Eritrea-in-crossroad

Is the Commission entrusted to organize a bigger conference in Addis Abeba before the end of 2011 on course? From the posting I receive, they are busy making their message heard across to people in the Diaspora. They have also endorsed the call for a public demonstration to bring the attention of the pathetic situation in Eritrea and hopefully inspire the people at home. Certainly it has a wrong start but quickly recovered to come out jubilantly;  first, by forming a Commission to steer the activities planned until the convening of the 2011 conference, second it secured a firm support from Ethiopia which is crucial to unseat the riffraff in Asmara. I have attended one of the town hall meeting organized by the chapter in New York to get answers to some pestering questions. To my surprise I came out from the meeting satisfied. Unlike many of my compatriots who are so apprehensive of the commission to label it openly as a den of former shady personalities, Ethiopian puppets, power mongers etc., my concern has been whether the body that is to emerge will declare and act as a government in exile and two whether the conferee in the 2011 conference are mandated to draft a constitution.  To my understanding this is not to be so. What is that in plain English? I was vaguely assured that it is tantamount to over stepping its responsibility if the Commission campaigns for a government sitting outside Eritrea. Moreover, drafting a constitution is not one of its terms of reference that it must perform. What then are the reasons that make the Commission so unattractive to many/few?  From what I was able to gather from posted articles, Paltalk discussions and personal communication with friends, I shall enumerate some. But first I shall proceed to give a cursory look on the profile of the armed struggle and its effect on today’s politics.

In early in 1970 the ELF declared that no armed faction, regardless of its position against the Ethiopian regime, will be allowed to operate on its own. To that effect the ELF dealt severely with those who dare to challenge it. Its constant harassment to the young urban fighters, the falul who lived as an outlaw in Asmara in mid-1970s, (also haunted by the Ethiopian secret service) is a proof that The ELF was merciless to tolerate anyone but itself.  In similar fashion when the EPLF got the upper hand it declared the ELF as outlaw and drove it out of the theatre of war. What we learn from here is that, the events of the 1970 are the watershed of today’s yoyo politics. Moreover, these events had serious repercussions on the armed struggle not so much as perfecting the terror tools invented by the leadership, but also induced Old Jebha to split into numerous factions which continued littering the political landscape today.  Hence, for the 101 voices rose against any initiative to redeem Eritrea and the region from the scourge of war, hunger and ignorance. The repulsive mood most often exhibited by members of this or that faction against the Commission is, therefore, not surprising to a student of the Eritrean politics. Briefly, the following points appear to be the ‘stumbling block’ for people and organizations to hesitate coalesce around the Commission.

1-    The preparatory committee sidelined groups  and personalities from taking part in the process of the convening the 2010 Addis Abeba conference
2-    Notorious members of the alphabet soup fronts and publicly unknown persons make the core of the commission
3-    The commission’s hidden agenda is to create mini states within Eritrea
4-    War is the battle cry of the newly formed body  
5-    The ‘colonizing power’, Ethiopia has taken the center stage in the affairs of Eritrea

Does this allegations or perceived fear be the cause of disengagement with it? I would argue that the points mentioned above should not be the cause of creating a fault line that is potential to crack into huge gulf but instead be treated as divergent positions that require engagement and dialogue to solve.  Mind you there is nothing absolute not even the most dogmatic of all, religious beliefs. Truth as we know it today may not be so tomorrow simply because human mind never stopped evolving into higher cognitive level to question the validity of it all. It is only through constant dialogue that things lay bare for yet another truth until it too is disproved. That is the truth for now.

Let me say few words on the points of divergence, as relative as they are.

The preparatory committee  

Without doubt the convening of the conference would never have taken place had the Ethiopians did not took it upon themselves to give an impetus to the most dormant idea and one of the vegetating initiative raised some ten years ago by kidan.  The idea has been floating around the camps of the political groups among them the EPDP and many miniscule entities calling themselves as political organizations. To Ethiopia’s amazement many members of  the ELF, ex-EPLF, Jihadist, Habesha chauvinists and bystanders who for a long time has been under the spell of the Eritrean government choose to respond to the clarion despite decades of acrimonious relationship between them. To my judgement it is a feat on the part of the Ethiopian government and the kidan to pull the project off the ground. Once it begun floating against the gravitational force though, under no circumstance should one pull it down on the guise that ‘it was  a non participatory gathering’ or inconsequential to free Eritrea from the clutches of EPLF. As defective as it might look at first glance, the committee was able to meet the deadline neutralizing the speculation that it is one of those initiatives that will eventually fall flat on the ground. After all, this has been the story of Eritrea since the 1940s.

What is to be done? It is fairly known by some of us that the Commission is not an end by itself. What does one expect from a Commission formed hastily and lacking an open support from the educated the wise men and the skeptic to lead the way?  Nothing whatsoever.  In this circumstance, therefore, the Commission will remain an empty shell unless augmented by ideas from all walks of life in particular those equipped to use the tools to intensify the struggle in Eritrea within the context of the regional struggle against tyranny. It is imperative therefore, to scrutinize the commission as harshly as possible while engaging it for good end. This is the best alternative than wasting time to come up with a parallel activity that may or may not dwarf the workings of the existing Commission.  Rest assured, an orphaned Commission is open to adaption by people of unsavory charter all to the determent of the people.  My humble advice is to prepare and get ready for the upcoming conference to see to it that the best of mind, the wise, the tolerant, the farsighted, the friendly, the women, the refuge are included in the political body that is to emerge.  It is also the duty of the Commission to approach and win the support of the silent majority but more importantly, the groups unwilling to embrace it.

Who is who in the Commission and Kidan

To me this question is irrelevant despite it is one the most talked about. In as far as kidan is concerned it is an umbrella body that includes ex-EPLF members not to mention all the derivatives of ELF now known by different acronyms.  Kidan happened to be in the right place and at the right time to embrace the idea of holding the conference. It is, therefore, disingenuous on the part of EPDP or many members of civic groups once card carrying member of this or that front to accuse it of mishandling the Eritrean politics. In truth Kidan like any other organizations and civic groups outside it have identical history. They stifled grass roots democracy, distorted history, eliminated political opponents, stabbed one another on the back, fanatic Muslims, chauvinist Habeshas,  sexists and all the bad vices one can think of, hence unfair to point finger at kidan only. We should think twice before throwing stones at neighbor’s houses built out of glass while knowing full well that ours is not built with granite stone. Saint Paul, one time tormentor of the Christian sect in the Near East became the defender of the faith before the sun set beyond the heights of the Golan according to the Bible. My grandmother born few days after the Battle of Adwa use to say “kekfau aynzekr ahwat knkawen”. It is therefore not healthy to conjure the past in order to justify ones action.

As to who is the member of the commission and who leads it, I would only say that those who took part in the conference either by sheer luck or design owns it. Irrespective of their status and the degree of their involvement in earlier struggle they happen to pick up the mantle.  The question now is would you allow some or all of the commissioners including the kidan to navigate the treacherous waters that will hopefully releave the suffering of the Eritrean people. Wouldn’t it be in the best interest of the people to influence the course of events sitting inside the Commission? The commission is not the best only chance left for Eritrea to free itself from a terror group who plundered our countryside and made life difficult for our young, women, the old and the populous in general? But it is the only game in town until it evolves into something satisfying for all of us involved in change.

Self-Determination

Honestly, the timid approach to the question of self-determination by the 2010 conferees disappointed me very much. Unwittingly, I am in league with those who oppose this dictum but for different reason. I believe, the way to liberate the people from the shackles of the worn out ideology of the fronts is to encourage localities administer themselves. (I beg you not to have wrong impression on what I am advocating. I am prepared to endorse the small flag hoisted by each nationality but flying under the humongous flag of the Eritrean state. This I support conditionally, that is, in as long their right to live peacefully is uphold) In my constructive rebuttal to EMDHR, I have stated clearly that self-determination reinforces peace, stability and national unity not the opposite as few ultra nationalists wants us to believe. It is only through the recognition of the inalienable right of peoples that harmony is achieved. But again many Eritreans seem to suffer from identity crisis, hence for their objection to anything less than a unitary system practiced by none other than Isaias and his Sycophants. Did any of us take time to study the experiment on local administration in Ethiopia? Perhaps that will help clear the fog from our minds.

War against the Tyrant

I wish this is possible. But believe me you in a highly militarized zone such as ours, it is not feasible to make a dent on the regime to the extent of running it out of town. My reading so far is that the war weary people may not be in the mood to embroil once again into yet another hostility which almost always is not of their making. But activities that engender, what I call news of war  may encourage people to talk about their predicament without the fear of being spied on by a family member or a neighbor is immense. It will also plant the seed of fear on the mining company that is poised to exploit the resources with impunity. Exploitation of Eritrean minerals under the current regime is tantamount to swallowing deadly poison involuntarily. But who knows a low level of cross boarder activity may serve as a conduit to establishing an organic link with the army and the people for eventual uprising. So far there is little attempt to influence events at home. Full fledge armed struggle is, therefore, impractical, out of date and suicidal and nothing but an academic exercise.  There are many tools at our disposal if truly prepared to fight the EPLF. Lucky enough Ethiopia and its people are on our side.

The Ethiopian Card

I wonder why people opposing the Addis Abeba conference or those bystanders but who cut their umbilical cord with regime and yet aloof to participate openly in the struggle continued blubbering about Ethiopia’s involvement in the struggle to free the Eritrean people from EPLF bondage. Frankly, what Ethiopia is doing now is simply fulfilling the promise entered by the Sana forum years back. Except in the case of Ethiopia it is special because it is still on a war footing with the regime in Asmara. Besides, Ethiopia has vested interest in consummating the ugly affair that started a decade ago, that is peace and stability in its northern frontier. While most of us are well versed on globalization and its effect on trade, none of us seem to understand the effect of the war had on our peoples, that is, Tigrai and Eritrea. You only have to live in Eritrea during and after the war to experience what war meant for the people who consume berbere, gabi, lemon, poultry, horses, mule and many items of agricultural nature coming from across the border.  It is obscene to notice that while the citizens off Europe and America have the luxury of enjoying desert after a warm three course meal, the people in Eritrea were deprived the basic necessities of life found just across the frontier. Worst of all people whose intercourse with one another was legendry were all of sudden shut off from visiting sisters, brothers, in-laws, friends found a stone throw away. The same can be said of the Ethiopian people in general and Tigrai in particular. Here in lays the urgency of attending the problem which has drag for so long.  If Ethiopia is not a partner in the project to remove Isyays, who else? The question arises how prepared are the opposition to capitalize on the extended hands of Ethiopia? I don’t view Ethiopia as a menacing neighbor, unless I am clinically paranoid who need a dose of medication to function normal. The interest of Ethiopia and Eritrea are intertwined needing no explanation.

The fear that Ethiopia will invade Eritrea is day dreaming, unless of course provoked by the adventurist thugs in Asmara. Even then, the price is too high for Ethiopia who has embarked upon laying infrastructure to wipe hunger which has become its hall mark and by extension of the mini states surrounding it. In hindsight this is a wish of many who publicly frown at the idea of Ethiopia rolling with its tanks through the hills and plains of Eritrea to relieve them from their suffering. But an astute observe like me will vote against this proposition. Ethiopia should be careful not to fall to the trap. The cost is simply too high. This is a time to roll our tents for peace and work together for a better Horn, the home of pirates, hungry people, gun totting groups and failed states.  Besides, why would Tigrai and Eritrea be the epicenter of a war with no ending? Tell me.