For a week, shabait.com, the official website of the Eritrean regime’s Ministry of Information, told its readers that Isaias Afwerki would hold a comprehensive interview to shed light on the US-Eritrean relationship.  People expected that he would address the cause and the status of the deteriorating relationship; what his government is doing, if anything to address it.   Once again, Isaias Afwerki came entirely unprepared and hoped that by blustering his way through, he would re-define the agenda.  Sitting in an armchair and, as some have already observed, rocking on it like child, he gestured wildly, sweated profusely but failed to answer directly any of the questions posed.

There are two words to summarize all Isaias Afwerki interviews: Shift Happens.  Ask him about lack of democracy in Eritrea, he will tell you about the slums in South Africa. Shift.  Ask him about the lack of free press in Eritrea, he will tell you about the absence of free press in England. Shift.  Ask him about the absence of elections in Eritrea and he will tell you about the vote rigging in Ethiopia.  This time, poor India was dragged to his ranting: the world’s largest democracy has a large underclass of untouchables whose problems, according to Isaias Afwerki, “even Gandhi did not redress” and is a nation where, again according to Isaias Afwerki, “more than 77% of the people live below the poverty line.”  Shift again.

In past addresses, the Bush State Department’s alleged role in the alleged vote rigging in Ethiopia was the reason for one of Isaias Afwerki’s most vitriolic statements.  That, and the Clinton State Department’s role in taking sides with Ethiopia.  And, also, the CIA’s assassination attempt against him. And USAID’s attempts to destabilize him.  And…He had made so many accusations in the past would he like to clarify them or provide new information?  Would he like to address the UN claim that he is illegally transferring arms to Somalia?  Would he like to address the US threat to place Eritrea on the “State sponsor of terror” list? No, no time. No comment. We will pass over that.

So what exactly was the purpose of the interview?

Well, every listener had to take something from the two hour interview.  For us, the take away message was this:

ንሳቶም ዝፈጥርዎ ዘለዉ ምልክታት ፣ ንሳቶም ዝኹስኩስዎም ዘለዉን…

ውሑድ ቀጸላታት፣ ንሃብቲ ሃገር ገቢቱ፣ ህዝቡ ብእግሩ እንዳዳሃኸ ዝኸይድ ዘሎ መንግስትታት፣ ጽንጽያ ዓይንኻ ይንፈር'ውን ኣይተባህለን… ኣባና ክበጽሕ’ኰሎ… ስለምንታይ?”

“The dictatorships that they [the Americans] are creating - the governments that they are nurturing - a few lackeys [who] monopolize the wealth of a nation, the governments [that] are smashing the people with their feet… even the flies on their eyes are protected- when it comes to us [they object], why?”

To place his quote in the proper context, here’s a verbatim translation of a longer excerpt:  

 “There is nothing called tolerance [in America]… but this is a topic that requires a lot of time.

“[To say] no, [to say] this cannot be done, is also not acceptable. If you say so, you are gone- you have to be removed, [and] you have to disappear. Let’s see persons they eliminated from this world with conspiracies and different means.

"The dictatorships that they [the Americans] are creating- the governments that they are nurturing - a few lackeys [who] monopolize the wealth of a nation, the governments [that] are smashing the people with their feet… even the flies on their eyes are protected- when it comes to us [they object], why?

"As you said earlier, I am surprised! Because, they, it is their nature: Lies, defamation. You can say what you wish to those who agree with you… or the one who invites them and leads [them] to his house to rob… [he is given] unlimited cheering and drumbeating. But if you say, no, why do you enter my house, why, how do you take [my property]; how do you [want to] manage me in my [own] house; I am able to manage my own house; tomorrow morning I want to work and feed [myself]; I don’t want to monopolize [or] steal the people’s properties; I don’t want to sell the pride of the people, you are gone.

"Human rights, economic destruction… this or that... like t…. Now I… it shouldn’t surprise us too much.

"It was possible to do a long comment over long hours on that…. But I…. it shouldn’t surprise us.

"Eritrea like this [or that], human rights, it did this, it created that, national service so [and so]… maybe one of the worst [things] they do- I didn’t mention here… [is] the tactics- you have to be able to pollute the country…”

Isaias seems to be pleading, “I am the same person that you befriended in 1991.  I am the same person who was the leader of the frontline state against terror in 1994. I am the same person you once called an African renaissance leader.  Why won’t you let me in to the club of the favored dictators?”  He is genuinely surprised that after offering Eritrea as a US base, after being one of only two African countries to support US invasion of Iraq without UN consent; after being one of only a handful of African countries to sign up for the Coalition of the willing, he is being treated as a pariah.

Since he does not believe that this has anything to do with America’s commitment to democracy, rule of law, elections, religious freedom, he is genuinely surprised and puzzled.

So, in the end, the leader of a nation called a press conference, to tell his people that he is puzzled and confused.  See why he is such a great leader?  But not to worry: the Organization of Eritrean Americans (OEA) which, as its name indicates, speaks for all of us Eritrean Americans, is on the case to argue to the US: “he may be an SOB but he is your kind of SOB! Please reinstate his membership to the respectable dictator club. Bonus: he can teach you how to wage proper counter-insurgency.  And he is, you know, he is...Israel likes him, know what we mean?”

Organization of Eritrean Americans

Dear OEA, if you read Jendayi Frazer's briefing, one of the many causes for the deterioration of the US-Eritrea relationship is because the Eritrean regime is  ”kidnapping essentially and holding in detention the family members of those who refuse national service in Eritrea”. Appeals to Israel will not do because some of the family members who had been detained by the Eritrean regime have walked all the way to Israel and are testifying to Israeli officials about the sadist nature of the regime, as you can read for yourself in this Israeli newspaper.

You have tried putting lipstick on a pig for nearly a decade now.  Instead of appealing to America and trying to rehabilitate the image of the Isaias regime, why don't you do something more substantial?  The clue has already been given to you by the State Department in Ms. Frazer’s briefing:

“We are also, of course, quite concerned that the country has never had an election. It had its referendum and never went to election. It's basically a one-party authoritarian state. And we would hope that the Eritrean diaspora would be able to influence that government because it is the source of significant remittances.”

Dear OEA: in the same week that Jendayi Frazer was warning Isaias Afwerki for, among other things, kidnapping Eritrean families; in the same week that Isaias Afwerki was dismissing US allegations; in the same week that you, the OEA, were arguing for US support of Isaias because, among other things, he is a friend of Israel, human rights activists in the state of Israel were advocating for better treatment of Eritrean asylum seekers--including Eritreans who had had escaped from Isaias's "kidnap and detention" and walked all the way to Israel.  You could not get better moral clarity even if you asked for it.

For once, try serving the people and not the regime that enslaves them.

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