RC & Its Spinning Bottle

"round and round it goes..."

On July 11, 2003, Mr. Ahmed Mohammed Naser and Dr. Beyene Kidane, both senior leaders of the Eritrean Liberation Front Revolutionary Council (ELF-RC) published a paper entitled “Where To, Now” where they accuse the chairman of their organization, Mr. Seyoum O/Michael, of political cronyism, of choosing power over safeguarding the unity of the organization and presenting ever-changing pretexts for not joining the Eritrean National Alliance, an umbrella group for the opposition. They conclude their piece by calling on the grassroots members to “organize themselves, to join the ENA and resume the struggle.”

On July 15, 2003, Mr. Seyoum O/Michael categorized their call as a “coup d’etat against the Executive Committee as well as the Revolutionary Council” and went on to respond that he couldn’t possibly be packing the organization with his people because the organizational rules about nominating candidates are transparent and the decisions collective; further, he stated that the forum to bring these issues to the fore is at the RC and executive committee sessions and that with their call for the grassroots to join the ENA, they have “called for the hour of judgment and you will get it.”

The leadership may be known to ELF-RC members but, to the public at large, they are mysterious. Where do the rest of the ELF-RC leadership stand with respect to the two camps? And, by the way, who are they? How many of them are there? If history is a guide, over the next weeks and months, readers will be subjected to claims, counterclaims, accusations and attempts by each group to establish itself as the true bona-fide continuation of the ELF-RC that existed prior to the issuance of “Where To, Now.”

The RC Spinning Bottle is our effort to provide our readers with a brief introduction to the “RC”, which is the legislative/executive arm of the ELF-RC, and their likely stands. Now with two wings, we would have identified them as ELF-RC 1 & 2 but we don’t want them to fight over who would be identified as RC1 - the number 1 being associated with Primo. We also think it would be a disservice to the grassroots to identify them as "Ganta Seyoum" and "Ganta Ahmed/Beyene" since the issues are bigger than the individuals. To avoid confusion, and until they choose a name for themselves, we will identify the two wings as RC Kassel and RC Frankfurt.

The RC has a total of 33 members + 3 who are supplementary, for a total of 36. Here’s our reading of how things stand… Like PFDJ’s “Musical Chair”, RC’s “Spinning Bottle” will be updated periodically as developments dictate.

	*Name (Alphabetical by first name)*	Profile
1	Abdella Hassen	Was a clandestine urban organizer in the sixties. Jailed during Haile Sellasie’s regime, he dug a tunnel and engineered a daring escape from Asmara main prison. Fled to field and became a well-known commander in the Eritrean Liberation Army (ELA) and is now strong supporter of joining and working with the alliance. He believes that the military arm of the ENA should be united. (The ELF-RC, unlike the other members of the Alliance, has no functioning army.) Supports joining the ENA. (Update: 8/11: elected head of military affairs in ELF-RC/Kessel Interim Leadership.)
2	Ahmed Mohammed Nasser	Has held the position of the highest office in the ELF and the ELF-RC from 1975 to 1981 on the strength of his ability to position himself as a moderate and a “compromise candidate.” This is one interpretation. Another interpretation is that the different power centres in the ELF—the Labor party, the military office, the political office--found in him a Muslim and a highlander and a likeable personality with long experience in combat. On the current crisis, he has offered to resign and called for election—but his opponents don’t believe he will do so. Ironically, the current ELF-RC environment may create yet another fractured organization with different power centres who may reach out to him as a “compromise candidate.” Ahmed is part of the crisis in the RC. Supports rejoining the ENA. (Update, 8/11: elected Head of Foreign Affairs in ELF-RC/Kessel's interim leadership.)
3	Amanuel Habte (Mengistu)	A graduate of the ELF cadre school. Former member of the ELA. Brigade political cadre. He resides in the United States and became a member of the RC leadership in August 2001 (the “Gonder meeting.”) Opposes rejoining the ENA.
4	Assefaw Berhe	A soft-spoken graduate of the ELF cadre school. An ex-political cadre of the ELA. Was jailed by PLF (“Sabbe Group”). When the EPLF attacked the PLF, he transferred to an EPLF prison. Was freed (the only senior cadre among many to be released from the EPLF prison) before the independence of Eritrea. Rejoined the ELF and went to become the ELF-RC representative in Addis Abeba before the TPLF, at the request of PFDJ, closed the office in 1995. Deported from Addis Abeba, he was resettled in Holland by the UNHCR. Elected to leadership position in the Gonder meeting. Opposes rejoining the ENA.
5	Berhane Kidane	Fluent speaker of Tigrgna, Tigre and Arabic, he was in the isolated archives department of the ELF. He is considered close to Ibrahim Mohammed Ali and, thus, a supporter of Seyoum Ogbamichael in the current power struggle. Oppose rejoining the ENA
6	Berhane Tesfagaber (* *)	Like Assefaw Berhe, he was deported by TPLF From Ethiopia and resettled by UNHCR in 1995. He lives in Denmark and he, too, was elected in the Gonder meeting. A strong supporter of the wing that is led by Seyoum Ogbamichael. Opposes rejoining the ENA.
7	Eyob Bissrat	A former student of Addis Ababa university. Close to Ahmed Nasser. Worked in the Cairo office, the Khartoum office and the Stockholm office. Though “hot-tempered”, he has a reputation for being hard working and passionate about unity. Supports rejoining the ENA. (Update, 8/11: elected Head of Information in ELF-RC/Kessel's new interim leadership.)
8	(Dr) Beyene Kidane	Co-author of the “Where To, Now” statement, Dr. Beyene was a student activist in the 1960s. Studied in the USA (Philadelphia). Was the head of the Veterinary Department in the ELF. Later, he was the editor of the ELF English paper ‘The Eritrean Newsletter’ (previously edited by Weldeyessus Ammar). Elected to the Executive Committee in the 3^rd Congress of the ELF-RC. Has strong administrative skills and enjoys a reputation for good intellect. He supports rejoining the ENA. (Update, 8/11: elected chair of ELF-RC/Kessel's Interim Leadership.)
9	Dini Ismail	Formerly ELF-RC representative to Sudan, Syria and Yemen, where he played a major role in administering the Yemen-Dahlak supply line. Supports rejoining the ENA.
10	Gerezgheir Tewelde	Like Seyoum Ogbamichael, Gerezghier Tewelde was serving a lengthy prison term in Sembel and was freed by the ELF Army in its 1975 raid. Was a teacher in the ELF cadre school. Highly regarded by ELF veterans, he was serving as ELF representative to Sweden and Germany when the ELF was pushed out of the field by joint EPLF/TPLF forces in 1982. After the civil war, he was the main link to the EPLF, leading the negotiation delegations and even attended EPLF’s Second Congress in 1987, when “Sagem” (Totil, Zemehret Yohannes, etc) joined the EPLF. After independence, he was a member of a team that was heading to Asmara to negotiate with the new Eritrean government—midway, in Sudan, the Eritrean government changed its mind and the negotiation was aborted. So far, his position in the current dispute is not clear but many see him as a candidate for the position of a chairman. He represents the ELF RC in Canada, where he lives. (Update: Gere Tewelde has penned an article in Tigirigna that is strongly critical of Ahmed Nasser, Dr. Beyene, Dr Sahle, etc.)
11	(Dr) Habte Tesfamariam	One of the founders of the Eritrean student union in Europe. Was elected to the Executive Committee in the Second Congress. Known for his animal rights advocacy when he pushed a bill in the RC to ban slaughtering turtles for food by the ELF forces. Lives in Abu Dhabi (possibly now moved to Germany.) A humble and reconciling personality but a tough politician. Has tried to reconcile the two wings of the RC in vain. Visited the Frankfurt festival to try to reconcile the two wings but returned disappointed. Headed a panel discussion in Kassel. Most likely supports rejoining the ENA.
12	Habtemariam Kifle	A former member of the ELA, he was elected to RC in the Gonder meeting. Was in charge of organizational affairs in the USA where he lives. Opposes rejoining the ENA.
13	Hassen Iman	Was a senior commander of the ELA. Long time head of the Kassala office. Regarded as diplomatic and a skilled communicator. Supports rejoining the ENA.
14	Ibrahim Mohammed Ali	Has been in a leadership position ever since he participated in the Preparatory Committee of the ELF for the first congress (1970). Was popular among the cadres of the ELF who widely regarded him as a “progressive ideologue”. In 2000, he was leading the Alliance and ELF-RC. In the Gonder session (8/2001) he lost power for the first time and was not elected to RC. Another elected member, Haile Gebru, is said to have been persuaded by Ibrahim’s allies to resign to give way so that Ibrahim could be a member of the RC. Blames his loss to Ahmed Nasser, who was elected chair in Gonder, as a conspiracy and an engineered “coup”. He is one of leaders of the wing led by Seyoum Ogbamichael. Opposes rejoining the ENA.
15	Idris Ismail	Is considered very close to Ibrahim Mohammed Ali who is bitter about the Gonder meeting. Has not made clear stand on the recent regarding the RC crisis.
16	Jeme’e Ahmed Bekhit	Very close to Ibrahim Mohammed Ali and very bitter about the “Gonder coup”. Was appointed by Seyoum to replace Osman Omer Shum, head of the ELF RC office in Addis Ababa. Opposes rejoining the ENA.
17	Khelifa Osman	Considered “clean and dedicated hard worker” but seen as a technocrat and a “company man.” Was member of the committee dispatched to reconcile the “grassroots” in Europe. Was trying hard to keep the unity of the organization. Now lying in hospital and has not aired his stand publicly. He has stated that if the organization splits, he will resign from politics and settle somewhere as a refugee. Likely to support rejoining the ENA.
18	Mehari Tesfamariam	Now in Holland, Mehari served with Ibrahim Mohammed Ali in the Social Affairs office and had a reputation for being a low-profile combatant in the ELF. An admirer and student of Gerezgheir Tewelde and, more recently, of Mengestab Asmerom. Mengestab is a strong supporter of the anti ENA wing; thus, it is likely that Mehari will end up supporting the anti ENA wing.
19	Mengistab Asmerom	A student of Addis Ababa university. An ex-teacher in the ELF cadre school and political cadre in the Eritrean Liberation Army. Was one of ten individuals who were arrested by Sudan’s Numeri regime after the Rasai incident (1982.) Deported by Sudan, he was resettled by UNHCR in Sweden. Pursued education in Uppsala, then moved to Stockholm and resumed leadership position with RC as head of its branch office. Sent as branch office rep to the Third Congress, he returned as member of the Executive Committee. He is reputed to be a dedicated struggler. Opposes rejoining the ENA.
20	Mohammed Adem Artea	Shortly before the disintegration of the ELF, he joined the Worker’s Union. Considered close to Ibrahim Mohammed Ali and, thus, to Seyoum Ogbamichael. Likely opposes rejoing the ENA.
21	Mohammed Ali Ibrahim	Relatively young, Mohammed Ali Ibrahim joined the RC in Karakoon and Tahdai. Was elected to the Executive Committee position (“military office”) in the Gonder meeting and is not considered “politicised” and lives in Gedaref, Sudan. Wants to build the RC’s military wing. Opposes rejoining the ENA.
22	Mohammed Asoule	A veteran of the ELF. Was a political cadre in the “mass organization”. Elected to the RC position in the Gonder meeting. Has not made a public statement regarding the RC crisis.
23	Mohammed Jaber Ahmed (Supplementary member)	Served with Seyoum Ogbamichael in ELF’s “Peasant Union.” No love lost between him and Ibrahim Mohammed Ali since the Gonder meeting. He has signed a letter in support of Ahmed Nasser and Dr. Beyene. Supports rejoining the ENA.
24	Mohammed Mahmoud (Supplementary member)	A student living in Syria, he has been in Germany for hospitalisation (kidney problems) for a long time. Has signed a letter in support of Ahmed Nasser and Dr. Beyene. Supports rejoining the ENA.
25	Mohammed Omer Yahiya	Mohammed Omer Yahia is an ELF veteran who has been through almost all the ups and downs of the ELF and is generally accepted as the “elder” of the RC. A former teacher, Mohammed Omer Yahia was in charge of the Sudan branch office in the 1960-70s; Kuwait office in the mid 70s and Iran, after the overthrow of Pahlavi. Before the Rasai incident, he was the middleman trying to reconcile Ahmed Nasser with Abdella Idris. The “deal” was meant to reconcile between the two wings of the ELF; it fell apart when Abdella Idris engineered the coup “to save the organization.” A book authored by Alamin Mohammed Said (PFDJ Secretary) cites Mohammed Omer Yahia as the leader of the ELF-RC wing that is closest to Abdella Idris. Mohammed Omer is considered by many to be a staunch opponent of the anti ENA movement. He wants the ELF-RC to join the Alliance expeditiously. Supports rejoing the ENA.
26	Negash Osman	Graduated from Syria. An excellent communicator with superb command of Arabic and Tigrigna. He is among the few young leaders of the RC. Lives in Sweden where he is very active politically. Has signed a letter in support of Ahmed Nasser and Dr. Beyene. Supports rejoining the ENA.
27	Osman Mohammed	A veteran combatant since the sixties, he is respected for his courage. He was a brigade commander. His position in the current dispute is still unknown.
28	Osman Omer Shum (Supplementary member)	Was heading ELF-RC’s Addis branch. When Seyoum Ogbamichael was elected chair, he directed his removal. Osman Shum refused to obey the direction and remains in Addis in charge of the branch. Has signed a letter in support of Ahmed Nasser and Dr. Beyene. Supports rejoining the ENA
29	(Dr) Sahle Tesfai	The brain behind the annual Kessel festivals, Dr. Sahle Tesfai started his political career in Germany in the Eritrean youth association. For the last 18 years, the Kessel festival has been ELF-RC’s main financial source and political activity. Dr. Sahle was elected to the leadership post for the first time in Gonder, as the organization’s social affairs director. Because he is strongly supportive of the Alliance, Dr. Sahle has emerged as a strong force against Seyoum. Along with Samuel Daniel, he authored a letter in support of Ahmed Nasser and Dr. Beyene. He is a strong advocate of reformation of the RC. He is very popular and liked among all RC members and has good administrative skills. Supports rejoining the ENA. (Update, 8/11: Elected Head of Social Affairs in ELF-RC/Kessel's Interim Leadership.)
30	Samuel Daniel	A veteran revolutionary whose credentials go all the way back to the “Hareka” movement where he was an activist in Asmara and, later, at Alighider. Samuel Daniel has recently come up in support of Ahmed Nasser and Dr. Beyene. He was one of the founders of the Eritrean Workers Union in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and, later, the chair of the union in Germany. He is very close to Dr. Sahle and is instrumental in the annual Kessel festivals. Samuel Daniel is considered as the leader of the “empower the grassroots” campaign in Europe. Signed a letter in support of Ahmed Nasser and Dr. Beyene. Supports rejoining the ENA. (Update, 8/11: Elected Head of Organizational Affairs in ELF-RC/Kessel's Interim Leadership.)
31	Seyoum Ogbamichael	Sentenced to ten years for his “student agitation” activities of the 1960s, Seyoum was freed by the ELA in 1975. Best known for his staunch stand against the “Faloul” (anarchists) movement within the ELF in the second half of the seventies. Shortly after that, he was appointed as the leader of the Eritrean Peasant Association, where he earned his moniker of “Harestay.” Strength: Has strong mobilization skills and can think quickly on his feet. Weakness: Tends to use high-pitched language. His crisis resolution ability is not admired and his political leadership untested.
32	* Tekle Melekin	A short time teacher in the ELF cadre school. A soft spoken veteran member of the ELF. Was jailed in the Sudan and resettled in Sweden by UNHCR. Close to the wing led by Seyoum who appointed him to become the ELF-RC representative in Sweden after the Addis Abeba meeting. He was appointed to replace Eyob Bissrat, who is close to Ahmed Nasser. Tekle opposes rejoining the ENA.
33	Tesfai Teklezghi	Ex administrator of the political office of the ELF. Has a reputation for being a reformist. He is the RC representative in France where he lives. He is an advocate of changing the old guard and transforming the front into a political party. He is a persuasive speaker with excellent communication skills—fluent in Tigrigna and Arabic. Thought to be a strong supporter of the wing led by Seyoum Ogbamichael, he hasn’t made public statement.
34	Tesfai Weldemichael (Degiga)	The youngest member in the Executive Committee of the RC after the 2^nd. National congress where he held the position of Secretary. Lives in the USA and is technically the ENA representative to North America. His name was floated as a compromise to become the RC leader in the last meeting. Though he is close to both wings of the RC, he has not made any clear public stand so far. Though apprehensive of the steps Ahmed Nasser and Dr. Beyene Kidane took, his position in relation to the ENA is not yet clear.
35	Weldeyesus Amar	A prolific writer, journalist and historian (and a contributing writer to Awate.com), Weldeyesus Amar surprised many ELF-RC veterans by his “Gonder speech” (2001) where he was said to have expressed his support for the chairmanship of Ahmed Nasser grudgingly. The speech was harmless enough but in the “democratic centralism” culture of the ELF-RC, it was never publicized and (of course) was allowed to be spun. When he emerged as a strong supporter of Seyoum Ogbamicael (his old classmate of the 1960s) in the 2002 elections, those with suspicious tendencies saw it as confirmation of their fears. If Weldeyesus Amar’s objections to Ahmed Nasser’s candidacy was because he was an “old guard”, why is he so supportive of another “old guard” member, Seyoum Ogbamichael? The whispers started then and they haven’t stopped. Ammar strongly opposes rejoining the ENA.
36	(Dr) Yousef Berhanu	An ELF veteran, Dr. Yousif Berhanu was the chair of the Red Cross/Red Crescent. He is considered a hard working technocrat with no political ambitions. Was one of the earliest opponents of Seyoum Ogbamichael: when Seyoum was named Chairman, Dr. Yousef refused the post of the Foreign office under Seyoum’s leadership. He is one of eight RC members who have signed a letter supporting Ahmed Nasser and Dr. Beyene. Supports rejoining the ENA. (Update, 8/11: Elected Head of Economic Affairs in ELF-RC/Kessel's Interim Leadership.)

* Editor (8/10/03): In response to this report, Mr. Tekle Melekin has written an article where he states that our 'Spinning Bottle' includes information that is 'very far from the truth' and then protests Awate's purported characterization of him as against unity and against the ENA. We look forward to his (and others) correction of information that may be not just very but even a little far from the truth and if we are mistaken, we will stand corrected. As to Mr. Tekle Melekin's protests and declaration that he is for unity, the Spinning Bottle report does not make any claims about whether people are for or against unity. It reports that some people are in support of immediate return of the ELF-RC to the Alliance; others, including Mr. Tekle Melekin, support the idea of having the Alliance meet some pre-conditions before the ELF-RC joins the Alliance. The former support Mr. Ahmed Nasser and Dr. Beyene and the latter support Mr. Seyoum Ogbamichael. Those are the two wings of the ELF-RC and it is no use pretending that ELF-RC has a unified view; it has two diametrically opposed and apparently irreconcilable views and the readers are entitled to know that instead of pinning their hopes on confusing and mixed messages.

* * Editor (8/13/03) If you want to know why ELF-RC is in the mess it is in, it is partly because it is so quick to accuse and so willing to indulge in paranoid hysterics. For evidence, please read Mr. Berhane Tesfagaber's article (in Tigrigna), where he accuses the Awate Team of taking sides against his group (because, he claims, we are charitable in our description of the other group but not his group) and then goes on to explain that the Awate Team's effort to mediate the ENA/ELF-RC conflict of October 2002 was designed to hasten the current RC disintegration. For the benefit of Mr. Berhane Tesfagaber and others, we'd like to state that just because we suspected for a long time that the RC was going to split, it does not mean we caused the split. Just because we report events, it does not mean we caused them. And just because many in the RC were clueless that the split was coming, it does not mean they are absolved of their responsibility: the ELF-RC split because the RC, collectively, failed.

* * * Editor (8/14/03) A Press Release allegedly issued by ELF-RC's Information & Culture Office accuses the Awate Team of writing "council members personal profiles without their consent," and demands that the team "formally apologizes for the damages it incurred." We were going to be alarmed that people who don't know the difference between what is private (phone number, private photo, family life, blood type, shoes size) and what is public (positions held while in the service of the nation); people who don't know that reporters don't need permission of politicians; people who give every indication that if they had real power, they too would be banning press and arresting journalists were occupying high office within the ELF-RC. But then we remembered that with the ELF-RC split, everyone has a copy of the ELF-RC letterhead and we dismissed this latest press release as a practical joke by someone who is trying to make the Chairman look bad. We think the chairman is owed an apology by whoever it was who issued that press release. We thank all our readers for their kind words. PS: We are still waiting for the corrections to the supposedly "erroneous" information we provided.

Comments: awateteam@awate.com

Top of Page