Disintegrating  the dictatorship in Eritrea

 By Fesseha Nair

 The Eritrean opposition forces should contemplate that it is time to move forward beyond the current level of resistance and launch popular defiance. It is now the time to create, build and expand resistance capacities and develop the defiance of the people.

During the struggle to end the dictator, the selective resistance should be launched with short and long political objectives. Larger parts of the Eritrean people at all levels should become involved. The objective of the Eritrean Democratic Alliance tour in foreign countries this time is to escalate the activities and isolate the dictator in Asmara from the international community. A strong political defiance combined with building independent institutions can gain the attention of international community. It may also produce international diplomatic condemnations, boycotts, and embargoes in support of the democratic forces.

The Eritrean Democratic Alliance is aware that without the participation of the people the power of the dictatorship can not be disintegrated. Planning for short and long terms is the crucial issue to be addressed now. The short term plan is to end the dictatorship and its foundations. The long term plan is to establish gradual democratic system and prevent the rise of a new dictatorship.

The democratic forces should plan the transition period from the dictatorship to the interim government. It is desirable at this time to plan the process of building a new functioning government. The opposition forces must also calculate what sections of the old governmental structure, for example,  Is the army of the dictator partisan serving the wishes of the one man rule or is it impartial abiding by the constitution?    Some political organizations in the opposition camp have the view that the army in Eritrea is national but not partisan, namely serving the dictator not the people. Which sections should be completely abolished because of inherent anti-democratic character and which sections retain to be subjected to later democratization efforts in the post dictatorship are issues to be discussed.

The Eritrean Opposition Forces should plan for the transition to democracy and prepare to become a genuine alternative while the dictatorship is weakening and collapsing. Such plans will help to prevent another group from seizing state power by military coup or stop the creation of war lords. Plans for the institution of democratic constitutional government with full political and personal liberties should be laid. The changes won at a great price should not be lost through lack of planning. The opposition is winning grounds at this time and this is evidenced by the cooperation of civil society with the Eritrean Democratic Alliance.

The disintegration of the dictatorship is of course the first task of the democratic forces but that does not mean after the fall of the dictatorship democracy is won even after the fall of the dictator political defiance that have been acquired during the struggle for democracy must continue to prevent the rise of new oppressive regimes. The forces for democratic change should prepare in advance for an orderly transition to democracy. There is no guarantee that with the downfall of the dictatorship a democratic society is built , but the downfall is provides the beginning point, under conditions of enhanced freedom, for long term efforts to improve the society and meet human needs more adequately.

There are threats of a new dictatorship in the opposition who see the collapse of the dictator as an opportunity for them to step as new masters with different motives but approximately the same and these may be more cruel than the old one. The opposition forces should not reduce their vigilance against such threats. The same means of struggle used against the dictatorship can be used against the new threats inside the opposition alliances.