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Contents

Foreword by Glenys Kinnock

Preface

About the Author

Abbreviations

Maps

Chapter 1Introduction

Chapter 2The Making of Eritrea

2.1The Land and the People

2.2A Glimpse at Pre-Colonial History

2.3Advent of Italian Colonial Rule

2.4The Colonial Legacy

2.5Fall of Italian Colonial Rule

Chapter 3A Plan to Dismember Eritrea

3.1British Military Occupation

3.2The British Partition Plan

3.3British Policy of Destabilisation

3.4British Pillage of Eritrea

3.5Imperial Ethiopian Interference

3.6Eritrean Aspirations for Freedom

3.7Formation of Political Parties

3.8British Intrigues and Ethiopian Subversion

Chapter 4Transition from European to African Colonialism

4.1Maritime Access as a Pillar of Cooperation

4.2The Geopolitical Setting

4.3Federation of Eritrea with Ethiopia

4.4Abrogation of the Federation

Chapter 5The Arduous Struggle for Self-Determination

5.1The Right to Self-Determination in International Law

5.2The Dialectics of Repression and Resistance

5.3Armed Struggle as Political Resistance

5.4Choosing between Bad and Worse

5.5A New Shift in the Military Balance

5.6Solidarity amidst Isolation

5.7Eritrea Independent at Last

Chapter 6State Construction and Development

6.1Essential Policy Instruments

6.2A Unitary Eritrean State

6.3Land and Internal Mobility

6.4A Secular Eritrean State

6.5A United Eritrean State

6.6A Democratic Eritrean State

6.7Gender Equality

6.8A Developmental Eritrean State

Chapter 7Self-Reliance and the Coupon Economy

7.1Imprudent Policy Responses

7.2Self-Reliance as a Euphemism for Isolation

7.3Foreign Policy as an Extension of Self-Reliance

7.4Eritrea-US Relations

7.5Eritrea-EU Cooperation

7.6The Shame of the Coupon Economy

7.7A Contracting Economy in Crisis

Chapter 8The Scourge of Indefinite National Service

8.1Voluntary versus Forced Service

8.2Proclamation of National Service

8.3Erosion of Legitimacy

8.4The Waste of Student Summer Work Camps

8.5Linking Infrastructure to Development

8.6Opportunity Cost of National Service

8.7The Silent Crisis of Mass Exodus

8.8Open-Ended National Service

Chapter 9Resort to Force as a Default Mode

9.1Force as an Arbiter of Discord

9.2The Historical Setting

9.3The Confrontation

9.4Detention to Suppress Dissent

9.5Concentration of Power

Chapter 10Disconnect between Policy and Practice

10.1Establishing a Constitutional State

10.2Building a Democratic System of Government

10.3Instituting Participatory Politics

10.4Ensuring Gender Equality

10.5Constructing a Secular State

10.6Constituting a Developmental State

10.7Divergent Policy and Practice

Chapter 11The African State in Crisis

11.1Snafus of Africa’s Development

11.2The African Nation-State as a European Graft

11.3A Dysfunctional Predatory State

11.4Challenges of the African State

11.5A State in Crisis

Chapter 12Eritrea: The Future of Africa that Works?

12.1The Colonial Narrative

12.2The Eritrean Narrative

12.3The Eritrean Counter-Narrative

12.4Eritrea: The Future of Africa that Works!

12.5Golden Opportunity to Blaze a New Trail

12.6False Hopes and Thwarted Expectations

12.7A Prototype Authoritarian State

Chapter 13Engaging the Eritrean Diaspora

13.1The Evolution of the Eritrean Diaspora

13.2The Diaspora as a Global Player

13.3The Eritrean Diaspora as a National Actor

13.4A Diaspora in Search of Engagement

Chapter 14In the Service of Eritrea

14.1The Formative Years

14.2Dedication to the Eritrean Cause

14.3Revitalising the University of Asmera

14.4Building a Functional Central Bank

Chapter 15An Avoidable War

15.1An Amicable Divorce

15.2Missed Opportunities

15.3Allies at War

15.4The Deportations

15.5The Evolution of the War

Chapter 16An Uneasy Truce

16.1Implementing the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities

16.2Humanitarian Mine Action

16.3Pending Operational Issues

Chapter 17Securing the Peace between Eritrea and Ethiopia

17.1Delimitation of the Boundary

17.2Virtual Demarcation of the Boundary

17.3Imperative of Durable Peace

Chapter 18We Did Not Do It for This!

18.1So Much for So Little!

18.2Serenading in the Past

18.3On a Personal Note

18.4Crossing the Rubicon

18.5Towards a Functional State

Bibliography

Foreword

by
Glenys Kinnock

In 1991, the Eritrean liberation forces marched into Asmera, the capital city of Eritrea, ending three decades of a war waged against Ethiopia. Two years later, the triumphant freedom fighters conducted an internationally-monitored referendum, the outcome of which formalised Eritrea’s status as an independent sovereign state.

This was a time of hope and of anticipation of a better future by people who, as I saw for myself when I visited Eritrea in March 1988, made extraordinary advances in education, childcare, medicine and agriculture – and this in spite of waging a relentless, brutal war.

I met many Eritrean idealists like Andebrhan, the author of this book – who subsequently has become a close and dear friend - whose life has been dedicated to promoting, and supporting, the people of Eritrea, and the promise which liberation offered.

After peace eventually came he and others wasted no time in formulating sound economic and social policies designed to guide rehabilitation and the reconstruction of the war-ravaged economy and infrastructure. The Government sponsored a Commission that, through a process involving the broad participation of the population, drafted a Constitution that established sound governance structures, and fundamental rights which had the potential to become the foundation for the country’s future laws and policies. Everything was, it seemed, in place as the Eritrean people anticipated, at last, a peaceful and secure future.

The tragedy is that the independence celebrations in May 1993 can hardly be further from what has become the reality of Eritrea now - where torture, arbitrary arrest and severe restrictions on freedom of expression, and association are the norm.

Elections have not taken place since independence in 1993 and the Constitution has not been implemented, and political parties are not allowed. President Isaias Afwerki has been in office for twenty two years – presiding over a country where access to justice does not exist and where there is imprisonment without trial.

The author of this book, “Eritrea at a Crossroads”, Andebrhan Welde Giorgis has lived through it all - the armed struggle, post-independence, and the profound disappointment which has followed. He had left Harvard University to join the struggle of his people for independence in the early 1970s and I saw how effective, committed, and courageous Andebrhan is when I spent time with him during the war, and later when he was the Ambassador to the European Union, and I was an MEP. He has an impressive record, which has shown his unfailing integrity, courage and devotion to the wellbeing of the Eritrean people.

“Eritrea at a Crossroads” is both a personal story and a unique exposé of the failings of a Government which has brought misery and suffering to its people. In the various leadership positions which Andebrhan has held in the post-independence Government, he has worked to build viable institutions and protect the fundamental rights of the Eritrean people. His frustration, regret and disappointment are evident when you read the chapters towards the end of the book. This is an insider’s personal story, and interpretation of events - which exposes how the country’s President, once viewed as one of a new breed of African leaders, went on to purge many of his former comrades, suppress dissent and civil liberties, and draw political power into his own hands. Now, as we know and as the author points out, the Eritrean people’s right to democracy, human rights and social justice are being rigorously denied.

This book certainly has helped me to understand more about the challenges facing Africa, and Eritrea, and provides much needed information about a crisis festering in Africa. It is a welcome and timely publication, and I trust will provide Eritreans with the evidence they need to hear about one of the most secretive and repressive regimes in the world.

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead

Preface

The inspiration for this book stems from a desire to contribute to the existing body of knowledge about Eritrea and the Eritrean people, both historical and contemporary, as well as to the internal debate on the future of Eritrea, from the perspective of an Eritrean freedom fighter. I had initially wanted to write about the Eritrean experience of self-reliance in waging the armed struggle for self-determination and in the pursuit of peacetime reconstruction and development as a world-historic heritage of peoples fighting oppression, underdevelopment and poverty while aspiring to advance freedom, democracy and prosperity. Undoubtedly, the Eritrean experience embraces an array of commendable achievements offset by lamentable failures.

My preoccupation with the daily chores of life in public service delayed the realisation of my initial project. In due course, elements of the book gathered as a study on Nation Building, State Construction and Development in Africa: The Case of Eritrea. Published by the German Foundation Friedrich Ebert Stiftung in April 2010, the study was presented to the Parliamentary Working Committee on Africa of the Social Democratic Party, Deutsche Bundestag (German Parliament), in Berlin on 6 May 2010. Since the situation in the new State of Eritrea has steadily deteriorated, failing the will of the heroes of the war of national liberation and thwarting the aspirations, hopes and expectations of the Eritrean people, the work eventually evolved into Eritrea at a Crossroads: A Narrative of Triumph, Betrayal and Hope.

Coming out at the start of the third decade of Eritrea’s independence, the book seeks to shed some light on the fundamental disparity between the ideals and objectives of the historic struggle for liberation, on the one hand, and the reality of independence, demonstrating the failed policies and practices of a dysfunctional government, on the other.

The greater part of my adult life revolved around the axis of Eritrea’s struggle for freedom, democracy and prosperity. Set against this backdrop of lifelong engagement, the discourse portrays my own personal perspective enriched by primary and secondary sources, neatly sifted through the prism of an insider’s knowledge and insight. It recounts general events as they unfolded and particular ones which I lived through in a specific Eritrean setting during the armed struggle and after independence. This work addresses issues that have matured and become ripe for open discussion without compromising Eritrea’s national security (as distinct from regime security), the drive for internal change, or the safety of former comrades-in-arms and colleagues. I set these red lines for the work in constant commitment to the interest of Eritrea, to my former fellow freedom fighters, and to the ideals for which we put our lives on the line.

Eritrea at a Crossroads: A Narrative of Triumph, Betrayal and Hope aims to stimulate informed political debate regarding the prevailing situation in Eritrea and the way forward for the country and its people. Beyond Eritrea, it is intended to contribute to greater knowledge, deeper understanding and more rigorous debate of the root causes and key drivers of the essential fragility of the prototype contemporary African state, as demonstrated by recent developments in North and West Africa, and to a better appreciation of the challenges facing its reconstitution. It is a sad commentary that, fifty years after the accession to independence that marked the end of the colonial era, the typical African state remains fragile, dysfunctional and irrelevant to the wellbeing of its citizens. Overcoming the malaise would require restoring its legitimacy, establishing responsive governance and building institutional capacity to deliver.

I am very grateful to several colleagues and friends who reviewed the text of various chapters and offered helpful comments. Avoiding mention in respect of their request, I deeply thank all of them anonymously. I am very grateful to my colleagues, Professor Stefaan Smis and Professor Joachim Koops of Vrije Universiteit Brusssel (Free University of Brussels), and my friend Peter Alexiadis of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, for their helpful comments and advice. I am especially grateful to two compatriot friends and two former comrades-in-arms who, for the moment, will remain anonymous, for their review of the entire manuscript, valuable comments, and suggestions. But any errors in fact, analysis or interpretation are my sole responsibility.

Special thanks to Joëlle Aflalo, always there for me in true friendship and constant support.

Last, but foremost, I am deeply indebted to my family. My sons Johannes, Abraham and Azazi, and my wife Alganesh, provided vital inspiration and indispensable support. Alganesh’s constant advice, assistance and encouragement made the work possible.

About the Author

Ambassador Andebrhan Welde Giorgis is a member of the Board and Senior Adviser of the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES), a Senior Expert in the Peace and Security Section of the Global Governance Institute (GGI) and an Adjunct Professor of Diplomacy, African Politics and International Relations at Vesalius College, Free University of Brussels (VUB) where he is also a research fellow. He has extensive experience as a freedom fighter, scholar, central banker, diplomat, international negotiator, and political consultant with particular expertise in peace, security and development issues.

Andebrhan is a veteran of the war for Eritrea’s liberation and a founding member of the central committee of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) and the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). Upon independence, he served inter alia, as: President of the University of Asmera; Governor of the Bank of Eritrea; member of the Eritrean National Assembly; Ambassador to the EU, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom, and Permanent Representative to the International Maritime Organisation and UNESCO; Eritrea’s Special Envoy to the African Great Lakes region; and Commissioner for Coordination with the UN Mission in Eritrea and Ethiopia (UNMEE). After dissociating from the government of Eritrea in 2006, Andebrhan worked as Senior Advisor for the Africa Programme of the International Crisis Group and advised the European Commission for the Preparation of an EU Strategy for the Horn of Africa.

Andebrhan holds a BSc and MBA from the University of Colorado, conducted doctoral studies at Harvard University and has published several articles. He speaks Tigrinya, Amharic, Arabic, English and French.

Abbreviations

ACP	African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States
ACP-EU	African, Caribbean and Pacific –European Union
AFS	American Field Service
ALF	Afar Liberation Front
ALCE	Association of Love of the Country of Eritrea
ARS	Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia
AU	African Union
AUEE	Association of the Unity of Eritrea and Ethiopia
BC	Before Christ
BMA	British Military Administration
CDR	Commander
CENTCOM	Central Command (US)
CIA	Central Intelligence Agency (US)
CLI	Cost of Living Index
CPA	Cotonou Partnership Agreement
CPI	Consumer Price Index
CPSU	Communist Party of the Soviet Union
DRC	Democratic Republic of Congo
DSRSG	Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General
EBI	Eritrean Bloc for Independence
EDF	Eritrean Defence Forces
EDF	European Development Fund
EDP	Eritreans for Democracy and Peace in North America
EEBC	Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission
EFLE	Eritreans for Liberation in Europe
EFLNA	Eritreans for Liberation in North America
ELA	Eritreans Liberation Army
ELF	Eritrean Liberation Front
ELF-PLF	Eritrean Liberation Front-People’s Liberation Forces
ELF-RC	Eritrean Liberation Front-Revolutionary Council
ELO	Ethiopian Liaison Office
ELP	Eritrean Labour Party
EOC	Eritrean Orthodox Church
EOSA	Eritrean Old Soldiers Association
EPAs	Economic Partnership Agreements
EPDM	Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement
EPLA	Eritrean People’s Liberation Army
EPLF	Eritrean People’s Liberation Forces/Front
EPRDF	Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front
EPRP	Eritrean People’s Revolutionary Party
EPRP	Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party
ERN	Eritrean Nakfa
ESECE	Eritrean Secondary Education Certificate Examination
ESP	Eritrean Socialist Party
ESRA	Ethiopian Second Revolutionary Army
ETB	Ethiopian Birr
EU	European Union
FC	Force Commander
FDI	Foreign Direct Investment
FDRE	Federal democratic Republic of Ethiopia
GHG	Greenhouse Gas
GHoA	Greater Horn of Africa
GUES	General Union of Eritrean Students
GUEW	General Union of Eritrean Workers
HIV/AIDS	Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
IB	Independence Bloc
ICRC	International Committee of the Red Cross
IDA	International Development Association (World Bank)
IDPs	Internally displaced persons
IFC	International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group)
IGAD	Inter-Governmental Authority on Development
IMO	International Maritime Organisation
ICU	Islamic Courts Union (Somalia)
JAES	Joint Africa-EU Strategy
MACC	Mine Action Coordinating Centre
MEISON	All-Ethiopia Socialist Movement
ML	Moslem League (Eritrea)
MLWP	Moslem League of the Western Province
NAM	Non-Aligned Movement
NDP	National Democratic Programme (EPLF)
NDR	National Democratic Revolution
NEPF	National Economic Policy Framework
NEP	New Eritrea Party
NEPIP	New Eritrea Pro-Italy Party
NLA	National Liberation Army (Algeria)
NLF	National Liberation Front (Algeria)
NP	Nationalist Party
NUESY	National Union of Eritrean Students and Youth
NUEW	National Union of Eritrean Women
NUEW	National Union of Eritrean Workers
OAU	Organisation of African Unity
OETM	Occupied Enemy Territory Administration
OLF	Oromo Liberation Front
PCA	Permanent Court of Arbitration
PDS	Presidential Disinformation Service
PENA	Provisional Eritrean National Assembly
PFDJ	People’s Front for Democracy and Justice
PHG	Provisional Head of Government
PMAC	Provisional Military Administrative Council
PPP	Purchasing Power Parity
PSC	Provisional State Council
RECs	Regional Economic Communities
RSTC	Red Sea Trading Corporation
SALF	Somali Abo Liberation Front
SCF	Steadfastness and Confrontation Front
SG	Secretary General
SLF	Sidama Liberation Front
SRSG	Special Representative of the Secretary General
TTS	Teachers’ Training School
TPLF	Tigray People’s Liberation Front
TNA	Transitional National Assembly
UK	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
UN	United Nations
UNESCO	United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
UNMEE	UN Mission in Eritrea and Ethiopia
US	United States
USA	United States of America
USAID	United States Agency for International Development
UP	Unionist Party (Eritrea)
WSLF	Western Somali Liberation Front

Maps

1.Eritrea’s Location in the Horn of Africa

2.Ancient Axum [A.D. 100 -700]

3.Ethiopian and Eritrean Claim Lines in the Western Sector

4.Ethiopian and Eritrean Claim Lines in the Central Sector

5.Ethiopian and Eritrean Claim Lines in the Eastern Sector

6.New International Boundary between Eritrea and Ethiopia

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Eritrea, a small country with a strategic location in the volatile Horn of Africa, won liberation in 1991 through an armed struggle that had lasted 30 years, and declared independence in 1993 following a referendum. Having waged an epic struggle however, Eritrea today is littered with the shards of broken expectations, broken promises and broken hopes of freedom, justice, and progress. Twenty-two years past de facto independence, the Eritrean people continue to endure and Eritrea’s youth strive to escape the caprices of despotic rule, harsh oppression and perennial insecurity. Wrong policy choices and wasted opportunities have forfeited Eritrea’s potential to grow into a prosperous regional entrepôt and hub of industry, commerce and services and, instead, immersed it in a state of abject poverty and comprehensive isolation.

The land of modern Eritrea has a long history as a cradle and hub of the old Axumite civilisation. Eritrea at a Crossroads: A Narrative of Triumph, Betrayal and Hope presents a brief outline of the evolution of Eritrea as an upshot of the colonial implant of the Westphalian order on African soil. It sketches Eritrea’s long journey to self-determination, impeded by constant acts of external intervention. It narrates a story of heroic triumph in struggle and of dismal failure in victory. It assesses the record of the post-independence government and makes the case for renewal and the reconstruction of a functional democratic state to meet the age-old yearnings of the Eritrean people for peace, freedom, justice and prosperity via real empowerment. As the alpha of eighteen chapters, Chapter 1: Introduction provides a concise summary of each succeeding chapter.

Chapter 2: The Making of Eritrea presents a brief profile of the land and the people of Eritrea, taking a glimpse at the ancient history of the region, and asserts that the Eritreans, like all other African peoples, existed in history long before the moment of their contact with Europe and the Europeans. It provides a bird’s eye view of the evolution of the region’s pre-colonial history and traces the matrix of constant invasions, population movements, migrations and intermingling that forged the mosaic of peoples, cultures and languages that make up Eritrea. It describes the reality of a fragmented territory from the decline of the Kingdom of Axum, through the centuries, to the advent of the European scramble for Africa and the colonial era.

The Making of Eritrea describes the Italian conquest, subjugation and unification of the territory into a single entity under colonial rule. It recounts the forging of the Eritrean state and the rise of an overarching distinctive Eritrean national identity as a product of the dialectics of colonialism and the resistance of the colonised. It highlights the crucial regional and global ramifications of Italy’s defeat in Eritrea, signifying the dismantling of Mussolin’s Africa Orientale Italiana and the paving of the way to the reversal of fortunes of Rommel’s Deutsches Afrika Korps, the German surrender in North Africa and the ultimate Allied victory in World War II. Further, it underscores that Eritrea, having served as a crucial battleground in the ‘great fight’ between the forces of global ‘fascism and liberal democracy’ on African soil and as a significant cornerstone in the construction of the Allied victory, was abandoned and betrayed by the Allied Powers.

The plan to partition Eritrea, divide its people and destroy its identity, and the plunder of its productive assets that retarded its development, under the British Military Administration are covered in Chapter 3: A Plan to Dismember Eritrea. The chapter describes the awakening of the Eritrean people’s aspirations for self-determination, the chain of events that unfolded, and the resultant turbulence whose severe ‘stresses and strains’ brought Eritrea to the brink of chaos and extinction, leaving lasting scars on the Eritrean psyche and body politic. It also portrays the rise of organised national political activity and the blend of British intrigues, Ethiopian interference, and Big Power caprices. This dynamic thwarted Eritrea’s legitimate claim to decolonisation and sowed the seeds of long-term conflict that beset Eritrea and Ethiopia and disturbed the security and stability of the Horn of Africa as a whole.

The interplay of geopolitical factors and the ambitions and rivalry of the Big Powers that blocked Eritrea’s quest for decolonisation while appeasing Ethiopia’s claims by using the UN to impose a federal union with Ethiopia against the wishes of the Eritrean people, are considered in Chapter 4: Transition From European to African Colonialism. The chapter describes how the UN violated the principle of self-determination, facilitated Eritrea’s continued domination by an oppressive power with an African face that damaged long-term Ethio-Eritrean relations. Further, it underscores Ethiopia’s systematic and reckless subversion of the Federal Act and the tacit complicity of the UN in the incorporation of Eritrea into the Ethiopian Empire, fuelling popular indignation and fomenting the Eritrean armed struggle for self-determination.

The legitimacy in international law of the right of self-determination, in the dual sense of the right of a nation and the right of a people, and the applicability of the principle to the case of Eritrea as such, are outlined in Chapter 5: The Arduous Struggle for Self-Determination. This chapter bares the UN failure to uphold its own Charter and declarations with respect to Eritrea’s legitimate claim to, and active struggle for, the right of self-determination. In addition, it stresses the role of external intervention, in the context of a complex web of geopolitical interests and shifting alliances, as a complicating factor in the evolution of modern Eritrean history.

The chapter sketches the rise of a distinctive shared identity as the driving force of Eritrean nationalism, the resurgence of the Eritrean national movement, the dynamics of the ensuing political and military struggles, the tortuous internal developments and the unfolding of the difficult drive to dislodge foreign domination. Further, it highlights the resistance, sacrifices, and triumph of the Eritrean people that challenged successive superpower intervention and defeated Ethiopian occupation. Finally, it hails the historic exercise of the right to self-determination of Eritrea as a nation availed by military victory while underscoring the inability of independence to allow for the exercise of the right of self-determination of Eritrea as a people.

Chapter 6: State Construction and Development depicts the initial commitment of the nascent state to construct a democratic government based on the rule of law as the ‘foundation of economic growth, social harmony and progress’. It hails the pledge to establish a constitutional political system that respects democratic principles, human rights and civil liberties. Further, the chapter features the promise to rehabilitate and develop a ‘modern, technologically advanced, and internationally competitive economy within the next two decades’ to enhance the “standard and quality of life of the Eritrean people’. More specifically, it assesses the project to establish a unitary, secular, united, democratic and developmental state, and contrasts the declared policies and actual practices of the Eritrean government since independence.

The indelible link between Eritrea’s domestic and foreign policy and its impact on the evolution of the state are featured in Chapter 7: Self-Reliance and the Coupon Economy. The chapter notes the positive external environment and the outpouring of international goodwill and support that greeted the advent of independent Eritrea, appreciates the great opportunity that this offered for constructive engagement, and appraises the regime’s imprudent and counterproductive policy responses to the devastating domestic repercussions of the border war with Ethiopia. It unveils the deliberate pursuit of regime stability at the expense of the paramount national interest and bares the use of self-reliance as a euphemism for the external isolation of the country.

Further, the chapter describes the institution and operations of the political economy of rationing in the context of a contracting economy in crisis that has delivered a declining standard of living for the people. It probes the abysmal failure to manage a national economy, or to mobilise domestic and external resources, to cater to the most basic subsistence needs of a small national population. Finally, it appraises the essential fragility of the Eritrean economy primarily as the outcome of the government’s wrong policies, gross incompetence, and wasteful management of the country’s human and material resources.

Chapter 8: The Scourge of Indefinite National Service affirms the importance of rules-based, duration-specific and well-applied programme of national service to build a reliable reserve force as an element of national defence strategy. It lauds the role of a reserve force, as an alternative to a large standing army, to supplement a small professional army in the event of need and to participate at times in meaningful development projects implemented in accordance with planned national priorities. It notes the practice of voluntary service that evolved as a tradition among Eritrean youth during the war of national liberation and the complementary role played by forced recruitment as an instrument of wartime mobilisation.

Further, the chapter reviews the Proclamation of National Service in terms of the waste, the opportunity cost, the loss of legitimacy, the crisis of mass exodus and the devastation caused by abuses in implementing the programme. It exposes the illegal practice of endless active national service, carried out without due remuneration, as a scourge afflicting Eritrean youth, destroying the nuclear family and draining Eritrean society. In particular, it deplores the colossal misuse of the nation’s most productive manpower resources that cast a pall over its future.

Disagreements and disputes in the internal relations of an organisation are normal and should be treated as such through dialogue. That is the focus of Chapter 9: Resort to Force as a Default Mode. The chapter analyses the historical and structural causes of the resort to force as a default mode and the recurrent use of coercion, in the form of suspension, demotion, transfer, detention, torture or elimination, as an arbiter of internal discord during the armed struggle. It dissects the extension of the use of coercion in the form of arbitrary arrests, indefinite detentions, systematic torture and extrajudicial killings after independence as a persistent government practice. Against this backdrop, it describes the rise of dissent within the historical leadership of the EPLF, the ensuing confrontations, the arbitrary detention of senior government officials and journalists, and the banning of the private press to suppress dissent and independent opinion.

Further, the chapter deplores the regime’s suppression of internal criticism and elimination of political dissent, burying the victims alive in the desolate Irairo prison, to forestall resistance and intimidate the protagonists of Eritrea’s historic struggle for freedom into reluctant submission to dictatorship through the demonstrative effects of arbitrary arrest, indefinite detention and solitary confinement, with tragic consequences for the country. It sketches the accumulation of power in the Presidency, the marginalisation of key institutions and the consequent rise of ‘one man rule’, with its sequel of rampant political corruption and abuse. The chapter highlights the unrestrained use of coercion as an instrument of political repression afflicting Eritrea today.

Chapter 10: Disconnect between Policy and Practice contrasts the policies and practices of the government in terms of the establishment of a constitutional, democratic and developmental state capable of promoting political participation, gender equality, and religious freedom. Using the policy instruments provided by the National Charter, the Macro-Policy paper and the ratified Constitution as benchmarks, the chapter exposes the existence of an enormous disparity between the stated policies and actual practices of the government. Linking the unfortunate political, economic and social reality prevailing in Eritrea today to this disparity, it concludes that its root cause is structural and its remedy lies in national renewal.

Some of the recent literature on the nature of the postcolonial state in Africa is reviewed in Chapter 11: The African State in Crisis in order to ground the Eritrean experience in state construction and development in the African setting. The chapter highlights the European heritage of the state system in Africa and interrogates its suitability to the socio-economic conditions of African society. It notes the impacts of slavery, colonialism and the Cold War on Africa’s development. Slavery robbed Africa of millions of its most productive work force, drained its creative energy, and sapped its potential to develop. Colonialism plundered Africa’s natural and human resources and disrupted its indigenous progression. The Cold War turned Africa into an ideological battleground, disoriented its priorities, and destabilised its polities.

Further, the chapter notes how the African state, as a graft of the European state system rooted in the industrial and political revolutions in Europe, gave rise to anti-colonial nationalism and Pan-Africanism that fuelled the drive to independence, and ended up inheriting the authoritarian features of the colonial state. It explores how these features led to the failure of the postcolonial state to build functional governance, establish stability, achieve sustainable development, and deliver public wellbeing for most of its citizens. The chapter notes that the prototype African state faces a deep crisis of legitimacy, delivery and relevance and, as recent events in North and West Africa have shown, remains dysfunctional, repressive and fragile.

Chapter 12: Eritrea: The Future of Africa that Works contrasts the historical colonialist and nationalist narratives, on the one hand, and the official and dissenting perspectives within the nationalist narrative, on the other. It contends that Eritrea’s record has not borne out the optimism of sympathetic observers, like Abdulrahman Babu, that independent Eritrea would deliver democratic development and prosperity where other African states had failed. The chapter asserts that the regime has not lived up to the progressive goals of the struggle and the ideals of the freedom fighters that animated Babu’s enthusiasm. It admits that, far from representing the future of Africa that works, Eritrea manifests the authoritarian features of the prototype African state, with its attendant crises of legitimacy, delivery and relevance.

The origins, formation national role of the Eritrean diaspora are described in Chapter 13: Engaging the Diaspora. It explains how interstate conflicts and domestic repression have driven more and more people out of the country to join the diaspora since the start of the border war with Ethiopia in 1998 and the government’s crackdown in September 2001. It also describes how the relative size, wealth, educational attainment and close attachment to the home country have made the Eritrean diaspora a source of sizeable remittances and a significant player in the political, economic and social life of the country.

The chapter notes that a more conducive political and economic space would enable the Eritrean diaspora to use its multiple linkages and resources to promote investment and make a more effective contribution to national development. It also signals the need for the diaspora to transcend the old political and social divides, unify its politics, and reposition its focus on the drive for change. The chapter emphasises the patriotic duty of political activists, movements, and media outlets to distinguish between the interests of the State and the regime, and the potential of the diaspora to play a catalytic role in the effort to bring about change, reconstruct a democratic state, and transform society through constructive engagement and collaborative action.

The writer speaks of the formative influences on his political perspective and dedication to the cause of the liberation, reconstruction and development of Eritrea and the progress, prosperity and wellbeing of the people in Chapter 14: In the Service of Eritrea. The chapter highlights his efforts to revitalise the University of Asmera as a centre of higher learning and applied research and institute the Bank of Eritrea as a functional central bank. It also touches on his work in Eritrea’s diplomatic service. Further, it recounts the role of constant presidential interference in disrupting the effort to build institutions and undermining mission delivery.

Post-independence issues of war and peace between Eritrea and Ethiopia are covered in Chapter 15: An Avoidable War. The chapter notes the various missed opportunities, during and after the war, to agree on the colonial treaty border and secure durable peace. It traces the slide towards an unnecessary war between former allies, the human tragedy of the deportations, the evolution and devastation of the war, and the international effort to end hostilities.

The chapter tells the story of the unravelling of an old, pervasive and problematic relationship burdened by a difficult narrative of conquest, war and conflict, often impacted by the intricacies of shared ethnic and cultural affinity straddling a common border, and closely bound by mutual economic and strategic interests. Further, it affirms the potential of the multiple pillars of the Ethio-Eritrean relationship to serve as levers of durable political cooperation, drivers of economic integration, and anchors of regional peace and security.

The role of the writer as Commissioner and the UN Mission in Eritrea and Ethiopia (UNMEE) in the effort to implement the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities is described in Chapter 16: An Uneasy Truce. The chapter notes the failure of the parties to resolve key operational issues, of the UN Security Council to address them, and of the UN and the AU to honour their commitment to enforce the agreement, precipitating the inauspicious termination of UNMEE’s mission and turning a potentially successful peace building operation into a fiasco.

Chapter 17: Securing the Peace between Eritrea and Ethiopia crystallises the key provisions of, and the effort to implement, the Algiers Agreement. It notes the omission of the Inquiry Commission and the creation of the Claims and Boundary commissions. It summarises the final damage awards of the Claims Commission, the territorial significance of the delimitation decision of the Boundary Commission, and its virtual demarcation of the boundary. In addition, it assesses the role of the parties in terms of the respect of their treaty obligations under the agreement and in the failure to achieve durable peace between Eritrea and Ethiopia.

Further, the chapter notes the lack of convergence of interest, unity of purpose, and coherence of policy that has hampered the effort of the UN Security Council to help Eritrea and Ethiopia achieve peace. It stresses the need for the full implementation of the Algiers Agreements; and for Ethiopia’s unconditional recognition of the border, as demarcated by the EEBC and respect of Eritrea’s territorial integrity to ease a troubled historical memory, and secure a stable peace and normal relations in the interests of the fraternal peoples.

The concluding chapter, Chapter 18: We Didn’t Do It for This expresses the author’s sense of profound deception and disappointment, shared by many veterans of the independence war, at the present predicament of Eritrea and the Eritrean people. It decries the betrayal of the Eritrean people by their own government, the desertion of the promises of freedom, democracy, justice, and prosperity, for which the armed struggle was fought and great sacrifices made. The chapter signals the need for a fundamental rethinking of Eritrean politics and for reform to reconstruct a functional state, in line with the ethos and transformational goals of the armed struggle.