At the entrance, friendly and smiling faces that beamed with joy at rekindling old friendships and battlefield camaraderie greeted us. Although, one could easily see a sense of purpose and determination on their faces, signs of fatigue and sleep deprivations were also easily noticeable. These men and women tegadelties and veteran tegadelties had come from various cities to attend the 6^th zonal conference of ELF-RC. Due to some members arriving late, I was told, that the meeting started late at about 7:00 p.m. and proceeded till late at night. As old friends and comrades, some of them were talking to each other till the wee hours of the morning. They were in a meeting all day Saturday and when the Public seminar convened, they must have been utterly exhausted.

The hall was cheerfully blue, but certainly not feeling blue. The blue was the Eritrean flag, formally defined in the Eritrean Flag, Seal and Arms Act of 1952 issued on January 1953 by the Eritrean Assembly. It had a nostalgic effect on me. Many of our heroes died chanting "���D }�� oE� oE� ��o� �]KV�". The absence of the new Eritrean flag from an Eritrean gathering was, however, a constant and sad reminder of the existing divide among us. There is a need for reconciliation and one of the seminar's slogans appropriately reads "National conference is a process of healing".

The main themes of the seminar were displayed conspicuously in three languages: Tigrinya, Arabic and English. The first that caught my attention beside our blue flag was the message that "National salvation is above everything else." Others read as "Isayas down with dictatorship", "We condemn the ban on free press", "free political prisoners and prisoners of conscience", "We stand for multiparty system", "We stand for unity in diversity", "We stand for women's rights". I was not particularly impressed by these messages, for I was eager to find messages that would help me see ELF-RC as a viable alternative. Then I saw "ELF-RC, one team, one vision and one destination" and my favorite of all "�TM ���lg� �X|�| KDD� mki�q|". Many thoughts were racing in my mind on what they mean and how they would be carried out, when the seminar was called to order.

The Public Seminar:

The seminar was addressed by the current chairman of ELF-RC, ato Seyoum Ogbamicael, who was accompanied by ato Tesfai Woldemicael (Degiga), ato Habtemariam Kiflai, ato Gebrezghier Tewolde and ato Amanuel Menghistu. This was the first time I see ato Seyoum Ogbamicael. Ato Seyoum is of medium Eritrean height, of darker complexion or what we call "kederai", and with balding and thinning hair. There is nothing spectacular in his looks, but there was an air of confidence that seemed so natural with him. When he speaks he looks straight to your eye and his piecing eyes and facial demeanor bespeak his intelligence and sagacity. Seyoum, from his days as a student leader, prisoner in Ethiopian jails and tegadalai has lived the most turbulent times in Eritrean history. Like most of his generation, he is the embodiment of the trials and tribulations of Eritrea. In a way he is the coming of age of the nation we call Eritrea.

Seyoum gave the most cogent diagnosis of the current and past ills of Eritrea. He analyzed the problems at the social, political and economic levels and then shed some light of how we can go ahead and meet the challenges of national salvation. Seyoum is by far the most articulate Tigrinya orator I've the privilege of attending, so far. He is soft-spoken and very coherent in his thoughts. Like many people of his caliber and stature, he has very strong and unyielding convictions that became more evident particularly during the Q&A session. With the exception of one incident, he remained calm, composed and extremely polite and respectful.

Some of the main themes of the seminar:

National Salvation above everything else: Seyoum holds the dictatorship in Eritrea responsible for the current predicament. The regime, however, according to Seyoum is digging its own grave and its total collapse is imminent. It is a question of when the regime will hit the ground. The main task and responsibility of the opposition is to set their priorities straight. National salvation should be above everything else. He assured the public that ELF-RC would invest all its resources toward this goal.

On the current gridlock between ELF-RC and AENF:

Although nothing new was added to what was previously communicated to the public through ELF-RC official statements, Seyoum reiterated that the walkout was the right thing to do. According to members of the Alliance, there was external pressure designed to restructure the alliance. This pressure that sought to bring Herui T Bairu to the mantle of leadership in contradiction to the existing norms of the Alliance was seen as a direct attack on the cherished values of ELF-RC. Seyoum stated that there are some redlines that ELF-RC has historically and proudly refused to cross. Seyoum believes that Eritreans should only solve Eritrean problems. Neighboring governments can exert their influence but should avoid direct involvement. ELF-RC has not and would not compromise its political independence and would not jeopardize Eritrea's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Seyoum claims a proud legacy of defending Eritrea's sovereignty and territorial integrity. ELF-RC's stand on the Ethio-Eritrea war was cited as an example.

Seyoum prides himself for the position he and his organization took in the Addis debacle. ELF-RC has acquired some information that buttresses the correctness of their position. The external meddling in the affairs of the Alliance by foreign neighboring governments would have some serious ramifications. ELF-RC would not dwell on this quagmire "hatela wey cheqa", and would work hard to mend fences with the alliance. ELF-RC has invested its lion's share in the Alliance and had contributed a lot to its growth. ELF-RC would not abandon the Alliance and it is in this light that it has established a dialogue committee chaired by ato Ahmed Nasser. The bilateral dialogue committee has not produced any tangible results so far but the lines of communication would remain open.

In the after-math of the walkout, ELF-RC leaders have worked hard to explain their position to the neighboring governments and have produced some good results. The neighboring governments have now come to understand ELF-RC's position and are lending their support. ELF-RC is active in both Sudan and Ethiopia.

Seyoum also stated that they have several meetings and dialogues with EPLF-DP and that leaders of EPLF-DP do not view ELF-RC's position with the AENF as wrong. 

National Conference is a process of healing:

The national conference would be the main preoccupation of ELF-RC. National conference is the path to national reconciliation and harmony. This would be an all-inclusive national conference. This is an ELF-RC initiative that could only materialize if all Eritrean organizations, whether they are political or civic get to participate. ELF-RC has established a 15-man facilitating committee that would lay the ground.

Seyoum's understanding of reconciliation is not much different from that of Awate Foundation. For more information, readers could read  Salih Gadi's speech that was given at a seminar organized by EPF-DFW on December 28, 2002. Seyoum places a stronger emphasis on societal reconciliation. 

ELF-RC military wing:

Seyoum spoke about the presence of the military wing that is gaining more strength. The purpose of the military wing is to resist the regime that is instilling fear in our people. The Isayas regime has the sole monopoly of the use of force, which has, de facto, incapacitated our peoples' ability to show any resistance. This could only be changed if there is a counter force that could challenge it. There is also a need for an organized army that could ensure smooth transition when the regime collapses.  

Final notes: 

There was a truly democratic culture at the seminar. The public was allowed to ask freely and was given ample opportunity to do so. The public asked the good, the bad and the ugly and Seyoum and his comrades responded with great degree of tolerance and civility. There were few remarks that could have been avoided by the leaders, but, for the most part, they did an outstanding job. Granted they have a long way to go, but, I liked what I saw and there is a good cause for optimism.

It was refreshing to see leaders such as ato Habtemariam Kiflai accepting feedback from ordinary citizens like me. I'm mentioning Habtemariam because he said something that stuck in my mind. He said something to the effect that he could always see what is wrong with his face by looking at his mirror but could not know the validity and correctness of his ideas if he does not hear from people like me. He took my feedback to heart and expressed his gratitude. This is the stuff democratic leadership is made off and I hope many of our leaders would feel and act that way. All the leaders and members of ELF-RC were easily approachable. It was truly a breath of fresh air.

It was nice to meet some internet writers such as Desbele Khasai and Tesfai at the seminar. 

On the gauyla and food: 

The organizers seemed to be more interested in people in than in making meager profits. After having attended many of EPLF's and EPJD's seminars in the last 13 years, this was certainly an appreciated change. The food was excellent and the music was fantastic. There was a full band with four singers. We danced to some of ELF's classic songs like " N��l�o� [��V| s�qmko�� �bfV" and "­Emk �l� ��SqV �[�Lp �]KV". I was particularly happy to see some EPLF-DP members helping the ELF-RC Houston branch. To the Houston ELF-RC branch, I say Kudos to a job well done.  Thanks for affording us an enlightening seminar and excellent entertainment.