A Diary of Eritrean Forum for Democracy in the United Kingdom:

I am writing this as a reporter who participated in the formative debate of EFD.  I did it as free lance reporter and I am responsible for any mistake I may misquote during the meetings. I am keen to follow the journey and to keep the Diary open for all readers if there is no objection by the Forum.

Petros Tesfagiorgis, London UK

It is indeed a privilege to listen to new ideas that intends to serves a common interest of a nation at a crucial historical juncture.   In this case it is an idea that opens an avenue to engage in a debate of national interest and look for ways to work together to make a difference. 

The architect of the new crusade is Ato Berhane Gebrenegus an Eritrean American from Bay area, California.  He approached individuals before he launched the first meeting in London.  Like anybody else he approached me. Although I am a member of the silent majority (I became allergic to any political meetings, rallies or social evenings of any kind be it sponsored by the Government or opposition because I am completely burned out) I accepted to attend his meeting, just to lend him my ears.

I knew Berhane in 1977 in London when the Eritrean Relief Association in UK was in its cradle. He was one of the Charter members when ERA-UK was being formed. Coming from the field for medical reasons I became the first unpaid full time worker for ERA-UK as well as EPLF PR under EPLF European office in Rome, Italy. At that time ERA-UK was a brain child of the mass associations originally formed independent of EPLF, until we, the EPLF manoeuvred to control it under the guise of “part of us” “Akal”.   Initially, there was no money for operating expenses.  Berhane was the only one with resources.  He was driving us in his car to most of the lobby meetings.  He was older than the rest of us and more experienced in life and his approach was more mature. I confess that at times he was buying us lunches too.

Our life was difficult but rewarding. One day we were invited to the British Parliament, to meet Lord Eric Avebury (Lord Avebury was the chairman of parliamentary human rights through out the 80^th and later  became an Honorary chairman of ERA-UK until Eritrean independence, he also co-chaired with Stuart Holland an Eritrean support committee called IIPE – International Initiative for Peace in Eritrea whose members were people of high profile such as Abdulrahman Babu, ex-Tanzanian Cabinet Minister under Julies Nyrere,   Ushi Aid – member of the German Green Party and one time Minister, Stuart Holland, the Author of Eritrea: Never Knell down and shadow Development Minister under Neil Kinnock, Head of the Labour Party,  Bea Stotle from Holland  and a prominent German newspaper editor whose name I forget and others etc. ).

In clarifying the EPLF political program I explained to Lord Avebury that we adhere to socialism and our international standing is anti-imperialism and anti-Zionism.  When we came out of the House of Commons Berhane was furious.  He said, “What is all these non-sense of advocating communism.  We are occupied by Ethiopia and we fight for justice and the right to determine our future.” He finally left us, expressing his disappointment of the way we worked.  Berhane acted sincerely. He is down to earth, had he not been frank, he could have said, “From now onwards I can’t work for ERA because I am busy.”  After all, that time, he was one of the few Eritreans in the UK with a young family to be cared for. But he was frank enough to say what he felt. I always respected his decision and was always friendly although we were sad to loose such a very important person in the work of ERA.  History repeated itself, exactly after 30 years in 2007 he came back to London to raise issues relevant to the health of Eritrea and to make a difference.  I owed him a great deal not to attend his meeting.  I found out he is far from being burned-out on the contrary he was on fire and full of energy.

The first meeting, January 6, 2007

The first meeting took place on Saturday January 6, 2007 in the office of Eritrean Education and Publication Trust (EEPT): Ato Berhane explained the damage perpetuated by the conspiracy of silence prevailed in the minds of thousands of Eritreans and he appealed to us all to bring it to an end.  Based on his concept paper dated November 2006 and titled “Enough of the conspiracy of silence. Let’s move on”, he made a passionate wake up call and invited everybody in the room for a serious brain-storming discussion and how to tackle our pacifism.  His plea was infectious and I confess he touched my conscience and I asked myself if we were doing justice to ourselves and to our country by maintaining the silence.

The meeting hall was filled mostly but not entirely by the target group i.e. the silent majority. There was good number of Eritrean Intellectuals in Britain i.e. university lecturers, managers of small organisations, writers, students, ex-members of EPLF, ELF and the youth who grew up in the EPLF field “the red-flowers” and surprisingly few from Warsay Yekealo in exile who risked their life to make it to the UK. These are some of the few successful asylum seekers who are in British Universities. The majority don’t have that chance. It could be because they are passing through very difficult time. It has become exceedingly difficult for them to make ends meet and adjust themselves to the new life in the United Kingdom. They have problems of accommodation, education and work. Their situation is exacerbated by low educational achievement back home and very little knowledge of English language.  In addition they are not allowed to stay in the place of their choice. They are forced to move out of London because of the dispersal policy of the British Home Office. Any way it doesn’t make a lot of a difference because they have no or very little help from the fragmented Eritrean communities in London. Some of the Communities have vested interest not to serve this category of Eritreans, apart from exploiting their presence to their advantage.

In the meeting there were also members of some of the many opposition parties. It seemed that the opposition parties came to express their concern of the proliferation of organisations. Their concern is legitimate taking into consideration that there is a contagious virus of split and counter split in the Eritrean political and civic environment.

They were not against the idea.  In fact soon they participated in the debate constructively. From the start it was made clear to them by Berhane that the intention was to fill a huge gap created by the conspiracy of silence and as such it was rather complementary than competitive. 

There was a heated debate around the aims and objectives and naturally there were some disagreements.  However that was the beauty of it all. People were freely expressing their opinions even if some of them were far-fetched. It was remarkable to observe that people were listening attentively and were respectful and tolerant to opinions they didn’t share, which is in short supply in Eritrea’s body politics. Finally a workable consensus was reached and a 6 member committee was nominated to stream line the innovative ideas into sets of aims and objectives and present it to the next meeting for further discussion and approval.

The Second Meeting

- 2^nd. Meeting: 21 January 2007.  The committee came with the name “Eritrean Forum for Democracy (EFD). They came out with concise Mission Statement and objectives and presented them for debate and approval. There were some who were disappointed that their suggestions was ignored, ideas such as involving ex-G-13 for example which was not possible at this stage.  During the second meeting more people came. It showed that there is readiness of people to do something. 

- What was strikingly significant is the composition of those who came. Not only from different walks of life, communities and political parties but from veteran ELF and EPLF who lived in the United Kingdom for many years. During the struggle we members of the EPLF in the UK never involved the ex-ELF members in any activities or in an informal discussing of national interest. From the informal discussion we had in a coffee house after the end of the meeting they expressed their resentment for being treated badly, undermined, ignored and even prosecuted not only by the EPLF but also by the ordinary members of mass association in the UK. However some thing good for them came out of it, they were motivated to work hard in order to pursue respectable carriers in the UK and managed to be part of the mainstream British Society while we EPLF veterans found ourselves totally marginalized.  After spending the most active part of our youth in serving the struggle, it is not easy for us to turn around and get employment in the highly competitive British society. Indeed we are facing difficulties to have ends meet.

- However I found it very healthy speaking of the past and learn our shortcomings. It was constructive criticism and to let bygones be bygones, a transitional step towards trusting and respecting each other and recognize and appreciate our differences. We are all, “valued assets” to our beloved Eritrea. In the process of working together, we can break any barriers and mistrust between each other. This was the first positive step forward and I loved it. What is remarkable is that the EFD brought us together to speak openly and freely for the first time ever.

This is significant particularly in the UK were the Eritrean communities are ridiculously fragmented. There is the Old Eritrean Community in the UK (EC-UK), in Holloway, another in Haringey, one in Brixton etc. There is the Eritrean Moslem Community; the Bilen Community, St. Antonio Eritrean Women’s Association etc. There are those amorphous organisations such as Self-help type of those who came from different countries before they came to the UK such as Kuwait’s Rahwa Eritrean Support Committee.  There are those who came from Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia etc.). And a number of Mahbers mostly ex-EPLF cells (Wahyos). It is believed that in London alone there are more than 22 community associations. There is also mistrust along regional and religious lines (Pentecostal and Jehovah Witness are particularly ostracized). There is more competition and no cooperation for funds from Government and humanitarian institutions. Why don’t Eritrean draw example from the Somalis. Politically, they are more divided than us but they are united for self-help and are able to exploit the opportunity of housing, social services, education and clubs for their youth in unison. They have a strong united voice and self-help skills. Their community is flourishing in front of our eyes. I envy them, they are bold and brave.

During the EDF meeting it is remarkable to talk freely without being overburden by the political party lines and community affiliations. It is an indication that the participants seemed to understand that many communities based on religion and ethnicity have evolved, no body can stop an evolution. These are real people living in a real situation and nobody can keep a blind eye to their existence.  We have to accept them as given. What is significant is that the audience seemed to realize that they have to move on, from their secluded life, to achieve higher goals by working together under a common umbrella for democratic Eritrea, where, Christians, Moslems, Pentecostals, Jehovas, different ethnic groups will live together side by side.  For those in the UK the EDF could serve as an umbrella. EDF could be a vehicle to enrich our knowledge of democracy by learning its theory and practice and inculcate it in its activities to translate its aims and objectives into action.

There was a lot of discussion around the proliferation of Eritrean organisations.  Particularly members of political parties expressed their concern but were not against the idea as such.

There was a heated debate around the constitution. Some were saying that the constitution does not represent all sections of the Eritrean people. There was a strong counter-argument which said that  the constitution was debated by a large number of the population.  It is true that there are loopholes and some section of our society may have been excluded, the fact remains that constitutions are subject to amendment.  The constitution was sponsored by the EPLF and it was rectified by the assembly. Whether it is defective or not Eritrea is a nation with a constitution although it is ignored by the Government.

Also the constitution could be effective rallying point if one is to carry out serious appeal, protest and international diplomacy.

The failure of understanding the theory and practice of democracy today is at the centre of our problems of fragmentation.

It has to be recalled that the mass association in Europe and USA, which were initiated, developed and nurtured by Eritrean Scholarship students abroad were independent of either ELF or EPLF. During their congresses, they used to invite speakers from the field to learn the fronts achievements and problems to help them to pass resolutions on internal and international issues. It was charting action plan to win financial and political and diplomatic support internationally and they had achieved so much. The moment they voted to be part of EPLF “Akal” they lost their autonomy and were excluded from participating in any policy that affects not only the struggle in general but also policies that affect their activities in the Diaspora. So much so the mass associations have learned to accept the subservient relations of power between them and the EPLF. They eventually accepted the disbanding of the mass association in 1989 without any discussion or explanation, even though they were complaining to this day of being unjust and an unfair imposition and many EPLF cadres expressed regret.

Basic on these historical realities of Eritrea where by mass association have developed into a giant popular arm of the EPLF but only as subservient to the leaders of the EPLF rendered them powerless and their enormous contribution  unrecognized, while the PFDJ was easily able to have absolute control over the economic and social life of the new nation.

Blind obedience to authorities has become a learned culture of Eritreans, put into a set of systems by the EPLF controlling mechanisms over many years. As a consequence the Eritrean people have internalized the system that is oppressing them and denying them a voice.  This poses a formidable challenge for all those who aspire for democracy in Eritrea including The Eritrean forum for Democracy here or in other countries in the Diaspora.

IN NEED OF URGENT ACTION
THE CLOUD OF WAR IS HANGING OVER ERITREA AND ETHIOPIA

The primary foreign policy of any country to day is not to be seen to support or harbour any organisation or groups which are terrorist or alleged to be terrorists. To allay with those is tantamount to oppose the strategic global interest of the only-super power, USA. USA’s primary foreign policy is “to combat global terrorism”. It is for this reasons that Iraq and Afghanistan were invaded by the coalition forces.  The US had alleged that the Islamic Court Union is harbouring Al Qaeda to render Somalia a centre of terrorism in the Horn. Any yet the Eritrean Government armed and trained the ICU. This action does not serve the interest of Eritrea which has a small impoverished population fade up of wars. It is very frightening indeed. Obviously the USA will never let ICU come to power in Somalia. Therefore ICU can not be a match to the Somali Government in Bedao which has full military support of Ethiopia and the USA. It is also a UN and AU recognized Government.

The formation of a “Somalia Government in Exile in Eritrea” with the support of the Eritrean Government, the release of the British kidnapped hostages in Asmara but not the  Ethiopians and the report of UNMEE of an unprecedented Ethiopian army movement in the border have raised the possibility of another round of war between Eritrea and Ethiopia.

The Eritrean people have reached the age of reason and are talking openly of their aversion to war.  They believe that there is no gain in war except death and destruction both to the winners and losers.

TO STAND UP AND PROTEST AGAINST THE IMPENDING WAR IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE EVER FACED BY ERITREANS IN DIASPORA.

Some members of the PFDJ mass associations are also deeply concerned about this danger but they fell helpless, because it is their learned line” pedagogy of the oppressed in reverse” not to take any initiative unless it is sanctioned by the Government. They have forfeited their independent voice long time ago. It is only the various civic organisations,  religious groups, human rights activists and  the silent majority, who can rise up to the new challenge and stage protests and appeal to both Governments not to go to war.  EDF-UK can play a constructive role as well.  To this end Ethiopians could be invited to join in the anti-war movement. The legacy of peace, cooperation solidarity and mutual respect between the brotherly people of Eritrea and Ethiopia must win over that of hatred, recrimination and war incited by some Ethiopian websites at present. The seed of cooperation between Ethiopian and Eritrean progressive university students was sown during the Hailesellassie University students’ movements in late 60^th.  Like yesterday the two people must go for win, win and not to try to destroy each other which can be achieved by war only.