Many readers will agree that it was not very long ago when one had difficulty of finding listeners on the need for reconciliation in Eritrea. The opinion of the vocal �majority� then was: �No, there is no need for reconciliation! Who reconciles with whom? Patriots with traitors�?�  Many parroted PFDJ�s litany of smears and lies. 

That was the time when many Eritreans were under the firm grip of the �Hade hzbi Hade lbi�� hallucination. Similarly, and until the emergence of G-13, the �Third Wave�, the G-15 and the birth of numerous Eritrean civic societies, there hardly was any ground for thinking about a national conference except for the forces of the old opposition, which by 1999 were under one alignment with a national charter.  Nowadays, we take it for granted to talk about reconciliation and national conference. That should mean we have changed considerably.  

Earlier this year, I expressed in an article (under the heading: Is Reconciliation Making Progress?) my optimism on the relatively satisfactory rate of progress being scored in this aspect. A simple example given was the increase in the number of self-liberators (Dawit Mesfin preferred the term �soul-searchers�) who acknowledged their wrong perceptions and biases of the past. Another example was the new phenomenon of some former EPLF/PFDJ members taking part in non-EPLF/PFDJ meetings and occasions. I thought this was quite an achievement in itself and a new opening for a new era in our political life. In other words, the first steps leading towards tolerance, dialogue and understanding have been taken. How can we then deny that reconciliation has already started, although at low rate and level?   

Many articles in Awate.com and other Eritrean websites had given sufficient explanation about reconciliation processes, which can take different approaches in different countries, as many forms of reconciliation have already been tried in over 20 countries.  We have learned that reconciliation can be like the exemplary �Truth and Reconciliation Commission� of South Africa or, say, like Guatemala�s �Historical Clarification Commission�.  In all cases, it is a process that takes a very long time.  In Eritrea, we will definitely need some mechanism of inquiry into what went wrong in our society in the past so that we will be able to prevent its recurrence in the future. We need to start healing the bruises and wounds we afflicted upon one another as political and social groups. But time-consuming and long-lasting social reconciliation processes do not, and should not, stop political action from taking place. In fact, reconciliation needs to be enhanced and supported by political action initiated at conferences.

Only to stress: initial steps on the road to reconciliation have been made, emboldening many of us to talk about joint work by the old and the new opposition forces. The already initiated reconciliation process at several levels has to continue. Efforts would have to be intensified to organize joint meetings and networking of civic associations in Europe and North America. Yet, it is very important to understand that there is already ground for convening a national conference of all forces opposed to the dictatorial regime in Eritrea.  

National Conference for What?

Nowadays, one of the horror stories coming from Eritrea almost on a daily basis is about people fleeing the country. And those new waves of refugees include members of the Eritrean Defense Force. Imagine for a minute the following:

That the opposition forces - all the opposition forces - had managed to create an umbrella organization last year or even earlier this year and that we by now have a unified body and even a nucleus of a national army under the opposition!  Then would it be impossible to imagine the entire Eritrean Defense Force switching sides and in no time marching back to the capital to dislodge the PFDJ clique that had betrayed the army and the Nation at large? 

Many Eritreans would say this scenario could indeed have taken place by now were we able to effectively organize the opposition. But we didn�t manage that, and at the end we enabled the dictatorial regime in Asmara to linger in power.

A national conference of the opposition would have served many purposes, including the following: 

• The very act of holding a national conference by erstwhile rivals (not to say enemies) is by itself part of a reconciliation process;
• It would upgrade the existing Alliance and the National Charter;
•  It would contribute to national unity;
• It would identify the joint tasks of the opposition in the period before the downfall of the PFDJ dictatorship;
• It would prepare firm ground for the opposition to establish a viable transitional authorities after the downfall of the dictatorship;
• In effect, it would assist in cutting short the life of the PFDJ dictatorship. 

Who is to Blame for the Delay?

More than one actor may be blamed for the delay on taking concrete action towards the holding of a national conference. To generalize, we can list the actors as follows:  

Civic Associations: The emerging civic societies/associations, which are still in their formative stage, constitute part of today�s political actors in the Eritrean opposition (never mind their attempts to shy away from in reality being �political groupies�, although amorphous. Many members in the civic associations wish that Eritrea be spared of the Jebha/Shaebia division, which is still alive and well. Yet, it would be very wise for Eritrean intellectuals and members of the civic associations to fully appreciate the fact that the said two political cultures in the Eritrean arena require time before they wither away. But one would have to live with them until they are replaced by genuinely new political formations and cultures of the new generation, as Paulos Tesfagiorgis and many others would wish it to be.  At the present, many members of the civic associations are not accepting the reality as is. The dream of a �Third Path� may sound good, but not that easy to realize now. In a recent talk with elements of the civic associations, this writer learned that many members of the civic associations do not trust the existing political organizations, including the one still under formation (i.e. EPLF-DP), and may not be happy to take part in a national conference organized by them.  If this is the case, the civic associations will not positively contribute to the struggle against the dictatorship and then in a smooth transition to a democratic system. Obviously, the existing civic association have a share in the delay for convening the much-needed national conference of the entire opposition. 

The EPLF-DP: The reformist section of PFDJ, which is now being established as the EPLF-Democratic Party, had difficulty in clearly stating its position regarding the issue of reconciliation or national conference. Many observers think it is working towards creating a party from the ashes of the PFDJ and the former mother organization. On top of that, the new party has been very slow in declaring its clear-cut rejection of ways pursued by the government in Asmara. This position made it lose the trust of former supporters of the government who today constitute the majority of the civic societies. The DP expects to win the members of the civic societies by keeping distant from the Alliance. It is this stand by the visionless leadership of EPLF-DP that has adversely affected the effectiveness of the new opposition. No doubt that the EPLF-DP can be allotted a lion�s share of the delay to hold a national conference of all the forces opposed to the regime. The DP will continue contributing negatively to the efforts of the civic societies and the old opposition unless it changes its current stance of standing on the fence. 

The Alliance: This alignment of nearly a dozen political organizations and social groups can be credited for having established a National Charter of a minimum programme. This weak Alliance has in fact become an example of how antagonistic groups can gradually learn to tolerate each other and start reconciliation through practical and direct contact.  The Alliance has been promoting the idea of convening a national conference as a tool of accelerating the reconciliation process and at the same time to upgrade the national alignment. Until the present, there was no clear basis to throw blame on the Alliance for the delay in working out an umbrella structure. But it can be blamed for itself remaining weak in its structure. 

Our Expectations:

The catchword for the current stage is �National Salvation�. The ELF-RC has recently adopted the impressive slogan of �National Salvation Above All Else!� One would only wish that all the political and social formations, including the civic associations, focused on this objective.  No denying that unity of action by the opposition would give hope to our people inside the country and encourage them to oppose the dying regime. 

It is time for the civic associations to become part of a coordinated body to help in finding a way out of the current quagmire. The recent meeting in Holland organized by the Awate Foundation is one of the encouraging efforts that must be continued by the �non-political� associations and organizations of the Eritrean Diaspora. These associations and other �independent democrats� and intellectuals would have to accept the existing political organizations and understand that they can be effective working tools in Eritrea�s transition to democracy. 

It is also time for EPLF-DP to free itself of any dreams of grandeur or affliction by megalomania and, instead, work with the civic associations and the Alliance and show readiness to openly respond to the repeated calls for national dialogue.  

Finally, it is time for the Alliance of Eritrean National Forces to gather confidence in its own worth; restructure itself and be more attractive for others to accept it, and finally even call for a broader national coalition that can be worked out by a national conference it calls or asks others to call it. Time is overdue to lay out a joint national strategy and structure for the period before the downfall of the PFDJ regime and for a post-Isayas Eritrea. 

Regards.
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it