| | Eritrean politics has been transformed in the past eighteen months. The 30 year long fight for independence from Ethiopia, that was finally achieved in 1991, had forged a powerful political and military force in the shape of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF). The movement had showed a resilience and determination in the face of apparently overwhelming odds. It led the Eritrean people, three million strong, in a seemingly hopeless war against fifty million Ethiopians, backed first by the US, and then by the Soviet Union. It was a performance that inspired the majority of its own people, and won considerable international political support - particularly from European social democrats. |
