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Eritrea
– The Need for Reality Check
Abdullah
A. Ado – Email: abdullahadoa@gmail.com
Background:
There
are few highlanders versus lowlanders stories which, when put in contrast,
highlight why we need
our political reform reality check. In terms of instinctive feel for public opinion
on Eritrean peoples’ contemporary status, majority
are disappointed by what the see and hear. Indeed, Afewarki and Shaabia
followers are nothing but far too willing
prisoners of the false arguments they have intentionally been creating and
nurturing since their hay days in their hideout resorts as gorilla
fighters of the 1970s through to 1990. To this effect, I
made few basic contentions in my earlier articles where I portrayed the
true features of Issayas Afewarki, Shaabia and the contemporary
PFDJ-junta. Similarly I happen to come across Afewarki’s latest
interview at:
http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/talktojazeera/2010/02/201021921059338201.html;
where
Al Jazeera's Jane Dutton made an interview with Issayas Afewarki, by
confronting him with allegations about Eritrea's ties with Iran,
Hamas, Al-Shabab in Somalia and rebel groups in Darfur Sudan as well
as the Houthis in Yemen. In the same tone, she confronted him with
allegations on Eritrean exodus, food shortage and famine, lack of freedom
of expression and mass media control, Sawa draft, border tension with
Ethiopia, disappearance of the football team in Kenya and others in
Scotland. In reply Afewarki insults, tantrums and uses defensive
attitudes instead of responding with diplomacy, patience and calm
attitudes. To all genuine and justifiable allegations Afewarki blatantly
denies by calling them a pack of lies fabricated by the USA-government,
the CIA; and conspiracies cooked and dispatched by the Western media to
take Eritrea for a sell ride in collaboration with Aljazeera. Nevertheless, all these reality checks are brought to the attention of
the on looker to judge Eritrea’s present status and its future soon
after Wodi-Afom’s downfall.
To this effect, although those of us supporting RSADO
and its causes did send our subsequent articles to several Eritrean
websites only few half-heartedly indicated our articles’ publication
sources to interested readers; and thereby refused to directly publish on
their own websites; the reason being for fear of raising tensions
along the latent ethnic, religious, cultural, linguistic, and other
underlying attitude differences that have been there for several
decades. Whether we like it or not, the crystal clear fact we all know
well is that: Eritrea is a fragile territory with its unfinished business
of state formation. Economically, Eritrea is so ill-structured and weak;
leave alone to stand independently on its own and feed its population
satisfactorily. Socially, Eritrea is a giant prison where the Eritrean
silent and salient majority is prisoners of Wodi Afom and his Gestapo like
PFDJ-military junta.
Yet Wodi Afom, the well-known fighting phantom, still
holds his hegemonic aspirations alive far beyond his own ability to
manoeuvre circumstances falling within his ideological flip-flops.
Likewise most opposition websites owned by highland Eritrean groups in Diaspora
desperately continue to propagate and portray a pattern of face-lifting
reform alternatives as outlets to Afewarki’s ongoing tyrannical rule;
simply to maintain Eritrean highland Tigrinya supremacist hegemony by
enslaving and by proudly and jubilantly ruling the forgotten silent and
salient majority Eritrean pastoralists and peasants alike.
Eritrean highlanders versus lowlanders:
As Afewarki’s hegemony is becoming solidly vivid by
the day, we in RSADO are equally glad to have witnessed the following
three concrete predicaments among Eritrean highlander elites:
1)
The “Eritrean identity gridlock” that has been
wrapped-up by false aggrandizement tales of Eritrea being a more superior
territory than its neighboring nations; be it intelligence wise or from
socio-economic stand points; is becoming clearly false argument. On the
contrary, the more we open our naked eyes, check the Eritrean reality by
looking critically inwards at ourselves and question what makes who we
are, there always arise hot and hiked
debates in our respective highlanders
versus lowlanders political kitchens.
2)
Eritrean highland Tigrinya groups somehow believe that
they are far more superior (in
terms of cultural and political sophistication) to the other 8-ethnic
groups within Eritrea; and to the pastoral lowlanders in particular.
3)
By creating a
filter-system for Eritrean Highland Tigrinya Puritanism within themselves
highlanders classify those Tigrinya individuals born outside highland
Eritrea as what is pejoratively known as: AMICE / AMICHE - meaning
spare-parts exported from highland Eritrea and assembled inside Ethiopia.
As such, Amices are looked down upon as 2nd class people within Eritrean
highland Tigrinya groups; and are considered as untrustworthy; and
doubtfully watched for inclining in their thinking pattern to their
Ethiopian background and sympathy for reunion by mental make-up. Indeed
this is the sole reason why Afewarki strongly believes in continuing to
indoctrinate and brain-wash the youth group in Eritrea’s SAWA-military
garrisons to act and behave in a newly molded “Eritrean” behavioral
pattern; while at the same time preaching his disintegration Gospel to
other opposition groups coming from outside his jurisdiction. To this
effect, in order to disprove the doubts posed on them the Amices have
become diehard, ardent and new-born Eritrean in their attitude.
The need for reality check in Eritrea is a timely factor where the truth must be told once and for
all. After all, population wise, Eritrean Highland Tigrinya groups are
simply not more than 700,000 inside Eritrea. Affected by persisting
exodus, majority Eritrean Tigrinya groups permanently live in Diaspora
because they are caught-up in a ‘hate-love syndrome’ towards Wodi-Afom
and his PFDJ- military junta. And
yet, these highlander groups look upon their kin in Tigray,
Ethiopia, who are about 6 million, as Agamie or Agamido – a pejorative
term used to distinguish those Tigrinya from Tigray as servants.
Eritrean highlanders even dare to deny and hide the brunt of the priceless
help they acquired from TPLF-forceful-fighters who paid not only in limbs
and lives for liberating Eritrea, but also took the lead in bestowing
self-governance to Eritrea proper. As truth is such a painful issue
highland Eritrean Tigrinya people don't like to be reminded of this very
reality. Neither Issayas Afewarki, nor his henchmen
within Shaabia would like to mention the crucial support generously
obtained from the TPLF up until the euphoria of Eritrea’s de facto
independence 1993. Nor do they want to acknowledge the millions of pastoral and peasant
Eritrean fighters’ death. All they sing, dance and talk about is nothing
but their stereotyped highland Eritrean ghedli all the time and keep on
performing their circular dance just like an airport ‘luggage-claim-conveyor-belt’. Except for their songs and Marry-go-round-ghedli
dances admiring themselves, it is rarely highland Eritrean groups admit
that others are also part of the martyrdom bandwagon.
Overall, highland Eritrean people have such bleed dry
superiority complex to its maximum that Issayas Afewarki himself even
thinks Eritrea under his dictatorship is number one in the whole
of Africa. At least he showed some decency
for not comparing Eritrea with the whole wide world. Overall, Issayas
Afewarki is consumed by self-aggrandizement and infatuation in which he
plays the victim of Western Power and CIA-conspiracy. It seems to me he
will continue his finger pointing attitude on external bodies for all the
fallacies taking place within Eritrea by labeling them as pack of lies
and bunch of unfair bias against him and his PFDJ-ruling
junta. In his usual flat denial Afewarki responded to the disappearance of
Eritrean football players in Kenya as strange news.
Issayas Afewarki is now known by the entire world for
his hitherto committed fallacies; among others, for his: (a) absolute
defiance to opinions other than his; (b) cruelty for mercilessly killing
his own comrades in arms that have struggled for decades to see light in
Eritrea at the other end of the tunnel; (c) keeping distinguished
individuals for their struggle to languish in jail without any trial; (d)
illegally keeping prisoners of war subjected to hard labor in confinements
like Adiqualla; and in a condition that is totally inhuman; (e) clutching
incommunicado several journalists, religious leaders, human rights
activists and the Eritrean escapees accused of treason and other dizzy
charges. There is no freedom of the press, no election; not even a fake
one to name one as such. In fact the basic freedom to assemble,
to express one-self, to worship, and the like inside Eritrea proper are
all denied out right. Amidst all these intolerable criminal acts
Issayas Afewarki feels that the whole world is against him; and continues
to chastise the USA, CIA, the UN, the AU and key nations within
the Western world as likely scapegoats. But as far as Eritrean
pastoralists and peasants from Afar, Kunama, Saho, Bilen, Beja, and other
minorities are concerned Afewarki is nothing but the worst nightmare for
all of us to deal with; since we have already lost our sincere hope in the
future of Eritrea. Consequently, we continue to flee from Eritrea in all
possible directions and by all means in hundreds to which Afewarki
responded to Aljazeera’s recent interview as caring the least if such
exodus happens (See, http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/talktojazeera/2010/02/201021921059338201.html).
Back on 19 November 2008, a press release
was made by the Board of Eritreans for Human & Democratic Rights in UK
(EHDR-UK); basically a group made up of Eritrean Tigrinya highlanders;
condemning RSADO when our RSADO heroes hit the snake known as Shaabia on
its head in Afambo. As a result of such persisting attitudes we observe
among Eritrean Tigrinya highlanders we cannot easily and quickly merge and
identify with them before we realize as to who is truly a friend or an
enemy to RSAD and similar other movements run by pastoral and peasant
communities of Eritrea. If highland opposition groups actually want our
sympathy then they should make attitude shift from arrogance towards
respect, set and lead by visible examples and not throwing empty flowery
words. They should instantly advocate and speak on behalf of the Afar
Kunama, Saho, Bilen, Beja and other marginalized communities within
Eritrea; and not work against us; be it by the gun or by the pen. Time and
again, articles posted by highlanders propagate as if there are no
problems worth mentioning in terms of Eritrea Ethnic-based-federalism.
Intentionally they rarely or never mention Afar, Kunama, Saho, Bilen, Beja
or marginalized communities within Eritrea; simply not to recognize
Dankaliya of its Afar owners or that of the Kunama and others. If they do
touch upon these societies then they feel as playing with fire by pushing
the panic button to its heights and blow Eritrean highland Tigrinya
supremacy; and put them altogether in a challenging position. So all they
want is the easy way out to simply maintain the status quo as it is; and
only make face lifting reforms once Wodi Afom is deposed from his throne.
Gone are the hay days of the 1990s when
Issayas and his cronies had direct access to and control over valuable
Ethiopian resources; when they enthusiastically jumped and started sucking
all Ethiopian resources with full speed until May 1998 as if there is no
more tomorrow. At that time, only when Issayas Afewarki, in person, picked
his usual fighting-spirit against the EPRDF-regime inside Ethiopia, for
failing to maneuver the regional politics in his likings, the border
skirmishes occurred to remain unresolved to this very day. So those
Eritrean highland opposition in Diaspora who think they can still
partially trust Issayas Afewarki as their sole savior are simply
committing a strategic mistake and a political suicide by allying
themselves with this sworn enemy of the Eritrean silent and salient
majority. For as long as the pastoral and peasant Eritrean population are
concerned, despite our enormous struggle and sacrifice, we didn’t get a
chance to either elect our own local leadership; or given the opportunity
to hold a democratic referendum. To our dismay, the whole Eritrean
formation thus far has become a fiasco; hijacked by Issayas Afewarki and
his PFDJ-junta that force our people not only to lead a miserable life but
also consider Eritrea as their sole “Real Estate - not for sell”.
Conclusive
Remarks:
For those of us who belong to lowland Eritrea, it is
only Allah who is the almighty and superior; in turn, we are our own
masters. We don't need what belongs to others in highland Eritrea; nor do
we like others to come down to lowland Eritrea to intervene in our lives;
and tell us what to do, how to behave, and how to lead our daily
livelihoods. As
far as RSADO is concerned: (1) Eritrea as a territory and the silent and
salient majority of Eritrean societies are vulnerable at this time because
of Afewarki and his PFDJ-junta inflicted oppressions, enslavement and
unbearable militaristic living conditions. (2) Issayas Afewarki and his
PFDJ-junta must therefore be charged by the International Court of Justice
in Hague for: (a) crimes committed against humanity, (b) war crimes
committed in the last four decades up to 1993, (c) crimes committed since
1993 while ruling Eritrea with fear, terror and deaths by using the “Red
Flower” (KEYEH EMBABA) thugs as their culprits who spill the bloods,
sweats and tears of the silent majority in vain; and (d) for destabilizing
the regional peace and stability by supporting international terrorism.
Even Eritrean highland oldies like Bereket Habteselassie, Kibrom Dafla,
Gaim Kibreab, Asmerom Legesse to name few, who once worshiped Afewarki as
their idol by wagging their tails for his servitude, were thrown out after
the “independence” euphoria by Wodi Afom as mushy washy paper tigers
lacking vitality. Consequently they have turned their back on Shaabia and
the PFDJ-junta. So we can no longer join the ghedli bandwagon purely
conceived of Eritrean highlanders; nor can we continue clapping our hands
in approval of Afewarki’s tyranny. For us Wodi Afom’s autocracy is
immersed in innocent peoples’ streams of blood all over Eritrea. So in
order to obtain an accurate Eritrean picture, it is
high time to re-examine the past and present realities on the ground and
come up with fair reality checks for devising our road maps for future
consideration.
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