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Democracy and Conflict Management in Eritrea

Democracy and Conflict Management in Eritrea By Fesseha Nair The Eritrean internal conflict is entangled or bound up with the concept of identity, nation and nationalism with competition for power and dominance. Today, the Eritrean internal conflict

Democracy and Conflict Management in Eritrea

By Fesseha Nair

The Eritrean internal conflict is entangled or bound up with the concept of identity, nation and nationalism with competition for power and dominance. Today, the Eritrean internal conflict revolves around the state structure and the distribution of its power and resources and in that sense at least at one level, they are disputes about how shall the Eritrea of the future be governed not who will govern? From the Eritrean political elite’s view is who will govern after the fall of the dictatorship not how will the country be governed.

We have expereinced this since the Eritrean nationhoood and up to now without no common understanding and shared vision. What is a shared vision?  A vision is the answer to the  question: What do the opposition want to create afetr the fall of the dictatorship in Eritrea?  A vision inspires all the forces for democratic change to give their best efforts. A shared vision unites stakholders with different backgrounds and agendas to a common aspirations.  Despite all efforts to national unity, we still have not reached common understnding and shared vision and therefore live in vicious circle without no exit towards national unity that guarantees human rights and self-determination of all citizens without segregation and discrimination.

The Eritrean internal conflict is a deep rooted conflict based on identities and inequalites of power- sharing and unjust economic and social policies.  Eritrean political elites escape from identifying the issues of conflict and have blind devotion of  Eritrean nationalism destroying the components of Eritrean diversity by calling them sub-nationals preaching democracy in the name of national unity has never solved the internal conflict but deteriorated it.

This phenomenon of conflict management has appeared differntly during the political, armed and later after the independence. The issues of conflict were neglected by those supernationalists and chauvenists who consider themselves as the masters of the land and people. Neglecting the issues of internal conflict and their necessity to accommodate their interests under the Eritrean sovereignty is the main issue to be addressed by both the oppopsition political organizations and the authoritarian regime of one man rule in Eritrea at this time.

There are no studies on Eritrea how to build a democracy and manage conflicts either inside the opposition or the regime. Our political and policy makers lack knowledge and skills on how to design  democratic levers that can enhance democracy, peace, justice and equality among the Eritrean diversity. Conflict is a normal part of any healthy society but from the Eritrean perspective it is cursed and taboo.

After the Eritrean Independence, all stakeholders should have negotiated how to build democracy and democratic state in Eritrea   but this has no happened. But what about those who struggle today against the dictatorship and for democratic change. Have they common understanding and shared vision? In this article I will attempt to discuss on the approaches of the Eritrean political leadership on conflict and its management.

Disagreements and conflicts naturally emerge within any society or individuals. Most studies of conflict  show that  there two kinds of  managing conflicts-

  1. Functional
  2.  Dysfunctional.

 

  1. 1.    Managing Functional conflict

When stakholders recognize that conflict is an inevitable and even desirable part of any work. A shared vision can solve the inconnngruities of any program and establish a common purpose to channel debate in a constructive manner. The Eritrean political society lacks the skills of negotiations to reach shared goals through creating common ground for resolving differences. The Eritrean political stakholders must encourage  healthy dissent in order to imporove problem solving and innovation.

When some one disagrees or challenges the ideas of the others one should not be isolated but be respected by his/her dissence or his /her opposing views. Functional conflict plays a critical role in a deeper understanding of the issues of conflict and lead to  best possible solution.

  1. 2.    Managing dysfunctional conflicts:

When stkaholders will not identify the conflict or will not reecognize then the conflict is much more challenging and leads to confrontations.  It leads to polarizations and hate politics, then the functional conflict turns into dysfunctional. Dysfunctional conflict is characterized by its irrational and personality clashes or failure to resolve issues of conflict. The Eritrean way of conflict management has always been dysfunctional. The Eritreans lack the skills of negotiation using reasoning and persuasion suggesting alternatives and the like. One of the keys is to find common ground, here the goal of conflict mangment is that all are winners and no losers.

 

Democracy operates as a Conflict Managment system

The objetive of this article is to discuss at this time- are we in the opposition camp for democratic change towards a more paragmatic path in our internal conflict management or are we in the old attitude of conflict escalating stage? Conflict is the interaction of different and opposing aspirations and goals in which disputes are processed but not definitly resolved. It is a necessary part of healthy democratic dialogue, provided that it remians within the boundaries of democratic rules. Conflict management is the is the positive and constructive handling of difference and divergence. It is how to bring together the opposing sides in a cooperative process and design a practical and achievable system. Democracy operates as a conflict managment system without recourse to violence.

Thanks to the information technolgy in general and the social media in particular, what is going on in the Eritrean paltalks rooms day and night if evaluated how much are they knowledge providing, sharing experience and creating democracy practicing society?

Most of the discussions going on the paltalk rooms lack democratic values such as pluralism, tolerance, inclusiveness, negotiations and compromises that are keys to building lasting settlements to the Eritrean internal conflicts.

The paltalk room admnistrators must assess their social media activities how much they hav provided knowledge and skills on democracy and conflict management in solving the internal conflicts.

 

 

 

 

 

aseye.asena@gmail.com

Review overview
17 COMMENTS
  • senay May 9, 2013

    Paltalk is a waste of time and Eritrean youths energy and we need to dig this problem out of our daily life because all paltalk administers lucks vision and experience in all levels , they are completely out of bound and they do not have any value in politics and all geopolitical views , they only have the democracy term and they even can not type it properly, what they know is talk and talk. if you ask them to give any vision for the Eritrean people they will only tell you we want to throw issaias and that is all , they have no common interest and they have no value of democracy , they are short of every thing ,

    Smer and other groups lacks all the ingredients of politics and they have not yet grasp what is to be Eritrean , they think since some one is listing them as the only option but the fats are far from that, so they should draw their lines and offer a vision, for the Eritrean people unless they will just remain a microphone people with only sounds to offer,

  • Obahara May 9, 2013

    Selam,

    The rule of a game makes the entire essence of any such game, be it national or international. Those who fail to play it by the established rules of any game and get some where are liars, thieves, and civilized or uncivilized savage, Eritreans under the rule of the barbaric PFJD regime and Ethiopians under the rule of their wicked Weyane regime have been warring for a long time now because the two lawless and depsoitc regimes fail to be governend by the rule of the game the world has used to end their idiotic and destrucvtive border war and blood fued. Following is an earlier note addressing the issues that are generally bieng raised here:

    It goes without saying that Isaias and his lawless PFDJ regime are the number one enemy of the Eritrean people as things now stand! Without wasting word, suffice it to say that lawless regimes like the PFJD in Eritrea cannot represent anyone except themselves. The Eritrean despot and his bestial PFJD regime have done well in continuing to shoot themselves on the foot and seem to be determined to keep doing so till their ugly end comes in due time.

    Proceeding, the Wowyane regime in Ethiopia is just as lawless as its PFJD counterpart in Eritrea because it stands in violation to the Eritrean-o-Ethiopian international border demarcation verdict that it signed as “Final and Binding”. The Weyane regime is just as lawless and bestial as the PFDJ is to those Eritreans who see it as the enemy of the rule of law and democracy as well as peace and order in both countries! Therefore, the TPLF or EPRDF or Weyane regime in Ethiopia is the number two enemy of the Eritrean people for its lawless dealings and wheeling in connection with the unity of the Eritrean people it is trying to undermine and the integrity of their sovereign land in violation of the rule of international law. This is so because the Weyane regime lawlessly stands on the way of the very reason Eritreans fought for 30 years to liberate their land from Ethiopian colonial rule and establish a government of their own making on its graves.

    Furthermore, Eritreans are their own number three enemy for they take part in creating and or prolonging the causes of their miseries by siding with one lawless regime or another. Just as the tyrannical PFJD regime ruling and ruing Eritreans is lawless, so is the Woyane regime in Ethiopia whose only interest is to divide and rule the Eritrean opposition it patrons to weaken their unity while violating Eritrean territorial sovereignty. This has one goal and one goal only and that is to weaken the unity of the Eritrean people and question the viability of the Eritrean nation in the making. Sooner or later, Eritreans living inside and outside their country will have to unite their forces and resources to end the rule of the PFDJ plague and establish their own constitutional, institutional, and democratic government in their country without siding with one lawless regime or another.

    In conclusion, Eritreans won their independence from Ethiopian beggar rule by force of arms in 1991 and sealed it legally in the court of international law. The border war followed because the two thieves that stole the Eritrean dream together finally turned against each other and wasted precious life, limb, and resources of both the peoples of Eritrea and Ethiopia! Peace does not come through those who use the rule of the jungle to run the affairs peoples as both the PFDJ in Eritrea and the EPRDF in Ethiopia do but through obedience to both national and international laws! It takes two to tango and the former EPLF and its former TPLF friend have turned into each other’s worst enemies and dragged both the poor peoples of Eritrea and Ethiopia into a costly, bloody, and useless war to keep themselves in power! The only way to deal with these two lawless regimes is to challenge both of them to abide by the rule of national and international laws forthwith and let the two peoples of Eritrea and Ethiopia start living in a peaceful and mutually beneficial coexistence.

    Peace!

    • A.A Yassin May 9, 2013

      “Furthermore, Eritreans are their own number three enemy for they take part in creating and or prolonging the causes of their miseries by siding with one lawless regime or another. Just as the tyrannical PFJD regime ruling and ruing Eritreans is lawless, so is the Woyane regime in Ethiopia whose only interest is to divide and rule the Eritrean opposition it patrons to weaken their unity while violating Eritrean territorial sovereignty. This has one goal and one goal only and that is to weaken the unity of the Eritrean people and question the viability of the Eritrean nation in the making. Sooner or later, Eritreans living inside and outside their country will have to unite their forces and resources to end the rule of the PFDJ plague and establish their own constitutional, institutional, and democratic government in their country without siding with one lawless regime or another. ”

      anta Hawna bTEnaKa diKa? mengsti Eritrean hagere Eritrean afriska bdHri’u kab Woyane zmeS’eni bdhotat kgeTmo ‘ye diKa tbl zeloKa ? bel re’analka .. nmKri nab Hakim kiedka Hangolka temermer ..key gededeka ‘nkelo!!!

      • Obahara May 9, 2013

        Selam,

        The parasitic PFDJ regime, your insane and bloodsucking leader leader, and their Weyane counterpart are nothing but lawless and shameful thieves, liars, and murderers! Anymore questions?

        Peace!

        • A.A Yassin May 9, 2013

          You do not know what you are talking about. Parasite? bloodsucking leader ?

      • wintuy May 12, 2013

        You are the plague that need to be eradicated, in a matter of time btw why you not happy resolution and conflict managment.

  • A.A Yassin May 9, 2013

    Fessaha Nair is a pathetic ethno-racist extremist. Whatever he says shouldn’t be taken seriously.

    • wintuy May 12, 2013

      Unless you Proof it, you just gave us your own description in sort of frudian slip.

  • Stefanos Temolso May 9, 2013

    The opposition parties have become an obstacle to the progress of a democratic movement for change. They claim to stand for unity, justice and progress but in reality they do otherwise. It is a misery that they have been in such a stagnant situation since 1991. Let’s forget 1991, let us ask the question what have they achieved since 2001? really nothing! They should be able to abolish the viral disunity between them and cement a United front without compromising their Identity!

    • A.A Yassin May 9, 2013

      ala Wedi Temelso, kulu tr’yo des ilukas Hadnet TraH godila tbl? ‘zom sereQti korakur Woyane Habirna tesamamiEna ilom ms zmeSuKas mlu’ bmlu’ ms teQebelkayom malet dyu?

      ms polisitat nay mengsti zey tsemamaE ‘nte koynka – ab kndi zeyelewu Opposition selftat mnday – neSa nay geza’ r’sKa mergeSi zey twesd ?

      • wintuy May 12, 2013

        Ha ha ha i think you really belive what you saying to be the truth and in propoganda tone wow you r so naieve mr yasin and they r using you. Wake up

    • Obahara May 9, 2013

      Selam,

      Stefanos Temolso, very well said and keep it up!

      Peace!

    • MightyEmbasoyra May 9, 2013

      I agree. I would say fixing the issue with those so called many opposition parties = finding the solution for the root cause (Isayas) in Eritrea.

  • NEW HOPE ERITREA May 9, 2013

    ዓሻ ሰብኣይ ቤቱ ኣብ ሑጻ ሰረተ____ብዙሕ ሕብርታት ጌሩ ቀብኦ፣ጨና ካብ ሶርያን ቃጣርን ኣምጺኡ´ውን ምኣዝኡ ኣዔመሮ።ናይ ሲንጋፖር ሓጹር ጌሩ እውን ዶ እምበር ኣብ ኣፍሪቃ እዩ እዚ ገዛ እዚ ዘብል ኮነ።ብዓል ኣሜሪካ ከይተረፋ__ኣርኣያ ካልኦት ዝኸውን ገዛ በልኦ___(ንደርሆ ከዔሽዉዋስ ብኻላሽን ይጎይዋ)እንድዩ ። ንፋስ ነፈሰ እሞ እቲ ገዛ ¨መኻልፍ¨ ኣጋጢምዎ__ሽዋሕዋሕ በለ።እቲ ገዛ ከም ዝፈርስ ኩሉ ዓለም እዩ ፈሊጥዎ ኔሩ፣ብዘይካ እቶም ኣብኡ ዝቕመጡ።እቲ ገዛ ካብቲ ኣብ ከውሒ ተሰሪትዎ ዝነበረ ተበንቍሱ እዩ ኣብ ሕብራዊ ሑጻ ተሰሪቱ ።ኩሉ ዜጋ ገሪምዎ ድሓር ትኣኪቦም ምናልባሽ እቲ ሽግር ድኣ ናይ Democracy and Conflict Management ከይከውን ኢሎም ኣማሓዳርቲ ቀየሩሉ___ሕጂ እቲ ሑጻ ካልእ ሕብሪ ክልከ እንተተኻእለ እውን ሑጻ ናይ ግብጺ እንተኾነ ይሕዞ ይኸውን።ኣየ ምስኪናይ ገዛ ካብ መሰረቱ ሑጻን ሓሶትን ስለ ዝኾነ እዩ እቲ ሽግሩ__ግን ሓንሳእ ገዛና ኢዩ ኢሎም ስለ ዝ ኣመኑ ሑጻታት እናቐየሩ ክሃንጽዎ እዮም።እቲ ጸላኢ ግን እታ ጽሓይ ናይ ባድመ ጥራይ ዘይኮነት__እቲ ንፋስ ውን እዩ__ወይሲ እቲ ገዛ ኣብ ሑጻ ስለ ዝተሰረተ እዩ።ግን ነዚ ፋንታሲ ገዛ ክንሃንጽ ሚእቲ ሽሕ ሂወት ስለ ዝሓለፈ__ዝተፋላለየ ሑጻታት ጌርና ክንስርቶ ኢ ና።

    ክንደየናይ እኳ እቲ ሰብ ከይርድኦ ____እምበር ኣነስ ኤርትራዊ ፈላስፋ ነገር እየ´ኮ።

  • Zaul May 10, 2013

    Elabbas Benmamoun (2007) argues that “issues of language and identity usually arise when more than one language competes for space, be it cultural, political, educational, or economic.” However, this statement presupposes the existence, somewhere in the world, of a place, a space, a country where there exists only one pure language, without any varieties, any dialects, etc. One could easily think of Orwell’s Oceania as such a place. But in the real world such a place simply does not and cannot exist. Yet, what we can still draw from this quotation is that the adoption of any language as official or standard can only presuppose the exclusion of others, in addition to giving the chosen ones political legitimacy and prestige, while excluding, alienating and marginalizing others. The very choice of a language, any language, as official and/or standard can only be at the detriment of others.

    Even Tigrinya will perish. It will not be able to withstand or compete with the onslaught from the Arab media (music, film, television) Wahabbi influence , Arab Tourism and Attitudes towards Africans.

    • ማሊሻ May 10, 2013

      zaul,
      I agree with you, it is not a secrete whose agenda it is to promote alien language in Eritrea like Arabic by burning other Eritrean languages such as Tigre as the Arabized self appointed “elite” language police in Jebha did.
      Whose agenda is burning Eritrean languages, heritage and identity ?

      Here is what you will see according to their wishes:
      History repeated itself again 28 years later after the second organizational conference of the ELF/Jebha in 1975. Educational books, which were prepared in the Tigré language by teachers at the Sawa training center, were ordered to be burned by the Executive Committee, citing the reason that it was a conspiracy directed against the status and prominence of the Arabic language in Eritrea. The leadership of the ELF gave orders not to prepare any more educational texts in the Tigré language henceforth.

      “ኣብ ፕሮግራም ናይቲ ቀዳማይ ጉባኤ፣ ኣብ ሕቶ ቋንቋታት፣ ትግርኛን ዓረብን ወግዓውያን ቋንቋታት ኮይነን፣ ናይ ኩለን ቋንቋታት ኤርትራ መስልን ማዕርነትን ክሕሎ ዝብል ነጥቢ ነይሩ እዩ። እዚ ነጥቢ’ዚ ድሓር በቶም ዓቃባውያን ወገናት፣ ከም ኣንጻር ዓረብ ዝቐንዐ ውዲት እዩ ተራእዩ። “እዚአን ቋንቋታት ኣይኮናን ዲያለክትስ እየን” ዝብል ምጉት ኣምጺኦም። ከም ውጽኢት ናይዚ ኣመለኻኽታ’ዚ፣ ኩሉ ተጋዳላይ ጀብሃ ከምዝዝከሮ፣ ድሕሪ 2ይ ውድባዊ ጉባኤ፣ ኣብ 1975 ኣብቲ ውድብ ዝነበረ ንመምሃሪ ተባሂሉ ዝተዳለወ ናይ ትግረ መጻሕፍቲ ተቓጺሉ እዩ። ኣብ መዓስከር ሳዋ ዝነበሩ መማህራን፣ ካልኣይ ቋንቋ ናይ ኤርትራ ትግረ’ዩ ብዝብል ገርሃዊ ኣተሓሳስባ እዮም ብትግረ መምሃሪ መጻሕፍቲ ኣዳልዮም። እዚ ምስተሰምዐ፣ ኣብ ኣኼባ ፈጻሚት ሽማግለ ጀብሃ “ናይ ትግረ መጻሕፍቲ ክጸሓፍ የብሉን” ዝብል ውሳነ ሓሊፉ ከምዝቃጸል ተገይሩ። እቲ ውሳነ ኣብ ገለ መራሕቲ ጀብሃ ዝነበረ ናይ መንነት ቅልውላው ዘንጸባርቕ እዩ ነይሩ።” (http://www.ehrea.org/dont_forget_history_01.pdf)

      • wintuy May 12, 2013

        I think u need to go two or one decade down to know about the languge issue. It was not jebha making or sawwra for that matter but i dont think you r intrested in that though as i can see your judgment is bias as you show not only ignorance but hatred in your writting. If you love the tigre so much never mind the languge talk about the land they losing for the land grabers.

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