Anti- EDA and ENCDC violent blackmailing out of control in social media

By Fesseha Nair

Cyber-space article writers in Tigirnya language have been campaigning against the EDA/ Eritrean Democratic Alliance since the convening of National Dialogue held in Akaki in suburbs of Addis – Ababa in 2010 and later at the Awasa/ Hawasha Congress in 2011. All the initiatives for these dialogues and conferences were taken by the EDA convinced that such instruments can enhance the popular participation in the struggle against the dictatorship. But the outcomes become accusations and counter accusations instead of creating harmony resulted in disharmony and conflicts for power dominance and exclusion.

Politics is the arts to make the” impossible” possible but by the Eritrean elites politics is to make the possible impossible.

If the EDA was hinder or a problem they wouldn’t have taken these initiatives of conventions that invited all to participate in such platforms enhancing democracy and popular participation.

EDA is an umbrella partnership of more than 10 political organizations with different political affiliations and profile. EDA is a covenant between the former ELF and EPLF liberation fighters poised to struggle against the totalitarian regime in Eritrea and build a multi- ethnic democracy in Eritrea, characterized by equality, tolerance and mutual respect.EDA has nothing to do with the Eritrean religions except working together against the oppression and liberate the Eritrean people from this tyranny destroying our people and land. As confirmed in their charter and constitution they have agreed national principles to abide by and rules and regulations to respect. All decisions are taken by consensus or partial consensus but not by whims.

Why are some ENCDC member elements in the opposition camp for democratic change writing articles attacking the EDA and ENCDC is for me a paradox. We are all members of the democracy camp regardless how much we contribute to this struggle. The EDA is part and parcel of the ENCDC and is part of the struggle. Who are you to exclude and include? Who are you to give certificates

to the EDA who has been struggling while you were dancing and cheering the one -man rule in Eritrea.

It was the EDA political organizations who led the resistance first when all opportunities for democratic transition were closed.

It was the EDA who opened the door for particiapation- “ክንዲ ዘዀለስኩ ኢደይ ተነኸስኩ” as the Tigrinya saying assures why are biting the hand of EDA while it stretches its hand to feed you.

Lessons Learned

EDA is a union of Eritreans of good will for peace, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. It is learning organization practicing these golden values. The elements who joined the EDA after the Awasa congress intention was and is still to kill this spirit and replace it with sectarian politics of the past that failed the Eritrean people to achieve their rights. The EDA and ENCDC will never allow to be penetrated by sectarian politics of the past which were seen and experienced during the 40th and 50th in the period of political struggle and later at the period of armed struggle for the liberation of Eritrea.

The Attacks against the EDA can surge in hate crimes because as I follow it the level of hatred and violence directed against our compatriot moslems is paradoxically increasing in the opposition camp as have seen recently after the 2nd regular meeting of the ENCDC the hate and smear campaign has reached its highest level in the social media( Smer and……… Assenna website). The discussions going on the Smer paltalk room and website Assena that are baseless and highly incendiary claims can lead us to split and polarization.

The consequencs of such cyber wars directed to moslems and other ethnicity by quasi-elements who cannot see issues from their parish communities will not benefit either the ordinary christians or moslems in Eritrea but all will be the losers .

I think blackmailing the EDA or ENCDC as a moslem- dominated partnership has been” a punching bag” by Eritrean political opportunists in diaspora. This people are seeking scapegoats in their failures to struggle the dictatorship in Eritrea accusing the EDA as hinder and serving moslems and pan-arabisim.

Once upon a time, the writer of this article was told by Tiginya speaking elite that,

“ since you come from the lowlands despite you are Christian you are considered as fifth columnist and Jihad, he further warned me that they will cleanse all the minorities and moslems in Eritrea. “

I didn’t respond him but left him shouting. At this time, I used to listen such communications in the social media. Such provocative words have been a regular feature without no sign of abating in the social media.

The bigotry is now manifesting itself in violence innocent Eritreans struggling against the dictatorship on the side of those who marginalize their compatriots.

With the EDA- ENCDC bashing some article writers like penname- Haile and Many others come with disgusting rhetoric reminding us the old saying of Tigrinya,”ኣስላማይ እንተነገሰ ይቀትል እምበር ኣይፈርድን”

“ዘረባ ኣስላማይ ማይ ማይ” all these is to create fear and mistrust among the Eritrean Christians and moslems. Such adages which dehumanize and view the moslems not as humans should be erased from the Tigrinya vocabulary.

Articles published in the Eritrean websites after the ENCDC’s resolutions taken against the DMLEK/ Democratic Movement for Liberation Eritrean Kunama reminds us exactly the time of 40th and 50th between Moslem League and Unionists. Unionists were arguing that we are Ethiopians by culture, therefore we prefer Unity with Ethiopia than living with these fanatic moslems. We are “Abysinnians”let us back to our mother Ethiopia. While the Moslem League was arguing that uniting with the Ethiopian monarchy is just losing the freedoms and rights we have achieved, therefore, Eritrea like all other African colonies must get its independence. The last argument has won after 50 years of political and armed struggle.

I would like to ask our intellectuals in diaspora and those who were members of the ENCDC,

“ Do you want us to go back to the old trend be divided in religious and sectarian politics?”

Misusing terms and incorrect interpretation

What hell is going in the social media! What has the word, “ Habesha” to do with the Eritrean peoples right to self-determination. The word “abysinnian “comes from the ancient Greek travelers when they have seen in this area people with burnt face they called them abysinia. Abysinia is not an identity element but a colour description. But has been used wrongly by our moslem brothers calling Eritrean Christians as Habesh.

Why such arguments at this time?

“ኣነ ከምድላየይ ከም ቃሕ ዝበለኒ ኢየ ዝዛረብ ወላ ከዋርደካ ደሞክራስያዊ መሰለይ ኢዩ! ቀርነሎስ ዑስማን እውን መሰሉ ኢዩ ንሓርበኛታት ተጋደልትና ከዋርድን ክሕስርን፣ ኣብ ኣዲስ ኣበባ ኮይኑ ድማ ንደቂ ኩናማ ከጥፍእ፣ ንትጋገ ኣሎኻ ዝበልዎ ኣባላት ኪዳንን ባይቶን ድማ በታ ሽጉጡ ገሩ ከፈራርሕ”

ይብሉና ኣለዉ ፈሊጣውያን/ ፈሪሳውያን ኣባላት ባይቶ ነበር ካብ ሕቡራት መንግስትታት ኣመሪካ………………………..ወይ ጉድ!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Such hate mongering articles with uncivilized rhetorics can only create conflicts and be self-victimizing.

Haile, the article writer and the hosting website Assenna and those who left ENCDC recently using Kernelios Osmans statement as pretext are leading now a crusade vilifying the EDA and ENCDC in the social media to exclude EDA from the opposition camp through their dirty campaigns of smear and hatemongering but such campaigns will never exclude EDA from the camp. EDA has durable popular support that can foil all intrigues concocted by such immature personalities.

The EDA and ENCDC will give such elements a good lesson by telling them that opportunism and hate politics have no place in the struggle against dictatorship. Your sectarian politics is doomed to fail and has no acceptance by the democratic forces for democratic change. The EDA and ENCDC will continue their struggle for democratic change despite your hatemongering politics in the social media.

What effect have such hate campaigns against the EDA and ENCDC? How much do they influence the public opinion? They have no positive effects but will have more reaction than action. The EDA and ENCDC member political and civic organizations composing moslems and Christians must hold hand to hand together and teach such disturbing elements how to practice democracy and abide by the rules of the organization.

Why is the Assenna website chief editor host such incendiary articles while rejecting others from publishing in his website? The question is how far are we going together with such accelerating hate politics and win the dictatorship ? You who call yourself intellectuals and capable have been showing us that you lack wisdom and skills how to manage conflicts and accommodate them.

Short URL: https://english.farajat.net/?p=8219

Posted by farajat on Jan 4 2013 Filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry