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In 2014, Eritrea continued to be a scene of human disaster and a country under siege: from systematic state brutality, gross human rights violations and eliminations of any political dissent within the country to indefinite military conscription, which is forcing thousands of its youth to flee the country and becoming victims of human trafficking and organ harvesting enterprises.

According to UNHCR, in 2014 around 70 Eritreans arrived daily in the refugee camps in Northern Ethiopia. Currently, there are over 93,000 Eritrean refugees living in four camps in Northern Ethiopia: Shimelba, May Ayni, Adiharush, and Hitsats (established in 2013),including in two camps in the Afar region of Ethiopia. The country has lost a large number of its productive force (the youth) in 2014 more than the preceding year, entirely crippling Eritrea of its promising and future vision of its people. A country without a youth has no future. Eritrea saw its human and social capital bleeding to death under the predatory regime of a malignant narcissistic leader in 2014. In Eastern Sudan, the number of Eritrean refugees who arrived in 2014 totaled 10,700, an average of more than 1,000 a month.

In addition, the country saw its human suffering going from bad to worse, with a near collapsed economy, widespread poverty, and a health system that cannot deliver a semblance of basic services. There was hardly any family in Eritrea that has not been affected by the consequences of the violent repression of the PFDJ in 2014.

In 2014, the PFDJ regime continued to kill, abduct, torture, and imprison citizens, and committing extrajudicial executions and disappearances of hundreds of citizens, including holding hundreds of others incommunicado and in clandestine detentions across the country. Many of those arrested and held incommunicado in the crackdown of 2001 are reportedly died in prison,including members of the G15. Access to political, economic and social rights, and fundamental freedom to exercise own religion, culture and traditional norms/values continued to be violently repressed in 2014.

The Moral Courage of Eritrean Faith Leaders

Informed and morally courageous four Catholic priests authored a document “Where is Your Brother” that gained a groundswell of support from the Eritrean opposition and the public at large in 2014. “Where is Your Brother” is a document that captured the unprecedented scale of violent repression and terror of the PFDJ regime on Eritrean citizens, and how as a consequence of it, the country is sliding into a deeper social and political crisis.

The document opened a new public and political discourse regarding the gross human rights abuses by the PFDJ, and helped to lay a groundwork for Eritrean people inside and outside not to capitulate but to stand up, defend their rights, and hasten the transition of power to the people and salvage their country. The manifesto also revealed that it is a matter of time before both the opposition and the public indignation reaches a critical mass inside the country.

In a similar vein, in September 2014, the clergy of the Union of the Eritrean Orthodox monasteries put out another document declaring excommunication of the notorious individuals who have been running the Orthodox Church establishment for the last decade or so. The underlying message of both documents is that the long and disastrous road that the PFDJ took the country for the last two decades is being challenged by the people that have an ecclesiastic power on faith, moral, cultural, and social authority in our society. These are the two most important documents that delegitimized the political power of PFDJ in 2014 and broke the culture of conformity and fear of our people that the PFDJ uses to perpetuate its misrule of the country.   

Eritrean Movement for Democracy and Human Rights (EMDHR), Bologna, and Frankfurt Festivals

In May 2014, the EMDHR and its partners organized one of the most important workshops of the year that brought together Eritrean scholars, experts, political organizations, and civil society groups. Under the themeof “Strategic Thinking on Political and Socioeconomic Crises in Eritrea: Implications, Scenarios and Responses”, participants presented a wide array of empirical study papers and explored the current state of affairs of Eritrea under the PFDJ misrule: from the lack of constitution/rule of law to economic and human crisis, from the destruction of Eritrea’s social fabric to the migration of the most skilled and productive force and its far-reaching impact on the health, unity, and development of our country, and to how we should formulate a transition to democracy as well as forge a strategy of bringing all the forces of change together in the fight against the PFDJ regime, be it inside Eritrea or abroad. In the same spirit, the Bologna festival, which was held under “the theme of Eritrean Solutions for Eritrean Problems” and the Frankfurt festival, which both brought large number of Eritreans together came out with a strong voice in support of the EMDHR workshop declaration, including adapting the resolutions of Bologna 2013 and establishing a task force charged to work on a number of areas on how to form a united national movement, dialogue and reconciliation and others.     

Regionalism that Knows no Bounds

The politics of regionalism was one of the ugliest developments in 2014 that caught the attention of many Eritreans. Certain groups and personalities have been busy promoting regional politics in 2014 by claiming that the PFDJ regime is suppressing and/or targeting their region more than other region (s). The fact is there are stacks of evidence that the PFDJ regime is no less cruel or repressive to other regions in Eritrea, be it Barka, Seraye or Senhit…etc.

For PFDJ, all Eritrean regions are the same; there is no one region different from the rest of regions when it comes to the state of repression. Again, although it is a well known that the PFDJ regime applies the same method of repression against all those who oppose its regime regardless of any color of region, Muslim or Christian, unfortunately the wretched political situation of Eritrea is one factor that is serving as a perfect field for all sorts of divisions and factionalisms, especially for those few willing to subscribe to it. But those sowing the seeds of regionalism know that there is no particular region in Eritrea that is exclusively mistreated, systematically discriminated, killed or persecuted more than the rest of Eritrean regions by the dictatorial regime of Issais.

Yet, those who subscribe to such politics under the pretext of saving our region or my region are simply perpetuating PFDJ’s tyrannical politics, which would help it to further strengthen and tighten its iron grip on all Eritrean people. It also suggests that those who signed on to the regionalism politics are unable to rally a united force against the PFDJ regime; the easy path they found is to follow a downright sub national politics, which they believe is easy to dupe few apolitical and disillusioned Eritreans. The brute fact is that by involving in regionalism, they are not helping their region, but the regime of PFDJ that is making Eritrea increasingly divisive, oppressive, and bloodstained country, which their region will continue to bear the brunt of it like any other region in Eritrea.

The irony of all is this: if our regionalists (regional entrepreneurs) are accusing PFDJ of being a regionalist, one would ask why are they mimicking it and carbon copying it (PFDJ)? In fact, the pattern of imitation or emulation is interesting because the regionalists see the PFDJ as a regime that is ruling Eritrea by siding with or representing one region, and yet the regionalists themselves are aspiring for power of their region by marginalizing other regions. 

More importantly, the point is, you see, Issais’ regime has squandered the accumulated social and political capital of Eritrea’s revolution. Now, instead of reclaiming our revolution, we are handing PFDJ more ammunition to use - regionalism which will enable it to extend its life span. They are writing a wrong history. Eritrea does not need sub national or identity politics; what it needs is democracy, strong institutions, and constitutional system of governance that provides rule of law and equal treatment for all of its citizens. And this means that we have to avoid polarization of Eritrean society on basis of region, ethnic, or religion. If we continue the discourse of regionalism politics, at the end of the day it won’t be only democracy and freedom that will be at risk in Eritrea. In the long term, it means creating an embittered and polarized generation too blinded by hatred and intolerance of one another, and that won’t fix what ails the state of Eritrea. EPDP believes this is the lesson we need to take away for 2015.

Women of Extraordinary Resilience

In 2014, many Eritrean Diaspora women have done remarkable job in championing the rightof Eritrean refugees around the world, advocating for political asylum and protection of Eritrean rights as refugees on their host countries, campaigning against the human trafficking and organ harvesting in the Sinai desert, and echoing the plight of Eritrean refugees in the halls of UN and in the European governments.

Many to mention, but the most inspirational women who made great strides as human rights activists against the gross human rights violation by the dictatorial regime of Issais Afeworki are Elsa Chyrum (Human Rights Concern Eritrea), Dr. Alganesh Fessaha (NGO Ghandi foundation), Meron Estefanos (Journalist and Activist), Sister Azezet Habtezgi Kidane ( Combonian Missionary Sisters), Salwa Nour (Activist in the Gulf States), and Selam Kidane (Activist and ‘Freedom Friday’ campaigner). All of them individually or collectively have made a significant contribution to the struggle for democracy, human rights and freedom in Eritrea in 2014. Elsa Chyrum staged hunger strike in the Djiboutian embassy mission in Geneva in March 2014 against the detention of 267 Eritrean refugees in Djibouti. The hunger strike finally led to the release of the 267 Eritrean detainees in Djibouti. Meron Estefanos coauthored “the Human Trafficking Cycle: Sinai and Beyond” in March 2014, which captures the gruesome account of Eritrean refugees at the hands of human traffickers. All these Eritrean women brought the struggle of democracy close to home in a very resilient and remarkable way in 2014. 

A Tireless Defender of Eritrean Refugees

Father Mussie Zerai, an Eritrean Catholic priest in Switzerland, is another devoted Eritrean who fought gallantly in 2014 and the years before in saving many Eritrean refugees from drowning in the Mediterranean Sea. Father Mussie established a satellite mobile phone to reach out many Eritrean refugees detained in the Libya and other North African countries. This fearless and crusader for justice uses his satellite mobile phone to alert coast guards on behalf refugees stranded in a dangerous journey across the Mediterranean Sea. His active involvement in the saving many lives of refugees has earned him recognition as one of the most devoted and tireless defender of Eritrean refugees.            

The State of Stagnation

Eritrean political organizations remained in a state of stagnation in 2014 regarding pulling their resources together and mapping a united strategic roadmap against the dictatorial regime of Issais Afeworki. However, there were some efforts seemingly towards unity, for example, as in the case of the ‘Consultation Forum’ that brought leaders of the opposition forces together and deliberated on a number of issues, ranging from the misunderstanding and mutual mistrust that exists between the opposition forces to the uncompromising political culture and embracing political polarization to a combination of other weaknesses and failures in the opposition. But no concrete, joint, and/or workable agreement was reached that can be characterized as a turning point over the status quo. Individual groups in the opposition have also attempted to engage in a bilateral discussion on how to work together, but this too did not translate into any meaningful development. It seems the opposition has been caught again in a vicious cycle in 2014, maintaining the status quo and unable to transcend beyond the root cause that is holding it back from moving forward – trust deficit.

Lampedusa and Beyond

Lampedusa spurred a serious debate among Eritrean Diaspora in 2013. And the impact was a renaissance of spirit and reawakening, which eventually led to the establishment of multiple grass root movements across the globe. At the beginning, all those movements captured the hope and enthusiasm of Eritreans towards grass root movements unseen in the last two decades. And they have done a number of remarkable public engagements, major protests, and forums aimed at PFDJ regime, including a wave of protests in the PFDJ’s Diaspora gatherings and events that sometimes led to clashes with PFDJ supporters.

But the enthusiasm and tenacity that started in 2013 did not continue with the same weight in 2014. Although still struggling and functioning at some level, the scattered nature of its existence appeared to be part of the problem in 2014, meaning the lack of regional and international leadership that would enable the grass root movements to operate on the same page. But the second and major obstacle to the grass root movements in 2014 was the interference of some political organizations whose efforts were focused on modeling the grass root movements’ ideas and practices on their own image. This means more polarizations and disagreements between the various grass root movements across the globe. And this is the obstacle that the grass root movements need to tackle worldwide, and march beyond Lampedusa. 

The Man Behind the Most Important Book in 2014

Ambassador Andebrhan Woldegiorgis published a book that provokes, illuminates, and narrates how the sad state of affairs of Eritrea came into being that overtime not only bankrupted and paralyzed the hopes and dreams of nation building process in the country, but also how the hegemony and dictatorship of PFDJ regime has exposed the country to unprecedented level of social and political crisis. Grounded on the history and experiences of the liberation era as well as on the crisis that took place in post independence Eritrea, Ambassador Andebrhan discusses the entire existence of the state, how it has been delegitimized by not allowing Eritrean citizens to participate in the political system of the country, and provides a framework on how to understand the situation Eritrea is in, as well as how address it.

EPDP Strides & Pushes in 2014

EPDP continued its strides and pushes in 2014 on the subject of national dialogue and building consensus between the forces of change in the Eritrean opposition on the principle of establishing a broad based alliance/coalition. In this respect, one that stands out is the formation of “Consultation Forum” in 2014. Although, it opened some space for honest discussion on the critical failures and weaknesses of the opposition, the forum did not translate into any practical step or into challenging the fragmented state of affairs of the opposition. Thus, the forum did not set conditions for concrete implementation of a broad based alliance, a regressive pattern that the opposition could not overcome. And if the current polarization and disunity continues unchanged among the Eritrean opposition forces, it is incumbent upon us all to redefine our strategy as we cannot justify the current stalemate of the opposition.

Yet, EPDP has registered a degree of strength and success in many fronts sometimes alone and sometimes with leaders of the Eritrean civil society organizations. In this context, EPDP reached out a number of international agencies and institutions in 2014 with aim of seeking a valuable support to our struggle against the repressive regime of Issais Afeworki. What EPDP did in all those contacts and diplomatic reach outs is scaling up the Eritrean people’s struggle for democracy in the international opinion on one side, and seeking diplomatic recognition of the Eritrean opposition forces as a whole that has been largely absent on the other side. EPDP also worked closely with a number of Eritrean civil society organizations in 2014, namely the EMDHR, Medrek, Bologna Forum organized by youth, and Cdrie on a number of important international and national issues such as the participation in the workshop of South African Development Community Council of Nongovernmental Organizations (SADC-CNGO) and others. Although EPDP maintained good relationship with the Eritrean civil society organizations in the previous years, the relation was more reenergized and reshaped in 2014 as part of fostering a unified struggle.

EPDP also continued holding a number of public meetings, and interactions with the Eritrean Diaspora across the globe in 2014: advocating the importance of united struggle, ways of embracing the social, cultural, and political unity of Eritrean society, promoting nonviolent struggle, understanding the significance of reconciliation and peace, the short and long term objectives of the struggle against the PFDJ regime, and our position on Ethiopia and other neighbors...etc. In the course of all those engagements, EPDP received numerous inputs and suggestions that are crucial to our struggle against the PFDJ and beyond.      

Those who Passed Away in 2014

Many from the generation of our national liberation movement era passed away in 2014. EPDP salute them, and honor them for their life time dedication and contribution to the cause of freedom and democracy for their country. They gave their entire life to make Eritrea the land of free and the land of heroes. Their passing means a great loss for the justice and peace loving Eritrean people. Among those who passed away in 2014 are Ahmed Nassir, former ELF Chairman; Dr. Beyene, former member of ELF Revolutionary Council, Dr. Tewolde Tesfamariam (Wodi Vacaro), and Omer Jabir. These nationals were instrumental in sparking the Eritrean Nation Liberation Movement at a time when Ethiopia and its foreign enablers were conspiring to abort it.  2014 was also a year  where EPDP  suffered a big loss of  some of its gallant members   who contributed to building and consolidating the party. Among them was the most vibrant, committed and unrelenting  fighter Asghedom  Wedi Bashai in USA, Ms. Mebrat Beyene in the Sudan and Zekarias (James) in Grmany.

What is the Way Forward for 2015?

Many, but one is challenging the status quo, and that is how to break the vicious cycle of division and polarization amongst the Eritrean opposition forces. Two decades of efforts to establish unity among Eritrean opposition forces did not materialize. This is a deep crisis and we need a radical solution. It is EPDP’s stand and many others that our unity cannot take place in abstract. The unity we seek to achieve must take place in a concrete ground. What does this mean? We have a system of tyranny and exploitation that we all need to challenge and confront: this includes all social groups in Eritrea as well as religious groups, the youth, the women, the civil society, and the political groups…etc. In essence, the central dynamic theme that binds us all together should not be to exist as opposition but to end the power of PFDJ regime. This requires both rethinking and redefining of our fight that takes unity as a foundation for democracy, freedom, and nation building. We must link the struggle with the internal resistance, including building a strategic road map/direction, and having a leadership that can understand the scope and depth of Eritrea’s crisis and is capable of raising the voices of the Eritrean people that would enable us to take our fight against the PFDJ to the next level.