Mekete-The Failed D.D.T Strategy in Atlanta

The recipe of the Mekete diet: Paranoia, Xenophobia, Braggadocio, Scapegoating, Stereotyping, Fear Mongering, Oversimplification, Demagoguery, Disinformation, and the worst kind of Jingoism rapped with plenty of flags.

By Seyoum Tesfaye
June 4, 2012

‘Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.” Adolf Hitler

“One leader, one people, signifies one master and millions of slaves.” Albert Camus

On May 5, 2012 I had an opportunity to attend the unveiling of the 2012 edition of the South East Regional Mekete meeting in Atlanta. This posting is an attempt to summarize the experience and try to shade light on what I perceive is the real purpose of the PFDJ propaganda marketed under the Mekete Brand.

Eritreans in Atlanta have managed to chip away the misguided value, arrogance and the overly intrusive political hegemony of PFDJ so much so the periphery has now become the domicile of the remnants of the authoritarian system members, supporters and sympathizers. Over a quarter of a century persistency and doggedness seems to have finally paid off. The balance of forces has drastically moved in favor of the citizens who are proud to reaffirm their Eritrean identity but clearly understand that they have voluntarily taken Americans citizenship and are duty bound to respect and abide by all US federal and State of Georgia laws without exceptions like all other immigrants who had settled in the US for centuries.

The few elements that represent the morbid interest of the unelected Eritrean regime have sworn allegiance to a foreign political party-PFDJ- that overtly and covertly tries to interfere, control, dictate and subvert the legitimate rights of naturalized American citizens. These elements speak and work on behalf of a confirmed terrorist sponsor, supporter and anti-American authoritarian African regime that is sanctioned by the UNSC twice in less than two years.

The one decisive task left unattended by Eritrean Americans residing in metro Atlanta is the process of legally challenging PFDJ and its local agents through the Federal and State Court to bring a legal closure to the flagrant interference of the Eritrean regime in the overall social, political and spiritual fabrics of the Eritrean Americans residing in State of Georgia.

I am partial to Atlanta and I have never been shy about it. If people want to understand how far PFDJ has degenerated and its fortune has drastically declined they have to study the dynamics of the Eritrean Americans and Eritreans living in metro Atlanta. Lot of honorable, outstanding and principled Eritrean Americans have been standing up against the machination and arrogance of EPLF/ PFDJ in so many ways for so many years that today Atlanta has a qualitatively transformed political, social and spiritual community at large thanks to their multi-faceted protracted resistance. The suffocating PFDJ intimidation and interference has been basically checkmated but not legally contained.

The so-called Mekete marching order from Asmara was given under this kind of unfavorable circumstance for the elements representing the ruling regime. What is behind this frantic effort to regain lost grounds? What is the immediate purpose of the campaign? What is going on beyond the regurgitation of the talking point and the fanfare?  Well to get first hand understanding of the drama I made the decision to attend, listen and observe the actors, the scenario, the atmosphere and specific narration of the propaganda being dished out.

Since the posters and fliers scattered around the city had extended the invitation to all Eritreans (as far as PFDJ and its agents are concerned there is no such a thing as Eritrean American) residing in metro Atlanta, I headed to the scaled down venue (in contrast to previous years’ bigger venues with hundreds attending) to actually observe and evaluate how-what Dr. Steve M. Greer, Director of the Disclosure Project, says is the use of the DDT protocol- as implemented by the manufacturers of the Meketet diet.

According to Dr. Greer the DDT protocol is defined as:

“In this application, it stands for Decoy, Distract and Trash - which is what sophisticated Intelligence operatives use to set up some person or group, take them off the trail of something real and important, and trash the person or the subject.”

I take exception with “sophisticated intelligence” as it is related to PFDJ’s capacity in Metro Atlanta.  The fear of PFDJ in Atlanta is crushed. There may be few who want to maintain the sentimental fiction of the past and hoping the high pitch Mekete charade will revive some semblance of revival.

How is PFDJ going to try to implement its DDT and serve it to its dwindling members and supporters in and around metro Atlanta? Who are the key coordinators and marketing agents of the Mekete DDT diet in Atlanta? What is the size and composition of the sympathizers and members of PFDJ in Atlanta? What is the actual agenda of this specific edition of Mekete?  What is the quality of the designated Diaspora mini- Joseph Goebbles for this specific task? What trend can we discern from this specific DDT production? What is the intended end result Vis a Vis the balance of forces in Atlanta? Lot of questions

Second hand information has value but direct observation when the opportunity avails itself is an enriching learning opportunity. This was my second opportunity to attend a Mekete meeting. I was not disappointed. I got a front seat experience in a production of a Hitler –Gobble school of propaganda as interpreted in a Tigrigna melodrama.

The meeting was supposedly to start at 4:00 PM but I got there at 4:30 and the meeting had not started. The first sign of the tendency to overcompensate by a declining political entity is the over emphasis of form over substance. In this particular case in a room designed for about 175 people there were over 25 large size flags plus three women with a full size flags hanging down from their shoulder to the floor in the manner more apropos to the Superman or Batman- the continuation of the New York madness- an evidence of what was to follow. Love and respect for a country’s flag is a normal human behavior but the desire to overwhelm the individual’s mind by rapping an entire room with flags borders some form of unnamed psychosis.  

Around 4:45PM one of the key organizers of the Mekete (Berket Tsegai) picked up the microphone and announced in a monotone that “this meeting was for Mekete and those of you who are not concerned with the Mekete (Zeimelketekum) please leave the room”. An elder Eritrean American of about 72 years old stood up and started to move out of the meeting room. One of the floaters rushed to him and whispered to his ear something and the elder Eritrean American returned to his seat. No need to postulate what was whispered. About 25 individuals who represent a broad spectrum of the democratic opposition in Atlanta were attending this meeting. Not a single one got up to leave the room.

About ten minutes later one of the key players in the PFDJ team-Atlanta and organizers of the Mekete (Berhane Hagos) came to where I was seating and informed me that the “organizers of the event want to talk to you” I followed him to the corridor before the entrance of the meeting place and was met by Ellen Abraha, Berket Tsegai and Berhane Hagos.  Mr. Bereket Tsegai started to recycle his rendition of the microphone statement. I immediately informed Mr. Tsegai, in a firm voice, that he “needs to pick up the same microphone and spell out the names of the individuals he wants to leave the meeting and since the flier distributed made a generic request to all Eritrean to attend after he makes his exclusionary list public if I happened to be one of them I will be glad to leave with the understanding that I reserve the legal right to address his decision”. At this juncture the consummated local diplomat Mrs. Ellen Abraha intervened and said that “What we meant was in this discussion the only issue that can be addressed is Mekete and that other issues or questions will not be entertained. There are individuals who have threatened to disrupt this meeting” she stated. 

I assured Mrs. Abraha that since this is their platform managing the meeting was their own business. I was there to listen and observe not to disrupt a meeting.” After this brief “conversation” I returned to my seat. Throughout the brief “conversation” Mr. Berhane while standing with the two chairpersons of the meeting he did not utter a word. Few minutes later just before the meeting got underway Mr. Bereket amended his demand “leave the meeting” to “the only issue that will be addressed here is Mekete”. The implication being that no other national issue was to be discussed. The microphone malfunction was addressed and the DDT was to start.

According to the official flier the designated speakers were billed as “Professor Gidewon Asmerom Abay, Bereket Kflu and Mehreteab Tedla on current events in Eritrea and our responsibilities as Eritreans in the Diaspora.” The professor was a no-show.

The Mekete DDT started. Joseph Goebbels’ school of thought was reincarnated. The ingredients of the Mekete recipe were sprinkled with vengeance. The believers have to be kept in line. The base has to be overwhelmed. Decoy, Detract and Trash was underway.

(In part 2- I will try to summarize the madness of the DDT Strategy and the real reason why the meeting was organized and the legal implication of these kinds of meetings organized all over North America under to all Eritrean American Democratic Activists the framework of UNSCR-2023.)

Declaimer; this posting represents my perspective and only my perspective.  No posting without the authors expressed permission.