Reflections on the contribution of the opposition leaders in prolonging the suffering of the Eritrean people for the last 20 years

Few excerpts from the article:

[We urge our readers to read the whole article,here is the link: http://www.ehrea.org/20112.php. The few excerpts below by no means do justice to a very extended and well compiled article that goes meticulously profiling every single leader in the opposition camp.]

Indeed this type of uprising will have a great role in speeding up the removal of this fascistic dictator, however our youth need to be ensured that their uprising against the 20 years repression should not be for the benefit of the EDA or EPDP leaders who themselves have been in leadership or in senior post for decades. According to Amare (2010) Ahmed Nasser is the chairman of the Eritrean National Salvation Front (ENSF) today and was the chairman of ELF from 1976 to 1981. Dr. Habte Tesfamariam is member of the executive leadership of ENSF today and was chairman of the ELF that replaced Ahmed Nasser until ELF disintegrated. There are more in a leaders from the opposition groups who have been in leadership or senior post for decaded.  For example, Abdella Idris was in a leading position for 43 years  from 1968 to 2011.  Mesfin Hagos has been in a senior post since 1970 for 41 years, Hiuri leader of ECP is in a leading position for 40 years from 1971- Tesfai Woldemichael (Degiga), vice -chairman of the EPDP was with Ahmed Nasser leadership in 1975 since then he is in a leading position for 36 years and Tewelde Gebreselasse is the leader of Sagem nearly for 30 years since 1982 [find more]. Dpite this fact, most Eritreans in diaspora cyber debates have focused on removing Issays not on the role of the oppostion leaders who have become obtacle to removing the current autocratic regime, Fesseha Nair's article The Role of Military in Transition to Democracy didn't show why the oppostion leaders for decades in leadership and how they have contributed to prolonging the life of this autocratic regime which has caused for the death of thousands of Eritrean youths in the Mediterranean Sea.

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The main purpose of compiling the history of the Eritrean Political leaders is to draw attention of the younger generation to the narrow power struggle of the current oppostion leaders and their consequences . The recent EPDP-EDA confrontation is an extension of the conflict that emerged at the EDA conference between the ELF and ELF.RC in 2007. The current EDA-EPDP confrontation is not sudden occurrence but has a history that goes back to the 1982. This was when the Labor Party was finally dissolved by 1982, many of its leaders aligned themselves with either the ELF faction identified with Abdallah Idris or the newly formed ELF.RC (Connel, 2011 :343 p). Since then both the ELF and ELF.RC leaders have become the main rival leaders within the opposition which caused a rift between the ELF RC and ENA in 2002, the spilt of EDA in 2007 and the EDA-EPDP confrontation 2010/2011

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Following in his father's footsteps,, Hiury was elected vice-chairman of the Revolutionary Council in 1971. During this period Hiuri participated in the decision to liquidate the EPLF in 1972 (Killon, 1991:251). Abdalla Idris Mohammed, ELFsecond vice president, Herui Tedla Bairu, ELF first vice president and Issayas, ELF-PLF (Ala group) leade should be blamed for the death of 3000 fighters in the civil war 1972-1974. In 1975 at the second Congress of the ELF Hiuri lost the vote for the leadership and because of this he left the ELF in 1976.  He then founded a new organization called the EDM in 1977. However the EDM split into three groups in 1982: 1.Democratic Movement for the Liberation of Eritrea (DMLE), led by Gerebrhan Zeriewas, 2.Eritrean Peoples Democratic Movement (EPDM), led by senior ex-EDM members and 3.EDM (Retained the original name), led by Hiruy Tedla Bairu

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During 1982-83, Abdalla toured Arab capitals claiming to represent the main stream ELF and using Islamist rhetoric to gain support. According Killon (194 )in March 1982 Abdalla Idris faction represented an increase sectarian muslim element that received substatial support from Saudi Arabia. As a result of this might be in the 1980s, the Jabhat Tahrir al-Iritriyya al-Islamiyya al-Wataniyya (The National Eritrean Islamic Liberation Front), the Munzamat al-Ruwwad al-Muslimin al-Iritria (The Organization of Eritrean Pioneer Muslims), al-Intifada al-Islamiyya (Islamic Awakening) and others were founded, some in Sudan. De,Waal (Human Rights Watch :1991:252) adds that the Eritrean Islamic Liberation Front ("Mujuhideen") headed by Ibrahim Ali, Islamic fundamentalist in orientation, and supported by the International Muslem Brothers and the Sudanese National Islamic Front.

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Sheik Abu Sihel left the ELF in 1975, and he founded the Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement (EIJM) when a group of Islamist-minded guerillas split off from the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) that had been fighting since the beginning of the Eritrean independence movement. In 1993 the IJM split into two once again: one faction was led by the hardliners under Mohammed Ahmed (Abu Suhail) who reportedly fought in Afghanistan against the Soviets and the other faction was led by Arefa Ahmed, an ex-teacher in a PLF founded school in the refugee camps. The Arefa faction was accused of becoming lenient and starting a secret dialogue with the EPLF under the auspices of Dr. Turabi and his party, the NIF.

[To read the whole article,here is the link: http://www.ehrea.org/20112.php]