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Alone against the world

In a previous issue of The Bulletin, Nikolaj Nielsen questioned the absence of Eritrea's ambassador at a conference promoting human rights in the notoriously undemocratic African nation. Below is the original story. Scroll down to read the Eritrea Ambassador's response.

Photo: Aster Johannes and her husband Petros, both imprisoned by the Eritrean regime

Although the Europe External Policy Advisors' moderator confirmed that Girma Asmerom had been sent an invite, the seat of Eritrea's Ambassador to the European Union remained conspicuously empty at a recent Brussels conference for the promotion of peace and human rights in Eritrea. As late as last month, Asmerom had claimed in an interview published in the September/October issue of the Courier ACP that his country is the most stable in the whole of Africa.

And yet Eritrea ranks last in the Reporters Without Borders press freedom index, worse than North Korea. The nation's short legacy of attrition and torture can no longer simply be ignored, hence the conference.

But this was always going to be an emotionally charged event: the presence of ambassadors from Sudan, Djibouti, and of course Ethiopia stirred controversy among the Eritrean freedom fighters, a former US Ambassador to Eritrea, Human Rights Watch and numerous civil society organisations and academics.

Two envoys from the European Commission were also there, waiting for the inevitable barrage of questions on why they would give €120 million in aid from the European Development Fund to a regime that has held its population hostage for nearly two decades, to a regime that explicitly uses forced labour.

Sitting in the back was Tsedal Yohannes, her eyes swollen with tears. Her presence cut straight through the statements of policy, the rhetoric and the palpable anger.

"Every year it is getting worse," she told The Bulletin. Yohannes hasn't heard from her sister, Aster, who was abducted by Eritrean police when she stepped off the flight at Asmara airport in 2003. Aster had been assured by Girma Asmerom, then Eritrea's Ambassador to the US, that she would have safe passage.

Aster wanted to see her children. Her husband, Petros Solomon, a renowned veteran fighter and former high government official, was already sitting in some dingy cell in one of the many prisons throughout the country, most likely at Eiraeiro, a jail located somewhere northwest of Gahtielay where the celebrated G-15 EPLF/PFDJ languish.

"No one, apart from people like me who live in the comfort of my home, not within reach of the government's tentacles, can mention their names publicly. We have no information about her well being, when she will be brought to the court of justice, what she is accused of," said Yohannes during the conference.

She broke down and participants averted their eyes as an uncomfortable silence ensued. The small conference room made the whole event feel all the more intimate. Shoulders rubbed against shoulders on the fourth floor of Scotland House, the wall of windows looking out onto a frigid grey sky that is so typical of the Belgian climate.

Among the speakers was also Kjell Bondevik, President of the Oslo Centre for Peace and Human Rights and former Prime Minister of Norway. He had met Eritrea's current president, former freedom fighter Isaya Afwerki, in the 1970s when Afwerki seemingly held true to his Marxist ideals. But "the taste of power has since gripped Isaya Afwerki," Bondevik told The Bulletin. "We are not their enemies and we must reestablish trust with Eritrea to encourage regime transition."

Bondevik is pushing to open political dialogue to end Eritrea's isolation and get the United Nations to appoint a special rapporteur and an international inquiry commission tasked to investigate human rights. Underlying the strategic policy directive proposed by Bondevik is the hope that the international community will place democracy and the promotion of human rights higher up in the international agenda. This includes the whole Horn of Africa.

Whatever happened to Afwerki's values and promises is mired in a nation that had itself been betrayed by the international community on too many occasions. But indications as to the ruthlessness of his Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) surfaced when in 1974 they executed 11 dissidents — a calculating and portentous move.

__________

In the preceding Think Tank article, we reported on a conference promoting human rights that focused on the situation in Eritrea and in the Horn of Africa. This week, Derek Blyth invited the Ambassador of Eritrea to the European Union, Girma Asmerom, to respond to the allegations.

Derek Blyth: You were not present at the conference on human rights in Eritrea organized by Europe External Policy Advisors? Can you explain why?

Girma Asmerom: That is a very good question. I did not attend for two reasons. The first is that I requested a meeting with the Head of EEPA about eight months ago to discuss the issue of Peace, Security and Development in the Horn of Africa and she refused to meet me. So I started looking into their activities and realized that they had compromised their neutrality by advocating the misinformation agenda of some individuals who don’t have the support of the Eritrean people, be it inside or outside the country. These individuals who have established two- or three-man NGOs and civil societies are mostly financed and handled by the regime in Ethiopia, which is today occupying sovereign Eritrean territory in spite of the UN Security Council endorsed Final and Binding Demarcation decision of the Eritrean Ethiopian Border Commission (EEBC). So I didn’t want to dignify this event with my presence. And, secondly, there are hundreds of NGOs in Brussels that hold meetings. I can’t go to every one of them.

DB: Present at the conference was a woman called Tsedal Yohannes, who claimed that she hasn’t heard from her sister, Aster, since she was detained by the police at the Asmara Airport in 2003. This looks like a serious breach of human rights. Why can Tsedal Yohannes not see her sister?

GA: This is a matter of national security. Every Country has its own methodology of handling national security issues.

DB: Will Tsedal ever see her sister?

GA: Definitely. As soon as the legal process and investigation is completed.

DB: The article states that you guaranteed Aster Yohannes safe passage while you were ambassador in the US. Is that the case?

GA: First it is absolutely pure fabrication. I never promised or gave a guarantee of safe passage. Second no Ambassador in this world have the right or the legal mandate to give a guarantee of safe passage to any of its citizens to prevent them from being detained by their respective security organs upon arrival at the port of entry. What I did was facilitate the replacement of her revoked Eritrean Diplomatic Passport with regular Eritrean Passport so that she can travel to any where she wants including Eritrea. Moreover, nobody is detained in Eritrea for expressing his or her opinion or for being related to individuals who are detained for security reasons.

DB: In the article, Eritrea is said to use forced labour. Can you comment on this?

GA: There is no way that Eritrean people are forced to work. There is a system of national service in Eritrea, modeled on Switzerland, Israel and other countries. The purpose is simple and straightforward. First, it is meant to consolidate and develop social harmony and cohesion among the nine ethnic groups. Eritrea is a nation with a population made up of 50% Muslims and 50% Christians. Second, it is meant to maintain a small professional army so that every able-bodied person is ready to defend the sovereignty of the country. We should not forget Eritrea is located in a strategic and volatile region. Last but not least, as a new emerging nation it is very important for young people to fully participate in the nation-building process, in particular in the area of infrastructure development. They are actively engaged in road, dam, airport and seaport construction. This investment that is taking place will benefit generations to come and is essential to raise Eritrea out of poverty. Eritrea is endowed with different mineral resources and agricultural products. This activity must be commended and appreciated. It has nothing to do with forced labour. I don’t understand why it is called forced labour. Aren’t the Americans and NATO soldiers involved in infrastructural development activities in Iraq and Afghanistan? What’s wrong with that?

DB: The European Union is about to give €120 million in aid to Eritrea. Some critics are concerned that this money will end up in the hands of corrupt government officials.

GA: It’s right and legitimate for the Europeans to ask where their money is going. We are committed to using resources properly for the benefit of our people. None of our leadership has a Swiss or New York bank account or mansions in Paris, London and Brussels. The people of Europe can rest assured that their money is spent wisely for the benefit of the Eritrean people. The European Commission is also monitoring it properly.

DB: There is also a growing concern among Europeans that we have spent billions on aid over the past 60 years while the situation in Africa has barely improved. What has gone wrong?

GA: You have raised a very good question. We believe that aid dependency has to be cut. We in Eritrea have been arguing this long before it became fashionable to do so. We believe in an internally-driven economic development agenda. This effort and vision is already bearing fruit. Eritrea is on track in six of the Millennium Development Goals. It will be self-sufficient in food security within two years. We also realise that food security is an issue of sovereignty. That’s why you will never see an emaciated poster child in Eritrea.

DB: Can you really break the culture of aid dependency?

GA: There is a paradigm shift taking place in the world today. We have investigated the food aid system to find out why it didn’t work. It makes people lazy and demonises them. Therefore dependency on food aid has to stop. Even development aid has to be used as a transitional process. That’s why Eritrea is using the EU fund for Food security and Infrastructure Development Projects.

DB: Do you think your critics are wrong to condemn the regime?

GA: People are starting to think the same way like us. When in 1993 our president said that we want trade not aid, everyone was puzzled. Now everyone is saying that. We are a new nation that is challenging the traditional methodology of development and foreign aid. We are thinking out of the box. We should be commended for thinking out of the box rather than condemned. I hope everyone will visit Eritrea and make up their minds for themselves.

In our January 7 issue, Derek Blyth will interview Mirjam van Reisen, director of EEPA, on the Eritrean situation.

Source: The Bulletin

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