TO THE POINT  

Why ELF-RC Office in Addis?

Dear Readers: You may recall the start we made last week in answering in detail a few questions posed by sincere readers looking for honest information so that they can judge for themselves. The key questions were four. To The Point will attempt to answer the second question today, which is:

“Why did the ELF-RC run offices in Ethiopia while the Woyane were at war with Eritrea?   Were you aiming to take political power with the help of the Woyane”?

In the outset, some crucial points need to be understood in answering this question: the ELF has existed and operated in Addis Ababa and other cities of Ethiopia covertly and overtly since its establishment, which means since the inception of the Eritrean armed struggle for national independence. The ELF-RC is only a continuum of the mainstream ELF, and, therefore, it has continued to operate from there and never left Ethiopia at any time in the past 41 years of its existence.

 The PFDJ leadership members know this fact very well because a number of them joined the armed struggle from Addis Ababa. The ELF-RC opens offices in locations where there are a good number of Eritreans. At least until 1998, Ethiopia hosted well over 250,000 Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin. That is why the ELF always coveted to be present in Ethiopia hidden among the Eritreans. When the Dergue was replaced by the EPRDF in 1991, the ELF-RC wished to have offices in Ethiopia, and was granted that permission. It opened more than one office in that country. However, when the PFDJ discovered that we were winning the hearts and minds of many Eritreans inside Ethiopia, it conspired to have those offices closed and the ELF-RC cadres sent to Asmara. In April 1994, 26 senior cadres of the ELF-RC were detained in Addis but the EPFRD government refused to send them to Asmara. Instead, they were eventually deported to third countries as political refugees.

The remaining cadres and supporters were forced to work in clandestine.  So ELF-RC never left Ethiopia even under these stringent measures taken against it. 

By the way, are we going to shy away of all the neighboring countries for fear of PFDJ propaganda?  And if the faulty regime severs relations with the Sudan, Djibouti, Yemen and Ethiopia, are we in the opposition expected to shut down our activities in those countries and follow what the regime has done?

It must be understood that when the relationship between PFDJ and the Ethiopian government went sour in 1997-98, contacts were started and an environment was created where ELF-RC can work openly among Eritreans in Ethiopia.  That is what it did. In modest terms, it is important to state that our policy of peaceful and cooperative coexistence with our neighbors was and is sound and time will show to all Eritreans that it was right and constructive.

When the war broke out, the first issue ELF-RC raised was to unequivocally state its strong conviction that Badme belonged Eritrea, that border conflicts must be resolved peacefully, and that ELF-RC’s presence in Addis Ababa will in no way affect its independent decision and viewpoints. The organization stated that it was wrong to deport, jail and take other inhumane actions against civilians in both countries. ELF-RC leadership told the Ethiopian authorities that it was Ethiopian government itself that forced many Eritreans to become PFDJ  members by closing offices of the ELF-RC in 1994.  Ibrahim Mohammad Ali, the then Chairman of ELF-RC, at that time stated that it was not justifiable to accuse the Eritreans who live in Ethiopia of being PFDJ collaborators. They should take legal judicial actions should they have proof of espionage or sabotage by individuals.  During that hard times, the ELF-RC issued ID cards to thousands of Eritreans, including former EPLF members who had the need to be  protected from deportation. 

On the question of ELF-RC stand during the war, we invite our readers to see the statement of ELF-RC in 1998 on our political statement page (click here for the link) to clearly understand what the official position was.  Some especially those who see things through the EPLF/PFDJ mentality may be skeptical.  But, for ELF-RC, there are principles that are not subject to compromise no matter what.

National sovereignty and non-interference by foreign forces especially in power exchange between parties and organization are two of them.  Besides, at that point, ELF-RC, thanks to its experienced leadership, and the conviction and commitment of its members and supporters, it had proven that it could survive and continue its struggle for democracy despite of PFDJ’s conspiracies with some leaders of neighboring countries like the Sudan and Ethiopia.

Therefore, the worst that could have happened at that time was to work in clandestine again in Ethiopia.  For a principled organization like ELF-RC, that is worth the risk.  Besides, ELF-RC aspires to bring about long-lasting change that empowers the people.  The goal has never been to grab power by the help of any one or with the help of any one except our people.  That power can only be ascertained through genuine constitutional democracy in which the only way ELF-RC can assume authority is through the blessing of its people by winning a majority vote in an open and fair competition. 

In a word, and unlike PFDJ,  the ELF-RC did not at any time compromise its principles for temporary political gains as explained above.  Our people are well aware of PFDJ’s unpredictability and its tendency in changing its “policies” (if it had any) whenever it sees a short-term political gain regardless of the long-tem consequences on the people.  That is what has put our country into the present predicament. Doing so may seem to some as clever and may give PFDJ temporary edge, but it is a strategic disaster and has led our country to chaos.   The end result is what we have in our country – a disaster.

Despite all the facts outlined above, lately, some individuals in different disguises and activities tried to make an issue of the fact that the Alliance is conducting its annual regular meeting in Addis Ababa.  Thanks to truly independent and courageous Eritreans, it has been discredited and  its shallowness exposed and so we do not need to say any more.  As far as the ELF-RC is concerned, our people are expecting basic change in the system of governance.  They want a government from the people by the people to the people.  Nharnet has not received a single complaint from any reader about the meeting in Addis Ababa.  If certain quarters want to be kept hostages of the PFDJ propaganda, then, that is their business.  It is better if they do not talk in the name of the people as those remarks are coming from a very narrow corner by groups who want to take us back to the "Wahyo Time".  They should know our people are fed up and have a very stead fast stand against  "wahyoism".  What is expected by our people is openness, transparency,  and accountability.  The "Wahyo" way of doing things may have brought them to power in the past but our people have realized that it only brought them misery, hunger and destruction.

The Nharnet Team