Solidarity With the Forces of Good

Summary and Conclusion:
I will divide this 18-page part into two parts: summary and conclusion. In the summary part, I will comment on the plight of native Eritreans under PFDJ, then will look into the future of Issayas, such as Issayas with Ethiopia, Issayas with Sudan, Issayas with America, and Issayas with Eritreans. In the conclusion part, I will look into whether a peaceful transfer of power is possible with PFDJ, and in the end, I will comment on whether God hates Eritreans and how Eritrean can bring about change in Eritrea. Then at the bottom end, I will express my gratitude to Asmarino.com.

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Native Eritreans Caught Between Rock and a Hard Place.
In 1998 - 2000, the world witnessed from the side as the Tigrean-dominated government of Ethiopia revoked those Eritreans who considered themselves Eritrean-Ethiopians their Ethiopian citizenship, then deported them from Ethiopia back to their ancestral homeland, Eritrea. It was apparent to everyone that many of the expelled Eritreans were born and raised in Ethiopia; some of whom thought of themselves as Ethiopians and not as Eritreans; and some of whom also could trace their settlement in Ethiopia to their grandparents who first migrated to Ethiopia from Eritrea in the first or second quarter of 1900.

But what could be puzzling to historians is that during that same time, a clique made up of Tigrean-Eritreans, whose grandparents migrated from Ethiopia to Eritrea during, or after the period during which the ancestors of the deported Eritreans from Ethiopia had migrated to Ethiopia from Eritrea, was also revoking native Eritreans their Eritrean citizenship. Truly, native Eritreans are caught between rock and a hard place.

Yes, native Eritreans have been at the mercy of the Tigrean clique since it kidnapped their country and started ruling them with an iron fist. Eritrean citizenship is now the sole property of the Tigrean clique, and as a result, many genuine Eritreans, including those who spent all their lives working for the country, those who never want to be called anything else other than Eritreans have been declared stateless by the Clique.

What is still puzzling is, even those native Eritreans who surrendered their soul to the Clique know very well now that an Eritrean citizenship cannot be inherited. According to the PFDJ, Eritrean citizenship can only be rented. To that end, those Eritreans who want to keep their citizenship, including the agents of the PFDJ, know very well that if they fail to renew their leased citizenship annually by paying heavy ransom to the Clique, they too will be declared stateless.

And to add insult to injury, Issayas has robbed all native Eritreans of their lands, their culture, their religions, their peace, their freedom, their children, their fathers and mothers, their brothers and sisters, their husbands and wives. Two years after the war has ended, Issayas's disdain for Eritreans has reached its climax. He has decreed the entire Eritrean Army to remain his indentured servant also he has refused to inform Eritreans families of their deceased children in the Army.


The Future of Issayas.
Issayas can see the handwriting on the wall now thus he knows from this day forth he can only survive by the sword: by sending tens of thousands of Eritreans into prisons and prison camps, by causing tens of thousands of Eritreans to flee the country, by keeping a tight control over the Army, by squandering tens of thousands of Eritreans in his wars against Eritrea's neighbors and against other Eritreans.

One thing should be clear to all Eritreans, Eritrea's neighbors, and to the world: for as long Issayas is in power, there will never be peace in the region and Eritrea will not have peace with itself. Period. If there is one thing that Eritreans will reap under the Issayas regime, it will be deaths, extreme suppression, and persecution.

Furthermore, because of his tyrannical nature thus his strong will to exclude everyone else but himself from the Eritrean politics, he will continue to engage himself in harassing, blackmailing, and picking on the neighboring countries, unless the neighbors can obey him not only to deliver any former Government official or opposition groups, or even some civilians he wished to arrest but who fled his system to him, but also unless Eritrea's neighbors can let him to roam inside their countries freely, and to hunt down his opponents himself. If there is one thing that Eritrea will have with its neighbors under the Issayas regime, it will be confrontation, and lots of it.


Issayas with Ethiopia

1. He knows he cannot keep the 200,000 or more Eritreans on the front line for too long.
2. He also knows he cannot bring the 200,000 or more Eritreans home and live peacefully.
3. He knows he cannot go to war against Ethiopia and win. He knows he will most certainly lose any war to Ethiopia unless Ethiopia makes a big strategic mistake.
4. Eritrean opposition fronts stationed in Ethiopia.
   

For now his only wishes and options are:

1. To wait and see for the government of Ethiopia to fall.
2. To wait and see for the government of Ethiopia to become vulnerable so that he can attack it and win and thereby justify the Badme War.
3. To make the Melles government agree with him to find a scapegoat for the War. Melles's scapegoat would be the Sye group and his would be the Reformers.
4. To wreck havoc upon Ethiopia by arming the Oromos and Somalis, by sending Eritrean children deep into Ethiopia to train, to fight, and to die for the Ethiopian and Somali fronts. (Needless to say this strategy of Issayas will backfire against Eritrea)
5. For Ethiopia to start obeying him in the same way it was obeying him until 1997, and that is, to let him roam inside Ethiopia and to hunt down all his opponents himself.
   

One thing should be clear to the world: for as long as Issayas is in power, there will never be a lasting peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Even if Melles were to make some kind of deal with him, because of his internal problems, which is probable and possible, it will only be until Issayas finds an opportune time to destroy his old enemy, Melles. Issayas does not rest before he wipes out his old enemies.

For as long Issayas is in power, Eritrea will not have any real peace with Ethiopia, Ethiopia will not have peace with itself, and Eritreans will not be spared from deaths.

(At this point in time, Melles would be ill-advised to make any deal with Issayas. He won't gain a bit but will lose a lot; he will lose the backing of many Ethiopians.)


Issayas with Sudan:
Until the Bashir government is overthrown and replaced by a one that will allow Issayas to roam inside Sudan and to hunt down all of his opponents, or any Eritrean citizen that he considers a fugitive himself, he will never make any real peace with the Sudan. He will send Eritrean children deep into Sudan to fight and die for his ego.

Issayas does not rest before he wipes out his old enemies. Any dealing that Issayas will make with the Sudanese government will be until he finds an opportune time to topple the Bashir government.

In the meanwhile, Issayas will continue to use the Sudanese opposition fronts ( National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ) as a bargaining chip with the government of Sudan, and will make all kinds of hurdles so that peace will not be brokered between the Alliance and the Sudanese government until he gets what he wants from Sudan, that is, until he can install a proxy government in the Sudan.

For as long Issayas is in power, Eritrea will not have any real peace with Sudan, Sudan will not have peace with itself, and Eritreans will not be spared from deaths.


Issayas with Eritrean Opposition Forces
According to Issayas, all opposition front's leaders should surrender to him or should be wiped out at any human and material cost to Eritrea. For now, Issayas is pressing, and even beseeching Eritreans opposition fronts to initiate an armed struggle to fight against his government. He believes that he can benefit from a civil war more than the oppositions can. He believes if they initiate war, he can put all his ills, all his failures, all the blames on them. But yet, he also knows he cannot wipe out all opposition fronts unless all the neighbors can agree with him to deny them ground.

And since the opposition fronts will find a means to wage a war if they want to (I am against waging an armed struggle), if Issayas remains in power, Eritrea will not have peace with itself.


Issayas with the Eritrean public
For over 40 years now, the dictator of Cuba, Castro, felt more secure every time those Cubans who refused to surrender to his system left Cuba. In much the same way, Issayas will feel more secure every time those Eritreans who refuse to surrender to his system leave the country. Recently, he bragged about importing labor forces, including manual laborers, from foreign countries. But unlike Castro, Issayas cannot live without waging wars, and surely he cannot expect the laborers he is bragging about importing to replace the Eritreans workforce, the Sri Lankans, the Philippines, and Indians to fight and die for his ego, as Eritreans have done for him in the past. Even if he allots the lands that he has been appropriating from native Eritreans to the foreigners, they simply are not going to die for him. (Neither will they toil for him for free as Eritreans have been toiling for him for free.)

Eritrean Oppositions Fronts with Eritrea
All the accusations against Eritreans who did not support Issayas financially during his war with Ethiopia will become irrelevant in post-Issayas Eritrea. History will criticize the opposition fronts not for entering Ethiopia during the war, but for not entering early enough to help avert the expulsion of Eritreans by the Woyane. Once Eritreans get the chance to review the cause of the Badme War, they will discover that they were deceived by Issayas and that the war was his, and his alone, a war that should not have been pursued by Eritreans. (Maybe Issayas had not anticipated that the war would be this costly, but there are many proofs that he had long prepared to start the war if only to intimidate and undermine Ethiopia into surrendering to his whim.)

Issayas with America:
Throughout his political life, Issayas has never made any long-term commitment to anyone except to himself. He has made a long-term commitment to himself: to come to power and stay in power forever at any cost to Eritrean lives, but he can never make any long-term commitment to anyone, not now, not in the future.

Now, it is not whether the US should have a military base in Eritrea (I have no problem with that, nor do I believe that the government that will replace Issayas should have a problem with that, nor do I believe all Eritrean individuals and organized groups who are opposed to the Dictator should show any inclination against that), but whether Issayas can ever make any long-term commitment to the US and its allies.

The US should be watchful of Issayas. Issayas is preparing to make a very long list of arbitrary wish-lists to the US hence if the US does not accommodate him, or if the US criticizes him on his human rights, economic, and other records, which it certainly will, and if Saddam Hussein makes him a better offer at the 11th hour, at the D-day, Issayas will backstab the US and switch alliance. Issayas is like a beast. He reacts to circumstances angrily if he does not get his way without weighing in the consequences to his actions in advance, nor does he know how think rationally. When he declared war on Ethiopia in 1988, he did not have an exit plan. When he decided to arrest the Reformers, he did not have an exit plan. In much the same way, he will underestimate the Bush Administration and will think he can blackmail and double-cross the US and get away with it. He will think he can use and discard the US as well.

And what does this mean to Eritrea: he will side Eritrea with the loser warring party because in all likelihood, in the foreseeable future, maybe for many years to come, the US and its allies will continue to win wars against their enemies.

(Eritrea was the victim of Mussolini's siding with the losing warring party in WWII. Had Italy sided with the winners, its colonies (including Ethiopia) would not have been taken from her. Like most colonists, in all likelihood, Italy might have granted Eritreans their freedom and if it did not, Eritreans would have fought against Italy as did the Angolan or Mozambican people against Portugal, which was an internationally recognized and supported struggle for independence, which could also be less costly to Eritreans. (Eritreans did not have to fight against Ethiopia) If Italy decided to grant Eritreans their independence, however that independence was arranged by the colonist, it would have been acceptable to Eritreans, as the arrangements by other colonists have been acceptable to all African countries. There is some price to be paid by a country and sometimes by its subordinates as well when a country sides with a loser warring party.)

(In these situations it is preferred to stay neutral. But if you have to take a stake stay with the probable winners.
But also in Iraq's case, Saddam Hussein is to the Iraqi people, as Issayas is to the Eritrean people, therefore for those Eritreans opposed to Issayas, the Iraqi democratic opposition forces and the Iraqi people should be their natural allies.)

(In countries such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the US has been allying with dictators knowingly because the alternative to the dictators in those countries are opposition groups which are hostile to the interests of the US and its allies. Furthermore, the oppositions in those countries are hard at work to install systems which are more repressive than the one they are trying to replace. However in Eritrea's case, the individuals and organized forces who are opposed to Issayas, by and large, are not hostile to the interests of the US and its allies, and by and large, are struggling to establish a true participatory democracy in Eritrea.)


Siad Barre of Somalia Vs Issayas
The late Somalian dictator Mohammed Siad Barre came to power as a promising leader until his passion for power changed that all. He pushed his luck and declared war against Ethiopia and lost, and that marked the beginning of his end. Barre soon resorted to terror. Similarly, in the beginning, Issayas of Eritrea appeared to many as a promising leader, but he too pushed his luck and started picking on all Eritrea's neighbors, until he finally invaded Ethiopia and lost. That defeat then has marked the beginning of his end. (Issayas's miscalculation of the last war could also be compared to Napoleon's battle of Waterloo, which marked the end of his war-mongering reign, or Hitler's extension of the WWII to Russia.)

There are many similarities between Barre and Issayas. One noticeable thing is that how Barre was so paranoid and kept shooting himself in the foot especially after he lost the war to Ethiopia. Issayas will continue to shoot himself in the foot.

(At one time, one of Barre's ministers listened on his car radio, as everyone else, while driving to work, that his job had been lost in the usual reshuffling of ministers by Barre.)

The only difference between the two dictators is that after Barre was defeated by Ethiopia, he retreated to his clan and his clan gave him a safe haven until 1991. But unlike Barre, Issayas has no clan to which to retreat. The elite of Tigrean-Eritreans cannot serve him as a strong social base because once it existence is recognized by all Eritreans, it will find itself in disarray.


The Legacy of Dictators:
We were hearing for many years, including from those who are standing against him now, that Issayas was the most intelligent and courageous person that Eritrea ever brought to life; however, for those who read between the lines, all these years, Issayas's real legacy had otherwise been speaking louder.

It does not take the bravest or the brightest leader to rule a nation with an iron fist. Throughout world history, thousands of coward monarchs, dictators, military juntas, and warlords have done it so. Hitler wasn't the brightest or the bravest person among the Germans; Stalin wasn't the brightest or the bravest man among the Russians; Castro is not the brightest or the bravest person among the Cubans; Hafiz al Assad was not the brightest or the bravest person among the Syrians; Issayas's buddy, Gadaffi of Libya might be among the dumbest in Libya; And so do Saddam Hussain of Iraq, Mobutu of Zimbabwe and Mengistu of Ethiopia are not or were not the bravest or the brightest in their countries. But all these dictators have, or had one thing in common. They were able to rule their nations for many years, all with an iron fist. Therefore, ruling a nation by bad-mouthing, incarcerating, executing, sidetracking, alienating everyone who dares to challenge you is a no-brainer. In fact it is the easiest job in the world. A brightest leader is one who rules with a consensus; one who knows when to lead, but also when to step down. A brightest leader is one who is obsessively concerned about how history will remember him once he's gone and not obsessively concerned about a 15-minute fame.

It does not take a genius to declare a war and cause thousands of your people to perish. A wise leader is one who gauges before he leaps, one who values the life of every one of his citizens and even that of his foes. One who treats the life of every one of his citizens as though they were one of his own. Anyone can destroy, but only a wise and conscientious person can create and sustain that which has already been created.


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Conclusion:

"It is true that you may fool all the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all the time; but you cannot fool all of the people all the time." Abraham Lincoln.

Peace is Around the Corner.
There could still be a very few Eritreans, either because their personal interest or investment is at stake; or because they are slow learners, or are fools; or because they have been incorrigibly indoctrinated by Issayas; or because they are fearful of change, who might still stand with Issayas until his last minute, or until after he expires, but over all, Issayas will lose Eritreans at a much faster rate and pace than he had gained them - it will almost look to the world as though Eritreans had been under some kind of an evil spell that has recently been broken.

(Those whose personal interest and investment are at stake are those who have made a tremendous financial investment in PFDJ and its leader for too long. But also some of them are the beneficiaries of PFDJ's land and economic policies.

The slow learners and the fools are usually those who consider the PFDJ as their own religion's or ethnic group's party. The slow learners and fools have sometimes relatives with high-ranking posts in PFDJ, but in most cases, their own families and relatives, their clans and villages, and their religions are among the prime victims of Issayas's policies, only these fools don't get it yet.
() The indoctrinated and the slow learners have made tremendous financial and spiritual investments in Issayas throughout most of their adult lives. For these individuals, Eritrea means, Issayas. They will be the last to know of the changes that are taking place, and in many ways, they may never get it. They should be forgiven and prayed for their ignorance, but they should not be waited upon. They should be left in the dust.

Some of the noisiest defenders of Issayas were never in the country or were not raised in Eritrea. Some of them became Eritreans in 1991 and some in 1998. They know Eritrea only through the eyes and minds of Issayas. If Eritrea were to go to ruins, these individuals would be the last to feel sorry for the country.)

( It would not be unusual maybe to see a token of Eritreans worshiping the ghost of Issayas. Well, for these individuals, until God puts his mercy on them, post-Issayas Eritrea should deal with them in the same way Germany has dealt with the neo-Nazis and Skinheads in the post-Hitler era of Germany, so if they want to form a non-official party in post-Issayas Eritrea and name it neo-Shaebia or neo-Awet nHafash, then so be it. They should be free to do that. It will be part of history.)

There are also some genuine patriotic Eritreans who honestly believe if Issayas is given enough time, he will change. Hence my message of today will be geared largely to those individuals and the message is: you can't teach an old dog a new trick. So the short answer is, he will never change. Besides, there are a lot of things that Issayas knows about himself which can never allow him to ask for a forgiveness and mercy.

Nevertheless, now it is not whether Issayas and the conglomerate of an organized crime, PFDJ, are going to expire, and it is not even about when, but it is whether Eritreans are ready to embrace the change sooner than later, and whether or not Eritreans collectively have told their God to rid them of Issayas and his Mob.

But why is Issayas still in power? Because right now, as much as almost all Eritreans know now how much deluded they have been by him, and as much as they know how much of a devil-incarnate he is, deep in their hearts, Eritreans collectively do not want him to leave them, and they have not asked their God for that yet. Eritreans are keeping him with they thoughts and wishes. The reason for that is that Issayas has told them that the nation will be torn apart once his reign ends. Furthermore, since their earlier prayer resulted in replacing the old devil, Mengistu, by a more powerful devil, Issayas, Eritreans are afraid of his successor, afraid of change, afraid of the unknown, afraid of fear itself.

(By the way, how did Issayas succeed in fooling so many people for so long? Well, long ago, he surrounded himself by only submissive people, elements who portrayed him as a fair, dedicated, hardworking, honest, and a brave person, then with help of those who were surrounding him, he fooled many intellectuals, and with the help of the intellectuals, he fooled the Eritrean public and the world media. It was a chain of mostly honest trust, where one simply trusted the other without questioning, doubting, or verifying the motive of the other. But when you really come down to it, Issayas took advantage of the trusting nature of native Eritreans.)

Peaceful Transfer of Power
No good-hearted Eritrean would want to witness a violent transfer of power in Eritrea, because no matter how much down-to-earth the successors could be, if they grabbed power through a non-peaceful means, surely, as amateur leaders, they would have to go through some kind of leadership-molding bootcamp, and God forbid, they could also repeat the mistakes of their predecessors. Not only that, when the transfer of power is not peaceful, many, including innocent citizens could be accused wrongly, and professionals who supported the predecessors could flee the country. In short, the nation will have to go back to square one. The successors will have to overhaul the whole system and start from scratch. But that said, do Eritreans have other choices with Issayas at this time or in the future? Yes, they have to do it right, and as I will explain it in detail at the bottom of this article, they will have to know where to draw the line, but still, do they have other choices with Issayas and his Mob now, or in the future?

It is true Eritreans are fearful of the unknown. But is the probable cost of the fear of the unknown much costlier than what the status quo is costing Eritrean families? Fear of the unknown has costed Eritreans in the Badme War about 30,000 lives, and worse, there is no end to Issayas's warmongering nature. Issayas can and will anytime summon Eritreans to pay tens of thousands more lives now and in the future. Fear of the unknown can prove to be much costlier than grabbing the bull by the horns.

So what is next for Eritreans? Well, Eritreans are at a crossroad now. They have to decide between getting rid of Issayas and pray to God earnestly to reveal to them a wiser leader, and maybe even pay a little price during the transition, or keep Issayas thus keep circling around their promised land - keep themselves denying entry into their promised land. They can get rid of Issayas hence get their children, their husbands, their wives, their fathers and mothers, their hills and meadows, their religion, their culture, and their liberty back, or they can let him consolidate his power, rule the nation with an iron fist, (gusTi Hazin), and continue to inflict horrific sufferings upon all Eritreans. They can get rid of Issayas and undo all his evil doings now, or they can wait until it becomes too late and impossible for them to undo his evil doings.
() The choices are all up to them. They can put their full trust in their God to deliver them from sufferings, or they can indefinitely defer from receiving what God has in store for them by misplacing their loyalty to a devil-incarnate.

Does God Hate Eritreans?
Does God hate Eritreans? No, God does not hate Eritreans, nor does He hate Ethiopians, nor does He hate any of the quadrillions of His creatures in the universe. Well, if God does not hate Eritreans, then why have Eritreans after praying to God for many years to rid them of Ethiopia ended up in a much worse situation? Why has God treated Eritreans this way?

God said, ask, and you shall receive. Which means, if you don't ask, you shan't receive. But also, if you ask for the wrong things, you shan't receive either. When you ask God for something, God merely gives you a paper and a pen so that you can prescribe your own wishes exactly the way you want it to be. If you don't know how to prescribe your medicine, how to list your needs, then ask God for a wisdom, you shall receive a guidance for that too. And after you draw up your needs and hand it over to God, if what you write out is good, if your requests are in harmony with the natural order which governs the cosmos, which are peace, harmony, health, riches, morality, liberty, freedom, prosperity, love, and generosity, God delivers them to you; but if they are not good, if they are based on greed, if they are based on hate, if they are based on cruelty and indifference, if they are based on jealousy, God simply acts indifferent. Which means you are on your own; which means, you can either rewrite your prescription and hand them over to God again, or you experience a random or anomalistic circumstances; or you can create your circumstances yourself. Yes, human beings have the power to create their own circumstances.

According to the Book of Genesis, God created the universe - and all the heavenly bodies, the sun, the moon, and the stars - in six days, and only with His words. But when God created human beings, he created them in His image, therefore, God has given human beings the power to create circumstances, good or evil, with their words, thoughts, and wishes.

(You see God has given human beings the power that He has not given to His angels for his angels are allowed to choose only good. Human beings on the other hand have also been given by God, the option and the freedom, to create, though at a smaller scale, and to choose good or evil. Of course, God would want human beings to put their power and knowledge to good use only. The only problem is that human beings may not always know what is good or bad, what is right or wrong, and for that God has left a communication line between Him and humans open so that when humans are in doubt, they can contact God for guidance if they choose so. The key phrase here is "if they choose so." God has also given human beings the freedom to come to him or not come to him.)

So, who brought Issayas and his ego into Eritreans? Not God. God does not create bad circumstances. God does not create evil forces. Therefore, Issayas and his ego are then either the creation of Eritreans, something Eritreans unwittingly created with their words, thoughts and wishes, the result of Eritreans' own creation, or they (Issayas and his ego) are the result of a random or anomalous circumstance. The result of a wrong prayer which was rejected by God, or the result of an incomplete prayer which received a partial response from God, or the result of God's response with indifference.

But why anomalous? Or why a wrong or incomplete prayer? In order to answer this question, one needs to trace back to the prayers of Eritreans and examine, what exactly did, or did not pray for, when Eritreans prayed to God before the PFDJ came into their lives.

When their country was under Ethiopia, Eritreans simply prayed to God to rid them of Ethiopia so they can be ruled by one of their own, and that was all. So, what was wrong with that prayer? It was not complete; it did not verbalize to God all their needs. It simply assumed if God granted them independence, and if they are ruled by an "Eritrean leader", and if they fully trusted that "Eritrean" leader, then that leader would certainly understand their needs. Eritreans assumed the answer to all their problems lied in being independent from Ethiopia and to being governed by one of their own. In other words, Eritreans asked God for only one thing: independence. They did not pray to God in details about their post-independence lives because they did not believe an Eritrean leader would wish them ill.

Even recently, during the Badme War, especially during the first year of the war, Eritreans did not believe for a second that Issayas could wish them ill, nor did they believe that Issayas would need a wisdom. They simply prayed to God so that God would grant Issayas anything that he asked for. And their prayers to God were about killing thousands of Ethiopians, who also happened to be God's children, and humiliating Ethiopia, prayers that could never reach God.

In other words, Eritreans believed that Issayas was always right, but that God was hard on Eritreans for not granting Issayas anything that he asked for. Therefore, Eritreans were telling God through their prayers, " We know Issayas is a good and an intelligent leader. He is always right, and everyone else is always wrong. The world is wrong. The OAU is wrong. Ethiopia is wrong. The UN is wrong. The EU is wrong. The pope is wrong. The US is wrong. Those Eritreans who are opposed to the war are wrong. Don't listen to anyone else. Trust us on this, God. We know Issayas. He is here with us. Why don't you simply grant Issayas all his wishes for we know we can live with his wishes." So the answer from God might have been either, "Access denied", or "Rewrite your requests", or " I am indifferent to your wrong request", or "You are on your own", responses which were never clearly heard or understood by Eritreans.

(But during the last months of the war, Eritreans collectively prayed to God for peace and God has responded for that, because God always responds to good requests with good. When it comes to the quality of prayers, Ethiopians have been on the same boat with Eritreans.)

Again, if God loves Eritreans, and if He knew Issayas was a terrible person, why did He not tell Eritreans that they were following a terrible leader, and why did He not make his responses so loud and clear so that Eritreans could understand him? Again the answer to this question is simple. God responds always in one way or another but His responses can be heard unmistakably only by those who are willing to listen to his responses. God has given humans the freedom to hear or not to hear to His responses. That is, humans can hear the responses sent to them from God only if they choose to tune in to God, only if they choose to tap into that little voice within themselves which is hard-wired to God.

Furthermore, Eritreans did not ask God to reveal to them the true image of Issayas. God gave human beings the power to choose good or evil. And if they are in doubt, when it appears that they cannot differentiate good from evil, wrong from right, if they arrive at a forked-road and don't know which way to take, God tells them to come to Him for guidance. Eritrean did not ask God for guidance. They did not think they needed one. They did not believe that there was more to Issayas than met the eye. They did not contemplate even a bit that Issayas had multiple personalities. Eritreans were confident that Issayas was a good leader that there was not anything wrong with him but with God for not listening to their prayers for Issayas.


Sorry to Trouble You God!
The other weaknesses of human beings are, when they pray to God, they do not want to "trouble" Him with "minor" concerns so they leave out many details in their prayers. For example, in Eritrea's case, before 1991, when Eritreans prayed to God, they did not want to "trouble" Him with "minor details" of post independence, hence they merely prayed to God for independence, and for that, God granted them independence. That was what they asked for, just independence.

God says, ask and you shall receive. Which means, if you ask, you shall receive. But also it means, if you ask for one thing, you shall receive just one. If you ask for ten needs, and if all of them are good, you shall receive all ten of them. Period.

So, what will happen now if Eritreans pray to God to rid them of Issayas? Well, God will do just that. Period. But there is a possibility that the successor could be a much more powerful devil than Issayas. Hence Eritreans need to be very careful of what they wish for.

How about if Eritreans ask God to rid them of Issayas, but also thereafter, to reveal to them a better leader, a humane leader, one who has the respect for human lives, one who will rule the nation with the rule of law, to reveal to them a wiser leader, one who knows the difference between right and wrong, a leader who would come to Him for guidance when in doubt? Well, then God shall do just that. Period.
(The good news is that God has given humans the freedom to change their words, wishes, and thoughts anytime they want.)

How about in addition to that, if Eritreans pray to God to bring them peace, liberty, democracy, to bring them good rainy season, good harvest, wealth, wisdom, harmony between religions, peace with one another, peace with the world, peace with their neighbors, and everything that is good? Well, God shall grant them all these too.

So, can Eritreans pray to God so that God will make Issayas a humane person. No. Every able adult is responsible for his own sins. They can pray for Issayas so that he might ask God for forgiveness himself. If Issayas bows his knees to God and asks for forgiveness to God, then God shall forgive him. God always forgives. But Eritreans cannot, with their prayers, make Issayas the choice of God for a leader, and if they tried, they could be interfering in God's work. They would be doubting God and His future plan for Eritrea and Eritreans. They would be doubting God's choice, God's good judgment, and God's power to find them a leader of his choice from the four million Eritreans. Remember, God knows the heart of each and every Eritrean, but also, He has the power to mold individuals of his choice, including those whose names were never heard before, to become able and good leaders.

A nation is the result of all the collective prayers, or lack of prayers of all of its citizens. Also a nation is the result of all the collective good or bad prayers of all of its citizens. Prayers are powerful, but there is a good prayer that merits a good response from God, there is a bad prayer that does not reach God, and there is also a prayer that simply interferes in God's work. If Eritreans insist in being too specific about their choice of a person for a leader, if they are too picky, then the answer from God will once again be: "I am indifferent to your requests". "You are on your own". Which means, Eritreans have once again to create their own circumstances and their own leader themselves as they have done with Issayas.

Hence when Eritreans pray to God to reveal to them a humane leader, they should not go into details as to who that leader should be. They only need to describe to God their ideal leader and how they want him/her to lead them. They should not give God the details of their ideal leader, such as gender, or ethnic, religious, and educational background etc,. They can ask their God to reveal to them who will make a good leader, but they cannot recommend someone to God for a leader. First of all, they have to admit that they can't know who will make a good leader by reading his/her writings and by listening to his/her speeches because the person they view good now can tomorrow turn out to be another Issayas. But God has good plans for Eritrea and Eritreans and He knows where their ideal leader is if only Eritreans could limit their power only to describing their ideal leader, and if only they could let their God do His work and His miracle.

So, how will Eritreans know the God-chosen leader. The answer to this one is simple. They will know. Their conscience will know if they know how to understand their conscience correctly. What are you talking about? Do you mean to tell us we do not need a democratic election? No. On the contrary. God has given human beings the autonomy to rule their world however they want. They can destroy it, or they can build it. Thus so far the only advanced and fair method of government they've come up with is a participatory democracy. They've come a long way since they invented democracy. They have made a tremendous progress, but they have a long way to go too. Nonetheless, God is happy when humans put their knowledge to good use. However even in democracy, individuals have the option to ask God or their conscience to help them elect the right person, to reveal to them the right leader, and every time they do that, they make themselves freer of bigotry. Bigotry is evil.

So, does God always deliver when your requests are good. Yes. But there is a Catch-22: before you can submit your wishes to God, you have to unlock the gate that leads to God, and the key to unlock the gate is through love and repentance.


Repentance:
You need to repent. Now, repenting is not a complicated concept. It means you have to admit all your wrongdoings. You have to take responsibility for all your actions or lack of actions. Or in Eritreans' case, they need to quit blaming the Woyanes, the UN, the OAU, the EU, the US, and everyone else for the condition in which they are finding themselves.

When you blamed everyone else except yourself, in reality, you would be surrendering your God-given power to create your circumstances, good or bad, to someone else, including to those you believed were standing in your way. And in Eritreans' case, they would be surrendering their God-given power to those they believed were wishing them ill, which is ironic. Now, when you really think about it, why would you believe those you believed wished you ill could do you a favor? In Eritreans' case, they want everyone else, including the ones they are accusing as their enemies, to change for them, but they are not willing to repent, to change their own selves.

(What the worshipers of Issayas have been saying is that if the world submits to Issayas as they have submitted to Issayas, then Eritrea would have peace and prosperity. They have been wishing that the world gives way to Issayas and his whims. My answer to them is, get real, it will never happen. Every reasonable human being feels sorry for cult worshipers, but no reasonable human being follows deluded cult worshipers. By the way, throughout history, all religious fanatics and cult worshipers had the same wishes as the worshipers of Issayas. They all wished the whole world followed their particular religions and cult leaders.)

Again, Eritreans need to stop blaming others. No one hates Eritrea and Eritreans. The US, the Africans, and the whole world love Eritreans. Eritreans need to believe the cause of their problems are themselves and the solution is within themselves, and only when they admit their mistakes and look inside themselves for a solution, then God will reveal to them the answer to all their problems.


Forgive Everyone
The old myth of the 1970s among the members of the Liberation Fronts was saying: the only way to create harmony between Eritrean Moslems and Christians was by renouncing religions altogether. But by now, Eritreans must have learned that no one can take God's place and that without God's grace, human beings can only sow and reap deaths. Christianity and Islam have more in common than what separates them, hence the surest way to create harmony among Eritreans is for all Eritreans who would want to go to their religions to do so, because by now, the majority of Eritreans should realize bashing religions and God are not fashionable anymore. Love, forgiveness, and repentance are inherent in all religions.

Once the Issayas regime is removed, the surest way to bring harmony in Eritrea is by forgiving one another, and the surest way to destroy the country is by engaging in revenge killings, or by looking for scapegoats. Revenge begets revenge, hate begets hate. Countries that engaged in revenge killings, such as Liberia, Somalia, Rwanda, Afghanistan, Congo are still paying costly prices. On the other hand, countries that did not engage in revenge killings, such as Eritrea under the leadership of EPLF in 1991, and Ethiopia under the leadership of EPDRF in 1991, reaped a reasonable peace. Yes, I applauded it then, and I still applaud the way the EPLF treated the Ethiopian POW and civilians after it liberated Eritrea.

One of the lessons of the ex-communist countries was that after the demise of communism, while the more civilized Germans tried the accused under the law, in the less civilized countries like Romania, it was violent, thus Romania had to pay a costly price before it returned to normalcy. In post-Issayas Eritrea, Eritreans will have to act in a civilized way. They need to show the world that they are different from Issayas and his gangs.

After they get rid of the abomination (fenafnti), unless Eritreans collectively shoulder the responsibility for what went wrong in their country, if they are going to look for scapegoats, I am afraid not only they won't know where to draw the line, but they will also repeat the mistakes that have been made by Issayas. Yes, Eritreans have to admit that their country is finding itself in this gruesome state only due to their collective fault as a people.

Blaming others is one of the weakest road to any kind of success. If you refuse to accept your responsibility in the making of the past history, you are bound to repeat that which you blamed on others. Eritrea is finding itself in this state due to what each Eritrean has done, or has left undone; due to each Eritrean's vision or lack of vision; or due to each Eritrean's action or lack of action.

Almost every individual Eritrean, and many communities of Eritrea were used by Issayas at one time or another. The only differences are: between those who came to their senses earlier, and those that waited until it is too late to come to their senses, and those who may never come to their senses; between those who did not speak up at all, and those who did not speak up enough, and those who did not speak up until it was too late, and those who spoke for Issayas.

All Eritreans need to forgive one another from their heart for prayers cannot be answered if one continues to hold grudges in one's hearts. For this, let it be known that on this day, I forgive each and every Eritrean regardless of his or her past history.

Again, even the members of the Clique cannot be held responsible for the situation that the country is finding itself. The only reason why they are now the focus of attention is that, they happened to be Issayas's last favorites, in the long list of Issayas's disposable favorites. Their support for Issayas is not any different from that of their predecessors, former Issayas favorites, or from the former followers of Issayas.

I am not saying that everyone should go scot-free unpunished. What I am saying is that responsibility should lie with a very few individuals, and even then, the individuals should be protected by, and tried under the law of the country. If some of them are in foreign countries, then they should be extradited to and tried in Eritrea.

I do not believe for a second that an armed struggle and a civil war is an option for Eritreans in order to remove the Abomination. That said, I also believe a peaceful struggle for change like the one experienced in India under the leadership of Gandhi, and in America, under the leadership of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. cannot be even tried in Eritrea. At this time in Eritrea, individual Eritreans are not permitted to walk even a mile without being stopped and interrogated by Issayas's guards, let alone to gather and make peace marches. At this time, Eritrea is not only a police state, but for all practical purposes, it is a prison state.

But I think the forces of good have other more powerful weapons at their disposal. It will not require them killings and dying. It is the power of God. The power of prayer. Issayas may have the power to cut off the communication line among Eritreans, but he does not, and will never have the power to cut off the communication line between each Eritrean's solemn heart and their God. Remember, the followers of Issayas can pray all they want, if they ever do, but God responds only to good prayers, and praying for the enslaved, praying for the incarcerated, praying for peace, praying for the little children whose fathers and mothers snatched from them by Issayas, praying for the mothers and fathers whose children have been snatched from them by Issayas, praying for Eritreans children whose adulthood is being wasted by Issayas, praying for justice, praying for the peasant whose plots usurped by Issayas, praying for Eritreans fathers and mothers who have been eating their hearts out, praying for humanity can never be evil. God listens only to good prayers. God does not listen to the forces of evil. Enough is enough. No more killing and dying for Eritrean children. No more tears. No more grief.

Help is on the way for Eritrea and Eritreans. Good change is around the corner for Eritreans. Peace and liberty are around the corner for Eritreans. God has great plans for Eritrea. Therefore, Eritreans can either trust in their Creator and with that faith receive what is rightly theirs, or they can continue to hold grudges against their Creator, continue to doubt their Creator, thus continue to let fear of change control their future. The choices are all up to them.

It is OK for the forces opposed to Issayas to accompany their struggle with peaceful diplomatic campaigns, but they should not underestimate the power of their creator.

I call upon all Eritreans committed to peace and freedom to recite the following lines and add some more lines of their own:


The nation:
May God bring peace to Eritrea.
May Eritrea have peace with itself and with all its children.
May Eritrea have peace with itself and with all its neighbors.
May God make Eritrea a powerful but a fair nation.
May God make Eritrea a powerful but a friendly nation.

Leader:
May God reveal to Eritreans a peace-loving leader.
May God reveal to Eritreans a God-fearing leader.
May God reveal to Eritreans a God-seeking leader.
May God reveal to Eritreans a humble leader.
May God reveal to Eritreans a wise leader.
May God reveal to Eritreans a humane leader.

Its children:
May God bless all Eritreans with knowledge and wisdom.
May its children grow to live in peace from generation to generation.
May Eritreans enjoy liberty.
May God bless Eritreans with common sense.
May God bless Eritrean children with scientific, technological, intellectual, educational, and social skills.
May God bless Eritrea with humble citizens.
May God bless all Eritrean religions with peace and harmony.
May Eritreans forgive one another.
May God grant Eritrean children happiness.
May God make Eritrea a contributor to regional peace.
May God make Eritrea a contributor to world peace.

The nation:
May God bless Eritrea with material wealth.
May God bless Eritrea with spiritual wealth.
May God bless Eritrea with a technological, educational, political, economic, social, and scientific development.
May God bless Eritrea with good harvest.
May God bless Eritrea with reasonable rainy season.
May God bless Eritrea with a good weather.
May God bless the nation with children who pray to God for wisdom.
May God bless the nation with children who will contribute to the well-being of all human beings.
May Eritrea have peace with the world.

The Region:
May God bless the region with peace, riches, wisdom, and harmony.
May there be a lasting peace between Eritrea and Ethiopia.
May there be a lasting peace between Eritrea and Sudan.
May there be a lasting peace between Eritrea and Yemen.
May there be a lasting peace between Eritrea and Saudi Arabia.
May there be a lasting peace between Eritrea and Djibouti
May there be a lasting peace between Eritrea and Somalia
May Eritrea have peace with all its neighbors.
May there be peace in the whole region.


Note:

As I have expressed in the "topics" section of this series, I do not belong to any political organization. Being independent allowed me to express my views and the truths, as I have perceived them without having to seek the approval of certain organized groups and without having to look over my shoulder lest I disappoint some groups. I have to admit my assessment has been hard on PFDJ and its leader and I have done so on purpose because the PFDJ is in power, but this by no means constitutes my approval of the visions or lack of visions of some leaders of the opposition fronts and their fronts.

When I prepared the series I attempted to envision what will be good for Eritrea and Eritreans not just for the next 10 to 15 years, but also for the next hundred years from now. If I had to do it all over again now, I would correct the syntax and clarity errors that I have been discovering with my writings after I have posted the parts on Asmarino.com, but I would not change a bit from the core of my messages.

I thank Asmarino.com, a true democratic and independent forum, where fair and balanced discussion are the norm, without which I could not have expressed my views the way I have expressed them. I also would like to thank the producers of Asmarino.com for their intelligent vision and most of all for their courage. Also I thank all its readers for their civility.

I thank everyone

Yonas Araya