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All is well that ends well. 2004 is receding into history, ushering in a new year with glad tidings. The tides are calm and serene—there is talk of unity, there is evidence of political maturity, relief in sight. Opposition leaders, WELL DONE. We are getting the long-waited signal that the end of the year is coinciding with the end of the bickering, defamation and irresponsible branding of others. The end of the year is coming with some vigor in the opposition body politic. Maybe our leaders finally realized that an empty merry-go-round doesn’t take you anywhere. Maybe they became wiser. Maybe they saw the fact that Eritrea is being left behind, and out, of the regional dynamics of change. Maybe they were pressured enough by the Eritrean public, and by the neighbors who are partners with us in the stabilization of the region. But they gave us hope. They gave us the hope we were denied for too long. We have more than a passing interest in this. The Pencil had sixteen editorials that carried the 2004 dateline. Of the sixteen, ten dealt with the opposition: empowering the opposition, unifying the opposition, things they should do, things they shouldn’t do, things we wished they would do. We have been calling on our leaders to be a little thrifty with their lavish accusations and defamation of one another. Our conviction was simple: you better be mindful of what you say because those you badmouth are nevertheless your allies and, eventually, you will sit down with them as equal partners. After a seemingly never-ending accusations, all the leaders had to finally sit together and address each other by adding "brother" before each name they mention. Good. But there was no need to stop showing respect for each other. Sustaining The AgreementThe opposition leaders understand that sustaining the agreement they have reached will require some work. In the agreement that they signed, they pledge to conduct political and informational tasks to facilitate their next rendez-vous on January 12, 2005. We have ideas on these, From our "Lessons Learned" files, we have ideas on how to bring this about— last expressed in our editorial: Here’s the short version:Accept What You Cannot Change: We think Mr. Seyoum O. Michael, chairman of ELF-RC, articulated this in his recent interview with Nharnet.com: "Even those groups that on paper seem to champion identical programmes, differ in the historical, political or social background of the persons rallying around them, as well as in tactical issues and matters of performance. Such shades of differences and groupings may erode with time bringing us to a stage when our pluralism undergoes some streamlining." Exactly. A great deal of time and energy was spent trying to discern the underlying reasons for this split and that merger, resulting in questioning of motives, raising suspicions and accelerating attempts to marginalize people. Since what we are trying to create is a broad-based movement, our purpose should be in trying to find ways to accommodate people, instead of trying to analyze their motives and applying rigid standards. If a "split" results in a marginal increase in the number of followers—because some people will not join the opposition movement unless "their" man is in a leadership position—then so be it.
Accept one another’s role: The positive developments in Khartoum, Sudan happened only because leaders were willing to lead. In the bad old days (2002, 2003 and most of 2004), the kind of decisive leadership that was demonstrated could not have happened because, within a day or two, some disaffected "grassroots" would have issued a fiery letter questioning the leaders’ mandate. Presented with the opportunity to act, the leaders of yesterday would not have: too paralyzed to act, they would have answered they would have to convene a meeting to discuss and vote on the proposal—squandering another opportunity. We are not recommending a leadership mandate without restraint—that would be a formula for Isaias II. We are recommending a definition of roles: leadership that has the power to lead, followers that have the power to hold leaders accountable, and a media that has the mandate to question everything, without having its motives questioned.
Dis-empower The Machiavelis: There are individuals—and the leaders of the organizations know who they are—who have assigned themselves the roles of "right-hand man", "advisor", "conscience," "teacher" of their respective organizations. These folks have been dispensing one bad advice after another, all intended to sow seeds of suspicion, and make reconciliation difficult. They thrive only in an environment of intrigue: they present themselves as indispensable "cultural-translators" and "bridges." They spend almost all of their time attacking other Eritrean organizations and personalities instead of focusing their energy on the scourge of Eritrea: PFDJ. Political differences are natural; competition is inevitable. However, the activity of an exiled opposition should not be targeting each other while forgetting the oppressor sitting at home after condemning half our population to life as refugees and stateless wanderers. The opposition organizations should have plenty of time fighting it out inside the ballot box if only they would focus on making elections a reality in Eritrea. But what was going on in 2004 was insane: supporters were hacking other opposition as if they were losing an on-going election process; it looked as if we were embroiled in an election season. When the opposition finally woke up, Eritrea is still under the yoke of tyranny. The nation is still unfed, bare-back, ill, terrified, ignorant, enslaved and helpless; and the opposition is still in exile.
Ending On A Positive NoteWe were exhilarated by the attitude of many leaders who were present at the last meeting in Khartoum and with whom we talked over the phone. Everyone we talked to was positive and optimistic. They all described the mood in the meeting as extremely cordial, honest and above all, respectful. That is a big step forward. It is obvious that any change comes piggybacked on a right attitude, and the right attitude was abundant in the Khartoum meeting according to those we talked to. We cannot help but express our gratitude to all the leaders for giving us hope as we part with 2004 and enter to a new era, 2005. Thank you for doing what you were supposed to do. Thank you again. When it comes to Ethiopia, we repeat: the PFDJ, and its leaders should be considered illegitimate as far as the opposition is concerned. The regime ruling Eritrea is not qualified to do anything on behalf of Eritrea simply because it is ruling by coercion and the might of power. It is not in the nature of the regime to negotiate peace. If it can’t negotiate peace with its own citizens and partners (the G-15 are the best example), how can it be expected to negotiate peace with its neighbors? The opposition should take charge and own the negotiations initiative. True, it is not an internationally recognized state authority, but the regime is not an internally recognized entity as well. Once it establishes a broad-based coalition, the opposition should impose itself as a de-facto authority of Eritrea. This would mean a government in exile. This will also mean the opposition should be united. This should also mean the opposition is ready to take over power. Importantly, this is necessitated by the fact that there is no government in Eritrea; there is an illegal, un elected clique without a mandate. A united opposition has more leverage and would not get the short end of the stick in any deal. The opposition should boldly take a step to reach on agreements with our neighbors. Their legal argument would be that there is no legal authority in Eritrea; and the opposition is a broad-based liberation movement. The march for unity has started; lets put our energy behind it! Happy New Year
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