The regime in Asmara is slowly but surely collapsing. It is experiencing a slow and painful death and the Eritrean people are secretly writing its obituary. Like all dying beasts, the regime is screaming over its lung by accusing almost all the nations and governments that had the misfortune of dealing with the regime. At its height of insanity, the regime had even the audacity to accuse the Clinton Administration and the CIA of trying to topple it from power. I'm sure the undisputed leader of the regime, who severely suffers from the illusion of grandeur, had a fleeting psychological thrill by venting out his deluded moral indignation. The man, perhaps, thought that he poked the eyes of a lion, while, in truth, it is the classic phenomena of the elephant not knowing that the ant was riding on its back.

The regime is spending $50,000.00 a month trying to buy access to the White House and Capital Hill. This is relatively a large sum of money that could have been used to hire at least 20 highly qualified professors to teach at Asmara University at $2500.00 a month. This is the price tag of face-lifting a rouge regime that is beyond repair. The $50,000.00 a month price is intended to promotes Isaias as a true ally of Uncle Sam. Sadly but truly, Uncle Sam is looking for leaders with one eye in a region full of blind leaders, and Isaias is not one of them.

Yesterday, on December 5th, President Bush welcomed the Kenyan President Daniel Arab Moi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi as "two strong friends of America... two leaders of countries which have joined us to fight the global war on terrorism". The two Horn of Africa leaders were in town for consultations on the subject of terrorism. The Isaias' regime has repeatedly tried to portray the countries of the region and particularly Ethiopia, Sudan and Yemen as terrorism sponsors. For Isaias, seeing Meles Zenawi on White House briefing reporters on terrorism must have tasted even worse than seeing the sun setting in Badme. The shrewd Meles, at least, has the sagacity to undermine the religious overtones of terrorism, while; Isaias is trying to be modern-day Prester John. This is how Meles characterized the fight against terrorism: "We believe that the war against terrorism is a war against people who have not caught up with the 21st century, who have values and ideals that are contrary to the values of the 21st century. And in that context, it's a fight not between the United States and some groups, it's a fight between those who want to catch up with the 21st century and those who want to remain where they are."

I'm surprised Isaias has not fired the law firm that is handling his lobbying campaign and his middleman, Girma Asmerom. The law firm has protected itself from the unreliability of dictators by insisting to get paid upfront, and one could only hope that the middleman is a good friend of Hagos Kisha, a Joseph without Josephite wisdom and vision.

Down with the dictator:

I was pleasantly surprised to read in the Maltese Times that an Eritrean Catholic priest, Fr. Teklemariam Haile denouncing the dictatorship in Eritrea. I'm hoping that this is the beginning of the Eritrean version of "liberation theology" that has been courageously practiced by Catholic priests in Latin America. The father accurately depicted the agonies our people are going through and recommended a solution that is true to Eritrea as it has been true to most countries that embraced it. "The dictators are the reason behind so much poverty and trouble in Africa. There can never be peace in the world for as long as there are dictators."

As Eritrea marches to replace tyranny with democracy, darkness with light, poverty with prosperity, the moral dimension of our struggle is of paramount importance. It rejoices my heart to see some of our religious leaders are beginning to fill this vacuum. Father Teklemariam deserves our admiration and respect and I hope others would follow his example.

Is Sawa a "rape camp"?

An Australian journalist told the world about the fate that awaits young Eritrean girls in Sawa. It is the untold story of many of our girls that are becoming sex-slaves and housemaids to the corrupted military leaders. Many people are fully aware of the crimes perpetrated in Sawa but few are daring to speak out. It is a story not many of us are comfortable to talk about. When I first heard of the rape crimes in Sawa, I dismissed them as a cheap propaganda fabricated by enemies of the regime. Then, I took it upon myself to talk to some ex-Sawa graduates that have fled Eritrea and sought asylum in America. I was saddened to learn that the likelihood of a girl being raped in Sawa is more than 50%. I'm now of the opinion that Sawa is a "rape camp".