Interview with Yemane Gebreab, PFDJ political boss

IRIN interview with Yemane Gebreab, head of the political division of Eritrea’s ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). He speaks about the PFDJ's role, priorities for post-conflict Eritrea and the internal political situation. QUESTION: What is the role of the PFDJ and how does it relate to the government? ANSWER: The Front sees itself as a political movement which led the struggle for independence in Eritrea and continues the role in terms of fighting for, working for, the goals and the values that underpinned the liberation struggle in this country. Here in the political affairs department, essentially what we try to do is participate in policy development and policy monitoring. The main job is to ensure that the population in this country remains engaged in the affairs of the nation. We’re a very small country, with limited resources, and we think our greatest asset is our population. That’s what made victory in the liberation struggle possible, that’s what made the defence of this country possible in the last three years of war, that’s what has made whatever progress we have made in the last 10 years possible. Essentially the policies that the government pursues are the thinking of the Front both before the war and after independence in 1991. Secondly, I think what we try to do is ensure the grassroots views are conveyed to the government bodies and that they act upon these views. Thirdly, the Front believes it needs to maintain its own independent existence and identity. There’s always a danger that the Front could be subsumed by the government. Front-government relations are always a complex relationship, especially in Eritrea where the government is not very different from the Front. There is always interaction and a common range of activities. In terms of the Front itself, there is always room for improvement. We had a major war with Ethiopia and the fact that we were able to defend ourselves, the fact we were able to mobilise close to 300,000 people in a population of 3.5 million, the fact we were able to raise something like US $150 million from Eritreans living abroad in defence of the nation - those are the basic measures for us. I think we have done fairly well, but we always say there are inadequacies, there are shortcomings, there are problems, and we need to attend to those. Q: Now that there has been the border ruling following the war with Ethiopia, what are Eritrea’s priorities? Are you afraid war could resume? A: Well I think peace has come. But we went to war with Ethiopia when we had the best of relations. So no-one can rule anything out. We are thinking beyond the war and setting our post-conflict priorities for the country. Most important of those is the rehabilitation of the affected population and the reconstruction of the economy. The issue of displaced people needs to be settled. The issue of the refugees and their return and reintegration is important. The demobilisation is a huge programme for this country. The war started when we were at the point of an economic take-off in this country and we need to bring the economy back to what it was, and even to a stronger stage. Q: Ethiopia has said relations can never be normalised as long as President Isayas Afewerki is in power. What’s your reaction to this? A: Well, I think relations with Ethiopia will eventually be normalised and will thrive. We are neighbours, I believe there are common interests for both countries and for both populations. That’s their choice if they say they can’t do business with the president. But with time, it will come and I don’t think the government in Addis Ababa will be able to prevent it. Q: You mentioned that one of the main priorities now is Eritrea’s economic development. How do you intend to accomplish this, given that relations with the international community are not very good at the moment? A: Eritrea has never believed that development comes from foreign assistance. We believe that domestic resources, financial, entrepreneurial skills are critical and outside resources can only complement what we can raise ourselves. I think Eritreans will invest in the country. I’m not saying we don’t need external resources, but we don’t depend primarily on external resources. We cannot forever be dependent on external resources. Q: You also spoke of the importance of demobilisation. The pilot phase is about to begin. So how will the procedure work? A: We need to look at it not just as a pilot phase. The intention was not that we would have a pilot phase and then give it some time to see if it really worked. That was not the idea. The pilot phase was essentially the first batch of people to be demobilised, it was the beginning of the demobilisation process. And immediately after that, the demobilisation of the first group of 80,000 people was set to proceed. And therefore we have to look at it in terms of the overall 80,000 people rather than the first few thousand people that are going to be demobilised. Q: Once demobilisation gets underway, there will be lots of young people looking for work. Can Eritrea absorb all these people? A: This is a country that has a shortage of labour. We used to have a fairly large number of Ethiopians working in this country. Of course demobilisation is not an easy process, it’s not just jobs, it’s all the social, cultural, psychological aspects of it. But the country is eagerly waiting for the demobilisation of our young people and I think people can be absorbed. The main problem we face in terms of the demobilisation is a lot of the people who are in the army right now do not have sufficient skills for them to lead the kinds of lives they aspire to. That’s a major issue. They can easily find jobs as labourers, but would they want to do that? I think their expectations are going to be very high and so giving them the necessary training so that they can enter the market at a higher level is going to be very important. So we’re looking into a major training component of the demobilisation. Another major issue is going to be the people who joined the army from the rural areas - many of them will not want to go back and farm again. I think the demobilisation is going to be a tremendous boost to the economy. It will have a big impact on many, many families. Q: What is happening to the 11 dissidents currently detained by the government? Will they be brought to trial? A: Well that’s something we have been discussing for some time now. It was the subject of a very serious debate during the last session of the National Assembly and it has also been the subject of much discussion with the diplomatic community. Internally, the feeling is that these people have committed grave crimes and at the same time there is discussion on how we should handle it, and that is to do with our traditions, on how we deal with these sorts of issues and problems. It has to do with how the best interests of this country can be served. This is a very emotional, very painful thing for us. The question is, are we talking about playing the game, are we talking about procedures, are we talking about justice? Those are the issues for us. Eritrea is looking at a solution that will help us move beyond this present problem, to resolve this in a way that will heal wounds in this country, rather than creating more wounds. Q: What about the detained journalists? A: I think that should be a shorter-term issue. We had a very difficult experience with the press. First we said we should encourage people to start newspapers, we should waive any requirement. So every person who walked through the door of the information ministry asking to start a newspaper was given a licence. No questions asked about their qualifications, capital requirements, familiarity with the press law, familiarity with the journalistic code of ethics, nothing. All taxes were waived for the newspapers. Unfortunately the lack of professionalism, the intervention of the diplomatic missions in the country, and the fact that they were hijacked by the internal situation in the country meant that it became a very negative experience for us. You can’t believe what was being written in these newspapers. The issues [regarding the journalists] are very serious, at least concerning some of them. I really can’t say if they will be brought to trial - they may, they may not. It's possible that they could be freed, it's possible that some of them could be taken to court. Again we are trying to handle this whole situation within the context of the difficult period that we went through. Q: Now that there is peace, will you go ahead and organise the elections which should have been held in December 2001? A: Sure, yes. There has not been a timescale, but there will be elections. I can’t say whether they will be this year. There is a group of people who said this is again going to be an issue that is going to pester us, especially internationally. They said let’s get it over with, they were for playing the game. There are other people who say why don’t we do it properly, having elections should be decided on the basis of the time needed to hold them properly. And that’s what was decided at the end of the day. We want it to be a meaningful exercise for us. The Ethiopians held their election in the middle of the biggest war on 12 May [2000]. Is that the way to hold elections? What’s the point? Before elections, a substantial part of our people should go back to their homes [after demobilisation] and make use of their right to run for office or at least elect their representatives. I’m not suggesting that’s what’s holding it up, but those are the kinds of issues that are being debated. Let’s create a certain sense of normality in our lives, and then we can hold proper elections. We are working on the Congress of the Front to be held before the end of this year at the very latest. [The last congress was held in 1994].