NEWS
and Events
May 24 Message: Independence
for Whom?
19
May 2003
The
title, ‘May 24, Independence for whom?’ may sound alarming but we
believe it is relevant to the current state of affairs in Eritrea. It is
commonly held belief that the historical significance of May 24, 1991 and
the referendum of 1993 are dates we Eritreans will always remember as
major turning points in the history of the country. However, after 12
years of independence, we are making an assessment of those years gone by
and are seemingly trying to come up with a definition of the term
‘independence’. We are
morally obligated to reflect on the current impasse by asking the right
questions: what is the meaning of independence for my livelihood? How have I, or the majority of
the Eritrean people, benefited from independence? Are there any chances
that the future could be brighter for my family and myself in
‘independent’ Eritrea? Was
the material and human sacrifice worth the kind of independence we have
now? We will not attempt to
provide answers to those questions but for now we will focus on comparing
what the government said a while ago and what it is has been doing so
far.
It
is to be remembered that the EPLF, being the Front that led Eritrea to
military victory in 1991, produced a political programme soon after
independence. That
programme, as EPLF held its congress and PFDJ emerged in the scene, was
altered and re-launched as the National Charter. To understand events of post-1994
era and PFDJ’s deceptions that ensued afterwards we would like to use the
National Charter as a reference point. So, what did the document say?
Under
the title: “Building a democratic political system”, the National Charter
cites the following as some of its objectives:
·
To establish a constitutional system drafted
and ratified with broad public participation, which respects basic human
rights, whose legislative, executive and judicial bodies check and
balance one another, in which the rule of law prevails throughout Eritrea
and which anchors the unity and development of the people of Eritrea.
·
On the basis of a constitution, to build a
strong government and society … to strive to uphold basic human and
political rights, which include freedom of faith and press, the right to
political organisation.
·
To ensure that the political system …
guarantees the participation of the people in decisions on local and
national affairs.
·
To make the political system a multiparty
system.
·
To strive to establish and develop democratic
institutions… a conscious civil society embracing trade unions and other
non-governmental institutions and a free, trustworthy, critical and
responsible press.
Beautiful
document and a clear love for Eritrea and its people!
The objectives in the National Charter are the very essence of
the document. Eritrean
citizens would not demand more than what is stated there because that
first objective encapsulates the spirit of Eritrea’s independence.
However, during post-independence era, PFDJ made every effort to
frustrate these objectives. In short, PFDJ has defeated its own
objectives successfully. In Eritrea, every possible tragedy has occurred
– death, imprisonment, persecution, banning of the press, forced
conscription of the under-forty, closures of churches and Islamic
centres, cracks along ethnic and religious identities, and the most
recent disaster has turned Eritrea into a nation of beggars - waiting for
handouts from international aid agencies. And that is why we raise the
question of ‘who is the
independence for?’
What is independence good for if people are not at liberty to own
their land, hold on to their offspring and live in peace and
harmony? If people disappear
and/or are imprisoned and never brought to trial, if a country’s economy
is not governed by a budget, if there is no national constitution at work
and so forth, then we can assume that only PFDJ must be enjoying the
fruits of independence rather than the Eritrean people.
At
the present time, it is difficult to celebrate May 24 as it should
because the sacrifices that went into it have been neglected and its
promises have been clearly betrayed by PFDJ. This year’s observance must focus on PFDJ’s betrayal
of the promises handed to us by our gallant fighters. We are continually
reminded of the fact that our freedom fighters paid a big price to free
Eritrea from Ethiopia and gave us our inalienable rights as citizens to
mind our own affairs. Unfortunately, we are not in a state to mind our
own affairs yet. Therefore, May 24 must be remembered in such a way that
the cycle of independence is not complete yet. This deficient independence is clearly frustrating
people’s patience and many are coming to understand that there is a limit
to peoples’ tolerance.
Naturally, history will repeat itself whereby the Eritrean people
will rise to peacefully reclaim their dignity once again.
Eternal
glory to our martyrs!
London,
19 May 2003
EHDR-UK
fdsafsa
|
