2010 - Let Us Choose to Make it a Year of Change!

 www.EritreanGlobalSolidarity.org

   For Immediate Release

The international order has finally caught up with the struggle of the Eritrean people be it for a secondary reason. Finally IGAD, AU and the UN share the same consensuses. UNSC’s smart sanction on the Eritrean regime is a welcome contribution to clarifying an aspect of the brutal regime’s reprehensible behavior. It addresses part of the challenges faced by the Eritrean people. By inference most nations in the world now understand, at the minimum, that things have gone astray in Eritrea. This is a positive modest development. Its primary message is political. It reinforces the isolation of the regime. The sanction will open few international doors to the alternative forces and to a certain limited extent contribute to what we Eritreans, both at home and Diaspora, are obligated to do: bring this national tragedy into its logical conclusion. It is not a substitute for the stake holder’s primary responsibility to resolve Eritrea’s internal crisis.

We have no illusion that the immense suffering of our people under a venomous tyranny will come to an end because the world has finally come to grip with the external impact of the aggressive behavior of the brutal regime in Eritrea. The first and final victims of the Eritrean regime are the Eritrean people. The suffering of our people is the raison d’état of our struggle. This is the source of our resistance and defiance. The world’s attention only reinforces and strengthens our fundamental responsibility to help bring an end to our suffering.

Welcoming the UNSC sanction on the regime does not diffuse our primary responsibility of mobilizing our people and conclusively and decisively addressing the central Eritrean national challenge: How to bring an end to 19 year of brutal tyranny and introduce a democratic system in Eritrea. All minds and hearts have to be focused on this central task. In 2010 there cannot be a task that is more important than getting rid of the prevailing tyranny. Our personal and organizational New Year resolution must affirm this cardinal commitment.

The legitimacy of the ruling party and the irresponsible clique running the country has totally evaporated. The affirming evidence of this reality is that the entire population is distancing itself from the regime. In 2010 every effort must be done to mobilize, galvanize and empower the population to take concrete direct actions to change the status quo in favor of democracy and rule of law.

We hope the segment of the Eritrean Diaspora that has chosen to keep silent in 2009, in the light of the overwhelming suffering faced by the Eritrean people, to step up and join the struggle for liberty, democracy and justice by the thousands. Your voice will make a difference.

All political and civil organizations, understanding the overwhelming responsibility bestowed on them due to the absence of democratic governance in Eritrea, hopefully will take their shared national responsibility with a sense of urgency and pull together and make a concerted effort to turn 2010 into “The Year of Decision”.

To those who have chosen to support the regime, in spite of its flagrant violation of basic human rights, we hope that they will take time and review their unjust posture and start standing with the people. Utter silence and equivocation in the face of man-made national disaster is not a prudent option. We hope they will turn a new page and decide to make a difference by speaking up for the people.

We in EGS look forward to making a practical contribution by working hard to further expose the level of internal brutality imposed by the regime on our people through organized civic efforts so that the world will go on the record and condemn the regime for its internal brutality. We will also do our best to accelerate the development and expansion of the civic space within the Eritrean political sphere. We hope to expand the democratic conversion between all diverse perspectives and backgrounds in a very civil and inclusive way.

We remind ourselves that we are not contenders for power. Our main responsibility is to positively struggle for the institutionalization of all democratic principles under the control, guidance and approval of the people of Eritrea: Constitution, Rule of Law, Human Rights, Justice, Bill of Rights, Elections, etc. These fundamental aspirations are the pillars of future Democratic Eritrea. We will do our best to be a modest positive voice in the effort to advance these noble ideas. We can be more effective and productive if you were to join us and add your skill and wisdom to the effort.

Happy New Year!

Eritrean Global Solidarity

www.EritreanGlobalSolidarity.org