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Peace As A Dividend: The Parallel Universe of Eritreans

The whirlwind of events unfolding before our eyes is indeed mesmerizing.  Witnessing how quickly events turn out in breaking the ice between Eritrea and Ethiopia and in captivating the masses of both countries, to borrow

The whirlwind of events unfolding before our eyes is indeed mesmerizing.  Witnessing how quickly events turn out in breaking the ice between Eritrea and Ethiopia and in captivating the masses of both countries, to borrow the famous words of Oscar Wilde, ‘one must have a heart of stone…’ to be indifferent to the goings-on.  And until one is wary of the goings-on, events must have been a moment of extreme jubilation indeed. To see the masses of Eritrea and Ethiopia profess their uncontrolled euphoria at the prospect of peace – which a few months ago was unthinkable, if not impossible – there is indeed light at the end of the tunnel for both Eritrea and Ethiopia.

The reception accorded to Issaias in Ethiopia was nothing short of a repudiation of  Eritrean’s good-for-nothing opposition.  It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the  impotent opposition, through its inaction, created the  current thaw between Eritrea and Ethiopia.  It was said, “In politics, there are no permanent friends, no permanent enemies, but permanent Interests”.  As an intelligence officer in the Ethiopian army, who fought against Eritrea, Dr. Abiy was well aware that, in the absence of potent opposition to the dictatorship in Eritrea, a ‘no-war-no-peace’ imbroglio was unsustainable for Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa region.  It was, in fact, a pragmatic approach any patriotic leader would pursue to break the stalemate.  Thus, he created the current thaw between the two countries.  With undeserved praise and platitude, i.e. Esu, Wedi Afom…etc. Dr. Abiy single-handedly elevated the Eritrean dictator to a hero.  And a clearly exuberant Issaias took it all for himself.

Quite honestly, I really admire Issaias’s cunning abilities and charisma expected from a leader.  That is what politics is all about, isn’t it?  It is the art of persuasion and ruthlessness, both of which Issaias excelled; and in so doing, creating a power base for your political ends.  I wish the impotent opposition could have mastered this art to save the Eritrean people.  I do really admire him for employing his Machiavellian tactics in the murky waters of Eritrean politics to stay in power this long; half a century, to be precise.  If politics is the art of deception, then Issaias must have been the High Priest of this art.  So his march is continuing unhindered.

“‘From now on,’ declared Issaias, the actor, ‘anybody who thinks Eritreans and Ethiopians as two different people, is the one who doesn’t understand the truth.’”

This is, quite frankly, a moment of drama and incredulity for those who astutely observe events unfold.  Issaias, the chameleon, who has mastered the dark art of deception and as an expert in stealing the hearts and minds of the commoner, what could go wrong in such a statement in creating a trance like atmosphere in the masses?  What is wrong if people genuinely celebrate to a seemingly reassuring, though aesthetic statement?  After all, people have spilled blood and died in the thousands, while thousands more were displaced from their homes.  Conflict has been an all too often phenomenon for Eritrea and Ethiopia for a staggering seven decades.  So, if people say enough is enough, it means people have made a tectonic shift away from confrontation and violence.  Peace is, therefore, if implemented unhindered, a long overdue course to close the painful chapter for both countries.

However, people may have been crass and sentimental at the moment, to say the least; but, in my opinion, the implications of such a statement has a profound effect for Eritreans.  A dictator who had been unhinged in demanding the implementation of the border ruling before any rapprochement with Ethiopia, has now made 180 degree turn in proclaiming “there is no border now”.  Away from the pomp and ceremony, just take a closer look at the implications.  If any Eritrean is alarmed at such a statement, then, he must be paying close attention.  Without sounding cynical, the statement could well mean, ‘in the current globalized economy, treaties are more important than borders’, isn’t it?  But, only if we take a look at his track record of weakening the Eritrean nation, then one will realize that we are indeed facing a mortal enemy in our midst.

Remember that Issaias was a CIA recruit, who had made several secret contacts with Imperial Ethiopia’s Asrate Kassa in the late ‘60s to weaken the Eritrean struggle for independence.  Issaias’s double dealings in the Eritrean struggle was well documented history by none other than Tesfamichael Giorgio, the then governor of Dekemhare and a well placed intermediary between Issaias and Asrate Kassa in that turbulent time.  In his book, written in Amharic, Tesfamichael Giorgio wrote volumes about how Issaias and his group of ragtag rebels were armed by the CIA and Ethiopia for the sole purpose of killing the independence movement.  As the few people who knew Issaias’s secrets, Tesfamichael Giorgio was in a unique position to refute the claim ‘Issaias as a freedom fighter’. He was specifically adamant and forthright to narrate in his book that the Issaias he knew and ‘Issaias the freedom fighter’ of later years are two different persons.  Sure enough, Tesfamichael Giorgio wasn’t allowed to live in peace.  After  independence, with the help of his then lap dogs, the TPLF, Issaias had Tesfamichael Giorgio assassinated in Addis Ababa in April 1992.  He was silenced forever in a far away land.

And so Issaias, the survivalist, continued his struggle against Eritreans for decades,  keeping his secret agenda of exterminating Eritreans close to his chest.  Is it surprising now if he says, “ there is no border now”?  He was fighting against Eritreans all along, if only we could open our eyes before it is too late.  His contempt of Eritreans knows no bounds that I have never heard anyone say Issaias air-kissing and high fiving the Eritrean public.  How abominable must then be to see a clearly emotional Issaias placing both his hands in his chest in reverence to the shouting crowd at Millennium Park in Addis Abeba, while referring the Eritrean people as, ezi hizbi ezi, i.e. these people – a demeaning reference?  How dare he?  It is because we Eritreans do not have the consensus to deconstruct the enigma surrounding him.  And his flock of soulless zombies are already reconciled to anything Ethiopian now.  Perhaps because of these kind of half-humans, the late English singer, David Bowie said this:

“People are so fucking [sic] dumb. Nobody reads anymore, nobody goes out and looks and explores the society and culture they were brought up in. People have attention spans of five seconds and as much depth as a glass of water.”

People who were quick to say, ‘dobna keyTehan-Tse-Tse’ fakery and quick to label anyone as a traitor for demanding constitutional order and justice, have made a complete turnaround and are singing the tunes of the day.  Now, the border issue is nonexistent in their vocabulary.  They don’t even know why they behave that way, except that they are told to do so.  A clear demonstration of the pettiness of their thinking and demeanor indeed.  So their march is continuing into the unknown.  How times have changed!

Every Eritrean family paid the price for Eritrea and every Eritrean has a stake in its  peaceful existence.  As much as we like Dr. Abiy’s peace initiative, peace will prevail while the genocide of the Eritrean people is going on is really a pipe dream.  Eritreans may have been duped by the dictator, for now; but not what D H Lawrence described as a generation fools.  “Men fight for liberty and win it with hard knocks.  Their children, brought up easy, let it slip away again, poor fools. And their grandchildren are once more slaves”.

There is a mortal enemy in our midst and an enemy is in no position to compromise but to annihilate us.  To reverse this danger requires more than consensus.

God save Eritrea and its people!

Tesfamichael Kidane

aseye.asena@gmail.com

Review overview
29 COMMENTS
  • meretse July 18, 2018

    Good read brother -Tesfamichael Kidane,
    I read your article with depth and I loved it so much for it states nothing short of the truth. A few of us had been writing, commenting, reading and rereading articles for years and years about nsu’s deception. Sometimes we were even reluctant to write “nay lbna”, because the public was not ready to hear the truth. For more than 5 decades his deception was covered by nationalism and patriotism. Whenever he faces challenges his main alibi was always mentioning calling the “fallen heroes”. To date People trusted him as he has a free call number to heavens (1-800-heavens). Trusting one person – as he is the only one who knows all had led the nation to a disaster after a disaster. TwgaH’mo Eza Leyti became longer and the sky became darker. Hence what went wrong? What went wrong– is people kept running after him aimlesely. Years ago, I wrote a sory about one young man suddenly who decided to follow runners. The young man saw some people running and immediately wanted to join them. He did not even bother to make aware his friends who were chatting with him. His instinct told him “just join the flight. When his friends asked why he wanted to join them as he lifted his garment, he said, “I will ask them after they stpped”. This story has many similarities with the “Forest Gump’s” movie. Forest Gump never stopped running after his girlfriend Jenney, told him Run Forest Run, run to escape from bullying. What makes the interesting about this movie is, RUNNING became his lifestyle. Almost until the end of his life he kept running for no reason. Someone might ask what has this got to do with Eritreans? Well I am sorry to say so, but Eritreans had been running for no reason after nsu. Running after nsu made the nights longer and darker and faded the dream of TwgaH Emo Zaleyti. Now they have Enko chance – fight or flight.

    • Tesfamichael Kidane July 19, 2018

      meretse, the analogy you put about Forest Gump is excellent. That is exactly what happen to us. We failed to comprehend the reason our people fought for. We created a vacuum and our brutal enemy filled in. Great point!

  • ዘርአይ July 18, 2018

    Not individuals, blame our Italian colonial inherited culture- The Jebha was cruel and the rest opposition leaders are all the same!

  • rezen July 18, 2018

    To: Mr. Tesfamichael Kidane
    Sir, I agree with you analysis, completely:
    As you said it: “There is a mortal enemy in our midst” And that mortal enemy has always been Issayas Afewerki Abraha, the first year college drop-out who took a bus to Asmara to start the demolition of Eritrea. from its roots. He succeeding because he understood the mentality of the Eritrean people. Eritrea is in now in its twilight existence.
    If Eritrean Intellectuals of appropriate profession get together as ONE, AND ONLY ONE, FORCE, the possibility of ERITREA’S survival can be contemplated with hope. Less than that, Eritrea is finished as Issyas dreamt upon. .THE END

    • rezen July 18, 2018

      Coreection
      5th Line: Please correct “He succeeding” to read “He is succeeding”

      6th Line: Please drop the first word “in”

      Sorry.

    • Tesfamichael Kidane July 19, 2018

      rezen, you are right! The saddest part is a lot of people still think he fought for Eritrea. They don’t seem to connect the dots to figure out who this enemy is. Failure to understand this will be, as you said, “Eritrea is now in its twilight existence”, unless we wake up. Excellent!

  • Haben July 18, 2018

    “I really admire Issaias’s cunning abilities and charisma expected from a leader. That is what politics is all about, isn’t it? It is the art of persuasion and ruthlessness, both of which Issaias excelled; and in so doing, creating a power base for your political ends”.

    There must be two Issaias. Your description might fit the first one, but not defiantly this one:

    IA, who ignited and lost the war. He left no stone unturned to destroy his nemesis- TPLF, but failed miserably. He did not have any plan, not alone a strategy. His only plan was: ”Wait”, until fortunes turns in to his favour. Yes, it is indeed, but only after his nemesis- the late PMMZ passed away.

    IA would have died like a written tomato in Adi Halo, if PMZZ is still alive.

    Give me a break if you can call this stupid idea as work of cunning abilities and charisma leader.
    The guy is “Full of empty vessels”

    • Ghirmay July 18, 2018

      Haben, I tend to agree more with your description of DIA than with rezen or T/michael Kidane.

    • Tesfamichael Kidane July 19, 2018

      Haben, perhaps you created an analysis in your mind about TPLF. Where did you get that in the post? The post wasn’t even about TPLF. You have a right to disagree with me on the points I mentioned, but as a taking point, I didn’t even mention TPLF. It was about his cunning abilities and charisma to stay in power. Keep in mind that thousands consider him as a God like figure. Think about it!

      • k.tewolde July 20, 2018

        So was David Kuresh to his followers in Waco,Texas.Any difference?do you remember how it all ended?

      • Haben July 20, 2018

        Tesfamichael Kidane

        I brought TPLF to disapprove your fallacy: IA does not have “cunning abilities and charisma”.

        IA might have shown some of his cunning abilities while he was a guerrilla leader, but not the IA of post liberation, thus using TPLF to press home.

        You did not put it a single argument to prove that IA has a cunning abilities, except the jumbo and mambo of IA’s link with Ethiopia.

        If the liberation front was led by “cunning abilities and charisma” person, the time it took to liberate the country might been cut it to 10-13 years. This view is expressed by Yemane, who has been living in Germany since he defected from the front in the early 70s.

        Dr Andeberhane was asked in Radio Erena, if IA could fulfil his dream of uniting Eritrea with Ethiopia and became the de facto leader of “Greater Ethiopia”. He replied,

        “IA does not have the skills and competence to lead “Greater Ethiopia”, let alone a “Province”. A damn verdict on charisma.

        • Tesfamichael Kidane July 21, 2018

          Haben, if you don’t understand context, I really can’t help you. You seem to have an obsession about TPLF. If you are TPLF, I am sorry but I can’t talk to you. In fact, you shouldn’t be commenting here.
          Correction: please try to know words before you write them. The word is mumbo jumbo and not “jumbo and mambo”..

          • Haben July 21, 2018

            Tesfamichael Kidane

            Since this is a public forum, I have every right to express my views and if you do not like it, just ignore me.

            Do you want me to e-mail you my Eritrean’s ID to prove to you my “Eritreanness”?

            My obsession about TPLF must be an obsession in your mind, not with my comments.

            You seem to have a habit of diverting the issues at hand. I argued my position by citing two examples to disprove IA does not have a “Charisma” and yet, I do not understand context and you can’t help me. That is fine.
            PS. Thanks for the typo.

  • Senay July 18, 2018

    Shame on you Assenna.com. Here is my comment that was twice deleted today. So much for your claim of Freedom of Speech, a clear case of hypocrisy:

    Hello Tesfamchael,

    Despite your use of some fancy words and irrelevant quotes, your writing lacks a common thread to bind your thoughts. Reading this post, for example, one cannot tell whether you are for or against the recently signed peace agreement between the two governments. Moreover, your writing is full of contradictions. You praise IA for example for being cunning and charismatic and express your wish that the so-called opposition has some of his traits. Yet, you blame the Eritrean people for praising him for the same reasons. To make matters worse, not only do you falsely portray him as a CIA recruit using the unreliable source in the name of Tesfamical Giorgo, but you also fail to credit him for outmanoeuvring the Americans in Kagnew and elsewhere for there is ample evidence that he gained more for the national cause without giving anything in exchange. As for your repeated characterization of the “opposition” as failures, as much as I agree with you, you would have more credibility had you added yourself to the failed list as the opposition is nothing but a collection of people like yourself.

    • Tesfamichael Kidane July 20, 2018

      Senay, If you think the quotes are irrelevant and worse, if you think the dictator’s story is false, you are clearly a person kept in the dark and “unread” fellow. You are being dragged into the slaughterhouse and still, you don’t even have the IQ to understand your predicament. I wouldn’t accuse you for failing to comprehend the message of the post, for you are exactly the people I described as “soulless zombies”.

  • k.tewolde July 18, 2018

    ‘Dr. Abiy single-handedly elevated the Eritrean dictator to a hero. And a clearly exuberant Issaias took it all for himself.’……as I mentioned before, if there is any change coming to our homeland,it would be external.That said,the writer started out with one tone and ended up with another.I think some of us got bitten by the bug.I second Haben’s prudent post,the tyrant was threading water bobbing his head above water,the young PM came in the nick of time and threw him a life line,because he don’t want him to go under with the ‘key’ in his pocket,he is a smart diplomat.Folks as long as we keep mystifying this tyrant we fall into adi halo’s trap.The writer should have stayed with,’..there is a mortal enemy in our midst’,that is what the dictator is,nothing less nothing more.He catches flu,he used the commode to relieve himself,and he gets tired and retires to bed at the end of the day like us.In the mean time let people enjoy the peace process and the fringe benefits which comes with it,I keep my fingers crossed.

    • Yitbarekh July 18, 2018

      Wedi Amete Komarit, barbaric evil Islamic ELF mendef whore mouth, where is your supposedly homeland then!!! Lets have wild guesses:- taliban’s Afghanistan, crooks land Pakistan or savage ISIS lands of Libya and Syria??? As a life long wheelchair confined beggar you should tour your old evil terrorist lands with your diKala sun glasses and ELF’s beggar jelebiya and hijabs.

      • Yitbarekh July 18, 2018

        your old evil terrorist’s training grounds/lands, don’t also forget to “kitiwerazeyelom”/show off with your new acquired fake knowledge/wisdom of English sophisticated words.

    • Tesfamichael Kidane July 20, 2018

      k.tewolde,
      unless you added your own perception to the post, the post was exactly as it was intended, Eritrea has a mortal enemy, fair and square. Do we have a bug here to distort our perception?

  • hageraw July 18, 2018

    Tesfanchiel,

    You are a village idiot who can copy and paste but not think critically. You don’t make sense at all.

  • Grar July 18, 2018

    I had disagreed with some of your articles before but this is the best and the most realistic about the current Ethio-Eritrea rapprochement and the new relations. The people who predicted this coming were few, one was the prophetic Yosief Gheberehiwet YG, and the two legal scholars: Tesfazion Medhane and Bereket Habteselassie.

    TK, writes “Quite honestly, I really admire Issaias’s cunning abilities and charisma expected from a leader. That is what politics is all about, isn’t it? It is the art of persuasion and ruthlessness, both of which Issaias excelled; and in so doing, creating a power base for your political ends. I wish the impotent opposition could have mastered this art to save the Eritrean people. I do really admire him for employing his Machiavellian tactics in the murky waters of Eritrean politics to stay in power this long; half a century, to be precise. If politics is the art of deception, then Issaias must have been the High Priest of this art. So his march is continuing unhindered.”

    • k.tewolde July 19, 2018

      No matter how many times the quote is repeated it just mystifys the tyrant as the superheroes from the Marvel enterprise,remember those days when we use to huddle in the tea shops back home and we used to hear news about the tyrant doing stunts hanging from a helicopter and writing his name with bullet tracers,mind blowing for an impressionable kid isn’t it.Did it work? Ya! youngsters flooded the field soon to find out their hero is allergic to the smell of a gunpowder.Folks,he survived because we let him,he stood because we let ourselves become his mat,we are the agar who nourish his sustenance,our society is a fertile ground for breeding thousands like him,you don’t need ‘cunning abilities’,be ‘Machiavellian’ or ‘charismatic’, the temperature and moisture on the ground is conducive for them to bloom.Lets give credit where credit is due,to those who paid the ultimate price not to those who beat around the bushes and made it this far.

    • Tesfamichael Kidane July 20, 2018

      Grar, it is in fact healthy to disagree. We don’t have to agree on anything. I am sure, if we agree on this, we have a lot to agree with. Stay the course!

  • meretse July 19, 2018

    Dear Grar,
    I am glad you liked the above article now, But, remember, sometime we do disagree with ourselves too let alone outside ourselves. It is also natural and right at times not to agree to all said

    • rezen July 19, 2018

      “It is also natural and right at times not to agree to all said” PERFECT, in line with your name, Dear Meretse >>> መረጸ !!!

      Indeed, the cardinal issue, at this point in time, is in the sincere PARTICIPATION, in the discourse to uplift ERITREA to a level of sophistication that it DESERVES. . — indeed, it sacrificed its utmost precious price in Life in the 30-year LIBERATION Struggle. To squander with that ACHIEVEMENT without deliberate, serious, contemplation and searching of the Soul is tantamount to being SELF-DESTRUCTION. .

      • rezen July 19, 2018

        Correction
        Please read the closing መልቀስ as >>>”SELF-DESTROYER”

  • Senay July 19, 2018

    Dear Assenna Readers,

    Please find below my comment on this article that I wrote in good faith and with the objective of contributing positively to constructive discussion among Eritreans. As you can see for your selves, it does not contain anything that can be considered inappropriate. Yet it was removed repeatedly and without giving any explanation only because it does not agree with its contents. Please also notice that those who wrote supporting it such are Meretse, K.Tewelde, Rezene etc are the same names that write comments applauding any article posted on this website regardless of the contents. While the responsibility for removing it falls squarely on the author, the owner of the website Amanuel Iyasu is equally to blame for not ensuring the integrity of the site.

    Hello Tesfamchael,

    Despite your use of some fancy words and irrelevant quotes, your writing lacks a common thread to bind your thoughts. Reading this post, for example, one cannot tell whether you are for or against the recently signed peace agreement between the two governments. Moreover, your writing is full of contradictions. You praise IA for example for being cunning and charismatic and express your wish that the so-called opposition has some of his traits. Yet, you blame the Eritrean people for praising him for the same reasons. To make matters worse, not only do you falsely portray him as a CIA recruit using the unreliable source in the name of Tesfamical Giorgo, but you also fail to credit him for outmanoeuvring the Americans in Kagnew and elsewhere for there is ample evidence that he gained more for the national cause without giving anything in exchange. As for your repeated characterization of the “opposition” as failures, as much as I agree with you, you would have more credibility had you added yourself to the failed list as the opposition is nothing but a collection of people like yourself.

    • k.tewolde July 20, 2018

      Senay,you must have been wearing the same glasses like mine when you read the article.With all due respect to T.K., “the opposition is nothing but a collection of people like yourself.”……we have to own it,the opposition is not a designated hitter who have a batting average of 0.8 and we the spectators,did you pitch well?how many outs is your record from the infield?what is your record as a closer? how many leads did you blow? …we are in this together including you who is shredding the opposition to pieces.The state of the nation today reflects our image,who we are,nothing less nothing more.

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