Habtezion

We are in 2004. One hundred fifteen years have passed since 1889 and forty three years since 1961. No breakthrough for Eritrea's trouble yet. Every time it nears for one, it runs out of gas. In deflecting responsibility, it has become Yared's lyrics for Eritreans to blame outsiders while the truth has always been the most by them. They mess up too much. In part of the country's history, there were popular figures that had thought collaboration with the enemies of the country such as with Wube, Alula, Yohannes, Haileselase, Menghistu and Meles. The regime in power is suspected making dubious secret deal with the Weyane leaders perhaps for a systematic union of Eritrea with Ethiopia but it blew apart premature. For such mess up or else, the country has to scarify more of its children in the renewed destructive war of 1998. It was a total mess.

In what it looks a certain freedom miscarriage; the agony of oppression by the unyielding government form continues demoralizing every opportunity that was intentioned and desired for in Eritrea. The people, since the inception of the country, have made a dignified valor struggle to seize freedom over everything. Evidently, the new era that came along in 1991 marked the end of the life-long foreign colonization and brought an imagined internal tyranny on the surface. Since then, the conditions in Eritrea have deteriorated to an intolerable level in all public domain.

Leaders who were brought up in the liberation struggle place themselves above all forms of discipline and begun frustrating the people. Their latest uniform identifies them as Higdif . In the same way, a military junta to Ethiopia in the seventies and eighties was known the Dergue , so is the Higdif in Eritrea at present. The similarities may show variances in the magnitude of the alleged crime carried out against the people and that a “Red Terror” book is not available for the Higdif but fundamentally they share same principles of oppression . Higdif continues to rule with an absolute power and self-declared omnipotence of yke'alo syndrome. Yke'alo is a title chosen to symbol possession of boundless power parallel to that of the creator of the universe. They reduced the people to only obey kneeling orders. Along with that, every divine rights of importance are being denied such as freedom of expression, freedom to assemble, freedom of press, freedom to worship, freedom of privacy and freedom to prosperity.

And yet, some ungainly portion of the people beat drums not only in support for these leaders but technically working against their own interests obscuring the good culture of the country that held it intact since the beginning of time. This has already created a situation where the goon dances in the middle of the people-fight-people drama. An unknown demise of such devastating upheaval is something to be alarmed from in which the ultimate responsibility, to the country dismay, could be attributed to the contentious people as a whole not the leaders. The pro government, while acknowledging serious troubles in the country as a result of misgovern, depart afar to come to terms with the opposition and its supporters. Speaking of the opposition, my comment finds proper paragraph - next.

The opposition is composed of many incoherent entities, which spin loose on their own sphere. The oldest publicly known is the latest one from the line of the ELF family tree now collectively known as the ENA with 13 packs. In the second half of the nineties, new entrants to the market included Civil Societies and the late members of the Higdif now known as EPLF-DP. In their own tunes, these opposition gangs have used every language that man can master to change the Higdif but to no avail. Funny, but politically disastrous, they are at each other's throats as if they are campaigning to win for an election caucus.

The EPLF-DP for instance, in their early start, has communicated in open public meetings, their rejection for the opposition who maintain relationship with Ethiopia. They even accused them for leading the invading army of Ethiopia during the border war of 1998 – 2000 the gateways to Eritrea. This went hand in hand with the broadly gossiped allegation leveled against the ENA implicating them with the barbaric act of the Weyane in the town of Tokombia, Gash Lailai when they excavated the tombs of Eritrean martyrs during the invasion. Now, after so much of wasting time and lost opportunity, they evolved for progress offering round table discussions with the status quo to sell the so-called constitution of Eritrea of their making. But by and large this is too late and too little to remove deadlocks from the pipeline in an attempt to build a solid unified opposition force to topple Higdifisim . It lacks congruency.

In addition, an insult to the heroic sacrifices paid for 21 years by the Eritrean Liberation Army of the ELF, the DP high noses hold their foot nailed down firmly to the belief that ELF's struggle for liberation was nothing but a gathering of awkwardly oriented group. This kindling has been in the works as prelude to justify the walk out of the Isayasians to form an army of their command. Regardless what has been said and continue to be sung by such self-serving egocentric mentality, faulting to honor the sanctity bravery of the ELF, its ELA and the masses it has led for victorious liberation of over 75% of Eritrea territories, at certain time or another, warrantee one thing. And that is, Eritrea without a high moral ground will suffer the consequences of its lost history. It may become a bitter.

Another comical episode was the saga of infatuation engaged by the ELF-RC for power. By a glitch of an injudicious verdict, some power hungry representatives of the RC strode away from the 5 th ENA meeting when they felt a danger came that their former boss ranked to the top. With them, they took the organization up hill of reoccurring split perils. Immediately, we have seen cyber wars flared and fought viciously to the extent excavating the ground of societal weaknesses. Even, Woldeab Weldemariam, the late hero and the founding father of the revolutionary path now rest in peace, was not spared for lay blame on his alleged pious remarks. The two splinters left no stone-unturned ridiculing of each other until their drool dried up. The effect of such savagery act may eventually fade away but it has already created a psychological rage to the passions of Eritreans across the board.

On top of this, whereas plenty of paper tigers known “ Eritreawyan muhurat ” enjoy presenting endless arguments stiffening disagreement, others stood careless. Criticism is one but condemning is another. Enlightening is one but demonizing is another. A number of those who foster mockery of all sorts by exploiting the rough edges of our society are certainly the tumors in the hearts and lungs of congruency.

Other dilemmas in the minds of considerable number, are the logic surrounding:

The opposition doesn't qualify for an alternative of the government; so let Higdifism rule till its day is up.
The border has to be demarked before they can turn their focus on Higdif's autocracy .
In Eritrea, the government is categorically a dictator. No escape! The insanity of these angel citizens who put feather on the dictator's hat for the mentioned self-serving prophecies are as pathetic as they could be to the suffering of the people. A) The opposition could be an alternative till it tested unfit to lead the country by a constitutional law. A nation functions by a constitution not by decrees of homophobias. In the presence of a functional constitution, any monkey could lead the nation. In that note, Higdifism is a proven outlaw. No rational argument can come close to its help but to remove it and let people's constitution rule all over the land. B) A nation's business is broad and endless which encompasses complicated arrays of domestic and foreign affairs. Despite the complexity, it should be able to function without the need of jeopardizing elements vital to its survival such as the formation of a government of the people, by the people for the people. The boarder issue is a fraction among many other agendas that should not put restraint at all for a nation to go forward to form a government of all. The sad story is that the border issue has become an excuse for the Higdif to hide under the skirt. Its failure is immeasurable. There can be no trust left for it to continue. It must yield a road. How?

We are all duty bound to what “right” is all about. The thing , that one would want to be threaded, is what's “right.” After all, Eritreans cannot be other than what they are. Sure, they are one people but with many hearts unlike Higdifism wanted us to believe . Some are good some are not. There is a gap. A gap between doing right and doing wrong! Can these be compromised? Depends on the requisites of a reference. I am talking in regard to collective Eritrea. As the thing “right” may believe, there is only one Eritrea equal for all. Unfortunately, Eritrea has become a private property for some Eritreans. An Eritrea of Higdifits , different from what it was. Heading wrong direction perhaps to insolence. We are now divided more. Yes, severely divided.

These divisions are not inherent. They can be overcome but Eritrea's experience is the otherwise. In the second half of the sixties when we were small and isolated, the buzz was unity of all forces. No success. Instead, more divisions followed. The Sabes, the Isayases and the Obeles forked. In the seventies, more effort put forth for unity but wasted for nothing. In the eighties, the imbalance favored EPLF. The more the EPLF grew in strength, the more divisions enhanced. EPLF defined unity based on the composition of its fighter's ethnic diversity. Hence, it closed all windows of opportunity for a comprehensive unity. But its strength continued to lack greatness. Meaning, it was growing to indigenous bad. And sure, it hunted ELF out.

In the nineties, it took monopoly of the country and transformed itself to what is known as the Higdif . Every aspect, of the people's tangible and intangible resources, was made under its control. Eventually, the new millennium started with more divisions. High-ranking officials within the Higdif web grew dissatisfaction with it and tried to challenge their man to take the feather off his hat. They ended up squashed under his sole.

But few, who were out of his reach, escaped the ordeal and later formed a party. Welcome to the club – EPLF-DP. Weren't you been told so? But you refused to hear the ringing bells of the oppressed till the lion came after the throat. In the making of this unfortunate episode, the country is now experiencing unprecedented divisions weeping for unconditional unity. Higdif remained obsessing the country.

I must go back to my earlier question on how do we clean up the mess? Again two disagreeing phenomenon: with force or without force became the latest contention of debate. Some called it with violence or without violence. Let me try a shot.

While it is my strong conviction to oppose the need to shed a drip of a blood to correct our problems, I believe that the Higdif is not done yet for more. Its refusal to let it go the mechanism of reconciliation to work is a prescription for anything bad to happen. The chances that the feared civil war would come are more prevailing to Higdif than any others. The concern that the ENA would carry out for a fully blown civil war violence is very minimal. Sources indicate that it does not even have the capacity to do that. But it does not mean that it cannot pause a threat to the stability of the Higdif government. After all, history tells us that the highest stage to resolve political stalemate is by way of violence. We could wish optimism all night long, but how could we avoid violence if a segment of the national army would revolt eventually and encounter by other diehard loyalists?

We must not fool ourselves to believing that we are different good from the rest of human beings. It got to be false. Look around our neighbors: Ethiopia and Sudan without going a mile further. Wasn't that the regimes of the Emperors and the Dergue in Ethiopia that brought a devastating civil war through which the opposition came to power? Isn't that the ongoing civil war in the Sudan as a result of similar injustice? Who is to blame, the opposition? It got to be false. What different could then the Eritrean opposition does?

In exhaustion of one more scenario, how about the bloodless opportunity that the Dergue had over the overthrow process of the Emperor of Ethiopia? Again, how likely would the Wuchu or the alike stand risen and say “ Eritrea tikdem bzey ghele dem? ” Most unlikely! Hence, every indication suggests that the ball for a peaceful transition or for a violent transition is in the court of the Higdif . It is a mess that requires an effective sweeper.

To conclude, the opposition unity is the only probable alternative that could cause the end of Higdif without violence. All squabbles must stop.

By Gereslase Welenkiel
( January 22, 2004 )