I. Twenty‑Five Years After September 18, 2001A Reform Movement Unlike Any Other
The G‑15’s emergence less than ten years after independence is not merely an episode in Eritrea’s political history; it is an anomaly in the global tradition of liberation‑movement governance. Movements that come to power through militarized struggle, revolutionary mythology, and single‑party dominance do not produce internal reformers in a decade — they usually do not produce them at all. Although I was familiar with social science literature, I still remember the moment, almost twenty years ago, when the late Ambassador Adhanom Gebremariam articulated this point with striking clarity. His argument surprised me not because it was unfamiliar, but because it captured Eritrea’s experience with such precision.
This comparative lens is exactly what our brother M. Brhan Idris has consistently urged us to adopt in analyzing Eritrean politics here at Awate, and he is right. Only through comparison do we grasp the full magnitude of what the G‑15 attempted — how rare it is for insiders of a liberation movement to challenge authoritarian drift so early, and how extraordinary their intervention remains in the broader history of post‑revolutionary states.
Angola’s MPLA took thirty years before tolerating even limited pluralism; Zimbabwe’s ZANU‑PF never generated an internal democratic current; Algeria’s FLN resisted reform for generations. Against this backdrop, Eritrea’s G‑15 stands out as the earliest and most serious attempt by insiders to confront the authoritarian drift of a liberation regime. Their intervention proves that Eritrea’s failure to democratize was not inevitable, not cultural, and not structural. It was a political choice made at the top — in defiance of a reform movement that arose faster than almost any comparable case on the continent.
This is not to deny the enabling role that history, culture, and institutional legacies play in the rise or persistence of authoritarianism. But history and culture are not destiny. In the end, political outcomes turn on decisions — and on September 18, 2001, Isaias Afwerki made a catastrophe. He placed his personal ambition to remain in power above the interests of the country and its people. The members of the G‑15, by contrast, placed the future of the nation above their own safety. They could have toppled him; they had the standing, the networks, and the legitimacy to do so. But they believed that such a rupture would set a dangerous precedent for Eritrea’s democratic future. Instead, they chose the harder path: to pay democracy’s down payment with their own lives.
This heroic act should never be forgotten. We have a responsibility to keep their names, their stories, and their sacrifice alive. On this Silver Jubilee, I remember and honor them all — but I do so with tenderness for my friend, the late Ambassador Adhanom Gebremariam, a man I came to genuinely like, respect, and deeply miss. His clarity, his integrity, and his unwavering belief in responsible reform shaped my understanding of the G‑15 and the democratic promise they carried. His absence is felt not only personally, but nationally.
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II. The False Argument Against Them
A few Eritreans try to undermine what the G‑15 did by arguing that they were the architects of the system and merely wanted to “fix” their beloved EPLF/PFDJ rather than democratize the country. This argument collapses under even minimal historical scrutiny. Reformers do not need to be democrats to fight for democracy. History is full of examples: Spain’s democratic transition was initiated by Franco’s own ministers; South Korea’s democratization began with generals who had served under authoritarian rule; Taiwan’s democratic opening was led by the Kuomintang, the very party that built the one‑party state; Mexico’s democratic reforms were initiated by PRI insiders; and in Eastern Europe, many of the first reformers were communist elites who recognized that the system had reached a dead end. In all these cases, democratization began not with outsiders but with insiders who understood the system intimately and saw its dangers clearly.
III. The Logic of Responsible Reform
The G‑15 followed the same logic. Their own words make their intentions unmistakable: they called for constitutionalism, institutionalization, internal party democracy, and a transition toward democratic governance. As a tactical move, they chose the responsible path — reforming their organization first. This is not naïveté; it is political realism. Elite disconsensus is where reform begins. No country democratizes without fractures inside the ruling elite. The G‑15 were not apocalyptic actors seeking to burn down the house; they were reformers trying to prevent the house from collapsing. They understood that regime change through rupture would be catastrophic for a fragile new state. Reform was the safer, wiser, and more practical route toward democratization.
IV. Ambassador Adhanom’s Insight
I know this not only from comparative political history but from years of conversations with the late Ambassador Adhanom Gebremariam, who articulated this logic with clarity and conviction. Over nearly two decades, he explained that the G‑15’s approach was grounded in responsibility: democratization must begin inside the ruling structure because that is where the levers of power reside. Reforming the EPLF/PFDJ was not an act of loyalty to the party; it was an act of loyalty to the country.
I had similar conversations with Mesfin Hagos and Ambassador Haile Menkerios, and they all share the same analytical DNA — the same sober understanding of how change must begin, the same insistence that responsible reform is the only path that avoids national rupture. But it was Adhanom who first brought this insight to my attention, and it was Adhanom who drilled it into my skull with patience, rigor, and affection. His clarity shaped my thinking; his integrity shaped my respect; his absence shapes my grief.
V. September 18, 2001: The Day Memory Was Criminalized
And yet, on September 18, 2001, these men — patriots, founders, and nation‑builders — were arrested for daring to initiate the first serious democratic opening in Eritrea’s modern history. Last year, I wrote an article titled “Sept. 18, 2001: The Day Memory Was Criminalized” to honor them. But this year marks their Silver Jubilee, twenty‑five years since their imprisonment, and silence would be a betrayal. I owe them more than remembrance. I owe them testimony.
VI. Heroes Who Served Twice
They served their country twice, as if they possessed two lives: once to liberate Eritrea from Ethiopian rule, and again to attempt to liberate it from authoritarianism. They knew the trajectory the country was on was dangerous. They knew dissent would invite retaliation. And still, they put everything on the line. They chose to be the sacrificial lambs, not because they were naïve, but because they were responsible. They believed Eritrea deserved better than a militarized state ruled by fear and myth.
Their sacrifice was the down payment they made on behalf of all of us. It is our responsibility to renew our solemn pledge to continue and finish what they began. We should be grateful that Mesfin Hagos and Haile Menkerios are still with us — still speaking, still insisting on accountability, still fighting to bring change. Their very presence is a living reminder of the enormous national obligation we have yet to shoulder.
I feel the same way about all the veterans of our liberation struggle who, even in their sunset years, continue to push for democratic change in Eritrea. But this moment belongs to the G‑15, and it is only right that the spotlight remains on them — on their courage, their clarity, and the price they paid so the country might find a different future.
Adhanom Ghebremariam, Aster Fesehazion, Beraki Gebreselassie, Berhane Ghebrezgabiher, Estifanos Seyoum, Germano Nati, Haile Menkerious, Haile Woldense, Hamid Himid, Ogbe Araha, Mesfin Hagos, Mahmoud Sherifo, Petros Solomon, and Saleh Kekya.
Technically, the G‑15 should be known as the G‑14, since one of its original members, Mohammed Berhan Blata, retracted his involvement. Yet he later deserted the regime and has since become one of the most sensible and principled voices in the exiled opposition — a consistent advocate for national unity whose moral clarity has only deepened with time.
I am aware that it has been a long waiting, but I take comfort in the ancestral adage: ወዲ ጭዋ እናሓደረ ይውርዚ፣ ወዲ በዓለግ እናሓደረ ይግዕዚ — a child of noble birth grows wiser over time, while one of base birth grows more unruly. Eritrea is full of ጭዋ. We are growing wiser, and we will take our country back. The lesson of our forebears stands before us: ወዲ ዓዲ ምስ ደቀሰ: ጒሒላ ምስ ገስገሰ: ሃገር ተባሳበሰ — when the citizens slept and the thief advanced, the country was destroyed. It is exactly what has happened and it is time that we take responsibility and do what is right and keep our eyes on the prize: freedom and self-rule (democracy).
No doubt that we will wake from our long slumber. We will reclaim what is truly ours. And we will slay the dragon.
VII. The Opposition’s Missed Moment
The G‑15’s call for internal reform was the correct first step, but it was not complemented by the opposition outside the country. Nor were the exiled members of the G‑15 able to chip away at their historical constituencies inside the EPLF/PFDJ. They were forced, reluctantly, to work with traditional opposition groups who had once been expelled from Eritrea by them. That chapter was never reconciled, and its unresolved tensions still haunt Eritrean politics today. We must reclaim our ancestral wisdom of ስጋ በሊዕካ ዓጽሚ ነገር ወዲኢካ ፈጽሚ. Having eaten the meat, finish with the bone; having started a matter, finish with a conclusion. The English equivalent is “Finish what you started” or “See things through to the end.”
VIII. Eritrea’s Unhealed Wounds
This is one of Eritrea’s deepest historical wounds: the EPLF, once in power, never made a serious effort to reconcile historical grievances or close the chapter of the liberation era. The movement that had united a critical mass of Eritreans in sacrifice and struggle failed to unite them in peace. The tyrant of Eritrea perfected the art of rapprochement with foreign enemies — allying with one to attack another, then switching sides to strike his former ally — yet he never extended an olive branch to his own people. His diplomacy abroad was opportunistic; his posture at home was punitive.
Nothing is more heartbreaking than seeing bona fide Eritrean heroes — men who gave their youth and their lives to liberate the nation — buried in foreign lands because their own country denied them dignity in life and in death. A nation that cannot honor its liberators has already begun to lose its moral compass. As much as I was happy to pay my last respects to my friend, Ambassador Adhanom Gebremariam, I was even sadder that he had to be buried in Virgina and not in Martyrs Cemeteries in Asmera, Dekemhare, or even his own ancestral village of Afelba.
Based on fifty years of record, I am convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that Isaias Afwerki has no love for the people of Eritrea or for the country itself. When a ruler lacks this basic ingredient — the elemental bond between leaders and people — tyranny is not an aberration but a norm. It becomes the governing logic, the default mode, the only political grammar he knows. And Eritrea has paid the price for that absence of love in every domain: political, social, economic, and moral.
IX. A Silver Jubilee Pledge
The G‑15 tried to prevent this tragedy. They saw the danger early, acted responsibly, and paid the highest price. Remembering them is not an act of nostalgia; it is an act of national duty. Their struggle is unfinished, but their example remains our compass. On this Silver Jubilee, we must rally behind their democratic call and finally bring the change our people deserve. Eritrea’s future depends on whether we honor their sacrifice not only with words, but with action.
To Ambassador Adhanom, and to those who have allegedly died in prison, I say: your memory is eternal. And to Mesfin Hagos, Haile Menkerios, and all who are still languishing in jail, may the Almighty grant you health and longevity so you may witness the day when your vision of a democratic Eritrea begins to take root.
Thank you for paving the way. It is now up to us to finish it.
To Contact the author: weriz@gmail.com
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