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THE KUNAMA PEOPLE PROPOSE A FEDERAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT IN ERITREA. Representatives of the Kunama People at Home and Abroad (R.K.P.H.A) December 2000
These days, there is a lot of talking and writing, among and by the so-called "Eritrean intellectuals and academics", about forming a multi-party system of government in Eritrea. Whether this sadden awareness of the need for an immediate political change in our country, is due to internal and external factors and pressures or just a logical and a smooth transition from a dictatorship to a democracy, the multi-party politics, with its collateral advantages and disadvantages, is not a new idea either to the present Eritrean government or to the Eritrean intellectuals and academics.
Without therefore, going into details to fathom the main causes for the delays that had taken those Eritrean intellectuals to realise and opt for such form of government, we think that, the most important and critical question to ask and answer is whether a multi-party system "per se" is appropriate and would definitely function for Eritrea and its multi-ethnic society.
It has always surprised us Kunama that, up to these days, neither the Eritrean government nor a single Eritrean intellectual or academic had ever had the civil courage of raising and tackling the critical issue of the Eritrean multi-ethnicity and its serious complications.
Any speech, any discussion and any piece of writing by the Eritreans is, most of the time, based on the assumption that Eritrea has found its cultural and political national identity.
In our previous writings on Eritrean affairs, we purposely and repeatedly referred to this
Eritrean reality with the hope of getting some response from our fellow-Eritrean writers, but there seems to be, on their part, a deliberate apathy or fear in counterattacking, either with positive or negative argumentation on this topic.
Some sporadic reactions and comments, in our guest book, by a few visitors of our home page, are, very often, more emotional than rational.
Our proposals to tackle the issue of the Eritrean multi-ethnicity, have, very often, been discarded, by many fellow-Eritreans, as based on propaganda material by the "ruling minority regime in Ethiopia". It always surprises us Kunama to experience that, although we have repeatedly stated that the issues we bring up regarding the Kunama affairs, are exclusively our owns and therefore, have nothing to do with the Ethiopian politics, many supporters of the present Eritrean government keep accusing us of co-operating with or working under the supervision of the Ethiopian government. We categorically reject such allegations.
We really hope that, this official negative response of ours would, once and for all, dispel any doubt and speculation about our honest struggle on behalf of our suffering Eritrean fellow- Kunama people back home.
Returning back to our main theme, we believe that, the Eritrean intellectuals and academics have a grave responsibility and duty to instruct the members of our varied ethnic groups, not only on how important it is to learn to live together, but also on how the Eritrean society should be like. Our intellectuals and academics should be the ones to play the important role of the opposition party to our government but, unfortunately, the impression we have of these people is that, they tend to accept and comply with whatever policy of the government until the country is engulfed in social, political and economic disasters before they wake up and cry for changes. It is not the aim of this topic to speculate further on the political conduct of the Eritrean intellectuals and academics, but one has to state categorically that, the Eritrean "Intelligentsia" has never been forthcoming in examining and condemning our government's social and economic failures and its political blunders.
As ordinary Eritrean citizens, we Kunama are here attempting to tackle the most serious, delicate, very sensitive but extremely important issue of the Eritrean multi-ethnicity and the
derivative problems our country has and will always have to face.
We do not, obviously, claim to be competent either in political or social sciences, but having enough knowledge of our own Kunama ethnic group, its past and present problems as well as its aspirations for a brighter future political and social stability, we hope and believe that, the points we shall be raising, the suggestions we shall be making, dealing with this topic, and the position we shall be taking, as far as the Kunama people and their land are concerned, could be of some valid contribution also for the aspirations of other Eritrean ethnic groups.
Our main concern is about the idea and the recent proposal of a multi-party system of government in Eritrea and its possible ramifications and implications on our multi-cultural societies.
We shall also be commenting on the "statement by Dr. Amare Tekle", an Eritrean diplomat, on the theme, "Elimination of racism and racial discrimination". Multi-party system, as we understand it, implies coming together of several individuals having similar political ideologies, issues and agenda to be presented to the public with the aim of impressing it so as to gather enough supporters and their votes for an absolute majority in the government or just be given sufficient mandate and right to share the political powers with other similar parties.
Though this system of government, theoretically, appears ideal and enjoys also a world-wide appeal, as one of the best democratic systems, we think, it requires a politically mature society, a democratically elected and a stable government as well as a state ruled by a practically functioning constitution.
All this may imply exclusion of heterogeneity of folk groups, languages and cultures.
In other words, it presupposes, at least, a politically homogeneous society where its members elect their leaders and representatives free from any kind of racial or ethnic biases. It is our firm conviction that, the State of Eritrea has not yet reached that stage of social integration and political maturity.
The Eritrean society, as a whole, has not yet developed a sense of national identity.
Without rejecting categorically and "a priori", any kind of an alternative and viable political system, one has to make the point that, based on the present Eritrean reality of multi-ethnicity,
a possible introduction and trial of a multi-party system of government, would certainly involve either forming of political parties made up of or led by the same individuals from within the existing and ruling party or parties formed purely along ethnic lines.
Knowing the past and the present political history of our country, we should not try to kid ourselves and deny the world of the truth that, Eritrea still has the problem of finding or forming its own "national identity". This means that, our varied folk groups are still very much in capsulated in their own ethnic customs and traditions and greatly resent infringements upon their social affairs. In the light of these considerations, which we believe to be very valid, we, as the Representatives of the Kunama People at Home and Abroad (R.K P H A), in consultation and co-operation with the other Kunama political movements at home and abroad, have long reached the conclusion and accepted the resolution that, according to our traditionally democratic social structures and respectful of the aspirations of our people, concerning their ethnic and territorial affairs, the federal states system of government is the best and the only one which could be adopted as a valid, viable and appropriate system for our country Eritrea and equally applicable to all its ethnic groups. Without trying to give detailed specifications of how such federal states system may look like in all and each individual Eritrean state or region, it suffices, for the time being, to say that the state or regional governor, the civil servants, the local police force, the judicial and
the entire regional administrative body is to be made up solely of the members of the ethnic group of that particular state or region.
The Eritrean National Assembly, the Parliament, the President of the country and his ministers are to be made up of the States' Representatives. Having thus made our political stand very clear, let us argue that, the admission, introduction and the praxis of the multi-party system has to begin, develop and establish itself first on the regional before expanding on the national level.
In other words, we propose the development of the grass-root and localised politics before thinking of building a national government from above and on a larger scale. Our Eritrean, ethnically, linguistically and culturally different societies can build their full confidence in and put their trust firstly and only on their own ethnic group members before they can accept, let alone an unsympathetic government, even the simple presence of strangers in their territories.
We in fact, think that, today, we are all very aware of the difficulties our government has been encountering in trying to carry out and establish its social, political and economic programmes as well as its acceptance beyond the spheres of its own Eritrean Tigrean ethnic group.
Besides, there is an ever-growing criticism, both at home and abroad that, the PFDJ government, from the very first day of its assumption of power, had sent some clear signals of favouritism for its strongest supporters and ethnic group members.
Unfortunately, those elements, conscious of their elite status, have developed very arrogant
attitudes of contempt for the other Eritrean ethnic groups.
They have now become stumbling blocks even to the government in its few attempts to improve its relations with the other ethnic groups.
Not having enough pieces of information and, therefore, not being able to assess exactly, how serious the social damages are, as far as the other ethnic groups are concerned, the relationships between the Kunama people and the Eritrean Tigreans have reached their lowest and very dangerous stages of antagonism and hatred. Though it is to admit that, historically, these two societies have always had open dislikes and constant conflicts, the intensity of the present enmity is surpassing all proportions and, therefore, it is to be taken very seriously.
The Kunama, today, are pessimistically saying that they would never be able to live together peacefully with most members of the Eritrean Tigreans.
As already mentioned, the PFDJ government has always favoured this ethnic group, the development, the dominance and the imposition of its language and culture on the Kunama people and their land.
It is in fact, not at all accidental that, in a matter of seven-eight years, more than 250.000 of its
members have literally invaded and forcefully settled in the Kunama land.
This sudden explosive influx of the Eritrean Tigreans into the Kunama land, had deliberately been pre-planned and cunningly accelerated by the resettlement programmes of the present Eritrean government.
Many Eritrean Tigreans, today, sustain that, all Eritreans have the right to settle wherever they like and in any part of the country.
This idea was brought up, developed and instilled into their minds by the present PFDJ government as soon as it had inherited and promulgated the old Italian colonial principle of
"TERRENO DEMANIALE or STATE LAND":
The absurdity is that only the Eritrean Tigreans are allowed to practice this principle.
Up to now, have any members of the Afar, Baria/Nara, Blin, Hadareb, Kunama, Rashaida, Saho or Tigre ethnic groups been allowed, ever dared or attempted to, forcefully, settle in the fertile areas of the highland Kebesa regions of Akele-Guzai, Hamasien or Serae?
Knowing the aggressive character of the majority of the Eritrean Tigreans, no member of those other Eritrean ethnic groups would ever try to put them on test thus risking his own life. Due to the unjust land policy and practice of the present government and the increasing demographic outnumbering of the Eritrean Tigreans in the Gash/Setit region, an unprecedented exodus of the Kunama people into the neighbouring countries is said to be alarmingly taking place.
The whole of the Kunama region has been surrounded by the Eritrean government military forces. Any movement of the Kunama people, even within their own territory, is said to be strictly forbidden.
Kunama men, women, old and young are indiscriminately being arrested, detained, tortured, summarily killed and buried in mass-graves. Many of them are being loaded on trucks and deported to the far away desert areas of Dankalia and Sahel where they are said to be kept in detention camps. The Kunama are being systematically displaced, followed by reports of continuous disappearances. It is a government's calculated forced resettlement programme. All this, in fact, is said to have been planned long before the eruption of the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia.
There are no more hidden reasons to speculate on that, the Kunama land is being gradually emptied of the Kunama people so that the elite members of the Eritrean Tigrean ethnic group can settle freely and wherever they choose to.
We have reports of the Eritrean Tigreans rushing back home, even from abroad, with the aim of occupying a fertile piece of land in the Kunama Gash/Setit region.
A real and very aggressive Tigrean territorial and demographic domination is said to be alarmingly taking place in the Kunama land.
Going back to the main theme of this topic, one has to state that, as long as a government, not only favours an already numerically and politically dominant ethnic group, but it also helps that group to make territorial gains by spreading intimidation, fear and victimisation of a minority folk group, as it is happening against the Kunama people, the adoption of any kind of a political system has no meaning and importance for any minority ethnic group as it does not at all guarantee its land and human rights. It is in the light of this ethnic and political realities that the Kunama people believe that, only when they themselves are in charge of their own folk group and take care of their own affairs will they be able to prevent and protect themselves from constantly falling victims of, dominated and ill-treated by other ethnic groups.
The Kunama today firmly believe that, the present PFDJ government, though it cannot be honest enough to admit it, has clear plans to dislocate the Kunama people from their ancestral land, disperse and eventually de-culturalise them. We believe that, the present Eritrean government is totally against any introduction of a federal system of rule in Eritrea because this would obviously mean losing of its absolute political hegemony in our country and the collapse of the elite status of its own Tigrean Eritrean ethnic group and culture. The statements made, very recently, by "Dr. Amare Tekle diplomatic and foreign affairs adviser before the third committee of the fifty-fifth session of the United Nations general assembly on agenda item 112: Elimination of racism and racial discrimination", were clear messages to condemn the federal type of government as destructive to any society. Through its messenger, Dr. A. Tekle, the Eritrean government is quick in pointing fingers and accusing other countries, of practising racism and human rights violations, based on ethnic federalism, without taking into account its own evil deeds of racial hatred and ethnic cleansing that it is carrying out against the Kunama people using its absolutely dictatorial and cruel methods.
We shall be here reporting chunks of Dr. A. Tekle's statements and commenting on their contents as we see them from our own perspective. This Eritrean diplomat opened his speech to the UN delegates by first expressing his thanks for the opportunity he had been given to "deliver his statements to the committee" and his "appreciation of the Special Rapporteur on Measures to Combat the Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance".
Surely it was a very commendable opening of an official speech by Dr. A. Tekle as he immediately, focused on the problem of Racism today afflicting the world at large.
What makes us Kunama, criticise and condemn Dr. A. Tekle's incoherent argumentations and hypocritical attitudes towards the politics of other countries, concerning "Racism", is the fact that, though well aware of the identical racist policies being carried out by his own government in his own country Eritrea, this experienced diplomat had the effrontery to condemn what he himself describes as "Ethno-Apartheid".
He in fact, said that, "in Ethiopia today, an Ethno-apartheid system has been inaugurated by a minority regime under the guise of ethnic-federalism and is being savagely used to systematically victimise the rest of the ethnic groups in the beleaguered country to promote the exclusive interests, and to safeguard the privileges enjoyed by, one ethnic group - the Tigreans". Let us immediately, make the point that, though we are not well informed, either on the Ethiopian "Ethno-federalism" or on the racial policies practised by the "minority regime" in Ethiopia, we Kunama, totally condemn any government or state which adopts any kind of favouritism, be it ethnic or partisan".
Having clarified our political stand, the "Ethno-federalism" we Kunama are proposing, in the Kunama land and in the whole of Eritrea, envisages diametrically opposed principles to those presented and disputed by Dr. A. Tekle.
Such "Ethno-federalism" too would be absolutely detrimental and destructive should it include the same characteristics that Dr. A. Tekle himself defines as, "ethnic exclusivity" and social, political and economic discrimination "of ethnic groups". Our first question to Dr. A. Tekle however is: what is the difference between the policy of the "ethnic exclusivity" he says "the minority regime in Ethiopia" is letting its own Ethiopian Tigrean ethnic group enjoy, and the elite status the present Eritrean government has and is offering its own Eritrean Tigrean ethnic group in Eritrea?
We have no doubt that, as far as we Kunama are concerned, the Eritrean Tigreans in the Gash/Setit region, are enjoying an absolute "ethnic exclusivity" when one considers that, the regional governor, the local police force, the civil servants and the entire judicial and administrative bodies are said to be all members of the Eritrean. The Kunama down-towns have been evacuated of their native populations to be occupied and replaced by the elite Tigreans hotels and restaurants owners, traders and their personnel.
The whole of the Kunama region is said to be literally invaded by this ethnic group's members.
The Kunama villages, farmers and the entire rural population are said to be living under a continuous threat, intimidation and victimisation by the Eritrean Tigrean farmers who are said to be outnumbering the Kunama by the days. In our previous writings on this topic, we repeatedly stressed on the discriminatory methods being used by Gash/Setit regional authorities to settle conflicts arising between the Kunama people and the Eritrean Tigreans.
This, in fact, is a proper "ethnic exclusivity".
Dr. A. Tekle, perhaps, lives too far away from the Kunama land to be aware of the same inhumane policies adopted by his own ethnic group members in our homeland.
Their tyrannical methods and arrogant manners have "become a code for the legitimization of the same kind of racial discrimination and ethnic domination" of which Dr. A. Tekle is accusing his culturally related members of the "ruling minority regime" in Ethiopia".
If that "ruling minority regime" in Ethiopia in fact, uses or misuses the "Ethno-federalism as a code for legitimizatation of racial discrimination and ethnic domination", it is to be strongly and equally condemned as the government which is totally opposed to the principle of "Ethno-federalism"but it takes advantage of the lack of it to exercise its unlimited power to perpetuate arrests, detentions, tortures, indiscriminate killings, disappearances and cruel displacement of innocent and peaceful members of an ethnic group. Ethno-federalism "per se", we think, is one of the best political systems, if a state or a government, both as a "ruling minority or majority regime", does not infringe upon the regional affairs democratically run by its ethnic group members.
Because of its multi-ethnicity, the State of Eritrea needs such an "ethno-federalism". It is, in fact, not only a necessity but a "must" as it can surely fulfil the culturally different demands of a multi-ethnic society like ours. Dr. A. Tekle, goes on to state that, "the real objective of such political arrangement (ethno-federalism) has been to practice the economic, political and cultural exclusionary domination and exploitation of the many, by a few to serve scheme to ensure ethnic homogeneity by expanding the territory of an ethnic group, the Tigrean, at the expense of other ethnic groups, the Amhara, the Oromo and the Afari large swathes of whose territory had to be forcibly annexed in the name of ethnic organization.
Its real objective has been to balkanise the other regions of the country to ensure an hegemonic control of the state and to establish an exploitative relationship between Tigray and the other regions". Without commenting on this, rather extensive report by Dr. A. Tekle, we have a strong impression that, this Eritrean diplomat seems to have much deeper and better geographical, political and demographic knowledge and understanding of Ethiopia than of his own claimed country, Eritrea.
We, therefore, do not hesitate to cast our doubts that, people of Dr. A. Tekle's calibre are, very often, expatriates, formally in Ethiopia where they had obtained their Ph-Ds and, presently living comfortably somewhere abroad.
Our country Eritrea and we Eritreans cannot and should not be represented by people of Dr. A. Tekle's like who, through their unwise statements, bring us, only and always, embarrassing remarks, both from our fellow-Africans as well as from all those who are well acquainted with the Eritrean politics and the hard conditions under which our people are living.
Dr. A. Tekle, to our understanding, lacks of a total knowledge of the past and present history of Eritrea and of its complex social make up.
We would not be at all surprised if, this Doctor and many others like him, did not even know the Kunama ethnic group, its history and the many problems regarding its land.
We believe that, had Dr. A. Tekle`s speech been given by any other than an Eritrean or an Ethiopian diplomat, reporting instead on the social, political and economic situation in Eritrea today, a lot of people from the audience would have surely nicked their heads in sign of total agreement and approval.
One does not necessarily need to identify a particular system and associate the political failures with it when one claims to adopt a totally different political system but yet one produces the same failures and gets identical results
As a matter of fact, what had Dr. A. Tekle not said, about the politics being used by the "ruling minority regime" in Ethiopia, in the name of "Ethno-federalism", which could not be literally applied to the present social, political and economic state of affairs in Eritrea?
This is a classical interpretation of the saying, "the one living inside a glass-house, should not be the first one to throw stones".
Whether Dr. A. Tekle is well aware of living inside a "glass-house" or not, he goes on to state that, "it would be appropriate to paraphrase one of the Africa's illustrious freedom fighters, Nadabaning Sthole and declare that, in today's Ethiopia, the Tigrean dominates the non-Tigrean, exploits him economically and degrades him socially".
The present Eritrean government as well as the Eritrean Tirgeans are practising an identical policy in Eritrea of which, Dr. A.Tekle is accusing and condemning his fellow-ethnic group members in Ethiopia but ignores or condones the conducts, both of his own government and that of the Eri-Tigreans in Eritrea. We hope not that, Dr. A. Tekle too is one of those Eritrean Tigreans who are trying to deny their "Tigreanity" by claiming and striving to assume the pseudo-definition of "ethnic Eritreans" and would like to reserve the term "Tigrean" only for their Ethio-Tigrean brothers and sisters.
To our understanding, the term "Tigrean" equally applies to the both, geographically and politically divided, but yet members of the same ethnic group, sharing one and the same language and culture, the Tigrigna.
Up to these days, the Eritrean society is still being categorised and recognised in terms of its different ethnic names and rich cultural varieties. Refraining ourselves from further comments on and comparison of the Ethiopian "ethno-federalism" with the Eritrean reality, we are however, led to wonder whether it were not an innate Ethio-Tigrean and Eri-Tigrean character, desire and aspiration to dominate other ethnic groups, both territorially and culturally, in Eritrea as well as in Ethiopia.
We Kunama are proposing an "Ethno, State or Regional Federalism" in view of the past hatreds, persecutions and genocide attempts that have always accompanied the history of the Kunama people as well as the present Kunama political and military movements against the on-going discriminatory, social, political and economic activities being carried out by the PFDJ government against the Kunama people in their own land.
It is a proposal that needs a serious consideration as it could lead us to a possible solution of the ethnic and territorial chronic problem of the Kunama people.
It is, in fact, the very first time in our entire history that, our normally peaceful ethnic group members have reached the point of openly opposing and voluntarily taken up arms to fight against a ruling authority in Eritrea.
It is a sad and destructive development and change of the character of our people which worries, not only us moderate Kunama, but also many members of the other ethnic groups who had always known the Kunama as peace-loving and conflict-avoiding people.
Our further concern is the daunting question why the present Eritrean government is allowing so many Tigreans to settle in the Kunama land thus causing a grave demographic unbalance and logically creating deep resentments and frustration among the Kunama people!
Returning back to Dr. A. Tekle's statement on the "Ethno-federalism": "while the ethnic administration (kilils) are technically governed by members of the ethnic group control is guaranteed not only by ensuring the election of representatives of clone political parties created by the TPLF in its image but doubly guaranteed by omnipresent Tigrean cadre who dictates policy and ensures implementation". Though we are not very into the TPLF's policy, we surely condemn such kind of strict state control which is to be laid not upon the principle of "Ethno-federalism", but on the intrusion of any federal government, its personnel or "cadre" in the internal, social, economic or administrative affairs of a state or region (kilil).
A nominal "ethno-federalism" like that of Ethiopia, as it has been presented by Dr. A. Tekle, is not to be differentiated from the similar system a dictatorial state or government uses to tightly control its subjects.
By the way, we had an opportunity to interview some Ethiopian nationals, non-Tigreans, on the policy and praxis of the "Ethno-federalism" in their country and we were very surprised to experience that, in fact, such principle is said to have brought a lot of political stability in many regions and societies.
We were also reminded that, it is the first time, in the history of the African Continent that, one of the oldest states in Africa had embarked itself on a political programme of such novelty and magnitude thus setting an unprecedented example to other African states.
One surely needs time and more objective assessment of the "Ethio-Ethnic-like-Federalism" before one could accept or reject it, but even then, the likely failure of such an intrinsically viable system of government may be due to external factors infringing upon its correct implementation.
A state or a government should not rush to accuse and blame a system which is being misused and manipulated by others simply because it dislikes it and deliberately intends to hinder or derail its true implementation.
Dr. A. Tekle therefore, should worry not about the "Ethno-federalism", which can be successfully applied also in the Eritrean society, but about the dictatorial character and politics of the present PFDJ government which, we believe, he full-heartily supports and defends. A lot of Eritrean politicians and intellectuals need a thorough analysis of themselves and their own political and moral stand before accusing others of the same sins they themselves are committing. Reporting the following statement by the Secretary General Kofi Annan that: "identification of the -other-, whether that -other- is a different ethnic or tribal group, a different religion or a different nationality" and comparing with the present social and political situation in Ethiopia, Dr.A. Tekle makes the point that:
"such xenophobia permeates Ethiopian politics today".
He goes on to explain further that, "identity politics as preached and practised by the minority regime in Ethiopia has led people, particularly the people of Tigray, to believe that they could be safe only when they were together with others of the same ethnic groups as themselves.
It has also encourage them to blame their failures on others, thus leading them to vent their frustration on, and be aggressive against other ethnic groups or peoples of neighbouring states." Identifying somebody as "Afari, Baria, Blin, Kunama or Tigre" and discriminating him or her, is not any different than the impersonal use of the word "other" to discriminate ethnic or tribal groups, people professing other religions, having other facial features or other political orientations.
Xenophobia as an "irrational hatred and fear of strangers or foreigners", does not justify the conduct, either of the "ruling minority Ethio-Tigrean regime" in Ethiopia or that of the self-proclaimed "ruling majority Eri-Tigrean regime" in Eritrea. Both of them are to be equally condemned for their discriminatory. The Eritrean government, today, is waging an open war of hatred against the Kunama ethnic group. It is releasing its frustration on them having accused them of betraying their country Eritrea following the war it lost against Ethiopia. The Eritrean military forces had evacuated the Kunama land as they had realised that the Ethiopian army was advancing.
They left the Kunama people and their land defenceless.
The Eritrean government had removed, loaded on trucks and buses, the Eritrean Tigreans living in many parts of the Kunama land, even from the far away western towns of Om-Hajer, Ali-Gdir and Tessenei, long before the arrival of the Ethiopian troops into the Kunama territory.
Mind you, those trucks and buses drove diametrically cutting through the Kunama land heading towards the northern highland regions of Kebesa.
The Eritrean government had not made similar trucks and buses available for the Kunama people. Why?
Was it not due to the Eri-Tigrean "ethnic exclusivity"?
The Eritrean government had deliberately and clearly ignored the Kunama people.
We are, therefore, asking Dr. A. Tekle, whether that decision of his government and the move of his own ethnic group members was not, as he puts it, because of their conviction that "they could be safe only when they were together with others of the same ethnic group as themselves"? As to "blaming others for one's own failures", to your own information, honourable Dr. A. Tekle, the Eritrean army has now returned to and surrounded the Kunama land.
Indiscriminate arrests, detentions, tortures, disappearances, mass-killings, deportations and displacement of Kunama men, women, young and old are being carried out daily by the Eritrean government and its security forces, allegedly accusing them of betrayal of their country.
The government and its military forces were the first defectors and betrayers in the Kunama land but, instead of being the accused ones they have become the accusers of the Kunama people.
Was that not a clear and cunningly fabricated excuse that "had encouraged them to blame their failures on others thus leading them to vent their frustration on, and be aggressive against other ethnic groups (Kunama) and peoples of neighbouring states"? (Ethiopians in general and the Ethio-Tigreans in particular)?
Besides, Dr. A. Tekle, referring to the present political situation in Ethiopia, stated that, "groups which had in an earlier time lived in harmony with one another are being led to mistrust and often to hate each other.
Neighbour is forced to rise against neighbour".
Had Dr. A. Tekle, ever made a sociological and political research inside Eritrea, or at least, had he pondered over his statements, keeping in mind that, today, the world public opinion of
Eritrea, of its government and political stand is not at all favourable because of its continuous
belligerent attitudes and recent history of diplomatic failures, he would have refrained himself from "venting" his attacks on others who could, rightly, turn the same gun against him.
We wonder how objective, accurate and fair, Dr. A. Tekle is in reporting that the politics of the "ruling minority regime" in Ethiopia has created conflicts, divisions and mistrusts among ethnic groups!
What could he say if he were aware that, the PFDJ government's policy in Eritrea today, has created enmities and indelible sentiments of hatred among the same ethnic group members as well as families and relatives?
In the Kunama land, it is reported and widely proven, that, knowing the firm character of this ethnic group members, the government authorities are said to be using corrupt ways to, literally buy, with big sums of money, some Kunama elements to work as government spies and security agents.
They are said to be extremely successful in their mission.
The old socialist style of a total and tight control, being imposed on the Eritrean society today, has been publically admitted and regretted even by some important members from within the PFDJ circle.
Dr. A. Tekle, therefore, seems to be way behind or very ignorant of the recent political developments in Eritrea.
He however tries to substantiate his arguments by reiterating that, "yet ethnic conflicts are the products of ethnic policies and the human rights violations that ensure from such disastrous ethnic policies.
Discriminatory policies or the manipulation of ethnic or national differences by political groups or movements constitute the core of such policies.
It is thus essential to strongly condemn the existing Ethno-Aparthei policy or the minority regime of Ethiopia if only because it has institutionalised racism, broadly defined, and is promoting ethnic hatred and fomenting strife".
We would be very curious to know, how many from the audience, had actually, honestly and approvingly applauded Dr, A. Tekle at the end of his speech. We believe, not many, as he had ended his "stone-throwing from inside the Eritrean glass-house". Reporting on the plights of the Ethiopian people, Dr. A. Tekle, gave, unintentionally and indirectly, a detailed account of the alarming "discriminatory policies" of the PFDJ government in Eritrea and of the disastrous social, political and economic hardships our Kunama ethnic group is being subjected to. Lately, a lot of criticism is being launched, from all directions, towards the Eritrean government calling for a political change in Eritrea. A lot of dissatisfaction is said to be growing among the Eritrean intellectuals and academics too.
The curious reality is that, the majority of our intellectuals and academics live abroad and try to manipulate the Eritrean politics from a distance, in the same way as if they were using their remote controls to operate their electrical and technical household devices.
Heated arguments, discussions and even big ideological differences and splits are said to be at the order of the day, particularly among those living in and operating from the USA.
What amazes many of us is that, these Eritrean intellectuals and academics, having been away from home for quite a number of years, though sporadically spending their vacations there, have almost completely lost touch with the present day Eritrea, its government, politics and its ethnic groups living under very depressing social conditions.
Their concerns about their country seem to be more nostalgic and emotional than truly based on objective political analysis and care.
Those Eritrean intellectuals and academics are said to be divided into two political schools:
the ones teaching and suggesting a cosmetic change of the politics and not of the present PFDJ government and, the others proposing a radical change, both of the government and its politics.
In the meantime, the Eritrean regime is left to carry on with its dictatorial system and follow its belligerent course.
We, the ordinary Eritrean citizens, cannot and should not be fully relying on these intellectuals and academics of ours who, anyway, have the history of being, not only behind and unwilling to detect and condemn the racially motivated activities of the PFDJ government against some Eritrean ethnic groups like, Afari, Kunama, Tigre and so on, but that they would support any Eritrean government which always promoted and developed the Tigrean language, culture, political and territorial domination.
It does not, therefore, surprise us, if some of them are turning their attacks on other governments by being the first ones to accuse them of the same evil deeds in the hope of disguising and covering up their owns.
Concluding his speech, Dr. A. Tekle suggested:" it must be recognised that it is no longer fair to argue that doctrines of ethnic or racial exclusivity and domination are preached and practised by whites only. It should not be whites only that must be held accountable on such issues". Not being able to understand whether, with this last paragraph of his speech, Dr. A. Tekle was trying to soothe the feelings of the majority of his white audience or not, we think that, as an intellectual, a learned person and an experienced diplomat, he should have known that, any principle, be it social, political, economic or even moral, can always have its full value and function and it can, therefore, give its positive results if applied correctly.
That same principle, however, can become an evil one with extremely damaging consequences whenever its users misunderstand, misinterpret and misuse it.
In other words, the values and functions of "Ethno-federalism", per se, are not to be identified and equated with the "misuse" of it, either by the "ruling minority regime" in
Ethiopia or by any other government or regime in the world. We Kunama, by proposing an "Ethno-federalism" in Eritrea, mean and believe that, the Eritrean multi-ethnicity is anyway and in itself, a naturally ethnically federated, which means that, this principle is not a new one to our varied ethnic groups and their members, but perhaps to the PFDJ government which may see and interpret it from a completely different angle.
The regime is afraid of this principle not so much because of its intrinsic value as of the political changes and implications it may bring to the present "status" of PFDJ government and of the Eri-Tigreans.
In fact, the present Eritrean government is totally against the "Ethno-federalism" in Eritrea
because it hates the idea of decentralising and sharing its political power with the various regional ethnic authorities.
"Ethno-federalism" implies also the sharing of the control over the political and economic issues concerning the federated regions and this too is seen, by the present Eritrean regime as a further threat and reduction of its absolute grip on the political and military power.
It is a paradox that, the PFDJ government and its supporters are, nowadays, proposing a multi-party system in Eritrea, but, at the same time, they totally oppose the idea of relinquishing their "ethnic exclusivity".
In other words, though not admitting openly, they are definitely opting for a political "status quo" in Eritrea.
This attitude clearly proves that, what is being propagated as a political development and change, is only and a purely nominal "multi-party system" and we Eritreans cannot and should not be led into accepting and adhering to it.
Any future Eritrean government, therefore, has to see, appreciate and build an "Ethno-federalism" based on the already existing social values which our various ethnic groups have been keeping to govern themselves for generations. There is no need of a new schooling to instruct them on this. Those who are opposing such kind of "Ethno-federalism", let them first identify, assess and prove its intrinsically negative sides; if not, then let them go and learn to avoid those ethnically discriminatory mistakes which are, presumably, being made, in the name of the "Ethno-federalism" by the "ruling minority regime" in Ethiopia.
The Representatives of the Kunama People at Home and Abroad (R.K.P.H.A) December 2000
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