INDEFENCE OF ERITREAN DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES AGAIST PSEUDO-OPPOSITION

  By EAIM

          The contemporary Eritrean political arena can be categorized as dictatorship, opposition for democratic change and the pseudo-opposition with different colors. It is the responsibility of every democratic element, organization, and movement to clarify, elaborate, and defend the democratic principles the Eritrean opposition is struggling to erect in Eritrea. Our focus will be on the pseudo-opposition particularly THE AWATE-TEAM.  

Eritreans are devoid of their human, civic, economic, political and social rights by the ruthless dictatorial regime in our country we love the most. The struggle today is to change the spirit of Eritrean politics towards deeper democratic consciousness by clearing away the obstacle, which is dictatorship.

               The dictatorial regime these days is with no political power base; isolated from the people; lost credibility at home and abroad and no body believes in what is said or written in its mass media. To avert his sinking power of grip we see old tactics of control. One of the methods to convince people that common sense is not the best sense at all is to set up pseudo-opposition gangs to imitate democracy and pluralism wherever possible. The logic is quite simple. The regime’s theorists have been wise to decide that it will be insufficient to rid real and determined political opposition who swim in the ocean of its people- another controllable opposition has to be created. That is where the pseudo-opposition group fits in. These pseudo-revolutionaries formulations appear to be at odds with the regime, but their actions conform to and ultimately condone the very regime they say oppose. In essence by speaking out against the regime they expect to win the hearts and minds of the oppressed Eritreans.

          Some of the tactics these pseudo opposition movements apply include:

·        Hold conferences to propagate their disguised views.

·        Make relationship with some political movements and organizations.

·        Write articles and publish magazines, some fictitious, others who knows!

·        Travel wherever Eritreans organize a forum.

This pseudo- revolutionary clique are trying to create misunderstanding, confusion, suspicion among opposition organizations, movements and some democratic groups and revolutionary elements by:

·        Misquoting certain issues said by one organization on their target list.

·        Creating mountains out of mall hills on certain political issues.

·        Saying one thing today and denying or evading the next day.

·        Claim they stand for oppressed Eritreans when actually are propagating against their human and political rights.

·        Claim they are civic groups or civil society, but act to the contrary. Civil societies are expected to do un coerced collective action around shared interests, purposes and values. According to Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba “political elements of civil society organizations facilitate better awareness and more informed citizenry”. Civil societies include activist groups, charities, civic groups, clubs, cooperatives, cultural groups, environmental groups------etc. Civic groups are designed to identify and address issues of public concerns.   

Some democrats and revolutionary Eritreans take the pseudo-opposition as nuisance, but we say be aware of flies they carry dirt to your eyes.

     The Awate-Team says that they read between the lines. They don’t tell us what they read, but here are what we read between the lines of what they say and write that we think confuse Eritreans and create seeds of mistrust among political organizations. The EAIM has been forwarding criticism in private on what they say and write through e-mails, but their responses were insults and character assassination.

       “THANK YOU LETTER TO NGO’S & ERITREAN YOUTH”

            The Awate-Team expected the Eritrean opposition organizations and the people to thank these listed (look on Awate-Team’s list) NGO’S for giving the Dictatorial regime money and other supplies and cooperated with the dictator to run slave labor. The responsible NGO’S left Eritrean because they refused to give the dictator the money and resources unless they run their project themselves. Did the Awate-Team see, or read or hear about donated supplies are being sold to the Eritrean people. What good is in school built with slave labor if it does not serve students and has no teacher? What good is in a clinic built with slave labor if it does not have medical personnel and medicine? What good is in a road built with slave labor that doe not last one rainy season? What good is in a dam that does not hold water beyond the rainy season?

       Our Eritrean youth are being deported from Libya, Sudan and other countries. It is the responsibility of the UNHCR to stop the violation of refugee policy, but the Awate-Team want to thank this institution for not helping Eritrean destitute. We appeal to these organizations to come to their senses and work with the opposition in serving needy Eritreans.

   Awate-team thank you message to our Eritrean youth can not be any thing, but acidic thank you. Eritrean youth need salvation, but not thank you. We in the opposition expect this message from PFDJ information minister Ali Abdu not from a group who present themselves as opposition. By the way Ali Abdu and the Awate –Team are blood relatives, do they have same political views too?

    “ERITREA DOES NOT SPONSOR TERRORISM-BUT THE REGIME DOES”

      The Awate-Team in their above titled article says “The shoe is now on the other foot: should the Eritrean opposition now as our irresponsible compatriots did try to accuse all supporters of the Eritrean regime of being terrorists? ------------“. Is the Awate-Team trying to create confusion and mistrust among the opposition and the people? This was not enough for the Awate-Team, but jumped to interview the leaders of the organizations. What the team got to its surprise is united message contrary to what the Awate- Team said in their above article.

“GODLESS RULERS HELPLESS CONGREGATION”

    We urge our readers, to read between lines the above titled article by Awate- Team and come to your own conclusions. The Awate –Team writes “Recently, an evangelist website declared, “in Eritrea, the Muslim government is oppressing Christians”. The others, whose heart is bleeding for Eritrea, and who have something to say on every thing under the Eritrea sun, had nothing to say on that case. Hypocrites would be a big word, isn’t it?” EAIM believes we are struggling for democratic change and every opposition stated in public many times that religious freedom will be respected in Eritrea and is the policy of EDA. What is your motive Awate-Team in writing the above article? To incite religious division!

    The Awate –Team once classified erroneously the Eritrean opposition political organizations as religious, secular and nationality ( BIHER). Eritrean community is a diverse one formed of many nationalities. Some years ago the Jeberti Eritrean community asked the dictatorial system to be recognized as a Biher and those leaders are languishing in PFDJ prison. Our opposition organizations formed EDA and crafted a policy that is of democratic content. This classification of Awate –Team has no political or ideological bases, but creates mistrust in our opinion.

    The recent open letter to Eritreans and Ethiopians by the Awate-Team lucks clarity and we think is being done by design. It was the Eritrean regime who started the war before and the same dictator called it “senseless or meaningless war”. It is important to teach our people what is just war and unjust war and appeal to the world nations to help us to exert pressure on stopping the war. We know that the Awate- Team does not say the Eritrean regime started the war and if we don’t tell the people the truth on the conflict how do we expect them to act the right way. The Awate- Team is portraying as if there is rosy situation in Eritrea and the people have the say and can be heard. What is the hidden agenda? 

  Awate-Team says Meskerem.net is gone, but Meskerem.net knows Awate-Team to be so.

         The EAIM  challenges the Awate –Team to post this article on its website and write its rebuttle or response underneath.        

    WE STRUGGLE WE SUCCEED                Comments at     ama766@comcast.net

      GLORY TO OUR MARTYRS