“His primary rules were: never allow the public to cool off; never admit a fault or wrong; never concede that there may be some good in your enemy; never leave room for alternatives; never accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time and blame him for everything that goes wrong; people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it frequently enough people will sooner or later believe it.”
OSS report (United States Office of Strategic Service) –Hitler as His Associate Know Him, Part I-Page 51
My heartfelt congratulation to Ms. Jane Dutton for being an example of a professional journalist that stood firm and stayed focused on the task under the un-statesman , unrefined and uncivilized behavior of the Eritrean tyrant. She has managed to create a vivid contrast between professional and unprofessional behavior- one that the world will be able to access and use as an example of a truly failed leadership. She deserves the Edward R. Morrow Award for “Overall Excellence”. She could also qualify for some kind of an award by the newly established Eritrean Journalist Association in Diaspora.
When you see the interview please keep in mind this idea: if G-1 was this brutal and unethical to a foreign journalist how do you think he will relates to his subordinates if they dare challenge his monologue or diatribe?. Darkness has descended on Eritrea and Jane Dutton opened a window for us and the world to see an aspect of it.
She must thank her stars for not being an Eritrean Journalist- she might have been slapped on the face on the spot and imprisoned “incommunicado” to never see the sun again. Glad she made it out of Eritrea in one piece and it will not be wise for her to return to Eritrea in the near future. I look forward to reading her memoir.
To the rest of the world we say: welcome to Eritrea’s reality through the generosity of the digital media. After watching the “trauma” of the interview most of you no doubt will ask “how did this happen” to Eritrea and in Eritrea. The existentialist question is not easy to answer. One day we might be able to give you a reasonable answer for now we just want you to understand the hell Eritrea has become and stand on the side of the Eritrean people.
If the most educated nation Germany came under the control of Hitler one should not be surprised that a small underdeveloped country with few educated people “produced” a power hungry tyrant in Eritrea. By the same token as much as Hitler did not represent the entire German society nor does the presiding crass tyrant in Eritrea represent the decent and hard working people of Eritrea. Isaias is the aberration in the most extreme.
Since the 1998 so –called “Badme War” the true characteristic of the tyrant has been unfolding briskly. Every interview became a window to his tormented soul. Unable to neither manage his humongous ego nor reassemble even an aspect his fractured personality he keeps descending into madness digitally. The tactics that served him in “Sahal” could not sustain his treachery and betrayal in the period of digital democracy.
A national “leader” who does not know that the national soccer team has defected-the whole team- must be hiding in an alcohol bottle or has been in a drug rehabilitation center where TV and telephone is not allowed for over three months. The “evidence” guru lives in a fantasy world and when confronted with the truth he retreats to Hitler’s cardinal rule. To understand Isaias’ mind and insanity we have to compare and contrast his words and actions with the cardinal rule:
“His primary rules were: never allow the public to cool off; never admit a fault or wrong; never concede that there may be some good in your enemy; never leave room for alternatives; never accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time and blame him for everything that goes wrong; people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it frequently enough people will sooner or later believe it.”
It could not be much clearer than this. Take time and rewind the interview and see what aspect of the Hitler’s rule he is using. Review the last ten(10) years and if you have the time and energy the last forty(40) years and you will be amazed as to how much he has perfected his political mentor’s rule. His finger print is at the center of all Eritrea’s internal crises. Now his hand print is stamped on all Horn conflicts. His best export has now become sponsoring terrorists. While enjoying the public meltdown of the depleted tyrant one cannot but feel a sense of sadness and even pity to those tormented souls who have been enabling his sadistic behavior out of fear or conviction.
The madness and the lunacy define one particular man and his clique but the sham belongs to all of us. It is a national shame to leave the fate of a country to this kind of contaminated mind- well beyond redemption and recovery. Neither demonstration nor hero worshiping can extend his lease on power. Let us forward the “interview” to thousands of journalists, African Studies specialist, policy makers, international organizations, college students who want to know about Eritrea and the Horn of Africa etc. Expose him further and keep him corralled.
Moving forward the subject matter will not be G-1 and his big lies. The question is where the alternative is and how well the alternative is prepared. It is not only the people of Eritrea that are looking for answer to these questions but also international and regional actors. To them the interview is not entertainment or a topic worth confining to coffee house discussion. The melt- down has deep policy implication and experts are poring over it to see if insanity is merely political, mental or both. To us it should mean more. In the final analysis G-1 and his gang are our problem.
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