Vol. 22 No. 19 Wednesday,6th of may , 2015 Pages 8, Price 2.00 NFA

The Eritrean Ambassador to the European Union, mr. Negasi Kassa, has presented his credentials to King Willem-Alexander of the Nether-lands as Eritrea’s non-resident Am-bassador to the country.

The Ambassador conveyed a mes-sage of goodwill from President Isa-ias Afwerki to King Willem-Alex-ander and the people of the Nether-lands. He expressed the readiness of the Eritrean Government to further strengthen the existing ties with the Netherlands, the EU and other mem-ber countries of the union. Ambas-sador Negasi further explained the current situation in Eritrea and de-velopments and trends in the wider region.

Recalling that he had the oppor-tunity to visit Eritrea prior to his

At a meeting he conducted on 2 may with the heads of Eritrean community, mr. Tesfamariam

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.

Tekeste, Eritrean Ambassador in Israel, said that sustainable par-ticipation of all national associa-

SuStainable participation of all national aSSociationS eSSential in nation building

proceSS: ambaSSador teSfamariam tekeSte

In Gerset, the tour focused on the agricultural project that con-sists of extensive farmland under cultivation of fruits, vegetables, cereals, as well as cattle fatten-ing schemes. Other plants visited included Foam Factory and the

central region Staff tour development programS

Banatom tomatoes Factory in Ale-bu, 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.

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 inde-pendence. 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 Neth-erlands, Ambassador Negasi held discussion with mr. michael Stibbe, Director of Sub-Saharan Africa in the Dutch Foreign ministry. The Am-bassador 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.

ambaSSador negaSi preSentS credentialS

tions is essential for the success of the national development pro-grams.

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 conspira-cies 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.

Asmara stadium was the venue for different sports contests involv-ing 12 thousand students last week. The participants came from all sub-zones of the Central Region.

Speaking on the occasion, the Administrator of the Central re-gion, maj. General Ramadan Os-man Awliyai, stressed the need for enhanced efforts towards raising student participation in sports ac-tivities.

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 identify-ing and nurturing talented students in the domain of sports.

The south-western sub-zone of the Central region emerged cham-pion in the competition.

Police Commander calls for ac-

tive role of higher education stu-dents 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 Po-lice. He further reminded the stu-dents to mount staunch resistance against psychological war through enhanced awareness and preserv-ing the nation’s cultural values.

The seminar participants on their part noted the significance of such promotional activities in reinforc-ing the awareness of the public at large.

StudentS SportS Week in central region concludeS

2Eritrea Profile, Wednesday 6th of may , 2015

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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 out-lets 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 GerahtuTwo points need to be put into

consideration while discussing the baseless allegations against Eri-trea. The ploys are not only target-ing 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 pro-grams 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 compro-mises so as to satisfy their vested ends. There have been a number of disguised agendas that begun be-fore TPLF’s invasion. What con-

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 psy-chological 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 support-ing 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 un-justifiable 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 coun-try’s development programs. Inte-grated with societal activities of the people, it has been practiced in all sectors. So far, we have trav-elled 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 unjustifi-able sanctions imposed on Eritrea and subversive dreams that tend to overthrow the Eritrean gov-ernment are all meant to keep us hostage and if possible to halt the implementation of all set out de-velopment plans. The hostile acts have now been continued under the pretext of the issue of human rights.

Who are those behind the hos-tile acts?

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 de-velopment programs. What we always look for is a region free of any threat and hostility. So, our sovereignty and territorial in-tegrity 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 na-tion-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, orga-nization and resources. As a new nation, we do have challenges that are yet to be addressed. But, what has been attempted is to relate ev-ery 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 with-out a government where every-

body is persecuted in the streets. It has been said that there is no development and the country has been retrograded due to national service program. There have been numerous fabrications that even disseminate as if women have been reaped everywhere.

Nation building process has its own difficulties. What is expected of any concerned body is to play a role of partnership in the effort we have been exerting to address the challenges. The issue mainly con-cerns us and what we expect from partners is not more than making whatever contribution in acceler-ating the pledge we have to build our nation and the human rights issue mainstreamed along with. Redoubling the efforts we have been exerting based on our inter-nal dynamics and speeding up its outcome through making some reforms and an upgrading our national resources is what could bring a solution to the challenges we have. No development could be achieved through targeting a country with an aim of making it succumb to a vested political agenda. We do believe the devel-opment undertaking we have ac-complished so far needs to be by far extended and this has been at the top of Government’s strategy.

Human right is inseparable part of human dignity. Efforts that have been made in this country to attain human dignity are not to be viewed lightly. It is when human dignity is respected that human rights are as well realized. We struggled and pay sacrifices for the respect of human dignity and since we have evolved from that set of principle, we are working for betterment of living standards. Huge investment has been made in the improvement of lifestyle of nationals. Human development is

also another area which we have been stressing on. Collectively, Eritrea has made extensive prog-ress in this area. However, nation building is not an easy task and it should be remembered that we have a long journey to go. Trying to distort the image of this country through bringing unreliable accu-sations is worthless.

Mr. Adem OsmanThere is no political ground to

undermine Eritrea’s national laws. Eritrea is a member of the UN. So, any member of the UN has its own local rules and regulations. Na-tional Service is a program which is carried out based on the na-tional law. Based on the national proclamation the national service should have a definite time of 18 months. But, this national service has been extended due to the ob-jective situations in the country and thus it has now become an is-sue. “Indefinite” is the term used to refer to the length of national service which has been extended for a known reason. Neverthe-less, it is not right to see things separately for a context. Leaving everything behind, Eritreans have been paying huge sacrifice for a national cause- to safeguard their sovereignty. Thus, leaving TPLF’s invasion aside, the Eritrean gov-ernment is being accused of the issue of national service. The pro-longed national service is, in the first place, a burden of the Eri-trean government. Yes, there is a prolonged national service, but it would not be an issue had the peace agreement reached in Al-giers implemented on the ground. The respect of the final and bind-ing rule is the immediate solution. The issue of human rights in the name of prolonged national ser-vice is rather raised to sabotage Eritrea.

Human Rights Issue: Q And A With Ambassador Tesfamichael Gerahtu And Mr. Adem Osman

Part I

Ambassador Tesfamichael Gerahtu

Mr. Adem Osman

3Eritrea Profile, Wednesday 6th of may , 2015

Daniel Semere

One aspect of the Eritrean revo-lution was to rectify the injustice involving the exploitation of la-bour. 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 so-ciety without the emphasis on la-bour. 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 associ-ated 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 founda-tion 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 move-ments like occupy Wall Street, for instance, lays this very issue. One of the main arguments explain-ing 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 exploita-tion 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

might differ with time and place. Some for instance have argued that, in this era of globalization and technological advancement la-bour has begun to price itself out of the system. This is to state that the centrality of labour in gener-ating wealth is no more the case. However, in much of the develop-ing world labour is still the central factor in the creation of wealth and

Workers First

development. And whether we like it or not much of the injustice de-veloping 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 de-veloping countries, labour and la-bourers are still at the heart of the national aspiration. The priority in

these countries is a well rounded development with equitable dis-tribution of resources and wealth which are the fruits of labour. The immense construction and recon-struction 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 gov-ernments 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 alloca-tion of national wealth. This is also at the heart of social justice which is instrumental in well rounded de-velopment.

In a world where wealth is in-creasingly 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.

4Eritrea Profile, Wednesday 6th of may , 2015 ADSInvitation For Bids (IFB)

Eritrea Fisheries Development ProjectDSF-08060-ER

Procurement of fishing gearsIFB No: MMR/FDP/ICB/G/002/20151. 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

Bidding will be conducted through the International Competitive Bidding (ICB) procedures specified 2. 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 14:00-17:30 Pm local time, monday through Friday..6

4. Qualifications requirements include: (a) Financial CapabilityThe Bidder shall furnish documentary evidence that it meets the following financial requirement(s): Au-

dited 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 CapacityThe 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 impor-

tant 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 bid-ders 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 Develop-ment Project 120.122.0173 maintained with them being cost of bidding documents for the procurement of fish-ing 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 pres-ence 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.

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

Asmara Int’l Community SchoolAICS is currently accepting applications for full time teaching po-

sitions.The deadline is may 10, 2015.ONLY Applicants who meet or ex-

ceed these requirements should apply: successful applications will be notified.

Primary ES (Grades 1 and 3)1. Intermediate ES ( Grades 4 and 5)2. Secondary Social Studies3.

Successful candidates will have:

Bachelors Degree•minimum 2 years teaching experience preferably in an in-•

ternational settingInternationally recognized teacher certification/qualifica-•

tionFlexibility and qualifications to teach in other areas as need-•

edExperience 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 noti-

fied by May 20, 2015.

saloon, less attractive bed designs, repetitive and tantrum commodi-ties 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 house-holds. No more the same kind of beds, cupboards, furniture, light-ing systems, paintings and picture frames, curtains and other house-hold 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 artisti-cally designed book-shelves and line the books which are entitled ‘I and me,’ ‘Singing with Asmari-nos,’ ‘the Beloved mother and its Empowering Words,’ ‘Aynifela-le,’ ‘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?

The goal is to live freer, happier and less stressed about possess-ing the usual and adapted types of households. For sure, as Yonatan Tesfay has elaborated, there are widened differences between apos-sessing creative and usual proper-ties, 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 re-sults of working laboriously.

Yosief Z. Abraham

May Day in...

continued on page 4

continued from page 7

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 escala-tion of its power struggle with Iran. While its Sunni dignitaries con-tinue 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 impos-sible that Saudi Arabia will end up going against its protector’s wish-es and intervening on the ground in Yemen. Saudi public opinion, whipped up by violent national-ist and religious discourse, wants a show of strength to erase the shameful memory of 2009. That could be risky. A Saudi business-man 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 coher-ent strategy. It’s no accident that the Obama administration wants to reach an accord with Iran at all costs.”

many experts believe Iran’s di-plomacy is flawless for the mo-ment. Not only has it concluded an interim agreement on its nuclear

programme, but it has also con-vinced 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 re-stored 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 co-alition’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 DiplomatiqueMay, 2015

The SoluTion For ...continued from page 8

5Eritrea Profile, Wednesday 6th of may , 2015 ADS

6Eritrea Profile, Wednesday 6th of may , 2015

Aron Hidru

Let me start the discussion about influencing others and being influ-enced by others, by the following quotation cited from a book by Os-car 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 scien-tific 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-devel-opment. To realize one’s nature per-fectly – 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 constrain-ing one’s personal development? Do you tend to believe that influences

are not necessary? Are influences predominantly positive or predomi-nantly 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 as-sertion is that it makes you think deeply about how and why we get influenced and how and why we intend to influence others. More im-portantly 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 con-cerned by what others think of us, that is when we are influenced by others. We need the approval of oth-ers 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 be-ings 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 insig-nificant influence or no influence on his life. Then Osho decided to show

him practically how he is influ-enced 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 when-ever 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 physi-cally. 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 actu-ally concern us and what is that re-ally 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 autosugges-tion. Perhaps, if we are able to effec-tively influence our subconscious in a manner that is suitable to our major concerns in life, this would considerably outweigh the external influences.

InspirationToday’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 selec-tion of a definite chief aim in life.

Any definite chief aim that is de-liberately fixed in the mind and held there, with the determination to re-alize it, finally saturates the entire subconscious mind until it automat-ically 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 even-tually dominate your activities in life and lead you, step by step, to-ward 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 Auto-suggestion, or suggestion you re-peatedly make to yourself. It is a de-gree 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 poverty-stricken 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-

ginning of a news butcher? to where he is accepted as the leading inven-tor 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 prin-ciple 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 en-during nature. Be sure that your definite purpose is constructive; that its attainment will bring hard-ship and misery to no one; that it will bring you peace and prosperity. Apply it to the limit of your under-standing, the principle of self-sug-gestion 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 consti-tuting the ninety-five per cent who have no definite purpose in life. He is selling peanuts, not because he likes that work better than any-thing 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 disadvan-tage. 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 vi-sion and the ambition. First, if he could imagine himself in a more profitable calling and the persever-ance 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.

Influence

7Eritrea Profile, Wednesday 6th of may , 2015

*The Garden of Art and Re-sourcefulness

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 get-ting 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 de-sign the products in non-conflict-ing ways. Algebra is important in understanding balances of every product. Science is vital for know-ing 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 fig-ure in the platforms of philosophy also voiced that art is:”a beautiful representation of an object. There-fore, ‘mieras’ is running to make those two different art ideas come into reality.

At this time, there are worldly proved six kingdoms of art: paint-ing, sculpture and dance. ‘mieras’s art-centered activities have, there-fore, 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 witness-ing 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 re-served seats from ‘mieras?’

And here you might have read about the Greeks dilemma in re-gard 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 creativ-ity. ‘mieras’ is here devoted in hav-ing its own resourceful, creative and meaningful products. Here, therefore, there is always an ines-capable question: ‘artists are those who combine singularity and uni-versality, subjectivity and objectiv-ity, spontaneity and discipline. So, is the artist, owner and manager of ‘mieras,’ Yonatan Tesfay, is a typi-cal 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, re-shaped and newly designed wood-en 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 unhap-piness is also meant to remain un-happy in love, one product which has creativity, simplicity, beauty

and durability is there to give hap-piness and life reflections.

‘mieras’ is, therefore, to com-bine the aforementioned products. And out of the adapted trading sys-tem, 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 bal-lerina, a wooden bed, the antique cars, ships, painting and pictures frames, sculpted birds, and yet oth-er listless gifts materials are here in Asmara to add the spices of hap-piness 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 trav-el along the City’s streets; sit on its

vast boulevards and pace into bars and cafes. Following to the 1924 intensified architectural competen-cies which might have been made competition much more difficult in Europe, many Italian architects enabled to get a comfortable atmo-sphere here in Asmara. Therefore, you can be in a café which is de-signed 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 commodi-ties which are prevalent in every individual’s home here in Asmara?

Similarities of products are dom-inant: large cupboards, oversized

May Day in ‘Mieras’

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8Eritrea Profile, Wednesday 6th of may , 2015

Context: http://www.profile.gov.er Daniel Semre - danisemere@gmail.com Solomon Mengsteab sollion8555@gmail.com

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.

Dear readers, should you have any opinion on the column ‘Context’ and suggestions of articles you think should be printed here please do not hesitate to contact us. We shall welcome, value and entertain them.

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Iran and Saudi Arabia are in di-rect 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 perplex-ity and anxiety in Washington. In the corridors of Congress and the meeting rooms of the major re-search centres on massachusetts and Connecticut Avenues, the same questions keep coming back: what’s really going on in the mid-dle 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 coali-tion 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 al-Abadi’s official visit to Washing-ton, the first of its kind, has drawn attention to the Obama adminis-tration’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 urg-ing Iraq to distance itself from the Iranian regime. Obama has said that Iran should “respect Iraqi sov-ereignty” and refrain from inter-vening unilaterally on Iraqi territo-ry, accusing Iran of giving military support to Shia militias fighting IS without Iraq’s approval. These mi-litias have been accused of looting and violence towards (Sunni) civil-ians 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 be-ing 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 po-litical scientist with the Washing-ton-based thinktank Empowering Youth for Peace in Iraq, shares this view: “The Obama adminis-tration 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 Brook-ings 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 RepublicansAl-Abadi’s visit has also high-

lighted far greater tensions within the US’s sphere of influence in the middle East. He was doubtful about the usefulness of the Saudi-led 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 dia-logue 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, Al-Abadi told journalists at Blair House (the White House’s guest residence) that the Obama admin-istration shared his view, claiming that it too saw Saudi Arabia as the main obstacle to a ceasefire in Ye-men. 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 am-bassador, 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 consider-able doubt in Washington concern-ing Saudi Arabia’s overall strategy on Yemen. The Obama administra-tion was not caught unawares by, but did not approve of the forma-tion 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 scepti-cism over the effectiveness of the campaign, dwelling on its high cost — more than 1,000 killed, hun-dreds 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 system-atically 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 per-suading Saudi Arabia to try any so-lution 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 Re-publican senators to Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, reminding him that Congress would have the final word on the nuclear agree-ment (see “The mullahs’ quiet vic-tory”), has convinced Saudi Arabia that Obama’s authority is weaken-ing.

To limit civilian casualties and the consequences of an interven-tion that could set the entire region ablaze, the US armed forces vetted the coalition’s targets. Officially, Saudi Arabia and its partners de-fined the targets to be bombed, and the Pentagon provided the in-formation 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 amount-ed to having a veto on potential

targets.”Three US aimsThis indirect participation in

Saudi military operations, to-gether with US naval operations to stop arms shipments reaching the Houthis, fulfilled three objec-tives. 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 rea-sons, 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 cau-tious 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 Sau-di Arabia and the other Gulf states, had decided not to join the coali-tion. 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 coun-try, 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 nu-clear 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 terri-torial 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 busi-ness 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. Dur-ing his Washington visit, Al-Abadi warned the US of the dangers of allowing a ground operation, say-ing that if it went ahead, Saudi Arabia would be behaving like Saddam Hussein invading Kuwait. In 2011 Saudi Arabia’s interven-tion in Bahrain to suppress a ma-jor (mainly Shia) uprising alarmed the Iraqis, who felt that their own country, with a Shia-led govern-ment, 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 sug-gests 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 becom-ing 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 out-breaks of sectarian violence across the middle East, and in the Gulf, a strategic area for the world supply of hydrocarbons.

A Pandora’s boxPolitical scientist Hasni Abidi,

director of the Study and Research Centre for the Arab and mediter-ranean World (CERmAm) in Ge-neva, 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 secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, has al-ready called for the muslim world to oppose the “manipulation and conflicts” created by Saudi Arabia. This echoes Iran’s president, Has-san Rohani, who during this year’s

The SoluTion For Yemen muST Be PoliTical

Us Tries To Balance saudi Arabia And Iran