The Global Yiakl Eritrean Movement – Brief Background
The Global Yiakl* Eritrean Movement (GYEM) was launched in late 2018 following the signing of the so-called peace treaty between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Since then, the movement has gained support from Eritreans worldwide, including those inside the country. GYEM is a popular grassroots movement without any affiliation with established opposition political parties or groups. The Movement aims to bring about peace, justice, and democracy in Eritrea by mobilising and uniting the Eritrean public at home and abroad to participate in national politics and to speak up for their rights and freedom. The movement is keen to work closely with other regional and international organisations as well as state and non-state actors to bring about the necessary change in Eritrea.
GYEM has been very successful in involving tens of thousands of Eritreans, including the silent majority and some former supporters of the regime, to call for political change in Eritrea.
Unlike the other Eritrean opposition groups/political parties working for political change in Eritrea, GYEM promotes widespread grassroots activism and was initiated by ordinary individuals passionate about political and social change in Eritrea. This widespread activism has spread like a virus and has mobilised the public to drive political change in Eritrea from the bottom up.
GYEM is active in advocacy and diplomacy, raising public awareness and education, and exposing the dictatorial regime in Eritrea and its repressive policies to the international community. GYEM brings together all justice seekers and encourages them to unite and work in unison, focusing on regime change and transition to a just and democratic system of governance.
The GYEM has a clear political roadmap and strategy and is led by democratically elected global leadership. GYEM has broad membership in 11 countries worldwide.
Summary of the current situation inside Eritrea
Current realities in Eritrea could be described as the result of years of oppression and misguided policies of the current government. Politics in Eritrea is dominated by a single-party totalitarian government led by a brutal dictator, Isaias Afwerki. There has been no sign of change or reform inside the country. The policies of the government have stayed the same for more than thirty-years, and the country continues to move in a downward spiral.
Unfortunately, the situation inside the country has further deteriorated after the outbreak of the civil war in Ethiopia and the Eritrean regime’s involvement in support of the Ethiopian federal government. Tens of thousands of young Eritrean conscripts have been deployed in this war, and tens of thousands have either lost their lives or sustained lifelong injuries. The regime continues to beat its war drum, mobilising all its resources to support this war effort. At the same time, the much-needed political reform, the economy, and desperately needed basic social services have been completely ignored.
The regime’s human rights abuses continue unabated, with thousands of innocent citizens, political prisoners and prisoners of conscience incarcerated for years without trial. Torture and disappearance have become commonplace. Tens of thousands of political prisoners are languishing in more than 360 prison facilities in the country, whilst Eritrean youth continue to flee the harsh realities of life in the country to wherever their feet and fate takes them.
The Case of the arrested G15 and journalists
Following the start of the border war with Ethiopia in 1998, Eritrea found itself in a multifaceted crisis. The nation’s existence was at stake during Ethiopia’s third round of military offensive that resulted in the occupation of large swaths of Eritrean sovereign territory. The country had alienated itself from the rest of the world in the diplomatic arena for all practical purposes.
At the centre of this crisis was the government’s conduct of the war and the ineffectiveness of the ruling party, People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). Thus, fully aware of the inefficiencies of government machinery, recognising their responsibility and accountability, and realising the consequences of not taking action, some 15 senior officials from the leadership publicly criticised the government and called for reforms.
Commonly known as the G-15, the senior officials advocated for political reform and publicly called on the government to abide by the country’s constitution which was ratified in 1997. The views and principles expressed by the G-15 include the unconditional implementation of the Eritrean constitution, institutionalisation of government accountability and transparency, strict adherence to the rule of law, elimination of the unaccountable special court system, liberalisation of the economy, introduction of a multi-party-political system, and respect for democratic rights and freedom.
These are some of the issues the Eritrean government still does not want to address despite a near-universal public demand. Indeed, these were the bones of contention pitting the reformers against the President and other inner circle members of the PFDJ.
The summer of 2001 was when the Eritrean people, who had previously chosen not to speak out loud about government weaknesses and mismanagement, started to openly express their concerns. The G-15 was thus at the forefront of the demand for change and, as such, created the political impetus that propelled and galvanised the ongoing struggle for democratic Eritrea, a struggle Global Yiakl Eritrean Movement has been pushing for.
With those beliefs and principles, they upheld, members of the G15 attracted tremendous support and appreciation from all sectors of society, including civil servants, the army, the police force, students, the elderly, academics and private press journalists.
The views of the G-15 were expressed mainly through the then-private press and through interviews arranged with journalists. Their open letter calling for reform was published widely via the then-independent press.
The arrest of the G-15 on 18th of September 2001 also led to the complete shutdown of the independent free press and the mass arrest of journalists working for them. All members of the G-15, journalists of the free press and anyone associated with them or suspected of harbouring support for them have been locked up and kept incommunicado for more than 22 years.
Global Yiakl Eritrean Movement (GYEM)
* Yiakl: In one of the spoken Eritrean languages spoken, Tigrinya, Yiakl means “Enough”)
