Fact and evidence Part IX - Conclusion
Forgiven but not forgotten past and present crimes

The overall purpose of compiling the role of the former revolutionary leaders and their collaborators in the liberation struggle and post liberation is to raise public awareness of all crimes, conspiracies, intrigues etc which were committed by the main leadership groups of Eritrean struggle for independence. The document also explains the need for the leaders of the current opposition group to acknowledge their role in crimes committed during the struggle in an open processes to demonstrate their competency to replace to the PFDJ regime. In addition to recognizing the PFDJ's atrocities, reconcilation must include acknowledging the crimes to which oppostion leaders were involved.

Mesfin Hagos was in the leadership with Issayas from 1970-1987 then as a member of the CC from 1987-1994, and Abedella Adem was a member of the EPLF Central Committee in the 1977 to 1994, neither has ever acknowledged their crimes or collaborations with Issayas. What are their motivation in accusing Issayas for crimes committed after 2001 while they keep silent about those which were committed by the EPLF between 1970-1994 and then by the PFDJ from 1994-2001?

Hussein Khalifa was elected to the Revolutionary Council Members at the 2nd ELF Congress in 1975. What are his motives in accusing Issayas for the crimes committed from 1970 and the present but keep silent about all the crimes committed by the ELF from 1965-1981. For example what of the fighters who were killed in Dankalia in 1978, Saed Hussien Mohammed was one of these who became the victim of the ELF in 1978.

Wolde Yesus Ammar the leader of the ELF-RC accused Abdella Idris of being sectarian in killing Melka. However Wolde Yesus has never said any thing about liquidation policy of the ELF against Fallul movement in 1977 . This was when Seyoum’ campaiged against the Fallul movement by saying “HA Hu Bel Falulay” through broadcasting over ELF’s radio programme from Omdurman. Why does Wolde Yesus keep silent about the ELF's victims?

In the 1960s the Kunamas people became the first victim of the ELF leaders. According to Yosef 2009, many houses with their inhabitants inside; men, women and children indiscriminately killed; entire fertile areas abandoned (later to be settled mainly by the Tigrignas), their cattle plundered and sold in Kessela; etc. Here is how the VK/ KAM team of the baden-kunama.com website puts it “To a very considerable number of Kunama, who had not only known Hamid Idris Awate personally, but they had also had to abandon their land and villages set ablaze by him and their entire cattle raided and sold in the market places of Kassala (Sudan), the news of this same Hamid Idris Awate, been chosen as the leader of a national liberation movement was not only very surprising but profoundly shocking.” Why do Awate.com and other oppostion websites only accuse the EPLF/PFDJ of committing atrocity against civilians but not the ELF or Hamid Idris Awate?

During the liberation struggle many innocent liberation fighters and civilians became victims of the former revolutionary leaders who are currently serving in the Eritrean government or in the Opposition. The opposition leaders are not innocent of crime. They like the PFDJ leaders whom they are accusing of committing crimes against the Eritrean people since 1991. are also guilty.

The purpose of compiling the role of the former revolutionary leaders and their collaborators in the liberation struggle and post liberation is also a call for the former revolutionary leaders who are in leadership within EDA and outside to take a step forward to acknowledge the crimes they committed or colluded in during the armed struggle before holding the July conference in 2010 in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia. Ibrahim Mohammed Ali (2004) who reviewed Eritrean history of the past 60 years, in his article made a personal call on every Eritrean political figure “ to admit past mistakes and excesses in a straightforward manner and openly condemn those crimes and excesses committed [by him or] in his name against the Nation or against individuals.

The July Conference should be worked for reconciliation not for Plurality or Polarity similar to the Adobah conference which was held 41 years ago in August 1969. The July Conference participants need to learn from the failure of Adobah or the EDA conferences which due to the mistrust among the participants. Mistrust or internal conflict within the former revolutionary leaders not only became a cause for the split of the ELF into three faction following the Adobah conference but also for the split of the EDA in two blocs in 2007, and for the withdrawal of the EPPD from the EDA National conference, in April 2010

According Nair (2010) the internal conflict between the Eritrean political elites and their organizations is not new but began since the birth of Eritrean nationalism in late 40th during the British Military administration and passed down through generations from the disposal of Eritrea after the end of Italian colonialism and still is alive with the contemporary politics of Eritrea.

ደቂ ሰብ ክሳፅ ዝስልጥኑን ኣስፊሖም ዝሓስቡን Iዮም፡ ብዝጠቅምን ዘይጠቅምን ዝሳሓሓቡ፡ ምስ ማፅበሉ ግን ነቲ ዘሳሓሕቦም ብዘተ Eናፈትሑ ንኻልE ኣብ ጉፅዞ Eቲ ዘጋጠመ ሽግር ኣብ ምፍታሕ ዝሰርሑሉ ዘለው ጊዜ ዝምፅብል ዓንቃፊ ነገራት ንድሕሪት ንኸይመልሶም'ውን Eናተኸላኸሉ ኣብ ናይ ሓቂ ስምምፅ ከም ዝበጽሑ Eናገበሩ Iዮም ናብ ምፅብልንOም ሰጊሮም ብሕጊ ዝነብሩ ዘለው፡ source ስልጣኔና Iዩ መድሕና by Belai Mesfin [Read more]

In aconclusion the author of this compilation affirms that after this autocratic regime has been removed, unity and harmonize of the Eritrean society could only be guaranteed through understanding and reconciliation not hostility. Reconciliation is hard work and does not come easy , so we should need to learn a lesson from the experience of other countries in defining the mechanism and implementation of reconciliation among the armed struggle leaders. Investigation on the reconciliation processes from South Africa Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa), the Truth Commission for El Salvador, Guatemala's truth and reconciliation commission is needed to develop methodology for reconciliation in Eritrea. Eritreans should have adopted a reconciliatory path right after the Eritrean independence in 1990. As a relatively young nation, reconciliation is not too late to end the continually destruction, competition among the leaders who played both positive and negative roles during the struggle for independence.

Bact to the introduction page

ehrea

Fact and evidence Part IX - Conclusion Forgiven but not forgotten past and present crimes

Fact and evidence Part IX - Conclusion
Forgiven but not forgotten past and present crimes