The Alliance of Eritrean National Forces is an umbrella organization of several Eritrean opposition groups that struggle for democracy and the rule of law in their country. They cover the whole spectrum of Eritrean politics since the early fifties. Many of the members of the organizations that form the alliance have a long history of struggle and resistance against successive Ethiopian regimes. They are inexorable defenders of their liberty, and would never relent, no matter what. 

Most of these Eritrean opposition groups have been in the Eritrean political scene for the last half century, and most of the time in the face of those who now and then declare them defunct and extinct. They always had the power and capacity of being there and doing the job. They usually bicker and squabble, not only opposing the dictatorship but many a time opposing each other and themselves. They are totally independent, even of each other. Is this a weakness? Maybe, but it is the nature of democracy. One distinguishing characteristic of these groups is their quest for democracy and their utter commitment to fight all forms of oppression. 

In the course of their existence, these groups have formed coalitions and mergers and undone most of them, frequently weakening themselves in the process. For the last two decades, they have never attacked each other militarily, although, at times, they could verbally be rather venomous against each other. Since the independence of Eritrea, some of these groups decided to try internal opposition, and went to Asmara. Others were adamant about the regime�s oppressive nature, and never flinched from continuing their attacks against the dictatorship. At the end they all came back together and started talking about concerting their efforts and unifying their resources to rid Eritrea of the brutal dictatorship. This is the sign of their coming of age. 

For the last three years and since its formation the alliance has been going through immense travails, as was our nation, forced into successive wars against its neighbours. The alliance had to walk the thin thread of defending its people, the emerging Eritrean nation, and its territorial integrity, at the same time educating our people about the causes of these wars and their futility. The dictatorship found it easy and fair game to accuse them of treason and being unpatriotic. The neighbours engaged in war against Eritrea viewed them with suspicion and dealt with them at rod�s length. However, they were resilient and did a great job in exposing the dictatorship and baring it in front of the world. The alliance came out with flying flags in this confrontation, and is now ready to take over. 

The struggle of the alliance in the past three years created the suitable ground for Eritrean civil society organizations to mushroom anywhere there is a community of Eritreans in the Diaspora. It infused courage in the internal opponents of the regime to finally collect their wits and publicly denounce the regime they served. Now it is engaged to bring together all these forces and give the final blow to the dictatorship. 

In spite of these victories, and most probably because of them, these days it has suddenly become fashionable for so called pundits to write obituaries for the Eritrean resistance in general, and the Alliance of Eritrean National Forces (AENF) in particular. The fact is that the alliance is not dead nor dying and not even ailing. The alliance is, in fact, as healthy as it has ever been. It has recently successfully concluded an effective campaign crowned in the seminar and demonstration in Washington DC. Two of its founding member organizations are, at this instance, conducting talks of total unity and merger, and it is preparing for the congress of its leadership next week. These are not the signs of a dying body. 

So why are some quarters insisting on announcing its demise or wishing its death? Of course, that is first and foremost the dream of the dictatorship in Asmara, and we know how this regime would refute the obvious, and distort reality. The second category lies among those that would like to influence the alliance and its leadership and shape it according to their own sinister agendas. These are motivated by either greed or cheap revenges, and specialize in sowing discord and doubt.  

The third category is that of those who expect more from the alliance and feel betrayed that the alliance has not fulfilled their expectations. These are the na�ve that have no perspective of history, nor have ever tried to achieve anything, but prefer to play the role of next-day game makers; they are the generals and strategists of the after-battle. In themselves, they are innocuous, but their danger lies in the fact they are the feeding ground for the dissemination of the lies of the former two. 

An example of these not so subtle campaigns are two articles of the same matrix and phraseology viciously attacking the alliance, recently hosted by �Al Zaman� a Sudanese paper, published in London, and �The Reporter�, an Ethiopian paper published in Addis Ababa. The articles in the two respectable newspapers, written in Arabic, Amharic and English, apparently showing concern for the future of Eritrea, smear the present leadership of the alliance and propose new faces for the leadership of The Eritrean resistance. The articles, among other fallacies, totally ignore that the movements and individuals they suggest as an alternative to the alliance are a spin-off of the alliance and exist in support of and because of the alliance.  

Such fabrication clearly aims at creating a wedge between the alliance and the civil society organizations it contributed so much to bring to existence. The question is who benefits from such action. The first thing one notices in the articles is their total lack of knowledge of the Eritrean reality. In fact, in normal circumstances, they would be dismissible as ignorant and uninformed. Nevertheless, these are not normal times, and we know who pays whom to smear the Eritrean opposition with apparent innocence. 

The papers start their articles predicting a civil war in Eritrea, and continue asserting that there is no real opposition. These are not the words of someone wishing the best for the Eritrean people, but are clearly the words of prophets of doom. We know the author of the articles, and we can guess his motives for the gratuitous insults and spurious attacks, but that is irrelevant and not that important. What is important is what forces have spurred him to engage in such writings, and what are their motives. Are they sending a message to the imminent meeting of the alliance, or are they plotting against Eritrea? The Eritrean resistance should be wary of such quarters and be vigilant in protecting the victories and the independence of their organizations.