The other members of the delegation were Mr. Medhanie Habtezghi, head of the EPDP Youth Office, Mr. Dawit Araya, chairman of EPDP Norway branch and Mr Osman Jaber, member of the EPDP Foreign Office.
In the opening of the meeting, Mr. Menghesteab stated his condolence for the massacre of about 70 innocent youngsters in Utøya, and he recalled all the positive role and tremendous contribution of the Norwegian Community to Eritreans during their struggle for independence. Extending his speech Mr Menghesteab gave a vast and detailed information about the current human rights and political situation in Eritrean. In his narration, he said that after 30 years of bloody war with Ethiopia the Eritrean people succeeded in achieving their long cherished goal of independence; but the people of Eritrea have not yet been liberated from oppression. Eritreans could not exercise even their fundamental human rights because of the repressive nature of the regime in power and its extreme dictatorship. In addition, the open ended national service and shortage of basic necessities like food, water, shelter, health and education services has led to despair and made life unbearable.
While speaking about the situation of the opposition camp, Mr. Menghesteab said, the opposition is growing larger day by day but it is still fragmented. The endeavour to create a viable umbrella is continuing and your help in this regard is essential.
The Chairman also briefed the host about the aims of the Eritrean People's Democratic Party (EPDP), how it was established and the activities it carried in the past five years of its formation. He stated that EPDP is a member of the Progressive Alliance and observer member of the Socialist International.
in concluding his remarks Mr. Menghesteab said urged the international community in general and Norway in particular to help Eritrea from becoming a failed state by supporting the non-state actors and the opposition groups.
Regarding the issues of refugee Mr. Menghesteab said the source of the problem is the regime in Eritrea and closing borders or helping the regime with millions of Euros will not solve the problem. A change of the system for a better future is the way forward, he added.
Mr Medhanie Habtezghi, the Head Officer of the Youth Affairs in EPDP, elaborated how the Norwegian people and government can help in alleviating the situation in Eritrea. In his explanation, he proposed that the Norwegian government can play its role and contribute a lot in the opposition camp’s unification process especially by creating and offering dialog forums, studying groups, giving human development course and other facilities.
Mr. Medhanie talked about the young Eritrean asylum seekers’ conditions all over the world in general and in Norway in particular. He argued that despite the Young Eritreans have a good and internationally well recognized and known ground to flee their homeland, many Eritrean youth in Norway have got rejection to their request for asylum. Reminding the presence of a number of Eritreans in Norwegian refugee camps for more than 10 years as asylum seekers, Mr. Medhanie said, that the productive period of their youth age is being squandered without meaningful achievements. They are receiving no education, no profession, no work; they are really damaged mentally and psychologically.
The Norway EPDP branch’s Chairman Mr. Dawit Araya also added to Mr. Medhanie’s idea by narrating the details the Eritrean refugees are facing in Norway. Mr. Dawit then urged the concerned Norwegian Authorities’ to have a proper understanding of the condition and to take appropriate measures in resolving the problems.
Mr. Odd-Inge Kvalheim, the International Secretary of the Labour Party, agreed about the cause that is forcing Eritreans to leave their country. He mentioned that many European countries including Norway were forced to close their embassies and councilor offices.
In his speech Mr. Odd-Inge stated that members of the staff of embassies of different countries including Norway were even prevented from going outside Asmara.
Mr. Inge Kvalheim expressed his concern about the aftermath of Isaias’s regime and wished the Eritrean people peace, justice and prosperity.
He promised that he will share the information from the delegation with the concerned Party leaders.
Representative of EPDP Information Office Norway Branch
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