Network of Eritreans for Constitutional Governance (NECG)

Eritrea Tyrant: Democracy No Good; Tyranny, You Got It!

Op-Ed
Berhane M Tekeste
20 May 2009

It is very comical for a certified tyrant, like Eritrea tyrant Isias Afewarki, to lecture Africa, or for that matter entire world, on democracy under the theme: Democray no good; Tyranny, all the way! Don't you think? I think so, because listening to tyrant Afewarki lecturing on democracy not only cracks me up big time, the best of it, but it also makes my day! I come out of it reciting tyrannical insanity like 2+2 equals 15, 3 -1 equals 4, or the world is flat and thumbing my chest for knowing it all!

What is more humorous is tyrant Afewarki teaming up with yet another tyrant-for-life, Gaddafi, and hosting a 3-day conference, 21-23 May 2009, on “Democracy in Africa: Current Situation and Prospects”, call it 'Conference of tyrants on Democracy', to be held in a place where not only there is no democracy but is also the seat of the most arrant tyrant in the world, Asmara, Eritrea. The event is a joint venture by, of, and for those that are in denial about democracy as represented by “The Green Book” representing Gaddafi, and “the Research and Documentation Center” for tyrant Afewarki.

Democracy can only be denied because it is the norm. But the purpose of the conference of tyrants on Democracy in Africa obviously is not about fostering the norm-it is detrimental to tyranny-, it is all about nitpicking and flyspecking democracy and eventually redefining the norm to fit tyranny! And that indeed demands a lot of soul searching, research and documentation, hence the need for Eritrea tyrant's 'Documentation and Research Center'! Accordingly, I can confidently presage the outcome of the conference to be: Democracy, no good; tyranny, you got it!

Now, grant me the liberty to re-state a little bit of the obvious just for the heck of it and as a humble reminder to starters? Great thanks.

What makes a tyrant is the sheer fact that a tyrant is in absolute utter denial and negation of the very principle of democracy in general and the two inseparably vital and defining components of the term democracy: 'demo' for people and 'cracy' for government in particular. And if I may elaborate on that modestly, democracy is the principle of governance and government by, of, and for the people.

While democracy has, rightly, the dictates of the will and wishes of the people at its center, tyranny has, perversely, imposing the dictates of the whims and dreams of one person upon the people by the might of the bullets at its center!

While democracy has, rightly again, the sovereignty of the people at its center, tyranny has, perversely again, subjugation of the people at its center! That all is absolutely true of Eritrea under the tyrannical grip of tyrant Afewarki.

Ever wondered why tyrants like Afewarki invest a lot of time and resources talking about some thing they are absolutely in denial about and don't believe in than using all the time at their disposal to make a case for what they believe in, tyranny? Wonder no more, it is because, tyrants can take all the time they need, say and do all they want,tyranny is neither defensible nor justifiable, whatsoever. Ergo, the only way for tyrants to survive is to nitpick and flyspeck democracy that will eventually destroy them to no recognition.

Forgive me for digressing! Never mind Eritrea, what is despicable is Afewarki's blatant disdain for the sovereignty of the people of other African countries, in this case South Africa. Perfectly in line with the core tenets of democracy, the people SA exercised their sovereignty by establishing their government by going to the ballot boxes.

Yet, in an interview with a South African reporter some days ago in Asmara, Eritrea, tyrant Afewarki dismissed and trashed this decision of a sovereign people as nominal democracy, hypocrisy, and meaningless ballot casting. Then, tyrant Afewarki started lecturing the reporter on democracy:

“Africa is in need of genuine democracy that brings about improvement in the lives of its people,” “mere ballot casting is meaningless”, and, referring to SA, “..the holding of elections in which there exists no equitable distribution of resources and where the majority of the population live below the poverty line, one cannot speak of real democracy.” So gave tyrant Afewarki the south African reporter an earful to hear about democracy. Translation: Democracy not good! Go for tyranny!

Yesterday, tyrant Afewarki lectured yet another African reporter, this time a female reporter from Kenya, on democracy:

“democracy is a long process that involves freedom and equality, and hence short of nurturing and inculcating this as a culture, the mere holding of elections copied from others is not only nominal but also leads to division and discord through instigating racial, religious and other sub-national sentiments. "The African experience over the past 50 years taught us this lesson,”. Afewarki is consistent: Democracy is no good, tyranny, you bet!

While at it, Eritrea tyrant lectured the Kenyan reporter on how to treat border disputes too. Referring to Uganda/Kenya row over a border island, “There is no justifiable reason for going into war or even a conflict with your neighbor because the line of the border is not agreeable to you” so lectured Afewarki the Kenyan reporter.

Holy moly! Afewarki must have drawn unforgettable lessons from his border experience with Ethiopia! Too little, too late. But better late than never. How about tyrant Afewarki applying his new-found border dispute maxim to handle his own border issue with Ethiopia?

In closing, what is ironical about tyrant Afewarki is that this same man had hoodwinked the people of Eritrea into believing that we were waging a war not for mere national independence and liberation but also for democracy in its broadest sense only to turn around and to bamboozle this same people of Eritrea into believing that what they fought and died for, democracy, is no good, it is a conspiracy to reverse our national and territorial sovereignty, a ploy to divide the nation along ethnic, regional, and religious lines hence a plot to sow discord among and between Eritreans and disrupt our national harmony and unity! The option: Tyranny!

****CONGRATULATIONS & HAPPY 18TH INDEPENDENCE ANNIVARSARY ERITREA******

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