Seminar of the

ENSF Branches in Europe

Delegates from all branches of the Eritrean National Salvation Front (ENSF) in Europe held a two-day seminar on April 28 and 29, 2007 in Frankfurt, Germany. Apart from Salvation Council members residing in Europe, the work of the seminar was given extra weight and motivation by the presence of the   ENSF Executive Body Chairman, Dr. Beyene Kidane, who was also joined by the Council Vice-Chairman, Dr. Habte Tesfamariam.

The agenda items before the seminar were:

1.       Planning to form an all-Europe zone.

2.       Drawing task program for this year’s Eritrea Festival at Kassel.

3.       Appraising the conditions inside Eritrea as well as the EDA crisis caused by the ominous conclusion of its 2^nd congress.

In regard to the all-Europe zone, the seminar resolved to hold a founding congress for the current three ENSF zones. To do the job, a preparatory committee, place and date have been named.

Moreover, the seminar has drafted a program for the 22^nd Eritrea Festival. This has been carefully crafted to make it better organized and more fruitful than ever before. The seminar has empowered the preparatory committee with necessary guidelines and recommendations to enable it to undertake the tasks entrusted to it. To do this, it has been given broad mandate to campaign among members everywhere, and particularly in Europe, and encourage them to make maximum efforts and all kinds of contributions. Moreover, the preparatory committee has been directed to render the Festival a true platform for educative and political debate open to all organizations, civic societies, Eritrean and non-Eritrean intellectuals as well as members of the media. More significantly, 22^nd Eritrea Festival is aspired to become an outlet for ideas and opinion from the public to resolve the crisis in the EDA.

The two-day seminar gave thorough attention to the general condition in country on the sideline of the current crisis within the EDA. The seminar underscored with sadness the harsh conditions under which our people are living due to the repressive policies and practices of the EPDJ regime. Consequently, therefore, the seminar re-emphasized the vitality and relevance of the banner: “salvation of the nation and people above everything else” by which our organization since long been guided.

From that perspective, therefore, the seminar discussed the outcome of the 2^nd EDA congress, and summed up that the EDA had failed to measure up to expectations of our people and the bases of the ENSF, and dealt a blow to their morale and will to fight. Taking due note of the myriad initiatives and efforts which our organization has made to resolve problems within the EDA though, the delegates were fully convinced that the split of the EDA into two blocs shall curtail the advancement of our struggle. Therefore, the delegates have forwarded recommended and appealed to the leadership of the Eritrean National Salvation Front to promptly open dialogue with all members of the EDA, and enhance its relations with them to bring about conditions for restoring to its proper place the unity of the opposition camp. Parallel to this the seminar has also called on the branches of our organization in various locations to keep on the efforts they have been making in coordination with their counterparts to help resolve the discord in the EDA. The seminar stressed that such efforts at the grassroots level would reinforce the efforts our leadership is expected to undertake.          

The delegates have ended their seminar in an atmosphere of unity and high for struggle.  

Frankfurt, 29-04-2007