The People’s Liberation Front of Eritrea ( Tigrinya ህዝባዊ ደሞክራስያዊ ግንባር ኤርትራ, ህደግኤ , Arabic. الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير رريتريا ; NFEE ) is an armed separatist organization that fought to separate Eritrea from Ethiopia . Formed in 1970 by a group of leftist intelligentsia, which broke away from the Eritrea Liberation Front (FOE).
| Eritrea People's Liberation Front | |
|---|---|
| tigrinya ህዝባዊ ግንባር, ህግ Arab. الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير إريتريا | |
 | |
| Leader | Isayas Afevork |
| Established | 1970 (split from FOE ) |
| Dissolution date | 1994 (Transformation into the Popular Front for Democracy and Justice ) |
| Headquarters | Nakfa , Sahel , Eritrea |
| Ideology | Eritrean nationalism Marxism-Leninism socialism secularism self determination left nationalism Eritrean socialism |
| Site | |
The predominantly Christian NFEE and the predominantly Muslim FOE initially fought with each other in the civil war (1972-1979). The Marxist NFEE became the predominant rebel force by 1980 and continued the war for independence from Ethiopia. In 1991, the NFEE managed to secure the liberation of Eritrea , after which in 1994 it changed its name to the Popular Front for Democracy and Justice , becoming the only legitimate ruling party in Eritrea.
NFEE Congresses
The first congress of the NFEE was held in January 1977. The organization’s policy was formally formulated at the congress, the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General were elected, and the program was adopted. Among the goals of the program was the liberalization of women's rights, as well as the implementation of a broad educational policy to preserve all the languages of Eritrea and improve the literacy of the population. It was also stated that the borders of a liberated Eritrean state would be based on Italian colonial treaties.
At the Second Congress, the NFEE and the Eritrean Liberation Front / Central Leadership (also sometimes referred to as the Central Command (CC)) merged (which was also called the Unity Congress) . [1] The congress was the culmination of three years of negotiations, as a result of which the two groups leading the armed struggle in October 1986 united under a single command. [one]
The third and last congress of the NFEE was held in 1994 in Asmara . Its significance lies in transforming the Popular Front for the Liberation of Eritrea from a military organization into a political movement. At this congress, the name of the organization was changed to the Popular Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ).
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Doris, Burgess; Cliffe, Lionel. EPLF Second Congress (Eng.) // Review of African Political Economy : journal. - Vol. 14 , no. 38 . - P. 107 . - DOI : 10.1080 / 03056248708703724 .