Isaias Afwerki, and the system he built (PFDJ) to enforce his will, is incapable of dealing with criticism, especially from sources he cannot liquidate. The PFDJs culture of the so-called nekefeta/ nefsi nekefeta (criticism/self-criticism) was an adaptation of the Lenninist and Maoist culture of promoting group think which, among other things, required people to spy on each other. As you will recall, Lenin and Mao exempted themselves from criticism (until long after their death.)
Throughout his career, Isaias knew only two kinds of journalists: those who fawned over him (Thomas Kenneally, Roy Pateman, Dan Connell), and those who ignored him (the rest.) He, and the system he created, are completely unfamiliar with the concept of critical individuals and institutions and cannot explain it without instinctively associating it with the work of the enemy. Using this frame of mind, a man who labored mightily to avert the Eritrea-Ethiopia wara peacemaker like Anthony Lakeis immediately classified as an enemy and his motivation for criticizing Isaias and his system must be because he (in collusion with the CIA) was trying to overthrow him. Conversely, cowards and people of ill-repute are classified as patriots so long as they turn a blind eye to injustice and submit to the ruler.
Some don't. For years now, CPJ, RSF, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) International Pen, have been raising the issue of the arrested Eritrean journalists. Although the PFDJ likes to tell its followers that these groups obsess over Eritrea and, therefore, their motives are questionable, to these organizations, Eritrean journalists are just another group of writers among hundreds in all corners of the earth, who are subjected to injustice. In efforts to express solidarity with the victims and to shame, cajole, and pressure the victimizer, they have used various methods at their disposal, mostly asking their members to engage in letter writing campaigns.
RSF labeled Isaias Afwerki Predator of the Year (a title he shares with his old friends from the much touted New African leaders gang, Kagame and Meles, as well as new friends like Cubas Castro, Chinas Hu Jintao, Libyas Kaddaffi, Irans Khamanei, and Zimbabwes Mugabe.) CPJ bestowed International Press Freedom Recipient on one of Isaias victims, Joshua, and got 600 influential journalists, opinion makers and leaders (all of whom, no doubt, have formed negative opinions about the Eritrean government and are, no doubt, sharing it with their readers, listeners and viewers) to sign a petition for his release.
The PFDJ has no one but itself to blame for the negative opinion of the world about its actions. For years now, whenever the issue of Eritrean journalists has come up, PFDJ officials have chosen to lie recklessly. Depending on who was doing the asking and when, representatives of the PFDJ have given wildly different stories on the status of Eritreas journalists.
In June 15, 2001, in response to a query by CPJ, Eritreas Justice Minister claimed that there were no journalists arrested (they were either working for the ministries or participating in national service.) In case you are thinking, well, that was prior to September 2001 and she was right, please note that some of the journalists have been in jailmilitary or civiliansince 1999. In September 2001, the government spokesperson was saying they were arrested either because they hadnt filed financial reports as required by the press proclamation or for avoiding military service (9/25/01). Coming from a government that doesn't have a budget and sees no need to issue reports, this was too implausible so, about the same time, the secretary of the PFDJ told his Eritrean audience in Saudi Arabia that his party was preparing to try the journalists for treason. (It is still preparing.) In September 2001, the secretary of the party knew the case well enough to charge treason but ambassadors of the government didnt as Girma Asmerom told a reporter I have no idea why they were arrested. But the Eritrean ambassador to North America had been briefed by April 2002: he told Voice of Americas Straight Talk Africa that the journalists were arrested because they broke 140 something articles of the Press Proclamation. Then the entire government took a break for a whole year (while it was preparing the case) and assigned the task to its hacks and minions who wrote volumes of implausible conspiracies between Weyane, Amnesty International, CPJ, RSF, WiPC, the Boston Globe, BBC, Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, Awate, etc.
A year later, on April 2003, the only person in the government whose opinion actually matters rendered a verdict: in April 2003, Isaias Afwerki told Radio France Internationale: they are not even journalists. You cannot say a spy is a journalist. This blanket condemnation is something you would expect from Mugabe about whites and not one of Africa's "new leaders" about his own citiznes; hardly surprising, then, that in many influential quarters, Isaias is seen the same way Mugabe is seen: once a man of promise; now a spent force.
Meanwhile, the Eritrean Governments state media (a branch of the government that arrested the journalists) interviewed a jailed reporter, Ezra Fessehaye, who worked for the government media. Ostensibly, this was to prove to the masses that contrary to the claims made by Weyane, hasusat, wekaria, nefahito, etc, his arrest (and by implication, that of the other journalists), has nothing to do with his reporting but is actually a result of crimes of forgery he committed which he is confessing to on the record.
This was reported breathlessly as breaking news by some who saw it as confirmation that the government must have good reasons for arresting the journalist (and by implication, all the other journalists) and that organizations like WiPC and CPJ should just back off. And what was the extent of this reporting that enabled them to reach such a conclusion? Did they interview some of the arrested journalists? Did they dig into the evidence against them? Heavens no. That would be actual reporting, which is not allowed in PFDJ land.
To begin with, neither CPJ nor RSF nor Amnesty International (nor, if you are curious, Awate.com) has ever listed Ezra Fessehaye in their campaigns to get justice for the journalists. WiPC International PEN did list his name in its semi-annual report http://www.pen-deutschland.de/deutsch/download/Caselist_december_2002.pdf but not as a main case (confirmed) but an investigation case. (suspected.) The report states: He [Ezra] was apparently arrested on the grounds that his company [Ezra owned a computer design company called Juventus] had been forging passes allowing Eritrean citizens to travel around the country
.However, it is believed that the forgery charges are being used as a pretext to detain Fessehaye. Given the governments contradictory and suspicious statements, given the government's record of arresting its own reporters, given the record of the government with respect to justice for all citizens, WiPC International PEN has nothing to apologize for. WiPC International PEN is the type of organization that would appeal and fight for the right of those now disparaging it if they were to find themselves imprisoned by any nation, whether it is Ireland, the United States or Eritrea.
Secondly, how do we know that Ezra Fessehaye is not being coerced to say what he is saying? Despotic governments are notorious for threatening and coercing cizens. Morevoer, should cases be tried in government-controlled media or in an open, transparent court of law? When the journalists staged a hunger strike in March 2002 and managed to leak out a document, they were not calling for forgiveness or amnesty: they demanded justice in a fair and independent court. The advocates of oppression consider this ("fair and independent court") their right and, no doubt, exercise it regularly in their host nations but, for reasons peculiar to them, they refuse to extend this minimum human right to their own countrymen. That is inhumane and says a lot about their character.
While they are in the process of breaking news, they can also do Eritreans (particularly the family members) a huge favor and provide us breaking news on the following missing journalists:
(1)Akhader AHMEDIN (Tsigenay); (2) AMANUEL (Mana); (3) Amanuel Asrat (Zemen) (4) Daniel HABTE (Eri-Tempo); (5) Dawit Habtemichael (Meqaleh); (6) Dawit Isaac (Setit); (7) Emanuel Asrat (Zemen); (8) Fessehaye Joshua Yohannes (Setit); (9) Fitzum (Zemen); (10) Ghebrehiwot KELETA (Tsigenay); (11) GHEBREMEDHIN (Millenium); (12) Hamed Mohammed SAID (Dimitsi Hafash, Arabic); (13) Mathewos Habteab (Meqaleh); (14) Medhanie Haile (Keste Debena); (15) Meles NIGUSSE (Tsigenay); (16) Muluberhan HABTEGEBRIEL (Setit); (17) Omer "ABU AKLA" (Tsigenay); (18) Said Abdulkader (Admas); (19) Saidia Ahmed (TV-Eri); (20) Saleh Aljezaeri (Dimtsi Hafash, Arabic); (21) Selayinghes Beyene (Meqaleh); (22) Semret Seyoum (Setit); (23) Seyoum Tsehaye (freelance photographer); (24) Temesghen Gebreyesus (Keste Debena); (25) Yebio GHEBREMEDHIN (Mekalih); (26) Yusuf Mohammed Ali (Tsigenai); (27) Zemenfes HAILE (Tsigenay.)
Some of these citizens have disappeared and been presumed arrested since 1999. That is four years. How long should they wait for their day in court? Until demarcation? What if Ethiopia, as seems to be the case now, prolongs that process for years? Should these citizens and others like them rot in jail indefinitely? No, you have broken no news but you are trying to break the spirit of those crying for justice. But their spirits, like your news, remains unbroken.
Defense By or From?
Look at the diplomatic record of any country you wantNazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Libya, pick your favorite horror-storyyou will find that everything they ever did was defensive. I am sure if we had records from Genghis Khan, we would find that what he was doing was defensive, too. -- Noam Chomsky
PFDJ scholars just love Chomsky so we will quote it back to them. The defenders and apologists for PFDJ like to delude and flatter themselves into thinking that all the transgressions of their government are defensive in nature and temporary in scope. They have given the government a permanent license to do whatever it wishes, for however long it wants to the citizens, because it is doing it in defense of the nation. It is in defense of the nation that journalists must be muted; elderly arrested; youth enslaved; dissidents disappeared; mothers distraught. It is in defense of the nation that businesses must be monopolized from 'predatory' business people and churches closed to spare the people 'new' and confusing religions. It is in defense of the nation that elections must be indefinitely postponed to spare the nation the unpredictability of democracy.
It is all done in defense of the nation. Sometimes, people get offended when we equate the PFDJ with the Mafia but all their actions indicate that of a mafia. Remember when they once floated the suggestion that the government arrested the G-15 to protect them from the angry hafash? That defensive measure had the added benefit of being a humanitarian one as well. Nice. That the arrest was for their own good? That they are closer to the G-15 than anyone else but they cant make exceptions? Hey, Tony, it breaks my heart that I have to wack you but if I dont, theyll think Ive gone soft
The fact is, all these draconian measures are defensivethey were taken to defend the government from collapse and accountability and loss of monopolistic power.
All the political victims have one thing in common: they witnessed evil, injustice, vice and an affront to their values and they had the character to oppose it. That they are few in comparison to the total population does NOT mean that they are wrong or reflected the views of a negligible minority. It is a fact that, historically, in any police stateand Eritrea is now a full-fledged police state, with 10,000 soldiers stationed in Asmara aloneonly a tiny minority rise up to confront the government. The overwhelming majority of the population in any police state are terrorized and dare not do anything to provoke a military government which employs thousands of spies until
. until they see a credible opposition which has the willingness and capacity to defeat the terror state. In the meanwhile, they survive and pray to their God to bring them relief from their oppression.
In 2003, Eritrea is a nation crying to be defended not by but from the PFDJ. PFDJ is synonymous with war, division, and political corruption and, after ten years, all it has brought Eritreans is war, division, suspicion, poverty and misery. It is a party living on borrowed time; a party with dwindling membership and coffers; a party with diminished reputation. The process of freeing a liberated people has begun in earnest. The process encompasses intellectual, moral, social, economic and political dimensions. The Eritrean people and the world know that the PFDJ is a party living on borrowed time; it is a party with aging membership and dwindling coffers; it is a party with diminished reputation. It is a party of the past and has no future in The Future. What is needed now is to harmonize the arguments. This requires organization, discipline, steadfastness, fearlessness and total focus. The PFDJ claims that only it has such skills; we believe that these traits are owned by the Eritrean people and not the PFDJ and, with time, they will make themselves manifest in a compelling way. The forces for justice and democracy must consolidate their energies and focus on the common enemy.
In the near future, justice will come and wash over Eritrea, cleansing the land from the guardians and the ghosts of the past. Till then, let's remain of unbroken spirit and fearless heart.
