By Yonas Kibru
In the last few weeks, Eritrea’s monstrous dictator and regional outcast Isayas Afeworki has made an unsurprising appearance on two Ethiopian websites giving interviews to Elias Kifle of ‘Ethiopian’Review and a relatively little heard of Sileshi Tilahun of the mythical EPPF . The interview was a clear attempt by Isayas to recreate himself as a friend and dependable ally of the Ethiopian people in their quest for democracy. However analysed carefully, his interview is nothing more than a stupid banter which only makes a mockery of the man many now regard as an unmistakable half-wit . The following is an analysis of some of the interesting excerpts from the interview.
The Sky is the limit
Isayas Afeworki spent the entirety of his adult life sabotaging Ethiopia’s existence as a country. He has caused death and destruction to all things Ethiopian in the past half century. History has shown time and again that his vision of a thriving independent Eritrea is only possible on the ruins of Ethiopia as a united country.
He has a history of collaborating with any forces bent on undermining Ethiopia’s existence. The TPLF, OLF, and ONLF are but a few examples past and present. In spite of his uncontested adversity though , the Eritrean despot promises Ethiopian opposition groups that the ‘sky would be the limit’ of cooperation between his parasitic regime and a possible successor of the TPLF-led EPRDF regime in Ethiopia.
Click on 'Read More.' In what seems to be an open acknowledgment of the debilitating impact of the strained economic relations with Ethiopia, Isayas speaks of his urgent wish for a greater economic integration with Ethiopia. He even goes on about the possibility of harmonising policies and forging a security pact.
In a study presented to a conference at Chatham House (the British based independent body which has in the past sponsored several studies on Horn of African Affairs ) in April 2007, associate fellow on the Africa Programme Sally Healy described Eritrea’s ailing economy as one that is slowly grinding to a halt.
No wonder he is desperate to find his way back into Ethiopia’s resources by posturing to be sympathetic to the political plight of Ethiopians under the TPLF.
Solidarity with Amharas, Oromos, Somalis and others
For decades both Isayas and Meles have depicted and attacked the Amhara ethnic group as a symbol of misrule and domination in Ethiopia. Arguably Isayas’ share of the credit is greater in spearheading a sustained hate campaign against the Amhara ethnic group for decades as he used it to rally the Eritrean population behind his separatist cause.
18 years on, the same Isayas tells of his regime’s willingness to embrace the Amharas if it means fighting the common enemy at present i.e. the TPLF. He says: “If I could work with the Tigres in the past, why couldn’t I work with other Ethiopians be they Amaharas, Oromos or other ethnic groups.”
Isayas could be oblivious but the heinous crimes his forces committed in the then Wollega province has not been forgotten. Hundreds settlers from the former Wollo province were horrendously massacred in cold blood by EPLF and OLF insurgents as the two anti Ethiopian organisations launched a surprise joint attack in the dying days of the Derg . The famine stricken settlers were targeted for no other reason than their ethnic identity.
His empty rhetoric aside, the following interesting quote from him lays bare the intrinsic negativity Isayas harbours to individual ethnic groups in Ethiopia particularly the Amhara ethnic group :
“ Tigrians have replaced the Amharas as a symbol of savage massacre among Ethiopian Somalis at present.”
It looks as though his statement was targeting Tigrians but in fact it spews out just as much hatred about the Amhara ethnic group as persecutor of others in the past.
Ethnic politics in Ethiopia and Article 39
“Ethnic politics is bad for any country not least Ethiopia which is home to myriads of ethnic groups,” says the Eritrean dictator adding the infamous Article 39 of the Ethiopian constitution was a ploy intended to destroy the country.
Isayas is of course the last person to speak about the perils of the ethnicisation of politics in Ethiopia.
Back in the day, it was Isayas’ EPLF and Meles Zenawi’s TPLF which masterminded this divisive political system because they considered it expedient to achieve their goals.
The infamous Article 39 of the Ethiopian Constitution was from the start intended to legitimise the secession of Eritrea. Yet Isayas’ blatant turnaround to say the TPLF thrust the infamous provision against his advice only helps to explain his delusions to dupe the Ethiopian people into thinking that he is after all not what we have known him to be.
The port of Assab
The Eritrean tyrant’s remarks about Ethiopia’s need for an unfettered access to the sea show his desperation to bring Ethiopia back to the doomed port of Assab. He says both Ethiopia and Eritrea could benefit mutually from a more developed and expanded port of Assab if Ethiopia made the strategic choice of investing in the port. He states that between 1991 and 1998 , Ethiopia paid a nominal fee for using the port of Assab adding Eritrea didn’t even charge in hard currency because it considered its relations with Ethiopia more important.
Surely Isayas’ memory couldn’t be so bad as to even remember when his parasitic regime stopped using the Birr as its official currency. For all we know both Meles and Isayas reached an agreement to keep the Birr as the official currency in Eritrea so Eritrea’s economic advantages in Ethiopia are kept as before even though it was technically a foreign country which should have been trading in hard currency with its neighbour right from day one of independence.
Ogaden and Darfur
Isayas says in terms of the human suffering, Ogaden is even worse than Darfur. He adds Ogaden is a black spot on contemporary Ethiopian history. He says not even the Derg and Haile Selassie regimes have inflicted so much suffering on the local Somali population.
He goes on to testify for fellow despot Albashir’s regime saying it had no hand in the so called genocide killings of the people of Darfur . He retorts it was all a myth propagated by Western aid agencies and the global media.
The Ethiopian army may well have taken disproportionate measures to rid the Ogaden off Eritrean backed ONLF separatists. However, a reviled tyrant with a history of mass murder is no credible critic of even a fellow tyrant’s abysmal human rights records.
Isayas has wiped out whole villages of Kunamas, Afaris and other non-Tigrean tribes in Eritrea just as his cousin in Addis Ababa. Besides his undenied involvement with the ONLF in Ogaden means he has a stake in the genocide he alleges to have been committed.
The following is an excerpt from a study presented by D Lussier at the 13th annual conference of Ethiopian Studies in Kyoto, Japan in 1997 :
“Recent violent incidents combined with the ills inflicted upon them (the Kunamas) by the behaviour of Tigrini individuals have produced a movement of thoughts and emotions, particularly acute nowadays… There is now a hypertrophy of fear among the Kunama communities, a generalized phenomenon particularly visible in the towns with the rampant presence of government agents.”
Democracy mocked
Of all Isayas Afeworki’s remarks , his pointless foolish talk about democracy was the most conflicting. As the minutes ticked by in the course of his confused response to a question on democracy , his views changed from dismissing democracy as a luxury of the west to one in which he tried to give the impression that he believed democracy was indispensable to his country. He said : “ It’s democracy or no other way for the future of Eritrea.”
However his most hilarious comment on the subject came when he said : “ The day will come when Ethiopians will vote for the right things for them. No one can stop that. It will happen willy nilly.”
These words would not have been so hilarious if they weren’t uttered by one of the most hated repressors in living memory. At one point , Isayas speaks about how he was not surprised the May 2005 elections were stolen. Surely he must have been delighted his former ally and most ‘trusted foe’ managed to cling on to power in Arat Kilo for a bit longer. Given the evidence so far, Isayas’ Eritrea can’t wish for more allegiance and better protection than that it is getting from Meles’ regime.
Deported Eritreans
When Isayas spoke of his indignation on behalf of the people he used as his intelligence gatherers and fund raisers , he appeared to be a man of higher moral standing compared to his former allies in Ethiopia. He described the expulsion of ‘ 70, 000’ Eritreans from Ethiopia as an act of ‘revenge by humiliation’. Not surprisingly, he was mute about the appalling crime his forces committed on innocent Ethiopian nationals looted and kicked out from all corners of his country. It didn’t matter to him tens of thousands of Ethiopians were murdered and incarcerated and remain unaccounted for in the wake of his invasion . Why would it ? They did not exist in the first place as he has been denying in previous interviews .
However, unlike Eritrean nationals who are incentivised to return and reclaim their full rights in Ethiopia, Ethiopian nationals in Eritrea remain stuck in agony unable to pay the vast amount the state has levied on any one wanting to leave the country.
Unflinching support
Undoubtedly the whole point of Isayas’propaganda interview was to induce Diaspora opposition groups into trusting him to wage a war in case history repeats itself and he got lucky with managing to install the next Shabia puppet just as the TPLF of 10 years ago. And so he went on to reaffirm his commitment to give unwavering support for opposition groups even if the TPLF surrendered whatever patch of territory the Border Commission has ordered it to hand over to Eritrea.
Speaking in a rather defiant tone , he said no Eritrean now nor in the future, not even the president can use Eritrean land as a bargaining chip. He said he couldn’t bring himself to think he could short-change the quest for democracy in Ethiopia just to reclaim what is now Eritrea’s lawful territory.
Surely these words would be enough to win the hearts of some Diaspora opposition activists who fail to see the glaring evidence before their eyes. However, it is impossible to think how the rest of Ethiopia can fall for Isayas’ contrivance this time regardless of the widespread revulsion for Meles.
