EPDP News

In yet another memorandum dated 23 December 2019, the Chairman of the Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), Mr. Tesfai Woldemichael (Degiga), reminded the European Union (EU) that it has an “unfinished work” to be done in Eritrea.”  

The EPDP Chairman congratulated Ms Ursula von der Leyen of Germany for her election as the new EU Commission President, and wished her a successful New Year  during which “Eritrea will be in a renewed agenda of the EU.”

The message, also copied to Ms Federica Mogherini, the EU Commission Vice President and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, appreciated some of the past efforts of the EU towards Eritreans and their country but  that “nothing has changed in Eritrea for several decades of EU’s engagement”  with that repressive regime.

 The EPDP Chairman also drew the attention of EU and its member states that Eritreans are disturbed to yet again learn that “more funds enabling the dictatorship in Eritrea are still on their way from the EU” and regretted to read news about  the pledges made early this month to the Eritrean dictator by  EU Ambassador to Asmara, Mr. Gabor Iklody.

The memorandum further expressed deep concerns about the ongoing “appeasement” with an incorrigible regime like the one in Eritrea which long ago proved to be “an unlikely partner for peace, security and development.”

The EPDP message also highlighted the lawlessness in Eritrea, the long ongoing suffering of its people and urged the EU to stop further supporting repression in the country

It concluded with these words: “We Eritrean non-state actors struggling for democratic change in our country still hope that the EU can help for positive change in Eritrea by exerting pressure on the regime” and by taking action for the “implementation of decisions and recommendations of the UN Human Rights Commission and the UN Human Rights Rapporteur for Eritrea who has not been allowed to visit Eritrea for the past seven years.”

ብዕለት 14 ታሕሳስ 2019 ኣባላት ሰዲህኤ ጨንፈር ደቡብ ስሩዕ ጉባኤኦም ኣካይዶም። ጉባኤ ጨንፈር ድሕሪቲ ካብ መጠረስታ ሓምለ ጀሚሩ ብዕለት 01 ነሓሰ 2019 ዝተኻየደ ዕዉት ሳልሳይን ሓድነታውን ጉባኤ ሰልፊ ንመጀመርታ ግዜ ዝካየድ ዘሎ እዩ።

ጉባኤ ጨንፈር ዝጸንሔ ኣቦ-መንበር ብዘቕረቦ ሰናይ ትምኒትን ሰላምታን ድሕሪ ምቕራብ፣ ጉባኤ ኣብ ድሮ ምፍናው 2019 ምቅባል 2020 ይካየድ ስለዘሎ፣ ዝመጽእ ዓመት ናይ ሰላምን ጥዕናን፤ ስኒትን ፍቕርን ምልኪ ፈሪሱ ፍትሒ ዝነግሰሎ፡ ራህዋ ህዝብና ዝረጋገጸሉ ዓመት ክኸውን ትምኒቱ ብምግላጽ፣ ናብዚ ንምብጻሕ ድማ ዝያዳ ጻዕርን ተወፋይነት ናይ ቃልሲ ከምዝሓትት ብምትምባህ እዩ ተጀሚሩ።

ስዒቡ፡ ኣብ ኤርትራዊ ደምበ ተቓውሞ ኣብዚ ቀረባ ግዝያት ንዝረኤ ዘሎ ትስፉው መጻኢ ዘለዎ ዝመስል ናይ ውድባትን ማሕበራት ሓባራዊ መግለጺታት ዘለዎ ደገፍ ብምሕባር፣ ይኹን እምበር እቲ ዕማም ኣብዚ ከይተደረተ ናብ ዝላዓለ ግብራዊ ሓባራዊ ዕዮ ክብርኽን ተሳትፎ ተቓውሞ ክሰፍሕን ጉባኤ ዘለዎ እምነት ገሊጹ።

ቀጺሉ ተሳተፍቲ ጉባኤ ኣብ ኲነታት ሰልፍን ጨንፈርን ብምቱካር፡ ንሓፈሻዊ ንጥፈታት ጨንፈር  ዝምልከት ብመሪሕነት ጨንፈር ኣብዝቐረበ፣ ኩሉ መዳያዊ ጸብጻብ ብዑምቆት ተመያይጦም፣ ኣብ ጉዕዞ ዝጸንሐ ድኹምን ሓያልን ጎድኖም ብምግምጋም፣ ተሳትፎ ኣባላት ጨንፈር ኣብ ከባቢኦም ክካየድ ኣብዝጸንሐ ህዝባዊ ምንቅስቓሳትን ኣብ ሓደስቲ ስደተኛታት መንእሰያት ኤርትራ ከካይድዎ ዝጸንሑ ምትሕብባርን ናይ ቋንቋ ትምህርትን ኣገዳስነቱ ብምርኣይ ኣመጒሶም። ኣብ ዝቐረበ ጸምብጻብ ድሕሪ ሰፊሕን ጠቓምን ዝርርብ ምክያድ ምስ ኩሉ ምምሕያሻቱ ብሓባራዊ ድምጺ አዲቆም። ስዒቡ፡ ኣብዝቐረበ ጸብጻብ ዝተመርኮሰን ትጽቢት ህዝብና ኣብ ግምት ብምእታውን ፖለቲካውን ማሕበራውን ቁጠባውን ናይ መጻኢ መድባት ጨንፍር ብምትላም፣ ንዝወጸ መደብ እትፍጽም ብቕዋም ሰልፊ መሰረት ሓዳስ ሽምግለ ጨንፈር ብዲሞክራስያዊ ኣገባብ ብምምርጽ፡ ጉባኤ ጨንፈር ብስኒት ምርድዳእን ተደምዲሙ።

ኣብ መጠረስታ፡ መዕጸዊ ዓመት 2019 ምኽንያት ብምግባር እውን ኣባላት ጉባኤ ብሓባር ክዛናግዑ ምምሳዮም ተፈሊጡ።

ENCDC, EPDP & UEJ  Hold Public Meeting in Uppsala, Sweden

On 7 December 2019, a wide assemblage of Eritrean political organizations held a so far rare joint public meeting in Uppsala, Sweden, bringing together the  coalition of 18 organizations in the Eritrean National Council for Democratic Change (ENCDC);  the Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) and  Unity of Eritreans for Justice (UEJ).

According to a statement released to the media on 16 December by the Eritrean Association for Democracy and Human Rights (EADHR), the public meeting was opened by welcoming remarks of Dr.Tedros Amanuel, the chairman of organizing civic association. Dr. Tedros highlighted the significance of joint work by prioritizing the agenda for the struggle. He said the invited organizations were among those Eritrean organizations which recently sent a joint protest letter to the Ethiopian Prime Minister on burning Eritrean issues. Dr. Tedros expected speakers at the panel to explain the reasons behind such joint message and their future plans to work together.

Eritrean Organizations Hold Joint Public Meeting in Sweden 2Uppsala, Sweden

The speakers were Mr. Negash Osman, chairman of the ENCDC; Mr. Menghesteab Asmerom, head of EPDP Organizational Office, and Mr. Awet Abraha, chairman of the UEJ Branch in Sweden. Each of the three panelists spoke in turn to explain as to why the joint message was addressed to the Ethiopian leader. Their addresses were summarized in the EADHR press release as follows:

  1. That the peace accord between Eritrea and Ethiopia is not yet made clear to the peoples of the two countries;
  2. That the failure so far to implement the pledge of unconditionally accepting the Algiers’ Agreement and the ruling of the Boundary Commission, and the disturbing statements on the contrary by both leaders that the border issue is none of their priority;
  3. The Ethiopian leader’s speech at opening the ‘Unity Park’ in Addis Ababa claiming, in front of seven African heads of state, that he was speaking on behalf of both Eritrea and Ethiopia and unabashedly congratulating his people that the relations between the two countries are raised to the level of mandating him to speak on behalf of both;
  4. The Ethiopian leader’s claim that his “Med’demer” philosophy was aimed at bringing back “those” that broke-away from Ethiopia;
  5. The concerns raised earlier among Eritreans by Isaias Afeworki’s uncharacteristic and misplaced gestures of “love and affinity” in front of Ethiopian audiences, and his utterances claiming that Eritrea “lost nothing”; that those who consider Eritreans and Ethiopians as two separate peoples are ignorant of history etc.

The reprsentatives of ENCDC, EPDP and UEJ also agreed on their viewpoints about what is to be done in the near future. These views can also be summarized as follows:

  1. The three organizations are determined to priority and unify their efforts in the task of removing the dictatorial regime, and as of now working hand in clove to study and work out the processes in the equally important tasks in the transition from dictatorship to democratic governance.
  2. Underlined the importance of identifying common areas of work for political and civil society organizations.
  3. The three organizations also expressed their belief that organizations with similar programmes must merge, and those with significant differences to come to join work under working coalitions and umbrellas.
  4. They highlighted the need of joint work in the spheres of diplomacy, public awakening and mass media.
  5. Likewise, the three speakers pledged to never dwell on past experiences but only use them as lessons well learned.

The presentations were followed by lively discussion and Q & A session before the meeting heard closing remarks by the EADHR Chair, Dr. Tedros Amanuel, who thanked the panelists and the audience.

ክልተ ዝኣባላቱ ልኡኽ ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ (ሰዲህኤ) ኣብቲ ብ6-8 ታሕሳስ 2019 ኣብ ከተማ በርሊን ዝተኻየደ ኣገዳሲ ጉባአ መሓዛ ሰልፊ ማሕበራዊ ዲሞክራሲ (ሰማዲ) ተሳቲፉ። እዚ ነባር ሰልፊ ኣብዚ ጉባአኡ ኣቶ ኖርበርት ቫልተር-ቦርያንን ወይዘሮ ዛስከያ አስከን ዝርከብዎ  መሪሕነቱ መሪጹ። ናይቲ ሰልፊ ተሓጋጋዚ ኣቦመንበር ከኣ ኣቐዲሙ ብኣባላት ብዝተዋህበ ድምጺ ተመሪጾም።

እዚ ጉባአ ንመጻኢ ፕሮግራሙ ኣብ ዝምልከት ኣጀንዳ ተመያይጡ፡ ማሕበራዊ ጉዳያት፡ ቅልውላው ክሊማን ናይ ወጻእን ናይ ድሕንነትን ዛዕባታት ኣብ ዝምልከቱ ተመያይጡ ውሳነታት ኣሕሊፉ።

EPDP Delegation attends SPD Congress in Berlin 2

ናይ እዚ ልኡኽ ኣባላት ዶ/ር ኣክሊሉ ግርማይ ኣባል ማእከላይ ባይቶን ኣቦመንበር ምምሕዳር ቤት ጽሕፈት ኣቦ-መንበር ሰዲህኤን፤ ኣቶ ጸሃየ ክብሮም ላዕለዋይ ካድርን ሓላፊ ዝምድና ሰዲህኤ ኣብ ጀርመንን እዮም። እዚ ልኡኽ ጐኒንጐኒ እቲ ተልእኮኡ ምስ ብዙሓት ኣባላት ሰማዲን ዕዱማት ኣጋይሽ ርክባትን ምይይጣትን ኣካይዱ።

ኣብ ርእሲ እዚ ልኡኽ ሰዲህኤ መልእኽቲ ኣቦመንበር ሰዲህኤ ናብ መሪሕነት ሰልፊ ማሕበራዊ ዲሞክራስን ኣተሓባባሪ ገስጋሲ ምሕዝነት ንክኾኑ ዝተመርጹ ላዕለዋይ ባእታ ናይቲ ሰልፍን ኣቕሪቡ።

ኣቦመንበር ሰዲህኤ ኣቶ ተስፋይ ወልደሚካኤል (ደጊጋ) ናብ ናይቲ ሰልፊ ግዝያዊት ኣደመንበር ዝጸንሓ ወ/ሮ ማሉ ድራየ ኣብ ዝለኣኾ መልእኽቲ፡  ናብ መላእ ኣባላት ናይቲ ሰልፊ ምዉቕ ሰላምታ ኣቕሪቡ። ኣተሓሒዙ ከኣ ኣብዚ ጉባአኦም ዓወት ክሓፍሱ ሰናይ ተመንይሎም። መልእኽቲ ኣቦመንበር፡ ነቲ ኣብ ኤርትራ ዘሎ ምምሕያሽ ዘየርኢ ፖለቲካውን ሰብኣውን ኩነታት’ውን ጠቒሱ። ኣብ መጻኢ ብዛዕባዚ ኣብ ኤርትራ ዘሎ ኩነታት ምስ ሰልፊ ማሕበራዊ ዲሞክራሲ ተቐራሪካ ምይይጥ ክግበረሉ ከምዘድሊ ኣስፊሩ።

 እቲ ካልእ ልኡኽ ዘብጸሖ መልእኽቲ፡ ናይ ኣቶ ብርሃነ ደበሱ ሓላፊ ወጻኢ ዝምድናታት ሰዲህኤ፡ ናብ’ቶም ኣብ ናይ ገስጋሲ ምሕዝነት ኣተሓባባሪ ክኾኑ ተመዚዞም ዘለዉ ኣቶ ኮኒ ሮይተር ነይሩ። ኣቶ ብርሃነ ኣብዚ መልእኽቱ እቶም ላዕለዋይ ሓላፊ ሰልፊ ማሕበራዊ ዲሞክራሲ ነዚ ሓላፍነት ብምምዛዞም ሓጐሱ ገሊጽሎም። ኣስዒቡ ከኣ ኣብ ስደት ዝርከብ ሰዲህኤ፡ ንኤርትራዊ ወገን ወኪሉ ተሳትፎኡ ኣብ ቀጻሊ ርካባት ምሕዝነት ገስገስቲ ከም ዝቕጽል ኣረጋጊጹ። ኣስዒቡ ሰዲህኤ ከም ሰልፊ ማሕበራዊ ዲሞክራሲ ብ2013 ኣብ ጀርመን ሓደ ካብ መስረትቲ ምሕዝነት ገስገስቲ ከም ዝነበረ ኣብዚ መልእኽቱ ጠቒሱ።

A two-person delegation of the Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) took part in fraternal SPD’s important congress held between 6 and 8 December 2019 in Berlin at which this oldest German social democratic party confirmed the election of its leadership headed by two persons, Mr. Norbert Walter-Borjans and Mrs. Saskia Esken. The SPD co-chairpersons have been chosen in a preceding survey vote by party members.

The SPD congress also discussed and adopted programmatic agenda for the future that included new resolutions on social matters, the climate crisis and foreign and security policies.

EPDP Deligation to Berlin 2

The EPDP delegation consisted of Dr. Aklilu Ghirmai, Central Council member currently heading the Administration of the Chairman Office, and Mr. Tzehaie Kubrom, senior party cadre responsible for EPDP relations in Germany. The delegation managed to hold important side-talks with a good number of SPD congress delegates as well as with invited guests representing sister parties.

The EPDP delegation also handed over messages to the SPD leadership and the newly elected Coordinator of the Progressive who is also a senior SPD figure.

The EPDP Chairman, Mr. Tesfai Woldemichale (Degiga) In his message addressed to the then Acting Chairwoman, Ms Malu Dreyer, warmly saluted the entire SPD rank and file and wished their “worthy party a resounding success at its current congress.” The message briefly highlighted the never improving political and human rights situation in Eritrea and looked forward for closer discussion on the matter with the new SPD leadership.  

The other EPDP message carried by the delegation was from the party’s head of Foreign Relations, Mr. Berhane Debessu, to Mr. Conny Reuter, the newly elected Coordinator of the Progressive Alliance. Mr. Berhane Debessu congratulated the senior SPD official for his new post and confirmed to him that the EPDP, a party in exile, will continue representing Eritrea at many future conventions of the Progressive Alliance of which it was one of the founding member of the Alliance together with the SPD at Leipzig, Germany, in 2013.

ቀዳም ዕለት 30 ሕዳር ዞባ ሰሜን ኣመሪካ ናይ ምሉእ ኣባላት ናይ ተለኮንፈረንስ ኣኼባ ኣካይዱ። እዚ ስፍሓት ኣባላትን፡ ገለ ካብ ኣባላት ፈጻሚት ሽማግለን፡ ገለ ካብ ኣባላት ማእከላይ ሽማግለን ዝተሳተፍዎ ኣኼባ ኣብዘን ዝስዕባ ኣጀንዳታት ተዛቲዩን ወሲኑን፤

1. ህልው ኵነታት፣ ኣቦ መንበር ሰልፊ ንህልዊ ኵነታት ሰልፍን፡ ከኣባዊ ርክባት ምስ ደለይቲ ፍትሒ ፖለቲካውያን ውድባትን ብሰፊሕ ገሊጹ። ኣስዒቡውን ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ኣብ ሃገር ሽወደን ዝተጋበኤ ናይ ዓለም-ለኻዊ ምሕዝነት ገስገስቲ ማሕበራት (Progressive Alliance) ኣኼባ ከም መስራቲ ሰልፊ ከምዝተኻፈለ ሓቢሩ። ከምኡውን ኣብ ወርሒ ታሕሳስ ዝጋባእ ናይ ሃገር ጀርመን ሶሻል ዲሞክራሲያዊ ሰልፊ (German Social Democratic Party) ብውክልነት ክሳተፍ ምዃኑ ሓቢሩ።

2. ጉባኤ ዞባ፣ ብመሰረት ሳልሳይን ሓባራውን ጉባኤ፡ ዞባ ሰሜን ኣመሪካ ዝወሰኖ ንምትግባር ዝተጀመረ ናይ ጨንፈራት ጉባኤ ክምዝተዛዘመ ተገንዚቡ። ናይ ዞባ ጉባኤ ንምትግባር ከኣ ኣኼበኛ ኣድላዪ ውሳኔታት ኣሕሊፉ።

3. ገንዘባውን ሚድያን፣ ኣኼበኛ ንሰልፊ ንምሕያል ኣብ ገንዘባውን ሚድያን ኣድለይቲ ውሳኔታት ኣሕሊፉ።

4.  ህዝባዊ ምንቅስቓስ ይኣክል፣ ኣኼበኛ ንህዝባዊ ምቅስቓስ ይኣክል ከምዝድግፍን፡ ኣብ ነፍሲ-ወከፍ ከተማ ኣባል ህዝባዊ ምንቅስቓስ ይኣክል ኮይኑ ንጨፍላቒ ስርዓት ዕምሩ ንምሕጻር ከምዝንቀሳቓስ ኣንጺሩ።

 

ክንዕወት ኢና!

ቤት-ጽሕፈት ዜና ዞባ ሰሜን ኣሜሪካ

1 ታሕሳስ 2019

 

November 18, 2019

Social Democrats and Socialist Parties that came from all of the continents participated at the convention held in Stockholm, capital city of Sweden, on 15-17, 2019. Mr. Menghisteab Asmerom, Head of Organizational Office, and Dr. Habtemichael Teklebrhan, Head of Finance Affairs Office, attended at the convention.

MA and HBT NEW

Dr. Habtemichael Teklebrhan, Head of Finance Affairs Office and Mr. Menghisteab Asmerom, Head of Organizational Office, at the convention auditorium

The E.P.D.P. delegation distributed a written material that demonstrates the current abysmal condition in Eritrea to the convention attendees. The written material that was distributed to the convention participants expressively manifested the agreement forged between the Eritrean and Ethiopian leaders that failed to bring any change to Eritrea and its' people on one side and it exposed the flagrant human rights deprivation perpetrated by the regime in Eritrea on the other hand. It further elaborated that today's Eritrea like yesterday is without constitution and rule of law, a playground for a galloping sole dictator, a country characterized by absence of freedoms of press, expression, association and organization where fellow Eritreans are hunted down on the basis of their religious and political beliefs; where existence of contesting parties is denied, religious properties and establishments are confiscated and its people became a victim of migration and human traffickers. On top of that, the E.P.D.P. delegation participated in discussions and adaption of political resolutions and practical programs, electing board members and various issues regarding the Alliance and its activities all over the world. Based on the constitution of the Progressive Alliance that states one vote for one party, the E.P.D.P participated in electing board members, ratifying drafts and work programs as well.

MA electing

Mr. Menghisteab Asmerom, Head of Organizational Office, while casting his vote

 

It is to be remembered that the E.P.D.P. became a member of the Progressive Alliance in its inaugural congress held in May 22, 2013 at Leipzig, Germany. Following that it participated in the Progressive Alliance conventions held in Tunisia, Rotterdam (Holland) and Stockholm (Sweden).

Herein is summary reportage of the convention

**************************************

Reportage of the Progressive Alliance in Stockholm city, Sweden

FRIDAY, 15 NOVEMBER 2019

A convention attended by Social Democrats and Socialist Parties that came from all of the continents was held in Stockholm, capital city of Sweden, on 15-17 November 2019.

In November 15, 2019 a meeting of the administrative committee was held whereby all regular and associated members of the Progressive Alliance participated. The meeting was moderated by Mr. Johan Hassel, international secretary of the Social Democratic Party of Sweden, Mr. Constantine Woinoff, Progressive Alliance program coordinator, and Mr. Conny Reuter, General Secretary of SOLIDAR, (both from Germany) to perform the following functions.

  1. Elect a Board of 40 members to lead the Progressive Alliance for the coming 3 years. To secure gender parity in the Board, all parties and organizations are represented by a female and a male candidate. That means each party applying for a seat on the board must nominate two candidates, with at least one female representative.
  2. Discuss and ratify the draft resolutions. The committee had prepared a draft resolution which it called “Saving the two-state solution in Israel and Palestine” where it firmly acknowledged a two-state solution based on the 1967-borders and the Palestinian People’s right to self-determination. Due to the all too well known nature of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, the resolution was not ratified. Instead, it was decided that the board members including Johan Hassel, International Secretary of the Social Democratic Party of Sweden will make some amendments that will make it acceptable by both parties. Israel was represented by two organizations, The Labor Party and Meretz and Palestine was represented by Fatah and Palestinian Initiative.

 

Board and Leaders Meeting

The newly elected Board later convened under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister of Sweden, Mr. Stefan Löfven, to discuss and set the political guidelines, and organizational policy issues as well as to elect the Coordinator and appoint the auditor. Leaders of parties that didn’t have representative on the board were invited to participate without voting rights.

  1. Established political guidelines that govern the Progressive Alliance.
  2. Vote on new membership applications.
  3. Elected new Coordinator and Auditor; the former coordinator, Konstantin Woinoff, was replaced by Conny Reuter.
  4. Voted on a proposed agenda for political work and the agenda consisted of the following points
  • The Progressive Alliance policies in the 21st century.
  • Strategies and international alliances with Trade Unions and Civil Societies.
  • A Global deal for Climate, Jobs and Solidarity.
  • Strategies on struggles against Authoritarian and Right-wing Populist Movements.
  • Approved strategies on challenges for peace and Global Cooperation cooperation.

Plenary Session      

Stefan Löfven (photo below), Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Sweden (SAP) and Prime Minister of Sweden welcomed all participants of the Convention at the biggest meeting hall in his opening speech. In his speech he outlined strategies for the success of the ideals of Social Democracy.

Lofven

Mr Stefan Lofven, the Prime Minister of Sweden

A keynote speech on a new progressive era was delivered by Antonio Costa, Secretary General of the Socialist Party (SP) and Prime Minister of Portugal.

This was followed by a panel discussion under the theme “A new progressive era”. The panelists were:

  1. Stefan Löfven, Prime Minister of Sweden
  2. Antonio Costa, Prime Minister of Portugal
  3. Risa Hontiveros, Senator and chair of the Citizens Action Party (Akbayan), Plilippines
  4. Carlos Lopes, Professor the Mandela School, University of Cape Town
  5. Pamela Rendi-Wagner, Chair of the Social Democratic Party of Austria
  6. Olaf Scholz, Vice Chair of the Social Democratic Party of Germany and Vice Chancellor of Germany
  7. Manish Tewari, Member of Parliament and National Spokesperson of the Indian National Congress (INC)

Lofven 6

It was stated among other things that “Digital Capitalism is not simply a fate which the individual has to accept and cannot alter. We can shape the interaction of politics, industry and society to the benefit of mankind, if only the required changes are backed by a strong progressive movement”.

                             

Climate change and a suitable society

The second panel discussion was on Climate change and a sustainable society. Among the panelists was the Swedish Minister of Finance, Magdalena Andersson.

Global deal for jobs in a digital era

Among the panelists were, Mr. Antti Rinne, leader of the Social Democratic Party and Prime Minister of Finland and Mr. Karl-Petter Thorwaldsson, President of the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO). Managing of the new digital era companies by taxation and research on digital sustainability were vividly discussed.

Peace and security

This panel was presided by Ann Linde, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sweden, Jonas Gahr Store, President of the Labour Part of Norway, Emily Thornberry, Member of Parliament, UK Labour Party, Zoran Zev, Prime Minister of North Macedonia etc. The way North Macedonia solved the conflict concerning its name was lauded and the ever illusive conflict between the Palestinians and Israel was discussed.

Progressive Alliance Award 2019 to Salahattin Demirtaş

Salahattin is the Chairman of the Social Democratic Party in Turkey currently sitting in jail in Turkey. Before handing the price to his wife Başak Demirtaş who also held final speech, a laudatory speech was given by Peter Hultqvist, The Minister of Defence of Sweden and by Sergei Stanishev, President of the Party of European Socialists. The day ended by dinner party hosted by The Social Democratic Party of Sweden and The Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO).

SATURDAY 16 NOVEMBER-TOPIC: THE STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE

Welcome to The Olof Palme Annual Conference: A welcome speech delivered by Anders Ygeman, chairperson Social Democratic Party in Stockholm and Marita Ulvskog, chairperson, Olof Palme International Center followed by:

The Challenges of Social Democracy in a Globalized World

More and more countries are ruled by authoritarian and intolerant leaders. Income gaps between people are widening. The number of refugees is increasing with the number of conflicts. While Social Democracy is weakened in many places, progressive reforms are needed more than ever. How can the global social democratic movement make its comeback?

Stefan Löfven Prime Minister of Sweden was one of the panelists. The panel was moderated by Anna Sundström, Secretary General, Olof Palme International Center.

Global Justice- What does it mean?

Ann Linde, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sweden and International guest panelist. Johan Hassel, International Secretary of the Swedish Social Democratic Party was the moderator.

Just Transition – From Vision to Action

We are facing the greatest challenges of humanity – climate change. What is the labour movement’s role in the transition towards an environmentally sustainable world?

Lena Rådström-Baastad, Party Secretary, Swedish Social Democratic Party was one of the panelists and Mattias Vepsä, climate policy spokesperson, Social Democratic Part Stockholm was the moderator.

The afternoon session was conducted as follows:

  1. Three parallel Seminars on the Struggle for Democracy and Social Justice
  2. Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans
  3. Israel and Palestine
  4. Ethiopia, Tizta Abraham, activist and Ahmed Ali, Ethiopian Radio in Sweden gave a speech on the current situation in Ethiopia. Moderator was Anders Österberg, Member of Parliament, Swedish Social Democratic Party, East Africa Desk at the foreign relationS committee.

With over 100 million inhabitants, Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populous country. Authoritarian regimes have ruled the country for many years, but since the government of Prime Minister Aby Ahmed took office in the spring of 2018, a wide programme of political and economic reforms has been launched. What challenges lie ahead on the road towards a functioning democracy?

The panelists emphasized that they had high hopes on the government of Dr Abiy, but now that he has not been able to deliver what was promised and failed to take action against the killings and the aggressive Islamic activist Jawar, they have lost confidence and even insinuated that Abiy might commit genocide. They gave a dismal report on the future of Ethiopia. Naturally, the EPDP delegation attended this session and was given the opportunity to comment or ask questions (an opportunity which was not given to other participants). The delegation stated that almost all Eritreans were also excited about the coming of Abiy Ahmed. We all hoped that the democratic changes in Ethiopia might bring changes in Eritrea too. Our hope was dashed by the fact that Prime Minister Abiy signed treaties and agreements with the dictator without any consideration to the needs of the Eritrean people. Finally the EPDP delegation asked the following questions: 1. you stated that Premier Abiy might use force and commit genocide, does he really have the power to order the army considering that most of the military power is in the regional administration areas, kilils? 2. With all the violence taking place in Ethiopia today, do you believe that liberal democracy can be established in our area?     3. In hindsight, do you regret that the Ethiopian elites especially the Amharas pushed the previous TPLF dominated government of Ethiopia too much starting the day they assumed power?

Upon which Ahmed responded briefly as follows: 1. that is the problem, he has no power and we really don’t know what he will or might do. 2. Yes why not, we are also humans. 3. No, they were murderers.

  1. Three parallel Seminars on the mobilization of a progressive counterforce
    1. Democracy under attack
    2. The situation in Turkey and Syria
    3. Progress and Backlash for Gender Equality
  1. Three parallel Seminars on Common Security, Dialogue for Peace
    1. Dual threats-Nuclear Weapons and Climate Change
    2. Social Dialogue
    3. Women, Peace and Security

In the social dialogue session, conversation on how social dialogue can advance peacebuilding and democracy was discussed by taking examples from the Somali and Swedish trade union movement. Osmar Faruk Osman, Secretary General, Federation of Somali Trade Unions and Mohamed Said, Somali National Association in Sweden presented their experiences. Oscar Ernerot, Swedish Trade Union Confederation moderated the discussion. It was heartwarming to hear that the Somali trade union had established a harmonious relationship to the government after eight years of struggle.

  1. Global trends and Common Responses

Jan Eliasson

Jan Eliasson, former Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs and former Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations gave his thoughts and experiences moderated by Anna Sundström.

The day was concluded by Solidarity mingle and dinner.

7 December 2019

ናይ ኢትዮጵያ ጠቕላይ ሚኒስተር ኣብይ ኣሕመድ ብ 10 ጥቅምቲ 2019 ኣብ ኣዲስ ኣበባ ንኤርትራ ወኪሉ ንኽዛረብ ካብ ኢሳይስ ኣፍወርቂ ውክልና ከም ዝተዋህቦ ብወግዒ ብምእዋጁ: ናይ ኤርትራ ፖሊቲካ ውድባትን ደለይቲ ፍትሒ ዝውክላ ማሕበራትን ብሓባር ናይ ተቛውሞ መግለጺ ምውጽአን ይዝከር። ካብዚ ብምብጋስ እውን ካብተን ተቛውመአን ብሓባር ዘመዝገባ ውድባት ሰለስተ፣

  1. ኤርትርዊ ሃገራዊ ባይቶ ንደምክርያስያዊ ለውጢ
  2. ሰልፊ ደሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ
  3. ውድብ ሓድነት ኤርትራውያን ንፍትሒ: ንህዝቢ መግለጽን መብርህን ክህባ ኢየን።

ዕለት:- 7 december 2019

ግዜ:- 12.30-15.00

ቦታ:- Mission Kyrka st. Olofgatan 40 Uppsala

ብድሓን ምጹ

ኣድላዊ:- ኤርትራዊ ማሕበር ንደሞክራስን ሰብኣዊ መሰላትን

         ኣብ ኡፕስላን ከባቢኡን።

ናይ ኢትዮጵያ ሚኒስተር ወጻኢ ጉዳያት ኣቶ ገዱ ኣንዳርጋቸው፡ ብ25 ሕዳር 2019 ብዛዕባ ስራሓት ሚኒስትርኦም ናብ ፓርላማ ኢትዮጵያ ኣብ ዘቕረብዎ ብግእዝ ናይዚ ሒዝናዮ ዘለና ዓመት፡ 1ይ ርብዒ ዓመት ጸብጻብ፣ ምስ ኤርትራ ዝተጀመረ ዝምድና፡ ከምቲ ዝተሓሰቦን ዝተጸበይዎን ከምዘይሰለጠ ሓቢሮም።

ንሶም ኣብ መብርሂኦም ምስ ኤርትራ ክግበር ዝግበኦ ዝምድና፡ ኣብ መንጎ ክልተ ሃገራት ዝግበር ከም ምዃኑ መጠን፡ ብዓለም ለኸ ምዕቀኒ፡ ደረጃኡ ዝሓለወ፡ ግልጽነት ዘለዎን ትካላውን ክኸውን ከም ዝገበኦ ገሊጾም። ኣብኡ ንምብጻሕ ዝተታሕዘ መንገዲ ካብ ዝተጸብይዎ ንታሕቲ ምህላዉ ከኣ ሓቢሮም። እዚ ምስቲ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ንህዝቢ ብዘይተሓበረ፡ ግሉጽነት ዝጐደሎ፡ ትካላዊ መልክዕ ዘይሓዘን ብናቕፋን ብርን ክሰርሕ ዝሓስብን ድሌት ዝጻረር እዩ።

እዚ ካብ ግዝያዊ ዓውዓው ሓሊፉ፡ ኣብ መሬት ብዝድህሰስ ብግብሪ ዘይተራእየ፡ ኣብ ምኽፋትን ምዕጻውን ዶባት ጥራይ ዘኹድድ ዝምድና ክልቴን ሃገራት፡ ብመንግስቲ ኢትዮጵያ ብዙሕ ግዜ ዝለዓል ክኸውን እንከሎ ብወገን ኤርትራ ግና ተላዒሉ ዘይፈልጥ እዩ።

ምስዚ ብምትሕሓዝ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ብዓለም ለኻዊ ሕጊ፡ ብናይ ወጻኢ ሸርፊ ክፍሊት ክሰርሕ ቅሩብ ስለ ዘይኮነ፡ መራክብ ኢትዮጵያ ኣብ ወደባት ኤርትራ ምእታው ከም ዘቋረጻ ቅድሚ ሕጂ ምሕባርና ዝዝከር እዩ። እዚ ከምዚሉ እንከሎ ንዝተወሰነ ግዜ ካብ ኤርትራ ናብ ኢትዮጵያ ናይ ነፋሪት ቲኬት ንምግዛእ ብናቕፋ ዝነበረ፡ ካብዚ ቀረባ ግዜ ጀሚሩ ግና፡ ብጠለብ መንገዲ ኣየር ኢትዮጵያ ብዶላር ኮይኑ ከም ዘሎ ዝዝከር እዩ። ዶላር ኣብ ዘይፍቀድ ሃገር ብዶላር ምጥቃም ክሳብ ክንደይ ኣጸጋሚ ምዃኑ ድማ ርዱእ እዩ።

ሓይልታት ጸጥታ ስርዓት ህግዲፍ፡ ሎሚ እውን ከም ልማዶም ንዜጋታት ብሰንኪ ዝኣመንሉ ሃይማኖት ምስዓቦም ዘካይድዎ ናይ ማእሰርትን ምስዋርን ወፈራ ይቕጽልዎ ኣለዉ። ከም ናይዚ ኣብነት ኣብዚ ቀረባ መዓልታት፡ ኣብ  መንደፈራ፡  ዓብዪ ዓዲ፡ ዓዲ ቆራይ፡ ዓዲ ገደሾን ደንበ ኣርጕዲን ኣስታት 23 ሰዓብቲ ምስልምና ኣሲሮም ከም ዘለዉ እሙናት ምንጭታት ካብቲ ከባቢ ሓቢሮም። እቶም ሓይልታት ጸጥታ ነዚ ስጉምቲ ክወስዱ እንከለዉ፡ ነቶም ግዳያት “ተኸተልቲ ውሃቢን” ብዝብል ከም ዝኸሰስዎም እዞም ምንጭታት ብተወሳኺ ሓቢሮም።

እዚ ዝካየድ ዘሎ ማእሰርቲ፡ ቀንዲ ዕላምኡ ህዝቢ ንመሰሉ ምእንቲ ከይሓትት ኣቐዲምካ ንምርዓዱ ኮይኑ፡ ኣብ ግዜ ለይቲ ብዘይዝኾነ ይኹን ናይ ቤት ፍርድን ካልእ ዝምልከቶም ኣኽባር ሕጊ ኣክላትን ትእዛዝን ኣፍልጦን ዝካየድ ዘሎ እዩ።

ኩሉ ከም ዝፈልጦ ህግዲፍ ኣብ ኤርትራ ዝተፈላለዩ እምነታት ከይዝውተሩ ዝእግድ ኣብ ልዕሊ ምዃኑ፡ ኣብተን ንስሙ ይፍቀዳ ዝበሃላ ናይ እምነት ትካላት እውን፡ ኢዱ ኣእትዩ ዝዘርግ ዘሎ ጉጅለ እዩ። ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ኣብ ሃይማኖት ምስልምናን ኦርቶዶክስን ዝረአ ዘሎ ማእሰርትን ቅትለትን ከምኡ ከኣ ትካላት ካቶሊካዊት ቤተክርስትያን ኤርትራ ምርሳይን ናይዚ ኣብነት እዩ።