TO THE POINT

Vision, Values and Courage, Necessary Ingredients in Political Leadership

Actions Taken by the Chairman of ELF-RC

Facts and Fiction

The Nharnet Team

A Short Note to ELF-RC Members and Supporters

The Nharnet Team

ELF-RC Leadership

The Nharnet Team:

The First Anniversary of Nharnet.com

The Nharnet Team

Changing Times - Changing Roles 

The Nharnet Team: 01-05-03

Isayas’s PFDJ resorts to its “Wahyo” days' strategy on 

The Nharnet Team

“Zekeruna Ab Guday Hager”

A Response To A Question From Our Youth in Asmara

The Nharnet Team

What Is the Positive Side of PFDJ?  Isn’t your main motive revenge against the EPLF?  

The Nharnet Team

kòq-ÃöIÊq o.H.„í.[.l.

 ]DM}p§ …mk …ªï] …kl'D÷?

The Nharnet Team

=============

The Nharnet Team

Why ELF-RC Office in Addis?  

Making Sound Strategic Solutions

Many crucial stages had come and gone in the history of Eritrean struggle for independence.  It is a matter of only yesterday’s short memory that those stages were not handled with the wisdom, determination and care that they deserved. The failure to handle those stages with the deserved attention resulted in complicating our path to independence and as a consequence out struggle took 30 years to achieve its initial goal - independence.  Soon after independence, it became clear that Isayas was leading the country down the hill.  Again another setback: the forces opposed to his exclusionist policies failed to properly diagnose the twisting and spiraling path and map out a winning strategy.  As a result, PFDJ was left to exploit the masses by empty slogans.  Since then, the opposition scenario has been filled with announcements mostly of organizational multiplication and fragmentation.

It will shortly be 14 years since independence alone.  A child born in 1991 is not allowed to be issued a passport in Eritrea right now.  He or she has to go to the military camps of PFDJ to be used in wars against neighbors or against the opposition.  The camps are also early brainwashing fields for the PFDJ political propaganda.  During the time in which a child was born to the time about he or she is to be trained to carry a gun against the opposition, the opposition has not been able to dismantle the dictatorship despite the established fact that most people rejected it fully.  That is due to crucial stages not being handled with the wisdom and care they deserve for our people to be liberated.

Now, another crucial moment is up on us again.  Again, we are faced with familiar and old questions such as the following.  Are we going to handle it with the care and wisdom that will put us on the road to victory?  Are we going to kill the spirit of the liberation of our people by demanding narrow organizational programs to be included in the charter?  Are we going to embark on broad democratic principles in which our people’s cultural, religious rights and equality are guaranteed?  Are we going to see the tyranny in Asmara for what it is or wrongly see it as a representative of a particular, region, religion, or ethnicity?  Are we going to continue to disengage our people by adopting programs that are not supported by majority of the Eritrean people?  Are we going to rise to the occasion by adopting broad democratic goals that will unite the organizations, civic associations, and our entire people? …you get the point.

As we in the Nharnet website look at it, the answers to these and other similar questions will tell whether the opposition will rise above all frays by adopting decisive working plans that will change the course of our people’s faith.  It will tell if some will demand the narrow organizational maximum programs and paralyze EDA or make it ineffective at best.  It will also tell if we can adopt a structure that can effectively engage all bases of all the organizations.  It will also tell if we can assign positions for the sake of efficacy and performing a task or let someone hang up on organizational equality and we will let plans remain just that- plans.  

We are hopeful that the united front being forged within this month will take the suggestions put forward to heart and show a real change in operational structure, plan and methodology that will engage the masses and give our people a ray of hope.

We have been observing recent unhealthy exchanges on the internet.  It is sad and alarming that some old divisive terminologies and accusations are being used.   Labeling blames according to religious, regional, and ethnic lines plays right into the hands of PFDJ.  It is needless to state the obvious that dictators and tyrannies use divide and rule as their lifeblood.  We need to do every thing we can to deny PFDJ cronies that lifeblood.  By now, everyone needs to understand an ethnic group cannot be blamed for what the colonial powers were doing by using a certain segment of our population against the rest the same way we cannot blame a whole ethnic-religious section of our people for similar acts by leaders of the armed struggle in the first decade after its launch.  The bottom line of the matter is that it does not help us to resolve current issues and differences except widen them and by that elongate PFDJ’s grip of power.  We rather show that we have learned from those mistakes and rise to the occasion and make it abundantly clear to our people that we will not repeat them.  Putting ideas, suggestions and arguments and counter suggestions and arguments is one thing; inflammatory exchanges, condemnations and counter inflammation and condemnation is quite another in a very divisive and sensitive matter that does not help the opposition and by that our people.

As we have indicated in so many occasions, PFDJ may pretend that it represents a segment of our population and give it a regional, ethnic or religious appearance.  All one has to do is just take the blanket under which its propaganda is hidden and it does not take any effort to see that it is a naked dictatorship that does not care about or represent any segment of our people.  The system with all its tentacles is designed to oppress the people regardless of their socio-ethnic composition.  The system cannot be good whether it is led by Alamin or Isayas.  It just has to be rooted out and replaced.

If the opposition is going to have any realistic shot at changing the system and replace it with a democratic one, there are a number of strategic elements that it needs to adopt in its operational strategic plan:

1.     Embrace a general democratic plan such as the one stated on the statement issued by the 16 organizations.

2.     Avoid adopting maximum programs of some organizations that would create friction among the EDA members and our people in general. Choose the minimum program that all can agree on.

3.     We need to understand it is only when a democratic system is established that religious, ethnic and cultural rights can be claimed and that is when a real success of equality can be ensured.

4.      The only goal should be to agree on establishing a democratic system of governance, and the rest will be taken care of by a democratic constitution ratified by our people free from undue influence.  That is when what ever inequality and injustice that PFDJ is exerting on our people and nation can be eliminated for good and true equality be embraced and enjoyed.  Let’s not put the cart before the horse. 

5.       Create a viable effective EDA by adopting the suggestions put forward by our organization.

6.     Stay away from policies and stands that PFDJ can exploit and have unwavering stand on national and sovereignty matters.  In politics, perception has a very significant role.

In the end the only power that matters and can make lasting constitution is the people.  All organizations have political programs which they advocate for.  If the power will be transferred to the people, let us work on the minimum program to get to the point and let our people choose what is best for them.  We are confident that our people will choose to unite not divide; they will adopt equality not ethnic bickering; they will go for religious equality, respect and friendship as they have done so in the past.  The people know what is good for them.  They will know it when they see a program that leads to peace, equality, justice, dignity, and prosperity.  Organizations should not try to impose their programs on EDA if they are confident enough that they can win the people by their merits.  For now, it is rather better to work on common goals that we can reach by consensus and through a minimum program fully acceptable to every member of the new alliance.

Thanks For Reading

The Nharnet Team on “To The Point”

Contact us at::  webmaster@nharnet.com