Meskerem 3-9-05: Charter is not ready  yet for distribution to the public,  said Mr. Menghisteab Asmerom, Head of EDA's Information Office.  Reached by phone this morning and asked why there is such a delay in making public the "agreed upon" " and "publicly signed" EDA Charter, Mr. Menghesteab Asmerom, member of the Executive body and Head of the Information Office of the EDA , said that the leadership is in its final stage of preparing the Charter/document. He pointed out that there were corrections and changes made to the original draft and these changes are being incorporated into the charter. Asked whether the charter will be made public, he stated that it should. Not making public such a document would not make sense, would it, he added.  Menghsiteab Asmerom is also member of the Executive Committee and Head of Information Office of the Eritrean Liberation Front -Revolutionary Council (ELF-RC)..

meskerem 3-8-05: Eritrean National  Salvation Front (ENSF aka 4+1)  and Eritrean Democratic Assembly ( 7 organizations) head to meetings of their respected organizations. Reports coming out of Khartoum indicate that the Eritrean National  Salvation Front will have its meeting in Addis Ababa and that the leadership of the member organizations have started to depart to Addis. The seven organizations that created the Eritrean Democratic Assembly will meet in Khartoum, Sudan. 
   The ENSF had promised to merge and create one organization. There are some issues in front of the ENSF.
- It is to be remembered that the Eritrean Afar Movement had denied that it agreed to dissolve itself to become part of the new organization. 
- The merger will raise issues whether one organization can have 10 seats in the 27 member council and 5 seats in the 11 member executive positions in the new  EDA. 

ECMS 3-6-05 via Awna1.com :ECMS, in its report  of  the signing ceremony,  wrote that the EDP and Two Islamic organizations  collided  concerning  system of governance and the separation of state and religion in Eritrea.
    ECMS reported  apparent clash  between EDP representative and member of EDP central council,  Mr. Mussie Efrem,  and leaders of  two Islamic organizations,  Sheik Kalil Mohamed Amer, Chairman of Islamic Party for Justice & Development and Mohammed Taher Shengeb, Secretary General of Popular Congress.
   In ECMS report posted by  Awna1 , Mr. Mussie Ephrem  is reported to  have stated that,  although the meeting was positive, it did not mean that there were no differences. He stated that his organization stands for a secular government for a system of government with clear separation of state and religion. The report added  that the leaders of the Islamic organizations, Mr Mohammed Taher Shengeb and Sheik Khalil Mohammed Amer,  rejected secular system of  government for Eritrea and reiterated their position that they do not believe in the  separation of state and religion... (Mr. Mohammed Taher Shengeb is the head of the organizational office of the EDA.)

Burden of Democracy.
.Berhan Hagos March 5, 2005

A statement by the Eritrean Federal Democratic Movement

concerning EDA representation

By EFDM  Secretariat  March 2nd 2005

أكدت تمسكها بالتحالف .. ونفت إرتباط وحدتها بقضية التمثيل النسبي سبعة تنظيمات إرترية تتوحد تحت مسمى ( التجمع الديمقراطي الإرتري ) المركز الإرتري للخدمات الإعلامية (ECMS) –2/3/2005م

meskerem- 3-2-05:

Credibility of Unity Declarations  shuttered;  shocking revelation by the Afar movement

►The Red Sea Afar Democratic  Movement Chairman, Mr. Horoun, in interview conducted by the ECMS concerning  its agreement to be part of the ENSF (Eritrean National Salvation Front) stated that his  organization :

• never agreed to abandon its principle of the right to self determination up to secession
• never agreed to  merge with the other organizations
• on the contrary, the other organizations agreed to its demand to keep half of  "self-ruled" Afar state's wealth and give the other half to the central government  in a  post-Isayas Eritrea

   Reports  from Khartoum  have indicated that the Afar organization (and another organization,) the organization that believes the regime in Eritrea is a Christian-Tigrinya religo/ethnic government,  had allegedly threatened a walk-out  of the meeting should the section on ethnic self rule be removed from the charter. If this is true and such section is in the charter, many organizations will be in clear violations of their political programs enacted in their national congresses. One does not know whether to cheer for such sacrifices or be concerned of the precedence this creates.
  In other unity binge, the news that seven opposition organizations are in a marathon merger meeting to create one organization before the conclusion of the Khartoum meeting has become a puzzle in itself.  Kassel all over again?   Is there something that is out there that the public has not been privy to?