PIA’s Bombshell Independence Day Announcement

President Isaias Afwerki 

PIA’s Bombshell Independence Day Announcement


By Bereket Kidane,

President Isaias Afewerki’s bombshell Independence Day Announcement regarding the drafting of a new constitution does not come as a surprise to those of us who have been saying all along that President Isaias Afewerki, who is the George Washington of Eritrea because he was a leader during the fight for independence and later became its first President, and the current Government of Eritrea are keenly aware of the frailties of human nature and that when the time is right they will bequeath a working, constitutional government to the next generation.

The fact that the drafting of a new constitution was announced today might come as a surprise to some, but it shouldn’t if you have been paying attention for the last three years or so. President Isaias has hinted at this on several occasions.  The 1997 constitution had many good things in it so it can still serve as the basis.  The Eritrean people and their government can leverage the 1997 constitution, keep the parts that they think will work and are appropriate for the Eritrean society and discard the ones that won't work as well. This is perfectly normal.

Nations go through many changes early in their nationhood.  Eritrea at 23 years old is a baby.  The history of nations is written over a long period of time. The 1997 constitution was written while Eritrea was a brand new state and its government was new to the business of running a modern nation-state.  With the benefit of hindsight and experience, Eritrea can produce a new and more perfect document that will help it form a better governing document.

The timing is appropriate in that the political fortunes of Eritrea’s arch enemy, Weyane Tigray, also appear to be changing.  Weyane is itself in trouble with the ethnic federalism it introduced to the Ethiopian polity and doesn't pose the threat it once did to the Eritrean State.

Eritrea is fortunate in some ways because it was tested early in its infancy and survived the challenges to its sovereignty and nationhood.  As the saying goes, “What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.”  Having survived the early challenges to its nationhood from a determined enemy, it can now chart a new road map for the future Eritrean State and its posterity.  President Isaias has hinted at this several times in the past so work on this matter might be further along than one suspects.

In any case, Eritrea now has the benefit of hindsight and the experience of running a modern nation-state in this complex  global arena that will enable it to come up with a more suitable governing document for its posterity.

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