1. law, govt and politics
2. legal issues
3. human rights

Vol. 22 No. 19
Wednesday,6th of may , 2015
Pages 8, Price 2.00 NFA
Ambassador Negasi
presents credentials
Sustainable participation of all national
associations essential in nation building
process: Ambassador Tesfamariam Tekeste
At a meeting he conducted on
2 May with the heads of Eritrean
community, Mr. Tesfamariam
Tekeste, Eritrean Ambassador in
Israel, said that sustainable participation of all national associa-
Students Sports Week in
Central region concludes
tions is essential for the success
of the national development programs.
He further indicated that the
development achievements being
registered in the Homeland attests
to the bright future of the country,
and that all the external conspiracies against Eritrea have been
foiled by the strong resistance of
its people.
The participants on their part
expressed readiness to strengthen
participation for the success of the
national development programs.
The Eritrean Ambassador to the
European Union, Mr. Negasi Kassa,
has presented his credentials to King
Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands as Eritrea’s non-resident Ambassador to the country.
The Ambassador conveyed a message of goodwill from President Isaias Afwerki to King Willem-Alexander and the people of the Netherlands. He expressed the readiness of
the Eritrean Government to further
strengthen the existing ties with the
Netherlands, the EU and other member countries of the union. Ambassador Negasi further explained the
current situation in Eritrea and developments and trends in the wider
region.
Recalling that he had the opportunity to visit Eritrea prior to his
coronation as the Dutch monarch,
King Willem-Alexander stated that
he was keenly aware of the struggle
the people of Eritrea had waged to
gain their legitimate national independence. The King extended his
best wishes for the good health of
President Isaias as well as peace and
prosperity to the Eritrean people.
During his brief stay in the Netherlands, Ambassador Negasi held
discussion with Mr. Michael Stibbe,
Director of Sub-Saharan Africa in the
Dutch Foreign Ministry. The Ambassador clarified Eritrea’s position
on Ethiopia’s continued occupation
of sovereign Eritrean territories and
the need to redress the unwarranted
sanctions imposed against it. The
two officials also exchanged views
on bilateral and regional issues.
Central Region staff tour
development programs
Asmara stadium was the venue
for different sports contests involving 12 thousand students last week. The participants came from all subzones of the Central Region.
Speaking on the occasion, the
Administrator of the Central region, Maj. General Ramadan Osman Awliyai, stressed the need for
enhanced efforts towards raising
student participation in sports activities.
Mr. Belai Habtegabir, head of
the Education Ministry’s branch
in the region, noted on his part that
concerted initiatives are underway
to lay the groundwork for identifying and nurturing talented students
in the domain of sports.
The south-western sub-zone of
the Central region emerged champion in the competition.
Police Commander calls for ac-
tive role of higher education students in upholding nation’s cultural
values
The Commander of the Eritrean
Police Force, Col. Mehari Tsegai,
has called for active role of students
in higher institutions of learning in
upholding cultural values. He made
the call at a seminar he conducted
for students of Adikeyih College of
Arts and Social Science.
Col. Mehari gave briefings on the
mission and objectives of the Police. He further reminded the students to mount staunch resistance
against psychological war through
enhanced awareness and preserving the nation’s cultural values.
The seminar participants on their
part noted the significance of such
promotional activities in reinforcing the awareness of the public at
large.
Over 200 staff from the Central
region Administration conducted
last week a tour of development
programs in Gash-Barka region. The sites visited included Alebu,
Fanko, Gerset, Aligidir as well as
Sawa.
In Gerset, the tour focused on
the agricultural project that consists of extensive farmland under
cultivation of fruits, vegetables,
cereals, as well as cattle fattening schemes. Other plants visited
included Foam Factory and the
Banatom tomatoes Factory in Alebu, and, Wood and Metal Works
plants in Kerkebet. Periodic tours
by staff of one Administrative
Region to another are useful for
exchanging experiences and best
practices.
Eritrea Profile, Wednesday 6th of may , 2015
Human Rights Issue: Q And A
With Ambassador Tesfamichael
Gerahtu And Mr. Adem Osman
Kesete Ghebrehiwet
It is to be recalled that Eritrea’s
envoy has participated in the 28th
meeting of UN Human Rights
Council which was held from 2nd
to 27th March 2015 in Geneva.
With this regard, local media outlets have conducted an interview
with Ambassador Tesfamichael
Gerahtu and Mr. Adem Osman
from Ministry of Foreign affairs.
Excerpts of the Interview follow:
Why smearing campaign
against Eritrea on the issue of
human rights and who are the
fabricators of the allegations?
Mr. Tesfamichael Gerahtu
Two points need to be put into
consideration while discussing the
baseless allegations against Eritrea. The ploys are not only targeting Eritrea. One needs to take into
account that such conspiracy has
also been exercised on a number
of countries. Eritrea is, in the first
place, a country which evolved
from the struggle for the respect
of human rights. Passing through
bitter struggle and paying huge
sacrifice, we set out to engage
ourselves in the nation building
process. All the different schemes
we are witnessing today are aimed
at hindering our development programs and above all our national
integrity. What we have seen since
independence and particularly in
the past 17 years are all directed
towards forcing us make compromises so as to satisfy their vested
ends. There have been a number of
disguised agendas that begun before TPLF’s invasion. What con-
Published Every
Saturday & Wednesday
tinued during the failed TPLF’s
aggression and afterwards such
as: attempts of creating political
chaos, polarization of Eritreans
in the name of religion, and above
all extensive campaigns of psychological warfare to weaken the
productivity of youths and thereby
to decline Eritrea’s economy have
been among the futile plots. Such
failures have dragged the plotters
to falsely accuse Eritrea of supporting Somali rebels and managed to
pass sanctions resolution based on
groundless allegations. All sorts
of interwoven schemes have been
tried out. However, sanction has
not yield the desired outcome and
thus they are now raising the issue
of human rights. A number of unjustifiable allegations that would
not correspond with the objective
situations of the country have now
been fabricated.
The issue of human rights in
Eritrea has been an integral part
of nation building process. It has
been mainstreamed with the country’s development programs. Integrated with societal activities of
the people, it has been practiced in
all sectors. So far, we have travelled a long journey. But, as a new
country, we do have challenges to
be addressed. TPLF’s invasion of
Eritrea’s sovereign land is among
the main violation of the rights of
the Eritrean people. The unjustifiable sanctions imposed on Eritrea
and subversive dreams that tend
to overthrow the Eritrean government are all meant to keep us
hostage and if possible to halt the
implementation of all set out development plans. The hostile acts
have now been continued under
the pretext of the issue of human
rights.
Who are those behind the hostile acts?
Part I
The US along its accomplices
has been in the forefront of the
fabrications. All the allegations
have been designed to hijack our
independent political path. The
US and its accomplices have now
begun to use the issue of human
rights to attain their vested ends.
As a country, it is our genuine
right to exert efforts in building
our nation. Above anything, we
need peace to carry out our development programs. What we
always look for is a region free
of any threat and hostility. So,
our sovereignty and territorial integrity needs to be respected. We
are always keen to bring a phased
transformation. Those who are not
ready to see a difference are now
creating a new front in the name
of human rights. As the sanctions
imposed on Eritrea have not met
their malicious desire, they are
ceaselessly working to put the
country in a loop.
What exactly is the root cause
of the accusations?
There are some points that
should be taken into account. As I
have said earlier, efforts have been
exerted to see the issue of human
rights mainstreamed with the nation-building process and we have
made huge achievement in this
regard. Nation building is a task
of generations. It is in fact very
demanding in terms of time, organization and resources. As a new
nation, we do have challenges that
are yet to be addressed. But, what
has been attempted is to relate every challenge with politics. Most
of the accusations are intangible
and nonexistent. At times, they
have been trying to portray the
country’s image badly. Eritrea has
been described as a hell and without a government where every-
Managing Director
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Acting Editor
Amanuel Mesfun
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Azieb Habtemariam
2
Mr. Adem Osman
Ambassador Tesfamichael Gerahtu
body is persecuted in the streets.
also another area which we have
It has been said that there is no
been stressing on. Collectively,
development and the country has
Eritrea has made extensive progbeen retrograded due to national
ress in this area. However, nation
service program. There have been
building is not an easy task and
numerous fabrications that even
it should be remembered that we
disseminate as if women have
have a long journey to go. Trying
been reaped everywhere.
to distort the image of this country
Nation building process has its
through bringing unreliable accuown difficulties. What is expected
sations is worthless.
of any concerned body is to play a
Mr. Adem Osman
role of partnership in the effort we
There is no political ground to
have been exerting to address the
undermine Eritrea’s national laws.
challenges. The issue mainly conEritrea is a member of the UN. So,
cerns us and what we expect from
any member of the UN has its own
partners is not more than making
local rules and regulations. Nawhatever contribution in accelertional Service is a program which
ating the pledge we have to build
is carried out based on the naour nation and the human rights
tional law. Based on the national
issue mainstreamed along with.
proclamation the national service
Redoubling the efforts we have
should have a definite time of 18
been exerting based on our intermonths. But, this national service
nal dynamics and speeding up its
has been extended due to the oboutcome through making some
jective situations in the country
reforms and an upgrading our
and thus it has now become an isnational resources is what could
sue. “Indefinite” is the term used
bring a solution to the challenges
to refer to the length of national
we have. No development could
service which has been extended
be achieved through targeting a
for a known reason. Neverthecountry with an aim of making
less, it is not right to see things
it succumb to a vested political
separately for a context. Leaving
agenda. We do believe the develeverything behind, Eritreans have
opment undertaking we have acbeen paying huge sacrifice for a
complished so far needs to be by
national cause- to safeguard their
far extended and this has been at
sovereignty. Thus, leaving TPLF’s
the top of Government’s strategy.
invasion aside, the Eritrean govHuman right is inseparable part
ernment is being accused of the
of human dignity. Efforts that
issue of national service. The prohave been made in this country to
longed national service is, in the
attain human dignity are not to be
first place, a burden of the Eriviewed lightly. It is when human
trean government. Yes, there is a
dignity is respected that human
prolonged national service, but
rights are as well realized. We
it would not be an issue had the
struggled and pay sacrifices for
peace agreement reached in Althe respect of human dignity and
giers implemented on the ground.
since we have evolved from that
The respect of the final and bindset of principle, we are working
ing rule is the immediate solution.
for betterment of living standards.
The issue of human rights in the
Huge investment has been made
name of prolonged national serin the improvement of lifestyle of
vice is rather raised to sabotage
nationals. Human development is
Eritrea.
Eritrea Profile, Wednesday 6th of may , 2015
Daniel Semere
One aspect of the Eritrean revolution was to rectify the injustice
involving the exploitation of labour. This was central to many of
the debates in the revolution as
it was central to socio-economic
and political life of our people.
Everything emanated from it;
wealth, social and political power,
exploitation and injustice. Hence,
it wouldn’t have been possible to
address much of the ills of the society without the emphasis on labour. Precisely for this reason, the
Eritrean revolution was called a
Marxist movement. But it worked
and liberation was achieved at the
wake of the so called “post-cold
war era”, where Marxism and its
narratives was thought to be a
thing of the past.
Labour is a word tacitly associated with Marxist narratives. The
fact the matter is however, though
it might be the Marxist line that
has taken labour as one of the
basic elements of its discourse,
labour nonetheless is the foundation of life. Hence it has natural
and universal quality that enables
it to transcend any ideological
imposition. That is why the issue
of labour is a resilient point of
debate even today. In the heart of
the current phenomenon of movements like occupy Wall Street, for
instance, lays this very issue. One
of the main arguments explaining the movement is the one that
blames bad jobs as responsible for
increasing economic inequality.
Income has flowed to the top 1%
because it has stopped flowing to
the base; in another word exploitation of labour.
Movements like Occupy Wall
Street are in full swing everywhere.
This shows that the issue of labour
is still a major bone of contention.
However the value given for it
Workers First
3
might differ with time and place.
Some for instance have argued
that, in this era of globalization
and technological advancement labour has begun to price itself out
of the system. This is to state that
the centrality of labour in generating wealth is no more the case.
However, in much of the developing world labour is still the central
factor in the creation of wealth and
development. And whether we like
it or not much of the injustice developing countries have to address,
has its heart on their willingness to
respect the value of labour or the
lack thereof.
As in Eritrea, elsewhere in developing countries, labour and labourers are still at the heart of the
national aspiration. The priority in
these countries is a well rounded
development with equitable distribution of resources and wealth
which are the fruits of labour. The
immense construction and reconstruction endeavor in just about
every sector, has its guarantee of
success on the pool of active work
force they will be able to mobilize
now and for times to come. As
such labour should be treated with
dignity. First and foremost governments should create conducive
environment to make the most out
of the labour resource they have.
They have to believe that it is
something that has to be utilized
wisely for ultimate effectiveness
and act accordingly.
But no matter how effectively
countries use their labour resource
for their development, it would
still be incomplete if they couldn’t
reward labour fairly. The dignity
of labour can only be materialized
when there is justice in the allocation of national wealth. This is also
at the heart of social justice which
is instrumental in well rounded development.
In a world where wealth is increasingly centralized and where
the gap between the rich and poor
is widening, developing countries
have a chance to do what’s right to
build a meaningful development
where their people live fairly. And
it all depends on whether we will
respect the dignity of labour or
not.
ads
Eritrea Profile, Wednesday 6th of may , 2015
Asmara Int’l
Community School
Invitation For Bids (Ifb)
Eritrea
Fisheries Development Project
DSF-08060-ER
Procurement of fishing gears
IFB No: MMR/FDP/ICB/G/002/2015
1.
The Government of the State of Eritrea has received grant from IFAD toward the cost of Fisheries
Development Project, and it intends to apply part of the proceeds of this grant to payments under the contract
for the supply of fishing gears, IFB No: MMR/FDP/ICB/G/002/2015
2.
Bidding will be conducted through the International Competitive Bidding (ICB) procedures specified
in IFAD’s Guideline, and shall lead to a framework agreement (contract) where the prices quoted shall be fixed
for a period of time specified in the bidding document. Bidding is open to all bidders from Eligible Source
Countries as defined in the Guidelines.
3. Interested eligible bidders may obtain further information from The Ministry of Marine Resources –
Fisheries Development Project, Asmara, Eritrea, Tel: 291-1-153960, Fax: 291-1-153961, Email: mofishas@
gmail.com, and inspect the bidding documents at the address given below, from 8:00-11:30 AM and 14:0017:30 PM local time, Monday through Friday..6
4. Qualifications requirements include:
(a) Financial Capability
The Bidder shall furnish documentary evidence that it meets the following financial requirement(s): Audited financial accounts for at least two complete fiscal years, i.e. for years 2012 and 2013 and draft financial
statement for the year 2014, demonstrating the soundness of its financial position and that it has the financial
resources to perform the proposed contract.
(b) Experience and Technical Capacity
The Bidder shall furnish documentary evidence to demonstrate that it meets the following experience
requirement(s):
General Experience: Minimum of five years in operation prior to the date of bid submission with an important part of its business being the manufacturing of fishing gears;
Specific Experience: Successfully completed a minimum of two contracts similar in size and scope and
supply experience to any African countries.
6.
A complete set of Bidding Documents in the English language may be purchased by interested bidders on the submission of a written application to the address below and upon payment of a none refundable
fee ERN 1000.00 (one thousand Eritrean Nakfa only) or equivalent, starting Monday, July 21 , 2014. Foreign
bidders shall transfer the cost of Bidding Documents in USD 65.00 (sixty five US dollars only) to dz bank
ag., Frankfurt, p.o.box 60265, FRANKFURT, GERMANY, SWIFT: GENODEFF for credit to Account no.
DE39500604000001030 736 of Bank of Eritrea, SWIFT BOERERAI, Asmara, Eritrea, in favor of beneficiary,
i.e. Marine Resources – Fisheries Development Project for further credit to our Acct.No. Fisheries Development Project 120.122.0173 maintained with them being cost of bidding documents for the procurement of fishing gears. If documents are required to be sent by courier additional USD 65.00 (sixty five US dollars only) or
equivalent shall be transferred to the above account number.
7. Bids must be delivered to the address below at or before 10:00 A.M. local time (+3 GMT) on June
01, 2015. Electronic bidding will not be permitted. Late bids will be rejected. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below at 10:15 local time on June 01,
2015. All bids must be accompanied by a Bid Security of USD 6,000.00 (Six thousand United States Dollars)
or equivalent in any other freely convertible currency.
continued on page 4
The address referred to above is:
Ministry of Marine Resources – Fisheries Development Project
P.O.Box: 923
Street and Zip Code No: Hday 748-1
Floor-Room number: Dembe Sembel, Block “A”, Fourth Floor
City:
Asmara
Country:
Eritrea
Telephone:
291-1-153960
Facsimile number:
291-1-153961
Electronic mail address: mohsfaf@gmail.com or mofishas@gmail.com
May Day in...
continued from page 7
saloon, less attractive bed designs,
repetitive and tantrum commodities are noticeable in every home.
And unfortunately, in Asmara, we
haven’t any DIY (Do-it-Yourself)
store. ‘Mieras’ has the means and
the ground to activate like that
lucrative business. Now it is time
to witness varieties in our households. No more the same kind of
beds, cupboards, furniture, lighting systems, paintings and picture
frames, curtains and other household beautifiers.
As already have been offered in
‘Mieras,’ give the one who loves
thinking and philosophizing about
the decorated arm-chair. Aelow
the birds to have their wooden
cage and let them sing freedom
and liberty. And take your artistically designed book-shelves and
line the books which are entitled
‘I and Me,’ ‘Singing with Asmarinos,’ ‘the Beloved Mother and its
Empowering Words,’ ‘Aynifelale,’ ‘Duquan Teber’h,’ and ‘Kilte
Alem,’ among others there. What
for are we seeking changes in our
households styles, and what we
will have profited from homes like
‘Mieras’ here in Eritrea?
4
The goal is to live freer, happier
and less stressed about possessing the usual and adapted types of
households. For sure, as Yonatan
Tesfay has elaborated, there are
widened differences between apossessing creative and usual properties, as there is a known difference
between the enlightened and the
passive minding capabilities. To
have your own testimonials, pace
across Denkel Street and allow
yourself to get in at House Number
B26 here in Asmara, or else, you
can browse it by login in to Yessy
Gallery and Caperi in the nearest
future. Just go and witness the results of working laboriously.
Yosief Z. Abraham
AICS is currently accepting applications for full time teaching positions.
The deadline is May 10, 2015.ONLY Applicants who meet or exceed these requirements should apply: successful applications will be
notified.
1. Primary ES (Grades 1 and 3)
2. Intermediate ES ( Grades 4 and 5)
3. Secondary Social Studies
Successful candidates will have:
•
Bachelors Degree
•
Minimum 2 years teaching experience preferably in an international setting
•
Internationally recognized teacher certification/qualification
•
Flexibility and qualifications to teach in other areas as needed
•
Experience living in a foreign country (Preferred)
•
Certificate of exemption from national service (Eritrean)
Send CV with contact information and references by postal mail
to:
AICS, P.O. Box 4941, Asmara.
Please mail a second copy of your application to ministry of Labor
addressed: - Work permit section P.O. Box 5252, Asmara.
No telephone calls or appointment please. Candidates will be notified by May 20, 2015.
The Solution For ...
continued from page 8
military parade in Tehran directly
accused Saudi Arabia of funding
terrorism in Syria, Lebanon and
Iraq.
Saudi Arabia is well aware that
the US is reluctant to see an escalation of its power struggle with Iran.
While its Sunni dignitaries continue to damn the “Shia heretics”
on social networks, its foreign
minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal,
insists that his country is not in a
war of influence or proxy war with
Iran. He has nevertheless called
on Iran to stop arming the Houthi
rebels. In the current climate, and
given Saudi Arabia’s mistrust of
the US, which it has not forgiven
for the fall of the Mubarak regime
in Egypt in 2011, it is not impossible that Saudi Arabia will end up
going against its protector’s wishes and intervening on the ground
in Yemen. Saudi public opinion,
whipped up by violent nationalist and religious discourse, wants
a show of strength to erase the
shameful memory of 2009. That
could be risky. A Saudi businessman in Virginia (US) said: “That’s
just what Iran needs to consolidate
its influence in the region. It would
strengthen Iran, which seems to
be the only country with a coherent strategy. It’s no accident that
the Obama administration wants
to reach an accord with Iran at all
costs.” Many experts believe Iran’s diplomacy is flawless for the moment. Not only has it concluded an
interim agreement on its nuclear
programme, but it has also convinced Turkey and Pakistan not to
join Saudi Arabia’s coalition for
the bombing of Yemen. Another
important victory is that Russia
has quietly lifted its own partial
embargo on arms shipments to
Iran, in effect since 2010. This
decision has revived a contract
worth $800m, signed in 2007, for
the supply of S-300 surface-to-air
missiles.
Iran seems, at least in the short
term, to have benefited the most
from recent events. It has been
strengthened by more-or-less restored relations with the US and
the West in general, and is doing
as it pleases in Iraq and Syria, and
taking advantage of dissent in the
pro-US camp — even if its leaders
worry about the military reversals
suffered by its Syrian allies. Iran
has even put itself among the doves
by reminding the world through its
foreign minister, Mohammad Javad
Zarif, that it has “not invaded any
country for more than 250 years.”
Its calls for a peace plan for Yemen
scored points in an Arab world on
the whole hostile to the coalition’s
intervention, even among the coalition’s members.
With the turmoil from the 2011
uprisings still worsening (2), Iran,
though a Shia state, suddenly looks
like a role model to a Sunni world
in disarray.
by Akram Belkaïd
Le Monde Diplomatique
May, 2015
Eritrea Profile, Wednesday 6th of may , 2015
ads
5
Eritrea Profile, Wednesday 6th of may , 2015
Aron Hidru
Let me start the discussion about
influencing others and being influenced by others, by the following
quotation cited from a book by Oscar Wilde (1999:16-17):
….. After a few moments he said
to him, ‘Have you really a very bad
influence, Lord Henry? As bad as
Basil says (one of the characters in
the book who argues that influences
are inherently bad)?’
‘There is no such thing as a good
influence, Mr. Gray. All influence is
immoral – immoral from the scientific point of view.’
‘Why?’
‘Because to influence a person is
to give him one’s own soul. He does
not think his natural thoughts, or
burn with his natural passions. His
virtues are not real to him. His sins,
if there are such things as sins, are
borrowed. He becomes an echo of
some one else’s music, an actor of
a part that has not been written for
him. The aim of life is self-development. To realize one’s nature perfectly – that is what each of us here
for. People are afraid of themselves,
nowadays. They have forgotten the
highest of all duties, the duty that one
owes to one’s self. Of course, they
are charitable. They feed the hungry,
and close the beggar. But their own
souls starve, and are naked. Courage
has gone out of our race. Perhaps we
never really had it.
What is your reaction to what has
been asserted above? What comes
to your mind as a result of what the
author has said about the negative
role of influences in one’s life. That
is, the role of influence in constraining one’s personal development? Do
you tend to believe that influences
are not necessary? Are influences
predominantly positive or predominantly negative? And let us now
try to think conversely. The above
assertions claim that influences are
not good at all. So if influences are
said to be not that important, can
we imagine a person to shape his
life without any influence? Do you
tend to believe that existence would
be possible without influencing one
another?
One good aspect of the above assertion is that it makes you think
deeply about how and why we get
influenced and how and why we
intend to influence others. More importantly such arguments do remind
us to examine and further refine
the things others try to influence us
with.
How concerned, are you about
what others may think of you? And
how eager and curious are you to
find out? If and when we are concerned by what others think of us,
that is when we are influenced by
others. We need the approval of others in almost all our efforts in life;
we become happy when people are
happy by what we do.
What Osho, whom many of us
may consider a deviant philosopher,
did to his friend is a good example.
It strongly indicates how human beings are influenced by how others
treat them and think of them. Osho
told his friend that what he feels is
mostly determined by how other
people treat him and how they feel
about him. However, as it has been
written in one of Osho’s books, his
friend strongly argued that the way
others treat him can have only insignificant influence or no influence on
his life. Then Osho decided to show
Influence
him practically how he is influenced by what others can do to him.
Osho, in his example, persuaded
people who are close to his friend
and who interact with him very
frequently to tell him that he never
looked ok – they seriously told him
that he seemed seriously sick whenever they met him. That friend had
no problem at all, health wise. He
did not know that they were doing
so because Osho persuaded them to.
At the end, what they said appeared
to him as real. While he initially
attempted to strongly resist their
influences, little by little, however,
he started not only to believe what
they were saying to him, but he also
started to feel it. He became really
sick psychologically and physically. He was exhausted. When he
was about to die, Osho told him the
truth. He proved to him what others
may think about us and how they see
us can have a considerable influence
on our life. This makes you wonder
how our psychological make is.
So if this is the case, and if
we are that prone to the influences
of others, then the real wisdom has
to be associated with our ability to
objectively examine the influences
of others. It is relative to what actually concern us and what is that really we do.
Bearing in mind how prone we
are to the influences, now read the
following inspirational message
which strongly asserts how prone
our subconscious mind too is to our
own influences through autosuggestion. Perhaps, if we are able to effectively influence our subconscious
in a manner that is suitable to our
major concerns in life, this would
considerably outweigh the external
influences.
Inspiration
Today’s inspiration has been ex-
tracted from Napoleon Hill’s book,
entitled ‘the Law of Success’. It is
about the role of having a definite
chief aim in life.
It is most appalling to know that
ninety-five per cent of the people
of the world are drifting aimlessly
through life, without the slightest
concept of the work for which they
are best fitted.
There is a psychological as well
as an economic reason for the selection of a definite chief aim in life.
Any definite chief aim that is deliberately fixed in the mind and held
there, with the determination to realize it, finally saturates the entire
subconscious mind until it automatically influences the physical action
of the body toward the attainment of
that purpose.
Your definite chief aim in life
should be selected with deliberate
care, and after it has been selected
it should be written out and placed
where you will see it at least once
a day. The psychological effect of
which is to impress this purpose
upon your subconscious mind, is so
strong that it accepts the purpose as
a pattern or blue print. It will eventually dominate your activities in
life and lead you, step by step, toward the attainment of the object of
that purpose.
The principle of psychology
through which you can impress
your definite chief aim upon your
subconscious mind is called Autosuggestion, or suggestion you repeatedly make to yourself. It is a degree of self-hypnotism. But do not
be afraid of it on that account, for
it was this same principle through
which Napoleon lifted himself
from the lowly station of povertystricken Corsican to the dictatorship
of France. It was through the aid of
this same principle that Thomas A.
Edison has risen from the lowly be-
6
ginning of a news butcher? to where
he is accepted as the leading inventor of the world. It was through the
aid of this same principle Lincoln
bridged the mighty chasm between
this lowly birth in a log cabin in the
mountains of Kentucky, and the
presidency of the greatest nation
on earth. It was through the aid of
this same principle that Theodore
Roosevelt became one of the most
aggressive leaders that ever reached
the presidency of the United States.
You need have no fear of the principle of Autosuggestion as long as
you are sure that the objective for
which you are striving is one that
will bring you happiness of an enduring nature. Be sure that your
definite purpose is constructive;
that its attainment will bring hardship and misery to no one; that it
will bring you peace and prosperity.
Apply it to the limit of your understanding, the principle of self-suggestion for the speedy attainment of
this purpose.
On the street corner, just opposite
the room in which I am writing, I see
a man who stands there all day long
and sells peanuts. He is busy every
minute. When not actually engaged
in making a sale he is roasting and
packing the peanuts in little bags.
He is one of the great army constituting the ninety-five per cent who
have no definite purpose in life.
He is selling peanuts, not because
he likes that work better than anything else he might do, but because
he never sat down and thought out
a definite purpose that would bring
him greater returns for his labor.
He is selling peanuts because he is
a drifter on the sea of life, and one
of the tragedies of his work is the
fact that the same amount of effort
that he puts into it, if directed along
other lines, would bring him much
greater returns.
Another one of the tragedies of
this man’s work is the fact that he
is unconsciously making use of the
principle of self-suggestion, but
he is doing it to his own disadvantage. No doubt, if a picture could be
made of his thoughts, there would
be nothing in that picture except a
peanut roaster, some little paper
bags and a crowd of people buying
peanuts. This man could get out of
the peanut business if he had the vision and the ambition. First, if he
could imagine himself in a more
profitable calling and the perseverance to hold that picture before his
mind until it influenced him to take
the necessary steps to enter a more
profitable calling. He puts sufficient
labor into his work to bring him a
substantial return if that labor were
directed toward the attainment of a
definite purpose that offered bigger
returns.
Eritrea Profile, Wednesday 6th of may , 2015
*The Garden of Art and Resourcefulness
House is nothing; add art and
creativity. Then you will have an
attractive home. Based in Asmara,
‘Mieras,’ an Arabic word which
represents ‘great legacies,’ is the
name of a one small firm which
has been engaging in linking the
mosaics of creativity with the beats
of artistic beauties. The dominant
wood and metal works are there to
signify simplicity in the place of
complexity, lights of beautification
in the place of darkened rooms, and
admirers pace to ‘Mieras’ for getting a balanced rate between what
they pay and what they are going
to possess.
The process for finishing one
product is not easily determined.
Creativity is the core of all the
products. And yet, you have to design the products in non-conflicting ways. Algebra is important in
understanding balances of every
product. Science is vital for knowing the best color combination.
And at last, every product comes to
sing about great artifacts, to reflect
simplicity and beauty. To Alain, the
great thinker, art is like a mirror.
Immanuel Kant, an important figure in the platforms of philosophy
also voiced that art is:”a beautiful
representation of an object. Therefore, ‘Mieras’ is running to make
those two different art ideas come
into reality.
At this time, there are worldly
proved six kingdoms of art: painting, sculpture and dance. ‘Mieras’s
art-centered activities have, therefore, been evidently proven in its
attractive appearances and tangible
means to swim in all parts of art
categories. And I wish I could have
told Godard, a famous painter, to
have his frame from ‘Mieras’ for
his still well acclaimed painting
‘Breathless.’ Similarly, there are
those who cry happily for witnessing the attractive role of violin in
‘the Ballads of the Hanged Men.’
How it could be an attractive art
storm had they been played it reserved seats from ‘Mieras?’
And here you might have read
about the Greeks dilemma in regard defining the true meaning of
art: ‘the mimesis.’ In fact, this idea
is about whether any art product
is a result of imitating from this,
copying that painting from that, or,
it is about originality and creativity. ‘Mieras’ is here devoted in having its own resourceful, creative
and meaningful products. Here,
therefore, there is always an inescapable question: ‘artists are those
who combine singularity and universality, subjectivity and objectivity, spontaneity and discipline. So,
is the artist, owner and manager of
‘Mieras,’ Yonatan Tesfay, is a typical representative of this fact?
Already greatly acclaimed among
the clients, Yonatan Tesfay is the
main architect of all the products
‘Mieras’ is proud to display and
sell. Aristotle told us ‘to love is to
rejoice.’ The sculpted, molded, reshaped and newly designed wooden and other products are results of
sleepless nights and days. You are
just there to repeat what Aristotle
has already claimed to be: to love
is to rejoice. For sure, as happiness
is to be happy in love, and unhappiness is also meant to remain unhappy in love, one product which
has creativity, simplicity, beauty
May Day in
‘Mieras’
and durability is there to give happiness and life reflections.
‘Mieras’ is, therefore, to combine the aforementioned products.
And out of the adapted trading system, customers can have their own
preferences: they just expect to be
happy with the money they are
paying and the products they will
have. Therefore, the dancing ballerina, a wooden bed, the antique
cars, ships, painting and pictures
frames, sculpted birds, and yet other listless gifts materials are here in
Asmara to add the spices of happiness in your life. Life make you
cry; just have your gift article from
‘Mieras’ and defeat the source of
sadness and melancholy.
And this is Asmara. You can travel along the City’s streets; sit on its
7
vast boulevards and pace into bars
and cafes. Following to the 1924
intensified architectural competencies which might have been made
competition much more difficult
in Europe, many Italian architects
enabled to get a comfortable atmosphere here in Asmara. Therefore,
you can be in a café which is designed in monumental style, in a
bar that has profited much from
Celtic or Roman Florentine. And
you can travel to prayer homes
to see vernacular styles. For sure,
you will eagerly satisfy with them.
What about the kind of commodities which are prevalent in every
individual’s home here in Asmara?
Similarities of products are dominant: large cupboards, oversized
continued on page 4
Eritrea Profile, Wednesday 6th of may , 2015
8
Many a time important events in the global arena are not presented in their entirety in mainstream media as there is lack of context in most of the information they
cover. In response, this column sets out to question this trend by presenting diverse perspectives from as many sources as possible with the underlying aim of bringing
to fore context that is culturally, historically, politically and economically relevant to any given topic.
The Solution For Yemen Must Be Political
Us Tries To Balance Saudi Arabia And Iran
Iran and Saudi Arabia are in direct and proxy conflicts. The US
needs to stay on good terms with
both, and the Obama administration
does not want to send its ground
troops into the Middle East.
There is subliminal perplexity and anxiety in Washington. In
the corridors of Congress and the
meeting rooms of the major research centres on Massachusetts
and Connecticut Avenues, the
same questions keep coming back:
what’s really going on in the Middle East, and how should the US
avoid getting bogged down there
yet again? The civil war in Syria,
the barbarity of IS (Islamic State),
the airstrikes in Yemen by a coalition of nine Arab countries and the
sectarian clashes between Sunni
and Shia are all front-page news.
But US strategy in response is far
from clear. With the Middle East
in flames, the US is finding it hard
to reassure its allies, Saudi Arabia,
other Gulf states, Egypt and Iraq.
Iraqi prime minister Haider alAbadi’s official visit to Washington, the first of its kind, has drawn
attention to the Obama administration’s constant balancing act
with its Middle East partners. The
US has promised Iraq $200m to
help people displaced by the fight
against IS, and agreed to support
its application to the International
Monetary Fund for a $700m loan,
to compensate for its worsening
budget deficit, which is expected
to reach $25bn in 2015, about a
third of its projected oil revenues
for the year.
At the same time, the US is urging Iraq to distance itself from the
Iranian regime. Obama has said
that Iran should “respect Iraqi sovereignty” and refrain from intervening unilaterally on Iraqi territory, accusing Iran of giving military
support to Shia militias fighting IS
without Iraq’s approval. These militias have been accused of looting
and violence towards (Sunni) civilians when they recaptured Tikrit
from IS in March.
Al-Abadi played down Iran’s
intervention in Iraq, claiming that
only 100 Iranian military advisers
were in the country. He and his
entourage took every opportunity
to praise the diplomatic progress
on the Iranian nuclear issue, and
the US’s commitment to obtain-
ing a definitive agreement by June.
A US diplomat (an expert on the
Arab world who wished to remain
anonymous) said: “Al-Abadi’s
message was clear. He told the US
that it could not move closer to
Iran, even tentatively, while at the
same time reproaching Iraq for being its ally.” As the diplomat sees
it, the US no longer knows what to
do in the Middle East: “Just a few
years ago, we didn’t have this kind
of consistency problem with our
allies. They fell in with our broad
strategy, and we gave them some
leeway so that it didn’t seem as if
we were requiring total obedience.
Today, we are always having to
reconcile contradictory positions.”
Ahmed Ali, an Iraqi-born political scientist with the Washington-based thinktank Empowering
Youth for Peace in Iraq, shares
this view: “The Obama administration knows very well that the
Baghdad regime will continue to
seek a balance between the US
and Iran, since it needs both these
heavyweights in order to defeat
IS.” Richard Nephew of the Brookings Institution, a thinktank with
Democratic Party ties, points out
the paradox of Obama curbing any
attempt by Congress to strengthen
the sanctions against Iran, while at
the same time talking tough about
Iran in relation to the situation in
Iraq or Yemen.
Saudis turn to Republicans
Al-Abadi’s visit has also highlighted far greater tensions within
the US’s sphere of influence in
the Middle East. He was doubtful
about the usefulness of the Saudiled coalition’s airstrikes in Yemen,
aimed at halting the advance of the
Houthi forces, saying that “the only
way forward is a political solution
by the Yemenis themselves.” Iraq
is urging a return to national dialogue with the participation of the
Houthis, who have taken up arms
again in protest at President Abdu
Rabu Mansur Hadi’s plans for a
federal state (1).
Even more significantly, AlAbadi told journalists at Blair
House (the White House’s guest
residence) that the Obama administration shared his view, claiming
that it too saw Saudi Arabia as the
main obstacle to a ceasefire in Yemen. This provoked an immediate
denial by Alistair Baskey, spokes-
man for the US National Security
Council, and a hastily organised
press conference by the Saudi ambassador, Adel al-Jubeir, who said
there was “no logic” to Al-Abadi’s
remarks.
In reality, Al-Abadi’s remarks
neither shocked nor surprised the
US government. There is considerable doubt in Washington concerning Saudi Arabia’s overall strategy
on Yemen. The Obama administration was not caught unawares by,
but did not approve of the formation of an Arab coalition against
the Houthi rebels. A month later,
when the coalition announced it
would end the airstrikes, the US
media reflected widespread scepticism over the effectiveness of the
campaign, dwelling on its high cost
— more than 1,000 killed, hundreds wounded and nearly $300m
worth of damage — and the fact
that it had hardly diminished the
rebels’ military capabilities. An
Arab diplomat in Washington said:
“Saudi Arabia wants to show Iran
that its influence will be systematically countered in the Arabian
peninsula. The US is aware of this,
but also knows that there can only
be a political solution to the Yemen
crisis.”
Washington had difficulty persuading Saudi Arabia to try any solution but airstrikes, especially as
the Saudi leaders now have more
faith in the Republicans, whose
virulent attacks on Iran and Obama
they admire. The letter from Republican senators to Iran’s supreme
leader, Ali Khamenei, reminding
him that Congress would have the
final word on the nuclear agreement (see “The mullahs’ quiet victory”), has convinced Saudi Arabia
that Obama’s authority is weakening.
To limit civilian casualties and
the consequences of an intervention that could set the entire region
ablaze, the US armed forces vetted
the coalition’s targets. Officially,
Saudi Arabia and its partners defined the targets to be bombed,
and the Pentagon provided the information for this, gathered by its
drones and processed by its control
centres in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and
Bahrain. But as defence consultant
Richard Stark says, “providing or
not providing information amounted to having a veto on potential
targets.”
Three US aims
This indirect participation in
Saudi military operations, together with US naval operations
to stop arms shipments reaching
the Houthis, fulfilled three objectives. The first was to delay for as
long as possible, or even prevent,
a ground offensive involving the
150,000 Saudi troops massed on
the Yemeni border. This was not
for humanitarian or pacifist reasons, but because the US feared the
offensive would end in the rout of
the Saudi army. After November
2009, when the Saudis suffered
heavy losses after a first attack on
the Houthi rebels, the US was keen
to avoid a repeat, which could have
forced it to send in its own ground
troops just when the campaign for
the 2016 presidential election was
beginning.
The US was all the more cautious about a ground intervention
because its two potential allies in
this were unlikely to participate —
Egypt, though it was taking part in
the airstrikes, and Pakistan, which
to the great disappointment of Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states,
had decided not to join the coalition. To date, the US has turned
down Saudi Arabia’s requests that
it pressure Pakistan, to the relief of
its prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
Pakistan, a Sunni-majority country, is a long-term military ally
of Saudi Arabia. The countries,
both opposed to the former Soviet
Union and India, stepped up their
cooperation during the first Afghan
war (1979-89). Saudi Arabia is one
of Pakistan’s main funders; as a nuclear power, Pakistan offers Saudi
Arabia its protection. Sharif, who
has been much criticised by his
Saudi allies and the United Arab
Emirates, has promised to intervene
if, and only if, Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity is threatened. “The
Pakistani army is like the country.
It includes Shias, and we cannot let
the struggle for influence between
Saudi Arabia and Iran cause it to
implode,” says Pakistani political
scientist Khalid Muhammad, who
believes it is not his country’s business to support an “expansionist
power grab” by Saudi Arabia.
The US’s second aim in trying to
persuade Saudi Arabia to prioritise
a political solution and dissuade it
from launching a ground operation
relates to the situation in Iraq. During his Washington visit, Al-Abadi
warned the US of the dangers of
allowing a ground operation, saying that if it went ahead, Saudi
Arabia would be behaving like
Saddam Hussein invading Kuwait.
In 2011 Saudi Arabia’s intervention in Bahrain to suppress a major (mainly Shia) uprising alarmed
the Iraqis, who felt that their own
country, with a Shia-led government, would become a target for
Saudi military action. The Arab
diplomat in Washington said: “The
last thing the US wants is to worsen
the tension between the Saudis and
the Iraqis. Iraq has accusedSaudi
Arabia of secretly funding Islamic
State. But the crisis in Yemen suggests that Saudi Arabia has decided
to take the initiative and show its
rivals that in future they will have
to reckon with it.”
Washington’s third objective is
to prevent the region from becoming a proxy battleground between
Saudi Arabia, which could set itself
up as champion of the Sunni world,
and Shia Iran. Pragmatism is the
word. Already involved in Iraq
where it is fighting IS, and keeping
its options open on military action
in Syria, the Obama administration
knows that any deterioration of the
situation could lead to fresh outbreaks of sectarian violence across
the Middle East, and in the Gulf, a
strategic area for the world supply
of hydrocarbons.
A Pandora’s box
Political scientist Hasni Abidi,
director of the Study and Research
Centre for the Arab and Mediterranean World (CERMAM) in Geneva, says: “In the Arab world,
there’s a common belief that the
US is trying to provoke widespread
conflict between Shia and Sunni in
order to consolidate its influence in
the Gulf and the Middle East. But
there would be nothing more risky
than opening this Pandora’s box. It
could lead to chaos, from the shores
of Lebanon all the way to India.”
In Lebanon, Hizbullah’s secretarygeneral, Hassan Nasrallah, has already called for the Muslim world
to oppose the “manipulation and
conflicts” created by Saudi Arabia.
This echoes Iran’s president, Hassan Rohani, who during this year’s
continued on page 4
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