webmaster
© Copyright DEHAI-Eritrea OnLine, 1993-2011
All rights reserved
From: samuel Igbu (ypfdjbc@gmail.com)
Date: Fri Mar 25 2011 - 15:55:09 EST
Egypt’s journey over
the past half century is a
common denominator of the
current popular uprisings in
North Africa and the Middle
East, as elucidated in the
previous series of articles.
Accordingly, it was spelt out
that mismanagement that
gave rise to the culture of
corruption and plunder, an
economic order that benefi t
only a handful of internal
and external exploiters,
dependency that paralyzed
military capacity and political
servitude that undermined
national dignity are the main
causes of the uprising. This
article would highlight the
prevailing state of instability
in the majority of African
and Middle East countries,
as well as others.
Family-based politics:
One of the major causes of
instability
Before outlining the nature
of family-based politics in
many countries in the Middle
East, Africa and others, it
is worth quoting the reply
President Isaias Afwerki
gave in 2009 to a question
by journalists representing
various media outlets as
to why he doesn’t bring
members of his family with
him during visits abroad:
“The reason why the issue
of democracy and nondemocracy
is becoming a
major question in a number of
countries is basically because
nations are becoming familyowned.
In some societies, a
nation is nominally referred
to as one belonging to the
people, whereas in actual fact
it is owned by a single family.
It is a single family that
controls the government and
does whatever it likes through
monopolizing economic and
political power. On our part,
we don’t want to see such an
order getting established. We
do not allow the existence of
supremacy of any group or
family in which the people
are ruled by families and
corrupt individuals who
place themselves above
the law….”, the President
elucidated.
Indeed, this is true of the
objective situation in the
majority of the countries of
Africa, the Middle East, Asia,
Latin America and even in
the developed nations. In we
look at the situation in the
African and the Middle East
regions, the root cause of the
current popular uprising is
the existence of extremely
narrow family-based politics
that marginalizes the majority
population. Although the
role of external interference
is not to be viewed lightly,
the prevailing narrow family
and clique-based politics is,
nonetheless, paving the way
for such interference.
It is to be noted that in
countries under monarchial
rule, the royal family
monopolizes all political
and administrative authority,
land ownership and other
national resources. The vast
majority of the population
are considered mere servants
of the royalty. The people
have no say at all in the
management of their land.
Such a situation naturally
gives rise to unlimited
exploitation of natural
resources on the part of a
single family, while at the
same time the majority of the
population are marginalized.
Many countries of North
Africa and the Middle
East fell under feudal rule
following decolonization.
But it is inconceivable under
a feudal system to build
a viable nation through
implement development
programs for the benefi t of
the people. And short of a
just political system, stability
is unthinkable. As a result
of popular uprising and
military coups against feudal
rule, several monarchies in
the Middle East and North
Africa were overthrown. If at
all there exist remnants of the
previous royal families, they
are but a few.
As history fully attests, it
does not mean that popular
uprising always leads to
a just political order. In
many instances, even those
political forces that assumed
power overthrowing royal
families through coup d’état
and popular revolutions
often resort to group politics
that is not much different
from a family-based one.
In gross violation of their
previous pledge to uphold
the popular cause, they bring
friends, relatives and the like
into their camp, thus ending
up in ruthless exploitation of
national resources.
External forces, especially
western companies, nongovernmental
organizations
and western banks are the
very ones that not only lay
the groundwork for rampant
corruption but also push those
who seize power following
the demise of feudal rule
to get involved in the same
mess. However, apart from
external factors, the decisive
factor for rampant corruption
remains the domestic one. In
this connection, fi rst ladies,
close relatives and friends,
as well as capital owners
are often the very ones that
prompt persons in authority
to practice corruption.
Hence, a leader keen to serve
the people with honesty and
dedication needs to keep
distant from such elements.
It is to be recalled that
at the time the ousted
Tunisian President Bin
Ali was engaged in hectic
preparations to leave the
country amidst the popular
uprising in February 2011, his
rapacious wife was looking
for a plane to transport
gold assets to foreign land,
on top of the assets she
deposited abroad. This socalled
fi rst lady used to get
commission from various
trade and economic activities
in the country. There are also
many similar greedy fi rst
ladies in different countries.
Taking a close glance at
this region, Azeb Mesfi n,
the wife of the Ethiopian
Premier, and Khadra, wife of
the Djiboutian leader, engage
in rapacious practices in a
bid to amass wealth through
monopolizing all economic
and trade activities in the two
poor nations. This obviously
is a prelude to the inevitable
failure of both states. It is
worth mentioning at this
juncture that the Eritrean
government’s move in the
early 90s to legally prohibit
the wives of government
offi cials from owning
business fi rms was essentially
aimed at averting this type of
malaise. The signifi cance
of combating confl ict of
interest emanating from such
instance on time is obvious
(although there are some
corrupt individuals who for
the time being are engaged
in covert business activities
under different names).
In line with the opendoor
policy that paved the way for free market, gullible
observers may think that it would
speed up development process
through active trade and economic
activities. However, under familybased
political setting most business
fi rms are owned by a handful of
state offi cials who seek to amass
wealth in complicity with foreign
companies.
It is a common practice to witness
western countries deploying their
own soldiers in those areas where
their companies operate in gross
violation of the sovereignty of
a particular nation. And all the
expense for the upkeep of the
foreign soldiers is covered by the
home country itself. As the ruling
cliques do not trust their own people,
they are ready not only to accept
the stationing of foreign forces in
their respective countries but also
pay the salary of the soldiers. They
even bring mercenary soldiers from
abroad to guard themselves and
their palaces.
At this juncture, it is worth
mentioning the remarks former
US Secretary of State Madeline
Albright made in a meeting with a
certain Arab offi cial saying: “You
have nothing to worry of invasion
by a neighboring country; we will
protect you with our own soldiers.”
But all this was to no avail. The price
which family-based ruling cliques
pay to foreign troops to ensure their
narrow interest at the expense of
national resources is quite huge.
Family-based politics is one of
the main causes for the popular
uprising in North Africa and the
Middle East. However, such state
of affairs cannot continue forever
in view of the fact that public
awareness around the globe today is
gaining momentum more than ever
before.
Hence, the mass uprising being
witnessed in various parts of the
world symbolizes the end of the era
of family-based politics, domination
and dictatorship, as well as one that
heralds the transition into a new
world order. But it cannot be taken
for granted that popular uprising
always leads to the desired goal. It
should be underlined that the forces
that lost their privileges would not
desist from trying to sabotage the
gains of the uprising. Thus, still
greater struggle and vigilance is
called for in order to realize social
justice.
Victory to oppressed peoples!
-- Sincerely *YPFDJ British Columbia Chapter* YPFDJ Goal and Purpose- Our goal is to build a strong, conscious and patriotic youth movement.
Our purpose is:
- To raise the awareness and level of organisation of Eritrean youth to serve our nation - To reassert the identity, patriotism and unity of Eritrean youth - To promote the participation of Eritrean Youth in the national reconstruction of Eritrea as well as guarding the sovereignty of Eritrea - To enhance the position and influence of Eritrean Youth in their respective countries of residence.
----[This List to be used for Eritrea Related News Only]----