On Saturday, 8 July 2017, Menghesteab Asmerom, Chairman of the Eritrean People's Democratic Party (EPDP) held a well-attended public meeting in Seattle, Washington State, at which the currently fragmented situation of the Eritrean opposition camp was hotly and widely debated.

At opening the meeting, Mr. Zemehret Seare, member of the EPDP Seattle branch and the party's Foreign Office Committee Coordinator in North America warmly welcomed  meeting participants and made an interesting presentation supported by power-point display on latest major EPDP activities in the diplomatic sphere. 

 Mr. Menghesteab Asmerom then took the podium to make his wide-ranging remarks that focused on the 4 June 2017 proposal of his party calling upon sister organizations and movements for dialogue aiming to create a working formula for joint work. His talking points were the ones he used at public meetings in the Bay Area, in San Diego and in Chicago.

Following his summary presentation of EPDP's proposal for joint work (for ease of reference, see full text below), the meeting participants voiced timely concerns regarding the delay to remove the evil regime in Asmara and hoped the current proposal for joint work in the spheres of information, public mobilization and diplomacy will see the light of the day.  

Harnnet.org visitors will soon obtain the video recording on the Seattle meeting. Readers are also encouraged to read the full text of the proposal printed below - good reading.***

EPDP Proposal for Joint Work  of the Eritrean Opposition Camp:

In the past 26 years of Eritrea's independent existence, our people have faced multiple harmful challenges threatening the very existence of the nation. It is indisputable that the primary culprit and source of Eritrea's tribulations has been the autocratic PFDJ regime, misnamed the 'People's Front for Democracy and Justice'. However, putting all the blame on the regime does not help in making a national soul-searching and addressing one's own shortcomings in a proper manner. It is time to admit that the failure of the Eritrean opposition camp to play an effective role contributed in the suffering and displacement of the Eritrean people; the opposition camp - the camp of change and justice seekers - so far did very little to shorten the days of absolute  dictatorship in the country.

Nevertheless, one of the positive aspects not to be sidelined is the fact that the opposition camp was able to continue making efforts, albeit limited, in confronting the multiple abuses of the repressive PFDJ regime. The efforts exerted to resolve existing problems and, in particular, the attempts made towards creating coalitions and mergers were equally positive. In our past attempts to create alliances and strengthen the opposition camp, we did reach common understanding on a number of fundamental principles that bind us all. As such, the four principles listed below appear in various documents of the Eritrean camp of change seekers. Those points of common understanding can be taken now as  the basic principles for the joint work proposal being initiated for further deliberations. They are:

1. Protecting Eritrea's territorial sovereignty;
2. Removing the autocratic  PFDJ regime with its organs of repression;
3. Installing a democratic multiparty system of participatory governance;
4. Submitting to rule of law and guaranteeing basic liberties and democratic rights.

As noted, although our past experiences had some positive aspects, yet we could not create an inclusive national body or umbrella. A new start will require our commitment to never let our existing organizations or alignments to hinder the creation of a working relationship for  more effective common action.

The urgency of the present situation obliges us to come out of our boxes. In simple terms, it is time to create a body/umbrella coalescing all forces currently in or outside existing alliances. Only to stress the evident truth, we are called upon to use learned lessons of the past and build a more effective body able to challenge the  abusive  regime in Eritrea.

The alignments we created and tried to work with were, till the present time, adversely affected by a spirit of controversy and rivalry.  This is because we created an unsustainable  situation  in which priorities were not put in order.  

For now, our most immediate task should be the removal of the autocratic regime. In past, instead of concentrating all efforts on this task, we put ourselves in a vicious circle by mixing up short-term objective with long-term objectives that cannot be attained now. And no wonder that, in a situation of controversy and with un-prioritized objectives, the  structures we worked out and the programmes we adopted could not be implemented. If we continue on that path, we will only guarantee long life for the autocratic regime and fail to address the problems of our people.

Therefore, the Eritrean People's Democratic Party (EPDP) finds it timely to call upon all fraternal forces and fellow citizens opposed to the PFDJ regime to join us in trying to come out of the old vicious circle we are in and jointly start a new path that can lead to victory of the people's cause. Based on the understanding that unjustifiable controversies and  mixing up of priorities can lead us nowhere, the EPDP is now presenting this proposal for joint work that should include all concerned, and pledges to do its utmost to promote the agreed upon tasks. 

Needless to say, the primary agenda for the proposed common body or umbrella is the removal of the autocratic regime. All forces coalescing for this agenda shall be expected to do what they can to carry on the new joint body. The measure and weight of each member in the common umbrella shall be its degree of contribution in implementing the joint  tasks.

The existing alliances and parties shall be the building blocks  of the common umbrella  and shall in no way hinder the proper functioning of joint tasks. Therefore, this is a call for starting a serious dialogue among all fraternal forces, a process that should lead to  timely  formation of an effective body  embracing all stakeholders in the struggle.

The common umbrella or body to be formed shall primarily aspire to achieve the following three major tasks:

1. A Joint Foreign Delegation

Our individual efforts in the diplomatic sphere have not been effective. All parties  (governments, organizations, parties) we individually approach have been advising us to meet them as one Eritrean delegation. There is no doubt that a joint/representative Eritrean delegation will make our diplomatic work more effective. Existing Eritrean organizations or parties shall not be obliged to end their ongoing relations in this sphere. But they are  expected to strengthen the work of the joint Eritrean opposition delegation. Although details can be worked out in due course of time, the delegation can consist of members from the Eritrean organizations as well as expert diplomats from outside those member organizations. The joint delegation will be able to represent the Eritrean opposition camp at international conferences and speak/write on its behalf in addition to seeking all-round assistance (political, moral and material) for the umbrella. While working under the umbrella leadership, the foreign delegation can be empowered to take various initiatives as it sees them appropriate.

2. A Common Media Centre

Having a centralized information organ representing the opposition camp is an urgent necessity in light of the fact that our fragmented media outlets are not accomplishing the intended objective. The central information organ, which shall not hinder the member organization from continuing to run their own media outlets, can be staffed by members and media experts from outside the working common umbrella.

 3.  an Organ for Mass Mobilization

This organ shall endeavour to mobilize the people around the opposition camp by reviving the central task of political organizations in educating and organizing participants in the struggle for change. We must acknowledge the fact that mobilization efforts have been initiated at grassroots level in several places by Eritrean activists. However, these commendable initiatives could not be spared from the Eritrean malaise of controversy and negative rivalry. We in the opposition (camp of change and justice seekers) continually resort to unnecessary contention and squabbles instead of cooperating to promote the same national objective. It is appropriate to make self-criticism on this negative attitude, while at the same time bestowing high gratitude and admiration upon those compatriots who are taking initiatives at organizing justice seekers around local councils (baitos) at district and city levels. These efforts must be encouraged at all places around the globe. Eventually, people organized at grassroots level could join their efforts with political and civic organizations and help in drawing clear action plans in removing the repressive regime. The central organ for mass mobilization can be composed by representatives of political organizations and work under the common umbrella. However, it can also closely work in cooperation with the local popular councils/baitos all over the world.

The proposed national umbrella can start with the above listed three objectives but gradually expand its work activities, as needed. Only to reiterate, the EPDP hereby commits itself to start immediate dialogue and work with any Eritrean body accepting this proposal towards forming a joint body/umbrella for joint action.  No Alternative to Joint Action to Remove the Autocratic Regime!!

ኣብ ኤርትራ ንሓደስቲ ምዕባሌታት ዝምልከት ብመንግስቲ ዝድረስ ኣገደስቲ ፖሊስታት ምስ እንምልከት፡ ኤርትራ ሃገር ዘይኮነት ናይ ሓደ ሰብ ድኳን`ያ ክትብላ ብኹሉ መለክዒታት ርትዓዊ እዩ። ኣብ ዲሞክራስያውያን ስርዓታት መራሕቲ ወከልቲ ህዝቢ ብምዃኖም፡ ዝወስድዎ ውሳኔ ይኹን ሓድሽ ፖሊሲ ንግዙፍ ክፋል ህዝባዊ ድልየት ዘንጸባርቕ ክኸውን ኣለዎ። መስፈሪ ፖሊሲታት ምልካውያን ስርዓታት ግን ብኣንጻሩ፡ ረብሓ ናይቶም ኣብ ስልጣን ዝርከቡ ውሑዳን ወይ ውን ቀጻልነት ናይቲ ስርዓት ምርግጋጽ እዩ። ስለዝኾነ ከኣ፡ ምቕራጽ ፖሊሲታት ኣብ ምልካውያን ስርዓታት፡ ውረድ-ደይብ ዘይብሉ ልሙጽ መስርሕ እዩ። ኣብ ወተሃደራዊ ምልካዊ ስርዓት ከምኡ ውን ሓደ ሰልፋዊ ስርዓታት፡ እቲ ወተሃደራዊ ትካል ኣብቲ ቐዳማይ፡ እቲ ሰልፊ ኸኣ ኣብቲ ካልኣይ ኣብቲ መስርሕ ክሳተፍ ስለዝኽእል እቲ ፖሊሲታት ብተዛማዲ ስፍሕ ዝበለ ተሳትፎ ክህልዎ ይኽእል። ኣብ ውልቃዊ ምልካዊ-ስርዓት (personalist dictatorship) ከም ስርዓት ኢሰያስ ግን፡ ሃገራዊ ፖሊሲ ሓደ ሰብ ዝደራሲኡ መጽሓፍ`ዩ።

ኣብ መንጎ ሃገራት ዝግበር ዝምድናታት ምስ እንዕዘብ፡ ኣብተን ረብሓ-ህዝቢ ማእከል ዝገብራ ዲሞክራስያውያን ሃገራት፡ ቀልጢፍካ ዝድምናታት ምብታኽን ወይ ውን ኣብ መንጎ ዝተገራጨዉቲ ወገናት ቀልጢፍካ ምስ ሓደ ምውጋን ልሙድ ነገር ኣይኮነን። ኣብዚ ቐረባ እዋን ኣብ መንጎ ሃገራት ዓረብ ድሕሪ ዘጋጠመ ዲምፕሎማስያዊ ምስሕሓብ፡ ገለ ሃገራት ነቶም ወገናት ነቲ ሽግር ብልዝብ ክፈትሕዎ ክላበዋ እንከለዋ፡ ካልኦት ሃገራት ግን ወገን ክወስዳን ንሓደ ክዂናን እየን ተራእየን። መንግስቲ ኤርትራ ውን ህቦብላ ናይቲ ቅልውላው ኣጸቢቑ ከይዓረፈ እንከሎ፡ ምስ ስዑድያ ምውጋኑ`ዩ ገሊጹ። መንግስቲ ቐጠር ምስ መንግስቲ ኤርትራ ዝነበሮ ዘምድና ኣዝዩ ጥቡቕ እዩ ኔሩ። ተደጋጋሚ ዑደት ኢሳያስ ናብ ቐጠር ብስራሕ ይኹን ብሕክምና፡ ቐጠር መንጎኛ ናይቲ ምስ ጅቡቲ ዘጋጠመ ሽግር ክትከውን ምቕባልን ካልእን ገለ ካብቶም ምልክታት ጥቡቕ ዝምድናታት ክልቲአን ሃገራት እዩ ኔሩ። ቅድሚ 2015፡ ኤርትራ ምስ ኢራን ኣዝያ ጥቡቕ ዝምድናታት መስሪታ ብምንባራ ዝድምናታት ኤርትራን ስዑድያን ዝሕቱል እዩ ኔሩ። ስዑዲ ጥቡቕ ዝምድናታት ስርዓት ኢሰያስ ምስ ኢራን ኣይተዋሕጠላን ጥራይ ዘይኮነስ፡ ኤርትራ ንተቓወምቲ ሑቲ ናይ የመን ትድግፍ ውን ኢላ ወቒሳ ኔራ እያ። ኤርትራ ሑቲ ምድጋፍ ደው ከተብሎ፡ ኢራን ነቶም እትድግፎም ናይ ሑቲ ተቓለስቲ ንምድጋፍ ንኤርትራ ከም ባይታ ከይትጥቀመላን ካብ ዝብል እምበኣር፡ ስዑዲ-ዓረብ ዝርርብ ምስ መንግስቲ ኤርትራ ግድነት ኮና።

 ኢሳያስ ናብ ስዑዲ ከይዱ ምስ ንጉስ ሰልማን ክራኸብ  እንከሎ ብማዕከናት ዜና ተኸታቲልናዮ። ነዊሕ ከይጸንሐ ከኣ፡ እቲ ንሑቲ ይድገፍ ኣሎ ተባሂሉ ዝውቀስ ዝነበረ መንግስቲ  ኤርትራ፡  መሬቱ ናብ መደበር ናይቲ ብስዑድያ ዝምራሕ ልፍንቲ ኣንጻር ሑቲ ቀየሮ ጥራይ ዘይኮነስ፡ ኣንጻር ሑቲ ሰራዊት ሰዲዱ ተባሂሉ ክሕመ ውን ሰሚዕና። ኢሳይያስ  ኢራንን ሑትን ኣፋንዩ ምስ ስዑድያን ኢማራትን ተላፈነ። ዝተፈላለዩ ጸብጻባት ከም ሕብርዎ፡ እዘን ሃገራት ኣብ ገማግም ባሕሪ ኤርትራ መደበራት ክሰርሓን፡ ነቲ ስርዓት ከኣ ብገንዘብ፡ ነዳድን ካልእ ናይ ህንጸትን ወፍርን መብጽዓታት ኣትየናሉ ይርከባ። ስዑድያን ኢማራትን፡ ዝለመሰ የእጋር ናይቲ ስርዓት ከሕውያ ዝኽእላ’ኳ እንተዘይኮና፡ ካብቲ ኣትይዎ ዘሎ መዓሙቕ ተነጽሎ ናብ ቁሩብ ንፋስ ዘለዎ ቦታ ክወጽእ ግን ምርኩስ ኮይነንኦ እየን ማለት ኣይኮነን። መንግስቲ ኤርትራ ምስ ስዑዲ ወጊኑ፡ ንቐጠር ክጓኒ ምውሳኑ፡ እዘን ሃገራት ተኺለናሉ ዘለዋ ኢንፍጅን ማዕረ ክንደይ ንቐጻልነቱ (ንግዚኡ ይኹን) ኣገዳሲ ምዃኑ ዘመላኽት እዩ።

ሃገራት ማእከላይ ምብራቕ፡ ንዞባ ቀርኒ-ኣፍሪቃ ከም ምጡጥ ጂኦግራፊካዊ  ኣካለን እየን ዝእየኦ። ኣብቲ ዞባ ዘጋጥም ነገር ክጸልወን ስለ ዝኽእል፡ እቲ ዞባ ሰላም ሰፊንዎ ክርእያ ድልየተን እዩ። እቲ ቐንዲ ዓንዲ-ሕቆ ቑጠብአን ዝኾነ ነዳዲአን በዚ ዞባ እዩ ዝሓልፍ። ኣብቲ ዞባ ዝገብርኦ ምትእትታው ሓድሽ ነገር ኣይኮነን። ኣብ ማእከላይ ምብራቕ ነዳዲ ተረኺቡ ናብ ዕዳጋታት ዓለም ክሽየጥ ድሕሪ ምጅማሩ ኣገዳስነት ቀርኒ-ኣፍሪቓ ነዘን ሃገራት ክብደት ወሲኹ እዩ። በብወገነን እምበኣር፡ ብፍላይ እተን ዓበይቲ ሸየጥቲ ነዳዲ ዝኾና ሃገራት ማእከላይ ምብራቕ ከም ስዑዲ-ዓረብ፡ ነቶም ኣብ ቀርኒ-ኣፍሪቃ ዝርከቡ ሓይልታት ወይ ሃገራት ገንዘባዊ ድጋፍን ኣጽዋርን እንዳሃባ ጽልውአን ክዕርፋ ይፍትና ኔረንን ኣለዋን። እቲ ኣብ ስግር ናይዚ ዞባ ኣብ እትርከብ ሃገረ የመን ዝኸይድ ዘሎ ቅልውላው፡ነቲ ዛሕቲሉ ዝነበረ ርክብ ናይዘን ሃገራት ኣብቲ ዞባ ኣነጣጥፊዎ እዩ። ስዑድያ ኣብታ መዳውብታ ዝኾነት ቀይሕ-ባሕራዊት ሃገረ የመን ንታሪኻዊ መጻልእታ ዝመስል ሺዓ ዝእምነቱ ብኢራን ዝድገፍ መንግስቲ ክትከል፡ ብፍጹም እትጻወሮ ነገር ኣይኮነን።

እዚ ዘባህርር ሲናርዮ ከይገሃድ እምበኣር፡ ስዑድያ ኩሉ የእማን ክትፍንቅል ግድነት እዩ። ኤርትራ ተቋዳሲት ጸጋታት ስዑዲ-ዓረብን ኢማራትን ክትከውን ዝገበራ ጅኦግራፊካዊ ቅርበታ ናብ የመን እዩ። ሑቲ ተሳዒሮም ኣብ የመን ብሱና ዝምራሕ መሓዛ ስዑዲ-ዓረብ ዝኾነ መንግስቲ ድሕሪ ምምስራቱ ግን ኣገዳስነት ኤርትራ ከምዚ ሕጂ ዘለዎ ኣይክኸውንን እዩ። ልክዕ እዘን ሃገራት ብቐይሕ ባሕሪ ዝመላለሳ ናይ ንግዲ መራኽበን ካብ ሸፋቱ ባሕሪ ንምሕላው ኣብቲ ከባቢ ወተሃደራዊ መደበር የድልየን እኳ እንተኾነ፡ እቲ መደበር ኣብ ሶማል ወይ ውን ጅቡቲ ክገብረኦ ይኽእላ እየን። ተገላባጢ መርገጺ መንግስቲ ኤርትራ’ውን ንኤርትራ ንኸይመርጽኣ ክገብር ይኽእል እዩ። ኩነታት ሶማል ተረጋጊኡ፡ ሽፍትነት-ባሕሪ ኣብ ትሕቲ ቁጽጽር ክኣቱ ወይ ውን እዘን ሃገራት መራኽበን ብኻልኦት ኣብቲ ዞባ ዘለዉ ወተሃደራዊ መደበራት ክሕለዋ ምግባር ውን ካልእ ኣማራጺ እዩ።

ረብሓ ውሑዳት ዝማእከሉ መንግስቲ ክሳብ ዝሃለወ፡ ስርዓት ኢሳያስ ዕድመ ስልጣኑ ንምንዋሕ፡ ንኤርትራ ሎሚ ብኢራን፡ ጽባሕ ብቐጠር ድሕሪኡ ስዑዲ፡ ብድሕሪኡ ውን ብኻልእ ዘርከበ ዘርብሕ ወገን እትሕረስ ግራት-ፈረቓ ክገብራ ባህርያዊ እዩ። ኣብቲ ዞባ ሰላምን ርግኣትን እንተዝሰፍን ግን፡ ነቲ ብተነጽሎ ዝሳቐ ዘሎ ስርዓት ኢሰያስ መገላበጢ ባይታ ኸሊኡ፡ ንፍታሓዊት ኤርትራ ዝግበር ቃልሲ ውን ኣቃላጣፊ ባሩድ ምኾኖ ኔሩ።