It is a fact that these days, there are forums where ideas of every shade can be discussed and people can sound off on a variety of topics--be it far from me to want to curb this right. But it surely is nauseating to see people subjected daily to obnoxious postings full of deliberate inaccuracies and starkly visible hate. What makes this even more sickening is the hypocritical nature of these people--people so filled with self-righteousness that they dare not remember what they said yesterday, leave alone question the truly fantastic (if stupid) utterances of their dictator. Almost all of the Eritrean writers and writings are of the same genre. There is no Eritrean forum which allows postings even marginally different from the usual propaganda hash served the, (and this is truly amazing), largely unquestioning Eritrean public in the diaspora--(it seems that, understandably, the Eritrean public in Eritrea itself is a bit more down-to-earth in its assessment of current situations). Despite their newly-discovered recognition of the importance of the Ethiopian public’s opinion in their [again] newly-found desire for peace, no website of Eritrean leanings lists a link to a site even remotely associated with Ethiopia/Ethiopians--leave alone publish some of their writings. (In contrast, one need only visit sites such as Dagmawi’s to appreciate the effort for balanced fare--at least in the provision of available information).

Let’s now come back to the "writings" of the people mentioned above. Like most of the [guilt-ridden] Eritrean "intellectuals" trying to act as latter day patriots, these guys blow hot and cold depending on the temperature of the dictatorial madman’s temples back home. Below are statements taken from the writings of some of these that speak for themselves. (Emphasis in bold and italics mine).

The months leading to February were a free-for-all, chest-thumping war-dance ground for the leaders of EPLF and assorted acolytes, one Saleh AA Younis typical among them. Here is what he wrote in December, 1998:

Nowadays and predictably, Younis and his ilk, adept chameleons that they are, have become "indefatigable" champions of peace. Here is what he says in a recent article:

Isn’t it a shame how these people debase themselves? Isn’t this intellectual prostitution at its most putrid state? All the "writings" of the Eritrean "intellectuals" are in the same vein (viz. Tekie Fessehazion’s flip-flops on the character of the OAU and its peace proposals: "It must be God's Wrath that Africa is stuck with the OAU"; Ammanuel Meles’ diatribe on the plight of the poor Eritreans in Malawi who, as it happened, refused to be transported to Eritrea; Professor Asmerom’s shameful ascribing of a criminal deported from Uganda as a man of property deported from Ethiopia, etc.). Wait till you see what these guys will say to the EPLF’s recent hilarious debacle regarding the Tucker article and the ludicrous claim of Zalamebessa being "sovereign Eritrean territory".

It is scandalizing to see so many people (whom one expects to do otherwise) try to live the life of the court jester. One might wonder why they would do it? Why choose the Faustian path and sell their soul? Sell their soul to what gain? To be rewarded with the destruction of their "nation" (such as it is) and the decimation of three generations of their kin? (At least Faust had earthly rewards.)

Calamitously tragic as it might be for Eritreans, all this, in my opinion, can be ascribed to one thing--the artificial foundations of "Eritrea" as an entity and the resulting total lack of a set of values/norms by which to conduct everyday life. Do not expect anything tangible to come from these quarters. These people are living an image. And as the saying goes: "Those who live by the image perish by its unmaking".

Before concluding, I would like to pose a simple set of questions to these head-in-the-clouds people (or to any other Eritean who cares to answer). Saleh Younis gets to declare in one of his relatively saner moments: "If the Price of Peace is that Ethiopia gets to declare to the world that it has destroyed and humiliated the enemy (even though it has not), then let there be peace."

Amazing statement! Defiant (if obtuse) to the end! In my opinion, the Eritreans thoroughly deserve Issaias as he deserves them. Still, that shouldn’t be reason for them to accept the horrific losses instigated by Issaias or, even worse, to accept more losses to come. Perhaps the message that Younis (so reluctantly) is trying to send his kin has to do with this. But then and typically unmindful of his statement above, we find that he is back to his old saber-rattling ways, albeit in a more subdued manner—(realizing that the Eritrean army is unable to enforce EPLF’s wishful thinking, the threats he suggests this time, should come from the UN/US). It is Ethiopia’s refusal to accept the OAU’s proposal on Technical Arrangements as presented and thus to bow to the interests of outsiders as well as its insistence to not reward aggression that especially rankles his nerves and that he rants about most.

No matter how the EPLF or acolytes the like of Younis/Tekie are trying to obfuscate the case, the fact remains that Ethiopia would have no recourse save to accept the peace deal if its infinitely fair demand for the restoration of the status-quo-ante is respected. The path to peace is thus very clear.

Now for the questions: Would you say that the will of the people of Eritrea is to prevent further bloodshed? Do you accept that Issaias, (as evidenced by his recent statement of having to feign sleep for diplomacy’s sake in accepting the Technical Arrangements in TEN minutes--if further proof is required) is the undisputed dictator of Eritrea? If so, do you think that a self-professed [and fatally wounded] dictator would be the right vehicle for the realization of the people’s will?

I am sure that their response to the latter two questions would be extremely negative. Pitiful nation and pitiful people that they are, therein lies the reason why the war will continue to its logical end.