The oppression of the Eritrean people must be stopped

Totalitarian system, generalized oppression of the population, national service for life, total absence of freedom, lack of means of communication, no future other than the pursuit of enslavement: this is the hell in which Eritrean people live, this is the hell that some are trying to flee.

Issayas Afeworki, hero of the war of independence against Ethiopia which lasted thirty years, became the tormentor of his people. Without a Constitution, without a Parliament, without an opposition, without elections, without free press, he governs with terror.

On the 18^th of September 2001 he had his main opponents rounded up and put in prison. For the last sixteen years, no trial has taken place, no charges have been raised, and no news has reached the families. Are they even still alive?

Through Herculean efforts, some courageous people have managed to flee, eluding the sadistic vigilance of the State security. After months, sometimes years, wandering, traveling on foot, by truck, by boat, they arrived in Europe. Many have experienced torture, kidnappings and ransoms, or rapes. They all have seen friends and travel companions die.

How are those courageous survivors welcomed in Europe?

Both the most elementary morality and international law state that they should be received with dignity and should be granted refugee status immediately.

However, while asylum applications are successful in almost all cases, many delay the initiation of the procedure due to lack of information and accompaniment by the public authorities.

Moreover, those, who after several years apply for naturalization, are asked by authorities to go to the embassy of the country they have fled to obtain a passport, as necessary for the procedure. In order to do so, they have to sign a self-incriminating declaration in which they apologize for fleeing and claim to accept any punishment the government may take. As it exposes their relatives staying in the country to serious threats, many give up the process.

What is the attitude of Europe toward Eritrea?

Obsessed by the fear of seeing refugees reach the continent, the European states grant Eritrea hundreds of millions of euros, in the hope that it will prevent Eritreans from fleeing their country. Moreover, they let it extort under duress a “Tax of 2%” of the revenues of the diaspora, despite UN condemnations of it. They also reach agreements with the criminal regime of Sudan, which entrusts to the former militia responsible of crimes against humanity in Darfur the control of certain parts of the border with Libya. There, they sometimes engage with somewhat questionable actors who exploit and mistreat refugees. Wrongly, Europeans are inspired by the disastrous refugee agreement with Turkey, with devastating effects on democracy and human rights.

The consequences of that policy are the opposite to the aims sought, and contrary to the fundamental values of the European Union: the regime in Asmara has not become less totalitarian, but stronger. Thus, the reasons to flee are reinforced and the dangers to do so are aggravated. The number of departing candidates does not decrease, and the number of dead and oppressed is increasing.

In order to help Eritreans build a future of freedom and prosperity and not of suffering, enslavement and exile, a few simple key actions must be taken.

Firstly, public authorities in European countries must promptly inform the Eritreans who have reached the continent, with the aim of issuing them refugee status as soon as possible. The naturalization procedure must also be amended, so that Eritreans do not have to choose between access to citizenship and the safety of their relatives.

Next, European policies related to Eritrea must be profoundly changed, and the “2% Tax” must not be tolerated anymore, in order to stop contributing to the reinforcement of the totalitarian regime and of the oppression of its people, in particular the ones who are trying to flee.

To accomplish that, we must stop being paralyzed by the fear of seeing the damned of the Earth join Europe, and understand that the agreement with Turkey on refugees is an example to avoid, not to follow.

Finally, the families of the imprisoned opponents and anonymous ones must be supported, notably to obtain news from their relatives, for example by the sponsorship of public figures.

Opponents, activists and journalists in exile must also be supported so that a society made of diversity of opinion, vitality and freedom may be rebuilt.

For the end of the oppression of the Eritreans, it is morally right and politically urgent to act.

by

Benjamin Abtan, President of the European Grassroots Antiracist Movement – EGAM, Coordinator of the Elie Wiesel Network of Parliamentarians of Europe for the Prevention of Mass Atrocities, Meron Estefanos, Journalist, Director of the Eritrean Initiative on Refugees Right (Eritrea, Sweden), Beate and Serge Klarsfeld, Presidents of the Sons and Daughters of the Jewish Deportees of France and UNESCO Honorary Ambassadors and Special Advisers for Education about the History of the Holocaust and for the Prevention of Genocide (Germany and France), Daniel Mekonnen, Professor, Lawyer, and co-founder of the Eritrean Movement for Democracy and Human Rights (Eritrea, Switzerland), Asli Erdogan, Writer (Turkey), Khedijah Ali Mohamed-Nur, Director of the Network of Eritrean Women Limited, (Eritrea, UK), Kim Campbell, Former Prime Minister of Canada, President of the World Movement for Democracy (Canada), Amanuel Ghirmai, Journalist, co-founder of Radio Erena (France), Danis Tanović, Film Director (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Mussie Zerai, Priest, President of the Habeshia Agency Cooperation for Development (Eritrea, Italy), Rithy Panh, Writer, Documentary Maker (Cambodia, France), Vanessa Barhe, Co-founder and President of One Day Seyoum (Eritrea, UK), Miguel Ángel Moratinos, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs (Spain), Feruz Werede, Activist against the “2% tax” (Eritrea, UK), Zineb El Rhazoui, Journalist (Morocco, France), Helen Kidan, Advocacy for the Eritrean Movement for Democracy and Human Rights (Eritrea, UK), Advija Ibrahimovic, Spokeswoman of Women of Srebrenica (Bosnia & Herzegovina), Mussie Ephrem, Human Rights Activist, former political leader (Eritrea / Sweden), Yonous Muhammadi, President of the Greek Forum for Refugees (Greece), Aaron Berhane, Journalist, Editor-in-Chief of Meftih (Eritrea, Canada), Oliviero Toscani, Plastic Artist (Italy), Selam Kidane, Human Rights Activist (UK), John Stauffer, Founder of the American Team for Displaced Eritreans (USA), Samuel Bizus, Human Rights Activist (Eritrea, USA), Martin Plaut, Journalist (UK), The Stop Slavery in Eritrea Campaign (Eritrea, Switzerland), Habte Hagos, Chairman Eritrea Focus.