Like the Iranian or North Korean regimes, our brutal and incompetent dictator has tens of thousands of elites who are privileged and benefited from the regime. Or like the Chinese regime, which manufactures legitimacy by creating jobs, opportunities, or wealth for its citizens. Or like the Cuban regime, which generates legitimacy by providing free healthcare, education, and certainty. Our brutal and incompetent dictator has no sophisticated surveillance system or intelligence institution, no well-paid army or wealthy economy, no sophisticated propaganda machine, and no thousands of privileged elites or cadres. The regime is one old dictator who does all the policies and decisions, and less than 100 impoverished old cronies who implement the dictators’ policies and decisions. The regimes power is not derived from a sophisticated surveillance system or a well-paid army. It is dependent on controlling the narrative through a 100% media monopoly, a 100% narrative monopoly, and 100% isolation. The regimes narratives, such as poverty is dignity, multiculturalism, racism or genetic identity, fear/bullying, and anti-colonialism, are disseminated through one radio and one TV daily for limited hours and one daily newspaper. With internet penetration in Eritrea at less than 1%, the regimes control over information is absolute. Our strategy is to counter the regimes narrative monopolies with our own. We will promote Tigrigna nationalism, dignity, economic prosperity, direct democracy, justice, and certainty/stability/peace using two satellite TV channels and two radios. The regime will collapse when we achieve a media and narrative monopoly. Tigrigna nationalism will burn out the regime. We create a sense of hope, certainty, and connection to the world. This will create contempt for the government, disorientation, confusion, and schisms in the dictator’s head and among his cronies. The regime will collapse without its monopolies. If he doesn’t resign and be exiled, we will remove him from power within 3-6 months.
