The Eritrean
Democratic Alliance (EDA) is going to convene its congress in the near future
therefore we are publishing our article “Some Thoughts on the Projected
National Conference” in order to pave a way for discussion and new ideas
that can enrich the coming EDA congress.
To contact us please visit our
web site http://www.strategyadi.com
Some
Thoughts on the Projected National Conference
1.
Introduction
Throughout
the history of our revolution, whenever a crisis that threatened the struggle
for liberation broke out, the Eritrean people unfurled the flag of national
congress or conference. The present demand for a national conference is in
step with established tradition. The national devastation caused by internal
dictatorship and external wars ushered the slogans of reconciliation and
national salvation to the forefront: these two popular demands represent the
locus of national debate among Eritrean political communities in the diaspora.
The concept of reconciliation was inspired by the urgent need of
resolving the standing contradictions among the different organisations - the
aim was to reconcile the disparate opposition forces so that the days of the
dictatorship might be shortened speedily. Reconciliation was also presented as
a vehicle of healing the political and cultural wounds caused by interminable
internal conflicts. There also surfaced the notion that reconciliation was
indivisible - the articulators of this quaint dialectical finesse advocated
the theses that reconciliation between the dictatorship and the opposition
ought to take precedence over the struggle to dislodge the dictatorial system.
The demand for reconciliation was put to rest by the emergence of an upgraded
Charter and Organisational Structure at the Fifth Regular Meeting of the ENA.
Nevertheless, great national efforts, such as the task of dislocating the
dictatorship, can hardly be expected to be achieved by reconciliation alone
– important ingredients, such as a unified opposition force, and a viable
financial support system, are also essential.
As
the dictatorship intensified the destruction of the bonds of society and
nation, the demand for national salvation replaced that of reconciliation; be
that as it may, the dictatorship remains in power oblivious to the Eritrean
debate about reconciliation and national salvation. From this perspective, the
national conference needs to be perceived not only as an instrument for
bringing down the dictatorial regime; but more importantly, it needs to be
envisaged as a drawing-board where the steps that lead to the empowerment of
the people are designed. The clarion call of the national conference - raised
by the Eritrean people, the ENA, and supported by civil societies - was
endorsed at the 18th Eritrean Youth Festival in Kessel. The ENA,
together with other opponents of the regime, accepts the challenge of
translating this crucial demand of our people into reality.
2. What are the Principles that need to be Considered?
Let
us start with what the conference ought not to be. The conference cannot be
modelled on the congresses of the past that were organised for the
mobilisation of our people for national liberation - by means of protracted
war. That task has been achieved: Eritrea is already an independent sovereign
country. Judging from the Eritrean national debate, the aspiration for a
national conference encompasses two central dimensions: the first of these -
the principle that the dictatorship should be dislodged - is agreed upon by
the entire opposition camp, and does not require further elaboration. The
second principle - that of the empowerment of the people - occupies centre
stage in the Eritrean national debate, and is expected to lock the collective
attention of the participants of the national conference.
The
empowerment of the people cannot be achieved without a multi-party democracy
based on a constitution. The Eritrean people have the right to establish a
democratic system, and elect democratic governments of their choice, by the
exercise of their power to vote. In other words, the central space of the
Eritrean national debate is occupied by the struggle for multi-party democracy.
In a society such as ours - that has gone through violent intra-organisational
conflicts - the principle of reconciliation should be weaved into our
democratic system, and not treated separately; likewise, national salvation is
not a once and for all phenomenon but rather the end result of a national
effort - elaborated within the framework of a democratic and
constitutional system. Put briefly, these two vibrant demands of the Eritrean
people need not be treated outside the confines of the Eritrean political
context.
What
is the strategic relationship between the empowerment of the Eritrean people
and the projected national conference? This strategic relationship may be
described as a road map with a difference. The distinction lies in the fact
that the Eritrean road map shall depend more on national effort and less on
external facilitation; in other words, the Eritrean road map shall be designed
at the Eritrean national conference, by Eritreans, for Eritreans. The first
task of the conference is to elaborate the ways and means of removing the
dictatorship by forging a political platform acceptable to the entire
opposition; a related task is to put together a structure that is capable of
implementing the goals of the opposition forces. The second task of the
conference, however, is to tackle the difficult objective of designing a
blueprint suited to the post-dictatorship Eritrea. In this regard, it is
necessary to point out that it is not within the sphere of competence of the
projected national conference to draft the constitution of Eritrea. The
national conference may, however, discuss the following principles and steps:
The
Provisional Government
A
provisional government that includes all the opposition forces - immediately
after the downfall of the PFDJ – needs to established in order to fill the
leadership gap during the interim period.
The
Transitional Government
A
transitional government that includes all the opposition forces needs to be
formed - in order to agree on a constitution and formulate party and electoral
laws.
3.
What are the Organisational Models that Need to be Considered?
In
this contribution, we shall consider some models for public debate;
doubtlessly, other models shall emerge as the debate unfolds. Better still,
the inventive Eritrean mind shall not fail to refine useful combinations of
the models presented here:
The
Eritrean National Alliance
The
ENA is a home-base to multiple political organisations. At the Fifth Regular
Meeting, this umbrella organisation was upgraded at the charter and
organisational levels. The preservation of the unity, sovereignty, and
territorial integrity of our nation that has been achieved by decades of
heroic struggle, is the standing pillar of the Eritrean National Alliance. At
the charter level central principles regarding religious equality, the rights
of nationalities, and the principle of decentralisation were defined clearly.
The acceptance of Tigrinya and Arabic as official languages, and the
acceptance of the right of Eritrean nationalities to use and develop their
languages was also a significant step. Another principle of the charter that
may be of importance to the national conference is the credo that rules that
govern the transfer of power need to be based on the democratic principles of
political plurality, and majority rule.
At
the organisational structure level the ENA established two complementary
leadership centres; namely, the supreme leadership, and the executive
secretariat. The supreme leadership is composed of representatives of sister
organisations. The executive secretariat is composed of single representatives
delegated by their organisations. Members of the executive secretariat are
required to be fulltime professionals on behalf of the Alliance. The rotating
leadership was replaced by a stable structure, while the period of office was
increased to two years.
From
the above description it is possible to understand that the ENA model has the
characteristics of a united front of
autonomous organisations, and a united democratic front bound by a democratic
charter, and a united organisational structure – represented by a
fulltime leadership.
Broad
National Front
This
model may be traced to the Chinese war of resistance against Japanese
occupation during the Second World War. The nationalists, led by Chiang Kai
Check, and the communists, led by Mao Dze Dung, forged a broad front in order
to terminate Japanese occupation. There was a tacit understanding between
these irreconcilable enemies that each would go for the jagular of the other
in a war of annihilation - once the task of removing the common Japanese enemy
was accomplished.
This
model is suited for aligning two or more antagonistic organisations for the
purpose of knocking out a common enemy. The minimum objective of eliminating
the enemy may be achieved; however, civil war, coup d’etat, or brutish war
lordism may also result from such an arrangement.
The
United National Front
This
model is a variant of the wide or broad national front, where two or more
liberation organisations agree to pull their resources together against a
common enemy - without the need of exploring common post-war arrangements. On
the home front, this type of agreement was entered into between the EPLF and
the ELF, in 1978. This experiment ended in a civil war that ultimately led to
the demise of the ELF. This model provides the opportunity of access to each
other’s constituencies, and permits the units of the united front to siphon
legitimacy from each other. This
model is preferred by political realists who argue that the Eritrean political
scenery is dominated by the ELF and EPLF schools, and that an arrangement
between these organisations should be the main objective of the national
conference. The proponents of this point of view may argue that civil
societies and independents are, covertly or overtly, supporters of one or the
other political school.
The
National Assembly
This
model was proposed for the purpose of bringing the multiplicity of Eritrean
organisations under one legislative and political roof; it provides the
framework for removing the dictatorship; and paves the way to the transitional
stages. All delegates, of organisations and the Eritrean people, have the
right to be represented in the national assembly: the main task of this
legislative body is to strive for a new legitimacy at the national and
international planes. This model also encourages the replacement of the
illegitimate ideology of the PFDJ by democratic legitimacy, and the
establishment of relations with the parliaments of the world - in order to
convey the true image of a peaceful, democratic, anti-terrorist Eritrea.
Out of the inclusive base that the national assembly provides, various
forms of leadership structures may be constructed. One of these is the
government in exile model.
To
summarise, the advantages of the national assembly model are as follows:
-
The legislative constituency provides an alternative legitimacy to the
illegitimacy of the dictatorship – in a situation where the rule of law has
been usurped by the dictator.
-
The national assembly model is suited to the present configuration of
international politics by opening doors to all democratic parliaments and the
UN.
-
The leadership that emerges from a national assembly model is bound to
attain political recognition at the national and international levels.
-
In this model all political organisations have the right to maintain
their autonomy while being represented by their delegates at the legislative
and executive levels.
Government
in Exile
Governments
in exile do not have to be constructed from the national assembly model; they
may also be created out of a variety of models. The fundamental condition that
this model needs to satisfy is whether a given government in exile enjoys
national legitimacy and international recognition. Outside the framework of
the legitimacy principle - represented by the national assembly model - the
danger of Eritrean organisations forming a plethora of governments in exile
cannot be discounted. This model
foresees a negotiated agreement between the opposition organisations on the
matter of building a government- in - exile; with the possibility of extending
its incumbency to the transitional phase. It also foresees a negotiated
agreement on matters dealing with the future political system of our nation.
In this context the national conference may render legitimacy to a previously
arrived at political arrangement.
The
PLO Type
The
PLO brought together several Palestinian organisations under one umbrella. In
this model, while the different organisations maintained their political and
organisational
autonomy,
they ended up by revolving around FATTAH – the real dynamo of the PLO. To
offset the dominance of the FATTAH, these organisations were represented at
the national assembly and the leadership structure of the PLO. This model
provides the advantages of a legitimate, united, political centre - much in
the way that the national assembly does. The disadvantages of this model lie
in the fact that the old guard tends to retain power - thus delaying the
empowerment of the people - and also in the fact that a strong organisation
may establish hegemony over the weaker organisations.
Dialogue
Conference
A
dialogue conference, as the name denotes, aims to launch two related themes in
the area of political culture: the first being, shaping a consensus around the
central issues that have ensued from the political crisis in Eritrea; and the
second being, fashioning an encompassing goodwill among the contending
Eritrean organisations. Some of these issues are:
-
The issue of dialogue and reconciliation
-
The issue of national salvation
-
The issue of planning Eritrea’s political future
-
The issue of harnessing popular support for the elimination of the
dictatorship
-
The creation of a new political culture
-
The issue of laying the foundations of democracy
4.
The Preparation of the Conference
The
preparation of the conference may be based on the agreement arrived at between
the opposition organisations at a consultative meeting. In this respect, there
are three organisational levels that may need to be taken into consideration.
These are: the hosting body, the consultative meeting, and the national
conference.
The
Hosting Body
The
hosting body is the ENA. It is difficult to imagine congresses, conferences or
even seminars being organised without hosting bodies. The ENA is not only the
initiator of the idea of a national conference, but has also accorded this
important national project a prominent position in its National Charter.
Furthermore, the participants of the Kessel Festival endorsed the ENA’s
claim to organise the conference. These two legitimating items deposit the
duty of transforming the national conference - from a desirable idea into
reality – squarely upon the shoulders of the ENA.
The
Consultative Meeting
A
consultative meeting needs to be called in order to forge an agreement between
the various organisations that shall partake in the national conference. The
purpose of the consultative meeting shall be to discuss the relevant aspects
of convoking a successful conference in a participatory spirit. Some of these
aspects that readily come to mind are:
-
The establishment of the preparatory committee
-
The formation of the secretariat of the conference
-
The electoral body
-
The selection of the country in which the conference shall be held
-
The funds that need to be raised
-
The mass media
-
The security of the conference
The
National Conference
The
national conference is the end product of the work of the hosting body and the
consultative meeting.
Participation
The
principle of participation at the national conference is a matter to be agreed
upon by the various organisations at the consultative meeting. All seem to
agree that political organisations and civil societies shall constitute the
main constituency blocks of the national conference; nevertheless, a
conference of this magnitude needs to explore ways and means that allow the
participation of the non-cadre sectors of our people. It is generally agreed
that the delegates to the conference need be elected democratically; in this
respect, the question of the number of participants is an important item that
needs to be agreed upon at the consultative meeting. An equally important
aspect of participation is the matter of fair and balanced representation; the
national conference needs to be the mirror image of the Eritrean nation -
towards this end, the political, cultural, age, and gender cross-section of
our nation need to be taken into consideration. The question of invitation of
foreign governments, organisations, and prominent personalities is also a
matter to be resolved at the consultative meeting. The same ought to be true
of the criterion of observer status.
The
Preparatory Committee
Of
all the possible items in the agenda of the consultative meeting, the matter
of setting up the preparatory committee, the secretariat, and the electoral
body, occupy prominent positions. The preparatory committee ought to be a
vehicle of preparing the conference and nothing else. The secretariat has the
responsibility of administering the conference and organising its
deliberations. The electoral body’s task is – depending on the agreement
of the parties at the consultative meeting - to ensure a watertight election
procedure. In order to make these bodies free from undue political influence
two steps may be necessary: firstly, the selection of these bodies needs to be
free from political control as it needs to be representative; secondly, these
bodies may need to be non-eligible for candidacy to political offices.
The
Venue
The
issue of where the national conference should be held needs to be agreed upon
at the consultative meeting. This step has the advantage of eliminating
unnecessary controversy!
Raising
Funds
The
campaign of raising funds and its proper dispensation is one of the pressing
issues that needs to be discussed at the consultative meeting.
The
Mass Media
A
unit for the mass media needs to be established so that there is a concerted
effort to mobilise national and international support for the conference. A
mass media unit equipped with a website, bulletin, and radio facility, has the
double-edged advantage of opening access to world opinion, and keeping PFDJ
infiltration at bay.
The
Question of Security
The
question of security is important to the success of the conference. A security
unit needs to be established in order to gather, sift, and evaluate
information. A fire wall needs to be built between the national conference and
the agents of the dictatorship - the protection of life and the success of the
conference depend on this crucial step.
5.
The Documents of the National Conference
The
Eritrean national conference, like most conferences, has a limited duration;
it is impossible for the conference to take up all the elements discussed in
this paper from scratch. Common sense dictates that now is the right time to
delve into the debate about the national conference. The
organisers of the conference need to follow the national debate with care so
that due consideration is given to public opinion. The following themes may be
deemed suitable documents for the deliberation of the conference:
Ways
and Means of Replacing the Dictatorship by a Democratic System
This
document needs to focus on the central elements of a coherent strategy that
maximises the weaknesses of the Eritrean dictatorship, and minimises the
weaknesses of the opposition. The document needs, likewise, to define the
duration of the provisional and transitional stages.
Agreements
Governing the Post-Issayas Period
This
paper needs to focus on areas of agreement that shall guide the victorious
opposition during the post-dictatorial period. This agreement shall be the
basis of a democratic legitimacy at the national and international levels; in
this context, the ideas revolving around the provisional and transitional
governments must be explicitly defined.
Principles
of Unity in an Environment of Diversity
This
paper needs to tackle the fundamental principle of unity in a societal
environment of diversity. The recognition that Eritrean diversity is a
cultural given, and that the question of the forms of unity is a variable,
provides the flexibility to explore the required democratic solutions.
The
Paper on a Suitable Organisational Model
This
paper needs to monitor the Eritrean national debate regarding the models
presented above; a wise selection of the appropriate model is essential to our
victory. This model needs to be selected from the perspective of retaining the
autonomy of the opposition organisations so that they operate as living and
dynamic units within a flexible and functional structure.
6.
The Procedures of the Conference
If
the hosting body and the support units, put together at the consultative
meeting, perform their tasks properly, then we can assume that the
participants shall be ensconced in their quarters safely; the security unit
has isolated the conference from the outside world; and the mass media unit is
suitably perched at a vantage post. The following procedural steps are equally
important for the successful conclusion of the conference:
-
The Hosting body, and the leaders of the opposition organisations read
their speeches
-
The preparatory committee presents its report and resigns its
responsibility
-
The secretariat for the administration of the conference is elected/selected
-
Workshops are set up
-
The plenary session deliberates and approves the documents discussed by
the workshops
-
An electoral body is put in place
-
The leadership of the new structure is elected
-
The secretariat resigns
-
The new leadership assumes its duties
THE
ERITREAN CONGRESS PARTY
Herui
T. Bairu
Stockholm/04-10-03