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Eritrea Extorts UK Refugees to Fund Somalia’s al-Shabaab Islamist Fighters [SPECIAL REPORT]

IBTimes UK reporter Gianluca Mezzofiore obtains documents showing Eritrean government collects illegal tax in violation of UN and Foreign Office Eritreans living in the UK are being forced by their own government to pay a "diaspora

IBTimes UK reporter Gianluca Mezzofiore obtains documents showing Eritrean government collects illegal tax in violation of UN and Foreign Office

Eritreans living in the UK are being forced by their own government to pay a “diaspora tax” that ultimately funds the secretive country’s network of influence in the Horn of Africa, including supporting the al-Shabaab group of militants in Somalia, an IBTimes UK special investigation has uncovered.

The collection of a 2% income tax on Eritrean nationals living abroad violatesUN resolution 2023 (2011) which condemns Eritrea’s use of the tax to “destabilise the Horn of Africa region and to violate the sanctions regime”. Some of the money is used to procure weapons for armed opposition groups.

The UN Security Council hardened sanctions against Eritrea in December 2011 over its alleged support for Islamist militant groups such as Somalia’s al-Shabaab.

Among the alleged member of the Somali Islamist group was Samantha Lewthwaite – dubbed the “white widow” – the 28-year-old wife of one of the London 7/7 bombers. Lewthwaite was allegedly part of a terror unit that planned to target the city of Mombasa, Kenya.

he Foreign Office in Whitehall had earlier sought to curb Eritrean diplomats who were collecting the tax in the UK after claiming that the money was used by the Eritrean government to destablise the region.

On 20 May 2011, the Eritrean ambassador in London was informed that the collection of the diaspora tax levied on Eritreans might be unlawful and breach the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The Foreign Office told the ambassador to stop all activities relating to its collection.

However, documents obtained by IBTimes UK and redacted to protect the identity of the source, show that the practice still happens in Britain.

The 2 per cent tax

Several Eritreans have described the tax as a “consular service” for any citizen wishing to renew their passport or Eritrean holders of foreign passports requesting a visa to visit Eritrea. Every Eritrean must produce documentation of the tax payments they made in their host country and on this basis the 2% tax is calculated.

“Many people do not pay it voluntarily, but if you have any needs of service from the embassy eg, you want to send home the body of a relative who died, your family needs to renew a trade licence or you simply want a visa for your British-born child to visit Eritrea, you are asked to prove that you have fulfilled your obligations,” Selam Kidane, an Eritrean living in the UK, said.

The first document seen by IBTimes UK is a transfer order slip dated 2012 from a British bank to the Housing & Commerce Bank of Eritrea in the capital of Asmara for further credit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

It belongs to Eden (not her real name) who was forced to pay the diaspora tax after authorities threatened her parents in Asmara that their family business licence would not be renewed.

“If it wasn’t for my mum I wouldn’t have paid,” Eden, a British citizen, said. “I have always refused to do that and delay the payment since I got in the UK.”

Even those like Eden who have not required consular services for several years are required to pay “arrears” for the years in which the tax was not paid.

The alternative for Eden’s parents, if she had not paid, would be to sign a letter in which they stated she was no longer their daughter, which would effectively disinhereit her.

A well-placed source told IBTimes UK: “The problem is not with the diaspora tax as such, although that can be frustrating. The key feature is the message by which it can be taken from the people. It is more nuanced than Nazi Germany. It’s corruption and use of social pressure.”

Among the “national obligations payments” made by Eden are the recovery tax, which is the 2% diaspora tax, and the Hzbawi Mekhete, which in the Tigrigna language means “national defence” and is a fee that funds the army.

While the 2 per cent tax is negotiable, the “national defence” fee is not,IBTimes UK understands.

“I had to struggle to pay this money. I feel so terrible, I had to borrow money from friends and a charity in order to pay,” Eden said. “I disagree with paying this tax. I consider tax a ransom on me.  I feel so horrible.”

The second document (shown below) is a confirmation of Eden’s payment made from London by the Eritrean Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The translation reads: “Per the information we received from you, we confirm that the above sum has been credited into our account and we are enclosing the credit advice. Please complete the transaction in accordance with the procedures, entering it into the database and also the government account system.

Victory to the Masses!

Berhane Yemane

Head of Mission Accounts”

The North Korea of Africa

Dubbed the North Korea of Africa, Eritrea is considered one of the continent’s most opaque countries. National elections have not been held since it gained independence in 1993. The country is governed by the one-party authoritarian rule of President Isaias Afewerki, who has been in power for 20 years.

Torture, arbitrary detention and severe restrictions on freedom of expression are routine. Mandatory military service imposed on all men and women between 18 and 55 is one of the main causes of flight from the country. It has been calculated that 4,000 Eritreans leave the country every month and, according to a 2008 estimate, 40,000 Eritreans live in Britain.

Advocacy group Reporters without Borders has ranked Eritrea bottom of a list of 179 countries on freedom of expression. Access for international humanitarian and human rights organisations is almost impossible and the country has no independent media.

The Foreign Office told IBTimes UK: “We are aware of allegations over the use of harassment to collect revenue from members of the Eritrean diaspora in the UK.

“On 20 December, 2012, FCO officials raised these concerns with the Eritrean ambassador and reminded him of UN Security Council resolution 2023. [The UK supports the resolution] which condemned Eritrea’s use of the diaspora tax to destabilise the Horn of Africa region and decided that Eritrea should cease using illicit means to collect the tax,” the spokesperson said.

IBTimes UK contacted the Eritrean embassy but it has not responded to any questions about the tax.

Canada expels Eritrean diplomat

In May, the Canadian government expelled an Eritrean envoy over allegations that he had demanded the 2% diaspora tax and “national defence” fee from Eritreans in the country.

Semere Ghebremariam Micael, head of the Eritrean Consulate General in Toronto, had been under investigation over the allegations.

“Canada has taken steps to expel (declare persona non grata) Mr Semere Ghebremariam O Micael, consul and head of the Eritrean Consulate General in Toronto, effective immediately,” Canada’s foreign affairs minister John Baird said.

The 2013 annual report by the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea to the Security Council’s Somalia/Eritrea sanctions committee revealed that the Eritrean government was still undermining stability in Somalia by paying political agents and a warlord linked to Islamist militants to influence the Mogadishu government.

Asmara has always denied any involvement with al-Shabaab militants fighting to overthrow the Somali government. It said that UN sanctions imposed in 2009 for supporting the Islamist militant group were based on lies.

The UN Security Council has decided to extend for 16 months sanctions against Somalia and Eritrea.

“In a resolution adopted this morning, the council asked Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to re-establish the eight-member Monitoring Group on Eritrea and Somalia until 25 November, 2014,” reads a UN statement.

That extension may point to the fact that Eritrea is a case of sanctions that work – but it is ordinary Eritreans who are paying the price, not the government.

“The whole thing is extremely unfair,” said Kidane. “In all the years since independence the regime in Eritrea has never been accountable to the people and yet it has created a system to maintain itself in power by extorting those very people.”

To report problems or to leave feedback about this article, e-mail:g.mezzofiore@ibtimes.co.uk
To contact the editor, e-mail: editor@ibtimes.co.uk

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32 COMMENTS
  • Amaunel July 29, 2013

    http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/495268/20130729/eritrea-shabaab-somalia-diaspora-tax-horn-islam.htm

    The full link including the documents discovered as an evidence. client the above link. The UK government must seriously look the case as UK is giving protection to refugees.

  • The Truth July 29, 2013

    What the opposition fails to understand is that with such lies, whatever support you had within the “silent majority” is diminishing. The Eritrean people know no one is forcing us to pay anything but those who continue to peddle such lies are desperate to further their political agenda. Those that pay, will continue and those that don’t, won’t. I wouldn’t be surprised if 90% of Eritreans don’t pay their 2% tax even amongst supporters of the government.

    • zemen beraki July 29, 2013

      You are a lier of the highest degree because no one ever paid the 2% tax voluntarily. May be in the liberation Era it might have happened otherwise you will never pay more than 10,000 USD because you wanted to send a corpse for burial in Eritrea or for the renewal of a license. If the regime has collected on a flat rate basis for a service like 200 USD for the renewal of a bisiness license or a court case etc it would have collected more money because every body would have paid because it is a service fee, but collecting mandatory tax to an evil regime is tantamount to blessing the regime and I would better die than pay it. In spite of these all boot lickers like truth want to pay for opportunistic purposes. sahme on all those who pay 2% for the murdering of their countrymen. They are liveing in democratic countries but bolster an evil regime!!!

      • The Truth July 29, 2013

        Do you understand the meaning of “forced”? No one is forcing or extorting anyone to pay a tax that they don’t want to. If you have no need for services from Eritrea and are content with your life in your adopted homeland, then why the fuss. Go about your life because Eritrea does not owe you anything if you don’t reciprocate. No where on Earth, do you get services for free. In the US, you pay property tax, business tax, death tax, inheritance tax, gift tax, etc. And you welfare bums complain about 2%. Maybe you should do better in life if this is too much for you.

      • simon August 2, 2013

        i dont understand i pay 2% and im born in sweden. I have been in my contry
        3 times. Why so much talk about this 2 fucking % it,s my money and i
        can do what ever i wont

    • poor bekitai July 29, 2013

      the opposition are also part of the Eritrean people i guess. did u include them in your comment? are u saying eritreans in the diaspora are not forced to pay the 2% tax? are you sure Eritreans are not denied to be granted a travel permit to their home land if they fail to pay the tax? when you say the ”ERitrean people” did you include those who are in 5 refugee camps in Ethiopia, in numerous camps in the Sudan, in Jibouti, in Kenya, in sinai(those who are dying and crying in the hands of Bedewin)……………. do you think you could be wiser and reasonable more than these people who are leaving their home land Eritrea in flocks? do you think you have contributed more than those who are opposing to the payment and its political implications? are you the only one who can safe guard the security and interest of our country? on what bases? how do u think what you are saying is fair?

      according to me the opposition are those who are saying ”no to what is going on in our country”, are you satisfied with what the leadership in asmara responds to all the problems in my country? either you are one of the beneficiaries from the on going problem or you are not eritrean.
      please do not hurt the injured minds of my people. you have the right to shut up as what many are doing.
      what do u mean with ”their political agenda?” how about your political agenda? is that from the heavens? u r like any other person?

      lets sympathize with our people please realistically. lets fight those who are against Unity, lets fight those against sovereignty,those who are not proud of our history and core national values….. but undermining opposition with baseless arguments is not well taken…

    • Romay July 29, 2013

      I never paid 2% tax and nobody asked me to pay. I don’t need any government service in Eritrea. All my family live in Eritrea and the government never asked them about me or the 2% tax. So, the so called 2% tax is voluntary.

    • Genet July 30, 2013

      The..
      What is the point you are trying to make? Have you ask the PFDJ’s Gov? for any service? if you did, did they give you any thing without checking the doc. of 2%?? No 2% no service.
      Genet

  • Bus.Zone July 29, 2013

    Any One who pay that %2 from AU, USA, EU should be send Back to Hell Hole Called Eritrea

    • Romay July 30, 2013

      I mean I didn’t ask any service from the government and never paid 2%. Nobody forced me, never. If you want any service from the government, it is up to you. But still no body will stop you from visiting your country, of course you shouldn’t be a career criminal?

  • hanetay July 29, 2013

    stop misinforming your readers….shame on you who claim to be an opposition party cliques.

    • Genet July 29, 2013

      easy PFDJ’s clique, Oh no, I mean PFDJ’s worthless zombie. You are misinformed up to your nose.

    • zemen beraki July 29, 2013

      Hanetay! very surprising when did u kill a lion or an elephant? U are a hare or a rabbit, may be a crocodile!!

    • zemen beraki July 29, 2013

      U are not hanetay but the tool of wedi gerahtu who lick his boots. Lehasi meakor leqlaqi.

  • Kidan2 July 29, 2013

    We need more news to expose this regime as soon as possible. This is a big news, we need to work hard.

  • maluque July 29, 2013

    emo entay kingebir tidelyuna alekum? etom mengisti zibehalu zelewu ko ehwatina yom. nimen kinhibom? hansab gizie nihabom kiregu

    • TwoWayStreet July 29, 2013

      Maluque,
      “22 Amet” de’s Regi’om, Mexixom, Sebibom, Chenyom belom emberey.

      • ahmed saleh July 29, 2013

        BDHREY SAEIRI AYTBKOLA ZEBHALELU TRERGAM
        GHIZYE IYU ARKIBUNA ZELO AHWAT DEKI EREY.

  • Haben July 29, 2013

    Assenna.

    Are you following the situation in Assab and environs reported by radio Wegahta. It looks very intense and serious. Can you confirm this news and analysis. Thx.

    Haben.

  • Semhar July 29, 2013

    Thanks to the UN Security Council for the courageous decision to extend for 16 months sanctions against Somalia and Eritrea.
    As long as ድያብሎስ!Isayas and HIGDEF are in Eritrea misery and death will continue.
    The only solution is to get rid of crazy mad dog ድያብሎስ! Isayas wedi Medhin Berad, his son, and his blind followers HIGDEF just like the Libyans did to Gadafi, his sons and his followers.
    Eritreans should unite and get rid the tyrant mad dog ድያብሎስ! Isayas, his son and his blind followers the HIGDEF.

  • Kidan2 July 29, 2013

    ereitrea is a failed state + failed leadership

  • Morbinore July 29, 2013

    The 2% is not volentary if it is volentary why are they asking the tax return or document from social security office the show our income? It is illegal to show your tax return to anybody but Eritrean government is forcing us to pay the 2% & it is illegal & wrong to pay it.

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