From ‘Tim’ to ‘Hateftef’

It is a long ride downward into the abyss.  In the 1980s, EPLF’s opponents raged and ridiculed its organization and its movement.  Asked to respond to these baseless accusations, EPLF’s veterans simply said, “…Tim Mibal Meritsina…”  We all knew then that this was a confident movement on a verge of victory.  From its inception around 1971 to 1991, i.e. in 20 years, it exerted constant and visible progresses to finally win Eritrean independence.  EPLF achieved miracles with few cents in its pockets, and without the benefits of a nation.

From 1971 to 1974, from 1974 to 1977 and 1978, then 1982 to 1985, to 1988, to 1990 and then to 1991, EPLF achieved great feats.  Major achievements were made in increments of about three years or less.  All this while building the Bidho project, manufacturing 35 different types of medicines, maintaining and repairing huge armaments and its truck fleets.  All this while feeding the population in the liberated zones through Eritrean Relief Association, and feeding over 100,000 of its troops.  These were the days when all tegadelties were equal.  These were the days when Diaspora Eritreans were flocking into Meda, unlike today when everybody is flocking out of PFDJ land.

Today, as a nation, as the 183^rd member of the UN, we have gone from “Tim Mibal Meritsina” to “Hateftef Mibal Meritsina”.  PFDJ may claim to control Malaria, but it is developing a serious case of ‘diarrhea of the mouth’.   By all standards we have trekked down the abyss.  PIA introduced Eritrea to OAU and the world by dismissing all these nations as being below his Eritrea.  Sixteen years later, Eritrea has become one of the most lawless and corrupt places in the world.  PFDJ hasn’t been able to reproduce EPLF’s 20 years of success in its 16 years at the helm.  With nothing, EPLF managed to create miracles every three years.  With everything, with millions of USD and the benefits of a nation, PFDJ hasn’t managed to recreate miracles in 16 years.  The border stalemate alone is over 7 years old already.  EPLF, our Shaebia, the Shaebia we loved and admired, would have dealt with this in maximum three years.  In reality, the true Shaebias are six feet under and in PFDJ Dungeons.   

As we await PIA’s interview, we should keep the following facts in mind,

1.     Politics:

a.     PIA doesn’t give a hoot about the public.  PIA is forced to play his kamikaze politics due to his full awareness that tegadelties (esp. senior ones) don’t support him as manifested in the followings,

                                                  i.            Year 1994 EPLF 3^rd Congress:  PIA narrowly re-elected,

                                                ii.            Year 1996 PFDJ Central Committee: Passed resolutions requiring Red Sea to transfer its assets to Hidri Trust,

                                              iii.            Year 1998 National Assembly:  Soon after the commencement of the conflict with Ethiopia, National Assembly agrees to postpone reviewing PIA’s handling of the tension with Ethiopia leading to the open conflict,

                                             iv.            Year 2000 PFDJ CC and National Assembly passed resolutions requiring elections to take place in 2001, to draft election and multi-party laws, to evaluate PFDJ’s performance in the past decade and requiring that the President seek consultations with military committee before taking military actions. 

                                               v.            The above were only the major meetings.  There were other meetings with the same requirements, restrictions and limitations on PIA’s power.  For instance, August 2000 Executive Committee of PFDJ (we are talking about 18 members of whom the majority are PIA’s worshippers) still refused PIA’s request to condemn certain PFDJ members (esp. Min. Haile Drue) at the upcoming PFDJ Central Committee.  To reiterate, PIA’s own worshippers refused to heed by PIA’s wishes at this executive committee.

                                             vi.            The 4^th PFDJ Congress has been postponed indefinitely, representing the longest period it has been postponed.  From 1971 to 1977 (6 years), from 1977 to 1987 (10 years), from 1987 to 1994 (7 years), from 1994 to 2007 and counting (13 years ++++).  At least one can give a reason for postponing Congress in meda as it was difficult to organize Congress.  In free Eritrea, 13+++ years for a congress, when PFDJ has millions of dollars and communication technology has enabled us to meet through cyberspace, this smells like ducking your colleagues.   

Conclusion:  PIA is scared of Shaebia.  If there is anyone challenging this assertion, let PIA call a Shaebia Congress and prove to us.   PIA is hoping to regain his legitimacy not through the Constitution, not through the people or not even through PFDJ Congress, but indirectly by claiming personal victory over Badme after giving away the Hanish Islands and hoping the public will buy that.  Political ‘midingar’ as source of legitimacy!

b.     [Repeated for emphasis] The highest organ of EPLF/PFDJ is its Congress which last held its meeting in 1994.  The highest organ passed resolutions requiring a Constitutional government to be established by May 24, 1997, thus automatically dissolving the transitional government.  PIA has no legitimacy from PFDJ Congress, let alone the public.  PIA’s legitimacy is through the barrel of the gun.  PIA isn’t even able to engage in political charade as PMMZ because PIA can’t afford to take risk with such types of political charades.  Even charades need a degree of confidence of being able to pull off that charade. 

c.      The most disturbing development in Eritrea is the deliberate efforts to corrupt the entire society.  Warsai-Yikealo are forced to work for measly 150 to 600 Nakfa/month, and given very critical positions.  This is like starving them and then putting them in the middle of pile of food, then telling them not to touch it.   When the starving Warsai-Yikealo are forced to dip their hands, the corruptor complains that people are becoming criminals.

d.     Border:  It is suffice to say … My!  … My! …My!  What a mess!

2.     Education, Health, Economy, Religion and social welfare in general,

a.     More of … My!  …My!  ...My!  What a mess!

b.     Skyrocketing prices,

c.      Dwindling basic supplies,

d.     No jobs,

e.     Non-existent economy,

f.       No hard currency,

g.     Illusionary projects and torturing bored project managers to discuss their daydreams. 

It is difficult to believe any news that Dr. Woldai, Mr. Alamin, Mr. Jabir and Mr. Yemane went to PIA to tell him about the economy.  It can’t be lost with anyone that Eritrea’s kamikaze economy is a deliberate PIA policy.  If they actually went to him, then they are not opportunists or cowards but must suffer delusions.  One knows where such people suffering severe cases of delusions belong …    

3.     Some fret that mining projects will give the regime a new lease on life.  The regime’s single biggest problem isn’t money, but inability to gain legitimacy from its own tegadelties and the public in general.  Because PIA can no longer gain his legitimacy through public relations, esp. complicated by the border situation, he is forced to pursue scorched earth policy to ensure he maintains his power until he feels totally comfortable.  PIA feels that until he restores his credibility, Eritreans must be kept in poverty, forced to engage in corruption and other destructive activities … not to be won over through money.  I assure my readers that PIA will scuttle any mining project if it begins to generate any substantial amount of money.  Eritrean wealth without settling his political debts will cost him his power.  Bread line ups are deliberate and are indicatives of PIA’s frame of mind. 

4.     Some others fret that once the Bush Administration is gone that the next administration will be more conciliatory towards PIA.  But this overlooks a number of complicated factors,

a.     PIA has proven his diplomatic adeptness many times over by turning opportunities into liabilities,

b.     If Democrats win, they already had nasty dealings with PIA who accused them of trying to overthrow his regime, insulted their top officials such as Mr. Anthony Lake and Ms. Susan Rice.  These are the same people who will be back.

c.      If Democrats win and withdraw from Iraq, they will only strengthen their other ‘anti-terrorist’ activities in order to project their image as being tough.  The Democrats can’t just totally withdraw into their shells.  After withdrawing from Iraq, they will pretend to do more in Afghanistan, Somalia, etc… and probably scale down slowly from other parts of the world over years while claiming to be just as tough as the Republicans.  There is no immediate relief for PFDJ in Somalia, and in fact, even getting tougher for PIA.

d.     In reality, the Bush Administration has been too tolerant of tyrannical regimes as long as they didn’t pose direct threats to the US.  A Democratic Administration will be tougher on human rights issues, similar to the 1998 Freedom of Religion Act which forces US Administration to take punitive actions against violating nations.  A Democratic administration will be more amenable to pursuing tyrants through the International Criminal Court.

e.     Any US administration wouldn’t want to take a risk with upheaval in Ethiopia, thus border issue will not be settled through confrontational approach.  Even if the US government changes course and tries to appease the PFDJ regime by doing everything except forcing Ethiopia to proceed with demarcation, this won’t still resolve PIA’s political dilemma.  Only one US position can satisfy PIA, which is to force Ethiopia to demarcate.  This won’t happen.  “Kab Seb Zitetsebeye, Bidewu Beleye!”   

The last ten years is a textbook example of why accountability is needed.  The border problem was a solvable issue turned into a do-or-die issue.  Any administration caught in a wrong or failed policy will drag a whole nation down the abyss simply to escape accountability.  New administration is needed every 5 to 10 years to rectify previous administration’s mistakes.  The new administration will make other new mistakes, which will then require yet another new administration to rectify.  To err is human and thus replacement is usually the only means to rectify past mistakes.  This is the law of nature!  These are the lessons of thousands of years of human history (i.e. rulers, emperors, leaders, etc…).  Ultimately, the fact that humans must die is a nature’s way of replacing old ideas, old methods and old mistakes and replacing them with new ones.  The second law of nature is equilibrium.  Every situation finds an equilibrium set by nature, and humans can try to change that equilibrium but don’t possess enough wisdom or power to set our own equilibrium against nature.  In the end, we should only learn from nature and abide by its laws, lest we get swept by it!

Some may wonder why PFDJ media would tell us one full week in advance of PIA’s upcoming interview (aka. publicly complaining session) on Ethiopia and the Horn region, but nothing on Eritrea.  I will give the TOP TEN reasons,

Meskerem.net’s Yiftehaye Dimitrios

“Abey Alekha Zeybelkayo, Enekhu Yible”

I am writing to make the public aware that I received a virus from this website as referred as follows:

From:  "Meskerem" meskerem@erols.com

Message ID:  memvmojpjkunwmvrwnr@yahoo.ca

Received:  from 74.73.190.106 (EHLO 74.73.190.106) (74.73.190.106) by mta118.mail.re2.yahoo.com with SMTP; Thu, 31 May 2007 22:05:08 -0700

Originating IP:  [74.73.190.106]

Attachment:   pric 31-May-2007

Before I remind this website its legal liability, let me invent a new word to describe what Meskerem.net and Yiftehaye are doing to Eritrea and Eritreans.  After all, it isn’t PIA only who can drop a new word every year.

          “Yiftrios”: (verb) meaning – to backstab, to do an inside job (to frame someone)

          e.g. “Yiftihuni” – he backstabbed me.  He did an inside job on me, or he framed me. 

Yiftehaye Dimitrios is a lay administrator with Orthodox Church doing an inside job for PFDJ.  Yiftehaye’s equivalent in the opposition camp is Meskerem.net, which claims to be an opposition but doing an inside job for its PFDJ masters.  Unabated by its false public concern, it tells us that food shouldn’t be used as political weapon when in fact it is PFDJ that is selling donated European food to ordinary Eritreans. 

There is a big difference between PFDJ ‘yes men’ in Eritrea and those who cross from the opposition camp to PFDJ in Diaspora.  There is a degree of coercion when ‘yes men’ in Eritrea worship their repressive leader.  Those who constantly remain PFDJ supporters are just misguided or self-serving....  But those who jump from accusing PFDJ of violating human rights to justifying PFDJ’s human rights abuses are the lowest of all.   These are people full of hatred who have switched their positions to support gross human rights violations.  That is hatred of untold magnitude!  In my view, Dehai.org is far more objective, informative and balanced than Meskerem.net.  Even alenalki.com is more informative than meskerem.net.    

Meskerem.net may mistakenly believe that it operates in lawless PFDJ land, but this is Canada, the land of Rights and Freedoms and the rule-of-law.  Let me just point out some sections of the Criminal Code.

Unauthorized Use of a Computer Section 342.1

Every one who, fraudulently and without color of right,

Ø      Obtains, directly or indirectly, any computer service,

Ø      By means of an electro-magnetic, acoustic, mechanical or other device, intercepts or causes to be intercepted, directly or indirectly, any function of a computer system, or

Ø      Uses or causes to be used, directly or indirectly, a computer system with intent to commit an offence in relation to data or a computer system.

Is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years, or is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.

Mischief to Data, Section 430(1.1) [includes sending virus to destroy the recipient’s data stored in his/her computer system and applies to meskerem.net’s transgressions]

Every one commits mischief who willfully:

Ø      Destroys or alters data;

Ø      Renders data meaningless, useless or ineffective;

Ø      Obstructs, interrupts or interferes with the lawful use of data;

Ø      Obstructs, interrupts or interferes with any person in the lawful use of data or denies access to data to any person who is entitled to access thereto.

Ø      The punishment in relation to data is as follows:

Every one who commits mischief in relation to data is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years; or is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.

Meskerem.net doesn’t want to find itself in a slammer.    

P.S.  I never open e-mail attachments from antagonists and unknown sources without cautionary methods.

Berhan Hagos

June 7, 2007