In his recent articles on various topics, among which the one titled "Shabia
Shabia Kishamokoabbu Koiana Kogoshake" (the Shabia needs to be defeated as
Shabia), Mr. Kornelios Adolay Osman analyses the history of the Eritrean People's
Liberation Front (EPLF). He states that, after it had split and distanced itself
from the ELF ( the Eritrean Liberation Front/Jebha-Al-Tahrir), the EPLF, brandishing
its slogan, "we and our aims, started by shedding people's blood.
It
killed the freedom fighters like Abraham Tewelde who had objected to that evil
system.
It raised unfounded accusations against and killed democratically-minded
people like Yohannis Sebhatu and Musie Tekle.
Isayas Afwerki killed his long-time
comrade Ibrahim Afa.
The claim of the thirty-year struggle was not of liberation
but of elimination of people."
The good man goes on to add that, "in
its thirty-year-struggle history, it (the EPLF) secretly killed not less than
thirty-thousand Eritreans and, had it been only for the liberation, it would not
have taken such a long time."
Though not specifically named, Mr. Isayas
Afwerki, as the founder and leader of the then EPLF and of the present PFDJ, was
the man who had an absolute authority over that organisation and therefore all
the killings had been carried under his direct orders. Being an absolute dictator,
Mr. Isayas Afwerki could neither tolerate differences of opinions nor people confronting
him and his dictatorial system. When it came to the threatening of his leadership
post, he could not spare even the life of his own "long-time friend and comrade,
Mr. Ibrahim Afa:"
Three factors have always characterised therefore
the person and the leadership style of Mr. Isayas Afwerki:
1. - his absolutely
dictatorial character;
2. - the intolerance and the uncompromising elimination
of whomever confronted, challenged and threatened him and his leadership and
3. - the identification of his own self with the EPLF then and with the PFDJ regime
today.
During all those thirty-or-so-struggle years, Mr. Isayas Afwerki was
the undisputed, unchallenged and an absolute "factotum" and commander,
within and outside of the EPLF's military, political, social and economic fields.
No one was and could therefore criticise and, least of all, accuse him, even of
the biggest crimes of eliminating anyone facing him.
The EPLF as a military
and political might as well as even the absolute owner of the economic powers,
was not only indisputably accepted, but also feared and revered. The organisation
was above everything and everybody, except its top leader, Mr. Isayas Afwerki.
That configuration is very visible, also today, within the whole structure of
the present PFDJ regime. Mr. Isayas Afwerki, as before and always, is still the
undisputed and unchallenged dictator, either jailing his opponents at will or
even eliminating them, with no one openly accusing and condemning him.
The
Eritrean opposition forces too, today seem to be frightened by that ominous person
and by his military, political and economic powers.
Not being able therefore
to challenge that colossal force, the leaders of the various Eritrean opposition
organisations too, are today somehow imitating the same Mr. Isayas Afwerki and
his leadership style.
The VKP's team has been recently, openly and vehemently
confronting, accusing and condemning the leader and the leadership of the DMLEK,
(the Democratic Movement for the Liberation of the Eritrean Kunama), for turning
into a Shabia-like organisation, with its leader killing and strictly controlling
the military, the political, the financial and the administrative sectors of the
entire organisation. As recently as four years ago, the DMKLEK's leadership started
even to use violent means to detain, jail, torture, and, as recently as the last
two years, it started to eliminate and hang those fellow-Kunama, it felt were
threatening its leadership post. Previously it had expelled also those daring
to confront and condemn its dictatorial system, challenging and questioning its
free and distorted handling of the common property (finance).
Very like the
then EPLF's and today's PFDJ regime's leader, Mr. Isayas Afwerki, the DMLEK's
top-leader, Mr. Kornelios Adolay Osman too, has today become the absolute, and
undisputed and unchallenged leader of that organisation, turning that Kunama movement
into his own property, defending his own person and personal interests. The good
man, has elevated the organisation above every Kunama, except his own self and
identified his own self with the organisation to the point of giving it, not only
his own dictatorial character, but even the language and the style of propagating
his own personal political and socio-economic principles. The DMLEK today is being
reduced to a slave-like status by its top leader and leadership. It would suffice
only to read and consult the articles, Mr. Kornelios Adolay Osman has been and
is writing, even under different pen-names and only in Kunama language and posting
them, in the Alliance`s web-site, to remain astounded by their contents and therefore
conclude that, this man is no second to Mr. Isayas Afwerki. For DMLEK's sake (for
his own sake), Mr. Kornelios Adolay Osman did confirm to have eliminated:
1. - the late Mr. Yakob Ashora;
2. - the late Mr. Adago Auka,
3. - the
late Mr. Adum Osman and
4. .- hanged, accusing him of being the "ring-leader,"
the late Mr. Hussen Yusuf.
Allegedly these killed Kunama individuals had
tried to eliminate the DMLEK's leadership, though, up to now, there are no independent
forces confirming such accusations. Those individuals, nevertheless, had been
already detained, speedily prosecuted and jailed for almost four years, but the
DMLEK's leader was not satisfied with the mere imprisonment and therefore he ordered
to be eliminated, still fearing them. The present DMLEK's leader is even threatening
to eliminate anybody, (including the VKP's web-master and the co-writer), not
accepting and not abiding by the principles of the DMLKE (translate it, by the
principles of Mr. Kornelios Adolay Osman's himself).
As already mentioned,
the present DMLEK's leader has identified himself with the organisation and the
organisation with his own self to the point that, there is no article of his,
non containing the Kunama word "kittita" (organisation in English and
"uddb," in the Tigrigna language).
Let alone in the previous ones,
only in the latest article, titled "Dimokrasia Elate Kotiribasi Gonidina
Kalma Kosimme" (there is no force to spare in order to defend the democratic
forces), the VKP's team has managed to count, the term "kittita," more
than thirty times, being mentioned and used. This clearly shows the obsession,
Mr. Kornelios Adolay Osman is suffering from the dependency of that organisation.
The latest studies have revealed that, for this gentleman, the DMLEK has become
his employer and bred-winner and therefore "there are no forces to spare
in order to defend it". Mr. Kornelios Adolay Osman himself, in his above
cited article, "Shabia Shabia Kishamokoabbu Koiana Kogoshake," (Shabia
needs to be defeated as Shabia), reports that, Mr. Isayas Afwerki had "silenced
the freedom-fighters like Abraham Tewelde who had objected to his evil system.
He smear-campaigned and killed democratically-minded people like Yohannis
Sebhatu and Musie Yohannis.
He eliminated even his own long-time freedom-fighting
comrade, Ibrahim Afa and had also eliminated numberless other heroes who had to
perish due to such system and prolonged the liberation movement more than necessary."
What had led Mr. Kornelios Adolay Osman then to eliminate the Kunama heroes like,
Yakob Ashora, Adago Auka, Adum Osman and cruelly hanged Hussen Yusuf? Was it not
to safe and safeguard his leadership post at the DMLEK and thus ensure the flow
of money into his own bank account? Unlike Mr. Kornelios Adolay Osman, Mr. Isayas
Afwerki himself is yet to be proven and accused of financial corruption. In this
sense, the DMLEK's leader exceeds the PFDJ regime's Chairman, in scandalous activities.
As the former leader of the EPLF grew up and had formed himself into one
of the most cruel African dictators of our times, in the Eritrean battle-fields
and is still practising and ruling in that same manner even today, in the independent
Eritrea, similarly, the people like Mr. Kornelios Adolay Osman too and others,
are using their organisations and their movements as their "spring-board"
of maturity in dictatorship and accumulation of wealth, as well as to becoming
the future Isayas Afwerkis of future Eritrea. The VKP's team therefore does believe
that, neither the present DMLEK's leader, Mr. Kornelios Adolay Osman to be the
liberator of the Kunama people nor all those other organisations' leaders to bring
true democracy in Eritrea. This VKP's comparative study shows that, there are
very close constant lines of behavioural characteristics, as most of the past
and present Eritrean leaders, have been demonstrating to possess identical political,
military and leadership styles, to those of the then EPLF's "Secretary General"
and today's PFDJ regime's "Chairman," Mr. Isayas Afwerki. There is a
clear proof and great danger that, one dictator and dictatorship gone, there will
follow other ones in Eritrea, if we do not vehemently combat, defeat and prevent
them. Let us therefore begin within our own circles first.
The
VKP ( February 4, 2003 ).
The VKP contributed
and has sole responsibility for the content on this page. Comments about this
article can be sent to the author directly by sending e-mail to: The
VKP
