the peace process should be given a chance. In July 2008, AGAIN, China and Russia exercised their veto powers to block a UN sanction on Zimbabwe’s President Mugabe and his cohorts. The breakdown of the votes was: Belgium, Burkina Faso, Costa Rica, Croatia, France, Italy, Panama, UK and The United States voted in FOR the resolution. China (veto), Russia (veto), Libya, South Africa and Vietnam voted AGAINST and Indonesia ABSTAINED. Recently, in October 2009, Russia rejected talks about sanctions against Iran, indicating that it would prove “counterproductive”. These few scenarios testify to the fact that the US has no control over the UNSC as maintained by PFDJ and its extremist intellectuals.   

 

Regarding Eritrea’s PFDJ, 13 Security Council members, including Russia voted FOR the resolution. China played its usual abstention card to avoid from blocking the resolution; while Libya, PIA’s sabbatical ally, OBJECTED to the Resolution. I am convinced that this is a wakeup call for everyone who is not convinced that PFDJ is loathed by all, including Russia and China.  

Through the Resolution, UN is trying to block supply or sale of arms to Eritrea; freeze assets owned or operated by PFDJ officials and individuals who operate on their behalf; and put in place travel restricts on PFDJ officials. It would be naive to deny the negative implications of the Resolution to the general Eritrean public, but if we are convinced that the world is unfair to us for 50-some years will the isolated or fragmented demonstrations around the globe solve the root causes of the Eritrea political problem?  

Is Eritrea’s geopolitical position more interesting or threatening to the West than Iran?  

In 1951, the West was after Kagnew Station when the US and its allies federated Eritrea with Ethiopia. US lack of geopolitical interests in Eritrea was evident from the Bush Administration’s decline of PIA’s offer of the Port of Assab for military uses. After the terrorist attack on USS Cole, General Anthony Zinni has clearly indicated why the US military was not interested in Eritrean ports as a refuelling station of its warships.  

If we believe the US hostility towards Eritrea is based on PIA’s refusal to let the US exploit the country, then we are dead wrong. We need to bear in mind that Anadarko was the first US oil company that was given oil exploration licence in the Red Sea coast until it quietly abandoned the project in 1998. Despite its eventual failures, Dahlak Island was to be developed as a world class resort by multimillionaires from Texas. PIA and his followers have also told us repeatedly that Eritrea is not endowed with natural resources, but hardworking people. Therefore, there is really nothing to vie for when it comes to resources. 

We have also heard that the Resolution was drafted by puppet governments that are serving the interests of the US. Unfortunately, PIA seems to suffer from Alzheimer, because he was America’s gateway in providing military support to the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), led by John Garang. In addition Eritrea being a supply route, members of the Eritrean Defence Forces such as the 271^th and 381^st Corps had fought alongside Sudanese Rebels around Karura and Tamarat.  

Failed Diplomacy 

It is no secret that state diplomacy is similar to any individual’s outgoing personality. Eritrea needs diplomats who are robust, experienced, confident, and best fitted to communicate.  Isaias and his cronies, as self imposed leaders, are getting paid by the Eritrean public to represent us in the international stage. Recently on Eri-TV, I was bemused to watch Mr. Yohannes, an official from Inland Revenue, explaining how taxes are levied on Eritrean farmers based on the herds they own. Boundless disgrace to tax a farmer almost starved to death (ኢሰያስ “ዓጸቦ” ደኣምበር “ጥሜት” የልቦን ኢሉ ተኣሚንሉ እዩ).   After all, what has the hardworking Eritrean public to lose if the asset of the high ranking officials is frozen? Remember! Following the end of the third Ethiopian offensive, Yemane Gebreab, had told the public that WE owe the PFDJ more than three billion Nakfa. So, why scramble to Switzerland to save Hagos Kasha’s coffers?    

PIA instead of the UN has preferred to make his case through foreign media outlets from his cocoon in Massawa. Eritrean Ambassadors across the globe don’t even leave their premises to perform their conventional duties. Instead, foreign missions are reduced to the duties of community organizers, tax collectors and polarizing agents in Churches or the community. Therefore, as far as foreign relations are concerned Eritrea is entirely vulnerable and nonexistent.  

Individuals, including Professor Ghidewon Abay, are shuttling between continents to misinform and confuse the Eritrean Diaspora by relating the current Security Council Resolution with the Federal Arrangement of the 1950s. In 1951, we were not accused of destabilizing the region or supplying arms to Somali terrorists.  

I would like to ask, the two tenacious “Eritreans” of our time, Professor Ghidewon and Sophia Tesfamariam, who seem to have unlimited access to PFDJ’s classified information, to challenge Isaias why Sheik Aweyes was allowed to stay in Asmara. I would also like to advice them to visit Photo Sahel in Asmara and inquire when and where they took Mohammed Farah Aidid’s photo (hoping that it is still hanging on the wall). Farah Aidid hid in Eritrea when the US accused him for the killing of UN and US Peace Keeping Forces during Operation Restore Hope. Eritrea gave refuge to these controversial Somali warlords and there seems to be a global understanding as far as the consequences of unstable Somalia is concerned.  

The international community seems to recognise piracy around Somali waters as a pitfall directly related to the instable and ineffective government in Somalia. Indicative of their common concerns, Western countries, Russia and China have sent warships to fight piracy off the waters of Somalia. They are also aware that patrolling the sea should be complimented by stability in land. Unfortunately, PIA is hosting Somali faction leaders such as Sheik Aweyes and the likes that are blamed for destabilising the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia and espousing extremism.   

So, is there anything beneficial to Eritrea from conducting the demonstration? I guess not. The protest would bring further disgrace and discount of the Eritrean people as we cannot even see the problem clearly. The PFDJ was pampered by the International community until PIA showed his contempt first to the UN, in Cairo, then to the OAU and finally the entire world.   

For those organizing the protest, I strongly advise you to think twice before hitting the streets. I recall reading an article about a wealthy man who went from one leading doctor to another looking for a cure to his ailments. Each doctor examined the organ in which she was an expert, using the latest technology and practice. Each expert also prescribed the best medicine money can buy. Unfortunately, the wealthy man’s health worsened. The man was in charge of his healthcare, he paid for the best services, at the end however, he failed to reverse the situation and felt weaker, lonely and vulnerable. The treatment failed because the experts examined his organs in isolation or fragments, instead of treating all the organs in relation to one another. Likewise, the Eritrean reality requires a comprehensive assessment to address root causes of the problem.  

The PROTESTORS need to address all the ailments Eritrea is currently suffering from, instead of a single UN Resolution. Eritrea has more prisons than clinics; thousands of prisoners; more immigrants than any other country and least freedom of all sorts. When the G13 and later the G15 revealed how PIA failed the Eritrea people, PFDJ machination was geared up to convince the public to denounce the accusers. Once again, when the international community charged PIA for failing to live up to his global obligations, we, the people, are summoned to be diplomats, delegates, presidents and brokers of the STATE OF ERITREA. Let us seize this moment of POWER and request the immediate implementation and strict enforcement of the sanction in order to accelerate the downfall of the botched regime. There will be no better time for us to remove the PFDJ junta and stop the pain and suffering of innocent Eritreans once and for all.   

Senai Zemen