An Appeal to All Justice-Seeking Eritreans Worldwide

Let’s Make November 15, 2017, the beginning of the end of the dictatorship in Eritrea

Dear Fellow Justice-Seeking Eritrean,

As a Justice-Seeking Eritrean, we have no doubt that you are being tormented and deeply saddened by the increasingly worsening situation in our country. Eritrea is being emptied of its youth and productive work force. Those who managed to flee the country under tremendous risk, are facing daunting circumstances in Western countries that seem to have reached the end of their patience with crowded refugees and asylum-seekers. Those who are not lucky enough to escape are facing inhuman treatment locked in overcrowded prison cells, and being subjected to cruel torture and endless national service.  In light of this worsening situation, we believe, it is time for all justice-seeking Eritreans join hands to rescue their people and their country without any further delay.

The most expedient, practical step we should take is to get organized in our respective locality, and elect our local leaders by November 15, 2017.  The goal is to elect legitimate grassroots-based global leaders. To this end, wherever there is a critical mass of Eritreans, a local Eritrean assembly or baito   should be established and representatives thereof elected.  The elected local representatives will then establish country-wide assemblies/baitos.  The elected representatives from all the continents will then establish a Global Baito and its executive body will be tasked to lead the democratic struggle for change.

This will require an intensive campaign to mobilize and reach out to ALL justice-seeking Eritreans in every locality. It is therefore vitally important for dedicated justice-seeking individuals in a given locality to take the initiative to form a Meeting Organizing Committee that will take the responsibility to organize an all-inclusive assembly of all the justice-seeking Eritreans in the given locality.  The responsibility of the Committee is to find a meeting place, set the date, with the November 15, 2017 deadline in mind, and then conduct an intensive publicity to reach out to all justice-seeking Eritreans in the given locality without distinction of religion, ethnicity and gender. A serious effort should be made to invite ALL Eritreans, particularly those from minority groups, who may not have access to the Internet or the Eritrean radio programs.  The call for a general meeting of all Eritreans in a given locality should be written in Arabic, English and Tigrigna or any other appropriate language widely used in the particular community.  To the extent possible, the announcement should be disseminated in a written form, and widely distributed in places frequented by Eritreans, such as churches, mosques, community centers, restaurants and other places frequented by Eritreans in the given locality. The information about the meeting should also be spread through phone messages, websites, radio programs, seminars, Paltalk programs, etc.  It is not enough to call a general meeting; people should understand why their participation is important to save our country. It is also important to remember that meeting should be conducted in the language mostly spoken in the locality. In addition, care should be given to providing translation services to those people who do not speak the language used in the meeting.

Once Eritreans in every corner of the world elect their local leaders, the next step is for these elected leaders to choose their country representatives. This process should take place in every country and every continent.  The target date for the election of country-wide leaders should be carried out in consultation with the elected local leaders.  Given the dire situation, this target date for the election of country-wide leaders should be set at the earliest convenient date, before the onset of winter.

The final step is to hold a global conference (Hagerawi Baito) of the country-wide elected leaders from every corner of the world: Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, Middle-East, South America and the US. Global Eritrean Leaders in Diaspora will then be elected at this global conference. We expect the global conference to be conducted within six months after the election of country-wide leaders.

The Role of the Eritrean Global Leaders

We think one of the reasons hindering Eritreans in the Diaspora from being actively engaged in ending the dictatorship in Eritrea, is the lack of democratically elected leadership. We need leaders who can bring us together and lead us towards a democratic change.

The primary role of the Global Leadership is to chart an effective strategy and prepare a blueprint to prepare the ground work for transitioning the country to democracy. In addition to getting organized in the Diaspora, real change will come through collaboration with dedicated elements inside the country, as well as with the Eritrean opposition groups. The responsibility of the Global Leadership will be to gain recognition and support of the International Community. By virtue of the democratic electoral process, the Global Leadership acquires legitimacy to act and to represent Eritreans in the Diaspora in any forum, e.g. the UN, European Union, African Union and other regional and international organizations.  Through an effective and intensive diplomacy and lobbying, the Leadership should be able to persuade the international community to apply intensive pressure that will cripple the dictatorial regime and give moral and logistical support to the forces of change inside the country.

To achieve the goal to elect legitimate grassroots-based global leaders in the shortest possible time, the support and active participation of all justice-seeking Eritreans is critical. We are therefore appealing to all justice-seeking Eritreans in the Diaspora to give this initiative their enthusiastic support. We are particularly appealing to the Eritrean youth, women, musicians and artists, intellectuals, religious leaders, political parties, Eritrean website masters, radio program directors and Paltalk room administrators to give this initiative their fullest support.

We would like to express our gratitude to the various Eritrean grassroots-based groups and committees in various cities and countries of the world.  We would like to request all these groups to assist in the establishment of local, regional and global institutions and grassroots-based global leadership.

Should you have any question, please contact the GI Task Force through our email address: gieegm@googlegroups.com

Our country is facing grave danger, and we all need to act promptly with a sense of urgency.

Let’s make sure November 15, 2017, be the beginning of the end of the suffering our people.

Global Initiative of Eritreans to Empower Grassroots Movement (GI)

October 1, 2017