Unfortunately, Eritrea, besides the standard headaches of third world countries, has two other problems -- its southern neighbor Ethiopia and its pool of defeated and disgraced ex-politicians.

A friend of mine quips that the most dangerous animal in Eritrea is not a hyena or wolf, but a defeated ex-politician. These have major problem remaining loyal to the country. We have time and time again seen that as soon as they lose a political skirmish, they begin losing loyalty towards the common purpose. And Eritreans, to say the least, are sorely tired of their half-baked politics and immature cyber blabbering.

Regarding the other problem, the southern neighbor, one can safely say that Eritreas benign nationalism has been more than a match for Ethiopias expansionist nationalism. What worked for Ethiopia in Somalia has failed to work in Eritrea.

This small country of ours has made successive Ethiopian rulers eat their word one too many times. Meles is just the most recent example of this, if also the worst case. Only God knows how many times he publicly lied in the past 5 years. He doesnt even wait for the proverbial three days before trapping himself in one lie and then another lie. That was exactly what he did when the EEBC announced its ruling about a year ago.

There were four possible positions Eritrea and Ethiopia could take in relation to the EEBC ruling. Two possible positions before knowing the verdict while signing the agreement (I will accept, I will not accept). And two possible positions after the announcement of the verdict, after signing the agreement (I accept, I do not accept).

Before knowing the outcome of the verdict, Meles said he would accept the ruling no matter what. After the ruling was announced, he said not only does he accept it but welcomes it as a major victory for Ethiopia. Then six months later, he said he will not accept it. Of the four possible alternatives, Meles covered three of them. The only alternative he left out was saying that he will not accept the ruling while signing the agreement.

The way events have unfolded, the Eritrean Diaspora has a four-fold task,

(i) to build upon the many shared values and fortify its unity,
(ii) to expose and frustrate the destabilizing mission of the so-called "opposition",
(iii) to encourage the government for continuous improvement in the management of its affairs,
(iv) but above all else, and without asking anybody´s excuse or permission, to diligently work to strengthen Eritrea, its government, and all institutions of the government. Then peace would be unavoidable between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and disgraced ex-politicians would have no choice but remain loyal to the country and people.

This small country of ours is good country, with all the hallmarks of a healthy society.

Mussie Msghina

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