EDA:  2008 a year of hope and new energy

 By Fesseha Nair

                                               It is time to unite and not divide !

Year 2007 was the year of division and attrition inside the EDA member organizations after its congress in Addis. The leaders of the member organizations failed to resolve their internal disputes and were divided into two groups accusing each other and saying that the truth is with us than with the another group. It was a year of marginalization and defamation characterized by verbal combats. It was a lost year. We couldn’t face the dictator in Eritrea. We couldn’t achieve the concerted political, economic and social defiance of our people. By defiance , I mean,  action by the people to regain from the dictatorship control over governmental institutions by relentlessly attacking their sources of power and deliberately using strategic planning and operations.

Year 2007 was the year of disappointment and painful to the grassroots of the member organizations in particular and the Eritrean people in general. The Eritrean people want that the opposition political organizations unite and not divide because the tyrannical dictatorship in Eritrea cannot be removed by a divided opposition.

As announced recently, the opposition political leaders of the EDA will meet in Addis on 15th January 2008.  This is a good sign towards unity and reconciliation among the leaders who were divided after the congress in 2007. I hope the leaders have now learnt from the past failures and face the truth and their promise must be to bring down the dictator and come with grand strategy and plan of action. Their immediate tasks must be:

-         Strengthen the oppressed population in their determination, self-confidence and resistance skills.

-         Strengthen the independent social groups and institutions of the oppressed people

-         Create a powerful umbrella opposition organization

-         Develop a wise grand strategic plan for freedom and implement it skilfully

Let the year 2008 lay down the foundation or establish the road map and work towards building a strong self –reliant opposition that can win the dictatorship.

The EDA leadership must overcome its internal weaknesses by standing together and strengthening the oppressed people.  The Eritrean people does not want more divisions and anger from the opposition political leaders but good negotiators with multicultural charisma. I hope the Addis meeting that will be hold on 15 the January 2008 be towards that and come with acceptable resolutions that help us face the hard truth of this time to bring down the dictatorship and build democratic Eritrea where justice, peace, democracy, human rights and the rule of law prevail.