Five Hours of Marathon Gibberish

By Seyoum Tesfaye

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

The president of a given nation addresses the people to report the overall health of the nation: A summary health report outlining the main challenges and the results (progress and failures) from last year. Most countries deploy some form of yearly report as a part of their political culture. This is part of an institutionalized reporting mechanism that is required of a given leader governing under constitutional constraints.

Eritrea has its version – a 5 hour boring and senseless monologue by a lawless political leader in the world, a “leader” of a failed state; unreformed communist without any discernible virtue and a modicum of sense of shame. Since there is no institutional governance in Eritrea, the brutal “leader” inflicts verbal abuse to reinforce his dictatorial rule periodically by monopolizing the airwave for a narcissistic lecture under the guise of an interview.

Eritrea has the burden of being ruled by one mind- A self-appointed authority in all subjects, a brilliant know-it-all consummated pontificator without a grain of substance who has not been able to manage a $4 billion GDP economy yet having the audacity to lecture the citizen of Eritrea in the most condescending tone and regional leaders on how to manage their country.

Let us see the difference:

US has $15.1 trillion economy. The president of the country is, by law, expected to give a State of Union of Message Address to the Congress and the people. Based the American Presidency Project here is the length of time American presidents took to address the congress (average minutes):

Lyndon B Johnson       53:57 Minutes
Richard Nixon          35:26 Minutes
Gerald R. Ford         45:31 Minutes
Jimmy Carter           36:53 minutes
Ronald Reagan          40:00 minutes
George Bush            45:00 minutes
William J Clinton     1 hr. 14:51
George W. Bush         52; 35 minutes
Barack Obama          1hr.03:52

The average of the average is 49:56 minutes. Presidents of the largest and most complicated economy speak less than an hour to make their report. Yet we have the unreformed diehard communist taking the airwave to spout some of the most senseless rhetoric to pollute Eritrean ears worldwide.

Why do tyrants like Isaias speak too long and so much Gibberish?

The easiest and the shortest answer is to cover up their failure as a leader, to divert the people’s mind, to be the center of attention and to find relevancy as the people come to grip with the tyrants true nature and purge them out of their heart and mind. Castor is an excellent example of this behavior. Castro gave a 7 hours and 10 minutes speech on February 1986 to the third Congress of the Cuban Communist Party. On September 1977 Pol Pot of Cambodia spoke for 5 hours on the radio. According to the Guardian of September 24, 2007, the late Venezuela Chavez spoke for a record 8 hours, Fortunately Castro is retired; Pol Pot and Chavez have left the political scene. How long before our collective curse is removed so that our people do not have to endure this mental torture?

I sincerely hope this is his last gibberish. Twenty-two years of this kind nauseating alien culture. I am anxiously waiting for the Voice of Forto to herald the end of this crude tyranny and bring sense of decency to Eritrean politics.

What do you observe from the latest five hours Gibberish?

  • Isaias tries to come across as the most consummated expert on all fields – economy, military, diplomacy, environment, water, electric, medical, farming, etc.
  • He does not concretely mention any significant achievement under his administration. He wallows in generalization without addressing any question precisely and concretely.
  • He tries hard to come across as a regional expert: expert on Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Egypt, Israel, Sudan, US foreign policy etc. A simplistic mind stuck in the 1970 anti-imperialist mode unable to change gear and transform his mind with the help of experience and age.
  • Takes no responsibility as the top “leader” of the State of Eritrea- he blames his failure to lead on others and tries to come across like a leader who is not fortunate enough to have people who can implement his vision. Blame the victim strategy.
  • He never mentions the name of another Eritrean to extend   any positive remarks or credit. In 22 years he has not given any recognition to any other Eritrean. It is all about him- a well developed narcissistic trait.
  • He is Eritrea- he is not only the visionary but also the vision, he the source of all knowledge, wisdom and strategy. The rest of Eritreans are his subjects, modern peasants with no mind of their own.
  • His vocabulary is loaded with lumpen proletariat traits: plenty of sarcasm, flippant, crass and tactless remarks that clearly demonstrate his lack of ability to exhibit the slightest sense of statesmanship even while approaching 70 years old.
  • Lack of transparency even on basic issues- always defensive and secretive. Continuously pointing fingers to secondary factors and using verbiage to cover up the truth.
  • Nothing new: he is pushing his recycled rubbish with the intention of numbing down the Eritrean mind and national psychological makeup.

Why did he choose to go through 5 hours of gibberish at this time?

Isiais’ legitimacy is decimated and his regime’s ability to provide meaningful solution to Eritrean people has now come to an end. No amount of rhetoric or marathon rumbling can reverse this definitive trend. Internally and externally the people of Eritrea have now come to national consensus that “things cannot continue this way something has to give in”. The need for change is now a universally accepted consensus. Putting it together and working out the delivery mechanism is the critical thing left. His rumbling 5 hours gibberish will only consolidate the call for his removal and an end to his control of Eritrea and its people.
All Eritrean activists at home and in the Diaspora have to make this call the central demand and task of their joint agenda.

We have a nation to save and people to serve. Enough of this recycled gibberish. Let us work together to clear the foul air.

Disclaimer; opinion expressed in this opinion reflects my perspective and only my perspective. 

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