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06/02/2020 02:40 AM Updated
The Ideal Concept of the Eritrean Yeakle Mass Movement
and the Bayto NA’s Destructive Practices.
by: Berhe Desta / Seattle, Washington, USA
Introduction
The Eritrean Yeakle Mass Movement is a Task Force driven, mass political movement which emanated about six years ago, through a world-wide, city-by-city organizing process.
The Movement grew out of the highly unbearable socio-economic and political environment that has been created by the illegal government in Eritrea. Esayas Afeworki, the cardinal of sin, forcibly snatched the political power following the 30 year’s War of Independence in 1991. Unfortunately, he turned to an iron- fisted, ruthless dictator, who defiantly breached the promise of his martyred comrades, and the trust of all the heroic Eritrean fighters when he unilaterally grabbed power and declared himself the supreme leader of Eritrea, for life.
Ever since, Esayas, along with his handful of conspirators, has committed an unprecedented scope of crimes. He has overseen a highly toxic system of governance, which has resulted in national misery. As this unbearable political climate has become the norm of the day, the Deleyti Fetehi Eritreans in the Diaspora have angrily risen up, in unison, with fists raised, and shouted in clear and loud voices, “Yeakle, Esayas must go!”
This was the background behind the birth of the Eritrean Mass Yeakle Movement. The Movement has proceeded through a city by city organizing process, which is often spearheaded by Eritrean youth and women. During the inception of the Movement, at the city (local) level, a single public call is made, in unison, for the purpose of national salvation. The Framers of the Movement first conducted research and identified the reasons for the major lingering unity problems, and they swiftly engineered an unprecedented, broad and accommodating Road Map, which systematically brings in all Eritrean demographics and persons of all political persuasions, including organizations, groups, and civic societies. All participants agree to cooperatively and collaboratively work to challenge the arch enemy of Eritrea and Eritreans, Esayas Afeworki.
When participants come out in response to the preliminary national call, they are given an initial orientation about the concept of the Eritrean Mass Yeakle Movement, its goals and advantages, so that they become well informed members of the Movement. Members are guaranteed equity and equality in the ownership of the Movement. By Laws are drafted in order to democratically guide them, and leadership responsibilities are established through a bottom up progression. There are three stages (steps) to the mass organizing process, namely: the local (city) level; the national level, where all participating cities are centralized; and the global (international) stage, where all involved countries of the world will send their representatives for the purpose of forming a transitional government, in absentia. At this final stage, all participants will be invited to claim their equal and equitable share of government power. The details of this process can be learned from the Article titled, “The Concept of the Eritrean Mass Yeakle Movement & Its Advantages,” which is posted on most Eritrean web sites.
This visionary Concept includes targeted goals of about 80-120 cities to be organized in America within a timetable of not more than 6 months, checks and balances, and quarterly reassessments to make sure that plans are properly met. If they are not, the variables may be amended from time to time, and appropriate action(s) will be taken.
Goals
The goals of the Mass Yeakle Movement are as follows:
A) Use new approaches, strategies and tactics, to bring in an exponentially increased number of new members, to join the opposition camps, drawing on those who, for different reasons, were not organized before.
B) Unify all Eritrean Deleyti Fetehj groups in the Diaspora for the purpose of bringing down the brutal dictatorship in Eritrea, by all means possible, and to replace him with a true democratic, new government that unifies all Eritrean Ethnic groups, with equality, harmony and mutual understanding.
Approaches
In accordance with the stated goals, the most optimal approaches are as follows:
A) To first prepare a broad and inspiring Road Map that takes all Eritrean demographics and ethnic groups into consideration, and on that basis, implement a Mass Organizing Process by way of Task Force efforts.
B) Forge an initial agreement between the Task Force members and each and all Eritrean opposition organizations’ members, to collaboratively keep trekking, side by side, in their own respective ways, toward a global stage, where an ultimate unity will be formed.
C) Revive our lost faith, culture, the historically best traits of the Eritrean people, which include collaboratively working together for the common good, a strong spirit of nationalism, and an unwavering willingness to sacrifice for the defense of our country and its people.
Such new approaches have the potential of boosting public confidence, reviving hope, and creating a spirit of oneness in the Diaspora.
The Eritrean Mass Yeakle Task Force (ሓይሊ ዕማም ) and its Limitations
A Task Force (ወፈራ) is a collection of a certain number of volunteers, assigned by a certain force in order to solve specific problems. In the context of the Eritrean Yeakle Mass Movement, the main assignment of the Task Force is to creatively and aggressively pursue a broad mass mobilization process, being guided by a research-based, broad and inclusive road map and by temporary Bylaws. The word “Mass” indicates a large number of people assembled for a specific purpose, and the word “Yeakle” is a slogan of the Masses, which has now become a powerful tool with far-reaching implications the world over. The Mass Movement is widely supported by many vibrant volunteers, and is strongly supported by Deleyti Fetehi Eritreans all over the world. That means, the Eritrean people have liked and embraced the concept over all.
However, as the Eritrean Yeakle Mass Movement is a Movement of the people, by the people, and for the people, on a city by city basis, the world over, the ultimate power and major decision-making authority, at the local and national levels, exclusively rests on the individual members, who are the true owners of the Movement, and their prior written approval is always required. But all of the activities of the Yeakle Mass Movement are to be implemented by Task Force efforts, by way of a limited delegation of power. In other words, all action items have to be signed or decided upon by the members of the involved cities, on a one person one vote basis.
Bayto NA Is a Threat to the Viability of the Eritrean Yeakle Mass Movement!!
The Eritrean Yeakle Mass Movement of North America, as stated above, is a peoples’ Movement. Its main goals are to collaboratively work with all Eritrean opposition Movements in order to optimally mobilize masses of people, and to engage them in the opposition camps.
Notwithstanding the limited responsibilities accorded to the city by city Task Force delegates, a sudden, unexpected shift has taken place in the Task Force members’ understanding of their own role. In effect, they have come to see themselves like the U.S. Congress. This uncharted detour has amazed many Deleyti Fetehi members, but the purposeful Task Force members have defiantly continued with their transformation of the Task Force to a “Bayto” organization structure. The word “Bayto” means, colloquially, a hierarchical organizational structure. And that says it all.
Such a deviant, unilateral action of the Bayto group, without prior discussion and without the consent of the involved members from each city, poses a serious threat to the unprecedented, collaborative efforts of all the Eritrean opposition groups, who had expected to keep trekking side-by-side with each other towards the finish line (global level). Such disruptive action of the Bayto members will, unfortunately, negatively impact all the hopes, aspirations and shared confidence in the potential results of the unprecedented coalition of many opposition groups who, for the first time, witnessed such collaborative team efforts. For a conceptual understanding of this matter, please refer to the attached, demonstrative diagram, titled, “The Best Path to Victory vs. Disruptive, Unilateral Action.”
By continuing on the right path, however, the uniquely engineered system of mass mobilization of the Yeakle Task Force has the potential to fulfill its targeted goal within a time span of only six months.
The Bayto NA’s mass mobilization approach, on the contrary, is a sectarian approach, which leaves large segments of the Eritrean demographics out of the equation, and will result in significant deficiency. That is why it is not expected to bring about sustainable national unity and socio -economic and political stability, in our future Eritrea.
The Bayto NA’s By-Laws & Their Evident Flaws.
The newly-drafted Bayto NA’s By-Laws are not applicable to the Eritrean Yeakle Movement’s Concept, due to the fact that the Bayto NA in its present status, is being transformed into a hierarchical organization. Therefore, the only appropriate national By Laws for the Eritrean Yeakle Mass Movement Task Force, are the ones to be drafted and ratified by a national committee, assembled for the purpose of bringing together representatives from all the organized American cities, under a single leadership.
But still, for the purpose of public knowledge, it is necessary to make note of the following shortcomings of the Bayto NA’s By Laws:
A) Despite the fact that the main goals of the Eritrean Yeakle Mass Movement are to defend the besieged Eritrean people inside the country, and to bring down the illegal government in Eritrea by all means possible, the Bayto NA’s By-Laws are structured for a 501(c)3 Federal Tax status. This status, which does not allow for political activities, would drastically limit the Eritrean Yeakle Mass Movement’s right to confront the illegal, self-declared, supreme leader for life, by all means possible.
B) The Articles and By-Laws do not allow the members to make any necessary changes, where needed, unless the proposer gets a 75% vote of support, instead of 50 %+1 vote. This is an aberration, but it may have its own motive(s).
C) The so-called signing and ratification of the By-Laws was done by unauthorized delegated Task Force members, without prior approval by the individual members.
D) The subject By Laws do not have an introduction page, which is very unusual. Many cities had requested to have one, but the Bayto NA members are still defiant about it.
Proposed Solution to the Bayto NA Problem
The delegated Task Force representatives, three from each member city, were specifically tasked to work collaboratively with opposition groups, in order to help mobilize an optimal number of Eritreans, and bring them to the opposition camps. The role of the Task Force, as described above, does not allow them to assume any political power, compete with, or replace any Eritrean opposition organization(s). Nevertheless, this Bayto NA has, either by mistake or by design, overstepped its limited authority. Such unilateral action poses a great threat to the smooth, unprecedented, research- based, collaborative efforts of the Eritrean Yeakle Movement as it was planned, and undermines the ability to bring the Movement to fruition in the expected six month time span.
Therefore, the Bayto NA should withdraw from its unauthorized organizational role, and resume the role of a proper Task Force, along the lines of the previous Task Force that was created on October 28th, 2016, in New York, but was unfortunately side lined by others in Washington D.C. The two person per city Task Force created in New York was a perfect fit for the Yeakle Mass Movement’s model mobilization process, which is to be highly inclusive and accommodating. The distinctive work responsibilities of the original Task Force were as follows:
A) Whenever any kind of major socio-political issues of national concern take place -- like the ongoing gross human rights violations in Eritrea, which warranted a study team to be sent from the UN Human Rights Commission in 2013 – the Task Force should coordinate all necessary logistics or any kinds of help from Eritreans in North America and beyond.
B) Recognizing that the lack of organizing and unity among all the opposition groups and peoples in the Diaspora are major obstacles to success, the Task Force should encourage optimal organization in every city.
These two above stated items, alone, should have been the job responsibilities of the Bayto NA. If they are willing to revert back to normality, as has been expected by the Yeakle Movement, forgiveness by the people will suffice. But if they choose to remain defiant, they will, undoubtedly, bring down the entire movement, which will impact all of those who were relying on the Yeakle Movement model to bring the movement to fruition within the shortest time possible. We must ensure that all necessary plans are followed well, by everybody involved, and consensus is reached, at every step of the process. That is the only way that sustainable unity and stability in the future, new Eritrea, can be achieved.
Conclusion
The Concept of the Eritrean Yeakle Mass Movement, as described earlier, is a movement of the people, by the people, and for the people. Recognizing the chronic lack of unity among the all too many political organizations, the vast majority of people in the Diaspora have opted to stay away from the national struggle. The natural urge of the people to defend their country was hampered. That is why the research-based concept of the Yeakle Movement, with its new approaches and strategies, has evolved. This Concept approaches the problem of unity from the perspective of what the needs and wants of the people actually are. Such an approach seems to be in accord with the people’s actual expectations and wishes, and that is why it is considered the panacea for the lingering unity problems of the different opposition groups. Political mobilization and the engagement process start on a city by city basis, with each city delegating three representatives to participate, on a Task Force basis, with limited authority, for the purposes of public mobilization. Some of the essential ingredients of the Eritrean Yeakle Mass Movement are equality, transparency, honesty, high integrity and morality. As ultimate decision making rests with the individual members, all actions of the Task Force are subject to prior approval by the individual members.
In view of such background information, the delegated Task Force (now Bayto NA) members are now in breach of public trust, for unilaterally transforming their limited Task Force authority to a hierarchical institutional authority called Bayto NA, which is a charade.
After sensing the intent of this departure, I did express my personal concerns about the lack of transparency, openness, and public involvement, but to no avail. At the same time, I strongly believe that any internal disagreements between the Task Force members should be resolved internally, instead of going public. Despite the apparent irreconcilable differences, I tried my very best to share my concerns with the leadership, but my innocent attempts were utterly ignored. Hence, I had no choice but to fetch my moral conscience, and finally decide to move on. As a devout supporter and defender of the Yeakle Mass Movement, I had to reluctantly go public with these matters. And yet, they are still in a world of denial. After all the facts and objectives are now put on the table, the enlightened Deleyti Fetehi Eritreans are strongly urged to get engaged, and say “enough is enough,” until justice is served, for the benefit of Eritrea’s future. For those who still believe that ignoring the Bayto’s misdeeds could be a better option, due to the gravity of the political situation in Eritrea, it is in fact, to the contrary. (ክጎያ’ያ ዝደፍኣኦስ ተመሊሰን ይሓፍሳኦ፡ ከም ዝበሃል፡ ንድሕሪት እዩ ዝመልሰና). In fact, during the very fluid and highly volatile present Eritrean political situation, we need to examine each step as scientifically as possible, and avoid acting on emotions. In addition, we must identify and implement the most impactful agenda items, and make sure that they are given the highest priority. One such item is described in the attachment, titled, “Deciphering the Eritrean Dilemma: A New Approach for a Better Solution.” Implementing this proposal would be extremely helpful to the present Eritrean political landscape.
In conclusion, let’s all support and nurture the Concept of the Eritrean Yeakle Mass Movement, with all our might. It has the best, research-supported ingredients, which have the potential to carry us to the finish line within the shortest time possible.
Berhe Desta
United States of America
A chart, reflecting practical applications of the Mass Organizing process on a city by city approach, is attached.
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A chart, reflecting practical applications of the Mass Organizing process on a city by city approach.
Read in PDF: Click here
1) Geographic Approach Mobilization Structure:
2) Demographic Approach Structure:
Explanation of Demographic and Geographic Approaches.
The two charts, depicting Demographic and Geographic approaches to the city-by-city Mass mobilization and organizing process, are part of the concept of the Eritrean Mass Movement. They help to show how the masses are being organized on the ground, on a city-by city approach. At the present phase of the national struggle, it is imperative that we devise the most effective road map that carries us to fruition, upon being fully organized at the local, national and global levels.
The considered methods of the organizing process involve the following approaches: 1) the Geographic approach, which requires that we divide each city into five (5) zones, within each of which, mobilizing committees will organize and engage the masses, and, 2) the Demographic approach, which divides each city into 12 different groups, where each group mobilizes itself to engage in the Mass Movement. The house-by-house personalized invitation approach (shown on the 10th box of the chart) is a method whose effectiveness has been commendably proven through wedding invitations over the last few years.
Equally important to consider for the success of our struggle at this juncture is fundraising, which must go side-by-side with the Mass organizing process. Eritreans have a long and commendable history to that end.
Berhe Desta / USA
ERISAT: ቃለ መሕትት ምስ ኣቶ በርሀ ደስታ ኣብ ህዝባዊ ማዕበል
See also recent articles by Mr Berhe Desta
ካልኦት ብ'ኣቶ በርሀ ደስታ ዝተጻሕፉ ጽሑፋት ኣብ ታሕቲ ተወከሱ:-
