|
Roundup of
ELF-RC Tour to Australia
By Nharnet.com Writer
 Speaking
at one of the recent chain of Eritrean public meetings in Melbourne, a
participant loudly stated, “We [Eritreans in Australia] have devoted the
month of June 2005 to ELF-RC and we benefited much from it.” Another
veteran freedom fighter whose name, if disclosed, would ring in every
reader’s mind, said at a separate occasion: “To be frank with oneself,
the recent meetings and seminars we have had in Melbourne are by far the
most constructive and sensible public gatherings of Eritrean I have ever
attended since 1991.” Hardly anyone in Australia who attended the
ELF-RC organized meetings would disagree with these candid and eloquent
descriptions of the events under review.
During the first three weeks of the month of
June, many compatriots with deep interest and resolve for change and
democracy in Eritrea were seizing the opportunity of attending the said
meetings. Every presentation by the guest panelists as well as
interventions by meeting participants was about Eritrea’s future and the
hopes or doubts about what the Eritrean opposition could do towards
creating a democratic and stable state where every citizen will be
treated with dignity, equality and justice. As briefly highlighted in
earlier Nharnet.com reports, the delegation members were Seyoum
Ogbamichael, ELF-RC Chairman, Woldeyesus Ammar, RC member and assistant
for International Relations Office for the organization, and Haile
Ghebru, ELF-RC representative in Australia where approximately 5,000
Eritreans reside.
The key events in this momentous ELF-RC
leadership mission to Australia between 2 and 20 June 2005 included the
following:
-
Open public meetings in Melbourne and Perth,
cities with major concentration of Eritreans in Australia.
-
A political seminar for invited participants.
-
A seminar in Melbourne University.
-
Participation at full-day and night
celebrations, with speeches and discussions, at the 14th
Anniversary of Eritrean Independence at the Eritrean Community Center
in Melbourne.
-
Interview with media (Australia’s SBS).
-
A lengthy time with worthy Eritrean websites
in Australia (that covered the events objectively and fairly, in spite
of ill-advice and pressure, through distance calls and emails, from
some of Eritrea’s new brand of hate-promoters.)
-
Meetings with representatives of ELF-RC
branches and groups in Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane.
-
A meeting with representatives of five member
organizations of the Eritrean Democratic Alliance (EDA).
-
Meetings with special groups and leading
Eritrean figures.
-
Informal meetings with foreign office,
immigration and party officials. (Intended and scheduled meetings with
the Foreign Minister and other high level authorities were stalled in
the last minute due to long parliamentary sessions in Canberra that
lasted till 20 June. Meanwhile, the ELF-RC delegation addressed a
memorandum to the government in the form of a comprehensive message of
our people regarding the current situation in Eritrea and what the
ELF-RC would wish Australia do in support of peace and democratization
in Eritrea and the Horn of Africa region.)
 A
telegraphic summary of the issues raised and discussed at the June 4
public meeting and the June 12 seminar in Melbourne would tell the major
part of the accomplishments of this long-delayed but finally
successfully achieved ELF-RC mission to visit a significant Eritrean
community in the faraway continent of Oceania - Australia. At the first
Melbourne meeting, presentations of the ELF-RC delegation included the
following key points:
-
Today, the political, economic and social
condition in Eritrea is at its most horrible state. The cause of this
sad situation is nothing else but primarily the dictatorial regime of
Isayas Afeworki and his wicked party, whose removal will open the way
for a brighter future.
-
Our diversity is a rich national and cultural
asset, and not a curse, when addressed correctly. The big challenge is
how to manage our cultural, linguistic, confessional and geographical
diversity to our common good and best interest.
-
The regime in Eritrea will collapse the day
our people inside the homeland and abroad are fully convinced that we
in the opposition are a better alternative. But until that is done,
the criminal regime can linger its illegitimate grip on power.
-
The establishment of the EDA is a major step
in the right direction. But without complacency, this umbrella for the
opposition has to keep improving until it becomes a centre of gravity
of our people’s participation for change and democracy.
-
Every individual opposed to the regime and
ready to fight for a better Eritrea is urged to become, NOW, a member
of a political organization of s/his choice and, through organized
work, help strengthen the EDA. It is organizations and not individuals
that can become members of this democratic alliance.
-
It is incumbent upon every single organization
in EDA and outside it to democratize itself. Tomorrow’s democratic
Eritrea must be seen in the prism of the political organizations,
parties and movements of today.
-
Eritrea’s democratic elements and patriots of
the liberation era have the responsibility of seriously dialoging
about handing down a better Eritrea to the so far ill fated new
generation inside the homeland and abroad.
-
National unity and good neighbourliness,
especially with Ethiopia, have been the two major concerns of our
people for over 60 years now. These crucial issues await to be tackled
wisely by a united voice of Eritreans.
Interventions by meeting participants were also
exceptionally and in line with the presentations by the panelists. In
this and other meetings in Australia, there was complete unanimity, in
language and spirit, as to what the audiences wanted: accountable
leadership in the opposition that can measure up to the great
expectations of the Eritrean people for unity and constructive action.
 The
June 12 seminar, also in Melbourne, was another high point in the ELF-RC
mission. Practically all the 70+ invited participants in the seminar
showed that they counted among the leadership of future Eritrea in its
short transitional phase from dictatorship to democratic governance.
Among them were former top executive officers in the ELF/PLF/EPLF divide
of the era of the liberation struggle. Candid exchange of mistakes
committed during the past 60 years including the epoch of the liberation
struggle and what measures could be taken to avert their repetition was
one highlight in the discussions over three agenda items: the current
situation in Eritrea, the role of the opposition and visions for future
system of governance in Eritrea. Discussants also took the opportunity
of expressing their views on the strengths and weaknesses of the new
charter for the opposition organizations.
Hot issues of abuse of human rights, instances
of uneven discrimination of the regime at linguistic, cultural, economic
and political participation of the people that has become cause for
unwanted organization at sub-national levels were raised in great
length. The expropriation of land and the ongoing worrisome policies of
demographic change on the ground were among the issues repeatedly
hammered upon. At this point, the ELF-RC took the opportunity to explain
its firm position since 1995 on the illegal expropriation of land by
the regime and ELF-RC’s latest warning to all Eritreans to be aware of
the consequences of their illegal purchase of land from the illegal
regime.
At the end of seminar discussions that lasted
for over five hours, and extended expressions of live opinions over a
working dinner party the next day, the participants issued a statement
entitled Call from Melbourne urging all Eritreans to rally behind the
umbrella of for the opposition. Some of the major conclusions of the
seminar included the following points:
-
The regime in Eritrea has no legitimacy to
stay in power and that it is a criminal dictatorship that has broken
all the promises of the liberation struggle. There is no choice but to
remove this regime.
-
The new EDA deserve support of all Eritreans
except that this umbrella organization still needs to improve its
content and image to receive the trust and support of all Eritreans.
-
The alternative now is to establish a
democratic state that abides by the rule of law and that treats all
Eritreans equally and justly.
-
This ELF-RC leadership mission to Australia was
the fourth visit of its kind in recent years by leadership figures in
the opposition:- Abdalla Idris of ELF, Sagem’s Tewolde Ghebreselasse and
EDP’s Mesfin Hagos.
|
