Exposing human rights violations through sport in Eritrea — is anyone taking notice?
Monday, 07 October 2019 20:29 Written by David KodeBy David Kode• 6 October 2019
Sport is a major unifier among all nations and the plight of Eritrean athletes should be enough to force the international community, particularly states that now host many Eritreans, to exert pressure on President Isaias Afwerki to implement reforms, 26 years after taking power.
Not many people outside sporting circles were familiar with Ethiopian marathon runner Feyisa Lilesa or the plight of the Oromo people in Ethiopia before the 2016 Rio Olympic games in Brazil.
As Feyisa crossed the finish line in the men’s marathon on the final day of the Olympics, winning a silver medal, and fully aware of the glare of the international community and media, he lifted his hands over his head and crossed his wrists in a symbolic anti-government protest. He repeated the gesture as he received his silver medal – the gesticulation is a trademark sign of protest, often used by the Oromo from where Feyisa hails, against the violent repression of the government.
At the time Feyisa made this gesture the Oromo territories, home to more than a third of the population of Ethiopia, was under siege from the Ethiopian military. More than 400 Oromos had been killed and thousands arrested during protests by the Oromo in the space of several months when Feyisa demonstrated the plight of his people to the world. Feyisa knew full well that such open protest was dangerous and admitted that he could be killed if he returned home. Speaking to the media after the race, he said:
“The Ethiopian government is killing my people, taking their land and resources, so I stand with all protesters everywhere as Oromo is my tribe. My relations are in prison and if they talk about democratic rights, they are killed.”
The intersection between sport and human rights highlighted above brings me to the main issue of this article – how Eritrean sportsmen and women indirectly reveal the state of human rights at home, but how very few people are taking notice.
A few days ago, five players from the Eritrean under 20 football team absconded from their hotel in Jinja, Uganda in the middle of the Council of East and Central African Football Associations Challenge Cup. The players are likely to seek asylum in Uganda and turn their backs on Eritrea for good if the political situation remains the same.
While there is a long history of African athletes abdicating from national sports teams while representing their nations at international sporting events, the peculiarities that force many Eritreans to do so are quite different.
Many of the sportsmen and women from other African countries who leave their camps during international sporting events target mainly countries in the global north with buoyant economies and sometimes better policies on asylum seekers. They do so mostly to seek green pastures and better economic opportunities. Admittedly, some also do so to escape conflicts and civil war. Eritreans for their part have used sporting events as a means to escape from compulsory military service that has been described by some as a form of slavery.
In October 2015, 10 players from the Eritrean soccer team the Red Sea Camels defected after playing in a World Cup qualifying match against the Botswana national team.
Military service is compulsory for all Eritreans at 18 years old and above. While the policy governing this stipulates military service will be done for 18 months, in practice the military service is indefinite.
For example, since the practice was made official by the government in 1994, no Eritrean has been officially released from military service. Conscripts receive meagre monthly wages (approximately $60 on average) that do not cover basic living expenses and others are not paid. Many spend months at the infamous Sawa military camp with limited food and water, often in very high temperatures. Those who violate even the most basic instructions are subjected to harsh punishment. Others work in mines and construction sites and females are often forced to do domestic work and sometimes subjected to abuse and ill-treatment.
Eritreans, therefore, face two options – undertake military service or flee. Until recently, the Eritrean government often cited the existential military threat from its neighbour Ethiopia as the main reason it continued the policy, but even after the two countries signed a joint declaration of peace, friendship and comprehensive co-operation in July 2018, forced conscription continues.
The compulsory military service and the abuse that comes with it should not be viewed in isolation and must be seen within the context of the nature of the Eritrean state.
Eritrea became a closed state in 2001 when the government shut down all independent newspapers, arrested journalists and government representatives that called for democratic reforms and who were critical of the government of President Isaias Afwerki. The whereabouts of most of those arrested in 2001 are not known and many have not been in touch with relatives since. There has been no election since independence from Ethiopia in 1991, the rule of law is absent, the state is heavily militarised and a constitution approved in 1997 has never been implemented.
Forced conscription is the main driving force pushing Eritrean sportsmen and women to abdicate and not return to Eritrea, but the propaganda of the Eritrean government and the conflict “fatigue” experienced by the United Nations and African Union often preoccupies the international community and limits discussions on actions against the Eritrean state that will force it to implement reforms.
After all, they argue, it is a sovereign state and not at war, so other countries engulfed in intra-state conflict should be prioritised. The closed nature of the Eritrean state and the absolute control of the media by the government means up-to-date information on the state of human rights is mostly obtained from Eritreans who have fled from home.
Eritrean authorities have used diplomacy and coercion to force governments of countries where Eritreans have abdicated, to force them to return home. The Eritrean government has also adopted some stringent measures to ensure Eritrea’s presence at major sporting events by recruiting Eritrean athletes who hold dual nationality into its national teams. It has also now imposed compulsory financial bonds on Eritrean professional soccer players who intend to represent Eritrea in international sporting events to deter sportsmen from abdicating and to guarantee they return after sporting events.
Sport is a major unifier among all nations and the plight of Eritrean athletes should be enough to force the international community, particularly states that now host many Eritreans, to exert pressure on President Afwerki to implement reforms, 26 years after taking power.
As a first step, all states should respect the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and provide Eritreans with the administrative, social, and psychological support they need to enable them to settle when they abdicate. Family members of those who abdicate sometimes face the wrath of the Afwerki regime. Anyone who may be forcefully repatriated after they abdicate may never be seen or heard from again once they arrive in Eritrea.
The long-term solution is for other African states, the African Union and the United Nations to stop treating Eritrea like a normal state because it is not. The joint declaration of peace, friendship and comprehensive cooperation signed between Ethiopia and Eritrea last year seems like a missed opportunity for the international community to hold President Afwerki accountable for his human rights record.
Many Eritreans will continue to flee as long as the status quo remains the same but where politics has not been enough to jerk the international community into action against Eritrea, perhaps sports can. DM
David E Kode, advocacy and campaigns lead, Civicus.
Source=https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-10-06-exposing-human-rights-violations-through-sport-in-eritrea-is-anyone-taking-notice/
Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Horn of Africa, Uncategorized
In a rare show of anger, the Ethiopian government has told the Egyptians that they will insist on scientific evidence over the filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam [GERD].
Source: Ethiopian Embassy
5 Oct 2019
The Government of Ethiopia affirms its position to advance the trilateral technical dialogue concerning the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
The Water Affairs Ministers of Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan met in Khartoum on 04 and 05 October 2019. Prior to the Ministers’ meeting, the National Independent Scientific Research Group of the three countries met in Khartoum on 30 September – 03 October 2019.
The Government of Ethiopia is of the conviction that the technical consultation must continue, as it presents the only option for resolution of differences among the three countries with respect to filling and operation of the GERD. Although the unilateral proposal on technical aspects of filling and operation of the GERD by the Government of Egypt side-steps the working procedure of the NISRG and disrupted the ongoing process, the Water Affairs Ministers in their meeting in Cairo on 15 and 16 September 2019 instructed the NISRG to discuss and analyze the filling and operation plan of Ethiopia and the submissions of Egypt and Sudan on technical aspects of filling and operation.
Based on the direction given by the Water Affairs Ministers meeting in Cairo, the NISRG considered Ethiopia’s filling and operation plan of the GERD, and the proposals of Egypt and the Sudan. The deliberation of the Scientific Research Group was based on an outline adopted by consensus between the three country teams. The Group reached an agreement on some points while some other issues remain outstanding. These points of divergence could be resolved through further deliberation by the NISRG.
The filling plan of Ethiopia that is set to be completed in stages that will take four to seven years based on the hydrology is considerate of the interests of the downstream countries of the Nile. Furthermore, Ethiopia and Sudan followed a constructive and inclusive approach for the discussion of the NISRG. Whereas, the Egyptian Side persisted on its position of having all its proposals accepted without which it was not willing to have the NISRG conduct its analysis.
This approach by the Government of Egypt is not new. Rather, it is yet another instance of a disruptive tactic it applied to halt the hydrology, environmental and social impact assessment on the GERD. Ethiopia maintains its stand on the possibility of resolving the issues based on trilateral technical consultation and the invocation of principle X of the DOP is premature.
Despite the tireless efforts of the Ministers of Water Affairs, during their two days meeting to consider the progress of the work of the NISRG, they did not manage to put a direction on the way forward due to the predetermined plan of the delegation of Egypt to make the process fail.
The proposal by the Government of Egypt to invite third party in the discussions is an unwarranted denial of the progress in the trilateral technical dialogue and violates the Agreement on the Declaration of Principles signed by the three countries on 23 March 2015. It also goes against the consent and wishes of Ethiopia and the Sudan; it negatively affects the sustainable cooperation between the Parties; undermines the ample opportunity for technical dialogue between the three countries; and disrupts the positive spirit of cooperation.
Additionally, the proposal to subject the discussion on filling and operation of the GERD to a political forum is unjustified by the nature of the outstanding technical issues. It also contravenes the direction given by the leaders of the three countries given to the Water Affairs Ministers to resolve the technical issues related to filling and operation of the Dam, it will also not allow attainment of a successful resolution of the technical issues.
The Government of Ethiopia believes the existing mechanisms of cooperation will allow resolution of differences and reminds the need to refrain from negative media and other campaigns that will have no other effect than eroding the confidence among the three countries.
The Government of Ethiopia will reinforce its efforts to realize development of its water resource to meet the present and future needs of its people that deserve development and adequate standard of living.
Ethiopia upholds the principles of equitable and reasonable utilization and the causing of no significant harm on any other riparian country in the use of the waters of the Nile. Furthermore, the Government of Ethiopia will continue to follow an approach that will not result in direct or indirect recognition of any preexisting water allocation treaty, which has no applicability whatsoever on Ethiopia.
The Water Affairs Ministers of Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan met in Khartoum on 04 and 05 October 2019. Prior to the Ministers’ meeting, the National Independent Scientific Research Group of the three countries met in Khartoum on 30 September – 03 October 2019.
The Government of Ethiopia is of the conviction that the technical consultation must continue, as it presents the only option for resolution of differences among the three countries with respect to filling and operation of the GERD. Although the unilateral proposal on technical aspects of filling and operation of the GERD by the Government of Egypt side-steps the working procedure of the NISRG and disrupted the ongoing process, the Water Affairs Ministers in their meeting in Cairo on 15 and 16 September 2019 instructed the NISRG to discuss and analyze the filling and operation plan of Ethiopia and the submissions of Egypt and Sudan on technical aspects of filling and operation.
Based on the direction given by the Water Affairs Ministers meeting in Cairo, the NISRG considered Ethiopia’s filling and operation plan of the GERD, and the proposals of Egypt and the Sudan. The deliberation of the Scientific Research Group was based on an outline adopted by consensus between the three country teams. The Group reached an agreement on some points while some other issues remain outstanding. These points of divergence could be resolved through further deliberation by the NISRG.
The filling plan of Ethiopia that is set to be completed in stages that will take four to seven years based on the hydrology is considerate of the interests of the downstream countries of the Nile. Furthermore, Ethiopia and Sudan followed a constructive and inclusive approach for the discussion of the NISRG. Whereas, the Egyptian Side persisted on its position of having all its proposals accepted without which it was not willing to have the NISRG conduct its analysis.
This approach by the Government of Egypt is not new. Rather, it is yet another instance of a disruptive tactic it applied to halt the hydrology, environmental and social impact assessment on the GERD. Ethiopia maintains its stand on the possibility of resolving the issues based on trilateral technical consultation and the invocation of principle X of the DOP is premature.
Despite the tireless efforts of the Ministers of Water Affairs, during their two days meeting to consider the progress of the work of the NISRG, they did not manage to put a direction on the way forward due to the predetermined plan of the delegation of Egypt to make the process fail.
The proposal by the Government of Egypt to invite third party in the discussions is an unwarranted denial of the progress in the trilateral technical dialogue and violates the Agreement on the Declaration of Principles signed by the three countries on 23 March 2015. It also goes against the consent and wishes of Ethiopia and the Sudan; it negatively affects the sustainable cooperation between the Parties; undermines the ample opportunity for technical dialogue between the three countries; and disrupts the positive spirit of cooperation.
Additionally, the proposal to subject the discussion on filling and operation of the GERD to a political forum is unjustified by the nature of the outstanding technical issues. It also contravenes the direction given by the leaders of the three countries given to the Water Affairs Ministers to resolve the technical issues related to filling and operation of the Dam, it will also not allow attainment of a successful resolution of the technical issues.
The Government of Ethiopia believes the existing mechanisms of cooperation will allow resolution of differences and reminds the need to refrain from negative media and other campaigns that will have no other effect than eroding the confidence among the three countries.
The Government of Ethiopia will reinforce its efforts to realize development of its water resource to meet the present and future needs of its people that deserve development and adequate standard of living.
Ethiopia upholds the principles of equitable and reasonable utilization and the causing of no significant harm on any other riparian country in the use of the waters of the Nile. Furthermore, the Government of Ethiopia will continue to follow an approach that will not result in direct or indirect recognition of any preexisting water allocation treaty, which has no applicability whatsoever on Ethiopia.
European Union research group’s important advice on Eritrean refugees
Saturday, 05 October 2019 21:41 Written by Martin PlautThis research – provided by the European Asylum Support Office [EASO] – forms the background for EU countries, when drawing up policy on refugee and asylum cases. Below is their introduction and a link to the full report.
EASO publishes a Country of Origin Information (COI) report on Eritrea
- 30th September 2019
Today, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) published a Country of Origin Information (COI) report on Eritrea. The report provides updated information on selected topics (national service, exit from Eritrea, and treatment of returnees), relevant for international protection status determination. Between August 2018 and July 2019, more than 14 475 Eritrean applications were registered in the EU+ countries.1
This EASO COI report on Eritrea was drafted by the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), Division Analysis. The report updates and expands on the EASO COI report on national service and illegal exit (in Eritrea) from 2016. It provides a brief overview of Eritrea’s latest political developments, in the period 2016-2019, including the rapprochement with Ethiopia, the legal framework in force, and the relevant human rights issues. For the same reference period, the report then focuses on three main topics: (1) structure and functioning of the national service; (2) legal and illegal exit from the country; (3) voluntary and forced return. Transversally to the above mentioned subjects, the report details forms of punishment and treatment of deserters, draft evaders, persons illegally exiting the country, and returnees. Besides relevant public and governmental sources, the report relies extensively on interviews with key informants and experts, which were mostly carried out in the period May-July 2019.
The report was peer reviewed by EASO and other COI researchers from the following national asylum authorities: Germany, Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), Country Analysis; and Sweden, Swedish Migration Agency, Section for Information Analysis. The report was drafted and reviewed in accordance with EASO’s COI Report Methodology.
The report can be downloaded from the EASO COI portal.
Eritrean players disappear in Uganda ahead of regional U-20 Challenge Cup
Wednesday, 02 October 2019 23:23 Written by Mu XuequanSource: Xinhua| 2019-10-02 22:51:14|Editor: Mu Xuequan
BUIKWE, Uganda, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Five Eritrean Under 20 team footballers have disappeared in Uganda ahead of their game against Kenya in the ongoing regional football tournament, a top official said on Wednesday.
Aimable Habimana, the Chairman of the Organising Committee of the Council of East and Central African Football Associations (CECAFA) told Xinhua in an interview that the players disappeared on Tuesday.
"The five players are missing at the Speke Apartments. We are hoping that they will have a full team to continue with the tournament," Habimana said in the central Ugandan district of Buikwe where the CECAFA U-20 tournament is taking place.
During training on Tuesday the Eritrean team only had 14 members minus the five players. They are supposed to face Kenya in one of the semifinals on Wednesday.
Source=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-10/02/c_138444754.htm
Red Sea blueprints Designing a forum for Gulf and Horn states
Tuesday, 24 September 2019 14:05 Written by Zach Vertin
The Red Sea has fast become an arena of geopolitical intrigue, as new engagement between Gulf and African states is challenging old assumptions and erasing old boundaries. Expanding economic and strategic interests are driving unprecedented activity on both shores, while great powers pay increasing attention to the maritime gem in the middle, the Bab al Mandab—a strategic chokepoint and gateway to one of the world’s most heavily-trafficked trade waterways.
Author
Here, at the nexus of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, a series of state actors—with different cultures, different models of government, and different styles of diplomacy—are feeling each other out. Opportunities and risks abound, and as in any emerging frontier, the rules of the game are yet to be written.
Establishing a “Red Sea forum,” where concerned states might come together to discuss shared interests, identify emergent threats, and fashion common solutions, is a sensible next step. Efforts are underway to shape such a collective, and as leaders from these rapidly integrating regions sketch further blueprints, four design elements are worthy of consideration.
The Context
But first, some context. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey have each deepened relations with states in the Horn in recent years, hoping to win friends, investments, and influence. (Reviews to date are mixed; some African states have reaped benefits while others have been destabilized.) The most tangible manifestation of this engagement has been a real-estate boom on the African coast, where new military bases and seaports have accompanied diplomatic and commercial investments in Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea, and Sudan.
Ethiopia, the largest country in the Horn, also figures prominently in the new calculus, as does sometimes-rival Egypt, home to the Red Sea’s longest mainland coastline. Since mid-2017, these new forays into the Horn have also been colored by the Gulf crisis, a toxic feud that has infected politics in several African states as rival camps vie for access. Yemen rounds out the dizzying chessboard, where the onset of war deepened interest in strategic access to nearby African shores as well as control of the Red Sea’s southern gate.
Hundreds of billions of dollars in annual trade flows through this 20-mile wide waterway each year en route to Europe, Asia, and the Gulf. The narrow strait is also critical for freedom of navigation throughout the Mediterranean and Western Indian Ocean, thus making it the subject of interest in Washington, Brussels, and most recently, Beijing. The recent arrival of the Chinese navy in Djibouti—the tiny port nation already host to the U.S. and four other foreign militaries—means the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden are now also a theater for great power rivalry. (Russia, India, Saudi Arabia, and Japan have all signaled interest in establishing a military footprint here, too.)
The Idea
As I argued recently in Foreign Affairs, the idea of a Red Sea forum, as advanced by some forward-thinking diplomats in the region and in the West, is a good one. Such a collective could confront issues as diverse as trade and infrastructure development, maritime security, mixed migration, environmental protection, and conflict management. For example, tens of thousands of irregular migrants leave the Horn of Africa each year en route to the Gulf, often by way of Yemen. Meanwhile, huge numbers of Yemeni refugees, displaced by war, flee in the opposite direction—ending up not only elsewhere on the Arabian Peninsula, but across the Horn of Africa. States on both shores would benefit from a common conversation about this increasingly complex landscape, especially in the event of a post-war transition in Yemen.
One issue must ripen before this aspirational forum can become a reality, however, and another before its value can be fully realized. First, Gulf Arab states should resolve (or otherwise de-escalate) the ongoing Gulf crisis, which has polarized the Red Sea region and will complicate the participation not only of its feuding protagonists but also of their African allies. Second, states in the Horn should coordinate efforts toward re-balancing what are, at present, deeply asymmetric relationships with small, wealthy Arab monarchies. This will not happen overnight, of course, but the sweeping political and economic changes currently underway in Ethiopia and across the Horn provide a starting point. To be clear, the transformational potential of these transitions is matched only by their potential to destabilize, but success advancing domestic reforms, coupled with progress toward regional integration, could allow these African states to come to a Red Sea forum on a more equal footing.
Early attempts to convene Red Sea states have encountered obstacles, but these efforts will, and should, continue.
Mostly recently, Saudi Arabia attempted to take the lead, inviting foreign ministers to Riyadh under the banner of “Arab and African Coastal States of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden”. But the meeting’s lackluster result reflected not only insufficient diplomatic advance work, but differing views over composition and objectives. Ethiopia was not invited, for example, reportedly at the request of Egypt. Cairo’s attempts to exclude Addis Ababa are not really about Ethiopia’s littoral deficit, but about competition over regional influence and the hotly contested waters of the Nile.
African institutions have also initiated efforts toward a Red Sea collective; the African Union issued a mandate to build consensus around a Forum, while IGAD— Intergovernmental Authority on Development, an East African bloc—recently issued a communiqué committing its members to “formulate shared norms” and develop “common goals” on the Red Sea agenda. But such collaboration has yet to materialize. Eritrea, a key player, has so far resisted, a familiar posture given its president’s aversion to multilateral fora that might cede any authority (it was also a no-show at the Saudi ministerial).
European partners have also signaled interest in supporting a forum, given considerable investments in the region and a desire for secure shipping lanes and stable migration flows. New U.N. Security Council member Germany, together with EU officials, first invited Red Sea states to a gathering on the margins of the U.N. General Assembly in September 2018. But it also failed to launch, felled not only by disagreements over whom should be at the table, but whether the West should be involved at all.
Such fits and starts are to be expected as a diverse group of states attempt to forge a new diplomatic framework, especially as the boundaries of this new arena are still being defined. Champions of a Red Sea forum are right to continue the legwork in the meantime, narrowing gaps and laying a foundation for when the moment is right. Lessons may also be drawn by examining other such fora—curiosity has been expressed, for example, about both ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and the Baltic Sea Forum. As efforts mature and blueprints are revised, Red Sea states and interested partners should consider the following four elements.
The Design Elements
1Ethiopia must be party to any forum. The fact that the country of 100 million doesn’t technically have any Red Sea coastline isn’t grounds to exclude one of the region’s most important players—a country of keen interest to Gulf actors and a lynchpin of politics, economics, and infrastructure development across the Horn. Other “neighborhood” states with important interests and relationships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden should likewise be involved in some fashion, including the UAE, Qatar, and Oman.
2This critically important mechanism should not be misappropriated for use as a military bloc against Iran. (Some believed this was among Riyadh’s motivations in January.) Regional security can and should be an anchor of Red Sea dialogue, but it must not dominate the agenda, distract from a broader menu of shared interests, or risk further polarizing the region.
3Red Sea states should build into the forum a mechanism for coordination with third-tier partners outside the region—including the United States, Europe, and China. Whether the billions in seaborne trade, the ongoing war in Yemen, the development budgets flowing to the region, or the premium on free navigation in this corridor, each of these outside actors have interests in—and are already present on—the Red Sea. A forum cannot, and should not, include everyone, lest it succumb to the lowest-common denominator generalities that have sunk many a multilateral talk-shop. But neither should its core members deny that outside actors have vested interests—or turn away the partnerships and capital investments that would likely accompany new cooperation.
4The mechanism can and should aim to be flexible—more “venue” than “organization.” Every country need not convene on every issue; some matters may be dealt with more efficiently by a subset of states, others will benefit from broad participation of members and partners.
The architects and masons of a Red Sea forum have more work to do, and these design elements may help. More obstacles may be to come, but stability and prosperity in an increasingly complex neighborhood depends on their project.
Source=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2019/03/12/red-sea-blueprints/
Yiakl symposium UK draws over 800 delegates for day of debate, music, fine food and friendship
Sunday, 22 September 2019 22:05 Written by Martin Plaut
Eritrean Catholic Church in Canada and Kenya calls for return of schools and clinics
Saturday, 21 September 2019 12:41 Written by Eritrea Hub NewsPRESS RELEASE: ERITREAN CATHOLIC GEEZ RITE CHAPLAINCY ArchDiocese of Toronto
Posted On September 18, 2019
Return all confiscated properties to the Eritrean Catholic Church so that it can continue its virtuous work of teaching and caring for Eritrea’s vulnerable and underserved.
Eritrea, named for the beautiful Red Sea coast it is situated on, is tragically a nation in peril. Eritrea’s current regime is a prolific human rights violator, imprisoning thousands of citizens and denying them freedom of mobility and of the press. The Eritrean Catholic Church’s health facilities and schools along with those of other religious groups have become the most recent casualties of the turbulent political climate that exists within Eritrea.
This is a call to action directed at the Canadian government in particular and the international community in general. This is a call for a maximum exertion of pressure on the Eritrean government so that it reopens closed Catholic run health facilities and schools. This call to action is on behalf of those affected by these unjust closures. The Eritrean Catholic Church has been rendering much appreciated educational and health services in Eritrea for more than a century.
The Eritrean Catholic Church’s health care services were being provided free of cost to patients and were accessible to all those in need. A total of 29 health facilities and clinics were run by The Eritrean Catholic Church, providing vital services to tens of thousands of Eritreans from all walks of life, Catholic and non Catholic alike. These clinics were shut down and confiscated by the Eritrean government 8 in December 2018 and 21 on June 12, 2019. The majority of people receiving health services were villagers from remote parts of Eritrea. Hence these services provided essential life-prolonging treatment.
In addition to closing health care facilities, the Eritrean government has sadly closed 7 secondary schools, five Catholic Secondary schools, one Faith mission secondary school and one Islamic Secondary school on September 03, 2019. In doing this, the Eritrean government has effectively denied the Catholic Church its inalienable right to both teach and care for the Eritrean people as it has done for over a century. The vast majority of the closed health care facilities and schools were located on church premises and within monasteries; therefore, with the closures, a vital link between The Catholic Church and the Eritrean people it serves has been abruptly severed. Further still, the confiscation and seizure of church administered schools and health care facilities have effectively added Eritrean Catholics to a long list of religiously persecuted groups within Eritrea.
In the spirit of human dignity and preservation of life, we, Catholics and Eritreans alike, reaffirm our call upon the Canadian government and the international community to exert maximum pressure on the Eritrean government to respect religious freedom and to immediately return all
confiscated properties to the Catholic Church so that it may continue its virtuous work of teaching and caring for Eritrea’s vulnerable and underserved.
Eritrean Catholic Geez Rite Chaplaincy Toronto
Eritrean bishops protest government seizure of Catholic schools
By Francis Njuguna, Catholic News Service
- September 19, 2019
Source: Catholic Register
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNS) — Eritrean bishops protested the government’s seizure of Catholic schools and asked that the church be enabled to continue its educational and health services.
“If this is not hatred against the faith and against religion, what else can it be?” Archbishop Menghesteab Tesfamariam of Asmara, Bishop Thomas Osman of Barentu, Bishop Kidane Yebio of Keren and Bishop Fikremariam Hagos Tsalim of Segheneity said in a letter to Eritrea’s minister of public education.
“Our voice of protest” is raised again at the government’s “arbitrary and unilateral measures,” the bishops said, noting that the closure of its schools follows the seizure of its clinics and other medical facilities in June.
“Considering that the actions that are being taken against our educational and health institutions are contrary to the rights and to the legitimate freedom of the church and heavily limit the exercise of the postulates of faith, mission and social services, we ask that the recent resolutions are reviewed and the consequent course of action promptly stopped,” the bishops said.
The Most Holy Redeemer Secondary School of Asmara’s seminary was closed two years ago, with three other secondary schools closed in September; one of the secondary schools includes a primary school.
The bishops said in June that all health facilities run by the Catholic Church in Eritrea — more than 20, with many on the property of monasteries — had been seized by the government.
In their letter to the minister, Semere Re’esom, the bishops asked that the church be allowed to continue its “precious and highly appreciated services to the people.”
If the government seeks changes to the way these institutions are run, there should be “open and constructive dialogue,” they said, noting that the church has always sought dialogue “on everything concerning the situation of our church and our nation.”
The Catholic Church makes up about 5% of Eritrea’s population of 6 million people.
In April, the bishops angered the government by releasing a pastoral letter calling for a national reconciliation process to go along with respect for human rights and religious freedom.
Ruled by President Isaias Afwerki since 1993, Eritrea has been strongly criticized by human rights groups, especially over reports of detention without trial, open-ended military conscription and bans on some faiths. Regulations introduced in 1995 limit any developmental activities of religious institutions, including schools, hospitals, agricultural projects and sponsoring education for vulnerable children.
Hundreds of thousands of people have fled the country in recent years, with many making perilous journeys through deserts and across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.
September 18, 2019 7:21AM EDT Dispatches
Free All Political Prisoners, Including Critics Held Since 2001
Eighteen years ago today, the Eritrean government began its chilling clampdown on those it perceived as critics, decimating the country’s budding independent press in the process. Eighteen years later, as Eritrea ends its diplomatic isolation, little has changed for its citizens.
In September 2001, the government arrested 11 high ranking government officials after they called on President Isaias Afewerki to hold elections and allow political parties. Eritrea, a one-party state, has not held national elections since independence in 1993, when Isaias came to power. The government then arrested 10 journalists who reported on the criticism and closed down privately owned media outlets. Onlyoneof the 21 people arrested has ever been seen again; reliable, yet unconfirmed, reports suggest at least 10 may have died while in detention.
These arrests triggered a wave of arrests and an era of repression that continues to date, where any criticism is prohibited and scores of political prisoners are subjected to appalling conditions and treatment, many held incommunicado.
The Eritrean government has normalized relationswith its neighbors after years of diplomatic isolation. But so far, it has shown no interest in allowingmuch-desired change at home.
Justlast September, Eritrean authorities arrested Abrehe Kidane Berhane, the former finance minister, after he publicly criticized Isaias and called for political reforms. He has not been heard from since.
Eighteen years have been lost for those in detention and for many other Eritreans – subjected to repression at home or forced to flee abroad – as highlighted in a 18-day campaign launched today by diaspora group “One Day Seyoum” using the hashtag #18StolenYears, aimed at highlighting the dire human rights situation in the country.
The government should listen to Eritreans’ call for reform and an end to abuses. It should begin by immediately releasing those imprisoned 18 years ago and the many other political prisoners.
Source=https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/09/18/eritrea-should-end-18-years-darkness
‘Classified document’ shows Ethiopia rejects Egypt’s demand for ‘natural average flow’ of Nile after GERD dam
Wednesday, 18 September 2019 20:26 Written by Eritrea HubSource: Addis Standard
Addis Abeba, September 18/2019 – Sileshi Bekele (PhD), Ethiopia’s Minister of Water, Irrigation and Electricity said Ethiopia has rejected Egypt’s latest proposal on the filling of multi-billion dollar Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
A tripartite meeting between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan took place in Cairo on Sunday and Monday for the first time in more than a year. Earlier reports show Egypt and Ethiopia were “at odds” over the issue.
Speaking to local media today, Dr. Sileshi said that Egypt has proposed its own plans which suggested the filling of the dam’s reservoir to be conducted within seven years period of time and a minimum guaranteed release of 40 billion meter cubic (BMC) of water every year as well as demand to maintain High Aswan Dam (HAD) at 165 meter above sea level.
A classified document obtained by Addis Standard discussing Ethiopia’s position on the demands made by Egypt (refereed as “Technical aspects of the agreement on the Filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam(GERD)”, submitted on 1st of ‘ August 2019″) rejected the demands and provided explanations on Ethiopia’s position.
Accordingly, Ethiopia rejected Egypt’s proposal demanding it “to commit to release the ‘natural average flow’ of the Blue Nile measured at the GERD site because it was “based on the recorded flow of the Blue Nile for the period 1911 to 2018.” During this period, the Blue Nile flow fluctuated between a minimum of approximately 29 BCM (in 1984) to a maximum of 69 BCM (in 1917)’ The average annual flow for this 108 years is approximately 49 BCM.”
“The Blue Nile has no longer been in natural flow state since the time Ethiopia started implementing irrigation g projects on the Blue Nile ,such as the Fincha Hydro-power the Tana-Beles, the Chara-Chara weir etc. Therefore demanding n “natural average flow” be guaranteed means denying the existence of these current uses (projects),” the document said.
Ethiopia also rejected the 40 BMC annual release of water on the bases that “such stringent condition of annual flow release is not acceptable to Ethiopia as it prolongs the filling of the GERD.”
With regard to Egypt’s demand “to maintain High Aswan Dam (HAD) at 165 meter above sea level”, Ethiopia rejected the demand saying “this request is technically impractical and is tantamount to agreeing to hold the operation of the GERD hostage to Egyptian water use downstream. Further since Ethiopia cannot control Egyptian water use/withdrawal from HAD, agreeing to this demand means ending up in perpetual ‘water debt.’”
“The request by Egypt is not practical and, therefore, Ethiopia outright rejects it,” the document reads and concluded that when all the elements of the Egyptian proposal are considered in aggregate, the commutative effect will result in: a) Prolong the filing of GERD indefinitely; b) GERD will primarily be there to compensate for Egyptian water deficit, serving as second backup reservoir to HAD; c) GERD will not deliver its economic return to Ethiopia; d) The proposed Permanent coordination Mechanism infringes on Ethiopia’s sovereignty; e) Ethiopia will forfeit its rights to equitable and reasonable utilization of the Blue Nile water resources.
Eritrea: Bishops Say Seizure Of Catholic Schools Is ‘Hatred Against The faith’
Wednesday, 18 September 2019 19:56 Written by CNA
September 18, 2019
By CNA
Seven religious schools in Eritrea, four of them sponsored by the Catholic Church, have been seized by the country’s government this month. Catholic bishops in the country say the move was motivated by “hatred against the faith.”
“If this is not hatred against the faith and against religion what else can it be?” Eritrea’s bishops asked in a Sept. 4 letter addressed to the Minister of Public Education, Semere Re’esom.
The seven schools seized by the government include three run Protestant and Muslim groups, according to Comboni Catholic missionaries serving in the area. The schools have been nationalized, and will reportedly now be run by the country’s education ministry.
The Eritrean government has also seized Church-run health facilities.
“The actions that are being taken against our educational and health institutions are contrary to the rights and to the legitimate freedom of the Church,” the bishops wrote in their Sept. 4 letter.
The bishops also suggested that the government raise to them any objections to the way in which Catholic schools and hospitals are administered in Eritrea.
“If there are situations that need to be corrected or adjusted, not only is it good, but even the only viable way, in order for this to take place in a context of an open and constructive dialogue,” the bishops wrote.
Eritrea is a one-party state whose human rights record has frequently been deplored.
It is believed the seizures are retaliatory, after the Church in April called for reforms to reduce emigration.
The bishops had also called for national reconciliation.
Government seizure of Church property is not new, however.
A 1995 decree restricting social and welfare projects to the state has been used intermittently since then to seize or close ecclesial services.
In July 2018, an Eritrean Catholic priest helping immigrants and refugees in Italy told EWTN that authorities had recently shut down eight free Catholic-run medical clinics. He said authorities claimed the clinics were unnecessary because of the presence of state clinics.
Christian and Muslim schools have also been closed under the 1995 decree, according to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom’s 2019 annual report.
Eritrea has been designated a Country of Particular Concern since 2004 for its religious freedom abuses by the US Department of State.
Many Eritreans, especially youth, emigrate, due to a military conscription, and a lack of opportunities, freedom, education, and health care.
A July 2018 peace agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea, which ended a conflict over their mutual border, led to an open border which has allowed for easier emigration.
Catholics make up 4 percent of Eritrea’s population.
Source=https://www.eurasiareview.com/18092019-eritrea-bishops-say-seizure-of-catholic-schools-is-hatred-against-the-faith/
