My motto: Exclusion ends in violence. Inclusion ends in justified election.

Today’s topic is Reformation or Revolution

According to the advanced learner’s dictionary of current English, the following terms are defined as follows.

Decadence: is defined as falling to a lower level (in morals, art, literature, etc., especially after a period at a high level).

Faction: discontented, usually selfish and troublesome, group of persons within a party (especially political).

Reformation: Radical change for the better in social, political or religious affairs.

Revolution: complete change (in conditions, ways of doing things, especially in methods of government when caused by the overthrow of one system by force). Here ends definitions.

It all started, by the idea of conducting election, having political parties, allowing freedom of press and reconciliation among Eritreans. Generally speaking, we tried, the democratisation of Eritrea for better future. We all know that, it is process and it takes time. Some of our demands are needs, the rest are wants. You have to realize that our needs are basic but our wants are excessive gifts. As human beings, we are political conscious, when we work as human beings and as animals when we satisfy our needs. To be humane is different from an animal, that is, we have to add some wants to our needs. Otherwise, if we constrain our selves only to our needs we simply live like animals. It is our wants that levels us to high ground moral and helps us to be rational.

We want Eritrea to be independent. It took long time, but we achieved it. If it was not for that want of independent Eritrea we could have lived with Ethiopia just to fulfil our needs. Don’t forget that, at that time fulfilling their needs with Ethiopia satisfied people. It only started to be in conflict with their interest and the interest of Ethiopia when they started to want something. Example, the then supporter of Ethiopia, Blata Efrem Teweldmedhin, first he was content with fulfilling his needs but later on he wanted like a sort of borrow but indirectly a gift of money from the king to construct a residence house in Ethiopia. He assumed that the outstanding work he did at the UN in defending the interest of Ethiopia against the wishes and aspiration of his fellow Eritreans would reward him that want of huge money from Haileslassie. When the king turned down the request of Blata Efrem he was totally crushed. Look the difference between livings by needs and wants what difference it brings to the lives of individuals.

The 15 persons who announced that they have a problem with their boss (mind you I didn’t called them yet, G15, for reasons that are going to be clear later on) paid our attention that there is earthquake cracks in Eritrean politics. The scale and magnitude, that drawn our concern to the well being of Eritrea stems from the fact that disunity in Eritrean politics coasted us heavy in the past and we didn’t want it to repeat again. We all are affected by the civil war we had during the armed struggle. To some of us left a scar of wound in our heart due to lose of our loves. All our wounds for those who were at the field and for us who were at foreign land, healed with the birth of our beloved nation Eritrea.

When our government tells us that, Eritrea has to cope with the huge amounts of difficulties, such us reconstruction of the destroyed economical sectors, I believe that it is right to accept it. The government tells us that we need to construct Eritrea. At the sane time, the Eritrean government tells us that, it is not the right time to want multi party election, freedom of press and generally democratisation of Eritrea. They base their argument that it is not the right time. Now look, the difference of the need to construct Eritrea that includes the settling of the border issue, the announcement of the names of the martyrs and the preparation of the Eritrean people for pluralism versus the wants of the democratic people for freedom of press, multi party election and democratisation of Eritrea. Therefore, if the Eritrean government is saying that freezes the wants, because it is not the right time and concentrate only to the needs, then it telling us is like Animals just satisfy your needs. Here is the conflict now that is creating tension between the forces that wants democratisation of Eritrea and those who advocates first let us fulfil only our needs.

As long as the 15 persons who demanded consultation and discussion in shaping the future of Eritrea with their boss in the frames for “Radical change for the better in social, political or religious affairs” then it is correct to label them “Reformist”, eventually the G-15.

If the 15 persons were for “Complete change (in conditions, ways of doing things, especially in methods of government when caused by the overthrow of one system by force), that is, if it is proved that they infiltrated the military for subverts act then it is correct to label them “Revolutionaries”. And I think for that act they have to be accountable.

Apart from the two distinguished terms that are applicable in our situation, some body would like to label them as decedents, then my assumption is there is crookedness and very selfish stand among power hungry people on the surface of our political atmosphere. These people who advocates for the label of “decedents” to the G-15 are serving only their personal interest and I tell you they are inviting only violence. At the same time it very shame for personalities who are now advocating as the only true representatives of the people and to defame the then heroes of Eritrea as decedents. I am totally against this label.

The fourth label to call the G-15 as “factions” seems to me wait per se condition, because there are some unclear events and discontent of the handling of the G-15 versus the President. I am disappointed when they tried to alienate and isolate the president. What was their motive? Was it personal dissatisfaction with the president? Do they have problems with the reshuffling of their minstrel and other posts they had? There are a lot of questions that didn’t address clearly. Therefore, in light of the above mentioned uncertain conditions the term ”Faction” should be reserved but not applied this time.

Next, I would like to discuss as neutral person the issues that are of interest in assessing our dilemma at this juncture and to enlighten some basic points in alleviating the tension and help us to discard the barriers to our positive trend of development. I am concerned and unhappy with the method we use to address our grievances and the way we present our debate. We forget that when we exclude and try to hit an opponent with the spade that there is an opposite and equal spade to react us. We use too much abuse of words and we concentrate on insults and defamation as the only way to oppose the opponent. Let me tell you a story I read recently about insult. I try to present it to suit our condition. The story goes on as follows.
A man opens a shop house and the neighbours were not happy with the owner of the shop. They send their children and told them to insult the shop owner. The owner of the shop began to pay the children for the whole day they spent to insult him. But every day he was reducing the amount of the payment and at last he told them that he is not going to pay them any more for the insult towards him. The children were disappointed by the shop owner and stopped to insult him.

The above story tells us that at a certain time we might think that insult and defamation has rewards, but we are mistaken, it aggravates the hate and complicates the already aggrandized conflict. What I am trying to do is, instead we use labels only to fit our wishes, let us try to put the right label at the right time. I would like that; all we project to do and all that we want to accomplish should be based on scientific analysed materials and on concert and clearly defined goals.

I know that we are in a very tragic, unpleasant and very disappointing situation. But I believe at the same time that we are going to manage to come out of this mess (don’t forget that we are people tested by fire) and when the dust settles, at the end of the day, sitting in a cool minded we are going to sort out the bad and good thing to Eritrea. I believe that the only way to fulfil our wishes and to fulfil our needs as animals and our wants as human beings the only means is inclusion method. Inclusion methods to work the following are the basic elements.

The Eritrean government has to acknowledge that: