When it comes to just about any Eritrean political discourse, it is depressingly prevalent that, nowadays: cheap propaganda, empty rhetoric, undue influence, outright denials are disseminated by some Eritrean intellectuals.  In some political circles and especially among the youth, oftentimes and understandably so, there is a sense of  resignation prevailing as who to look for in the educated class.   When guidance and motivation is needed in the struggle to free Eritrea from autocracy, the youth hardly looks to Eritrean intellectuals.  With a spurning contempt, the youth allege, the Eritrean intellectuals are either less than vocal or hauntingly mum – politically impotent, so to speak.

Was it Albert Einstein who said, “whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important ones”?  Well, that is exactly what happened when an Eritrean intellectual went the extra mile to defend the regime in his rebuttal to a damning Newsweek story.

In the last issue of Newsweek magazine, there appears a story about Eritrea titled, AFRICA’S NORTH KOREA: REPORTING FROM ERITREA, THE LAND OF NO JOURNALISTS, http://www.newsweek.com/eritrea-north-korea-press-freedom-isaias-afwerki-623641, which accurately describes the sad state of affairs of Eritrean journalists; but not necessarily, in my opinion, the depiction of Eritrea on equal footing with North Korea.

“The North Korea of Africa,” so goes the famous catchphrase describing Eritrea in the western mainstream media.  Suggesting that in the eyes of western press – if you, of course subscribe to the West’s viewpoint – North Korea is bad and an outcast; therefore, depicting Eritrea, “the North Korea of Africa” must have hardly been a mode of platitude.

Tell any foreigner with a modest knowledge of Eritrea that you would be visiting Eritrea soon; initially, he would be looking at you wryly in disbelief, as if you were a muppet on a TV show; but subsequently – even then, if he was so opinionated – he would throw a contemptuous inquiry, “but, isn’t Eritrea the North Korea of Africa?”  “No, you….”  You would be tempted to impassively utter an angry retort.  “No sir, you can’t compare Eritrea with North Korea.  That would be an insult to the North Koreans,” I once politely admonished an American acquaintance.  Perhaps, the only similarity one can find amid the two is, in North Korea, there is the concept of what they call “duche” or self reliance – or, what the Higdef zombies call bikil-Tsimna,” which unlike that in Eritrea, the concept of “duche” produced Nuclear scientists for North Korea.

To say that poor Eritrea is on par with nuclear capable North Korea is indeed bizarre; In fact, it is like giving the senile dictator an enormous credit he doesn’t deserve.  I am sure the North Koreans would have been furious when they heard this outlandish hogwash.

But, back to the point, I normally do not subscribe to Newsweek nowadays, as its heydays of fiercely independent journalism are long gone and Newsweek is becoming a less than sought after magazine now.  But, truth got to be told, this time, when it declared: The Land of No Journalists, nothing could be further from the truth.  Why?

Because first, as any Eritrean – except those with less than human mental faculties – could attest, September 18, 2001 will go down in history as the day where the dictator shut down the independent press and summarily imprisoned it’s journalists and senior politicians.

Second, the Newsweek story was narrated by the victim of the very system, Mr. Fathi Osman, the Eritrean journalist who had the firsthand knowledge of the situation.  So, no Higdef apologists or foot soldiers or, any intellectual for that matter, would refute what Mr. Osman went through.

Third, Eritrea is at the bottom of the Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders and by the Committee to protect Journalists.

But to Dr. Fikrejesus Amhazion, https://www.tesfanews.net/clarifying-recent-newsweek-eritrea-coverage/ the denial is so mind boggling that he seemed more than willing to put his intellectual integrity on the line.  As a matter of fact, he called what the Eritrean journalists like Mr. Osman went through, “cliched, cursory and incorrect”.  Interestingly, we have seen these so-called intellectuals who, not only sold their intellectual integrity to the dictator, but also pray at his altar for acceptance into his flock of mindless zombies – a lot of them, actually.

From the get go, just to prove his point – or, rather a non-point – the good Doctor infused his rebuttal with tons of, some of them self-defeating examples; when he, for example mentioned Freedom House to have sent election monitors to Rhodesia in 1979 under Ian Smith and found the election to be “fair”, while it found the election held under Robert Mugabe in 1980 to be “dubious”.  While these allegations happened to be true, the irony of his example is palpable here.  The absence of elections in Eritrea for the last quarter century seemed not to cross his mind.  Perhaps, his critical thinking skills took a nose dive into the unknown when he embarked to write his rebuttal.  Note that he didn’t put a single sentence condemning the dictator’s misdeeds.  This is a classic example of intellectual dishonesty.  This is a text book case of banal propaganda and above all, naked opportunism.

Without further ado, you be the judge and see how the divide between the so-called intellectual class and the youth is a light year apart.  May God have mercy on poor Eritrea!

Tesfamichael Kidane