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PFDJ and its
Opponents
Facing New
Challenges
With Archaic Methods
The ELF-RC Information and Cultural Office
Since independence in 1991, the Eritrean people
remained victims of dictator Isayas Afeworki’s wrong policies all of
which ended in wars, mass deaths, displacement, exile and wretchedness.
The autocratic regime betrayed the lofty objectives of our people’s
50-year struggle for freedom, peace, justice and prosperity.
Hopelessness has reigned supreme when our people were made to lose and
confidence by the actions of the one-man dictatorship.
All these have befallen Eritrea because the regime
attempted to face the new challenges with obsolete methods: the
post-independence challenges for peace, justice, equality, democracy and
political pluralism were confronted with pre-independence practices of
Isayas and his cohorts. In summary, Eritrea was doomed to plunge into
the sad situation it is in today because of:
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Isayas Afeworki’s denial of any space for
others after independence
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His regime’s failure to settle border
disputes through peaceful channels
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His penchant to resolve internal
disagreements through brutal force and imprisonment
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His resort to divide and rule tactics for
staying in power
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The one party’s absolute control of the
national economy at the risk of total crisis and national collapse.
Similarly, the Eritrean opposition, which is supposed
to free the people from the yoke of the dictatorship, is not faring
better. Also on its part, the Eritrean opposition camp is facing the new
challenges with the same archaic methods of bygone days. As witnessed by
the wide public, each organization in the opposition is conniving
against a supposed potential rival with the wrong belief that one’s
importance and “greatness” is demonstrated by the attempts to belittle
and harm the other.
The ongoing scenario of splitting and realigning with
this and that faction in order to look “better” or to harm others is not
taking the opposition anywhere. Instead, the right approach should have
been to enhance mutual growth so that all can gather more strength for
the common struggle. Needless to say, the opposition organizations are
not making headway in attracting wider support of the people but are
still happy to ‘win’ members from rival organizations and build new
splinter groups through a shamefully unending recycling process. The
opposition organizations have not fully appreciated the fact that the
growth of each one of them is an additional strength to the Eritrean
Democratic Alliance (EDA) that they have formed, and an enhancement of
the struggle to remove the dictatorial system in Eritrea.
Furthermore, it is time for the opposition to try to
see far beyond the period after the fall of the PFDJ regime. The post-PFDJ
period will for sure require at least two or more political
organisations and parties that have big influence and support among the
people. In the absence of such parties and viable civic societies, it
will be difficult to think of stability and smoothly functioning
democracy in a new Eritrea. Therefore, in order for democracy to
flourish, there will be need for the existence of viable and big parties
and civic societies that champion political and human rights and
challenge any ruling party or a coalition in post-PFDJ Eritrea.
Otherwise, there will not be any guarantee in Eritrea to avert
dictatorship after the fall of the current dictatorship.
It has indeed been fashionable in the opposition camp
to talk and write about supporting unity, basic liberties, transparency,
and tolerating the viewpoints of others. But all these have been absent
in practice in our opposition. We have not been true to ourselves.
Isayas Afeworki’s and his clique’s culture of preventing one’s members
from attending political and social gatherings of other organizations is
also being practised by our very opposition organisations that claim to
be opposing PFDJ’s political culture of alienation and exclusion.
The legacies of the liberation war are kept intact
because we are failing to manage internal differences in a correct and
new manner. As a result, every small difference within one group always
ends in a split and multiplication of factions. This way of doing
things contradicts with the present times when the challenge is to
resolve differences democratically. Therefore, it is high time for us to
cultivate a culture of tolerance, dialogue and peaceful resolution of
differences. It is high time to abide by the rule of law and submit
oneself to institutions. It is time to clearly identify and give
priority to national objectives and common interests. One cannot give
something that one does not possess. Let our organisations build a
culture of tolerance and democracy within them so that they will be able
to deliver it to a new Eritrea.
In order for the new EDA to be effective instrument
in resolving the critical shortcomings of this stage, it must serve the
opposition camp as a true platform for dialogue and accord, be a launch
pad for reconciliation and coordination and a podium for candid
expression of divergent viewpoints with sincere mutual acceptance and
respect. Other than that, EDA needs to understand the limits of things
that can be done collectively at the EDA level and those myriad of daily
tasks that are deemed to be carried out by members organisations
individually.
Visions of the ELF-RC include the renewal of dimmed
hopes of our people through timely restoration of their self-confidence
for reclaiming their sacred rights and values as free citizens. To do
this, we need to face the new challenges with new approaches and
methods.
As we in the ELF-RC see it:
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Our people need to give high priority to
the task of removing the dictatorship.
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Organisations with similar political
programmes must contemplate mergers without any delay. Those
organisations with differences in their programmes must co-ordinate
tasks on their points of agreement.
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The opposition organisations and parties
need to exert greater efforts to win the support of the broad people
who are not yet in their membership.
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Encouraging the formation of truly civic
societies with mass base, and co-ordinating work with those already in
existence and in good shape.
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Striving to enable the Eritrean
opposition to have access to media outlets regionally and
internationally, and to enable the opposition camp to draw the
attention and support of governmental and non-governmental
organisations.
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Creating reliable link between the
internal and external oppositions forces by using all available
channels and means of communications.
These are among the key means and methods for sure
success of our people’s struggle at this stage.
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