EPDP Editorial

PART II

The root causes of all contemporary Eritrean problems are political, inasmuch as the political philosophy of the dictatorial regime of Isaias, which is “equality in poverty”. Just to make it evident, the dictatorial regime in Eritrea is organized to benefit the few in power at the expense of the vast majority of the Eritrean people. In effect, the political power and vast wealth amassed by Isaias and his elites is one that buys the support and loyalty Isaias needs in order to stay in power while depriving the general populace of their basic rights.

One might ask why the regime wants to impoverish the people. Couldn’t it benefit more from the prosperity of the people and the country? The answer is “No”, at least for two reasons:

• Economic institutions that create incentives for economic progress may simultaneously redistribute income and power in such a way that a predatory dictatorship and those that support it may become worse off. Allowing such an economic progress and freedom of institutions that supports it – brings out to the open a conflict between democracy/freedom/equality and dictatorship, which could be instrumental in bringing down the regime of Isaias. For this very reason, the Isaias regime would not allow economic freedom because it threatens its power to the core.
• The nature and characteristics of the dictator at the helm of power in Eritrea is not amenable to reform, let alone to a fundamental change. Thus, in order to bring democracy and all fundamental freedoms in Eritrea, removing the dictatorial regime’s political structure should be the first order of business for the Eritrean people. To that effect, an understanding of the nature and characteristics of the regime and the man at the helm of the power is crucial.

The genesis of the dictatorial regime in Eritrea is closely associated with the nature and characteristics of its architect – Isaias Afeworki. Isaias is a narcissistic and greedy dictator. As a narcissistic leader, Isaias has been and continues to be obsessed with the desire to have an absolute power, as well as a grandiose sense of self-importance or uniqueness of his talent by exaggerating his achievements during the armed struggle and beyond. Not only that but also Isaias is a person who portrays himself as a superhuman who deserves a sense of entitlement in that he wants a special treatment from Eritreans without assuming reciprocal responsibilities – he thinks that he has the right to rule Eritrea without the consent of the Eritrean people as if the country is his own private property. To this end, he established a mythical narrative and fairytale about himself that keeps duping the Eritrean public until now.

Now, majority of Eritreans know that two decades into Isaias’ dictatorship, Eritrean individuals, families, neighborhoods and towns and villages and other traditional institutions (religious groups, educational institutions, hospitals etc) became state-centered; the popular sovereignty of citizens, freedom and liberties, which are the bedrock of democracy are nonexistent. The message here is that Isaias is a prototype of evil dictator that rose to power on the ruins of democracy and freedom, a man who lacks the basic human capability and morality or sympathy to others. And if there is a piece of human trash in our midst, Isaias would be the one. Like many notorious dictators in history, Isaias’ politics of citizenry resides on division, fear, distortion, and demagoguery. And to elaborate some of Isaias’ egocentrism, brutality, disrespect and contempt to the collective wisdom of Eritrean people, here are few examples that the public is familiar with:

1. The extrajudicial killings of his close associates during and after the war of liberation period on the pretext of national security and other lies;
2. The imprisonment and subsequent disappearances of top government officials such as the G-15 on trumped up charges of treason;
3. Condescending comments such as “do the Eritrean people want us to slaughter lambs every Thursday and deliver them to every house” in his scornful reactions to the public complaints about the provision of public service where in reality there was little of it;
4. Condescending comments such as “let’s count the number of pregnancies in Asmara and the number of pregnant girls in the National Service” when the public complained about the nonconsensual sex and pregnancies for which young girls were being forcibly raped and impregnated by his army generals and officers;
5. Characterizing the 2013 Lampedusa tragedy that claimed over 360 Eritrean children, women and young people as “illegal African migrants” by his state media, which shows the depth of lack of empathy and mockery of Isaias; and
6. The utter disregard to the interest of the Eritrean people when Isaias declared in his 2015 New Year interview the 1997 Eritrean constitution as dead before it was even promulgated.

In hindsight, we know Isaias exploited the unique circumstances and the critical juncture that occurred in post independence Eritrea. To put it differently, the fatigue of 30 years of destructive war and the subsequent euphoria of independence let the Eritrean people’s guard down and helped Isaias to lay the foundation of his absolutist and extractive political, economic, and social institutions. Not only that but some also believed that giving the power to Isaias was correct and acceptable as a temporary arrangement. The point is Eritrean people in a deadly historical mistake entrusted Isaias with their public space, their fundamental freedoms, their power of citizenry and sovereignty, and their revolution that they achieved in the decades before independence.

Using such an opportunity – or call it the magnanimity of Eritrean people – Isaias went on consolidating his dictatorial regime by engaging in a scheme of depriving all political rights and atomizing Eritrean society by introducing a series of draconian measures that overtime brought the breakdown of our families and communities, erosion of our cultural values and freedoms, and the destruction of Eritrea’s patriotism, harmony, courage, unity, religious life, and perseverance, which we know such values are the foundation of Eritrean people that helped them withstood all enemies and foreign occupiers, and values that cemented their unity in the last century.

In order to ensure the success and continuity of his dictatorial rule in Eritrea, he pursued a policy of politics of fear and divide-and-rule strategy such as “giving positions as compensations that excluded the civilian workforce from the public life”, “rewarding public positions both civilian and military not on merit, but on the basis of political loyalty; remuneration and entitlements based on cronyism and not on merit, etc. In doing so, the regime accumulated enormous and overarching power through its regime-controlled public space that continues to squeeze and completely suffocate Eritrea’s political and socio-economic space to the extent that the public cannot do anything outside the terms and codes the regime has established. And this has been a major obstacle for any dissent or opposition to organize and flourish inside Eritrea. Under these circumstances, those who can take the risk of acting outside this area are the Diaspora-based individuals and political groups, but they are also weak and divided to the extent that the dictator views them as a nonexistent opposition and if there are, in the eyes of the regime, they are considered as a threat to the country – a claim that the regime is exploiting solely to maintain its political legitimacy in the country.

In sum, we should not underestimate the deceiving power of Isaias. Even now, he can hide his malevolent agenda and deceive well meaning Eritreans. As a malignant narcissist leader, Isaias is adept at charming and manipulating others, camouflaging his malevolent agenda, and even sometimes appearing to be very a normal person. And yet, he is very skilled both at entrancing and putting other’s under his spell. Not only the disdainful interviews that he gives every New Year, but over the past decades, we saw Isaias portraying every trait of a narcissist leader such as lying, creating false propaganda, presenting exaggerated and dubious claims, including using nonexistent foreign threat to the country to instill fear in the minds of his followers/the public as a ‘controlling technique’.

Hence, we should not assume that the people will understand Isaias’ malicious and malevolent behavior and expect them to easily shift loyalty. Chances are that many of his followers may not voice their opposition to his regime and may never exit and shift loyalty to the justice seeking forces (camp). After all, there is the so-called “herding” (just following the flow) that the justice forces need to understand. Thus, as crazy as it is, it is not unnatural for some people to follow the dictator to his grave and perhaps put flowers in his grave, too. Importantly, for many Eritreans the distinction between “a nation, a sate, and a government” is not that clear. For many there is no difference and they consider any “opposition to the government as opposition to or even rejection of the Eritrean Nation and Eritrean State,” which we know this political attitude is to the likening of the dictator. Our role must be to educate the public on the issue of democracy, rule of law, nation, state, and opposition as related to the process of democratization in Eritrea. With this, it is time that we say enough is enough and stop Isaias from destroying and burying the legacy of EPLF and our armed struggle and thedream of our people – a dream of democracy, rule of law, and constitutional governance that is accountable to the people of Eritrea. EPDP says the justice seeking forces need to stop empty boasting and bragging, and should begin “talk the talk and walk the walk” –backing up what we say with concrete action.