|
 Network
of Eritreans for Constitutional
Governance
(NECG)
Eritrea:
Manipulating Festivals As Means To Perpetuate Tyranny
07
August 2008
Berhane
M Tekeste
Great
Show. Gives tyranny a break domestically and internationally!
Unlike
other colonial territories that were automatically disposed of as
politically independent and self-governing sovereign nations at the
end of Colonialism, the people of Eritrea were denied of such
disposal (national independence) forcibly. Consequently, the people
of Eritrea were damned to re-claim national independence the hardest
way: 30 years of armed blood, sweat, and tears. Yet, the people of
Eritrea didn’t get what they fought for but colonial oppression
and subjugation replaced by homegrown barefaced tyranny of the
malevolent brand perpetrated and perpetuated by Eritrea ruler Isaias
Afawerki and his cronies- a handful of relics of what once was known as
Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) later conveniently
renamed Peoples Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). No Gimmick.
What you got in Eritrea is tyranny being perpetrated under the guise
of Democracy and Justice!
Tyrants
utilize any, all, and every means including war and Gestapo tactics
of intimidation to perpetuate tyranny. Of all, the easiest and
simplest way to perpetuate tyranny is to deflect attention from it
persistently.
Eritrea
ruler Isaias Afawerki is no exception to that. As a matter of fact he
has mastered such means par excellence!
One
of the many such deflection tactics that Eritrea ruler Afawerki has
mastered and made an art of is preoccupying the people with frequent
festivals as a means primarily designed to draw away attention from
and hence perpetuate tyranny, and secondarily, as a valuable
diversionary ploy crafted to obtund and counter the ever mounting
calls for democracy.
In
Eritrea, what makes festivals attractive and thus easy to manipulate
in service of purposes contrary to the ostensible intention is the
love of Eritreans to socialize with each other, to meet old friends
and most of all their love for their cultural heritages. Ruler
Afawerki knows that pretty well and is exploiting it perfectly to
blindfold the people from seeing the tyranny they are subjected to.
While
the hooplas and fanfare of last Month’s Festival dubbed
conveniently ‘Youth Festival’ is not yet completely over,
the tyrannical regime of ruler Afawerki repackaged and renamed this
same festival and launched it as yet another festival dubbed again
conveniently ‘Eritrea Festival’. Launching one festival
after another is consistent with persistent diversionary tactic
mentioned above.
Other
than that, these merry events are not organized because Eritreans
have been so alienated from their cultural heritages that they needed
multiple festivals to preserve them, or because Eritreans have lost
their patriotism that they needed a series of festivals to recover
it, or because Eritrea’s robust economy has stressed out the
people to the extent that they needed non-stop feel-good parties to
relax them from the stress of overtime work.
No,
the motive behind such festivals is not concern about cultural
heritage, patriotism, or worry about the lack of socialization
between and among Eritreans but it is designed to keep attention away
from the tyrannical repression they are being subjected to, one the
one hand, and as far as the Eritrean diaspora is concerned it a
surefire money-making scheme, on the other hand. Who is kidding whom here?
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