Behold the Eritreans, not the Wartreans!

Mulugeta Alemu
27 December 2007

Did Eritrea’s public pronouncement that Ethiopia just lunched an attack against it around Tsorena area on 26 December 2007 came as a surprise to you? It should not. I already named the country north of Ethiopia-Wartrea. This government of Wartrea had for several months been crying foul that Ethiopia is to launch an attack. Its Diaspora support network, Hizbi Mekete is revived within Wartrea and abroad trying to rally the ever diminishing number of the regime’s supporters. So in effect an old message is repackaged and is being sent out to Wartreans that Ethiopia is conspiring with the US and others to wipe out the Wartrean government and its institutions. US’s threat to enlist Wartrea as a terrorist state is a part of such evil stratagem, say Wartrea officials. Wartrea opposition websites are awash with theories about how the Eritrean regime is manipulating war-talk

So decoding the Tsorena incident should not be a difficult task at all. It is in the system which can only function best in a war zone. The organizers of the Hizbi Mekete badly need war mongering messages. The response of the diaspora Wartreans to the government call for support had been simply flat. Thus the Wartreans government’s propaganda mill started producing heaps of lies to agitate them.

But Eritreans should know better. In the past, they have shown to the world that they can fight injustices and win their freedom. Now their freedom is being taken away by very few individuals whom power had corrupted absolutely. Their brothers and sisters are in continuous military camp malnourished and despondent. They continue to flee their countries in thousands to Ethiopia and Sudan. There are currently 17, 000 Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia alone. Eritrea’s freedom is not threatened by the Ethiopian government. Their enemy is from within. Where are the Eritrean statesmen who envision peace for their people? Where the Eritrean intellectuals who speak hope to their compatriots? Where are Eritrean mothers and fathers who speak wisdom and reconciliation for their sons and daughters? Where are those courageous fighters who have given so much for their freedom? The stillness of their voice is only making the wartreans noisy.