Although not a member of the Eritrean National Alliance (ENA), an umbrella group for thirteen Eritrean opposition groups, the EPLF-DP describes itself as �part and parcel of the camp that is struggling for democratic change� and promises to draft a platform to coordinate the activities of the opposition that has thus far failed to work in unison.

In its statement, the EPLF-DP takes the position that the drought affecting nearly two-thirds of the Eritrean population is not only due to chronic failure of rain but also the policies of the Eritrean government regarding the conscripted army and state-monopolized economy.

With respect to the border issue, in a veiled reference to the Meles Zenawi government, the EPLF-DP warned those experiencing a �temporary sensation of power� to desist from obstructing the ruling of the Boundary Commission and called on both parties to recognize, in the interest of long-term neighborly relations, that the �final and binding� nature of the ruling now makes it law. 

BACKGROUND

EPLF-DP was formed in January 2002 by exiled MPs of the Eritrean government.  The founding members were all former high-ranking officials of the People�s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), the ruling (and the only legal) party in Eritrea.  In explaining the reason for its formation, EPLF-DP had stated that is was largely because President Isaias Afwerki was �blocking the process of democratic transition.�  This, coupled with the name it chose for itself (EPLF is the forerunner to PFDJ) and its accusatory tone towards the other opposition groups, had alienated it from the traditional opposition groups in the past. In its recent statement, however, the EPLF-DP is calling on all opposition groups to struggle in unison against the Eritrean regime. Several members of the opposition camp expressed their happines with the statement and commented that "this was a very positive step."  

See the unofficial statement of the EPLF-DP