STANFORD

of the LIBRARIES

IN PEOPLE'S LIBERATION FRONT

 500

NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC
PROGRAMME
STANFORD
of the LIBRARIES

ERITREAN PEOPLE'S LIBERATION FRONT

bo
NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC
PROGRAMME
of the

ERITREAN PEOPLE'S LIBERATION FRONT

 Sodan

Sodan Eritrea
Red sea

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 INTRODUCTION

Eritrea is situated at the cross-roads of Africa and

the Middle East . It is bounded by the Red Sea on the
east , the Sudan on the north and west , and Ethiopia and
Djibouti on the south . This strategic geographic location
has helped to shape its history .
To clearly understand the modern history of the Erit
rean people , it is necessary to look into the ancient his
tory of the Horn of Africa .
The original inhabitants of present-day Eritrea were
a negroid African people known as the Nilotics . Later,
invading Hamites from North Africa occupied what is to
day northern Eritrea and , intermingling with the Nilotics,
began to settle in the Western Lowlands and Northern
highlands . Between 1000 and 400 B.C. , the Semites cross
ed the Red Sea from South Arabia and , invading the
Eritrean Plateau , began to settle there, intermarrying
with the intermingled Nilotics and Hamites . The Semites,
with their advanced Sabean civilization , were able to
transform Hamito-Nilotic society and founded the Ax
umite Kingdom . ‫نمای‬ ‫و‬
This being the general development of the ancient
history of this region , there is a legendary history of “ 3000
years” which Ethiopian feudalists and rulers have fabri
cated to expand their interests. As the tale goes, a queen
called Makda went to visit King Solomon in Jerusalem in
970 B.C. and returned to her country impregnated by him .
When the child grew , he ascended the throne under the
name of “ Menelik I ” and, from that time onwards , began
the “ 3000 years” of Ethiopian history and the uninter
rupted rule of the “ Solomonic dynasty ” .

1
 The principal objective of the Amhara feudalists in
concocting this tale is the realization of their expansionist
ambitions: to put a large country under their dictatorship
through the claim of “ 3000 years” : to promote vainglory
and banal chauvinism by falsely claiming a non -existent
history of “ 3000 years” of independence; to make the
peoples whom they rule and oppress the perpetual slaves
of superstition by making their kingdom appear as though
it were divinely ordained , sacred and inviolate . The ancient
civilizations that existed in the past have never been , and
cannot be used as a basis for the claim of territories in the
modern era . If their ancient existence has any value, it be
longs in the museum where it may be useful for the study
of the history of man and society. To make it the basis of
contemporary political relations is , however, outright fas
cist expansionism . Otherwise , the meaninglessness of this
argument which Ethiopian rulers present to justify their
aggression against and oppression of the Eritrean people is
clear .
The Axumite Kingdom had , extending in all corners,
invaded even south-western Arabia. It was also greatly in
fluenced by foreign civilizations, especially Greek civiliz
ation , through commercial and cultural exchange . Never
theless, when during the 7th century South Arabia was oc
cupied by the Persians , Axum's contacts across the Red
Sea were cut off. The Beja tribes intensified their invasion
in the North . Internally, there was the growing rebellion of
certain tribes. When , under these circumstances, the Agau
tribes attacked it from the south , the Kingdom of Axum
crumbled . Axumite civilization , like many of the great civ
ilizations of the past , was thus destroyed and obliterated .
Once it fell, the Axumite Kingdom never revived ; and as a
socio -economic system, it had no concrete economic , pol
itical and social links with the systems that prevailed dur

2.
 it tells its our tale - ‫رده‬
ing the centuries immediately following its fall, let alone
with those of the last and present centuries. The Amhara
feudalists, however, have resorted to tales of a “ 3000
year” history in an effort to glorify their regime as a direct
continuation of the Axumite civilization and thus nurture
their chauvinism and expansionism . The attempt to pre
sent the Axumite Kingdom as a supporting point for the
claim that Eritrea has always been part of Ethiopia is only
the futile dream of feudal expansionists and their fascist
disciples. dejupites
Although there exists no detailed record of the history
of the period that immediately followed the fall of Axum ,
it should be remembered that there occurred the untold
Yr í destruction of people, livestock and property as a result of
‫رہکر‬ the internecine wars within and among competing tribes ,
the politico -religious aggressions that took place in the ex
pansion of Islam and Christianity, and the slave trade
which dominated all other trade and plundered enormous
labour power . These were an obstacle to the development
of this region and were responsible for its backwardness
and its victimization by European colonialists in the 19th
and 20th centuries. Otherwise, from the fall of the Ax
mite Kingdom to the 19th century, when countries with
definite boundaries were formed with the expansion of
European colonialism in Africa, there was absolutely no
period when there existed an organized and centralized
state in this region.
When the Portuguese explored sea lanes to the east at
the close of the 15th century, they began to clash at first
with the Arab powers and later the Turks in an effort to
control the sea lanes and occupy strategic places. Ports
guese and Turkish contention in the Horn of Africa be
came intertwined with the tribal and religious conflicts in
the region . It was thus by exploiting the internal contr

3.
 dictions of the region that the Turks, opposing the Port
guese , were able to occupy the Red Sea coast in 1557 .
Their repeated attempts to penetrate the Eritrean hinter
land were , however , stiffly resisted . Unable to break
this resistance, especially after 1589, they gave the vicero
ship to the chief of the Bellow tribes under the title of the
" Naib ” and continued their nominal rule for about three
centuries until 1865 .
As the Turks grew weaker , they enabled Egypt to
revive its political power by “ granting” it internal
autonomy. In the beginning of the 19th century, Moham
ed Ali Pasha was able to easily defeat the Fung Kingdom
and , expanding to the western lowlands of present -day
Eritrea, he compelled the Beni Amer Diglals to accept his
i
w suzerainty . Afterwards,the Egyptians took over the Red
Sea coast from the Turks in 1867 ; but their repeated at
tempts to expand to the hinterland were frustrated by
popular resistance. Their rule was thus confined to Keren
and the coastal areas until they were weakened by the
Mahdists and finally driven out by the Italians in 1885 .
The late 19th century was a period during which West
European imperialist countries divided up and partitioned
Africa to exploit its natural resources and cheap labour
power , secure big markets for their industrial production
and to occupy strategic regions that can serve them to con
trol their foreign trade and monopolize their trade routes .
The 1885 Berlin Conference was only the official parti
tioning of Africa . The West European imperialist countries
which had planned to invest their capital in India and the
Arab countries in anticipation of the fastest super -profits
found it necessary to open the Suez Canal and occupy key
strategic positions on the shores of the Red Sea and the
Horn of Africa in order to control the commerce in the
Red Sea and Indian Ocean that was run by the Turks and

4.
Arabs . While Great Britain and France were the principal
contenders in the region, Italy played the role of aa junior
ally of British imperialism .
Imperialist Italy, exploiting the contention between
Great Britain and France on the one hand, the competi
tion between the kings of Shoa and Tigrai on the other,
and the Mahdist expansionist ambitions and the weaken
ing of the Egyptians on the third , set foot on the shores
of the Red Sea in 1869 under the pretext of establishing a
missionary and trading station . Gradually, it brought
over military forces and , exploiting the contradictions be
tween the contending and rival feudalists, occupied the
whole of Eritrea in 1890 .
Although the Western and Eastern lowlands were
nominally under Egypt before imperialist Italy occupied
Eritrea , the Beja territories, invaded by the Mahdists,
were in a state of chaos . Different tribal Sultans were rul
ing in Denkel . The sharpening contradictions and power
struggles between the Hazega and Tzeazega feudalists in
the Plateau provided opportune conditions for King
Yohannes of Tigrai to occupy and rule it through his
viceroy , Ras Alula, just before the advent of the Italians.
By integrating these disparate territories and establishing
a centralized administrative system, imperialist Italy
brought forth Eritrea as a multinational state with a
definite political and geographic identity.
During the second half of the 19th century , the Horn
of Africa was subjected not only to the expansion of cap
italist rule but also to the expansion of feudal rule . In
what is today Ethiopia, the Kingdoms of Tigrai, Gojjam
and Shoa were growing stronger and undergoing feudal
integration or centralization in the 19th century, and were
contending with each other for expansion . The Kingdom
of Shoa under Menelik was finally able to predominate

5.
 Racialism o'
, sir racial segregatio
because it managed to strike a deal with the Italian colon
ialists and acquire superiority in arms while the Kingdoms
of Tigrai and Gojjam were weakened as a result of Italian
and Mahdist aggression . King Menelik had a hand in the
colonial conspiracy to partition and occupy the Horn of
Africa . Exploiting the rivalries and contention among
Great Britain , France and Italy, he invaded the Oromo
lands , put the territories of Tigrai and Gojjam under his
control and, at the close of the 19th century, established a
centralized feudal Ethiopian state whose boundaries form
ed the demarcation line between capitalist (colonial) and
feudal rule. The argument put forth by Ethiopian ex
pansionists and their historians that Eritrea was part of
Ethiopia before the coming of Italian colonialism only sig
nifies their desire to conceal, in the pursuit of their ex
pansionist aims, the time and the circumstances under
which Eritrea and Ethiopia were formed as countries with
defined political and geographic identities .
Besides trampling upon the human and democratic
rights of the Eritrean people and imposing a system of
racial segregation , Italian colonialism seized all land in
thefowlands and Northern Highlands as well as extensive
fertile agricultural areas and meadows in the Plateau in
the name of domains and reduced life in the countryside
to an extremely deplorable state . Denying the Eritrean
people educational and medical services , it perpetrated un
told ignorance and diseases. Although Italian colonialism
built factories in the pursuit of its imperialist aims and
provided for the emergence of the Eritrean working class,
it was also exploiting and encouraging the feudal features
of our society in an effort to assure and prolong its rule.
In the pursuit of its interests it brought forth the economic
integration of the different parts of Eritrea . In their strug
gle against Italian colonial oppression and the intense

6.
racial segregation that attended it, the Eritrean people
forged a strong national identity and developed a unified
psychological make-up.
The imperialist countries, in their bitter competition
and contention to expand their colonies and divide and re
divide continents , launched the two world wars . This sit
uation weakened the imperialist countries and strengthened
the colonized peoples. Although the Eritrean people, fight
ing alongside the Allied Powers during the Second World
War, drove out Italian colonialism in 1941, Eritrea passed
over from Italian colonialism to British colonialism .
From the outset, Great Britain conspired to abolish
the political existence of Eritrea by partitioning it between
its colony, Sudan, and its neo -colony, feudal Ethiopia. To
this end, it set out to destroy the economic infrastructure
of Eritrea in an effort to make it appear economically in
viable and to inflame non-basic contradictions so as to
divide the Eritrean people along religious and tribal lines
and weaken their unity . Although it did not succeed in
partitioning Eritrea , Great Britain managed to wreck the
Eritrean economy and sow discord among the Eritrean
people.
Although the 1940's witnessed the emergence of sev
eral political parties in Eritrea, the Eritrean people's strug
gle for independence could not triumph because none of
the parties had the correct line , strength and cohesiveness
to unite the majority of the Eritrean people around itself,
overcome the machinations of imperialism and neocolon
ialism and lead the Eritrean people to independence. As
the future of Eritrea could not be determined in the dis
cussions held among the Four Powers , it was transferred
to the then U.S. imperialist dominated U.N. There, in
1950, at the fifth regular session of the U.N. General As
sembly, U.S. imperialism pushed through the federal res

7
olution (390 A / v ) to assure its imperialist and neocolonial
interests , secure the expansionist objectives of the Amhara
feudalists, and provide them with access to the sea-all
this against the wishes and at the expense of the independ
ence of the Eritrean people. Under the guise of federation ,
Eritrea was put under the yoke of neocolonial Ethiopia
and U.S. imperialism established military bases in Eritrea.
Thus, it was immediately clear that this was designed to
protect the interests of imperialism in the Red Sea and the
Horn of Africa .
As soon as Ethiopia set foot in Eritrea under the guise
of federation, it violated the federal resolution, banned the
freedom of the press, smashed the free popular organiza
tions and political parties, suppressed the Eritrean lan
guages and culture, imposed the language and culture of
the Amhara ruling classes, persecuted and jailed patriots,
and placed a large occupation army all over Eritrea to in
timidate the people and crush their resistance.
The Eritrean people, drawing valuable lessons from
their experience, continued their struggle against the ever
intensifying oppression. When they began to intensify their
struggle, with the worker and student movements and
other patriots in the big cities in the fore- front, feudal Eth
iopia escalated its atrocities. When it pulled down the
Eritrean flag in 1958, workers , students and other patriots
were clandestinely organized and began to lead the na
tional movement through a secret organization known as
" Mahber Showate” in the cities and the Eritrean Libera
tion Movement abroad came to realize that peaceful means
alone could not win victory or independence and began to
look for other means to advance their struggle.
While such was the general trend, certain self -exiled
traditional leaders and their collaborators established a
small armed band under the name of the Eritrean Liber

8.
ation Front (E.L.F.). This was done out of purely com
petitive considerations without consulting the forces that
were already studying the means and preparing for armed
struggle. At the time of its formation, this front not only
lacked a clear nationalist line with defined objectives, but
it was also formed by and composed of an extremely back
ward clique incompatible with the demands of the time.
As the armed struggle evolved , the people began to sup
port it simply because, as an armed resistance to Ethi
opia's barbarous rule , it expressed the Eritrean people's
hatred of Ethiopian colonialism .
In November 1962, the Haile Selassie regime, tramp
ling under foot the legitimate rights of the Eritrean people
and violating the U.N. federal resolution (which only the
U.N. could change with the consent of the Eritrean
people ), officially declared that the autonomous state of
Eritrea would henceforth become a province of Ethiopia .
There is no record in history when either the U.N. General
Assembly or the Security Council has raised its voice
against the barbarous oppression of the Eritrean people
under Ethiopian colonialism , not even when the Ethiopian
regime flagrantly violated the very resolution of the U.N.
and officially stood against justice and peace.
From the very beginning, the E.L.F. followed a line
that was incapable of articulating patriotic feelings and
fostered divisions based on competitive feudal sentiments .
As it grew larger in men and arms , the discord grew worse .
To calm down the competition among the fledgling feudal
ists and to better exploit the divisions , the reactionary cli
que abroad , that was posing as the Front's leadership and
painting the just struggle of the Eritrean people in various
non-patriotic colours, divided Eritrea into five military
zones in 1964-65. They divided the E.L.F. into 5 divisions
on the basis of religion and nationality and each division

9.
was made to operate in one of the zones. This zonal divi
sion was detrimental to the unity of the Eritrean people, as
it was based on the exploitation of their secondary contra
dictions to the benefit of the reactionary clique . Moreover ,
the reactionary clique designated itself the Supreme Coun
cil and , posing as the patriachate of the revolution and
clamouring from outside, focused on seeking aid beneficial
to itself.
The period of the military zones was a time when the
zones were rivals, competing and contending against each
other and squabbling over territorial boundaries. The lead
ers of the zones, far from helping each other, were rejoic
ing at the defeat of one another. Not only were they col
lecting money from the people through taxes, fines and
donations, but they were also accumulating property for
the future by openly looting cattle and other property
from the people. When the fighters began to oppose these
corrupt, unpatriotic and non-revolutionary practices,
many of them were incarcerated , dismissed or liquidated
by the feudalists of the military zones .
As the situation deteriorated and a state of crisis was
created , the Ethiopian regime, exploiting the weaknesses of
the divided E.L.F. army, launched an unprecedented cam
paign in 1967, attacked the zones one at a time, and per
petrated barbarous atrocities on the oppressed Eritrean
people who had wholeheartedly extended their support to
the revolution . There was no zone that put up sufficient
resistance in its respective region let alone cooperated with
the others during the whole time Ethiopia was burning
hundreds of villages, massacring, bayoneting and burning
thousands of children, women and old people , butchering
innumerable livestock , forcing thousands of people to take
refuge in the Sudan , and displacing thousands more from
their homes .

10 .
 As the situation kept on deteriorating, the democratic
force, made up of armed combatants and the masses, was
already in a state of ferment, began to intensify its resist
ance . It put forward principal demands calling for the
abolition of the feudal zones and the establishment of a
unified army, the presence of the leadership in the field ,
and the convening of a conference to resolve these issues .
However, the Supreme Council , the Revolutionary Com
mand, the zone commanders and their collaborators con
spired to divide and weaken the movement which was
against their interests and to ensure that the 1st and 2nd
zones , over which they had more influence , did not unite
with the three other zones .
However, the democratic movement which was strug
gling to bring about complete unity vigorously persisted
and succeeded in bringing about the unity of three zones .
Condemning the Supreme Council and the Revolutionary
Command, it established a provisional leadership in the
field .
The united force of the three zones proved the cor
rectness of its aims through the struggles it waged to mob
ilize the people and the operations it conducted against the
enemy and enjoyed increasing popular support. Because
they found the presence and development of the united
force detrimental to their selfish interests, the Supreme
Council, the Revolutionary Command , and their reaction
ary collaborators in the field attempted to disrupt and
weaken it from within by plotting with the pseudo
democratic and opportunist elements who , unable to tress
pass the mass line, had joined the united force and man
aged to worm their way into positions of leadership . This
could not bear them immediate results and they were be
coming increasingly exposed in front of the masses . Thus,
changing tactics and pretending that they now accepted the

11 .
unity that they had rejected earlier, they hatched new plots
and agreed to convene the 1969 Adobha Conference .
Among the principal resolutions of the Adobha Con
ference were the convening of a national congress within
a year ” , “ the setting up of a provisional leadership in the
field to coordinate the army until the convening of the na
tional congress ” ,and “ the establishment of a preparatory
committee to examine crimes committed against the fight
ers and the masses" . Almost all of these resolutions were
taken from the proposals of the united force . It is true that
at the Adobha Conference the united force needed posi
tions in the executive bodies from which to wage its strug
gle . Its immediate aim , however, was the attainment of uni
ty of the five divisions while its long-term goal was to give
the quality and composition of the front appropriate form
after a year-long struggle. Analyzing the obstacles posed
by the reactionary side,and in the face of the treachery and
conspiracies of reactionaries and opportunists within itself,
the United Force not only did not set up any precondition
but it also compromised on several points in order to real
ize its aim of unity of the five divisions and to avoid giving
the reactionary side a pretext to retreat, which it certainly
would have done had the democratic force rigidly held on
to its position .
As the objective of the reactionary side in the confer
ence was to seize executive power by any means, it pre
sented the preconditions that the provisional leadership to
be established be made up of 38 members, that the three
zones of the united force hold 18 positions while the two
zones be given 10 each , that each unit separately select its
own , and that the Supreme Council should remain unaf
fected . Accordingly, the General Command, composed of
a majority of swindlers, was established after effecting
tribal deals and alliances and the predominance of reac

12 .
tionaries hit its climax in the history of the armed struggle
of the Eritrean people .
The General Command did not give the resistance
force the opportunity to struggle from within . Immediately
after its establishment, it reorganized the army to suit its
purposes and began to liquidate the resistance forces.
Within a period of three months, it killed many fighters,
jailed still more , and dismissed hundreds from the field
under various pretexts; the Eritrean field saw an unprece
dented fascist dictatorship of reactionaries. Under such
circumstances, it was impossible to resist even from abroad
(in the Sudan , for instance) let alone to struggle from
within the front. As there was no other alternative, the
democratic force had to separate from the E.L.F. and
establish an independent organization so as to enable the
Eritrean revolution to march on a correct path . Hence , the
democratic force, uniting all the resistance elements ,
.

established the Eritrean People's Liberation Forces

( E.P.L.F.) in 1970.
Although the General Command had never refrain
ed from scheming to liquidate the E.P.L.F. ever since the
latter's formation as an organization , its attempts were
ending up in failure because they could not receive the
collaboration of many fighters. When the E.P.L.F,
embarking upon the broadest field of work , began to
politicize, organize and defend the people and to provide
shelter for the resisters hitherto unable to find a way out
of the General Command , the General Command con
vened its so -called national congress in an effort to
ligitimize its liquidationist philosophy in the name of the
fighters and the people , designated the E.P.L.F. as
“ counter -revolutionary ” , passed liquidationist resolutions ,
set up the “ Revolutionary Council” as the leadership to
implement them, and declared the civil war at the end of
February 1972. The E.P.L.F. , raising the slogan of “ All

13 .
our guns against the primary enemy, democratic solution
for the secondary contradictions ” , persisted in self
defence, vis a vis the E.L.F. The “ Revolutionary Coun
cil” , however, overly intoxicated with the illusion of a
quick victory, waged the civil war for three years , causing
the loss and injury of a great number of cardres and
fighters, the destruction of enormous property of the
revolution, and provided the enemy with the opportunity
to prepare for further aggression . Moreover, the civil war
brought sorrow to and effected low morale among the
Eritrean masses. It also created among our supporters, ex
>

cepting those who had an interest in the internecine killing

of Eritreans, a negative attitude toward the just struggle of
the Eritrean people.
Although the forces that formed the E.P.L.F. repr
sented the conscious and oppressed fighters within the
E.L.F. they were unable to organize a coordinated depart
ure . As in the development of all national struggles, the
democratic forces included in its ranks groups and in
dividuals who merely shared a common political stand of
rejection. Although the E.P.L.F. was created in a revo
lutionary process it also contained some opportunist ele
ments . Thus it is an organization that has been built and
shaped in the flames of vigorous struggle against Ethiopian
colonial aggression as well as the liquidationist aggression
of the Revolutionary Council on the one hand and against
reactionaries and opportunists within its ranks on the
other. It made a great effort to bring about step by step, in
the course of a common struggle, the unity of outlook of
the different units which , in the beginning, had their own
separate administrations. It persisted to explain the
meaning and the consequences of the civil war that was ig
nited by the Revolutionary Council to the broad masses,
the fighters of the E.L.F. and friendly countries. It simul

14 .
taneously clarified its correct and principled stand of
democratic dialogue. On the military front, the E.P.L.F.
scored brilliant victories by crushing the Revolution
ary Council forces that were conducting frenzied at
tacks to liquidate it . Through courageous determin
ation and perseverance, it assured its survival and the
continuity of the revolution . In the course of the bit
ter civil war , the Revolutionary Council grew weaker
and lost its strategic military superiority . Hence, the
masses of the people who had long had their mouths
shut began to take steps to stop the civil war while
the forces within the E.L.F. long opposed to the
civil war refused to direct their guns at the E.P.L.F. ,
thus the civil war was brought to a halt toward the
end of 1974 in a spontaneous manner in the interest
of the masses .
When the civil war was brought to an end and
there developed growing understanding among the
fighters of the two fronts in the interests of the
Eritrean masses, the retrograde elements and their ex
ternal accomplices who found the cessation of the
civil war a bitter pill to swallow set out to hatch new
conspira cies. The basic aim of the conspiracy was to
create a new political crisis between the E.L.F. and
the E.P.L.F. by obstructing the then ongoing
dialogue among the fighters. The tactic was to
immediately change one's true colours and pose as
the champions of unity. As usual, this had to take on
its legal form . The “ Second National Congress ” of
the E.L.F. was convened and the E.P.L.F.'s old
slogan of “democratic dialogue for secondary contra
dictions” was raised as a new slogan of the “ Second
National Congress .” When the Revolutionary Coun
cil went to Baghdad to explain the resolutions of its

15 .
congress, it “ coincidentally ” met with the ex-Foreign
Mission of the E.P.L.F. , the principal author of the
conspiracy, for whom the spontaneous cessation of
the civil war, the beginning of dialogue among the
fighters and their growing rapport in the interest of
the masses had all along been too bitter to swallow .
The Revolutionary Council and the ex -Foreign Mis
sion reached a “ sudden " agreement at their “ coinci
dental” Baghdad meeting. This was followed by a
meeting in Beirut . The agreement took on its legal
form on September 1975 in Khartoum . The main
provisions of the agreement stipulated the immediate
merger of the two organizations, even though it was
clear from the outset that this was unacceptable to
the E.P.L.F. since immediate merger was contrary to
its proposal for a united front. Of course, the aim
here was to misconstrue the E.P.L.F.'s principled re
jection of the conspiratorial agreement for opposition
to “ national unity ” and have it condemned by the
Eritrean masses and friendly countries . Indeed the
conspiracy was designed to strangulate, disrupt or
dominate the E.P.L.F. by depriving it of external
material , financial and morale support. It is no secret
that there is also an external force collaborating in
this conspiracy by providing military, financial and
publicity support to the line that represents its inter
ests in Eritrea .
Clearly seeing through the conspiracy in ad
vance , however, the E.P.L.F. had declared that it
would neither participate in nor bear the responsibili
ty for the consequences of the agreement long before
the Khartoum meeting . It had much earlier clarified
its viewpoint on unity and the correct method of its
achievement as well as established a committee to

16 .
represent it to that end in the official dialogue to be
carried out between the E.P.L.F. and the E.L.F. It
had also called for the resolution of the outstanding
issues in its relations with the Ex -Foreign Mission
through dialogue. Yet, the ex -Foreign Mission , prod
ded by its accompplices and relying on the weapons
and money it had collected in the name of the
E.P.L.F. , sought to reverse the wheel of history .
Driven by the illusion that the E.P.L.F. would , from
hunger and exhaustion , soon submit to its dictation ,
the Ex -Foreign Mission severed its relations with the
E.P.L.F. on March 23rd, 1976. Under the guise of
“ national unity ” , it has since then been hatching
divisive conspiracies unprecedented in the history of
the Eritrean people in a futile attempt to turn back
the wheel of the revolution . The E.P.L.F. , fully
aware that all the conspiracies being hatched in the
name of “ national unity ” serve not only to weaken
and subvert the Eritrean revolution but also to pro
vide the enemy with a breathing space to escalate its
aggression and bring about long -term consequences
that are contrary to the wishes and interests of the
Eritrean masses , is making the necessary effort to
resist all divisive and liquidationist conspiracies and
to achieve the genuine unity of the Eritrean people by
proposing the correct method of dialogue and unity
between the two organizations, the E.P.L.F. and the
E.L.F.
The E.P.L.F. , as the culmination of the
democratic resistance to the reactionary experience,
was established to safeguard the interests of the op
pressed Eritrean people and assure the continuity of
the Eritrean revolution . Right from its inception as a
revolutionary organization , it has waged resolute and

17 .
matchless struggles against imperialism , the Ethiopian col
onialist puppets and the reactionary liquidators. After
1975 in particular, it has achieved great victories against
the primary enemy unparalleled in the Eritrean field on the
military as well as on other fronts. It has expanded and
consolidated the liberated areas, crushed hitherto seeming
ly invincible reactionary forces, and emerged as a firm and
powerful revolutionary force flexing its muscles . It has
convened its 1st Organizational Congress and ushered in a
new era in the Eritrean revolution . Changing its name to
the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (E.P.L.F .) — a
name that appropriately expresses its progress - it is inten
sifying its struggle with a new spirit and vigour in order to
to realize its aims .
Haile Selassie's backward feudal regime, supported by
U.S. imperialism , had perpetrated political oppression
upon the Ethiopian people, thrown them into a deplorable
state under which they could no longer survive even from >

hand to mouth, and brought about the decimation

through famine of hundreds of thousands. It had un
leashed barbarous atrocities against nature and property in
order to colonize and oppress the Eritrean people. After
ruling no less than forty years, the old regime collapsed in
1974 as a result of the struggle of the Ethiopian people and
the blows of the Eritrean people's revolution . However, as
there was no revolutionary political party or force capable
of leading the Ethiopian people's struggle to victory during
the decline and fall of Haile Selassie's barbarous regime,
the Dergue, a clique of officers made up of Haile Selassie's
former henchmen , was able to seize state power . At the
moment of crisis when the military clique, hurriedly band
ed together from here and there usurped state power , self
styled pseudo -progressive intellectuals who coveted the va
cant chairs they saw immediately jumped to the side of the

18 .
Dergue and became its accomplices. As its chief syco
phants and henchmen, their role is to disguise the Dergue's
fascism and its anti-people crimes through sloganeering.
The Dergue declared “ Ethiopian socialism ” to isolate the
Eritrean revolution and the Ethiopian people's democratic
movements as well as to deceive and swindle the Eritrean
and Ethiopian masses. As if socialism is something that
can be brought about through declarations and military
coup d'etats, we see that the Dergue has achieved “ social
ism ” in Ethiopia through meaningless declarations within
a year! That all the Dergue's clamour and fanfare are de
signed for public consumption and deceit and not for the
interests of the starving Ethiopian masses is concretely
demonstrated by the rapidly deteriorating living conditions
of the masses as well as the growing resistance of the
democratic forces and oppressed peoples.
These slogans, lacking popular organs for their imple
mentation , are being declared to deceive the people, to
generate a war economy and for external consumption . In
no way do they serve the interests of the masses of the
Ethiopian workers and peasants. The Ethiopian workers
have derived no gains from the nationalization of domestic
or foreign capital. Far from seizing power and playing
their vanguard role, they are denied their basic rights. Suf
fering from fast declining living conditions, they are daily
waging ever rising resistance. The peasants are also deriv
ing no benefits as the land nationalization has remained a
nominal decree on paper. Amhara chauvinism masquerad
ing as socialism is inflicting untold suffering on the various
nationalities of Ethiopia . The people are deprived of their
right to establish their own people's power while the coun
try suffers the harsh rule of a clique of a handful of of
ficers. Thus, progressive Ethiopians and the oppressed
Ethiopian nationalitities, better organized than ever, have

19 .
today brought their struggle to new heights .
Nowhere is the Dergue's essence more clearly evident
than in its views and actions regarding the Eritrean ques
tion . None of the Dergue's continuously changing ec
onomic , political and military policies can be seen in isola
tion from the millions of dollars it is pouring in Eritrea,
the conspiracies it has been hatching to subvert the just
struggle of the Eritrean people, and the barbarous and
fascist military operations it has been conducting . The
Dergue's fascism against the Eritrean people has few his
torical parallels . As the primary objective and policy of the
Dergue is to annihilate the Eritrean revolution through
military force, it has from time to time made several at
tempts to realize this dream . Its first attempt of February
1975 , aimed at the annihilation of the Eritrean revolution
within a month , was turned back when the Dergue suf
fered its first historic defeat. The second time, trying to
reduce the oppressed Ethiopian rural masses into instru
ments of its military aggression, it mobilized through com
pulsion and deceit , scores of thousands of miserable peas
ants and dispatched them to Eritrea under the guise of a
“ Volunteer Campaign " . This attempt was also crushed
before it could even set foot on Eritrean soil , Since then , it
has made various attempts under different names , such as
the deployment of the Israeli -trained “ Nebelbal” (Flame
Brigade). They have all failed under the powerful blows of
our revolutionary People's Army . After all this, the
Dergue is today making new military preparations with its
U.S. granted weapons and ammunition to use the Ethio
pian masses, who are in a state of ferment, as cannon fod
der in its war of aggression in the name of defending the
" motherland ” .
The Dergue's second tactic is political and aims at iso
lating the Eritrean revolution internally and externally . It

20 .
has been raising the slogan of " peaceful solution ” to
camouflage its military preparations while intensifying its
war of aggression . The first slogan of " peaceful solution ,
lacking concrete proposals, failed miserably along with its
February 1975 offensive. Since then, it has made several
attempts in the hope of creating schisms' within the Erit
rean revolution . Finally , it has openly declared that its
" peaceful solution ” means " internal autonomy" and is
busy conducting a frantic political campaign . As this kind
of peaceful solution has found no audience internally, it is
mainly directed outside to swindle progressive world opin
ion and isolate the Eritrean revolution internationally .
However, the E.P.L.F. has in the face of all the obstacles
posed by internal reactionaries, taught the Dergue a big
lesson by exposing its fascist essence and crushing its ag
gressive military campaigns ever since the cessation of the
civil war .
Eritrea is a colonial and semi-feudal country . The vast
majority of its people are peasants who live from hand to
mouth under backward agriculture and nomadism . The
natural and human resources of Eritrea serve the colonial
ists , imperialists, zionists and Eritrean lackeys. Political
power, factories, banks, ports, trade, etc. , are all in the
hands of Ethiopian colonialism and its imperialist masters .
Extensive fertile land has been taken away from the people
in the name of state domains serving the colonial regime,
foreign exploiters and their Eritrean collaborators . As a
result , the livelihood of the toiling masses of our people
continues to deteriorate, going from bad to worse condi
tions . Eritrean workers are deprived of all rights , receive
extremely low wages , suffer from severe unemployment
and live under extremely bad conditions. Ethiopian colon
ialism and its imperialist masters strive hard to destroy the
Eritrean identity by suppressing the culture and traditions

21 .
of the Eritrean people and spreading their decadent cul
tures and customs . They sow religious, nationality, tribal,
and regional discord to wreck the unity and undermine the
progress of the Eritrean people.
Colonialist Ethiopia could not have occupied Eritrea
or fought against the Eritrean people for so long without
the political, military, economic and diplomatic support of
imperialism . It is crystal clear that the military capability
which it is daily using to kill our people and destroy their
livelihood is entirely the gift of the U.S. and Israel.
The enemies of the Eritrean people are Ethiopian col
onialism , world imperialism , Israeli zionism and domestic
reaction . It is inevitable therefore that the Eritrean people
wage a national and democratic struggle in order to defeat
these forces which are the obstacles to the development of
Eritrean society. It is to fulfil the historical tasks of the na
tional democratic revolution that the E.P.L.F. ever since
its formation in 1970, has been fighting to unite the
workers , peasants and other democratic and patriotic
forces in a single front. To achieve independence and
freedom , peace and justice, prosperity and progress for the
Eritrean people, the E.P.L.F. , led by a correct revolu
tionary line and based on the worker -peasant alliance,
shall fight to implement the ensuing objectives until com
plete and final victory .

22.
NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC PROGRAMME

Objectives
1. ESTABLISH A PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC STATE
A. Abolish the Ethiopian colonial administrative organs
and all anti-national and undemocratic laws as well
as nullify the military, economic and political treaties
affecting Eritrea signed between colonial Ethiopia
and other governments .
B.

Safeguard the interests of the masses of workers,

peasants and other democratic forces.
C. Set up a People's Assembly constituted of people's
representatives democratically and freely elected
from anti-feudal and anti-imperialist patriotic forces.
The People's Assembly shall draw the constitution ,
promulgate laws , elect the people's administration
and ratify national economic plans and new treaties .
D. Protect the people's democratic rights — freedom of
speech , the press, assembly, worship and peaceful
demonstration ; develop anti -feudal and anti
imperialist worker , peasant, women , student and
youth organizations.
E.

Assure all Eritrean citizens equality before the law

without distinction as to nationality, tribe, region ,
sex, cultural level , occupation , position , wealth ,
faith , etc.
F. Severely punish Eritrean lackeys of Ethiopian coloni
alism who have committed crimes against the nation
and the people .

23 .
 2. BUILD AN INDEPENDENT . SELF -RELIANT
AND PLANNED NATIONAL ECONOMY

A. AGRICULTURE
1. Confiscate all land in the hands of the aggressor
Ethiopian regime, the imperialists , zionists and
Eritrean lackeys and put it in the service of the
Eritrean masses.
.
2

. Make big nationalized farms and extensive farms re

quiring modern techniques state -farms and use their
produce for the benefit of the masses.
3. Abolish feudal land relations and carry out an equit
able distribution of land . Strive to introduce coopera
tive farms by creating conditions of cooperation and
mutual assistance so as to develop a modern and ad
vanced system of agriculture and animal husbandry
capable of increasing the income and improving the
lot of the peasantry.
4. Induce the peasants to adopt modern agricultural
techniques , introduce them to advanced agricultural
implements and provide them with advisors, experts,
veterinary services , fertilizers, wells, dams, transpor
tation , finance, etc. , in order to alleviate their pro
blems and improve their livelihood and working con
ditions .
5. Provide the nomads with veterinary services , live
stock breeding experts, agricultural advisors and
financial assistance in order to enable them to lead
settled lives , adopt modern techniques of agriculture
and animal husbandry and improve their livelihood .
6. Provide for the peaceful and amicable settlement of
land disputes and inequality among individuals and
villages in such a way as to harmonize the interest of

24 .
 the aggrieved party with that of the national economic
interest .
7. Advance the economic and living conditions in , and
bridge the gap between, the cities and the countryside .
8. Make pastures and forests state property , preserve
wild life and forestry, and fight soil erosion .
9. Maintain a proper balance between agriclture and
industry in the context of the planned economy.
10. Promote an association that will organize, politicize
and arm the peasants with a clear revolutionary
outlook so they can fully participate in the anti
colonial and anti-feudal struggle , defend the gains of
the revolution, free themselves from oppression and
economic exploitation , and manage their own af
fairs.

B. INDUSTRY

1. Nationalize all industries in the hands of the imperi

alists, zionists , Ethiopian colonialists and their
Eritrean lackeys as well as resident aliens opposed to
Eritrean independence .
2. Nationalize big industries , ports , mines , public
transport , communications, power plants and other
basic economic resources .
3. Exploit marine resources, expand the production of
salt and other minerals, develop the fish industry ,
explore oil and other minerals.
4. Allow nationals who were not opposed to the inde
pendence of Eritrea to participate in national
construction by owning small factories and
workshops compatible with national development

25.
 and the system of administration .
.
5

Strive to develop heavy industry so as to promote

light industry, advance agriculture and combat in
dustrial dependence .

C. FINANCE

1. Nationalize all insurance companies and banks, so

as to centralize banking operations , regulate
economic activities and accelerate economic
development.
2. Establish a government -owned central national
bank and issue an independent national currency.
3. Prohibit usury in all its forms and extend credit at
the lowest interest in order to eliminate the attendant
exploitation of the masses .
4. Design and implement an appropriate tariffs policy
to secure the domestic market for the nation's agri
cultrual , industrial and handicraft products .
.
5

Formulate and implement an equitable and rational

taxation policy to administer and defend the coun
try, carry out production and social functions.

D. TRADE

1. Construct essential land , air and sea transportation

and communications to develop the nation's trade .
2

2. Handle all import and export trade .

3. Nationalize the big trading companies and regulate
the small ones .
4. Prohibit the export of essential commodities and
limit the import of luxury goods .
5. Regulate the exchange and pricing of the various

26 .
 domestic products.
6. Strictly prohibit contraband trade .
7. Establish trade relations with all countries that re
spect Eritrean sovereignty irrespective of political
systems .

E. URBAN LAND AND HOUSING

1. Make urban land state property.

2. Nationalize all excess urban houses in order to abol
ish exploitation through rent and improve the liveli
hood of the masses .
3. Set, taking the standard of living into account , a ra
>

tional rent price in order to improve the living con

ditions of the masses .
4. Compensate citizens for nationalized property in ac
cordance with a procedure based on personal in
come and the condition of the national economy .
5. Build appropriate modern houses to alleviate the
shortage of housing for the masses .

3. DEVELOP CULTURE, EDUCATION ,

TECHNOLOGY AND PUBLIC HEALTH

A. CULTURE

1. Obliterate the decadent culture and disgraceful soc

ial habits that Ethiopian colonialism , world im
perialism and zionism have spread in order to sub
jugate and exploit the Eritrean people and destroy
their identity .
2. In the new educational curriculum , provide for the

27 .
 proper dissemination , respect and development of
the history of Eritrea and its people, the struggle
against colonialism , oppression and for national in
dependence, the experience , sacrifices and heroism
as well as the national folklore , traditions and
culture of the Eritrean people .
3. Destroy the bad aspects of the culture and traditions
of Eritrean society and develop its good and pro
gressive content .
4. Ensure that the Eritrean people glorify and eternally
cherish the memory of the heroic martyrs of the
struggle for independence who , guided by revolu
tionary principles , gave their lives for the salvation
of their people and country .
B. EDUCATION AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Combat illiteracy to free the Eritrean people from

the darkness of ignorance .
2. Provide for universal compulsory education up to
the middle school .
.
3

Establish institutions of higher education in the var

ious fields of science, arts , technology, agriculture ,
etc.
4. Grant students scholarships to pursue studies in the
various fields of learning .
5. Establish schools in the various regions of Eritrea in
accordance with the need .
6. Separate education from religion .
7. Make the state run all the schools and provide free
education at all levels .
8. Integrate education with production and put it in

28 .
 the service of the masses .
9. Enable nationals, especially the students and youth ,
to train and develop themselves in the sciences ,
literature, handicrafts and technology through the
formation of their own organizations.
10 . Provide favourable work conditions for experts and
the skilled to enable them to utilize their skills and
knowledge in the service of the masses .
11. Engage in educational, cultural and technological
exchange with other countries on the basis of
mutual benefit and equality.

C PUBLIC HEALTH

1. Render medical services freely to the people .

2. Eradicate contagious diseases and promote public
health by building the necessary hospitals and health
centres all over Eritrea .
3

3. Scientifically develop traditional medicine .

4. Establish sports and athletic facilities and popular
ize them among the masses .

4. SAFEGUARD SOCIAL RIGHTS

A. WORKERS ' RIGHTS

1. Politicize and organize the workers, whose participa

tion in the struggle had been hindered by the
reactionary line and leaderships , and enable them , in
a higher and more organized form , to play their
vanguard role in the revolution .
2. Abolish the system of labour laws and sham trade
unions set up by Ethiopian colonialism and its imper
ialist masters to exploit and oppress Eritrean

29.
 workers .
.
3

Enforce an eight-hour working day and protect the

right of workers to rest one day a week and twenty
five days a year.
4. Promulgate a special labour code that properly pro
tects the rights of workers and enables them to form
unions.
5. Assure workers comfortable housing and decent liv
ing conditions.
6. Devise a social security program to care for an assist
workers who, because of illness , disability or age, are
unable to work .
7. Prohibit unjustified dismissals and undue pay -cuts.
8. Protect the right of workers to participate in the
management and administration of enterprises and
industries.
9. Struggle to eliminate unemployment and protect
every citizen's right to work .

B. WOMEN'S RIGHTS

1. Develop an association through which women can

participate in the struggle against colonial aggression
and for social transformation .
2. Outline a broad program to free women from dom
estic confinement, develop their participation in
social production, and raise their political, cultural
and technical levels .
3. Assure women full rights of equality with men in
politics , economy and social life as well as equal pay
for equal work .
4. Promulgate progressive marriage and family laws .

30.
5
.
Protect the right of women workers to two months '
maternity leave with full pay .
6. Protect the right of mothers and children , provide
delivery, nursery and kindergarten services .
7. Fight to eradicate prostitution.
8. Respect the right of women not to engage in work
harmful to their health .
9. Design programs to increase the number and upgrade
the quality of women leaders and public servants .
C. FAMILIES OF MARTYRS, DISABLED
FIGHTERS AND OTHERS
NEEDING SOCIAL ASSISTANCE
1. Provide necessary care and assistance to all fighters
and other citizens who , in the course of the struggle
against Ethiopian colonialism and for national salva
tion, have suffered disability in jails or in armed
combat .
2. Provide assistance and relief to the victims of Ethiop
ian colonial aggression, orphans, the old and the dis
abled as well as those harmed by natural causes .
3. Render necessary assistance and care for the families
of martyrs .

5.ENSURE THE EQUALITY AND

CONSOLIDATE THE UNITY OF
NATIONALITIES
A. Abolish the system and laws instituted by imperial
ism , Ethiopian colonialism and their lackeys in order
to divide, oppress and exploit the Eritrean people.
B. Rectify all errors committed by opportunists in the

31.
 course of the struggle.
C. Combat national chauvinism as well as narrow na
tionalism .
D. Nurture and strengthen the unity and fraternity of
Eritrean nationalities .
E. Accord all nationalities equal rights and responsibil
ities in leading them toward national progress and
salvation .
F. Train cadres from all nationalities in various fields to
assure common progress .
G. Safeguard the right of all nationalities to preserve
and develop their spoken or written language.
H. Safeguard the right of all nationalities to preserve
and develop their progressive culture and traditions.
I. Forcefully oppose those who, in the pursuit of their
own interests , create cliques on the basis of nationali
ty, tribe, region, etc. , and obstruct the unity of the
revolution and the people.
6. BUILD A STRONG PEOPLE'S ARMY

A. Liberate the land and the people step by step through

the strategy of people's war . Build a strong land , air
and naval force capable of defending the country's
borders, territorial waters, air space and territorial
integrity as well as the full independence, progress
and dignity of its people in order to attain prosperity
and reach the highest economic stage. The people's
army shall be :
-politically conscious , imbued with comradely rela
tions, steeled through revolutionary discipline ,
--- full of resoluteness, imbued with a spirit of self
sacrifice, participating in production, and

32.
 -equipped with modern tactics , weapons and skills.
Being the defender of the interests of the workers
and peasants, it serves the entire people of Eritrea ir
respective of religion , nationality or sex . The basis of
this army is the revolutionary force presently fighting
for national independence and liberation .
B. Establish a people's militia to safeguard the gains of
the revolution and support the People's Army in the
liberated and semi-liberated areas.
C. Establish a progressive and advanced military academy.

7. RESPECT FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND

FAITH
A.

Safeguard every citizen's freedom of religion and be

lief.
B. Completely separate religion from the state and pol
itics .
C. Separate religion from education and allow no com
pulsory religious education .
D. Strictly oppose all the imperialist -created new count
er-revolutionary faiths, such as Jehovas' Witness ,
PenteCostal , Bahai , etc.
E. Legally punish those who try to sow discord in the
struggle and undermine the progress of the Eritrean
people on the basis of religion whether in the course
of the armed struggle or in a people's democratic
Eritrea .

33.
 8. PROVIDE HUMANE TREATMENT TO
PRISONERS OF WAR AND ENCOURAGE THE
DESERTION OF ERITREAN SOLDIERS
SERVING THE ENEMY

A. Oppose the efforts of Ethiopian colonialism to

conscript duped soldiers to serve as tools of
aggression for the oppression and slaughter of the
Eritrean people .

B. Encourage Eritrean soldiers and plainclothesmen who

have been duped into serving in the Ethiopian colonial
army to return to the just cause and join their people
in the struggle against Ethiopian aggression and wel
welcome them to its ranks with full right of equality.
C. Provide humane treatment and care for Ethiopian
war prisoners .
D. Severely punish the die-hard , criminal and atrocious
henchmen and lackeys of Ethiopian colonialism .

9. PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF ERITREANS

RESIDING ABROAD
A. Struggle to organize Eritreans residing abroad in the
already formed mass organizations so they can par
ticipate in the patriotic anti-colonial struggle.
B. Strive to secure the rights of Eritrean refugees in the
neighboring countries, win them the assistance of
international organizations, and work for the im
provement of their living conditions.
C. Welcome nationals who want to return to their coun
try and participate in their people's daily struggles
and advances.

34 .
D. Encourage the return and create the means for the
rehabilitation of Eritreans forced to flee their country
and land by the vicious aggression and oppression of
Ethiopian colonialism .

10. RESPECT THE RIGHTS OF FOREIGNERS

RESIDING IN ERITREA
A. Grant full rights of residence and work to aliens who
have openly or covertly supported the Eritrean
people's struggle against Ethiopian colonial oppres
sion and for national salvation and are willing to live
in harmony with the legal system to be established .
B. Mercilessly punish aliens who , as lackeys and follow
ers of Ethiopian colonialism , imperialism and
zionism , spy on or become obstacles to the Eritrean
people.

11. PURSUE A FOREIGN POLICY OF

PEACE AND NON-ALLIGNMENT
A. Welcome the assistance of any country or organiza
tion which recognizes and supports the just struggle
of the Eritrean people without interference in its in
ternal affairs.
B.
Establish diplomatic relations with all countries irre
spective of political and economic system on the
basis of the following five principles :
-Respect for each other's independence, territorial
integrity, and national sovereignty;
-Mutual non-aggression ;
-Non -interference in internal affairs.
-Equality and mutual benefit;
-Peaceful co -existence .

35 .
C. Establish good friendly relations with all neighbours .
D. Expand cultural, economic and technological ties
with all countries of the world compatible with na
tional sovereignity and independence and based on
equality. Do not align with any world military bloc
or allow the establishment of any foreign military
bases on Eritrean soil .
E. Support all just and revolutionary movements, as our
struggle is an integral part of the international rev
olutionary movement in general, and the struggle of
the African , Asian and Latin American peoples
against colonialism , imperialism , zionism and racial
discrimination in particular.

VICTORY TO THE MASSES !

Adopted by the First Congress of the EPLF on

January 31st , 1977

36 .
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