Tag: Eritrea
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Eritrea, Ethiopia Put Their War Masks On
[spider_facebook id=”4″]War logic has taken over Eritrean and Ethiopian leaders: the skirmish that ignited last weekend is careening towards a dangerous confrontation with war now all but inevitable–unless we all act. As we write this, Eritrea and Ethiopia are exchanging uninterrupted artillery fire across their border, each aiming to soften the positions of the other. Tension is…
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Eritrea-Ethiopia: Wanted: Peace Lobby
[spider_facebook id=”4″]As we reported yesterday, there was a shoot-out between Eritrean and Ethiopian units on June 12 across their common boundary in the Tsorona area, roughly central point of their 912 km border. The spokesperson of the government of Eritrea gave a terse press release that Ethiopia had “unleashed an attack” on Eritrea, and that…
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Videos: Mike Smith (CoI) & Yemane Gebreab
[spider_facebook id=”4″]Today, June 8, Mike Smith, Chairman of Commission of Inquiry (CoI) on Human Rights in Eritrea, held a press conference to explain why his commission will report that Eritrean government officials and some military commanders are guilty of committing crimes against humanity: Following Mike Smith’s address, Yemane Gebreab, Director of Eritrea’s ruling party, PFDJ,…
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Eritrean Survivors of Torture, Rape in Sinai
[spider_facebook id=”4″]According to Israel’s Haaretz, which interviewed a 29-year old Eritrean, at least 7,000 Eritreans in Israel survived torture and rape in Sinai. The interviewee makes it clear why he left Eritrea: “I escaped the tyrannical regime there, not the country itself. You can’t really leave your homeland,” he says. “But my country is under a…
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Eritrea This Week – 20160605
[spider_facebook id=”4″]There is a certain pattern to reports of overcrowded boats sinking in the Mediterranean: (1) Eritreans hear the news and beg God, “please don’t tell me they were Eritreans”; (2) Western journalists report that, indeed, many or most were Eritreans; (3) Assenna.com, an Eritrean website, interviews survivors or witnesses; (4) Supporters of the Government…
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Eritrean Regime’s Strategy To Deal With Geneva
[spider_facebook id=”4″] While Eritrea has been under UN sanctions since 2009, it is the potential act of another UN agency, that of the Geneva-based Human Rights Council (HRC), that has been keeping the ruling clique in Eritrea worried. The UN’s HRC, which mandated the Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea (CoIE) to conduct an investigation on…
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Eritrea This Week – 20160523
[spider_facebook id=”4″] At Eritrean independence silver jubilee, after telling Eritreans that everything that is right with Eritrea is credited to his government and everything that is wrong can be blamed on the United States, the 70-year old President Isaias Afwerki told his audience: “may we meet for our golden anniversary.” This is consistent with wikileaks…
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Eritrea’s Descent Into Barter Economy
[spider_facebook id=”4″] It has been over four months since the Government of Eritrea announced a new monetary policy which included issuing new currency, restricting the amount of money that individuals can withdraw and moving, in principle, from a cash-transaction economy to one based on checks. Though its purpose was not announced, the goal appears to…
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Eritrea: Too Independent To Be Free?
[spider_facebook id=”4″] On May 24, 1991, Eritreans, for the first time in their history, earned an opportunity to govern themselves free from any foreign power. This was a hard-fought outcome which came about as a result of People Power: 1890 – 1941: Eritreans chafed under the rule of colonial Italy. 1941 – 1951: Eritreans, then administered by the…