Eritrean opposition says ready to joint struggle against government

By Tesfa-alem Tekle

May 7, 2008 (ADDIS ABABA) — 13 Eritrean opposition organizations, which last march created a new alliance, the Eritrean Democratic Alliance(EDA), have expressed their readiness to jointly struggle and topple Isayas-led government.

Congress among the different opposition groups is under way in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

“It is only when opposition groups stand united that the tyrant Isayas regime could be toppled for once and for all and a new peaceful and democratic nation could be built” Eritrean Democratic Alliance Conference Coordinating Committee Chairman, Ahmed Tirki, said at the conference.

The conference has been summoned based on agreement reached last January among the different opposition forces.

“All The opposition forces have reached consensus that existing differences among themselves won’t pullback to their efforts to jointly struggle and topple the Eritrean government jointly” Ahmed said.

He further said “the consensus among the groups is a big blow to those who have been disseminating a fabricated story that Eritrean opposition forces could not fight jointly and to the Eritrean government mainly which believes as if no Eritrean opposition exists.”

Failure for a full consensus among member groups of the alliance on the past had sent a negative signal to supporters and to the Eritrean people in collective.

“The people of Eritrea must put trust on the opposition forces and should fight hand in hand with the opposition groups to emancipate the atrocities and repressions they are facing” the group called.

Leaders of the opposition parties, religious leaders, members of the Eritrean community, civic associations, supporters and members from different corners of the world are taking part in the conference which will last a week long.

ATROCITIES AGAINST KUNAMA

An Eritrean opposition group under the EDA umbrella, the Democratic Movement for the Liberation of Eritrean Kunama, said that the Eritrean government has aggravated its policy of ethnic cleanse against the Kunama minority.

According to Kernelious Osman, chairman of DMLEK, the Kunama people are hunt down like animals and gunned down brutally, they are thrown to different secret detention centers and denied of their properties.

“Since the beginning of 2008 Eritrean agents have killed 6 Kunama ethnic citizens arrested over 300 while another 163 are disappeared during the specified period of time.” He told Sudan Tribune

Eritrea suspects its own Kunama ethnic citizens of having secretive connections with Ethiopian and Kunama are considered as sort of spies for Ethiopia.

Recently a Kunama ethnic reporter for the national radio was taken away from its cell to a secret place.

The reporter Tura Kubaba was detained two years ago in suspicion of connection with Eritrean opposition group DMLEK.

But DMLEK has rejected the allegation as baseless.

“Tura was very loyal to Eritrea and he rather was reporting stories against us and he had no contact with our group” Kernelious said.

(ST)