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.
