English Articles

Thanks Dr. MK Omar for Inputs Enriching the Eritrean Library

Monday, 10 February 2025 14:46 Written by Woldeyesus Ammar

Many Eritreans are for sure not well aware of how much poor the Eritrean library still is. Records of the colonial period were themselves scanty on top of being mostly distorted or written by less informed authors. But nothing can be done about that except regretting that it was so. Eritreans of the first two to three decades of the post-Italian period cannot also be blamed for the failure to adequately put in record what was going around them because they were denied the educational background for such an endeavor. We also know what happened to us in the past 6-7 decades for not contributing enough in order to enrich the Eritrean library. One can of course mention the 30-year national liberation struggle and what followed it since 1991 as causes for the failure to write. (A few compatriots, on top of them Alemseged Tesfai and Mufti Ibrahim Mukhtar, could be spared the blame – i.e. until we see what awaits for us in Asmara’s ‘Ye Tiravolo Washa’, as the late Tesfaye Ghebreab hinted).

Anyway, to make a quick jump to today’s point: it is my gut feeling that a vast majority of Eritreans, including many of our educated ones, lack a fair knowledge of the story of what we used to call the Eritrean Liberation Front/ELF or ‘Jebha.’ This is mainly because there has not been sufficient and fair documentation about it, at least in English. And most of the few that exist were penned down by writers with some bias or utter ignorance of all the necessary facts. To my judgment, the prevailing lack of sufficient documentation and knowledge about the ELF is a good example of the poverty of the Eritrean library.

Recently, I came across a new book entitled ‘Eritrea’s Liberation Journey: 1969-1981’ by Mohammed Kheir Omar (PhD), a writer who may not be new to those used to read his ongoing Eritrea-related articles on the social media or his Hedgait blog, not forgetting his earlier book that ambitiously tried to cover Eritrean history from ancient times to 1968. These are commendable efforts by an Eritrean intellectual who deserves a warm thank you by us readers. Let us also hope and pray that others will follow his path in order to help fill at least some of the blind spots in our recent past.

Dr.MK Omar’s new book focuses on the period 1969 to 1981 that he rightly considers “a pivotal decade” in Eritrea’s prolonged struggle for national independence. I can say he fully understands how much little some Eritreans know about their own people’s contribution in the struggle. In fact he says his main aim in writing the book was to give “an accurate account of ELF’s role in the liberation struggle—often overshadowed or distorted” by the winner organization and its partisan chroniclers. Also in the outset, the writer reassured readers that he tried to cover the period “objectively.” Well, it is easy to say that because the final judgment rests with readers who can definitely include those who usually base their judgment on “base” things – like name of the writer and his/her birthplace. Here, the author is Mohammed and his hometown is Agordat.

On my part, I found the book to be fairly well balanced, as the author promised. And equally importantly, it is full of new facts, new even for those who lived throughout the liberation struggle days.

Fully matching with my knowledge and understanding, Mohammed Kheir’s book rightly informs that, although the armed struggle was started by the ELF, it in fact was a “spontaneous popular uprising against the Ethiopian repression” throughout Eritrea, with many acts of resistance occurring, spearheaded mainly by the younger generation.

The book pertinently refutes the distorted Ethiopian claim that the formation of the Eritrean liberation movement was initiated by Egypt. He exposes the utter lack of substantiation to this argument because “the Eritrean independence movement was well-established by the 1940s, predating Egypt’s 1952 revolution.”

The author at one point wished to question as to why the EPLF regarded Patriot Woldeab Woldeab as “the Godfather of the Eritrean Revolution” while he was known for controversial comments not officially acceptable to both fronts. This indeed is a point still to be scrutinized by future historians who would have to compare roles and contributions of all our patriotic fathers, on top of them, I would say, Ibrahim Sultan Ali, the leader of the biggest party that called for independence as of mid-1940s and was instrumental in obtaining the Eritrean symbolisms that helped in strengthening Eritrean nationalism.

In writing the book, Dr. Mohammed Kheir used primary sources by interviewing people who took part in those events mentioned in addition to using references not only to English and Tigrigna books but also to rare sources in Arabic and Amharic which are not accessible to everybody. For instance, the author’s use of Arabic books written by key actors in the struggle like the then ELF army chief Abdalla Idris, army commander Idris Hangala, ELF/PLF’s Osman Denden, the Syrian Ahmed Abu Saada, testimonies by the Sudanese intelligence person Al Fatih Urwa and others add huge value in balancing and analyzing facts in the book. Viewpoints on Eritrea and the ELF in Amharic books by former Ethiopian fighters like Ghebru Asrat and Ghidey Zeratzion are also fairly well covered in the book.

Among other things, the book delves deep into the causes of internal Eritrean divisions and conflicts that bedeviled the struggle for a long time. On top of the list are region, religion and ethnicity followed by leadership rivalries and ideological differences.

The book affirms that the main culprits for splits in the Eritrean liberation struggle were Osman Saleh Sabbe, Isaias Afeworki and Abdalla Idris.

The author also quotes many sources charging Abdalla Idris to be the main, although not the sole, cause for the military defeat of the ELF whose army was led till its end by persons close to Abdalla Idris, and all of them Muslims except one Christian (Tesfai Tekle), who was also from the western lowlands. The author did not mention that over 80% of the ELF army till its defeat was from the Eritrean highlands.

On his part, the Ethiopian Gebru Asrat is quoted to have admitted that “the ELF had a more considerable, well-trained force” and wouldn’t have been defeated if it were not to the participation of the Ethiopian TPLF in the Eritrean civil war and ELF’s internal tag-of-war within the leadership.

Whatever the cause of ELF’s defeat, the writer asserts that its defeat led to Isaias Afeworki’s consolidation of power within his front that ended with the establishment of dictatorship in independent Eritrea. The author also blames the “uncritical acceptance” of the front’s followers of the “hegemonic narrative” of the EPLF.

The book argues that the characterization of the ELF and Muslim elements in general as reactionary was not only harmful but also untrue. He tells the stories of the secret parties in both fronts and lists of their founders who were mostly Muslims. The founders of the Labour Party of the ELF in 1968 included names like Ahmed Mohamed Ali Isa, its first chairman, Azien Yassin, Ibrahim Mohammed Ali, Mahmoud Mohamed Saleh, Saleh Eyay and others. The book notes that Kidane Kiflu was around in the Sudan when the party was formed but was excluded from being party member, probably, the author adds, because of the mistrust that prevailed in the field at that particular time.

When EPLF’s secret party, the EPRP/Eritrean People’s Revolutionary Party was established at Mount Gedem in 1971, its founders were mostly Muslims: Ramadan Mohamed Nur, Ibrahim Affa, Mohamed Ali Umaro, Abubakr Mohamed Hassen Gadi, Mahmoud Ahmed Sherifo, Mesfin Hagos, Isaias Afeworki, Ali Seid Abdella, Maasho Embaye, Ahmed Mohamed Nur Hilal, Ahmed Saleh al Gaisi, and Ahmed Tahir Baduri.

Dr. Mohammed Kheir concludes the book by referring to old divisions that left “lasting scars” on Eritrea’s political and social fabric and that continued to shape “the liberation struggle and resonate in Eritrea’s post-independence governance.”

In a word, I dare say it is a book that can help readers fill gaps in their knowledge of our modern political history which has not yet taken a good shape.

======

1 https://www.amazon.com/ERITREAs-LIBERATION-JOURNEY-1969-BEYOND/dp/B0DTGDJY84/ref=sr_1_1
2 www.geeska.com
3 https://books.google.ch/books?id=Eg_PDwAAQBAJ&printsec=copyright&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

EPDP: A Short Profile, 2025

Friday, 10 January 2025 05:52 Written by Degiga

Eritrea.LIBERTY Magazine Issue Nr.86

Wednesday, 01 January 2025 20:25 Written by EPDP Foreign Affairs Office

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

Monday, 25 November 2024 16:53 Written by Progressive Alliance

Dear Comrades, dear Friends,

Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The Progressive Alliance reaffirms its unwavering commitment to combating all forms of gender-based violence. This year, we spotlight the unique struggles faced by women in politics and activism, who are disproportionately targeted by violence aimed at silencing their voices and excluding them from public life.

We uphold this day as a day of both resistance to gender-based violence and support for fellow activists and politicians. Here is the statement initiated by our Gender Equality Working Group:

X: https://x.com/PA_Solidarity/status/1860999850323574815
Website: https://bit.ly/IDEVAW2024WomenInPolitics

We thank the Gender Equality Working Group members for this initiative and to all of you for sharing this call.

In solidarity,

Machris

Violence Against Women Day, November 25 th , 2024)

Sunday, 24 November 2024 12:28 Written by Eritrean Women’s Association of North America

Rounded up, massacred and posted on social media: can Ethiopia bring justice for atrocities in Tigray?

Friday, 08 November 2024 18:49 Written by Martin Plaut

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By Martin Plaut on 07/11/2024

By Martin Plaut on 07/11/2024

The massacre at Mahbere Dego in Tigray is just one atrocity in the brutal war that engulfed northern Ethiopia from 2020 to 2022.About 600,000 people died, according to Olusegun Obasanjo, a negotiator for the African Union and former president of Nigeria. Many died from disease and hunger when aid was blocked to Tigray, prompting a UN investigation into accusations of Ethiopia’s government using starvation as a weapon.

Source: The Guardian

The country is about to start investigating crimes reported in a brutal regional war. But trust is at an all-time low and survivors feel forgotten

Fred Harter in Axum and Mahbere DegoThu 7 Nov 2024 09.00 GMTShare

Meaza Teklemariam was seven months pregnant when the soldiers came to her home in January 2021, dragged her husband, Tsegaye, outside and bound his hands together, before taking him away with other men from their neighbourhood in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.

“They said to him, ‘You are a fighter, you are a fighter’,” says Meaza, tears rolling down her cheeks. “He kept saying, ‘No, no. I’m a farmer, I’m a civilian.’”

Europe is turning a blind eye because Ethiopia is an important partner in Africa

European diplomat

Videos filmed by the soldiers and posted on social media show what happened next. The soldiers gather dozens of men on a rocky clifftop. Then they lead them to the edge and shoot them with automatic rifles. The limp bodies are tossed into the valley below, as the soldiers fire rounds into anyone showing signs of life.

At one point, before the slaughter begins, a smiling soldier with a rifle slung over his shoulder beckons to the camera. “Why don’t you go closer and film?” he asks. “You should film how these are going to die.” In another video a soldier identifies his name and military unit and then passes his phone to a comrade who films him shooting someone.

A stone monument marks the site of the Mahbere Dego massacre in Tigray. Photograph: Fred Harter

Today, a modest stone monument stands at the massacre site in Mahbere Dego town in Tigray, where children graze herds of donkeys and cattle among the orange aloe vera flowers. A tally by local officials, reviewed by the Guardian, puts the number of people killed at 50. It was six months before relatives discovered their loved ones’ remains, when the soldiers withdrew from the area in the face of a rebel offensive.

People were identified by their scattered belongings: tattered identity cards, charred shoes and bloodstained bits of clothing. Bones were collected in sacks as the sounds of battle echoed in the surrounding mountains, and buried in mass graves at two local churches.

“It was heartbreaking,” says priest Gebremeskal Berhe, standing beside one of the graves at his church of Mahbere Tsadkan. “We don’t know the exact number of people buried here,” he says. “We can only guess.”

This massacre is just one atrocity in the brutal war that engulfed northern Ethiopia from 2020 to 2022. About 600,000 people died, according to Olusegun Obasanjo, a negotiator for the African Union and former president of Nigeria. Many died from disease and hunger when aid was blocked to Tigray, prompting a UN investigation into accusations of Ethiopia’s government using starvation as a weapon. An estimated 100,000 women were raped, and UN investigators concluded all sides committed war crimes, including rebels from Tigray when they entered the neighbouring regions of Afar and Amhara.https://interactive.guim.co.uk/uploader/embed/2024/06/tigray-zip/giv-13425ASYdATaAp76C/

Now, two years after the war ended, Ethiopia is preparing to launch a transitional justice process. In April, its cabinet approved a policy setting up a special prosecutor and court to deal with the most serious abuses, as well as a truth commission with powers to grant reparations and amnesties to mend fractured community relationships. Their work will start in the coming months, covering not just the recent civil war, but all crimes committed in the country since 1995, when its constitution came into force.

The transitional justice policy has drawn praise from donors such as the US and the European Union, which froze aid to Ethiopia during the conflict and demanded a transitional justice process before they normalised relations. But it has been criticised by international and national human rights groups, who question the government’s commitment to accountability.

During the conflict, the government cut Tigray’s phone lines and officials downplayed or denied accusations its forces and allies committed abuses. Eritrean troops fought alongside Ethiopia’s military, but Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, denied their presence for months. The ministry of justice says it has carried out investigations but has released little information about findings, raising fears the transitional justice process will be similarly opaque.

Laetitia Bader, Horn of Africa director at Human Rights Watch, says: “Time and time again, the government has demonstrated outright resistance to any international oversight, scrutiny and transparency. And we are seeing that again with this process.”

A major concern is the lack of international participation in the process. A group of Ethiopian academics who helped draft the policy floated the possibility of including international experts as judges, investigators and commissioners, but the final policy limits them to training and advisory roles.

The government has insisted on a nationally led process, under the banner of “African solutions to African problems”, and refused to cooperate with the UN investigation, whose mandate it lobbied hard to end. The investigation was allowed to quietly lapse last year, as the 3BpYS0yMDIzLTEwLTAzLw=">EU restored €600m (£500m) in frozen funding to Ethiopia, a move that seemed to indicate a shelving of its demands for accountability.

“Europe is turning a blind eye because Ethiopia is an important partner in Africa,” alleges a European diplomat in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital.

One senior member of the UN investigation says: “We left the process with the view Ethiopia was not serious about accountability, that this was something they were primarily doing for external consumption.” They describe this tactic as “quasi-compliance”.

A government spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

There is still fighting in Amhara and Oromia, Ethiopia’s biggest regions, where security forces face accusations of abuses. This includes a massacre of dozens of civilians early this year, which the government is yet to investigate. Much of these regions are too dangerous for officials, so it is not clear how the transitional process will work there. Civil society groups say the ongoing atrocities cast doubt on the government’s commitment to accountability.

The new special prosecutor will have powers to extradite suspects, but Eritrea sending men to face justice in Ethiopia is a remote prospect, with its president, Isaias Afwerki, calling allegations of war crimes in Tigray “a fantasy”.

Eritrean troops have been accused of committing some of the worst atrocities of the war. This includes the massacre of hundreds of men and boys in Axum, an hour’s drive north of Mahbere Dego through flat farmland. On 28 and 29 November 2020, Eritrean soldiers reportedly carried out a door-to-door killing spree after clashing with local militia in this ancient city, whose church is believed by Orthodox Ethiopians to house the Ark of the Covenant.

At her home in Axum’s old town, Tirhas Berha recalls how gunfire rang through the city. Then a group of Eritrean troops barged in. She says they ordered her husband, Tamrat, into the street, lined him up with five other men and opened fire.

When she eventually managed to drag him inside, Tamrat was still breathing. But he bled to death in front of her and their children two hours later. They could not leave their home to bury his decomposing body for three days.

Trust in government institutions is low in Tigray. According to a recent survey, just 2% of people living there want domestic courts to adjudicate. This includes Berha, who has little confidence her husband’s killers will ever be prosecuted.

“We need justice, but it’s been four years and nothing has happened. They have just forgotten about us,” she says.

“No one can understand how I feel.” As she speaks, her young daughter wipes her tears away with a scarf and rubs her back.

Leake Embaye helped to collect the bodies. He says they were fired upon by Eritrean troops while doing the work. At his barber shop, stripped bare by looting, he unfurls a large poster with the pictures and names of the dead from his neighbourhood. He says he too doubts there will be justice.

“The government lied about what happened, they said Eritrean troops weren’t here at the time,” he says.

In a recent interview, Ethiopia’s army chief downplayed what happened in Axum, saying Eritrean troops “were fired upon” and “took action against those who attacked them”. “In the midst of this, peaceful people might have been harmed,” he said.

In the countryside around Mahbere Dego, wrapped in a white shawl, Kiros Berhe walks along a dirt path through fields teeming with crops ready for harvest, up to the church gate where her husband, Solomon, and other relatives lie buried. But she won’t go inside. “It is too painful,” she says.

Despite losing six family members in the massacre at the cliff top, she considers herself “very lucky” because her only son survived. “I am sure God will punish them,” she says, “but I don’t trust the government. They are responsible for this.”

Freedom on Trial: Eritrean Activists Face Legal Battles in America

Monday, 04 November 2024 21:59 Written by Martin Plaut

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By Martin Plaut on 04/11/2024

How President Isaias's 'fourth front' is using the courts against pro-democracy activists

By Michael Rubin

Source: National Security Journal

Secretary of State Antony Blinken

Secretary Antony J. Blinken holds a joint press availability with Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo, and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro in Manila, Philippines, July 30, 2024. (Official State Department photo by Freddie Everett)

After North Korea, Eritrea is the world’s most repressive and totalitarian country. Independence leader Isaias Afwerki rules with an iron fist. He rejects elections, and treats the country as his personal fiefdom. Unlimited conscription and national service transformed Eritrean citizens into unpaid slaves and made the country Isaias’ plantation. In response, many Eritreans flee. The routes are perilous; many die of thirst in the desert or drown crossing the Red Sea or Mediterranean. Tribesmen, criminals, and slavers prey upon them. Isaias is fine with the flight as Eritrea relies not only upon remittances from those who make it to Europe and the United States but also extorts a two percent “tax” based on ethnicity rather than citizenship. If an Eritrean renounces their citizenship, Isaias does not care. If they do not pay two percent of their income back to his treasury, their relatives will suffer back in Eritrea.

Other members of the diaspora, I would argue, advocate for the government for either privilege or, as possible, intelligence officers who spy on the Eritrean community. This is a strategy ripped from the North Korean playbook. Some experts argue that various ‘front groups’ regularly promote Pyongyang positions in Washington, seeking to confuse policy or, on occasion, win a propaganda coup when they can convince a representative to parrot their talking points without looking behind the curtain.

Indeed, Isaias considers pro-government diaspora to be a fourth front” to supplement the country’s Western, Central, and Eastern fronts. Eritrean embassies often coordinate with diaspora front groups to lionize Isaias and celebrate festivals important to his rule. Eritrean front groups usually seek to intimidate those who favor freedom and democracy. In recent years, clashes and violence have become commonplace as pro-regime Eritreans attack those who do not share their views.

The pro-freedom diaspora has now responded. Over the past two years, diaspora groups across Europe and the United States hava rallied behind the so-called Blue Revolution.” Many of this pro-freedom, anti-Isaias Eritreans counter-protest at pro-regime festivals. This infuriates Isaias and pro-regime organizers as it takes the shine off their events and undermines the image of Eritrean solidarity they promote.

The pro-Isaias community in the United States now appears to be experimenting with a new strategy: Using U.S. courts to target anti-regime protestors. Earlier this year, the Eritrean Association in Greater Seattle sued several Eritrean democracy activists at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Tacoma. While the case remains mired in its early procedural issues such as service, it sets a dangerous precedent. Many cases have no merit—and reading the complaint, this appears to be one of them. The Eritrean Association says they serve more than 7,000 local Eritreans and openly acknowledge they organize events such as Eritrean Independence Day and Martyr’s Day celebrations. These parallel government holidays that lionize Isaias. The complaint then suggests that for their advocacy, they have become the target of hate crimes. This, of course, elides “hate crimes” with political dissent as those whom they accuse share the same ethnicities.

The root of the Eritrean Association complaint is that protestors disrupted their event by protesting and caused participants to cancel hotel reservations. They allege violence, but the complaint appears exaggerated. What the complaint alleges to be severe violence and destruction of property, the local police spokeswoman acknowledged tents tipped over. She described them as scuffles “that have quickly ended.”

It is understandable that the U.S. government prefers to remain aloof. After all, the judiciary is an independent branch of government, and the executive branch has no business interfering. At the same time, though, this can play into Isaias’ hijacking of the courts. He can channel unlimited funds to his front groups and lawyers to try to use court procedures and hearings to intimidate and bankrupt the Eritrean opposition.

The courts should be interested in not allowing themselves to be used by a dictator or groups that, by their actions, appear to act as his proxies. The State Department should also file a brief with the court explaining Eritrea’s methodology and strategies to target and neutralize opposition. Lawfare is simply its latest tactic.

Make no mistake: Freedom is on trial in Tacoma. Not only is Isaias watching its outcome, but dictators from Beijing to Moscow to Addis Ababa to Caracas will also seek to use U.S. courts to do their dirty work.

About the Author: Dr. Michael Rubin

Michael Rubin is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and director of policy analysis at the Middle East Forum. A former Pentagon official, Dr. Rubin has lived in post-revolution Iran, Yemen, and pre-and postwar Iraq. He also spent time with the Taliban before 9/11. For over a decade, he taught classes at sea about the Horn of Africa and Middle East conflicts, culture, and terrorism to deployed US Navy and Marine units. Dr. Rubin is the author, coauthor, and coeditor of several books exploring diplomacy, Iranian history, Arab culture, Kurdish studies, and Shi’ite politics. The views expressed are his own.

Eritrea’s last minute withdrawal from Confederation of African Football CHAN 2024

Wednesday, 30 October 2024 23:19 Written by Martin Plaut

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By Martin Plaut on 29/10/2024

BBC Tigrinya reported that Eritrea withdrew from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) without providing any explanation to the organisers.

CAF has confirmed Eritrea's withdrawal from the CHAN 2024 Qualifiers, resulting in the cancellation of the upcoming matches at Juba National Stadium. Although CAF's Competitions Division was annoyed by this last minute decision, it extended appreciation to all involved parties for their understanding of this unfortunate last minute withdrawal.

Given the political history between Eritrea and Ethiopia, this fixture was expected to be a highly charged affair, according to many sports commentators. The first match was going to be played on Thursday, October 31st in Juba, with the return leg scheduled for Saturday, November 3rd.

The upcoming schedule had created a buzz in social media. Many Eritreans were talking about how Eritrea's national football team resurrected to face Ethiopia for the first time since January 2020 when they lost 1-0 at home in Asmara to Sudan in a friendly. Well, it wasn't meant to be. BBC Tigrinya reported that Eritrea, a country plagued by defections of its players, lacked resources and foresight in neither partaking nor hosting international matches.

As a result, the Eritrean men's national team rarely get the opportunity to play in international football matches. The team has not played an international match in four years, largely due defection concerns.

According to experts the cancellation must have broken the hearts of many members of the national team, including many fans.

The TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (“CHAN”) 2024 will be played between 01 - 28 February 2025. The first round of qualifiers will now be played on the weekend of 25-27 October 2024 without Eritrea. CHAN is scheduled to be hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Now the 3^rd and 4^th matches of the first round which were set to be played between Eritrea and Ethiopia at Juba National Stadium will no longer proceed as planned. Following Eritrea's withdrawal, Ethiopia will instead compete against either Sudan or Tanzania in the final. qualification round.

Eritrea: Britain maintains human rights focus for aid

Sunday, 13 October 2024 22:32 Written by Martin Plaut

Africa, Eritrea, Horn of Africa

Date: 26/12/2014Author: Martin Plaut0 Comments

The British government has given an assurance that a commitment to human rights remains one of the key principles of its aid programme for Eritrea.

In a written answer to Lady Glenys Kinnock, the government said “the extent of partner governments’ commitment to respecting human rights and other international obligations is one of four Partnership Principles assessed by country offices.” Further the British government has made “representations to the Government of Eritrea to improve its observance of human rights”. [See full answer below]

Why is this important?

There have been suggestions that the European Union is attempting to develop a “new engagement” with the Eritrean regime as a means of halting the flight of Eritreans from the country, many of whom arrive on European shores. The Italians led the way.

In July 2014 Italy’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lapo Pistelli, made an official visit to Asmara. He was fulsome in his praise for his hosts, saying that he found them “well informed and keen to engage.” The enthusiasm with which he greeted this “new beginning” was reflected in the official communiqué put out by the Italian government.

“It’s time for a new start”. This was Deputy Minister Pistelli’s comment during his visit to Asmara – the first visit to Eritrea by a member of the government since 1997, with the mission by the President of the Republic at that time, Oscar Luigi Scalfaro. “I am here today to bear witness to our determination to revitalise our bilateral relations and try to foster Eritrea’s full reinstatement as a responsible actor and key member of the international community in the stabilisation of this region”.

Eritreans were naturally deeply concerned by this – the Eritrean regime is among the most notorious in the world, with a complete absence of human rights. Torture and imprisonment without trial is routine and there is no freedom of speech and no right to challenge the sole political party – the PFDJ.

Eritrean human rights groups appealed to European leaders not to begin a “new engagement” with the regime without real changes to this appalling situation. Eight Eritrean groups echoed a call from members of the resistance inside Eritrea appealing for pressure to be maintained on the Eritrean authorities:

“Listen to our agony. We thank you for giving shelter to Eritrean refugees abroad, but if you are a decision-maker we beg you to keep up the pressure on the Eritrean regime.”

The British position

In early December the British government sent a mission to investigate the situation inside Eritrea, with a visit to Asmara by two government departments: the Home Office (Ministry of the Interior) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The visit was designed to look at the underlying causes of migration from “source countries”. This was part of what is termed the “Khartoum Process” which involves discussions between European and African countries.

As the official EU statement put it: “Ministers of the 28 EU countries as well as Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Djibouti, Kenya, Egypt and Tunisia, as well as the European and African Union Commissioners in charge of migration and development and the EU High Representative launched on 28 November the EU-Horn of Africa Migration Route Initiative, also known as the ‘Khartoum Process’, which aims to tackle trafficking and smuggling of migrants between the Horn of Africa and Europe.”

This is the background. It led to concerns among Eritreans that Britain might join attempts to launch a “new engagement” with President Isaias Afwerki’s regime by ditching or watering down the UK’s requirement that its partners in the developing world maintain a firm commitment to human rights.

It is in this context that Lady Glenys Kinnock wrote to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. She received this reply from Lady Lindsay Granshaw, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary in the Department for International Development on 23 December 2014.

“We remain deeply concerned by the political situation in Eritrea; the UN estimates that around 200 migrants leave Eritrea daily, with Sudan and Ethiopia as their primary destinations. Those who choose to leave Eritrea do so for a variety of reasons, including a desire to avoid performing national service for an indeterminate length of time and to seek greater economic opportunity than currently available in Eritrea. Our Ambassador in Asmara regularly monitors events in Eritrea and works closely with the UNHCR, through whom we receive monthly updates on migration. The UK Government has made representations to the Government of Eritrea to improve its observance of human rights, and works with European partners on the implementation of the Eritrea Country Programme under the Eleventh European Development Fund to help provide greater economic growth and opportunities.”