They say power is intoxicating and blinds those who posses it from accepting or seeing reality. From Marie Antoinette to Isayas Afeworki all dictators seem to suffer from the psychosis of power.

According to James fallen ‘…dictators are extremely self-absorbed, masterful liars, compassion less, often sadistic and poses a boundless appetite for power.’

In the case of Isayas one can add his ethical failures. Those who know him well describe him as a smug and grudge keeper who can rarely resist self-wounding actions. The sad thing is this is not a symptom suffered only by him but also by his laptop cheerleaders.

Evidently, Now days, the convenient target of PFDJ supporters is the recently concluded Eritrean national congress for democratic change [ENCDC].  The proof is the regime and its cohorts attempt to disrupt the services of demo.archive.assenna.com, which fast becoming the voice of the voiceless masses.  The timing of this illegal cyber attack indicates it was meant to muzzle Eritreans from learning or finding out about the convention.

But why?  Are they worried?

Well not every set of good conference leads to revolutions, but every revolution has been preceded by civic and political conferences. So I guess they have a reason to be nervous.

Marie Antoinette notoriously said the rubble could eat cake. Czar Nicholas 1 is said to have looked out from the balcony of his palace during a popular protest and remarked ‘you can always pay one half of the peasants to kill the other half.’ When Libyans rose up in demand of freedom they were denounced as seditious and jejune by Kaddafi and his supporters.

And now pro PFDJ elements are duplicating the above tactics. They have begun their assault on the congress before even looking in to its program or assessing its vision. They may think such tactics might buy some time for their leader, but beware; the notion blackmailing these decidedly nationalist members of the congress could lead to a wider public backlash against themselves. The government and its supporters can try to convince themselves that opposition civic and political movements have no resonance, but there is no denying such movements are results of wider public discontent, that there is something fundamentally wrong with haw things are in the country.

• The Eritrean youth who is forced to flee his beloved country because of repression knows there is something wrong out there.
• The member of the Eritrean army who fulfils his duty of defending his country and yet made to work like a slave for free knows there is something wrong out there.
• The Eritrean journalist who is prosecuted and exiled for raising issues relevant to the national wellbeing knows there is something wrong out there.
• The Eritrean believer [Christian or Muslim], who is being subjected to intimidation and death for his/her devotion to his religion knows there is something wrong out there.
• The Eritrean trader who is systematically barred from doing business because of government monopoly which in turn leads to scarcity and inflation knows there is something wrong out there.
• The Eritrean student whose chance of getting higher education is better in exile than his own country knows there is something wrong out there.
• The Eritrean parent who has sacrificed a lot during his country’s struggle for independence only to find him/her self in a worse situation knows there is something wrong out there.
• The veteran freedom fighter [yekalo] who witnessed the president brake every promise made to the people and locks up those heroes l[G15] who led the struggle knows there is something wrong out there.
• The general public whose leader’s resume has become futile war-mongering, alliance with terrorists [from Al Shabab to Tamil tigers] , and tyrants like him, whose actions have isolated the country from the international community and who believes his ego to be more important than the nation, knows there is something wrong out there.

How is all these are missed by the followers of the government and those who seem to be on the sidelines? Worse the PFDJ adherents seem to be immersed in the ideology of us versus them school of thought, which is usually the preferred method of those who lack the conceptual ability to promote and defend their ideas.

On the other hand, the congress and its advocates are promoting inclusiveness. They don’t manifest ill feelings toward the average supporter of the government. They are about pushing back against those who got the country in to the mess it is right now.

As I mentioned earlier the biggest weakness of dictators is the failure to recognize the boiling point.

Marie Antoinette was carted off to the guillotine. The Kremlin was brought to its knees by the revolutionaries. The Libyan protesters are found to be on the right side of history.

Remember, few months ago when Kaddafi was offered a safe passage for himself in exchange for him abdicating power so that bloodshed could be avoided, he didn’t even want to consider it until it was too late.

Basher al Assad of Syria is acting the same way. Despite calls by concerned bodies or countries, to halt his military operation against his people and  start the process of political dialogue with the opposition he seem to have chosen protecting his ego and risk the balkanization of the country.

Similarly in Eritrea, instead of listening to the people and implement credible political and economic reform he [Isayas] has chosen mocking and demonizing the opposition movement.

Never the less, as it happened in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya — when the Eritrean people reach a point where they can’t Waite for the change to come, and realize they have to bring it, to tide will reverse like a tsunami.

And there is no question the Eritrean national congress will be a decisive component of the Eritrean salvation.

Here are some pointers on haw to speed up that eventuality.

The congress:

Those of you who worked diligently for the conference to take place , and the participants whose open  all encompassing  debates and discussions has set a new standard in the Eritrean polity , I say congratulation, you have just laid a foundation for new Eritrea.

The youth:

One of the promising developments in the struggle against Isayas has been the galvanization of the Eritrean youth, not only their participation in protests in large numbers but also their passion for freedom and national salvation, albeit late coming, it is to be admired.  This needs to be kept up.

The intelligentsia:

Much is expected of the Eritrean intellectuals. Unfortunately most continue to act as passive expatriates pursuing individual interests and keeping themselves outside the political loop. Nevertheless, it is not too late for them to examine their policy of Waite and see; and start exploiting the emerging opportunities and contribute their share to alleviate the suffering of the people.

Those of you member of this community, who are providing leadership and guidance to the opposition movements by helping them create a strong base to build a vibrant and democratic Eritrea, you have earned the respect of your compatriots .

 Cyber revolutionaries:

Those of you founders /operators of the opposition websites, internet radios, and journalists who are working tirelessly in the struggle against Isayas and his cronies, you have become modern day heroes.

PFDJ followers:

Those of you who are supported the regime, blind folded, it is about time you extract yourself from your bizarre parallel universe and accept the reality.

The opportunists:

For those of you who are sitting on the side line , waiting which way the tide will flow and planning to move along ; in the words of Marti Luther king Jr., ‘we will have to repent …not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people…’

Victory for the people of Eritrea!