Eritrean opposition to celebrate Independence Day in Sudan

ADDIS ABABA, May 20, 2004 (Awate.com) — The leaders of most of Eritrea’s opposition organizations are in Khartoum, Sudan, to commemorate Eritrea’s Independence Day on 24 May.

Opposition leaders now in Khartoum, Sudan include: Mr Hiruy [Tedla] Bairu, the secretary general of the Eritrean National Alliance (ENA), an umbrella group of thirteen opposition organizations and individuals; Mr Muhammad Nur Ahmad, secretariat member of the Eritrean Democratic Party (EDP); Mr Abdallah Adem, member of the transitional leadership of the Eritrean Popular Movement (EPM); Mr Seyoum Ogbamichael, chairman of the Eritrean Liberation Front-Revolutionary Council (ELF-RC/Frankfurt); Mr Ahmad Muhammad Naser, vice-chairman of the Eritrean Liberation Front-Revolutionary Council (ELF-RC/Kassel); Mr Taher Shengeb, chairman of the Eritrean People’s Congress and deputy secretary general of the ENA; Mr Hamid Turki, leadership of Eritrean Islamic Salvation Front (EISF) and political director of the ENA; Mr Uthman Muhammad Abubaker, director of foreign relations office of the ENA; and Mr Jaffer Asad, member of the executive committee of the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF).

Reached by telephone, an opposition leader reports that “bilateral meetings and consultations” are under way to reach at a common understanding of “what went wrong in Eritrea after independence, and how we can solve it.”

Sudan’s media has been covering the event and Sudanese television has presented interviews with some of the leaders, focusing on evaluating the thirteen years following Eritrea’s independence.

Eritreans in Sudan are also organizing events and several public meetings between the opposition leaders and the public. Approximately 500,000 Eritreans reside in Sudan.