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Gherezghiher Tewelde, Chairman of the Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), called on the Swiss Socialist Party and other members of the global Progressive Alliance (PA) to kindly give appropriate attention to the  ongoing dire situation in Eritrea through empowering Eritrean opposition forces in forced exile.

Logs of the Swiss Socialist Party, the EPDP and the PA, a 12-year old Political International

with about 140 progressive and democratic parties and organizations from all continents. 

In hand-delivered copies of the solidarity message to the congress of the Swiss Socialist Party (SP) held on 25 October in Luzern, the EPDP Chairman stated: “We in EPDP and other Eritrean pro-democracy forces are in urgent need of attention and support from you and other sister parties and associations in the Progressive Alliance (PA) to help in ending the prolonged oppression and suffering in Eritrea, a third of whose population is already living in forced exile and displacement.” The EPDP Chairman’s message, which did not only speak for his party, also called for forging “close relation with us, Eritrean pro-democracy forces, so that we can unify our fragmented forces for change.”

Below is the full text of the solidarity message that was handed to SP’s co-chairpersons, Ms Meyer and Mr.Wermuth, as well as to Party leaders through SP Foreign Relations Secretary, Sandro Liniger.’ (The SP, also called the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland, was founded in October 1888, and is the second largest of the four major coalitions in the Swiss Parliament).

Full Text of the EPDP Chair Message

Honourable Swiss SP Leadership and

Distinguished Congress Participants,

I, the undersigned chairman of the EPDP, am very much pleased to send this solidarity message to your congress with our party’s delegation attending the Progressive Alliance’s Gender Equality Working Group Conference in Luzern, Switzerland, and wish you a resounding success in the deliberations and outcome of this SP congress.

The EPDP leadership with party’s rank and file feel honoured to have joined your SP and other fraternal parties as a founding signatory of the Progressive Alliance 12 years ago in Leipzig, Germany. I also feel pride to mention here that our party kept in touch with the SP Foreign Office for a long time and always encouraged its branch members and other Eritreans in Switzerland to continuously vote for SP candidates at your federal and local elections.

Dear SP Co-Chairpersons: M.Meyer and C.Wermuth,

Since the dire situation in Eritrea is very well known to you and your party, allow me to say that we at EPDP and other Eritrean pro-democracy forces are in urgent need of attention and support from you and other sister parties and association in the PA to help in ending the prolonged oppression and suffering in Eritrea, a third of whose population is already living in forced exile and displacement. The basic demands we can list include your kind follow up of the hardships faced by Eritrean refugees, including those in Switzerland, and the forging of effective close relation with us, Eritrean pro-democracy forces, so that we can unify our fragmented forces for change. We trust your party’s close and effective involvement to prepare Eritrean opposition forces for a smooth transition in post-dictatorship Eritrea will prove to be a worthwhile task in building peace and democracy in the troubled Red Sea and Horn of Africa region.

I again wish this Congress a resounding success, and express my party's strong interest to keep in touch with your party and civic associations affiliated with it.

Respectfully yours,

Gherezghiher Tewelde, EPDP, Chairman.