The post-independence life in Eritrea driven by the tyrant’s maxim of Eritreans never had it and never lost it (ኣይነበረካ ኣይጠፍኣካ), all basic rights and freedom have been violated.  Tyranny strengthened to its extremity by confiscating the money each family needs to live comfortably because comfortability is one they never had it and never lost it (ኣይነበሮም ኣይጠፍኦም).

Tyranny weakened and dissipated each family of its bread earner(s) through continued conscription.  The conscription to the armies that sleeplessly protected the borders, which the tyrant deep inside secretly believed it to be meaningless even years back when he joined the Eritrean struggle and confirmed it openly in 2018, proved to be a deceit to serve the tyrant’s hidden agenda.

Economic integration between nations as a contract of matching necessitates matching in every step.  If the matching model in place does not impose a similar centralized match, then we have a colonial rule imposed on one of the two nations.

It is not that the Eritreans do not deserve it because they are not demanding it.  An Ethiopian who has the right to political and non-political activities cannot be a match to an Eritrean person who has zero scope of political participation and zero choice of life through own decision.  That is why, under the border crossing agreement, the Ethiopian are consulted and the Eritreans are denied.  As a result, the Eritreans on their watch, the Ethiopians are crossing the borders freely and anticipating enjoying favorable economic activities.

The Ethiopian leader and the sponsors of the resumption of normal relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia are not naïve about the missing political rights in Eritrea.  If the sponsors of the détente are serious, they should believe in first changing the tyrant.  Otherwise, their blindness to the Eritrean reality means they are not looking ahead.

The way the détente is handled on the Eritrean side is like having the sponsors of the change endorsed the terrible rule of tyranny on the Eritrean people.  The sponsors of the change should know that the tyrant, who grew up thinking the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea to be meaningless, does not represent the Eritrean people.  Indeed, the détente without the approval of the Eritrean people is not legally binding and cannot be enforced on them.

The unwillingness of the tyrant to consult the Eritrean people denies the border crossing agreement to be valid and enforceable.  The Ethiopian people are not shallow and ignorant to support the tyrant’s politics that prey on the Eritrean people’s rights through lying and deception on declaring wars and making peace.

Does the Tyrant have the Capacity to Enter into Agreements?

The Eritreans as victims of the tyrant’s policy of ‘No peace, No war,’ they must be more eager to enjoying peace and more devoted to having their economy jump started.  Yet, they are not happy or enthusiastic about what is going on because they are not consulted or informed.

To believe that because the war was declared without consulting the Eritrean people, the peace can be made without consultation can be considered a political immaturity.  The tyrant’s ‘No peace, No war’ caused sufferings, miseries, anguish and agonies to the Eritrean people and not to the Ethiopian people.  Yet, it is the Ethiopians, by reason of having an elected leader, who are enjoying the fruits of the agreement.  Unlike the Eritrean side, the negotiated agreement focused on the Ethiopian people’s interest and not on advancing the interest of the Ethiopian leadership.

Any reasonable argument on unilateral agreement, the concern is about own interest.  But, in case of a bilateral agreement, the concerns are about the joint benefits and how the two sides will gain access to each other’s markets so as their people would enjoy better standards of living from the boom to their economy.

The capacity of a leader to represent a country and to protect the interest of the country’s people does not derive from having control over the people.  Some unelected leaders show voluntary compliance with the desire of the people to win their support.  However, the Eritrean tyrant does not only meet the  two conditions but also disrespects even the members of his cabinet in that he denies them their right to be consulted.

A chain of hidden conspiracies in the past put the tyrant on defensive and isolation.  Even he could not think of his protection being embedded within a non-functioning constitution framed to favor and protect him.  Nowadays, even kings whose words used to be the law of the land choose to have constitution of their kingdom in order to protect their properties and rights legally.

Eritrean as the only country without constitution cannot enter into any kind of mutually beneficial agreement.  The lack of provisions on limitation of property rights and business engagements without the consent of the tyrant’s office deem the entered agreement with other countries as ineffective.

The double shortcomings, namely the absence of constitution and the lack of representative government, even made the tyrant lip-tied and ashamed to make political statements regarding the border cross agreement.  The tyrant previously put his personal interests before the country’s interest and now he is only focusing on freeing himself from the threats of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Eritreans inside Eritrea who cannot leave their cities/towns without travel permits cannot get excited by hearing about border crossing agreement from the Ethiopian media.  With Eritreans knowing the limitation of their movement, they cannot be supportive of open borders that make Eritrea look like a prison without walls granting the Ethiopians prison visitation rights.

Indeed, the border crossing agreement demands the Eritrean tyrant to inject an element of trust building by acknowledging as being the capo perpetrator of the alleged crimes committed on the Eritrean people.  Such an acknowledgment would serve as a demonstration of honesty in accepting the proposed change.

Can the Proposed Change End the Eritrean Political Tragedy?

The world already granted its judgment against the Eritrean tyrant.  However, the sponsors of the change are working hard to twist the existing UN impartial laws to make them biased acquitting the Eritrean tyrant from all the blames.

While the daily newsflashes are the Ethiopians enjoying more and more rights according to the border crossing agreement, the Eritreans are still trapped within the confines of the confines of the tyrant’s policy of ‘No peace, No war.’  It appears the agreement contains special stipulations that put the sponsors of the change on no go on the questions of releasing the prisoners and implementing the Eritrean constitution prior to meeting the tyrant’s conditions.

The silence of the tyrant is not due to a shock of the agreement.  It is rather a conspiracy, plotting to strengthen his grip of power.  Because the tyrant knows that the Eritrean people cannot be comforted anymore with lies, he chose to be silent about the terms of the agreement.  He can take his time to rearrange his lies but the Eritreans, unlike before, are not ready to be treated less than equal of the counterparts in enjoying the fruits of the agreement.

Honesty, trust and non-questioning of the tyrant’s policy of ‘No peace, No war’ made the Eritrean people more vulnerable and weak to stand for their rights.  Now, in order for the Eritreans inside Eritrea to equally enjoy the fruits of the border crossing agreement, they must first feel safe and comfortable by the tyrant’s declaration of end of arbitrary arrests and detentions for crossing the borders and returning back.

Only the final nail on the coffin of tyranny guarantees Eritreans to live the moments of the agreement, crossing the borders freely and using their money to travel.  Years of trapping by webs of intelligence and spying techniques on the Eritrean people made Eritrea the worst repressive country in the world.  For Eritreans, a peaceful transfer of power is only possible when the tyrant voluntarily abandons power.  Let the tyrant’s announcement to step down from power prompt the Eritrean people to place their hands on their chest and put wide smiles on their faces.

Anticipating and welcoming a peaceful transfer of power,

Mamino