A new challenge for Eritreans in Diaspora.  The mining drama

By Petros Tesfagiorgis

A Report published on  November by Danish Immigrations services had recommended that Denmark no longer offer blanket asylum to Eritrean refugees on the grounds that human rights situation in Eritrea has improved. Furthermore it notes that Eritrean refugees have the possibility to restore good relationship with their Government by paying 2% Diaspora tax and signing an apology letter.  This would virtually remove the grounds for seeking asylum.

In the United Kingdom the Solicitors International Human Rights Group –SIHRG- came out with a similar report.  It was presented in a seminar by Ruby Sandhu SIHRG vice chair, organized by Institute of Advanced Legal Studies – dated 12/12/2014. The title was “Eritrea through the lens of Business Ethics and Sustainability.  The flier says, “A nation that is keen to forge its own narrative and one of nation building through its Rehabilitation and Diaspora Tax, National Service and emerging Natural Resources.”  It justified the 2% tax and the forced labor. It is sad that it ignores the pains and sufferings of the people of Eritrea perpetuated by PFDJ. The implication is serious.   The demonstrations in Israel, in Denmark, “the Stop trafficking in Sinai/Egypt campaign in the UK are meant to frustrate the dangerous trend of denying Eritreans Asylum seekers any protection.  Although the protests are making a difference they are reactive and lacks long term and sustainable action plan.  The mining companies and their apologists like SIHRG are now in the business of painting PFDJ a humane face.  This is   an insult to the intelligence of UNHCR, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch , the various Eritrean  human rights organizations who documented the gross human rights violations in Eritrea for the last 14 years and the tragedy of Lampedusa were 369 Eritreans were drowned and the torture, murder, and rape in Sinai/Egypt.   This presents the Diaspora political and civic organizations   with a new challenge in addition to the chronic challenges of bringing the fragmented organizations to unite in order to rally Eritreans behind them, and be credible to the international communities and governments.

On the other hand there are some remarkable initiatives not by organizations but by few brave individuals.  3 Eritreans have sued the Canadian mining company Nefsun for complicity in torture, forced labor, slavery, and crimes against humanity filed in British Colombia. Their lawyers said, “Our clients have assumed great personal risk in coming forward to file this lawsuit”. This statement is a testimony that   the 3 Eritreans need moral, political and other forms of support.  To our dismay Eritreans are passively watching the event unfolding and there is no attempt to organize seminars, discussions to make Eritreans aware of the implication of the collision of the mining corporations with the repressive regime in Eritrea.  In such situation it is a litmus test to see if Eritrean organizations leave their differences behind and stand up to the challenge and do something.

There is another initiative by concerned Eritreans and friends of Eritrea in the United Kingdom with the objective of bringing the abuse of human rights at a higher policy level with various British establishments, the Government, the media and the European Union. The Early Day Motion (EDM) 445 in the House of Commons   is part of these exposures. The EDM   may be the reason why SIHRG made a poorly attended hastily organized seminar that served more to expose their sinister anti people design for Eritrea more than anything else. They are   prescribing a distorted economic development policy for Eritrea that undermines the sovereignty of the people.

It is the Eritreans that should define the destiny of Eritrea not SIHRG.  The following quotation can give an idea of what kind of Eritrea Eritreans want.  I quote from a book titled “Eritrea at a cross roads” by Andebran Welde Giorgis who advocates a constitutional Government as the way forward.  I quote “The creation of constitutional government would restore sovereignty to the people, operationalize a democratic system of Government, allow political pluralism, and facilitate participatory politics.”

Ruby Sandhu-the first speaker in the seminar contradicted Andebrhan. Hers is a neo-colonial prescription that condones gross human rights violations, legitimize slave labor, perpetual enslavement of the people, marginalize the people and make the mines   at the center of economic growth.

The   Court House News Services Tuesday,   November 25, 2014 wrote, “Since 2011, Nefsun has generated more approximately $1.6 billion in revenue, only $250 million of which went to the Eritrean Government’s state-owned Eritrean National Mining Corporation. There by providing massive financial support to continue Eritrea’s system of forced labor and human rights abuses,” according to the complaint. .    http://demo.archive.assenna.com/western-firms-reduce-eritrean-miners-to-abject-slavery-uk-mps-say/

Under such regime the Eritrean people are condemned to accept the trickle down economic policy that is perpetuating poverty, ignorance and underdevelopment.  Some  Diaspora visitors  on their return from their visit to Eritrea speaks of continues interruption of electric power, poverty and huge influx of refugees particularly the youth to exile. Eritrea is getting empty of its youth, running away from indefinite national service. However, notwithstanding gross lies to paint the Eritrean Government with humane face the apologists are challenged and more would follow.   The Canada lawsuit is remarkable.  In the United Kingdom the Early day Motion (EDM) which saw 41 British MP   condemning the Eritrean Government for gross human rights violation is another. http://www.asmarino.com/news/155-breaking-news/4153-eritrea-41-british-parliamentarians-call-for-an-end-to-forced-labour-in-eritrea

After Ruby Sandhu the next speaker was Dr Tim Williams who runs a successful exploration companies focused on gold and copper in Eritrea.  From his presentation, with video aid, we learned a lot of the mining extraction processes, the technical aspect of it was amazing.  However he did one blunder. He said the Government of Eritrea honors all contracts it is a law abiding government.  The Seminar was one hour and little time was allocated for brief questions only.   Professor Gaim Kibreab who was at the center of debate against the Danish Immigration report asked a simple question.  He said, “The Eritrean constitution says that any one arrested for any reason must be brought to court within 48 hours. But thousands are kept in prison for more than 13 years without due process of law, do you call Eritrean Government a law abiding. Dr Williams froze unable to answer the question. After a while he said he was talking in relation to the mining contracts and is not referring to the politics of Eritrea.

Afterwards a Dr Tim told to a member of the group of concerned Eritrea in private that he did not want to be kicked out from Eritrea and he has to keep his mouth shut and it is not his business. It has become crystal clear that the mining corporations have an excuse that if they don’t keep quite China who is not concerned about human rights violation in Africa will take advantage and win all the contracts.

The class action in Ottawa and the project in the United Kingdom is a wakeup call to the Diaspora organizations. They can build on the initiatives of the amazing few committed individuals who are exposing the gross human rights violations by the Eritreans Government and the complicity of the mining corporations.  It is not a matter of opposing mining extraction as such but the complicity in perpetuating human rights violation in Eritrea.   All those who worked by force should be compensated and the mining companies should employ workers directly. The mining corporations Sub-contracting the Government owned Construction Company like Segen is a crime. .    Through active involvement the Diaspora can rally the international community behind them in return they can be taken seriously by the Government of the country they adopted. Here you can build upon the experience of EDM that used Western democratic system to lobby MPs to act against the abuse of human rights in Eritrea.

The Stop Slavery Campaign press release: Asmarino.com dated 01/01/15:  is a move that rekindles the hope of Eritreans in Diaspora in the way they put their upcoming into action.

I quote “Titling their campaign ‘Time to Break the Chain of abuse’ Eritrean activists from Sweden, Norway, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, UK and Italy will, over the next six months, call upon European governments and the UN to address the cycle of grave human rights violations being perpetrated against conscripts, forcing them to leave their country in droves.

Here they have an action plan – they have a time frame of 6 months after which they will review and decide on the next move This is a kind of campaign which people can relate too. This campaign if it persists can be of historical mass movement that breaks the cycle of fragmentation.

The end