I will start with quoting some key sentences in the article that shed a light on why this blog is subtitled "The Constitution of The 50s as a Base for Post DIA Eritrea?", I will then copy paste the article, added with a link of the fb-page, the 1952, 1997 constitution, and two video clips of the Eritrean folk poet Abbe Abdellah who had to flee to Sudan.
The subtitle is written in capital letters because the constitution of the 50s is gone and FORGOTTEN in people´s minds. Many in the opposition side of the current political climate of Eritrea want the implementation of the 1997 constitution without considering the benefits and drawbacks of it, and without giving any thought to the original Eritrean constitution of 1952 that was highjacked by Ethiopia. It was this unlawful hijack that commenced the 30 years long liberation movement of Eritrea and caused the lives of our ca 250.000 martyrs, excluding the civilian causalities. Hence, it makes perfect sense to start from where our grandfathers left off.
Sadly, there were neither known, nor worth mentioning Eritrean women in the parliament of the time.... Second, it´s seems illogical to want the implementation of the 97 constitution ignoring the history and pre-history of the EPLF leadership, before and after we regained our sovereignty. We can´t blame the EPLF leadership for adapting ELF´s Marxism and Osman Saleh Sabbe´s finger involvement in the creation of EPLF and its Maoism, and we can´t avoid ELF´s weaknesses in not being able to solve the problem early on. The fact however remains that DIA was sent to destroy the liberation movement and to extinct us as a people, regardless of faith and region.
That being said, if we are born Christians, wether or not we practice it, we will be condemned by God to hell if we judge and condemn them as people, because in God´s eyes, we are no different than them as His children that He willingly created for His joy. Mathew 7:1-2 "Do not judge, or you will be judged. 2For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.…"
Isaiah 43:6-8 "…6"I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' And to the south, 'Do not hold them back.' Bring My sons from afar And My daughters from the ends of the earth, 7Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made." 8Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes, And the deaf, even though they have ears.…
Instead, we are to pray for them and shed light on the evil deeds caused by Satan and his armies. 1 Timothy 2:1-3 "1First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be offered on behalf of all men 2for kings and all those in authority, so that we may lead tranquil and quietlives in all godliness and dignity. 3This is good and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,…"
Ephesians 5:9-12 "Children of Light
Walk as children of light 9(for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true),10Test and prove what pleases the Lord. 11Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.…"
Because for God one sin or one disobedience to His nature as manifested in Jesus the Messiah who defeated death for us on the cross and His ten Commandments, is enough to put us to His wrath, which is why we (Christian-born) must always repent from our evil deeds, thoughts, intentions and ask for His mercy and grace on us in His Son or His Word: Jesus Christ´ s mighty name at all times.
James (Jaqob) 2:9-11 "A Warning against Favoritism
9But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law (my comment; law referring to the books of Moses from Mount Sinai as manifested in Jesus Christ, the Word of God) as transgressors. 10Whoever keeps the whole Law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker." Now, back to the main subject of this blog, "the discourse on governance and legitimate national constitution should start today before tomorrow to go hand in hand with the ongoing struggle for political change in Eritrea. (....) As indicated above, my vision here is based on the observation that the Eritrean constitution of 1952 is a reasonable foundation that suggests the level of understanding of the Eritrean people and the need to build on these understanding, rather than re-inventing the wheel by totally imposing the will of a party leadership clique on the people as the PFDJ did in 1997, when they imposed their own(2) constitution on the Eritrean people and soon abandoned it under the pretext of the emergency situation created by the so-called border conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia in 1998."
The Argument for Representative Governance in Eritrea
By: A/Rahman Sayed
14th October 2008
Abbe Abdallah's wisdom
"Abbe Abdalla is a famous Eritrean folk poet and singer of his time. In terms of popularity, he is perhaps second to the legendary Wad-Ameer, whose poems and songs are well liked by most including our generation. During Abbe’s time, many political changes took place in the struggle that were reflected in his poems and songs. On a visit to Kassala in 1998 I met Abbe. Back then, he was broadcasting his political poems, full with humour, from Radio Kassala. In one of those radio broadcasting sessions, he commented that he was not so much worried about “when” the self-appointed president will leave power but rather about “how” he will leave the country and the people when he certainly leaves. The wisdom here was that no one lives forever except the creator. Surely, the current rulers will sooner or later, no matter how powerful and brutal, unwillingly or willingly leave power. Abbe, aware of this very fact, was alerting Issayas of his departure. Haile Sellassie and Menghistu Hailemariam instigated fear in Ethiopia and Eritrea, yet they unwillingly left power. He reminds him to reflect on the fate of his recent predecessors and spare the Eritrean people the agony and suffering that is resulting as a consequence of his selfish clinch to power.
Abbe Abdalla is a very wise person who is living in poverty in Kassala. Despite the greatness of his wisdom and poems, his contributions to Eritrean politics may be passing unnoticed by the general Eritrean public. However, as Abbe said, it is beyond doubt that the current rulers of Eritrea will expire, no matter how powerful and brutal they may appear. They will very soon be placed in the dark pages of history books. Given that background, it is therefore necessary to embark on a practical plan for the future of the country. Our discourse, atleast in my opinion, should be a two-prong strategy. The first one should be to devise creative ways of exposing, challenging and eventually replacing the dictatorship by rule of law and democracy, while the second strategy should be to focus on the post-tyranny era to facilitate the transfer of power from despotic dictatorship to democracy in a safe and peaceful manner. This dual strategy is valuable because it provides a vision for the future and motivation for the people in the ongoing anti-tyranny struggle. That is where this article comes in. It is intended to contribute to the discussion concerning the near future of our country. Most of the material was recently delivered as part of my speech at the Eritrean Festival in Frankfurt in early August 2008. I have made some modifications to present it in an article format to be more beneficial and accessible for the general public.
The importance of the topic of governance cannot be over stated. Indeed it defines the structure of operating a state in either a legitimate, democratic and representative system of governance or illegitimate, undemocratic and dictatorial system of governance. It is also a key ingredient in the service of justice, peace and development. That being the case, a careful analysis of the outstanding problems of the African continent, in general, and the Eritrean nation, in particular, we can conclude that the primary culprit behind all the problems is the lack of fair and just system of “governance”! That is, the main reason behind the misery of our African peoples is mainly due to “bad governance”; as there are sufficient natural resources and human capital to overcome the current misfortunes. Unfortunately, Independent Eritrea under PFDJ has become the most deficient in good governance.
Abbe Abdalla is a very wise person who is living in poverty in Kassala. Despite the greatness of his wisdom and poems, his contributions to Eritrean politics may be passing unnoticed by the general Eritrean public. However, as Abbe said, it is beyond doubt that the current rulers of Eritrea will expire, no matter how powerful and brutal they may appear. They will very soon be placed in the dark pages of history books. Given that background, it is therefore necessary to embark on a practical plan for the future of the country. Our discourse, atleast in my opinion, should be a two-prong strategy. The first one should be to devise creative ways of exposing, challenging and eventually replacing the dictatorship by rule of law and democracy, while the second strategy should be to focus on the post-tyranny era to facilitate the transfer of power from despotic dictatorship to democracy in a safe and peaceful manner. This dual strategy is valuable because it provides a vision for the future and motivation for the people in the ongoing anti-tyranny struggle. That is where this article comes in. It is intended to contribute to the discussion concerning the near future of our country. Most of the material was recently delivered as part of my speech at the Eritrean Festival in Frankfurt in early August 2008. I have made some modifications to present it in an article format to be more beneficial and accessible for the general public.
The importance of the topic of governance cannot be over stated. Indeed it defines the structure of operating a state in either a legitimate, democratic and representative system of governance or illegitimate, undemocratic and dictatorial system of governance. It is also a key ingredient in the service of justice, peace and development. That being the case, a careful analysis of the outstanding problems of the African continent, in general, and the Eritrean nation, in particular, we can conclude that the primary culprit behind all the problems is the lack of fair and just system of “governance”! That is, the main reason behind the misery of our African peoples is mainly due to “bad governance”; as there are sufficient natural resources and human capital to overcome the current misfortunes. Unfortunately, Independent Eritrea under PFDJ has become the most deficient in good governance.
Good governance can be achieved through fair representation and just democratic system that recognizes and accommodates the multi-cultural and multi-ethnic nature of our society. The former UN Secretary General, Mr. Kofee Anan is quoted as saying in his address to the African Governance Forum held in Addis Ababa , on 11 July 1997, that good governance “promotes the most salient features of a free and prosperous society: social justice, transparency, accountability in the management of public affairs”(1) .
One can imagine how Eritrea would have looked today had Issayas and his EPLF colleagues declared a national reconciliation conference and invited all foes and friends for a government of national unity in June 1991 instead of declaring their brutal dictatorial manifesto outlawing partisan and political pluralism in that summer month of 1991 when Issayas made his famous statement: Kab heji neneyew nay wedebat hashaweye yelen/from now on there will be no more organisations [except his]. I think we would have had a recovered and healthy Eritrea on track to prosperity and sustainable development.
Without further indulging into the state of the current Eritrean reality that I am sure the overwhelming majority of Eritreans are well aware of, it may be useful to highlight here how the generation of 1940s and 1950s explained representative governance. An indicator for this is the Eritrean Constitution of 1952.
The 1952 Constitution
Contrary to what the PFDJ leaders claim that the Eritrean people is not ready for democracy and democratic systems of governance, our recent history attests that Eritreans have indeed understood and practised contemporary democracy in the 1940s and 1950s before their aspirations were crushed by Ethiopia’s feudal and military dictators as well as our current unelected rulers.
The 1952 Constitution
Contrary to what the PFDJ leaders claim that the Eritrean people is not ready for democracy and democratic systems of governance, our recent history attests that Eritreans have indeed understood and practised contemporary democracy in the 1940s and 1950s before their aspirations were crushed by Ethiopia’s feudal and military dictators as well as our current unelected rulers.
The Eritrean Constitution of 1952 was the first and only legitimate document the country has ever had since its creation by Italian colonialism in 1889. This constitution was legitimate because it was ratified and endorsed by a democratically elected legitimate assembly in 1952. Although officially the document was adopted as a Constitution for an autonomous federal unit, its drafting process involved UN expertise, consultation and discussion with and between the Eritrean people and their political representatives in a free and democratic environment.
Reading the Eritrean Constitution after 56 years of its birth, one can easily see its significance not only for an autonomous unit within a federal polity, but also for the independent and sovereign state that Eritrea is today. As indicated above, my vision here is based on the observation that the Eritrean constitution of 1952 is a reasonable foundation that suggests the level of understanding of the Eritrean people and the need to build on these understanding, rather than re-inventing the wheel by totally imposing the will of a party leadership clique on the people as the PFDJ did in 1997, when they imposed their own(2) constitution on the Eritrean people and soon abandoned it under the pretext of the emergency situation created by the so-called border conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia in 1998.
The 1952 Eritrean Constitution provided “special rights” to “the various population groups in Eritrea” (Chapter V), in clear recognition of the society’s social and cultural diversity. Article 36 of the Constitution gave nationals of the Federation ( Ethiopia + Eritrea), including foreign nationals, “the right to respect for their customs and their own legislation governing personal status and legal capacity, the law of the family and the law of succession”. By the same token, Article 37 defended Eritrean people’s property rights by recognising the Eritrean tribes’ right to administer them “by [traditional customs] or law”.
With respect to language diversity article 38 of the 1952 Constitution can be considered the most progressive approach to this particular issue in Eritrean political history. While the article explicitly recognised Arabic and Tigrinya as official languages, the remaining languages of Eritrea were also accorded the right “to be used in dealing with the public authorities, as well as for religious or educational purposes and for all forms of expression of ideas”.
Article 69 sub-article 3 emphasised that the Chief-Executive (Prime Minister) of Eritrea to “select the Secretaries of the Executive Departments in such a way as to ensure as far as possible a fair representation in his council of the principal groups of the population and the various geographical areas of the territory”.
Another important aspect of the constitution was its decentralised form of governance. Article 83(3) referred to what the constitution terms as “local communities” in reference to the Eritrean tribes and ethnic groups and their right to administer their local areas as follows:-
1. The Constitution recognises the existence of local communities.
2. Municipalities shall be accorded the management of their own affairs.
3. Officials responsible for the administration of village and tribal communities shall be selected from persons of those local communities.
4. The conditions of the application of the preceding provisions may be determined by law.
Thus the 1952 Constitution contained very important articles that were legitimately and rightly embraced by the Eritrean public. The discussion that preceded the constitution drafting was also free and fairly representative of different views of the Eritrean political parties.
It is such traditions that I believe we should keep and build upon the new Eritrea that we all aspire to see flourish.
At the Frankfurt Festival seminar I was asked for my views on the 1997 Constitution. I believe although the 1997 Constitution contained very important articles compatible with universal human rights and democracy, the process followed to produce and ratify that document was exclusionist and hence illegitimate. Constitution making process is what defines whether a certain constitution is legitimate or otherwise. From the day Issayas declared a ban on all Eritrean political organisations in 1991 to this day dissent or political diversity has been brutally suppressed. The public meetings held to discuss the draft contents of the 1997 Constitution were no more than cosmetic gestures and talk-shops. The real final decision remained with the Dictator, not even with the Rubber Stamp “parliament” that allegedly ratified it(4) . That said, if I was given the choice between being ruled by lawlessness, as the current Eritrean situation suggests, and the 1997 PFDJ Constitution, I would prefer the latter. At least here, there are many articles, as mentioned above, that are compatible with universal human rights standards and limited presidential term. This document, alongside the 1952 Constitution, can be a starting point towards setting up a legitimate constitutional system of governance. Representation alone without a functioning democracy, rule of law and freedoms mandated by a legitimate constitution will not provide a fair and equitable system of governance. The issue in this regard is not a mere cosmetic representation that a party or a leadership devises by bringing and appointing various individuals from different ethnic or faith communities to claim that they are representative of the Eritrean social and cultural diversity. It is rather representation within the context of constitutional democracy that guarantees all rights and freedoms to all citizens. Such aspirations for a fair system of governance can be realised, if we succeed in building a system that reconciles with our social, cultural and political traditions by creating a representative constitutional governance conducive to our Eritrean reality. Here are my few suggestions towards that end:-
1. It is obvious that moving from the current tyrannical rule to a legitimate democratic system of government requires a transitional government that can be negotiated between all parties including the current PFDJ government. The transition government thereafter arranges for the establishment of a government of national unity. I understand some may see negotiations with pfdj as an impossible task. Until recently, I too used to espouse such views. But the reality within the opposition camp as well as the hopes raised by the continuous defection of PFDJ officials and supporters have encouraged me to think that negotiations may ultimately be the fastest route to democracy. I believe it is possible to pressurise the pfdj to reach a negotiated settlement, if and when the pressurising forces have the necessary and effective carrot-steak tools. Let’s not forget, one reason why PFDJ has been able to continue with their draconian rule is because there is no effective, cross-sectional, organised and strong opposition that can pioneer the task of change.
3. The constitution and the parliamentary laws of the country should promote equality between all Eritrean citizens and communities before the law and have equal right and status. This means, Eritrean government organs, civil service, including the different ranks of the army and law-enforcing agencies, should reflect the country’s diversity. Let us not be misled by useless excuses, such as: this group has less educated or skilled manpower than the other etc. that some times are made to justify unfair domination of economic resources, educational or employment opportunities by one group or the other. Constitutional guarantees of equal opportunity in every aspect of life and livelihood should inherently lead to making legitimate efforts to redress any imbalances between Eritreans and to achieve a balanced and sustainable human, economic and political development in the country. 4. To protect the rights of minority ethnic groups: it will be essential to allow the growth of civic society groups that promote and advocate the rights of particular cultural or social groups. Not encouraging such initiatives under any pretext will only lead to further marginalisation as well as to the affected groups’ resolve to use unconstructive means of struggle to articulate and reinstate their rights. Civic society and non-governmental organisations, including trade unions, are important part of any functioning democratic governance and there should be national and local laws that guide and protect their growth and functioning in a free and democratic society.
5. It may also be useful to divide the legislative council/parliament of future democratic Eritrea into two chambers. The first chamber for proportional representation where all elected parties and individuals operate, while the second chamber for an equal fixed number of representation where religious leaders, ethnic and tribal elders/leaders, learned and experienced individual statesmen and women function . The two chambers of the legislative council would then work together under the guidance of clear separation of powers.
6. While ensuring the existence and rigorous enforcement of laws to protect the rights of all Eritrean social and cultural cleavages to be represented in their national and regional governments, it will also be equally important to uphold decentralisation by enabling the different Eritrean regional and ethno-linguistic groups the right to self-rule at village/town, district and regional levels. This right to self-rule should be enshrined in our Constitution. 7. Language is an important factor of identity and culture. I believe in the equal constitutional status of all nine (9) Eritrean languages. I am aware that for so long we, I included, have looked at the EPLF/PFDJ approach to this issue of languages’ equality with a suspicious eye. We accused them, and rightly so, that the EPLF/PFDJ never believed in language equality and that their claim of “all languages are equal” or “no need for official languages” was designed to just marginalise Arabic and the rest of the Eritrean languages in favour of Tigrigna. However, EPLF/PFDJ abuse of the term “equality of all languages” should not stop us from assessing and articulating the issue from a democratic and human rights point of view. I believe it is fair and in line with the principles of democracy and human rights not only to recognise cultural and political diversity, but also to uphold those legitimate rights in our constitution by not favouring one language(s) at the expense of the other(s). This would give all citizens the sense of belonging they deserve in order to build mutual trust and respect. In the long run, we may end up being a mono-lingual country once we start on the right path of respecting “diversity” in such a way. On the other hand, what the “two official/working languages” mean is that, for example, a Kunama is a Kunama within his or her Ethnic group, however, once they arrive in the Eritrean parliament or centre, then he or she will have to learn to speak either Arabic or Tigrigna in order to participate in “Eritrean national politics”. I believe A Kunama is a full citizen and a full stakeholder and should remain so at ethnic, local and national levels, if he or she so wishes. This must be the guiding principle of upholding “unity in diversity”. I do not think it is fair to constitutionally differentiate Eritrean languages between national and local. Instead, the future Eritrean constitution should recognise all nine languages as equal Eritrean official languages. For practical and technical purposes, we may be forced to use one or more languages, but atleast having the principle of language equality enshrined in our legitimate constitution should give all Eritrean stakeholders the comfort to feel recognised and represented as one of Eritrea’s diverse identities. Such a principle would encourage people to progress towards freely adopting second and third languages. Here, the use of common language(s) may become consensual rather than imposed by a constitution or enforced by a dominant ethno-linguistic group. Finally, we are called upon to refine our struggle against tyranny and to visualise the post tyranny era to ensure that our country and people will be better off then than they are now. It may also be useful to make a reminder here that the issue of representative governance is better defined and guided by national constitutions. It is well and good to have political parties and groups that promote representative governance as part of their political programmes, however, such good efforts should be guided by national constitutional arrangements to be effective and sustainable. For this reason the discourse on governance and legitimate national constitution should start today before tomorrow to go hand in hand with the ongoing struggle for political change in Eritrea.
May Peace and Justice prevail in our country!
Bohashem@arkokabay.com
May Peace and Justice prevail in our country!
Bohashem@arkokabay.com
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(1) http://www.uneca.org/…/1997_pressreleas…/pressrelese2497.htmaccessed on 13th October 2008
(2) When I say “their own” , it means the 1997 Constitution was not drafted with the full and free participation of the Eritrean people and their political parties. Since 1991 there has been no freedom of association, no freedom of expression or freedom of press. At the time of the 1997 Constitution drafting process people with political dissent were still rounded up by day and night and kept in undisclosed locations. In 1996, it is alleged that most of the Muslim teachers and intellectuals rounded in late 1994 were summarily executed in 1996. Hence, it is fair to state that the 1997 Constitution Making Process was exclusionist and lacked legitimacy.
(3) After the publication of my Frankfurt speech in some Eritrean websites, I noticed that this article was incorrectly marked as “article 39”. Article 39 of the Eritrean Constitution of 1952 deals with the composition and powers of the Legislative Assembly, which in terms of relevance to representative governance is no less important than Article 83.
(1) http://www.uneca.org/…/1997_pressreleas…/pressrelese2497.htmaccessed on 13th October 2008
(2) When I say “their own” , it means the 1997 Constitution was not drafted with the full and free participation of the Eritrean people and their political parties. Since 1991 there has been no freedom of association, no freedom of expression or freedom of press. At the time of the 1997 Constitution drafting process people with political dissent were still rounded up by day and night and kept in undisclosed locations. In 1996, it is alleged that most of the Muslim teachers and intellectuals rounded in late 1994 were summarily executed in 1996. Hence, it is fair to state that the 1997 Constitution Making Process was exclusionist and lacked legitimacy.
(3) After the publication of my Frankfurt speech in some Eritrean websites, I noticed that this article was incorrectly marked as “article 39”. Article 39 of the Eritrean Constitution of 1952 deals with the composition and powers of the Legislative Assembly, which in terms of relevance to representative governance is no less important than Article 83.
(4) Interestingly, the official websites of the Eritrean regime, shabait & shaebia.coms, still refer to the 1997 Constitution as a “Draft Constitution”. The Rubber Stamp Parliament that has not been heard of for a very long time had also endorsed the Regime’s “Treason” charges against the G11 of former high ranking officials of the regime."
https://www.facebook.com/groups/EFCDS/permalink/929028410467310/?hc_location=ufi
The constitution of 1952: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3QNSN1T1AiwVGhmS2pLeUNsVDg/view?usp=sharing
The constitution of 1997 in English and Tgrinna, in Arabic???:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3QNSN1T1AiwZEZNUDV0UF9DQnc/view
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3QNSN1T1AiwM1UzQndHR1BhZmc/view?usp=sharing
Poet Abbe Abdellah: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H796HnWpcs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsFC22AMB5Q
https://www.facebook.com/groups/EFCDS/permalink/929028410467310/?hc_location=ufi
The constitution of 1952: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3QNSN1T1AiwVGhmS2pLeUNsVDg/view?usp=sharing
The constitution of 1997 in English and Tgrinna, in Arabic???:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3QNSN1T1AiwZEZNUDV0UF9DQnc/view
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3QNSN1T1AiwM1UzQndHR1BhZmc/view?usp=sharing
Poet Abbe Abdellah: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H796HnWpcs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsFC22AMB5Q
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