|
During the war with Ethiopia, Eritreans the world over were saddened and grieved the death of exchange students who died in Blatien, a detention camp in Ethiopia. Two days ago, another Eritrean student, Yirga Yosef, died in another detention camp, WiA. This time it was not the Weyane or any foreign power at war with Eritrea. The detention was planned, executed by our own monster, the PFDJ government. A few more students are suffering from bad health conditions due to the appalling condition of the camp. Sick students are being ferried to the Halibet clinic in Asmara. If this were being done by the TPLF, we would have initiated letter campaigns, demonstrations, lobbying. But it is executed by our own government proving, once again, the misfortune of being born African: your government will cry for you only when you are in foreign land.
Some 34 years ago, Eritrean students demonstrated against the Ethiopian occupation. These Eritreans, who include some of Eritreas prominent personalities of today, including the current President, went on to make history. Isaias knows well, or ought to know, what the consequences of trying to crush student movements are. He also knows well that students veil their serious demands with milder demands just because they know they are not as strong as the powers that be. A torrent that starts with students is never stopped. Mightier systems failed in doing that. Despots who declared themselves gods with just an inch below the status of God couldnt stop student movements. Yet, the man who should know better, unlearns the history that he was part of its making. This could only happen in hgdef land and be entertained in PFDJ mentality.
What the students want is to advance their nation through education. That requires stability and a life to pursue. And that requires peace and stability. And that in turn, among other things, requires rule of law, democratization and justice. What the students are saying is: Time is up. That is what it boils down to. O Hardliners! Check your wrists if they are not busy doing something sinister. A university that is run by a man who acts as a Wahio leader is not good news for any country. Dr. Weldeab who came from an obscure background considers the University his fiefdom and runs it like a boot camp. He would rather have it turned to one that teaches young people how to become good slaves than skeptical inquisitive citizens. His record throughout his tenure is embarrassing to any system that has a little space to ever be embarrassed. Unless quickly rectified, crises that such irresponsible and unpatriotic elements are creating will remain in the Eritrean society. Why Eritreans should be subjected to sick designs of such personalities is hard to fathom. Though the whole PFDJ apparatus bears responsibility, we blame him for betraying the Eritrean societies and burying his academic integrity by involving in divisive scholarship distribution among Eritrean students. Anyone who doubts this could ask for a list of scholarship distribution during Weldeabs tenure.
Police Batons For Parents On Saturday August 18, 2001, while parents waited outside the Asmara University gates to ask about their children, Weldeab addressed the crowd briefly telling them that he will meet with a committee the parents elected. (Remember, these are the same parents who have several children in the frontlines and who, according to the crocodile tears of Alamin Mohammed Seid, were unduly alarmed by the Reformers and their Open Letter. Dont be surprised if the Parents Committee is soon accused of being an agent of the Reformers because, according to the PFDJ Hardliners, Eritreans are incapable of doing anything on their own. ) Soon, the police came with batons and dispersed the crowd very aggressively. Two journalists, a reporter from Keste Debena and an AFP reporter were arrested because they took some snap shots of the incident. The films were confiscated, and the equipment taken into custody by the police. Weldeab and the police went to have lunch while the parents went home weeping and wailing. In an interview, Weldeab said, the students have gone to do another big national program." In the land of the PFDJ, detention is big national program death is minor national program. Humiliation is obligatory national program. Disrupting education is a minute national program. Victory to the national programs. Long live the architects of the national programs. Imagine, parents being put in such a situation in a free Eritrea that they and their children liberated. Students of history know what happened (and what followed) in Sembel in 1966 when Isais and his colleagues were detained as student activists. Semere Keste and the Anonymous many Some writers in our website and others have all shown a great interest on the arrest of Semere Kesete and Milkias; others, were less shocked. Not to downplay what has happened to Semere and Milkias because it is horrible enough; however, the practice of kidnapping and secretive imprisonment has been going on in Eritrea for a long time. Many were turning a deaf ear to the plight of hundreds of citizens who were made to languish in jail without trial and without being noticed. Many have died in jail and their families have not been notified. This government thinks it owns the people and that it can do anything it pleases with them. The shocker was when known fighters who struggled for years and spent their lifetime in order to claim the pride of Eritrea were jailed simply because they were not members of the PFDJ. Shame to a nation which humiliates its generous givers, the strugglers who spent their life to liberate the land. Shame to the system that embarks on a mission to discredit the strugglers after the liberation of the land that they helped in liberating. What We Think Of The Reformers Ever since the Open Letter to PFDJ Members surfaced, we have been unequivocal in our call to take sides. We have been criticized for this by two diametrically opposed groups: the PFDJ-lovers who accused us of exaggerating a minor politicial hiccup and pursuing an Anybody But Isaias (ABI) strategy; and the PFDJ-haters, who said we are placing our trust on people, PFDJ leaders, who are just as guilty as Isaias and that the two are wechos tegelbeTkaios wecho. We think you will agree by now that the Hardliners have absolutely no intention of diffusing the tension and that they have no interest in anything other than the total destruction of the Reformerseven if it destroys the party, or even the nation, in the process. Those of you who were hoping (praying) for a close-yourselves-in-an-office-and-come-out-only-smiling-and-shaking-hands approach to problem-solving are well-intentioned but a bit nave (not to mention uninformed) about the Confrontation Politics that President Isaias is enamored with. There is no win-win formula in President Isaias world: it is all a zero-sum game: I win, you lose. The only time he changes is when he is cornered against the wall and he is all out of options. Then, and only then, will he do a complete about-face, without worrying about losing face and will shamelessly pretend that his views are identical to that of his adversaries. He knows he can get away with this because he knows there are enough Eritreans who are frightened of The Unknown and will always run to the warm embrace of The Knowneven when The Known is abusive and destructive. As for those who caution us about The Reformers and why they, too, are not trustworthy and why their history is not one of impressive concern for human rights, democracy and justice, we have two answers. First, in both Eritreas major religions, Chirstianity and Islam, there is something called Repentence. The where were you until now? is a good question but not as important as what are you proposing now? The Reformers have said repeatedly better late than never. But they are politicians; why would you believe them? is the follow-up question. Which takes us to the second reason: The Issues Are More Important Than The Personalities. What the Reformers are advocating includes: To replace Rule of Isaias by Rule of Law; To replace Secrecy by Transparency; To replace Arbitrary Rule by Accountability; To replace one-man-rule by giving power to the people; Until the Reformers came out and sponsored what we consider popular demands, they were the same oppressive elite of the PFDJ. But once they came out and stated that they stand for democratic ideals including fairness, rule of law and transparency, we believe all Eritreans have at least a common ground and can now be equal stakeholders. But havent the Hardliners also mouthed the same things and how is it fair to believe it when it comes from one side and not the other? On August 3, 2000, our resident Watchdog, Dr. Kemal Ibrahim made an important point. He wrote I am of the opinion that unless substantiated with position statements on all the major policies and practices of the GoE over the last ten years, the dissent as it stands is a classic case of the kettle calling the pot black. We agree with Kemal. However, extending the analogy further, if the kettle can admit that it is black but trying harder, if it can prove to the onlooker that it wants to shine, we have no problem with that. So far, the kettle is scrubbing its dark surface with tenacity and we fully support that. Consider the difference: The reformers have been giving encouraging signs that they at least acknowledge that there are differences of opinion within Eritreans on a broad range of issues including: foreign policy, military size, language issue, land policy, how to organize the state, national identity, membership in international associations, civil society, democracy, justice, economic policy etc, and that these issues should be resolved using democratic principles and the rule of law. In contrast, what have we been told by the Hardliners? According to the Discussion Paper, the Hardliners Manifesto, all these are settled issues meaning they are not subject to discussion. They accuse the Reformers of bringing them to the attention of Eritreans just to fan and to exploit issues. Imagine. For a politician to ask what is important to the people then to advocate and give prominence to their issues is considered a crime by the PFDJ Hardliners. This type of thinking is the height of elitism and comes from people who believe they have all the answers and the few ones they dont have the answers to shouldnt even be asked. This is why we support the Reformers issues. If they, too, turn out to be disappointing, or if they get bested by the Grand Survivalist, it doesnt change the fact that the issues they brought to the forefront are extremely important and the positions they took on them publicly are courageous and good. Luk bkum! Patriots and Neo-Patriots If you wondered why the PFDJ Hardliners cannot debate or enter into dialogue, heres why. The political culture that has been perpetuated by the ruling PFDJ clique has made it possible for people who never set foot on Eritrea to belittle those who gave their lives for their country. People with questionable backgrounds were given the whip to degenerate and mock icons and legends of the Eritrean struggles since 1961. Those people who struggled hard to educate the Neo-patriots of today, on the concept of Eritrea and the notion of freedom, are being ridiculed and insulted by the Wedinis and Skunis who think they own Eritrea alone. That is a Tigre saying; a derogative term that roughly translates to errand boys which is reserved to gossipmongers. I dont know if the ingenious people back home have coined a new term for errand mass, a group of weaklings dying to be errand boys for any power, any power that be. The power center today is so corrupt that the majority of its supporters are so poorly equipped to debate, they cannot get beyond name-calling, innuendos and insults. The detestable communist culture has produced one good useful term: Lumpen. As you know, the equivalent of Lumpen in almost all Eritrean languages is Wedini. Follow any Eritrean problem and it leads you to a Wedini. When Wedinis are promoted, they become Skunis. We have a lot of Skunis on the verge of extinction; the Wedinis are almost done, and they have become a minority. The Skunis are screaming from the top of their lungs because they see the dwindling number of Wedinis who were supposed to have been promoted to the Skunis Level. They have become a minority. The culture of Wedini and Skunis will be eradicated from the face of Eritrea, prepare for it. It will be replaced with the culture of tolerance, rule of law and social justice. It will be replaced with the culture that upholds the dignity of each and every Eritrean under the law.
The dream of establishing an empire with Eritreans as mere subjects is shattered beyond repair. An Eritrea that existed in the dreams of all free Eritreans and true patriots for half a century will be established for that is the only natural course for the future of Eritrea. As for the Wedinis, we have seen them under Haile Sellasie when they attacked, defamed and humiliated the patriots, we have seen them when they abused Eritreans during the Derg and we see them now pursuing the same anti-people course and the same anti-freedom activity. As we have seen the previous injustice defeated, we will see the present injustice defeated. In the end, only the truth and freedom will prevail because freedom doesnt know anything else but prevail; and prevail, it will.
Sub-national Sentiments
What if someone told you that he is color-blind but then you find out that he is obsessed with the colors of your clothing and constantly accuses you of favoring red or blue or green? Wouldnt you have a right to question whether he really is color blind?
Eritrea has produced a whole lot of puritans who claim to be free of sub national sentiments but are quick to accuse people of harboring sub-national sentiments. This is odd, indeed. If the PFDJ Hardliners are as ethnicity-blind and religion-blind as they claim to be, how and why is it that they are the first ones to spot them? If you dont know and you claim you dont care to know the ethnicity, the origin and religion of five people congregating together, how is it that you know four are of this ethnicity, three are from this region and five are from this religion? How do you know what region DruE is from? Or Sherifo? How? And on what basis did you go around accusing some of them of harboring sub-national sentiments?
As for the government, If they dont know peoples ethnicity and background, how is it that their committees, beginning from the Central Council, or the Executive Committee are the results of ethnic balancing? The question of whether pursuing this strategy may or may not be advisable in a diverse society like Eritrea (affirmative action or positive discrimination) is an issue we will save for later but for now our question is: if you claim you dont know and dont care to know, how is it that you are engineering this politics of ethnicity? Isnt what you are really telling us that only you are supposed to know the ethnic, religious, regional makeup of someone because you are mature, noble and good and the others are not able to handle this information because they are immature or wicked or evil? Why cant you believe that the Eritrean people are just as good and mature as you? And, if, as you claim, your colleagues and decades-long friends who struggled for thirty years in the same bunker with you are guilty of harboring sub national sentiments, how do we know you are not?
The Awate Team |
