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6th National
Congress of ELF-RC:
Light at the End of the Tunnel
By
ELF-RC Office for Information and Culture
A congress is an event inseparable
from the internal dynamics that make up the organization holding it. A
congress can only be a mirror image of ongoing processes within an
organization. As the general saying goes, a farmer cannot expect to
harvest what he did not sow. In a similar way, an organization cannot
reap surprise victories from a congress unless it has done the
appropriate homework for a deserved success. And when we say we see
light at the end of the tunnel for our national cause as we in the
ELF-RC prepares for our 6th National Congress, we mean we heartily lay
our trust for success on the sound democratic relations, well-developed
thoughts and ideas that have been growing in our organization over the
years.
The kind of self-confident trust for
success that we are talking about can only be a hard-won recompense, and
not something that pops up by sheer accident. It is an outcome of a
hard-won harmony and interaction of ideas and consist actions. In other
words, one cannot have self-confidence and strong belief in the
inevitable triumph of one’s performances if one is known for saying
something and doing other things – e.g. talking about unity, democracy
and the rule of law that one does not practice. The unity in thought and
confidence in one’s action now prevailing in us had been cultivated
through devotion to principles, established laws and democratic
structures that were guaranteed by hard work to weather heavy storms.
The democratic platform that ELF-RC
has laid for itself has been the source of guidance and correct vision
in the day-to-day life of its total membership. The organizational life
and structural inter-relationship among our membership thus functions
smoothly based on democratic practices. This sound relationship will
for certain be reflected in the upcoming 6th National
Congress of the ELF-RC that will in turn prove to be the most advanced
congress ever held by this organization.
Let us, for instance, look back to
the first congress of the ELF in 1971 to see how difficult the situation
was. The organization was bedeviled by internal squabbles to the extent
of not being able to distinguish between a friend and a foe. It lacked
clear line and vision, and the people were subjected to very low
political awareness. On top of that, basic democratic structures were
lacking while the militarist mind-set was overwhelming. Yet, with all
recognizable shortcomings in it, that first congress also scored
democratic high points (see documents of the first congress in a recent
Nharnet.com posting.)
The subsequent congresses of the
organization during the past decades continued to register further
advances in organizational structures and in building the path to
democratic life within the organization. Yet, each of the previous
congresses had its share of limited shortcomings. Those shortcomings
were reflections of some lingering weak points in the organization that
had to burst out at the congresses.
Although the forthcoming 6th
Congress is a continuation of those held before it, the general thought
is that it will by all accounts prevail over them all with exceptional
excellence partly because of the rich lessons learned from the long
past. In the 6th Congress, there shall be warm debates about
the future shape of the ELF-RC as organization. There shall be hot
deliberations on the governance and destiny of our nation without petty
politicking over non-issues. And many more.
Political convictions and merit shall
be the sole criteria in electing people to leadership positions in the
ELF-RC. Therefore, while making efforts to reflect the social mosaic in
Eritrea, the primary yardstick in ELF-RC elections shall remain to be
meritocracy.
One of the top-most resolutions
expected from the 6th Congress could revolve around the
issue of unity of national democrats in Eritrea. The age-old dream and
hope of ELF democrats of all times was not to build a narrow groupie
possessed by a self-centered clique. The ELF-RC has been paying heavy
sacrifices in order to stand firm and steady with its national
democratic principles so that it could at the end become a safe ground
for a broad get-together for Eritrean national democrats.
Today, it appears that the time has
come for us all to realize this long unfulfilled dream. On its part, the
ELF-RC has done its homework in building adequate capacities for itself
and is envisioning for achieving, together with others, loftier
objectives for the nation at large. The modest preparedness of this
organization thus guarantees to make its 6th National
Congress in July 2006 a glimmer of light at the end of a long dark
tunnel in Eritrean politics. This will be done by empowering national
democrats and by calling for the Democratic Unity of our people in a
free and just society.
We Shall Prevail.
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