Mrs Palme, distinguished guests, delegates, ladies and gentlemen. Permit me to thank the Social Democratic party and the Olof Palme International Center for making this conference possible. The decision of the Eritrean government to hold elections in 2001 has been lauded by friends of democracy everywhere; it is in this spirit that the Palme Center extended its arm of solidarity to us. Olof Palme, the name of one the most shining beacons of democracy in our epoch, is a source of inspiration to us Eritreans. Thank you again!

The Transitional Parliament of Eritrea formally inaugurated the democratic phase by announcing elections in December 2001. The establishment of an election committee, and another for party building, augurs the introduction of a multiparty system in our country. As it turns out, these committees are composed exclusively of members of the ruling party; yet, the saving grace for the one party state lies in seizing this historical opportunity to pioneer a viable democratic system. The failure of the democratic enterprise is too grim to contemplate. The aim of this conference is to lay the pedagogical and organisational basis for the elections of December 2001. The issues that shall be crystallised in this conference are expected to lead to a mass movement directed at making the December Election 2001 a resounding democratic success.

Eritrean human resources have to be mobilised if war devastated Eritrea is to be reclaimed from disaster. The imperatives of human resource development, the democratic project, and an open market, can not be expected to succeed when a large part of Eritrea (inhabited by a sizeable part of the Eritrean population) is excluded from national participation on the grounds of so-called 'fifth columnist' loyalties. The ambition of the ruling party to base its political legitimacy on the myth of the armed struggle (a situation where the living tend to appropriate the heroism of the martyred for their political ends), is no longer valid. The absence of a responsibility matrix by which its performance could be measured, has propelled Eritrea's sole political organisation beyond accountability. A 'historical compromise' or a massive reconciliation drive must be conducted so that the elections of 2001 succeed. Only an Eritrea at peace with itself can live at peace with its neighbours and the world. The conference needs to examine this issue.

We have not yet developed the analytical tools by which we can describe and analyse the Eritrean economy. It is difficult to capture the distortions of the Eritrean economy, via the conceptual confrontation of a command economy versus a free market; the malaise is deeper than assumed. All land (which is being sold left and right for a fistful of dollars) belongs to the party; all the old and new factories belong to the party; the party is the largest landlord with a total control of old government houses as well as new housing projects. The party controls the housing bank and the foreign exchange market through the unofficial remittance banks. Expressed differently, Eritrea is a corporation owned by the ruling party. Strange as it sounds, and sad as it is, Eritrea is becoming by the hour, the private property of the party bosses. The conference needs to examine this issue.

As pointed above, the two committees established for the preparation of the elections are composed only of members of the ruling party. If the elections are to be democratic at all, and the historical compromise to be clinched, the participation of independents and members of other political forces in the committees is central. A declination to do so shall be interpreted as a devise to wrap the one party state with a veil of legality or b) as a ploy to push the democratic forces into rejecting the elections so that it remains in power by default. The conference needs to examine this issue.

Strange as it may it sound, the Eritrean Constitution does not provide for the present elections but for the next. This means that the parliament of 2001 must first be elected in order for the constitution to be activated. The framers of the Eritrean Constitution forfeited the right and duty to set down electoral and party formation rules for the elections of the first parliament; in effect, they surrendered this centrepiece of the rules of the democratic game to the ruling party. The rest is a matter of political artistry. This serious omission leaves the formation of the parliament in the hands of the one party state; the claim that the elections of 2001 are being prepared in accordance with the provisions of the constitution is simply not true. Nevertheless, despite our findings, it is incumbent upon democrats, to support the constitution for two key reasons: a) the centrality of the principle of constitutional governance to any living democracy, and b) unlike sacred scripts, the ammendability of constitutions. The immediate problem Eritrean democrats are facing is not the quality or applicability of the constitution; but rather the question of equitable participation in the preparatory organs of the elections. It is at this level that the principles of historical compromise and democratic rule must be operational. The conference needs to examine this issue.

The ruling party is expected to hold its 4th congress in the near future for the ostensible purpose of assessing its performance. The resolutions passed in this congress are sure to be touted as the official version of the events of the passed decade. Party encyclicals shall be issued in order to pre-empt other versions with the purpose of declaring them illegal. The conference needs to examine this issue.

The fact that the mass organisations are under the control of the ruling party is common knowledge. The question is: can we begin to speak of democratic elections when workers and professionals are under the control the ruling party? The conference needs to examine this issue.

All Eritrean political forces, thus far, (including the ruling party) define their objectives in terms of political documents known as 'charters'. These documents are neither programmes of action nor ideological guidelines; in fact, they are more promises of idealised societies than they are reflections of Third World realities. Democratic elections require political programmes with clear ideological lines: this element of the rules of the democratic game is one of the cardinal requirements for the qualification of contending parties. The pliable nature of 'charter politics' encourages the formation of micro political dams that isolate political forces from each other. Political currents need to merge into each other or diverge from each other on the basis of manifested programmes; movements with political programmes can flow into each other; whereas, alliances, coalitions, and pre-maturely created parties might be obstacles to the establishment of large-scale parties capable of challenging the ruling party. The conference needs to examine this issue.

In today's world the establishment of democracy is one of the conditions for full-fledged membership in the international community. The war has caused immense suffering! Approximately one third of the Eritrean population is displaced in one way or the other; the divide between under-nourishment and starvation is quickly disappearing; as always, the victims are the very young and the aged. It is incumbent upon democratic forces to organise an infrastructure dedicated to the mobilisation of aid on behalf of dispossessed Eritreans. The conference needs to examine this issue.

Laying the psychological ground for peace in our region is closely linked to the institutionalisation of democracy. The emergence of a democratic system where different political forces compete with each other on the basis of prearranged rules, tends to suppress jingoist barrenness and enhance peaceful creativity. We also need to perceive that the business of peace and war is best conducted by governments that have the constitutional and democratic blessing of their people. The conference needs to examine this issue.

The Eritrean army acquitted itself with valour and dignity. Third world politics, especially its African variant, teaches that dictators thrive on political armies as instruments of personal power. The creation of a democratic and peaceful Eritrea necessitates the establishment of a professional army governed by the constitution and not by the whims of individual politicians. The Eritrean army should be the upholder of Eritrean unity, democracy and independence. The conference needs to examine this issue.

Another institutional consideration is the Eritrean civil service. Multiple experiences have demonstrated amply that when civil services become appendages of single parties and despots, backwardness and apathy follow. The creation of a democratic and peaceful Eritrea necessitates the establishment of a professional civil service governed by an independent 'civil service commission' and not by the whims of politicians. The conference needs to examine this issue.

The one man one party character of the Eritrean state makes it incumbent upon this conference to discuss the following alternatives:

" The election of a parliament of independents
" The simultaneous elections of the communal (addi), county (awraja), and national (hager) parliaments.
" The separate election to the presidency
" The separate elections of mayorships to municipalities
" The election of a new parliament based on party competition

The conference needs to do more than examine the enumerated issues: the formulation of the correct organisational form for a democratic movement is incumbent upon its deliberations. Sterile organisational forms (such as central or executive committees) must be avoided. This conference represents a movement of democrats but not to the exclusion of other democrats; for a powerful democratic movement to emerge, democratic forces (similar to the one represented in the Stockholm Conference) need to confer with each other continuously. The Stockholm Conference needs to examine practical steps for the preparation elections of 2001. Distinguished guests your continued support and encouragement is needed foe making the Elections 2001 a success.

Thank you!
Herui T. Bairu
Stockholm/00.12.15

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