WHY AND HOW WE AS A COLLECTIVE SHOULD NOW ASK PRESIDENT ISAIAS TO RESIGN!

                                   His presidency has clearly failed, and we need a new beginning!

                                                                                    By

                                                             The New Eritrea Movement

(We think that this is an important document, and much work has gone into it. We, therefore, request the reader to give it the attention it deserves.  We suggest that you start reading the conclusion and parts 7 and 8. Thanks)

OUTLINE

Introduction

1. Political Psychology and Agents in History
2. Inside the Mind of Isaias Afwerki and His Health Status
3. How He Achieved Ascent to power
4. Mechanisms of Maintaining State Control
5. Chinks in the Dictatorship’s Armory
6. Why Has the Opposition Failed So Far?
7. The Need for Cultural Revolution
8. The Way out!

Conclusion

Introduction

In his call for immediate action, the distinguished Eritrean scholar Prof. Araya Debessay has been saying that ‘Eritrea is in an Aferkubu situation!’  Rightly so.  The only thing is that, our situation is much worse than previously thought. In fact, Eritrea as we knew it is barely alive -unless we want to deceive ourselves.  Otherwise, Asmara,  which we were proud of, is now largely not better than an old disheveled provincial colonial town in a poor African country. Alas, what is worse, where is the confident elegance of its youth, the brilliance and creativity of the Eritrean,  the individual and collective courage of the people, the ‘can do’ attitude, the hard work and excellence of Eritrean skill, the genuine love and concern for one’s neighbor and country, the defiant spirit against tyranny and degradation,  etc.   Wey gado!  Ezikulu men dea wesidwo.     Hijiwun, Weyane  dea  yikonu  nbildo  alona?

The Eritrean people are now in retreat from themselves – and they have largely lost the will to defend themselves against their own home-bread nemesis whom they unknowingly and undeservedly  once  hailed as their liberator. Despite its heroic history,  proud people and immense potential, Eritrea is now known around the world mainly for the harshness of its regime, its ruinous poverty and its pitiable refugees who have been subjected to extreme cruelty and degradation.  There is not much left to be proud of as an Eritrean.  We are facing a severe turn of fortune.   Despite all this, our situation is not hopeless.  We can quickly reverse our lamentable situation if we try to objectively understand the underlying causes of our misery and are prepared to unite and take the desperate measures that the situation demands. If we continue to live in denial and just try to look after our individual selves and promote our private interests, them we have nobody else to blame but ourselves.

So, where should we start and what are the strategies and tactics we should follow to take back our country.  Our aim here is only to suggest where we think we should start – and this is very important.   Ideas are conceived and plans for action drawn in the mind on the basis of one’s belief systems, values and expectations, fears and hopes. The Eritrean dictatorship is, in fact,  weak!! Its apparent strength is primarily the result of controlling the cognitive and affective dimensions of the psyche of a weakened hostage population by subjecting it to extreme ignorance and fear. It has hit the Eritrean people primarily on the head and has prevented us from thinking properly and realizing the nakedness of the proverbial emperor who pretended to be in his regal dress whereas he had none.  Therefore, the question we ask is: How can we first liberate the Eritrean people from the dictatorship of the mind and thinking imposed on them – and dispel the myth about President Isaias?  If we can find a satisfactory  answer to this, the rest will be easy!  It will be a matter of putting a proud nation against one waning man – and he can’t win. The aim of this article is to make a modest contribution towards that end.

As you have seen in the outline, the subjects we shall  try to cover in this article are vast – in fact, more than enough for a fat book.  However, we  shall only try here to provide a brief intimation of the ideas we have been mulling over recently which have direct relevance to our situation.

1. Political Psychology and Agents in History

What we stated above leads to an important question in historiography:  to what extent do individual agents influence history   Sometimes, a combination of social and economic circumstances and prolonged decay may bring about the collapse of civilizations  (such as the end of the Roman Empire).  At other times, more than anything else, it is the role of individual leaders (such as Mussolini in Italy and Hitler in Germany  during the Second World War)  that may shape the destiny of nations.  In such situations, political psychology has particular relevance – and it becomes imperative to come up with a psychological profile of the leader.  In our case, President Isaias Afwerki is primarily the origin and the epicenter of the present vortex eating Eritrea.   We, therefore, need to know how his mind works and where all the mess is coming from.  For this purpose, we need to work out the psychological profile of the Eritrean president and his health status.  This is vital for drawing up realistic and effective strategies and tactics how best to deal with him.

 

2. Inside the Mind of President Isaias Afwerki and His Health Status

The famous Austrian psychotherapist, Dr Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961)(1), a contemporary and colleague of Sigmond Freud, postulated that there are sixteen personality types.  This was further developed by Meyers and Briggs (2) into what is now known as the Meyer-Briggs Personality Test.(3) The sixteen personality types are classified according to eight personality clusters:  extroversion – Introversion,  Intuition – Sensing, Feeling – Sensing, Judging – Perceiving. We do not wish to go into the details of this matter here. If you are interested, you may do further reading on the subject, or more easily have a look on YouTube.  We shall make a long story short.  After examining  what President Isaias’s   former colleagues and friends have said about him and, more importantly, after closely examining his behavior under different circumstances for decades, we have come to the conclusion that according to Carl Jung and the Meyer-Brigggs Test, the personality type that best fits  President  Isaias Afwerki  is what is known as ISTP (Introverted- Sensing- thinking – Perceiving)(4).

We shall now briefly outline what this means, and how this personality type manifests itself in actual behavior – which has proven to be ominous for Eritrea and Eritreans.   You can cross check this yourselves.   It is important to understand this  personality type  because it dispels the myth surrounding this man as a hero and the aura of invincibility that has mentally crippled the Eritrean people from taking the right action.

1. ISTPs are inward looking people and focus on their immediate environment (which they can perceive with their senses and analyze them in detail at surface level) without bothering to go deep into the underlying causes or the theory behind them.They are not, in fact, interested in theory – only in the practical application of things.  Morality does not concern them much either.  What matters is real politic.  Then, there is the thinking dimension of this type – which is, in fact, very strong.  But, there are other downsides.  Their feeling side is not properly developed, and they are not given to feeling for other people. They even have difficulty in understanding their own emotions.  They use their thinking ability to analyze  the actual situation in front of them and they manipulate it rationally to get certain outcomes for themselves regardless of how it will affect others.
2. They are selfish and extremely self-centered. They will do anything to get what they want. They see people as mere enablers, not as feeling beings who have their own aspirations.  They are narcissistic and have the sense of entitlement to be obeyed and served – and be sacrificed for – not only as individuals, but sometimes the whole country as well if they come to power.   Ethical considerations like friendship, loyalty to colleagues and even relatives do not concern them much. Such types can sacrifice colleagues or friends or even family members without shame or guilt.  It is a matter of cold calculation to get the outcomes they want.
3. They crave for personal adulation by persons or crowds and can be swayed by it. Likewise, they abhor criticism.  Instead of giving reasoned defense in favor of their position, they resort to verbal or physical or both attacks.
4. They are very intelligent details oriented people who focus on the present and now. They have a tactical mind whose focus is on controlling the present situation regardless of what will happen tomorrow.  They are not strategic, and they do not properly weigh the future consequences of their actions.  They think that they will deal with things as they arise without thinking far. If their actions prove to be mistaken, they do not admit responsibility.
5. They think that they are smarter than nearly everybody else (which is not true), and they are also shameless. They are given to outbursts of anger when they are cornered, and they hardly admit their mistakes.  They rather deflect the blame to others or make excuses.
6. They have the tendency to break their promises as the situations demands to suit themselves. They can also break promised appointments without earlier notice.
7. They see rules as instruments that limit their freedom of action. They, therefore, break rules that don’t suit them or they do away with the rules and set up new  ones that suit them.  Everything has to revolve around them.
8. They do not like authority figures be it individuals or institutions that dominate them, and they try to keep their distance from them or challenge them, or try to discredit or even overthrow  them
9. As individuals, they are self-contained, and they hate having to rely on others even in difficult circumstances – unless they call the shots.
10. They are decisive and can take immediate action on others (when their victims are not ready) without being encumbered by considerations of morality or sympathy for  their victims and their families – old friends, colleagues or even confidants.
11. They are not empathetic, and can see people only from outside. Therefore, they lack proper understanding of what the other person (even close ones) might be thinking or feeling.   These people  may pose potential danger to them – but they do not get it.
12. They have the ability to organize human and material resources for short term tactical ends. Long term strategic considerations are almost absent.
13. They could be massively deceitful and have the propensity to fake things that mislead even people close to them – from whom they hide a lot.
14. They have two personas: (a) charming and man of the people image to beguile those they want to persuade, and (b)  cold and cruel side to do away with those who stand on their way.
15. They can take risks and face challenges headon.
16. They can reduce things to their bare bones and decide accordingly without being bothered by the opinions of others, the culture, morality, theory, etc. They can make immediate life and death decisions quite easily without qualms.
17. They are economical with their words. They are utilitarian and interested only in things that work for then with practical results.
18. They are unpredictable
19. They live for the moment.
20. They are aloof from others.
21. They dislike excessive planning. They are inclined to improvisation rather than careful and meticulous planning.
22. They have sudden mood swings.
23. They tends to surround themselves with sycophants and yes-men who support  them and their ways of life however wrong they might be.
24. Sometimes, they offend individuals and groups without meaning to because they lack empathy, and their personal boundaries on others are lax.  
25. They sometimes become very isolated from people because they do not properly understand their own feeling or the feelings of others. As introverts, they do not enjoy   getting engaged with people (individuals or groups) all the time. They sometimes disappear from public view to be with themselves and
26. When stressed out, they could be very intense and prone to having outbursts.
27. They see social rules and responsibilities as tentative.
28. They don’t accept changes that will diminish their freedom of action, and they feel unfairly restricted by the expectations of others.
29. They dislike having to face many choices and make many decisions.
30. They are cold and calm problem solvers.
31. They can stay calm under adversity and bounceback.
32. They have huge sexual appetites, and they see women as chattels. They find it difficult to commit, and they have multiple sexual partners.

From this, the reader can easily judge which qualities brought Isaias  Afwerki to power and enabled him to triumph in the murky and murderous political intrigues of the ELF and EPLF during  the liberation struggle and hence.(7)  It is also clear that he has many downsides that have been elevated and manifested at the national level resulting in the Eritrean catastrophe.   Isaias  Afwerki could have made an excellent engineer or a surgeon or a mechanic  or a field commander –  but not the president of a country.  He is out of place!  He would have done well elsewhere.  In fact, ISTPs are generally identified as ”Mechanics” or “Craftsmen” due to their peculiar inclinations.  For one thing, our president  has a limited vision, and he is out to just promote  his own interests rather than those of the nation.  He also lacks integrity.  As we have seen,  he lacks natural empathy and he finds it difficult to emotionally and genuinely  connect with the people and really understand their suffering.  In short, in his psychology, the Eritrean president is paradoxically an outsider.    In fact, he has no or very little genuine commitment to the country (or any other country, for that matter) apart from himself – right from the beginning, we should add. It can’t be otherwise!  Therefore, was it a serious mistake to make him the leader – or did he assume the post through trickery and murder?

In terms of his health status, President Isaias seems to be fine.  When one closely examines his  broad smiles,  one can see that he has full set of teeth with good oral hygiene.  When he boards airplanes, he can go up the flight of stairs quickly without holding the rails.  He can also squat and stand up quickly without any difficulty.  Look also at his height-volume ratio which is proportional.  He himself also claimed that he has no serious health problem such as diabetes, high blood pressure or cholesterol.  This is probably true.  Make no mistake, President Isaias Afwerki looks after himself quite well.  Despite his age (about 75), he seems to be fit.  Nobody can tell, but it is possible that the president of Eritrea may live beyond the age of 90. Therefore, it may be foolish to hope or make the assumption that he will sooner than later die of natural causes. In fact, he may live for another fifteen years or more.  Can we wait that long given the dire state of affairs in Eritrea at the moment?!

3. How He Achieved Ascent to Power

It is not surprising that with these personality traits,  Isaias  Afwerki managed to capture state power in Eritrea.  His coming to the office of president was a forgone conclusion by the time of independence.  By then, he had built the cult of a hero as a party leader and liberator of the nation assisted by his blind followers – who killed and imprisoned their colleagues and others for opposing the leadership during decades of the struggle.(5)  Those who remained with Isaias had eroded personalities –  directly or indirectly forced to undergo what they called “Berbika’miktal” (“killing one’s conscience”, as did Petros Solomon and Sibhat  Ephrem(6) and many others.  It was with the help of such personalities and the creation of a party within a party that he managed to capture power.  Isaias’s  cult of personality was deeply ingrained in the minds of his followers. They  were  deprived of their ability for independent thinking. His greatest instrument was liquidation of competitors for power.  We can mention very many names.  At last, those who had previously “killed their conscience” for so long and who were blinded by Isaias Afwerki’s  undeserved  cult and myth of invincibility were petrified to take action against him in 1991. Then, he collected them one by one from their homes at night with their eyes open.  It was as if they were waiting for this to happen petrified by fear and indecision to act.  It is unbelievable.

 

 

4. Mechanisms of Maintaining State Control

After independence, Isaias  Afwerki dissolved the EPLF and established the EPFDJ in its place which enabled him to do away with those he considered not useful enough for him  and brought in his own cronies to power like Yemane Monkey and Yemane Charlie.

There is unsettled  controversy  about why and how the Badme War started.  The consequences of the war were catastrophic for Eritrea in particular.  The country lost about 20,000-30,000 of its fine men and women whom it could not afford.  Some say that for Isaias, it was good riddance – because it diminished those who could have opposed him.  Anyway, the president used the war and the occupation of Eritrean territory as a  pretext to prolong and maintain the national service – which was used to remove young people from towns and cities and confine them to remote fox holes under the control of loyal military, police and security officers.  Incidentally, there have been four or more security agencies in Eritrea. The said confinement saved Isaias all the trouble the young  people could have caused him.

Continued grip on power was also enabled by putting in prison thousands of people .  Some Eritrean civil rights groups claim that there are more than 360 detention facilities in the country with about 10,000 prisoners of conscience – many unaccounted for.(7)

Government officials have also been cowed from speaking up due to the threat of imprisonment, disappearance or  Midiskal, being frozen out (eg. the person is removed from his high post and transferred to another place where he/she  is provided with a chair and desk – but no work).

Migration and hemorrhaging of thecountry of its young people has also weakened the opposition within the country.This has been used as an additional  tool by Isaias to hang on to power.  The population of Eritrea has been estimated by some to be anywhere between  3.5-4.5, with about one million living outside the country.  There has not been any census.(8)  Eritreans living in the country now amount to roughly 1.5 times the annual population growth in Ethiopia. The population of Ethiopia is 114 million.  This has very serious implications.

To keep high officials of the regime contented, they have been given free reign to pillage the population through corruption and to abuse women with impunity.

Here are some of the other techniques that the Isaias regime has been using to disorientate and control the Eritrean psyche which amounts to psychological warfare.

1. Disturbing the balance between cognition, emotion and behavior, eg. Leaving through a prison door a montage picture of a prisoner’s wife (his children’s mother) with another man in a bar – to drive him mad or commit suicide
2. Controlling behavior so severely in the society that cognition and emotion have to change to cope with the situation – for the sake of survival.The instruments used are: the spread of false rumor through “03”(“Menafih” or grapevine), strict policing, isolation, restricted information source (dripping), wild propaganda, restricting social relations, what people wear, books they read, programs they watch, physical coercion, etc.
3. Terror and absolute submission – to the extent that the person makes serious mistakes of judgment and becomes a thereat only to himself
4. Loving his or her tormentor – what is known as “Stockholm Syndrome” – not knowing what is truth and what is not
5. Funning wrong attitude and thinking
6. When changes in the cognitive, affective and behavioral dimensions of a person or group reach complete harmony with the reality of the situation the regime has created, then a new person is born – a slave that will accept anything the regime says and will do whatever is asked of him/her by the regime.
7. If someone comes with a remorse after so much punishment and hardship, then he/she is accepted and rewarded to conquer him|her twice.
8. To disorientate and demoralize an educated person, he/she is imprisoned with people who have no or little education who are instructed by the prison officials to tell the educated person day in day out that Eritrea needs fighters not writers until the person starts to feel that he/she is useless.
9. High government officials or a senior citizens (sometimes above the age of 70) who complains about how things are being run may suddenly receive a letters telling them that it is their  turn to go on national service.  Subsequently, they are taken to a remote area allegedly for military training where they  face indignity and psychological disorientation.

 

5. Chinks in the Dictator’s Armory

As we stated earlier, Isaias  Afwerki and his regime are very weak indeed.  The only thing that makes them look strong is that we in the are very  divided and even weaker than they are.  The Eritrean economy is weak despite the gold mines.  The black market which is mainly run by the regime  is bigger than the regular market, and most of the country’s money is in the hands of the party kept overseas – and unaccounted for. (9), Basic amenities are hard to get.  There are shortages of not only food, but also water and energy. This is apart from the oppression and fear that is palpable in the society.  Therefore, the president can’t have much support among the general public.  In fact, he seems to be isolated.

So, where is his power base?  He is left mainly with those who have been unduly benefiting from the system  amounting to  state capture and some small portions of the population who wrongly think that it is their government.  How they can think so is an absolute mystery.

No doubt, the ministers and the military generals would also remain with the president.  They are the ones who had killed their conscience long ago – Derbom ziketelu!  Therefore we should not expect much from them.

The main stay of the regime is actually the security apparatus of which there are four or more – including  Serawur – the cyber security arm.  Are all members of the Eritrean security loyal to the president?  We doubt it.

In fact, after closely examining the psychological profile of the Eritrean president, we think that the most serious chink in the armor of the regime is Isaias  Afwerki himself, just like Hitler and Mussolini were the primary liabilities  of their respective regimes.  Isaias is emotionally unstable, acts out of impulse without thinking deep and far and could be callous and un-empathic. Sometimes, he does not really know the people whom he surrounds himself with.  He also   finds it hard to correct his own mistakes himself, and no one else can tell him that he is wrong.  He can also be easily deceived by public adulation and also easily takes offence when he is criticized.  He has a wonderful ability to make enemies whom he believes he will eventually overcome by sheet force of tenacity and persistent attack.  People stay with him (even those who look loyal)  not because of love or devolution but mostly because of fear and the advantages they might lose if he is gone. All these factors are of extreme importance  when making political calculus on how to best deal with the dictator.    The odds are actually stack against President Isaias, and it is hard to see how he can stay in power longer unless the opposition continue to make colossal mistakes.

6. Why the opposition has failed so far

The answer is simple: (a) lack of unity, and (b) lack of common purpose.  Amazingly enough, Eritrea has many politicians, or those who consider themselves to be so.  The problem is that they mostly have entrenched ideas, old group loyalties and the tendency to still fight long lost wars.  Amazingly enough, they are mostly still driven by the will to high office in Eritrea.   They don’t seem to be happy also when new ideas come up to organize the opposition in a new way.  The appeal to the Eritrean public in the diaspora does not seem to gain momentum either because people have lost hope in politics and politicians. We are thus in a stalemate – and the colossal problems of our people continue to worsen.  It is very frustrating indeed!

We are aware of the various encouraging Eritrean movements that have been coming up of late.  They deserve all the support we can give.  However, we can’t see how these movements will achieve the results we want soon enough.

We also think that although  holding demonstrations or other forms of opposition or meeting to discuss post-Isaias  Afwerki Eritrea  do have an important role ,  all these activities put together will not remove the dictatorship.  We have been doing this for decades, and we are nowhere near our main goal.  Our problems are much deeper than we think!  We perhaps need to try something new.

7. Need for a Cultural Revolution

Our culture is partly to blame for our disunity and lack of common purpose. We can’t blame President Isaias for everything. We have to, therefore, examine aspects of our culture and change them where we must.  As Ato  Woldeab Woldemariamonce said, “We Eritreans have agreed not to agree.”  It is amazing.   A cursory look at Eritrean history shows the various divisions in the society and the lack of harmony.  In the past, Eritrean chiefs of the various regions and even districts  hardly ever agreed to establish a common administration for mutual benefit.  It is enough to look at the 19th century history of Hazega andTseazeza (just outside Asmara) and the endless wars and bloodshed between the two villages due to political rivalry – despite the fact that they were and are kinsmen.(10)  No self-respecting chief could willingly  work under another chief  who happens to be his neighbor.

The man of war and the one who defiantly holds rugged individuality and independence regardless of its justification is overly revered in our society.  Children in Eritrea are brought up not to accept defeat.  We are saying this from personal experience.  This spills over to our present day politics.

In fact, in his map of the world, the American neurosurgeon, Prof. James Fallon(11),  suggests that Eritreans have a “worrier gene”(12) in our makeup, just like the Somalis and the people of Afghanistan –  and the Ethiopians to a lesser extent. This is not surprising because Eritrea has been a battlefield for millennia, not just for centuries.  The good news is that the expression of this outdated gene can be silenced and made peaceful through the process of epigenetics(13).  This is what the modern world requires.

At the moment, there is still the cult of the hero (the man of war)  in our culture.  Wise men and women and those with knowledge, intelligence and skill are hardly recognized.  In fact, there is an implied tinge of weakness perceived in such people. We know what they say  about goldsmiths, blacksmiths, pottery makers, etc. who have vital skills.  Very few seem to realize that these craftsmen could have constituted the pioneers of an embryonic industry in a rational society. On the contrary, there is still overblown adulation of the heroism of  Raisi Woldemichael Solomon, Bahta Segeneiti, Negusse Wedi  Elfu, etc.   Strangely enough, our philosophers are actually our popular singers such as Alamin Abdu Letif, TeberihTesfahunegn, Fatinga, Yemane Barya, Osman Abdurahim, Bereket Mengisteab, Tsehaitu Beraki, Abrar Osman, Fihira, Helen Meles and many more.  How many real Eritrean thinkers and philosophers can we mention?  Does the society even allow it? To denigrate education, it is claimed: “Kab’muhros aemiro!”. Thus, our only university is closed. Where will this take us?

Eritrean culture has many good qualities that have to be preserved. However, there are others that need to be reconsidered and done away with.  The present medieval culture we have based on the adulation of barely thinking  mustachioed macho men– and male chauvinism has to be largely abandoned.  Instead  more credit should be given to rationality, knowledge, wisdom, intelligence, creativity, skill, virtue, solidarity, progress, etc.    In short, we need a cultural revolution – and no less,  if we are to restore our balance.

 

8. The Way Out

We  believe that under the present circumstances, the opposition in the diaspora is too divided (vying for power) with no clear and coherent plan to save our country and people – and there is disabling apathy amidst the silent majority. These sectors of our population are not fit for purpose to remove the dictatorship at the earliest. In these circumstances, the best way maybe  to encourage the Eritrean military to take over power as an interim administration.  It is almost certain that the top generals who have been with Isaias  for so long would not do it.  But, the middle level officers might.  Popular uprising in Eritrea to remove the dictatorship is almost unthinkable.  The people have been so traumatized and crushed that they have no will to fight.  But, once Isaias is gone, they will immediately come out to the streets from their hiding in mass to celebrate the occasion.  Most of them will no doubt be shocked with disbelief and joy  at the enormity and speed of the event.  The military people who come to power would not have the skill and the support of the people to stay in power and run the country on their own.  They will inevitably seek help from professionals in the country and abroad.  We  are taking the Sudanese experience as an example.

The joint military-civilian interim administration should only be seen as a temporary first step on the way to creating a democratic dispensation in the country. If the serious divisions and lack of common purpose among Diaspora political parties and politicians are imported into Eritrea, we fear that the underlying cracks within the Eritrean society will surface and worsen potentially resulting in a painful civil war the consequences of which no one can predict.

Conclusion

“Kab kitgoyi mw’al, kisad mihaz yibehal.”   About a month ago, we would never have entertained the possibility that President Isaias Afwerki would “voluntarily reign” from office and leave. We would have even laughed at the sheer folly of the idea. After having studied his personality profile, however,  we  now believe that if properly approached, he might, in fact, see reason and convince himself that it is in his best interest to leave office with dignity and hand over power to a new group of people from the military and civilian professions. Isaias Afwerki is not a mad man, as some people might think.  In fact, he is of sound mind (although wired in a peculiar way) and very intelligent at that. But, more importantly, he is a realist (of the Sensing kind, see above), and he understands where things are.  He knows when to retreat if things are not viable for himself. Otherwise, he would not have survived this far.

 

We believe that it would be best if the committee that organized the Manifesto 2020 of Eritrean Academics and Professionals  take the initiate to draft a letter to be sent to President Isaias asking him to resign.  Besides the 95 signatories of the document, other prominent Eritreas (whose names the president will easily recognize) may have to be invited to sign it.  If about 500-1000 or more signatures could be obtained from across the Eritrean society, that will add pressure on the dictator to reconsider his position. He should be promised comfortable life for himself and his family anywhere he likes in Eritrea or elsewhere.  It should be explained to him that the alternative for him will be dire sooner or later.  We want to resolve the problem peacefully without any bloodshed.   Depending on his response, intermediaries from powerful nations could be sent to him guaranteeing his safety and wellbeing. Of course, as usual, he will first get into his customary outburst and will declare his rejection of the idea with bravado and intimidation. But, after a week or so, when he calms down, he will probably seriously reconsider his position.  If he disappears from public view for some time after he receives the offer, it will be a good sign.  It will mean that he is seriously thinking about it.

Finally, on a personal note, despite all he has done, we feel sorry for President Isaias.  We understand him better now.  Whether he knows it or not, he is a prisoner of his own nature .   A person in his right mind would not do what he has done – for what?  We have come to realize human frailty and how things could go wrong.  We all have feet of clay, and however we think we are strong, we are really weak – and we have to eventually recon with physical and mental decay, frailty and death.  Do you think Isaias Afworki is continuing to enjoy being president?  We doubt it. Look at his recent TV appearances,  especially the last one.  If we make him the right offer in a proper manner and the right language to resign and go with heroic dignity, he might accept it.  Let us try it!

Anyway, even if he rejects our request, we shall still be the winners.  The very fact that he is being seriously requested by significant Eritreans to resign and go  for the first time in his life will demoralize him and remind him that things have probably reached a tipping  point.   The daring request will probably also send reverberations throughout Eritrea  and wherever else Eritreans live.  This will no doubt embolden the opposition.

Notes

(1)  “Carl Gustav Jung”.  Encyclopedia Britannica.

(2)  “Meyers and Briggs”.  Wikipedia.  www.google.com

(3)  “Meyers-Briggs Personality Test”.  www.youtube.com also have a look at the Wikipedia entry.

(4)  “ISTP Personality Type”.  www.youtube.com.  Please study at least 6 entries.

(5)  Ghebrehiwet, Yosief, Romanticizing Gedli.  www.google.com.  Free download.

(6)  Wegahta Radio, Interview with Tesfay Temnewo, Parts 1- 37. www.youtube.com.

(7)  Zere, Abraham T.,  “Eritrea is a Prison State – No wonder so many are desperate to escape” The Guardian.  www.google.com

8. Plaut, Martin (2016) Understanding Eritrea: Inside Africa’s Most Repressive State.  London: C.Hurst & Co. Publishers, p.135.
9. Ibid., pp. 133- 148.

(10)  Yosief, Yishak, Embi Yale Woldu Gomida:  the History of Raisi Woldemichael . Asmara:  MBY Prinitng Press.

(11)  Fallon, James (2011) “The Mind of a Dictator”.  Oslo Freedom Forum.  See also Moghaddom, Fathall. “Psychology of Dictatorships”.  Center for Homeland Defence and Security, Naval Post Graduate School.

(12)  Ibid.

(13)  “Epigenetics:  How Genes and Environment Interact”.  VideoCast, 2012, www.youtube.com