What New Year Resolutions?

Many individuals are fond of making ‘new year resolutions’ or pledges every end of December on matters that they wish to see fulfilled as of the first day of a New Year.

Smokers wishing to quit the habit and bachelors dreaming to start family life with a new partner are among the those who are used to making such vows. But it is not only individuals that wish to start a new year with pledges of what has to be done. States and organizations usually take stock of what was achieved or failed to be achieved during the old year and in their different ways make ‘new year wishes’. These can come in the form of New Year messages, policy statements or project proposals. However, success or failure would depend mainly on the resoluteness of the vow-maker as well as on circumstances that can prevail.

Talking about new year aspirations of organizations, we can take as a timely example of the 3 January 2004 Unity Proposal of the ELF-RC. That wish for 2004 urged for the setting up of a realistic political regrouping without loss of time. It was suggested to consist of the ENA, the EPLF—DP (which was in one piece until then) and the ELF-RC as initiators of a unity formula that would eventually embrace all important political groupings of Eritreans. It took a year for the idea to be digested, criticized and finally to be taken more seriously by all Eritreans who are now wishing to make it happen even after a delay – and better late than never!

The year 2004 has ended for us in the Eritrean Opposition with a welcome note announced in Khartoum on 28 December 2004. And the New Year 2005 is beginning with a rekindled hope and great expectations. The important task now is how to translate the goodwill in all of us into a meaningful National Accord. In other words, the Eritrean Opposition in the Diaspora will have to make more determined New Year Resolutions that can to be implemented during the course of the year 2005 in order to build a better home for all Eritreans.

The New Year Resolutions of the opposition, according to us in the Nharnet Team, can include pledges by all the organizations in the opposition not to repeat past mistakes, and instead work with absolute and selfless devotion to create a truly representative Political Coalition that can be acceptable to the vast majority of Eritreans inside the homeland and in the Diaspora. These resolutions can include the following wishes – rather, commitments:

We in the Eritrean Opposition are determined to create an all-inclusive and credible patriotic coalition uniting, under a practical formula, all Eritreans opposed to the dictatorship in our country.
We in the Eritrean Opposition are convinced that it is the realization of this inclusive coalition or a national united front that shall foster the growth of the opposition internally and externally and shorten the days of the unwanted regime in Asmara.
Our umbrella organization that we pledge to establish within the shortest time possible in 2005 shall have a legislative and executive bodies fully representing the existing political realities of our society.
There shall be different Commissions established to study and draft provisional laws and structures that shall be required in the transition period to fully democratic Eritrea.
The umbrella organization shall encourage and assist political organizations with similar programmes to merge into viable formations.
Civic societies shall be allowed to flourish and function as watch-dogs of the political actors of the present and of the future.
We in the opposition are committed to promote reconciliation at the political and social levels on our resolute path towards building a democratic and peaceful state where equality, justice and social harmony prevail as of the immediate post-dictatorship period.
We in the Eritrean Opposition pledge to make the year 2005 a Special Year for Eritrea and all Eritreans.

We Shall Prevail.

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