On Oct. 31st, the PFDJ regime’s mouthpiece, shabait.com has this of its editorial, “despite intense efforts, this year's harvest would not have been this plentiful had nature not cooperated”. Mind you, the last rains in Eritrea were not a blessing from God but somehow the work of nature. The Godless regime would never admit its atheist nature, it will just hint at it. Life in the closet must be heart wrenching. Trying to eradicate religiousness and promote atheism while at the same time trying to promote the regime to the status of god is not an easy task. I will return to the Godless later. But for now let me tell you the story of… Shifta Gebre A group of cattle hustlers under the leadership of a certain Gebre attacked a watering place and started to drive the herd. Before leaving, the crude bandits crawled under and sucked the milk dry right from the goats’ nipples. A bewildered Beni Amer herdsman instantly composed a melancholic song in disgust:
Shifta Gebre, Wo Shifta Gebre
Shifta qiyyr R’ena Atal Tebbe E’tddenek Mdr Mesa Diba… If Rome can have Romulus and Remus, so can Eritrea. I have a strong suspicion: could that general Wechu idiot be one of the hustlers, the bandit known as ‘Wedi Hadera’? Could he be the ignorant rascal, the brutal, murderous thief and the bigot? I can’t help imagining Wuchu the bandit kneeling and sucking the goats’ nipples while his old gun dangled from his shoulder- I think he still does that. The bandit used to rob watches on the highways; and because he didn’t have much use for watches, or didn’t know what they were, he used them for target practice. Though it is not mentioned in the booklet that chronicles his escapades, I am almost sure that he has killed many innocent travelers after robbing their jewelries and wallets. In mid sixties, the bandit roamed the Eritrean highways and killed travelers on the Keren-Asmara-Gindae road. I vividly remember a certain Police Abbay officer, Telente Mokenen, who was killed on that road. If Wedi Hadera is not Wuchu, he cannot be too far from his shadows. What happened a few weeks ago when the generals started to use their guns on each other is a manifestation of the risk that Eritrea is facing. But next time, the bang-bang will be too loud to hide. Terrorists? I can’t even call them that. The term is so much abused that it is losing its currency. The Terrorist List? The issue of including Eritrea in the USA State Sponsor of Terrorism List is not hot anymore. Soon the recent drama of killings among the Bandits in Asmara will also be boring. It will be forgotten just like a child, who, bored of his toys throws them away. But until then, we have established beyond doubt that the PFDJ is not only corrupt, but it is the embodiment of the word Corruption itself. And among those with several crown corks, balliqa, on their shoulders, the ones with more Balliqas are the most corrupt. The rest are just watching the drama unfold like retards mistaking the tragedy for an entertaining show. But the flames are too far reaching and would engulf places some think it won’t reach. Is it about money? I don’t think so. There is enough booty to go around for all the bandit generals to feel like Ali Baba. The rivalry is about power. It is about who would have the most protection. It is about who would recruit the largest militia once the regime disintegrates: the PFDJ warlords are vying for military supremacy. Every general wants to stand a muscle or two above the other generals and end the rivalry to his favor. In this scheme, the ‘menateq’ card which was cleverly recreated by Isaias is proving to be handy. He has effectively formed five regions by duplicating what he supposedly abhorred during his days with the ELF: five regions with five lieutenants lording over them. It took Eritreans decades to arrive at the same point in the circle that Isaias cunningly drew forty years ago. The era of warlords is here. This is being advanced by the satellites of… Kermo Tja The Amharic saying probably is the best explanation for a special opposition phenomenon: a calf that refuses to become a cow over the seasons. The Kermo Tjas cleverly use the religion card to agitate their chauvinistic clique and to attack those they perceive as the “Others”. They cry of “Jihad” to mobilize a bunch of chauvinists and at the same time to attack Muslims- mind you, any Muslim.
When I was young, I had a friend who I only knew to be a Kenisha. One day, surprisingly I found out that my religious friend was not fond of Adey Mariam. He started to curse Mariam and I asked him to stop less the other kids overhear us and we get a beating. He obliged with a disgusted nod. I am not sure what my friend’s views would have been on what is going on today. Daniel Tsegay paid his life for Eritrea in the seventies. Recently, an evangelist website declared, “in Eritrea, the Muslim government is oppressing Christians”. I only saw one public rebuttal to that statement. The others, whose heart is seemingly bleeding for the unity of Eritrea, and who have something to say on everything under the Eritrean sun, had nothing to say on that case. Hypocrites would be a big word, wouldn’t it? But my favorite was another evangelist website that run a poll: What should Christians do when governments persecute the Church? 1) Campaign against it; if necessary use violence to resist it. 2) Campaign against it, but avoid any form of violence. 3) Pray about it and take any action based on God's leading. 4) Pray about it and bless the government irrespective of its actions. 5) Do nothing, it is God's will that Christians should be persecuted. I am worried some might be praying for the government. But when I saw that some has voted to use violence to resist, I felt like crying: JIHAD! At about the same time, our ex-opposition “Kermo Tja” Website stated in bold multi-colored text: “The first ever: A nation whose president is a Christian, a nation that is equally divided into peacefully existing Christian and Moslem communities, and itself a victim of jihadist terrorist attacks is about to be listed as a nation backing terrorists. Protect Ethiopia's interest at any cost using any pretext.”
The message was mainly intended for the consumption and agitation of the populist and chauvinistic screamers; but it was also a pitiful message for the American policy makers: Eritrea is more Christian than Ethiopia and should be preferred to it. A few knowledgeable people know what such kind of campaigning did to Eritrea during the struggle era. Kermo Tja is encouraging its repetition. Modern conventional wisdom, as promoted by Kermo Tja, considers Muslims inherently violent; no need for a poll here to determine a supposedly evident fact. According to the satellites of kermo Tja, if your name sounds Muslim, you must be a Jihadi (in the violent criminal sense); in their context, it is meant to encompass any Muslim opposition; the loud and aggressive campaign is meant to convince everyone that Eritrea is awash with blood caused by violent Eritrean Muslims. It is also an attempt to bail out the PFDJ which according to them, has a Christian president. There. Kermo Tja is absolved of its extremism because it cries Jihad. (Disclaimer: all readers are kindly asked to please put a question mark after each sentence.) Eritreans have been suffering from successive regimes that terrorized them for decades- the PFDJ is becoming worse. Yet, Kermo Tja prefers to insinuate that Eritrea is suffering from a religious strife caused by Muslims. The rascals have been campaigning to hammer the perception that Eritrean Muslims are all “violent Jihadists” for quite sometime now. They have towed the line from where it was left by the PFDJ bigots. That irresponsible provocation was unfortunately not challenged by those who cry foul at any minor incident even if it was clearly not intended to provoke. When half the Eritrean people are being insulted and incriminated by the riffraff puppies, the products of Haile Sellasse, many pseudo patriots preferred to remain silent. At the same time, other sane and honest Eritreans remained silent driven by a sense of responsibility and because such issues cannot be handled casually- they are not meant to be discussed with the helplessly ignorant. Of course, the crwod of bigots is ready to twist and spoil and hinder any constructive discussion. They just cannot handle intellectual debate without using their bigoted arsenal. No wonder Haile Derou is said to have stated, ‘chauvinists are Eritrea’s main problem’. A few months ago a dear friend told me of a “talk among some Eritreans: since Isaias is now supporting The Islamists of Somalia, Eritrean Muslims might support Isaias”. I laughed in sadness because that shows how some Eritreans hold their Muslims compatriots: in low esteem. But they should know better: Eritrean Muslims want nothing but a fair, just, democratic and peaceful Eritrea. They are fed up with regimes that treat them as second class citizens. They are fed up with the lack of understanding of their issues. They are fed up from sufferings and aggression by successive regimes on their faith, social and economic values and citizenship rights. Muslims, like most of their Christian brethren just want to assert their right to equal citizenship under a peaceful, democratic and constitutional Eritrea that respects the rights of its citizens. Nothing more nothing less; and anyone who rejects the idea of equality among citizens, rule of law and respect of human rights, please show your hands. And I have to resume what I started about the Godless regime. The Godless Rulers Last September, the “secular” PFDJ regime organized the Qdus Yohannes celebration in Guluj. A few weeks later it organized Eid AlFitr celebration in Hagaz. A news item on Shabait.com read: “on the occasion, Mr. Gebrehannes Woldegergish, chairman of the holidays coordinating committee of the Anseba region, said that religious holidays in Eritrea not only symbolize national unity but also play a major role in strengthening and conserving values and diversity.” Such nonsense have been going on for far too long. Unfortunately, some naïve hearts have been consuming the Halewlew with delight. There is nothing diverse in a religious Holiday. How can a religious holiday of a particular faith be diverse? To make a religious holiday diverse, one needs to stripe it of its religious content and identity. A Muslim or a Christian holiday cannot be a diverse holiday unless one ceases to call it a Muslim or a Christian holiday. And a government that claims to be secular should not be organizing religious holidays. But one wonders: are the religious institutions not able to organize their own festivities anymore, as they have done for a millennia? Do they need the regime to help them figure out how to celebrate? Diversity or no diversity, Gebrehannes has nothing to do with a Muslim holiday, just like Mohammed has nothing to do with a Christian holiday. Political correctness aside, a Christian cannot organize a Muslim holiday just like a Muslim cannot organize a Christian holiday. If this trend continues, with the pretext of diversity, the regime will create a salad bowl of a religion: made by the PFDJ. Then, when asked about their faith, Eritreans would respond, PFDJ (not forgetting some are already saying that). Finally, on holidays, people will flock to Meda Bahti Meskerem and hold Chinese choreographed shows and dance the day away- no more boring prayers. That is what the benevolent regime wants from the faithful of Eritrea. Any sane person would agree; that kind of transgression is enough reason for people to be provoked to react angrily. Any religious person would certainly take this to heart because it is an outright provocation. The PFDJ should know that religious institutions are not a sort of Hzbawi Mahberat like their dull NUYES, or YPFDJs. They are not political and propaganda entities affiliated to its oppressive party. Religious holidays are spiritual in nature and if there is popular celebration, it is impulsive and should be done without government interferences. Yes, Eritreans joined each other’s religious festivities on their own for centuries; the holidays never lost their religious nature; and there was no PFDJ to interfere in it. The societies did it on their own, their own way. By stripping religions of their colorful attributes and making them a sort of a boy scout jamboree, the PFDJ believes it is weakening the resolve of the faithful. Just like its other projects, it is engaged on a reconstruction of Eritrean religions. Strangely enough, it claims its is promoting religious tolerance. But the PFDJ’s promotion of religious tolerance is there in the open for everyone to see: check the statement that was read by the stooges of the PFDJ regime in Atlanta; it was in the style of “Ye Fiyel Wetete” out of the Derg era. The statement instigated violence against those who opposed the PFDJ’s involvement in the Orthodox church affairs. And with that kind of statement, the PFDJ tries to convince Eritreans that it promotes religious tolerance! Recreating the Ethiopian Zemene Mesafint era of the middle ages, the PFDJ has become more savage, intolerant, corrupt, aggressive and brutal. There is only one way to face such aggression in a speedy and less costly manner; but that is if only those who carry shiny Balliqqas on their shoulders would know.
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