|
 Network
of Eritreans for Constitutional
Governance
(NECG)
Eritrea:
Guarantors Of Freedom Celebrating Denied Freedom
18
July 2008
Berhane M Tekeste
Guarantors
Of Freedom celebrating denied Freedom!
There
is no lack of what is odd and bizarre in Eritrea under the brutal
tyrannical grip of tyrant Isaias Afewarki. The reason is simple.
Since tyranny is indefensible, the only way to perpetuate it is to
dupe the people with perverted understanding of democracy, the fatal
antidote to tyranny, and to apply Gestapo tactics of intimidation and
fear to make them submit to it quietly in words and deeds.
It
is, therefore, quiet natural and understandable why odd and bizarre
behavior is not a rare commodity under such circumstances because
people fear brutal reprisals for non-compliance, hence they act
contrary to their beliefs.
Case
in point: Under the banner ‘The Youth, Guarantors Of Freedom,
or Youth, Guarantors of all-round Freedom’, the regime of
Eritrea tyrant Afewarki has launched a nation-wide festival that
kicked off as we speak over this weekend. It is an open secret and
the Eritrean Youth of all people know it very well that there is not
even basic freedom let alone all-round freedom in Eritrea (list
below). How does the youth then proclaim itself guarantors of
something that doesn’t even exist? Well, they have been
browbeaten and cowed into acting contrary to their beliefs.
Freedom
and indeed all-round freedom in Eritrea has long been guaranteed by
the blood, sweat, tears, and the invaluable sacrifices of the martyrs
of the people of Eritrea at independence in 1991 but has been denied
ever since by tyrant Afawerki’s power of the barrel of the gun.
Today, one would think the ‘Guarantors of freedom, all-round
freedom’ would be marching on the streets of Asmara protesting
denial of freedom that the people of Eritrea have paid dearly for.
Instead, by their act, the ‘Guarantors of Freedom’ are
celebrating denied freedom big time.
Basic
freedoms denied in Eritrea include:
Freedom
of the people to elect their government- don’t even think about
it!
Freedom
of the people for parliamentary representation- no parliament
Freedom
of speech
Freedom
of assembly
Freedom
of free press, print, electronic or otherwise
Freedom
of religion – There’s nothing new about the Bible or
Koran
Freedom
to have a day in a court of law
Freedom
of political dissent- what political dissent?
Freedom
for democratic governance- What democracy? Somalia, IraQ?
Just
for the record, Eritrea is neither a communist society nor are
Eritreans monolithic. There is and there can’t be one national
organization that would represent and speak on behalf of all Eritrean
youth/students or all Eritrean women. Hence, unions like NUEYS or
NUEW speak only for whomever they represent even if they carry the
label ‘National’.
Let
there be no misunderstanding here. This is by no means an attempt to
prevent people from attending the festival for the sole purpose of
socializing with each other. The point here is to make people aware
that their rightful and innocent intentions are being exploited by
the organizers to masquerade the repressive tyrannical reign that the
people of Eritrea have been subjected to:
By
using the event to project a ‘be happy, no worry’ mood
of the people, hence justification for tyranny.
By
using the event as a blindfold to prevent the people from seeing the
brutal consequences of Afawarki’s tyrannical stronghold on
Eritrea
By
using the event to defocus calls for democratic governance.
Knowing
that, participating in festivals organized by the perpetrators of
repression and tyranny in Eritrea, however good the intentions may
be, is tantamount to consciously and willingly contributing to its
perpetuation. And that will come to haunt the participants come the
inevitable time of reckoning.
Let
me leave you with the following joke:
God
surveys the world one day, seeing the mountains, valleys, seas and
all there is.
Suddenly
God stops and exclaims: "Why is Eritrea so green? I specifically
made that country dry and yellow!"
The
angel Gabriel leans over and whispers: "My Lord, those are army
uniforms."
So
goes a joke about mandatory national service in Eritrea, a Red Sea
state that keeps an estimated 1 in 15 people in the army often for
years beyond the obligatory 12 to 18 months. By Jack Kimball,
Reuters, 17 July 2008.
Woe
to ye that have subjected the people of Eritrea to tyrannical terror!
For ye have betrayed what our martyrs died for: Democracy, rule of
law, all-round freedom and justice.
.
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