JEDDAH, 7 June — A committee of eleven made up of exiled Eritrean politicians and independent personalities working for the establishment of a new system of rule in Asmara said they have launched a national effort to rally the opposition behind a unified future vision as to how the country should be governed after the fall of the regime. The program launched by the Eritrean National Reconciliation Committee calls for recognition of the ethnicity and religious and cultural diversity of the Eritrean people including the recognition of Tigrenya and Arabic as the two official languages, a federal system ensuring equal rights and obligations and fair distribution of wealth and power.
These demands, the opposition insists, have not been met by the ruling Popular Front for Democracy and Justice led by President Assias Afwerki.
Hussein Baghir, the committee chairman, said their effort seeks initially to unify those parties and groups who share a similar political and cultural platform; mainly those hailing from Muslim and Arabic speaking regions. This would then be expanded to cover other groups especially the Christian population of the country whether organizations or individuals.
“It is true, the majority of the committee members are from exiled groups hailing from Muslim background. But this does not mean the effort is confined to certain parties or regions. We have already opened a dialogue with prominent Christian figures including Dr. Tasfai T’zion Madhani, a widely respected academic and campaigner for equality and justice and a strong opponent of the prevalence of any particular ethnic or religious group over others,” said Baghir.
Three former activists in the struggle for independence who have since retired from active politics, Abdul Aziz Muhammad, Ali Ibrahim Saeed and Sulaiman Idris Abdullah, are among the committee.
Baghir said the committee is leading the effort as an independent body away from political affiliation or influences. Three years ago 11 Eritrean exiled opposition groups of different political backgrounds met in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and formed an alliance and called for political change in their country by all means including force. The alliance however failed to specify how the country should be government apart from agreeing on a transitional administration and the holding of general elections.
Its members say they are preparing for a second conference later in the month’ in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, to ponder its next move. The change of avenue was dictated by ongoing efforts to improve relations between Eritrea and Sudan. They said they respect the decision of the Sudanese government and appreciated Sudan’s support for the Eritrean people.
“We want this time to arrive at a unified position regarding how the country should be governed in future. Practical steps have to be taken to settle the issue of the form of rule we want. In the first conference the opposition agreed on the need to remove the regime. This time we want to agree on how the country would be ruled including laying down arrangements for the transitional period and the drafting of federal system that would take into account the concerns of all groups in our multi-ethnic and multi-religious society,” said Baghir.
The decision by the government authorizing the formation of political parties and the subsequent publication of a draft law on how this could be practiced was met with either skepticism or outright rejection form the opposition.
The “Draft Law on Political Parties and Associations for the year 2001” as the law is named, gives any 100 Eritrean nationals the right to form a political party or organization. The law stipulates that these parties and organizations must fully abide by the country’s constitution, reject the use violence and agree not to function on religious or sectarian basis.
The opposition said there has to be consensus on such important issues like drafting a constitution or issuing laws organizing political parties and called for the involvement of all the people and not just the party in power. Baghir said they have set two conditions for agreeing to any law that organizes political life in Eritrea. First, the regime must recognize the opposition and admit there are other political groups who do not share its views on how the country is to be governed. Second, the current constitution must be subjected to a revision with the opposition allowed to have a say in its contents.
On why they continue to refuse to return home to campaign for change from inside the country, he said the government was not serious in its offer for political pluralism and can not be trusted judging from previous experiences on its treatment of political opponents.
“They the government do not like to see any genuine change taking place. All they seek is for others to come back and become part of the regime. The law on political parties and organizations as well as previous announcements are no more than cosmetic reforms.”
Among the grievances voiced by the opposition hailing from lowland areas of predominant Muslim population is what they see as persistent government attempts to marginalize their role in political and social life.
Baghir spoke of restrictions on religious activity and the banning of Arabic language in schools while allowing these to teach in other indigenous dialects. “The Eight Eritrean Muslim nationalities have for centuries used Arabic to forge a common culture and heritage. All this is being threatened now under a policy of oppression, humiliation and downing of one sector of the population.”
He said the system of rule applied by the government would not work in a country like Eritrea with such diverse population. The federal system sought by the opposition is one where all are people treated equally while guaranteeing the equal distribution of power and wealth, he said.