June 22, 2019
Keynote Address
By President Isaias Afwerki on Martyrs Day
Let me first express my congratulations and gratitude for the various preparations undertaken by our people inside the country and abroad to commemorate Martyrs Day with the requisite ceremony. The central theme of this commemoration is to renew our solemn pledge to continue the legacy of our Martyrs above and beyond paying homage to them. Our Martyrs constitute the multiplying factor of the resources and power of this country by virtue of their heroism and the ultimate price that they have paid. They vanquished and altered what seemed an asymmetric power equation in favour of the forces of independence. After independence, they demonstrated – for the second time – similar heroism to maintain and safeguard the sovereignty of the country.
The heroic feats represent an unparalleled contribution in the annals of our history as an independent State and the overall progress of our nation. Besides the ultimate price that they paid with their precious lives, the value system and culture that our Martyrs have bequeathed us has bolstered the power, resilience and moral inspiration of our people. This is a priceless heritage. The examples and high moral standards that they have set; the value system they bequeathed to us through their self-sacrifices, cannot be compensated by mere tributes and words of gratitude. We have, therefore, moral obligations and responsibilities to renew our pledge to them on solemn occasions such as today. The colourful celebrations carried out at our 28th Independence Anniversary by our people inside the country and abroad under the theme: “Resilience through Resilience”, was, in fact, a genuine testament of this pledge. Ladies and Gentlemen, As it will be recalled, an 11-point road-map of our development programmes was laid out during our (28th) Independence Anniversary. This takes into account and is predicated on the prevailing international, regional and domestic realities and trends.
The road-map is not only forward looking; it is also aimed at recouping lost opportunities as well as scaling imposed impediments. How will this be implemented? What capabilities will be marshaled? Which resources? Under what timeline? Through which methodologies and modalities? Natural, material, technological, financial… and other resources are evidently important requirements for development. But above all, what is of paramount importance is human resource; that is endowed with quality, expertise and experience. But, quality, expertise and experience are not enough in and all by themselves irrespective of size or numerical magnitude. Effective human capital will also require a multiplying factor. In other words, it must be anchored on commitment; that discards greed and self-exaltation; that is relentless, creative and industrious; and, that is organized efficiently. In a nutshell, we have to go back to our roots; to the attributes that defined our identity. The origin of our identity is indeed the value system bequeathed to us by our Martyrs!
Glory to our Martyrs!
Victory to the Masses!
20 June 2019
