Dr. Tadios Tesfu: A Knight fencing against backwardness and injustice

Bad stories have been always told not to be repeated again. An author of a political science fiction or theoretical political ideas usually can be characterized as a highly intellectual personality or an idiot master of confusion. Nowadays in the Eritrean political arena and media outlets, we are the eyewitnesses of both cases. Unfortunately, there are many of the latter.

I heard the exceptionally gifted founder of the homepage of Awate.com Mr. Saleh Gadi Johar explaining to his audience the reason, why he publishes his articles and books in English, but not in Tigrinya. He said” because the problems come from the elite of our society”. Hmmm…. well, if this is the solely reason, although I am a German native speaker, but rather influent in English in comparison to the crème a la crème writers, we have around us, I will continue to write in English to reach out the pseudo intellectuals  and the genuine with a beautiful mind outside there. To distinguish myself from both leagues mentioned above, my article figures out the natural and vital instrumental ideas, in order to yield a basic change in a political, cultural and socio-economical disoriented society, as ours. You are requested to consider my objectives rather as brainstorming and intellectual approach of guidelines, but not as an ultimate solution of the substantial devastating acute problems, we have. Therefore, please don’t regard the outlined objectives as the four J. C. Maxwell’s main equations of electrodynamics in physics. I am not a historian to summarize for you the state of art of the Eritrean political history of our struggle for independence and democracy, which might help to understand the core idea of my thesis. My intellectual approach has come up extempore. To get the best suggestions for improvement that have been made about the status quo of the Eritrean opposition parties and the analysis of the problems in the Eritrean society, you are recommended to hear and read the work of Mr. Amanuel Eyasu (Eritrea, no government & no opposition) at demo.archive.assenna.com and the manifesto of the “Eritrean Civic Democratic Movement” by Mr. Merid Zeru, Kidane Hagos, Dawit Geberemesekel et al. Nevertheless, I made my choice to disclose my visions of goodwill, hope and deliverance for a better tomorrow of the Eritrean people. In addition, as the Germans use to say „Glueck ist, wenn Vorbereitung auf Gelegenheit trifft” (Luck is when preparation meets opportunity). Therefore, it is reasonable to draft a future roadmap, which depends on complimentary globally thinking and a conceptual locally acting philosophy, to transform the nation from the present state to a developed nation of peace and prosperity.

Here are my four main objectives:

1. Gender equity by occupying political key positions by women to end up the paternalistic and patriarchal orientation of our society.
2. Abrogation of the Military as at constitutional ratification in democratic Eritrea.
3. Creating sustainable national assets of Eritrea by cultivating its human resources.
4. The Eritrean National Council for Democratic Change (ENCDC) should be restructured and amended to an action oriented one. A parallel vote system should be launched to form its executive body too.

Objective No.1

Recently gender equity is worldwide subject of controversial discussion. In India a mass protest of women has come about due to repeatedly sexual harassment of underage girls in public places. The shocking and insupportable facet of the situation is the acceptance of the misdeeds by the majority of the India population and their casualness for the destiny of the victims. Additionally, there is the defensive attitude of the sexual offenders. They justify their evil deeds by assuming themselves as the victims of the young girls’ seduction. The police men watch deedless, when a female begs them to help her. Sometimes, they tried even to discredit and unmask the complainer to protect the honor of the accused man. Damn! What is next to come?

India is recognized by the western world as world’s biggest democratic nation. Surely gender equity is a topic in the Indian national constitution. Nevertheless, here we have observed disobeying of law by the tributaries as well as by the police. To find the reason of the contempt of law, we don’t need to dig deeper in general psycho of the Indian population or the structure of the Indian society. It is obvious in paternalistic and patriarchal orientated underdeveloped society; males are favored and protected in comparison to the weak sex by unwritten law.

Well in Eritrea, as a war torn country, we have to assume sexual harassment as a daily business. Although Eritrean women have fought bravely beside their brothers against the occupation of Ethiopian soldiers, the regime in Eritrea failed to realize gender equity in its real sense. We just observe some fistful female puppets shaped to serve the dictator at high official positions. If gender equity was ratified and verified during the revolution in Eritrea by ELF/EPLF and to my imagination at the wildest times and places of the nation, then I would like to ask, what is the reason, why Eritrean women are disrespected and their human rights have been violated by their male colleagues aftermath to our independence? I assume a profound domination of the unwritten law of a paternalistic and patriarchal orientated society in Eritrea, which still exists in our brains, is the answer. One of my suggestions to overthrow the paternalistic and patriarchal thoughts and practices from our society, in order to avoid their side effects, is by launching a 50% of Women’s quota at any of the upcoming national elections in the future. This percentage should not have to be compromised in ratifying it in our national constitution by carrying it immediately afterwards to the issue of human dignity. Disregarding the ambitions of men to own political power to satisfy their chauvinism, their genetically disposition towards aggression, matters. A sustainable peaceful coexistence with our neighbor countries could only be based on a diplomatic mutual support and respect. We have to create an environment to maintain this by involving many of the weak sex in every national decision to be conducted in the future.  The last but not least, the first democratic Eritrean president should be a female. From practical point of view; we Eritreans admire beauty, eloquence, strength in taking decision. These are some of the properties that every Eritrean woman owns. After all Eritrean men appreciate the love, respect, security feeling and the devotion of our mothers. We are seeking for a political mother figure, which is able to bring the quarreled brothers together anticipating national reconciliation by creating a sense of equality and justice in the Eritrean population. Such personality with good sense for governance will make visible differences in comparison to the atrocity and ugliness of the tyrant. I am calling for more audacity and civil-courage for matriarchal and less paternalistic and patriarchal forms of policies in Eritrea. I am aware of the principles of western direct and indirect democracy of the political philosophers Jean–Jacques Rousseau and C. de S. Baron de Montesquieu are based on the nature of human beings but not on gender. They use to argument whether human beings are naturally good or evil that they have to be free or monitored, respectively. Thomas Hobbes had more radical attitude towards human beings in natural state (homo homini lupus). I like to remind you that these political philosophers did not consider the ability and capability of women when they have written their theoretical masterpiece. At that time women were not allowed to vote. I could give you a lot of examples to convince you. One short example should be enough not to overflow the scope of this topic. There is a female president of a civil war torn country Liberia, Mrs. Dr. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Look how this woman managed to bring the quarrelling parties, warlords, bandits and war veterans together at a round table. She is sometimes annoyed and roars of rage due to misdeeds of the warlords in her country. The men always try to calm her down and they bring their concerns respectfully by calling her with a mellow voice” Ma” for Mother.

Objective No. 2

The abrogation of the Eritrean military force as a constitutional ratification in democratic Eritrea will be a hazard. In this case audacity of hope is the slogan. I am aware of the achievement of our independence through a hard bitter prolonged armed struggle. We paid high dues of martyrdom with lives of thousands innocent young people. No question that was the right decision made by suppressed people longing for freedom against the archaic invaders. Few years after our independence we continued to solve emerged conflicts with our neighbors with guns. A disposition for peaceful conflict management using international laws or diplomatic tools has never existed. This comes to state due to our learned mechanism to solve conflicts with elbow and guns. The territorial sovereignty of our country is accredited since 1993 by the United Nations. The regime in Eritrea abused the idea of self protection from pretending foes to launch a lifetime military service. We know that, first the regime wants to extend its lifetime by starting war against pretending foes. Second, the regime wants to keep the youth out of the cities to prevent agitations initiated by students. Third, the regime wanted to keep the education level of the country very low. Because high education level of population provides a fertile soil for implementation of democratization process. Thus, lifetime military service has resulted into a slavery of the conscripts, decomposition of the social interacts, decay of the education level, damage of the economic and health sectors of the country, et cetera. The consequences are mass refugees (displacement), degradation of our good reputation and loss of our national identity.

The cure-all for these problems:

• Reduction and limitation of quantity and time of military service to the lowest level.
• Ratification of abrogation of the military as at constitution in democratic Eritrea.

Well, I am sure, you are asking yourself, from where the hell and why after all this mad idea comes to state. In 2012 there was a scientific survey in many different parts of the world; about whether people are happy and satisfied with their lives in their countries? The answer depends on many factors, like health, freedom, social relationship, security and prosperity after all.

According to the survey, the people of Scandinavian countries were the happiest and most satisfied with their lives, followed by Costa Rica. What? Excuse me; Costa Rica the poorest country of the world has the second happiest and most satisfied population of the World: before Germany and Switzerland.

Now open the page of Wikipedia and inform yourself about Costa Rica.

To your information since 1949 Costa Rica has no military force. President José F. Ferrer of Costa Rica ratified the abrogation of the military as at constitution to joining the TIAR-treaty with USA. Since 2010 Costa Rica has a female President. Costa Rica has a population with a high education level compared to the most Latin American countries. Costa Rica has a peaceful and democratic presidential system, where the elections of the president take place once every four years without repetition.

Objective No. 3

Today education is the key to an adequate life as ever before. It is important to have a society with strong knowledge and volition of permanent learning to stay competitive in a world and time of globalization.

My suggestion: we have to create a sustainable society by cultivating and educating our human resources as the solely national asset of Eritrea. Do you think I am coming up with a bad idea at a time of bonanza of the natural resources in Eritrea? I think it is time to confront ourselves with reality, before things go wrong / bad. Natural resources can be used temporarily to generate hard currency to run a country.  Disregarding thereof to provoke a devastating environmental pollution, corruption, exploitation of men power, civil wars and border strike due to jealousy, natural resources are simply limited and not forever. The populations of third world countries, who are dependent of their natural resources, are amongst the poorest and war torn in the world. Natural resources can be regarded as curse. For example the natural resources of Democratic Republic of Congo are estimated to ca. 24 Trillion USD. Yet Congo is the country where poverty of the population flourishes and civil wars rage. Hereby you can assume an international intervention due to the vital mineral Coltan (Columbit-Tantalit) in Congo provoked by mobile phones producer multinational companies. The estimated natural resources of democratic republic of Congo are much higher compared to that of our country. Since 2010 the Eritrean national income from Becha gold mines was more than one billion USD. If we regard the economic development index in Eritrea, life is becoming harsh and no improvement of life style and infrastructure or civil constructions can be depicted, despite gold production and sellout. This happens in Eritrea for the same reasons, I mentioned above. Second example is  Ghana. It is the second largest gold producer in the world after South Africa. Ghana is to a certain degree democratic and peaceful, but not rich. You will assume for guaranteed other national assets in Eritrea like crude oil, fishery, tourism and seaports’ or marine’s business too. But such businesses and natural resources have also many African countries, e.g. Kenya, Angola Sierra-Leone, etc.  Let us focus on the future sustainable energy technique, the sun technology or photovoltaic in Eritrea. About two decades ago western engineers found out the rate of yield of photovoltaic electric energy at the Denkalia regions in Eritrea was the highest of the world. This has to do with the period and quantity of sun radiation as well as the angle of incidence of sun radiation (Earth’s axis of rotation is tilted 23.4° away from the perpendicular of its orbital plane). This will enable us to produce more than enough electric energy for us and the region. To develop such sustainable energy technique requires a high level of interdisciplinary knowledge of mathematics, physics and chemistry, electrotechnology, geology, meteorology, metrology, mechanical engineering, Informatics and so on of our nationals. Do you understand now why we have to regard and take our human resources as the only national assets of our country?  Here are some of the successful countries, which regard and developed their human resources as the only national assets: Japan, Germany, Switzerland, South Korea, Malaysia etc.

Do you have any knowledge, why the regime in Eritrea invests a lot of USD to cultivate and indoctrinate the Diaspora Young-PFDJ members, while wasting and abandoning the young people in Eritrea?  Herewith I am requesting from you to persuade and to assist our young new refugees to get higher education, in case one day the country becomes free of the totalitarian regime and we do not have to start from the nil.  It is a crime to dissipate such Eritrean future intellectual potential, by letting them work in hotel rooms and pedestrians of the western countries.

Objective No. 4

The Eritrean National Council for Democratic Change should be restructured amended to an action oriented one immediately. A parallel vote system should be launched to form its executive body too. I said these words on a Smerr-Paltalk presentation, when I came there to gave a speech to address the Eritrean Diaspora (Deleyti-Fetihi) regarding the Hizbawi-Festival 2013 in Kassel/Germany on the 4^th of January 2013.  The ENCDC delegations have failed to manage the tasks and objectives, which have been given by the Eritrean People to them. I believe this comes to state beside, not confidential voting system, lack of checks and balances, lack of its judicative institution, mainly due to the personal incompetence of the leadership and generally the members of the assembly too. The ENCDC leadership is not exceptionally gifted by nature with soft skills to lead the nation and solve its problems with diplomatic tools of conflict management. Eritreans were not good head hunters during the formation of ENCDC in Awasa/Ethiopia, I’m afraid. We have to form an action oriented National Council, that means to bring the right man or woman in to the right position. It is very important in this case to ignore involving all kind of political parties, ethnical groups and civic societies in to the leadership for the sake of democratization. We have to make our choice to take the best of the best into the leadership position. What we need is a knight fencing against backwardness and injustice to save our souls from the totalitarian regime in Eritrea as soon as possible. I still believe in restructured and amended ENCDC will be able to get rid of the dictator and be an umbrella organization of all of the opposition camp as an alternative until the democratic transformation of the nation is done. Participation of the people should be guaranteed by making a parallel vote of the leadership of the executive body of the Council. By now I do not see any reason to dissolve the ENCDC to create another umbrella organization. As I have explained on the date above, you don’t destroy and rebuild your palace, when your palace’s leaser damaged it..…You have to dismiss the leaser and amend the palace. And before given your palace to another leaser, you have to ensure the next leaser is the best of his category. In case the ENCDC leadership repeated the violation of law as we have observed twice in their legislation, the Eritrean People should be bold enough to impose resolution of no confidence against ENCDC leadership to dissolve them.