Date: Sunday, 01 April 2018
(Photo AdnKronos)
The culture and beauty used to achieve peace and prosperity. This is the novelty that is breathed in Eritrea after the decision by UNESCO to proclaim Asmara heritage of humanity. In reality the changes that could lead to a greater balance of this part of the horn of Africa are two. The decision of UNESCO is in fact added a phase of instability and internal tension of Ethiopia, historical enemy of Eritrea. Addis Ababa since 15 February, the day of the resignation of Prime Minister Hailé Mariàm Desalegn, was without a government. A political and administrative emptiness that has distant origins, finally filled yesterday with the appointment as Prime Minister of Abiye Ahmed, a forty-two year old exponent of the ethnic majority of the Oromo. A significant appointment since it starts with the consent of the Tigris, the minority of that,
In this context UNESCO is inserted, which proclaiming the capital of Eritrea, a heritage of humanity, creates the conditions for writing a new page in the history of this tormented territory. We toured Asmara days far and wide, going where we wanted, stopping in the ministries, visiting Catholic, Jewish or Muslim places of worship, bars, private houses, squares and places of art without any hindrance. This is to say that it is true, we are in a country where there are no political elections, there is no multiparty as we understand it and where democracy after the revolution was in fact suspended due to the continuing Ethiopian threat to the borders. But having said this, Eritrea is by no means the rogue state that enemy propaganda paints. Just turn the streets of this city from the unparalleled charm, visit, as we have done hospitals or construction sites that will deliver over 50 thousand homes to returning emigrants, but above all enough talk with ordinary people to understand that the case Eritrea is largely the result of the powerful propaganda of Ethiopia and the his powerful allies. The lack of democratic alternation as well as the imposition of military service that make the scandal so much are due to the state of war and in some way also to the arbitrary sanctions that the United Nations continues to impose against all logic.
Just as there is no doubt that the Presidency of Isaias Afewerki has on the one hand led to resounding results for the country (no longer die of hunger, schools, universities and free health for all, water and electricity guaranteed, aids eradicated, infrastructures created ex novo or reactivated) on the other hand ensured stability and avoided the rise of Islamic radicalisations. Circumstances that should now begin to make Eritrea look like a country capable of making a stable contribution to the whole Horn of Africa. In this scenario the UNESCO nomination of Asmara is a patrimony of humanity from a further contribution and re-launches the prospects for the rebirth of Eritrea. "Asmara - told us the engineer Medhanie Teklemariam, coordinator of the Asmara Heritage Project - has a cultural heritage that is unmatched across Africa. A heritage created in large part by great Italian architects that in all these years we have been able to preserve well, leaving the original urban layout unaltered. Unesco now certifies and enhances the importance of this extraordinary legacy and thus effectively launches Eritrea towards a new phase ". That's why culture and beauty are the best key to peace for the whole area.
(Software translation)