This page is an archive of speeches by ERIPS President Dr. Tomas Solomon, Dr. Saba Kidane, Professor Araya Debessay, Mr Nureddine Abdulkadir, Professor Kidane Mengisteab, and a Powerpoint presentation on Covax by Astier M Alemseghed, MD, MSc
Eritrean Research Institute for Policy and Strategy (ERIPS)
Eritrean Scholars & Professionals Workshop
August 14,2021
Opening Speech by Dr Tomas Solomon, President of ERIPS
Members of the Eritrean justice seeking community, members and organizers of ERIPS, and dear participants of this workshop. On behalf of Eritrean Research Institute for Policy and Strategy, I would like to thank you for coming to the Eritrean Scholars and Professionals Workshop 2021 and for bringing your expertise and experience to engage in such a fruitful, constructive and open discussions. It is my pleasure to announce that the organizers of this workshop have left no stone unturned to make today’s event a success and I sincerely hope that you will find it worth your time.
Talking about time, the theme of this workshop is “Time is of the Essence”. Now, I wonder how many of you have deeply though about this theme. I am sure many of you are thinking about the urgency of the situation in our country and our region and how we can move fast to bring the kind of change our people are looking for. If that is how you are interpreting it, I agree with you 100%. But there is also one other relevance of this theme to what we are doing here today. As you all know, time is the most precious gift that someone can give you. As such, the fact that you have taken your precious time to come to this workshop to answer some of the most difficult questions is a testimony for your continued readiness to fulfil your timely obligations. That is why I thank you again for being present.
Just to give you a brief introduction of ERIPS and why we are hosting this workshop, I would like to say a few words. The Eritrean Institute for Policy and Strategy (ERIPS) is a research organization aiming to address the limited public information and dialogue around issues that matter for the future well-being and democratic health of Eritrea and its people. By engaging members of the Eritrean diaspora in comprehensive and in-depth discourse regarding complex and intricate issues, we hope to develop a strong foundation of informed advocates and establish the groundwork for ongoing essential research to shape cohesive policies and strategies that will inspire peace and stability in Eritrea and the Horn of Africa. We are organized based on our specific fields of expertise and our goal is to provide research-based knowledge and information that could guide and serve peace loving Eritreans and our partners in making informed decisions.
The goals of the ERIPS are
To bring all Eritrean Scholars and Professionals of different backgrounds together
Build a platform where they can research critical topics
Provide leadership, guidance and direction for Eritreans
Develop policies and strategies relevant in advancing the causes of justice, equality, liberty, prosperity and regional peace and stability.
Our primary objectives are
Contributing towards the current efforts for political change in Eritrea
Making necessary preparations for reconstruction and socio-economic development in our country
Currently, ERIPS has close to 200 members who are organized in 10 focus groups based on their expertise and choice. The 10 focus groups are
Agriculture Natural Resources and Fisheries
Culture, History, Literature, and Humanities
Economics, Business, and Finance
Education and Training
Emergency Preparedness and Response
Health and Social Services
Law, Public Safety, and Security
Media, Advocacy, and Awareness
Political Science, Government, and Public Administration
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
Our Approach: We believe in the power of making informed decisions based on research, evidence and multiple perspectives. We are committed to providing high-quality and data-driven research and analysis, encompassing major aspects of our social, political and economic factors, and within the context of existing and anticipated challenges, opportunities and priorities of democratic governance. We seek to provide a good understanding of the current situation in Eritrea and its neighbors, shape cohesive policies and strategies and inspire peace and stability in the Horn of Africa. We pride ourselves on the depth of our research and the actionable insights we provide so that the people we support will make well-informed decisions.
Today’s workshop is indisputably another pathway to achieve our common objectives of bringing political and socio-economic change in Eritrea. I have no doubt that your knowledge, ideas and profound wisdom will take us a step forward in positively shaping the future of our nation. It is only when we come forward, join our forces and apply our collective intellect and forward-looking visions that we can hope to bring a swift change, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to our people and our nation. Your presence at this workshop is already felt. And I am once again reminded that a just and prosperous Eritrea is on the horizon. I hope you are vividly reminded as I am. ጥርጥር የለን፣ ክንዕወት ኢና።
As a closing remark, I want to thank all my colleagues who have done a superb job in making this workshop happen. You have also made this experience truly special.
Thank you all very much and I wish you a very successful event.
Tomas Solomon
What are the most likely challenges, opportunities, and potential solutions for Eritreans in post PFDJ Eritrea
Dr. Saba T. Kidane
Good morning everyone,
The Topic I was given to present for today’s workshop is “What are the most likely challenges and opportunities Eritreans will face in post-People’s Front for Democracy and Justice/PFDJ Eritrea?”
For any problem, it is important to do the proper analysis or diagnosis. What we as Eritrean scholars and professionals need to do is identify the problems we have in Eritrea and propose/recommend solutions to the problems we identified. I will try to do that within the topic I am assigned for today.
What are the most likely challenges Eritreans face in post-PFDJ Eritrea? And
What are the opportunities in post-PFDJ Eritrea?
What are the possible solutions to tackle those challenges and utilize our human resources to prepare for orderly and peaceful transition to democratic governance in Eritrea?
First, the problem we face as a nation is systemic, which is the failed political system/leadership that came to power with the birth of the nation in 1991 and changed its name in 1994 to what we know as PFDJ. The root of the problems we have in Eritrea is systemic. The autocratic political system has suffocated aspects of the entire nation; from political, social, cultural, economical, to national safety and security, health and education, climate crisis, and protection and care of citizens etc. In Short, the Eritrean government has failed the Eritrean people in all aspects of their lives. Now, if we identified the problem(s), then let us move on to the challenges these problems pose to the people in the aftermath of the PFDJ regime. I know there is no consensus on the priorities of our challenges; however, I argue that OUR number one priority at the moment should be the root cause of all the problems we have, which is the authoritarian regime. As different interest groups in the multinational Eritrean society, we might list a number of problems or challenges we see depending on our stated objectives. The priority should be focused in tackling the root cause of MOST if not all of our challenges in Eritrea, i.e. the authoritarian system that has caused our people unspeakable pain and suffering and gross human rights violation. The authoritarian regime ripped the entire population the sense of agency into submitting to daily ration of food and supplies and reduced people to a meager survival.
Let me mention a few of the challenges that we face in the post-PFDJ period as components of failed state
Challenges: Systemic Political Problems
Lack of Democratic Culture: fear, oppression
Succession problem: lack of institutions
Interrupted Nation-Building (1991-1997)
Militarized Society: slavery like National Service
Predatory Security Sector: security state
Outdated Infrastructure:
Poor Social Service System/Welfare state
Social Capital-Eroded, trust broken, no social contract between the people and
Government
Lack of independent media and civil society organizations
We agree on the need to change but not on how to bring about that change
Division within the justice seeking diaspora-leadership failure,
Transitional Justice-coordination and implementation
Systemic Problem Needs Systemic ChangeOpportunities
Nurture democratic culture
Nurture leaders/rally behind
Set up constitutional/democratic government
Continuity basic social and administration services
Accountability: justice
Pressure the PFDJ regime
Proposed Solutions
Civil Society Associations, political parties
Identify potential leaders form a rep leadership
Prepare transitional/post transition plans
Create linkage within Eritrea via media & other means
Transitional Justice
Diplomatically, Security
In conclusion, our challenges are so many and complex but within our capacity to turn them into opportunities. Professional and educated Eritreans need to take their proper place and lead, the youth need to engage and show ambition to lead, the elders to mentor and share experiences (lessons learned) gained in the last 3 decades of struggle for justice and freedom, for every person to prepare her/himself for the post-PFDJ democratic Eritrea (study, work, build capital etc). Our country needs each one of us to start the reconciliation and rebuilding of the nation that was interrupted right after Eritrea’s independence. Our problem is a leadership problem, let us present to our people a better leadership that caters to the people of Eritrea and protects the national interest of the people and country that came through heavy price.
Thank you!!
Saba Tesfayohannes Kidane Heritage
PhD, Conflict Analysis and Resolution
Phone (310) 621 3957
Role of the Eritrean intellectuals in Democratizing Eritrea
Keynote Address at the First Workshop of Eritrean Research Institute for Policy and Strategy (ERIPS)
Araya Debessay
Catholic University, Washington DC
August 14, 2021
Introduction
Given the limited time, I will omit the introductory remarks I had prepared. But I just want to thank the organizers for giving me the opportunity to speak on a topic that is of great interest to me, “Role of the Eritrean intellectuals in the democratization of Eritrea.” I should hasten to point out, the ideas I am presenting are ideas that I have been working on with my colleagues at the Global Initiative to Empower Eritreans Grassroots movement that we formed in 2016.
The major contribution Eritrean intellectuals can make toward the democratization of Eritrea, in my view, is developing a mechanism that will make it possible for all pro-democracy, just-seeking Eritreans to elect legitimate global representatives, something that we are missing and that has hindered us up to now from making any meaningful contribution to ending dictatorship and transform our country to be a multi-party democratic country. I will explain the need for global representatives, their role, and will present for your serious consideration an election mechanism that is all-inclusive and democratic.
The urgency of ending dictatorship
We all know how bad the situation in our country is. Isaias has destroyed our people and our country for the last 30 years. The prospect of positive democratic changes in Eritrea is unthinkable as long as Isaias is in power. The regime has to be removed immediately, as the first priority, if democratic changes are to take place in Eritrea.
We have to admit, pro-democracy, justice-seeking Eritreans, have so far been ineffective to bring about fundamental changes in our country.
There is no doubt that the majority of Eritreans in the Diaspora are opposed to the dictatorial regime of Isaias Afeworki. But the reason why we have not made any meaningful impact so far is because we are too fragmented. At this stage what we need to do is to unite and speak with one voice to get rid of this dictatorial system.
The need for a legitimately elected Global Representatives.
Diaspora Eritreans could have been more effective if their activities were conducted by a leadership group that has the legitimacy and the mandate to speak and represent all pro-democracy, justice-seeking Eritreans in Diaspora. The chances for us to get the attention and the support of the International Community particularly the UN, EU, African Union etc. could have been much higher if we had a legitimately elected representatives of the pro-democracy, justice-seeking Eritreans in the Diaspora. Those countries that are flooded with Eritrean refugees would help us for their own best interest. But they need to know whom to deal with. I submit that the chances for us to get the support of these countries is high only if we can approach them as a united body.
Any group that claims to be a legitimate representative of the pro-democracy Eritreans in the Diaspora, must be elected by all those in Diaspora who are opposed to the current government. We need to develop an all-inclusive and democratic election process expeditiously, using a state-of-the art technology.
In order to ensure the legitimacy of the Global Representatives, it is imperative that all the various groups in the opposition, namely the Eritrean political parties, civic associations, the Global Yiakl Movement, the Women’s association, and all those who are actively working for democratic changes should agree on the mechanism to elect legitimate global representatives. Developing this mechanism is a challenge participants of this workshop should tackle in their respective roundtable discussions.
Such an all-inclusive and democratic election process will enable the globally elected representatives to justifiably claim to be a legitimate body that represents the interest of all pro-democracy Eritreans world-wide.
The Role of the legitimately elected is group should be: (a) to prepare an effective strategy in collaboration with democratic forces in the country and others to facilitate the removal of the dictatorial regime, (b) to prepare for a smooth transformation to a democratic rule in the aftermath of the removal of the regime, and (c) to prepare a transitional charter and make the necessary arrangement for the transfer of power to the Eritrean people.
The Mechanism of Electing the Eritrean National Congress in Diaspora.
If we can agree at this workshop on a mechanism that will help us to create global representatives, I think we will have made a significant contribution and that is a challenge that we have to tackle today. Towards this end, I would like to present the following ideas that I think will help in electing legitimate global representatives which I hope the workshop participants will seriously discuss in the roundtable deliberations. I have thought to let you develop a workable mechanism starting from a blank page, but to save you time, I hope you will appreciate the detail step-by-step process I am presenting to help you in your deliberations, with the understanding what I am proposing is meant to serve as a starting point for your roundtable discussions. Feel free to discard what I am proposing as long as you can come up with a better mechanism.
I suggest that the first thing that has to be done is forming a Facilitation Group. The role of this facilitating group is to persuade all the various Eritrean opposition political parties, civic organizations and activist groups to a roundtable discussion to agree on a mechanism on how to elect global representatives using an all-inclusive, democratic process. How to form this Facilitation Group is the first challenge. In my view, the important criteria to consider is those who will serve as members of this Facilitation group should be highly respected and influential Eritreans who will be able to persuade the various stakeholders in the Eritrean opposition to come to a roundtable discussion. I am expecting there will be some good ideas and suggestions from the roundtable discussion groups on how to form this Facilitation Group.
If we can have a Facilitating group that can assemble representatives of the opposition groups to agree on a mechanism that will allow all pro-democracy, justice-seeking Eritreans to participate in the election process that will be an important step forward. If we all agree on what we consider is a feasible mechanism, then that will be a significant contribution this workshop can make to the assembled opposition groups to consider.
From my side, I would like to offer the following ideas, once the Facilitation Group brings all the opposition groups to the roundtable, I suggest that the assembled opposition groups will agree on forming a Registration and Election Commission, composed of competent and computer savvy individuals. The charge of this Commission is to design an internet-based registration system that will allow all justice-seeking Eritreans in Diaspora to register, giving essential and relevant demographic data.
All registered should pay a registration fee; the amount to be decided by the Registration and Election Commission. Those who cannot afford to pay should be exempted or pay whatever they can afford.
The above collected demographic data is meant to help the Registration & Election Commission to ensure the elected candidates will reflect the diversity of the Eritrean people.
For the registration process to be successful, an intensive publicity should be made to encourage the pro-democracy, justice-seeking Eritreans, world-wide to register. Those without access to the internet should have other means to register.
The registration process. The Election and Registration Commission should make an urgent call to all justice–seeking Eritreans in Diaspora to register for the election of the global representatives. This urgent call should be in Tigrigna, Arabic and English and should be extensively advertised in all Eritrean websites, TV and Radio Stations and other social media outlets to be sure that every justice-seeking Eritrean in Diaspora is aware of the registration and election process. The registration process should be completed using the Internet within a short period of time. For those without access to the Internet, other secured registration system should be devised
The next step is for the Registration and Election Commission to appoint a Nominations Task Force that will prepare a slate of nominees from those who are registered. Self-nomination should be allowed. The Registration and Election Commission should provide guidelines on the attributes that should be considered for nominating individuals which should include, the calibre of the individual, experience, integrity, dedication, etc. and the consent to serve as a member of global representatives, if elected.
To help voters to have knowledge of the nominated individuals, those who are nominated should provide their resumes which will be posted on the website of the Registration and Election Commission.
The election process may require a professional firm to handle the process. Elections should be on a one-person-one vote basis by all those individuals who have paid the required registration fee and those who are exempted to pay the required registration fee. Those registered should cast their vote to their favourite candidate, among those nominated, using the Internet. IT experts should develop a secured, state-of-the art computer-based election system that is protected from hacking and that will not allow the unregistered from voting and also that prevents duplicate voting. Every registered voter should be allowed to cast as many votes as the desired number of the required number of representatives, with the restriction that one can only vote once to a nominated candidate. Voting should be completed within a limited number of days to be determined by the Registration and Election Commission. Those who have received the highest number of votes will constitute the legitimately elected global representatives.
To ensure that the elected global representatives will reasonably reflect the diversity of the Eritrean people, the Registration and Election Commission, should be given a discretionary power to make sure the members of the elected representative are a diverse group in terms of gender, religion, age and ethnic identity.
Summary and Conclusion.
In brief, what I have tried to do in my presentation is to underscore the need for a legitimately elected global representative for all pro-democracy Eritreans in the Diaspora in order to effectively contribute towards the democratization of Eritrea. I have indicated a mechanism on how to elect global representatives through Internet-based, all-inclusive and democratic process that allows all pro-democracy, justice-seeking Eritreans to elect their global representatives. The challenge I would like to give to the workshop participants is to agree on a workable mechanism that will allow all pro-democracy, justice-seeking Eritreans all over the world to participate in the election process. You may want to modify the mechanism I have suggested or to agree on a better alternative as long as it all-inclusive, democratic and expeditious.
Thank you for your attention.
Eritrean Research Institute for Policy and Strategy (ERIPS)
Eritrean Scholars & Professionals Workshop August 14,2021
Why Eritrean scholars can play a critical role in enhancing peace, security and stability in Eritrea as well as in the Horn of Africa.
Professor Kidane Mengisteab
Introduction: Defining terminologies
Good afternoon and let me start by thanking the organizers for inviting me to share my views on the potential role of Eritrean scholars in enhancing peace and security in their home country, Eritrea, and in the rest of the region of the Horn of Africa.
Let me also preface my remarks by defining some terminologies I will be using in my remarks so that we are on the same page with respect to their meanings.
So, the first term I like to define is ‘scholar’. A scholar is a person who has developed expertise in a certain field or fields of study. A scholar is also a person who acquires knowledge through the scientific method of research, which is based on logic and empirical evidence. In other words, unlike a layperson who acquires general knowledge in a casual manner, a scholar acquires specific and specialized knowledge through a scientific method.
Other terminologies I like to define are Conflict and security. Conflict refers to clash of ideas, values, and interests (among individuals, communities, and countries). Conflict can be violent or non-violent. Non-violent clashes of ideas, and interests are always present in a collective of individuals, societies as well as countries. Societies avoid violence and promote peace, living in harmony without fear of harm by others, by developing stable conflict resolution mechanisms. Countries also often rely on international law and norms in preventing wars.
Security = freedom from potential harm caused by others (people, countries, natural disasters, lack of development) and Stability refers to sustainable security (continuance of peace).
2. Why do scholars have the potential to promote security and Stability?
Scholars can promote peace, security and stability in a number of ways. I will outline just three of the many ways they can exercise their potential:
i. Scholars, especially those with the relevant fields of expertise, can play a critical role in developing institutional arrangements for managing conflicts so that conflicts do not become violent. Remember societies avoid violent conflicts by developing institutions of conflict resolution and not by eliminating clashes of ideas and interests. Institutions of conflict resolution are many. Among the most important ones include, a sound constitution, laws, various political arrangements that ensure equitable citizenship rights (rights of participation in the political, economic, social, and cultural life of one’s country, and other systems and practices of conflict resolution. The Eritrean baito system is an example of a good traditional practice.
ii. The expertise of scholars, along with their skill in conducting scientific research, is also essential in understanding and combating the drivers of security threats, which may be man-made or generated by natural causes. Foreign attacks and natural disasters; economic challenges, such as poverty, inequality, joblessness; health challenges; and technological backwardness are among the areas where scholars can play a critical role in developing policy mechanisms that overcome such security threats.
iii. At the regional level also, scholars can study drivers of possible conflicts and threats to security. They also propose their solutions. They act as early warning systems of conflicts and ways of mitigating the drivers of insecurity. Eritrean scholars can also collaborate with scholars from the region in designing regional security arrangements.
Conditions for effectiveness of scholars
There are, however, certain requisites for Eritrean scholars to be effective in playing their appropriate role in promoting security and stability. Among them are the following:
- The scholars must be public scholars who are committed to enhancing the interests and security of their society and country.
The existing socioeconomic system must be one that allows them to engage in their craft, especially research, with the necessary level of freedom. Eritrean scholars do not currently have such freedom in Eritrea.
Scholars also need freedom and venue to participate in harnessing security by influencing policy. The product of scholars must also find audience. These conditions are also not available in Eritrea. Despite these limitations Eritrean scholars need to do all they can to promote peace and security in their country and their region.
Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to share my remarks with you.
COVAX Presentation by Dr. Astier M Alemseghed
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