Suchergebnisse

From one war to another: 1991-2001 -- Bush 43 and September 11: January-December 2001 -- The axis of evil: January-September 2002 -- The negotiations: September-December 2002 -- The rupture: January 2003 -- The confrontation: February 2003 -- The war: spring-summer 2003 -- Epilogue: reconciliation, 2003-2007

Traces Eritrea's shift to dictatorship, 1991-2003. It is argued that much of the fault lay in the conferral of absolute power by the people to the guerrilla movement that won Eritrea its freedom from Ethiopia. The three-year (1994-1997) constitutional process is recounted, calling the drafting of the constitution a turning point in the transition to dictatorship. Disaffection over state overregulation of their lives led to a challenge from the president of the Student Union, which is viewed in terms of a generational conflict. In addition, women essentially lost all gains made during the struggle for independence in the postindependence period, with their participation in political affairs largely an invention of the state for propaganda purposes. The emergence of dissent & its blooming into a reform movement that split the government is described. Following a public call for the Issayas Afewerki government to take several measures toward rectifying abuses of power & problems with the political process, several members of the reform movement were arrested & indicted for treason. The wave of detentions & oppression is ongoing. J. Zendejas

Eritrea's image in the early 1990s as a peaceful and well-ordered state was coloured by the euphoria of independence following a military victory over the formidable army of Ethiopia. Against all odds, the country seceded in 1991 and attained international recognition in 1993. Emphasis on self-reliance reliance and hard work made it easy to overlook the ingrained authoritarianism and basic intolerance of the Eritrean Peoples Liberation Front (EPLF) leadership. Eritreans and foreign observers believed the promise made by the victorious guerilla leadership that Eritrea would learn the lessons of post-colonial African history and would not repeat its mistakes. The EPLF, renamed the Popular Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) in February 1994, reiterated this promise so frequently and eloquently that even the most cynical of persons was inclined to hope Eritrea would be spared the nightmare of dictatorship.