FEB 17, 2017 - 11:03
Refugees from Eritrea and Tibet arriving in Ticino in 2015

Refugees from Eritrea and Tibet arriving in Ticino in 2015

( Ti-Press/Keystone)

One of the United Nations’ top human rights experts says Switzerland had no good reason to crack down on Eritreans.

François Crépeau, a Canadian lawyer who serves as the UN’s special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, lashed out at Switzerland’s recent decision to tighten its asylum policy towards Eritreans in an interview with two Swiss newspapers on Friday.

On February 2, the Federal Administrative Court said Switzerland wouldno longer recognise Eritreans as refugeessolely on grounds of having fled their country illegally. Until last summer, leaving Eritrea illegally was considered a legitimate reason for asylum, since whoever did so faced up to five years in prison in Eritrea.

However, the court decided “the illegal exit [from Eritrea] cannot in itself justify recognition as a refugee”, pointing to recent cases of Eritreans returning safely for short home visits after gaining asylum status in Switzerland.

Crépeau, whose job involves investigating human rights violations and promoting sound policies globally, said inan interviewwith the Tages-Anzeiger and Berner Zeitung there was no evidence that someone returning to Eritrea would not face punishment.

“Switzerland must be certain, in every single case, that a return for an individual will not be problematic. This requires a mechanism that can check that after returning nothing indeed happens,” he said.

Crépeau said Switzerland was “pretty much on its own” on this issue and warned against tightening policy based on doubts. Instead, he concluded, the rule should be: if in doubt, err on the side of protection.

The Swiss government’s policy for processing asylum requests from Eritrean refugees is important because Eritreans make up the largest single nationality among asylum seekers in Switzerland: some 5,000 a year. 

swissinfo.ch and agencies/ts

Source=http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/refugees_un-criticises-tightened-swiss-policy-on-eritreans/42968420

Thursday, 16 February 2017 12:55

መግለጺ መሪር ሓዘን

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ገዲም ተጋዳላይ ዑስማን ህብትየስ መሓመድ፡ 14 ለካቲት 2017 ካብ’ዛ ዓለም ብሞት ተፈልዩና ኣሎ። ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ  ኤርትራ (ሰዲህኤ)፡ ንስውእ ገዲም ተጋዳላይ ዑስማን መንግስተ-ሰማይ የዋርሶ፡ ንስድራኡን ስድራ ሓዉ ዓብደልቓድር ህብትየስ፡ ኣባል ማእከላይ ባይቶ ሰዲህኤን ካልኦት ቤሰ-ሰብን ድማ እግዚኣብሄር ጽንዓት ይሃቦምን ጠሉን ራሕሱን የውርደሎምን እናበለ ናይ ወሪድዎም ዘሎ መሪር ሓዘን ተኻፋላይ ምዃኑ ይገልጽ።

 

መንግስተኣብ ኣስመሮም

ኣቦ መንበር ሰዲህኤ

ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ንመሰሉን ናጽነቱን ቃልሲ ካብ ዝጅምር ነዊሕ ግዜ እዩ። እቲ በብግዜኡ ዝያዳ ጎሊሑ ዝዝረበሉ ግና እቲ መሪር ብረታዊ ቃልሲ ዝተኻየደሉ መስርሕ እዩ። ጉዕዞ ብረታዊ ቃልስና ምእንቲ ናጽነት እቲ ኣውንታኡ ከም ዝዛይድ ርዱእ ኮይኑ፡ ኣሉታታት ዘይተፈልዮ ምንባሩ ካልእ ኩልና ዘይንኽሕዶ እዩ። መበቆል ናይዚ ሕጂ ሃገርና ዘላቶ መትሓጃ ዘየብሉ ሃለዋት ከኣ እቲ ሽዑ ኣዝዩ ንኡስን ብቐሊሉ ክፍታሕ ዝኽእልን ዝመስል ዝነበረ ናይ ግዜ ቃልሲ ንናጽነት ኣሉታ እዩ። ኣብዚ ዝተናውሐን ጌና ሕጂ’ውን ቀጻሊ ዘሎን ቃልስና ጸጸኒሖም ዝገሃዱ መጠምዘዚ ኩርነዓት ነይሮም እዮም። 1961 ቃልሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ናብቲ በሊሕ መልክዑ ዝተሰጋገረሉ ኩርናዕ ነይሩ። 1991 ከኣ መስርሕ ቃልሲ ኣንጻር ግዳማዊ መግዛእቲ ተዛዚሙ ናብ ሓድሽ ልኡላዊት ሃገር ናይ ምህናጽ ዝተሰጋገርናሉ ወሳኒ ኩርናዕ ነይሩ። ነዚኣቶም ደኣ ከም ፍሩያት ኣብነት ጠቒስና እምበር ቃልሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ዝሓለፎም ካለኦት ነናቶም ጽልዋ ዝነበሮም ኩርነዓት’ውን ነይሮም እዮም።

ኣብዞም ወሰንቲ ዝበልናዮም ኣገደስቲ ኩርነዓት ዝውሰድ ስጉምቲ ነቲ ድሕሪኡ ዝኸይድ መስርሕ ወሳኒ ጸላዊ እዩ። ንኣብነት ኣብቲ ቃልሲ ምእንቲ ናጽነት ተዛዚሙ፡ ናብ ቃልሲ ምህናጽ ሃገር ዝሰገርናሉ ኩርናዕ፡ ብዲክታቶር ኢሳይያስ ኣፈወርቂ ዝተወስደ  ዘይሓላፍነታዊ ስጉምቲ እነሆ ሳዕቤኑ ይረአ። እቲ ናጽነት ኤርትራ ዝተረጋገጸሉ ግዜ ዓለምና ንብዙሕነታዊ ኣተሓሳስባ ወሳኒ ኣቓልቦ እትህበሉ ዝነበረት’ዩ። ብዙሕነት ክበሃል እንከሎ ብዙሕ መልክዕን ኣገላልጻን ዘለዎ ኮይኑ፡ ሕጂ ንግደሰሉ ዘለና ናይ ኣተሓሳስባ ብዙሕነት እዩ። ኣብ ኤርትራ እዚ ብዙሕነት ኣብ ቅድሚ ናጽነት እውን ነይሩ እዩ። ኣብ ሜዳ ኤርትራ ካብ ሐደ ውድብ ንላዕሊ ንክህሉ ዝደረኸ ከኣ እዚ ብዙሕነት’ዚ እዩ። ሓደ ኮይንካ ንሓደ ዕላማ ካብ ምድፋእ ብዝነበረና ድሌት ነዚ ካብ ሓደ ውድብ ንላዕሊ ምዃን ዘይደገፍናዮ ብዙሓት ነይርና። እንተኾነ ክውንነት ዝወለዶ ስለ ዝነበረ ከነወግዶ ኣይከኣልናን። እቲ ዝሃሰየና ከኣ ነዚ ብዙሕነት ከነወግዶ ዘይምኽኣልና ዘይኮነ፡ ብስልጡን ኣገባብ ከነመሓድሮ ዘይምኽኣልና እዩ። ሎሚ ሎሚ እሞ ከኣ ክኢላን ሓላፍነታውን ኣመሓዳሪ እንተረኺቡ ብዙሕነት ጐዳኢ ዘይኮነስ፡ መልክዕን ሓይልን ምዃኑ ተኣሚንሉ ዝስረሓሉ ዘሎ እዩ።

ኣቶ ኢሳይያስ ነቲ ናይ 1991 ብዙሕነት ዘቐድም ሓቢርካ ሃገር ናይ ምህናጽ ሓድሽ ምዕራፍ፡ ናይ ውሱናት መዋስኢ ጥራይ ከም ዝኸውን ንምምልካት “ድሕሪ ሕጂ ብውድባት ሓሸውየ የለን” ብዝብል ምስ ትጽቢት ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ኮነ ዓለማዊ ኩነታት ብዘይቃዶ ጭረሖ እዩ ጀሚርዎ። እዚ ትምክሕታውን በሓትን ንቕሎ ነተን ሽዑ ዝነበራ ኣብ መስርሕ ምርግጋጽ ናጽነት፡ ነናተን ብጽሒት ዝነበረን ውድባት ጥራይ ዘይኮነ፡ ንመላእ ህዝቢ ኤርትራን ኣቶ ኢሳይያስ “ናትና እዩ” ይብሉ ንዝነበሩ  ወገናትን’ውን ብስራት ኣይነበረን። እቲ ውዱብ ኣንጻር ህግደፍ ዝካየድ ቃልሲ ደንበ ተቓወምቲ ከም ዘለዎ ኮይኑ፡ ምልዕዓል ተጋደልቲ 1993፡ ሕቶ ውጉኣት ሓርነት ማይሓባር፡ ምሕጽንታ ዝተፈላለዩ መራሕቲ ሃይማኖት፡ ተበግሶ በርሊን ማንፈስቶ፡ ብዓብይኡ ድማ መኸተ ጉጅለ 15፡ ኣከያይዳ ኣቶ ኢሳይያስ ናይ ደሓን ከም ዘይነበረ ዘመላኽቱ  ኣብነታት እዮም። ካብዚ ሓሊፉ ኣብ እንዳ ኩሉ ኤርትራዊ ስድራቤት ስቕታ ዝዓብለሎን ሰማዒ ዝሰኣነን “ናይ መንገዲ ትስሕት ኣለኻ” ቀጻሊ ኣውያት ኣሎ። ክሳብ ሰማዒ ዝረክብ ክቕጽል ከኣ ባህርያዊ እዩ።

ኣብዞም ኣቐዲምና ዝጠቐስናዮም ናይ ምዕራይ ወፍርታት ዝተሳተፉ ኤርትራውያን፡ ነቲ ኣብ ሃገርና ዘሎ ጸልማት ንምቕንጣጥ ካብኣቶም ትጽቢት ዝግበረሉ ገይሮም። ዋጋ ከኣ ከፊለምሉ። እቲ ነቲ ንቕሎ ዝሰመዐን ዝተዓዘበን ካብ ራህዋ እምበር ካብ ጭቆና ዘይርባሕ ህዝቢ እንተ ዝጽንበሮ ድማ መተዓወተ’ሞ ምስሊ ኤርትራ ካብዚ ሕጂ ዘለዎ ዝጸበቐ መኾነ። እንተኾነ ክሳብ ሕጂ ኣይተገብረን። ሕሉፍ ሓሊፎም ነቲ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ካብ ክውንነትን ርትዕን ንምህዳም ኣይፋል ንዝበልዎ “ዝሓንቀቑ፡ ምስ ጸላኢ ዝተዓስቡ፡ ብናይ ምዕራብ ባዶ ተስፋ ዝተሰልቡ፡ ….. ወዘተ” ዝብሎ ከም ሓቂ ወሲዶም “ሕራይይይይይይ ገበሮም” ዝብሉ ኤርትራውያን ወገናት ክሳብ ክንደይ ካብ ፍትሕን ሓቅን ርሒቖም ከም ዘለዉ ይርደኦም ደኾን ይኸውን። ስርዓት ህግደፍ ክገብሮ ዝግበኦ ዝነበረ፡ ግና ዘይገበሮ ንጹር ክነሱ፡ “እንታይ እሞ ዘይገበረ?” ዝብሉ ፈሊጦም ስለ ዝደቀሱ ነቕኒቕካዮም ዘይበራበሩ’ውን ኣለዉ።

ነቲ “እንታይ’ሞ ዘይገበረ?” ዝብል፡  ከሎ ጌና ምሉስ ሕቶኦም ክንምልሰሎም። እቲ ስርዓት ንመንእሰያት ኣገዲዱ ናይ ግዜ ገደብን ክፍሊትን ንዘይብሉ ክዕስክሮም ኣይነበሮን፡ ንኹሉ መሰላት ሕገ-መንግስታዊ ውሕስነት ክህብ ነይርዎ፡ ኤርትራ ናይ ኩሎም ንህልውናኣ ዋጋ ዝኸፈሉ ዜጋታታ ከም እትኸውን ክገብር ነይርዎ፡ ካብ ውድባዊ ክሊ ወጺኡ ኣብ ኤርትራዊ ሃገራዊ ሜዳ ክዋሳእ ነይርዎ፡ ኤርትራውያን ንዘቕርብዎ ሕቶ ልብን ቀልብን ክህብ ነይርዎ። እዚ ነቶም ህግደፍ እንታይ ክገብር ከም ዝነበሮ እንዳፈለጡ ከም ዘይፈለጡ ዝኾኑ ንምትንባህ ኢና ንዝርዝሮ ዘለና። ጉድለት ህግደፍ ንጹር ክነሱ በብሓደ ምዝርዛር ግዜን ጉልበትን ዝበልዕ እዩ። ካብቲ ብሓጺር ክግለጸሉ ዝከኣል ንምጥቃስ ዝከኣል፡ እቲ ጉጅለ እዛ ሃገር ናይ ኩሎም ዜጋታታ ምዃና ዝቕበል ጹረትን ትዕግስትን ዘየብሉ  እዩ። ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ንህዝብና ናይ ገዛእ ሃገሩ ተፈጥሮኣዊ ሃብትን ታሪኹን ጥራይ ኣይኮነን ዝዘምቶ ዘሎ፡ እንተላይ ናይ ምሕሳብ ናጽነቱ እምበር።

እቲ ኣዝዩ ዘገርምን ዘተሓሳስብን እዚ ኣቐዲሙ ዝተጠቕሰ እኩይ ኣተሓሳስባ ናይቲ ጉጅለ ናብ “ተቓወምቲ ኢና” ዝብሉ ወገናት እውን ዝልሑዅ ምዃኑ እዩ። ኩልና ከምዘይንዝንገዖ ነቲ ጉጅለ ምቅዋም ማለት ዓዲ ቀይርካ ካብኡ ርሒቕካ ምንባር ማለት ጥራይ ኣይኮነን። ካብኡ ርሒቕካ ኣንጻሩ እትጭርሕ ክንስኻ ነቲ ኣካይድኡ ምድጋሙ ምቅዋሙ ማለት ኣይኮነን። ንድሕሪት እንተጠሚትና ምስዚ ጉጅለ ዘተኣሳስር ታሪኽን ድሕረ-ባይታን ክህልወና ይኽእል። እቲ ሕሉፍ ተመኩሮ ናቱ ግቡእ ቦታ ክሕዝ ዝግበኦ እምበር ንድሕሪት ተመሊስካ ዝስረዝ ኣይኮነን። ኣብዚ ህዝብን ሃገርን ንምድሓን ንቕድሚት ከነማዕዱ ናይ ግድን ዝኾነሉ መድረኽ ግና ኣብቲ ምስ ህግደፍ ዘመሳስለና ሕሉፍ፡ ዘይኮነ ኣብቲ ምስኡ ዝፈላልየና መጻኢ ኢና ከነድህብ ዝግበኣና።  

Eritrean president describes Hollande and Merkel as 'mentally disturbed'

Eritrea

The Eritrean president has lashed out at Europe for what he says is its role in economically sabotaging his country and depleting its human capital.

Isaias Afwerki was making a rare address on national television late last week as part of his traditional New Year message. Focusing on the infrastructure of the country and other projects for his country, Afeworki examined the thorny issue of migration that continues to bedevil his country.

He specifically took jibes at French President Francois Hollande and his German counterpart, Angela Merkel. Afwerki described both leaders as being mentally disturbed and that they were among those who encouraged the massive movement of his Eritrean youth to Europe.

Eritreans being the greatest historical threat to our enemies, trafficking in human beings has been used to disperse and weaken the country's human capital. The highest priority has been given to this policy, of asylum to the Eritreans.

Francois Hollande is on record to have said almost a year ago that Eritrea was empty of its youth. This was in reference to the teeming youth who left the country to undertake the perilous journey to Europe. “What does he know? What can it do to him?” Afwerki quizzed.

The German chancellor whiles on a visit in October 2016 visit to Ethiopia announced a significant financial aid as part of efforts aimed at Ethiopia accepting Eritrean fugitives. “He (Hollande) and Angela Merkel, all I can say is that these people must be mentally disturbed.”

The Eritrean regime is accused of huge violations of human rights and freedom of expression. The country is also at loggerheads with neighbouring Ethiopia. Ethiopia has also accused them of backing anti-peace forces behind protests in its Amhara and Oromia regions.

In a speech delivered at the 25th anniversary of the independence of Eritrea, he declared that the exodus of the youth of his country to Europe is the result of a deliberate policy fomented by the foreign powers To weaken Eritrea with a systematic recourse to economic sabotage “with the aim of creating poverty and famine”.

“Eritreans being the greatest historical threat to our enemies, trafficking in human beings has been used to disperse and weaken the country’s human capital. The highest priority has been given to this policy, of asylum to the Eritreans,” he said.

With an estimated 5,000 people leaving the country every month in search of a better life, Eritrea is one of the largest contingents of migrants risking the perilous journey to Europe.

Source=http://www.africanews.com/2017/01/30/eritrean-president-describes-hollande-and-merkel-as-mentally-disturbed/

Monday, 13 February 2017 20:05

UAE to open second military base in east Africa

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Somaliland would be the second military base after the UAE facility in Eritrea, which has been used against the Houthis in Yemen

Ships being loaded in the port of Berbera, Somaliland in December 2015 (AFP)
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The United Arab Emirates is going to set up a second military base in the Horn of Africa, sparking concern among some governments in the region.

The Somaliland parliament approved the deal for the northern port of Berbera on Sunday, with 144 lawmakers voting for, two against and two abstentions.

Under the 30-year deal, the Emirati government will have exclusive rights to Somaliland’s largest port and manage and oversee operational activities.

DP World, the UAE’s ports operator company, will supervise the port, which will gain a naval base as well as an air base. The lease of the port is contingent on the $442 million deal with DP World.

In return, Somaliland will get investment as well as international recognition: no other country has yet recognised the breakaway territory – which separated itself from the rest of Somalia in 1993 - as an "independent state".

The Emirati port operator will manage the operational activities, but there's no official word on the time it will take for the military base to become fully operational.
UAE’s military is considered a formidable force in Africa, particularly after the establishment of its military base at Assab in Eritrea in 2015.

The Eritrean base has been used by the UAE in the Yemen war against the Houthis. It is not known whether the facility at Berbera will have a similar purpose.

Osman Abdillahi, minister of information and national guidance, toldSomaliland Press, the country’s official news agency, that the “UAE military base will bring investment which will open the flood gates for countries to recognise Somaliland.”

Abu Dhabi is reaching out to countries in and around the Horn of Africa, as it looks to increase its non-oil revenue through other avenues including real estate, trade and financial services.

Abdillahi said: “The Berbera to Wajale highway will cost about $230-300 million, not forgetting the creations of thousands of jobs for our people, which will alleviate the endemic joblessness that has incapacitated our people.”

It is significant because the UAE will be engaging in trade across the port, and for this, it would require a sustainable road network across Berbera. Hence, as the minister said, it will create opportunities for the local people on infrastructure development.

Tension with Ethiopia

But the Somaliland deal has angered Ethiopia, one of the regional powers in the Horn of Africa, which itself has economic ties with the UAE.

As recently as last year, the UAE and Ethiopia signed several investment deals, under the terms of which the UAE is legally bound to protect the economic interests of Ethiopia.

Last January,Ethiopia's prime minister rebuked the UAE governmentfor having established the base in Eritrea.

Hailemariam Desalegn said: “We have also stressed that they will bear the consequences of our response if their operation in the area supports the Eritrean regime’s destabilisation agenda against Ethiopia."

There is still tension between the two east African nations after they fought a war from May 1998 to June 2000.

 

Source=http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uae-eyes-military-expansion-eastern-africa-2028510672