300 Norwegian Eritreans are happy and proud to be part of an historic event. They believe that this victory is the beginning of the end of PFDJ.

The case of Eritrea shows that totalitarian systems are inherently toxic, and that no amount of “engagement” will change them.

Totalitarianism Is Still With Us

The case of Eritrea shows that totalitarian systems are inherently toxic, and that no amount of “engagement” will change them.

Source The Atlantic       

By Steve Walker

SEPTEMBER 5, 2022

There was only one surprise in the vote tally for a United Nations General Assembly resolution in March condemning Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. As a wholly owned Vladimir Putin subsidiary, Belarus naturally followed instructions from headquarters; Syria’s “no” vote was repayment to the capo dei capi in Moscow for his regime-saving military support; and of course North Korea voted no. But Eritrea? Why would a little country in the Horn of Africa with no significant ties or obligations to Russia choose, at such a highly charged geopolitical moment, to give the finger to established norms of international behavior, in the process incurring irreversible reputational damage while seemingly gaining nothing?

The case of Eritrea is worth considering because, like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it reminds us of a lesson the West should not forget as it navigates“post-truth” geopolitics: that totalitarian systems are inherently toxic and by their very nature destabilizing, and that no amount of “engagement” will change them.

I,like all first-time visitors to Eritrea’s capital, was charmed by Asmara when I arrived as the new chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in 2019. The streets are immaculate; thanks to its Art Deco architecture, a living legacy of the Italian colonial period, the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site; the weather is perfect.

But in truth Eritrea is a human-rights house of horrors. Dissent is illegal. There is no independent press. Under compulsory, indefinite national service, citizens are conscripted or assigned to civilian jobs. The country has never held a national election. Eritreans live in a state of perpetual fear: Secret police and informers proliferate; arrests are arbitrary; citizens are routinely detained but not told on what charge, and the lucky ones who are released are given no reason for their freedom and are told to keep silent. Thanks to “revolutionary” economic policies, Eritrea is poor, has no infrastructure to speak of and thus no realistic hope for economic development, and is chronically food insecure. Before the coronavirus pandemic and the conflict in northern Ethiopia made cross-border travel impossible, hundreds of Eritreans fled their country every day.

From the May 1988 issue: The loneliest war

The regime’s desire for total control—“social mobilization” justified by an eternal state of emergency—pervades all sectors of Eritrean society. Citizens wishing to go abroad must get an exit visa; those traveling within the country must have “circulation papers” and produce them for armed soldiers at checkpoints along the way. There are four recognized religions; all other worship is illegal. Eritreans are allowed to withdraw only the equivalent of $330 a month from their bank accounts, and they must do this in person at bank branches because there are no ATMs in Eritrea and online banking does not exist. I wanted to visit a privately owned dairy last spring but was told that this would require a written invitation from the dairy, which then had to be sent to the Ministry of Agriculture for approval, then sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which would decide whether to issue a travel permit. Evil may be banal, but in Eritrea, it is also ridiculous.

Eritrea didn’t exist when Jeane Kirkpatrick, a former diplomat and political scientist, wrote her classic “Dictatorships and Double Standards,” but the pariah state that today haunts the Horn of Africa confirms her essay’s contention that totalitarian systems are more pernicious than authoritarian ones, ideologically constructed in a way that precludes liberalization, and inevitably destabilizing. I read Kirkpatrick’s essay in graduate school. I forgot its important lessons.

Instead, I recall with not a little embarrassment that I arrived in Asmara eager to “constructively engage” and optimistic that, through hard work and patience, I could improve ties between the U.S. and Eritrea. I was not alone in this newbie enthusiasm: Many a diplomat accredited to Eritrea has arrived brimming with energy and ambition only to depart a few years later frustrated, exhausted, and with little to show in terms of tangible achievements. My time in Eritrea was eventful, encompassing the coronavirus pandemic, the civil-war-like conflict in northern Ethiopia, and a drastic deterioration in our bilateral relationship. The experience was an education in the unique challenges that totalitarian systems pose. As a foreign-policy practitioner, I arrived at a number of conclusions about dealing with totalitarian states that are, in essence, a set of practical diplomatic corollaries to Kirkpatrick’s conceptual framework. (These represent my own views, not necessarily those of the Department of State.)

1: Diplomatic engagement with totalitarian states is futile. The Eritrean regime loves to “engage”—to participate in and publicize talks and meetings that give the impression of openness and reasonability. During these interactions, however, Eritrean officials make clear to their foreign interlocutors that the regime will, as they told one of my colleagues, “compromise on process but not on principles.” In other words, you can “engage” indefinitely, but nothing is going to stop the regime from terrorizing and impoverishing its people, or destabilizing the region. (It has for decades intervened in, or triggered, conflicts and civil wars in neighboring states.) There is a natural tendency among diplomats, in Washington and elsewhere, to favor engagement. This is understandable, but potentially dangerous because engagement, if not carefully calibrated, risks legitimizing totalitarian regimes. The U.S., like-minded countries, and the UN should continue to deal with Eritrea, and even cooperate on issues of mutual interest, but this should be tactical interaction subordinate to a strategic appreciation that the regime is inimical, if not hostile, to our interests and values.

2: We should support oppressed populations by acknowledging their lived reality. Totalitarian regimes aren’t satisfied with political control. They demand the pervasive control that can only come by determining the “truth.” According to the carefully curated narrative propagated by the Ministry of Information, Eritrea is an African David engaged in a righteous fight for its dignity and survival against a U.S.-led Western Goliath that “weaponizes” human rights. In this telling, the government and people, united as one, have achieved social justice, national self-reliance, and ethnic and religious harmony. In fact, Eritrea is a human-rights-abusing geriatric dictatorship dominated by Tigrigna Orthodox Christians that is totally dependent on borrowing from foreigners. The U.S. may not be able to rescue the Eritrean people, or any other people living under totalitarian dictatorships, but by providing accurate information and diverse views, it can empower them by thwarting regime efforts to control perception. Many Eritreans have told American diplomats that our human-rights advocacy has given a voice to the voiceless. That is what American diplomacy should seek to do. To its credit, the Biden administration recognizes this. Speaking in Pretoria on August 8, Secretary of State Blinken stressed the U.S. commitment to work with African “partners to tackle 21st century threats to democracy like misinformation, digital surveillance, [and] weaponized corruption” through diplomatic support, including hosting the African Leaders Summit this December, as well as financial assistance under the bipartisan Global Fragility Act, which provides $200 million annually to promote reform and good governance in conflict-prone areas.

3. Confrontation is necessary and appropriate. Totalitarian systems need to have an enemy; foreign (usually Western) hostility justifies their repression. We should unapologetically but not hostilely counter totalitarian regimes’ efforts to propagate misinformation, legitimize their repression, and misrepresent Western policies. I decided last fall that we had for too long given the Eritrean propaganda machine a free pass. This neglect had normalized the regime’s human-rights abuses and propaganda. We began countering the regime’s disinformation, especially anti-American propaganda emanating from the information minister’s Twitter feed, on our embassy Facebook page. Public diplomacy typically seeks to focus on “positive” stories. In the case of totalitarian regimes, we should not be fearful of disciplined confrontation. In Eritrea, that approach worked.

4.Totalitarian states are inherently destabilizing and should be isolated and contained. Totalitarian regimes are cancers in the international body politic. It is in their DNA to metastasize. Eritrea is a regional menace. Its decades of destabilizing belligerence—including the Hanish Islands dispute with Yemen in 1995; interference in the Second Sudanese Civil War in 1996–98; the border war with Ethiopia in 1998–2000; border skirmishes with Djibouti in 2008; and alleged assistance to the terrorist al-Shabaab group in Somalia in the mid-2000s—led to UN sanctions in 2009 and 2011. Eritrea’s current military involvement in the conflict in northern Ethiopia, during which Eritrean forces have reportedly lootedand committed horrific human-rights abuses, including sexual violence, against civilians, has complicated efforts to stop the fighting and exacerbated an already dire humanitarian crisis. We must accept that with totalitarian regimes, aggression is a question of when, not if, and tailor our diplomatic approaches and calculations accordingly. Our current Eritrea policy of sanctions and isolation is a good template for dealing with totalitarian regimes. We may not be able to stop their aggression, but we can try to contain it.

The answer to the question I opened with—why did Eritrea vote “no” on the UN resolutions condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a vote that the information minister, out-Orwelling Orwell, described as “a demonstration of [Eritrea’s] uncompromising stand for peace”?—is that it wanted to punish the U.S. for American sanctions imposed on Eritrea last fall when diplomatic engagement failed to persuade the regime to withdraw its forces from northern Ethiopia. That this came at the expense of fundamental international principles, contradicted Eritrea’s previous public positions, and confirmed Eritrea’s pariah status appears not to have mattered to the Eritrean leadership. This is another aspect of totalitarian regimes: Many are led by mercurial, paranoid, and grievance-nursing sociopaths. Our expectations of success in engaging with people like this should be modest.

The point I’m trying to make here is that totalitarianism is still with us, and still evil. The assumptions that underpin traditional notions of diplomacy as the collegial resolution of competing interests do not apply to totalitarian states. My time in Eritrea taught me that confrontation, and not compromise, is the best approach when dealing with these kinds of regimes.

From the December 2021 issue: The bad guys are winning

We diplomats like to think that no problem is too big that it can’t be managed by thoughtful engagement and negotiation. Often that approach is the right one. But it won’t work with the Eritreas of the world. We need to be intellectually prepared for the coming challenges of the emerging international dynamics. When someone shows you who they are, Maya Angelou once warned, believe them the first time. As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine wakes us up to the continuing relevance of the lessons we learned during the Cold War, we would all do well to heed her advice.

Steve Walker is a former chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in Asmara, Eritrea.

Source: EEPA

Admin, 1 September 2022

In the last month, the long arm of the Eritrean regime has organised a series of ‘festivals’ and ‘seminars’ promoted as cultural events. On the basis of previous events that have been organised many perceive that the events promote hate speech and incite violence. They have fuelled pushback in the form of protests, legal action and letters from Eritreans in the diaspora and allies opposing the violent message of the Eritrean regime. A new festival was organised in secrecy in Switzerland last weekend, 27 August 2022, and another event was announced in Germany on 3 September – of which the cancellation was announced yesterday, 31 August.

The festivals are organised by representatives (including embassies) of the ruling and only party in Eritrea, the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), and its youth-wing, YPFDJ. It is the political organisation that controls Eritrea and has a granular presence abroad to control the Eritrean diaspora. It is referred to as HEGDEF or HGDEF by members of the Eritrean diaspora, or Shabia, mostly used to refer to its presence in Eritrea.

The tour of festivals comes as the Tigray region of Ethiopia has been under siege for 22 months. Eritrea is seen as an important actor in the conflict. This causes additional tensions around these events, including in the Tigray diaspora.

Hate speech and violent symbolism

Central to the tour of events organised by the PFDJ is Awel Seid, presented as a songwriter and poet. In his videos and texts, diasporas from Eritrea and Tigray indicate that he glorifies war and violence, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He praises the Eritrean military, shows graphic images of civilian killings [4.50 minute mark] and dehumanises Tigrayans, endorsing Eritrea’s invasion of Tigray. These examples are experienced as hate speech.

On a festival held in Switzerland on 23 July 2022, men can be seen dancing in the audience and on stage in military outfits, holding Kalashnikovs [for example around the 3:11:45 mark]. In addition, the video shows that money is collected during the festival. According to Eritrean regime-controlled media Shabait, the festival also included some words from officials: “Ms. Asmeret Abraha [Governor of the Northern Red Sea Region] also gave extensive briefing on the objective situation in the homeland, future programs as well as regional developments.” In addition, Adm Osman, Charge d’Affairs at the Eritrean Embassy in Switzerland, led the festival. The men holding – if not real then very realistic – Kalashnikovs was of no apparent concern to the Charge d’Affairs nor others, including the very present security.

Push-backs from diaspora, human rights activists and allies

For the persons that fled from Eritrea’s military service and the repressions of the regime, the festivals are seen as propaganda events and are a symbol of the continuation of the repression they fled from. Pushback against the festivals has been accompanied by direct threats of regime supports to protesters and other experts and activists coming to their support. This includes threats to family members back home in Eritrea.

Letters warning of the danger

A letter by a concerned group of experts outlined that the festival announced in Germany on 20 August is directly tied to repression faced by Eritrean refugees that have fled the country. Furthermore, warn the experts, the funds collected in the festivals and others like it may well go on to fund the Eritrean military invasion of Tigray.

The Eritrean diaspora petitioned the court to stop the festival organised in Germany on 20 August 2022. The German court, however, allowed the event to continue on the basis of protecting freedom of expression. Thus, a protest was organised at the event – which turned violent. Finally, the event was called off by the police in light of the danger of further escalation. Although a new festival was announced for 3 September, this was also cancelled just a few days before it was set to take place.

Peaceful protests

In Switzerland, the Eritrean diaspora peacefully protested a festival announced to take place on 27 August 2022. The protests were accompanied by petitions and a letter that organised peaceful protests and solidarity. The peaceful protests took place across several cities, as the location of the venue of the event was kept secret. Buses were organised to take those registered by phone to an undisclosed location. Neither Swiss authorities nor the diaspora knew where it took place – if it took place at all.

Festivals and seminars cancelled

Before the cancellation of the event in Germany on 27 August due to violence, other countries have cancelled the festivals before they took place. The municipality of Rijswijk in the Netherlands decided to cancel the event as they had not asked for permission. The municipality, in deliberation with the police, also found that the appropriate safety measures had not been taken. The festival was moved last-minute to Beverwijk, another municipality in the Netherlands, but the municipality was granted an emergency ordinance to stop it.

An event set for 3 September 2022 in Norway was also cancelled. Authorities in Norway are investigating people that participate in these festivals. 150 Eritrean refugees that attended a similar festival celebrating the Eritrean national service in August 2019 were investigated. This resulted in the withdrawal of 13 residence permits.

Another event planned in the UK on 4 September was also cancelled.

Experts indicate that the festivals link to the widespread Eritrean diaspora’s wish to celebrate their culture, music and community. However, in doing so, the festivals also serve as a tool for the Eritrean regime to establish itself financially, organise propaganda and promote perceived hate speech against Eritrean opposition and Tigrayans, they indicated. This argumentation can be seen at the core of the pushback against such events.

The Eritrean regime organizes controversial propaganda events in Switzerland. The opposition is trying to prevent this, the police are alarmed. 

Source: NZZ Magazine

PFDJ Festival Valais Switzerland

The whole thing doesn’t look like a peaceful cultural festival. A band is playing on stage. But the dancers next to the musicians are wearing battle gear. The two men in army uniforms wield rather real-looking submachine guns. They clench their fists again and again and hold their Kalashnikovs in the air in a victory pose. There is a tent next to the stage, also here people in uniform. They praise the struggle of the Eritrean military and call for donations for the “martyrs”.

These pictures were not taken on the Horn of Africa – but this summer in a multi-purpose hall in Conthey near Sitten in Valais. The whole thing was actually camouflaged as a cultural festival. But in fact it was a propaganda event by supporters of the Eritrean regime. Several senior officials were flown in as guests of honor. The Eritrean ambassador acted as the host. You can see all of this on a YouTube video.

What is made public afterwards is top secret in advance. This also applies to the event that was supposed to take place yesterday, Saturday. The fear of riots at the festival is too great, too great the fear that the authorities could ban such events.

And rightly so: there are regular riots and police operations. The Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) writes: The past has shown “that there is a certain potential for violence and riots are possible”.

It is an expression of the deep ditch that the diaspora goes through. It is mainly Eritreans who fled in the 1980s who are still ardent supporters of the founder of the state, Isaias Afewerki. To this older generation, he is a freedom hero who fought for the country’s independence. It doesn’t matter to them that elections have never taken place and that the human rights situation is miserable.

Those who fled the Afewerkis regime in the 2000s see things very differently. They have experienced oppression and poverty in the supposed paradise themselves and are fighting against the government.

So did Habteab Yemane. He left the country in 2016. The former law lecturer and judge now lives in Switzerland as a recognized refugee. It is a slap in the face for him and his comrades-in-arms that the dictator’s supporters can hold such events. “This is an abuse of freedom of speech and assembly,” he says. The opposition leader’s phone has been ringing every minute for the past few days.

Playing cat and mouse

Only a few knew where this Saturday’s event was to take place. Eritreans loyal to the regime and presumably the Eritrean ambassador to Switzerland Adem Osman organized it. The regime holds such festivals every summer. Selected artists tour Western Europe. They play in Stockholm, London, Bologna – everywhere where there are many Eritreans who have fled.

Yemane and his comrades tried to prevent the festival. They spoke to the police, they wrote a letter to Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter, and they started a petition. They threatened to demonstrate on site if the event did take place. “Peaceful,” as Yemane emphasizes.

The venue of the event was kept secret until the last minute. On Saturday, buses were waiting for the participants at the meeting points. Only those who had registered were allowed to board.

But the authorities and the opposition have had their hands tied in recent days. If only because the venue of the event remained secret until the last minute. The organizers acted clandestinely. On Saturday, buses were waiting for the participants at collection points. As stated on previously distributed flyers, admission was limited: Only those who had registered by telephone were allowed to board. The Eritreans, who are loyal to the regime, wanted to prevent the opposition from disrupting the event.

The example of Giessen in Germany shows how tense the mood within the diaspora is. A big event was supposed to take place in the Hessian city a week ago. It ended with an outbreak of violence: members of the opposition tried to storm the hall. More than 200 people fought a mass brawl. The opponents attacked each other with iron bars, in the midst of an overwhelmed police force. 33 people, including seven police officers, were injured. The incident made headlines across Germany.

The Netherlands is also a key stop on the Eritrean regime’s annual propaganda tour. But the country banned the event this summer. The authorities feared calls for violence and raised security concerns.

In Switzerland, both sides have been playing a cat-and-mouse game in the past few days. Yemane spent nights in front of the screen, searching social media for clues to the venue. Comrades-in-arms reported constantly with rumours. His cell phone kept beeping. New rumour, denials, another new rumour, another denial. It went like that for hours.

The conference of cantonal justice and police directors (KKJPD) also followed the developments. “We have informed our members and the police corps that such an event is planned,” said General Secretary Florian Düblin.

Foreign exchange for Asmara

The Dutch professor Mirjam van Reisen is a proven Eritrea expert. She says these festivals are the “long arm of Afewerkis” in the West. The collected donations are a source of foreign currency for the isolated regime. In addition to the donations, the country also lives from the diaspora tax. All Eritreans living abroad are obliged to pay two percent of their income to the state.

This is encouraged at the festivals. “These are definitely not cultural events,” says van Reisen. She is in favor of a ban like the Netherlands has enacted. In addition to the money, Asmara is primarily concerned with showing the strength and influence of the regime. The choice of artists is also highly political.

The poet Awel Said was announced for the event on Saturday in Switzerland. He is considered the chief propagandist and likes to show himself together with the head of state Afewerki. His speeches are tirades delivered in aggressive staccato against all supposed opponents of the regime. Said rails against the West, against the USA and the people of the Tigray.

The Eritrean army is waging war against so-called Tigray rebels in neighboring Ethiopia. Awel Said glorifies this war and calls the Tigray an inferior people. According to van Reisen, this war is also the reason for the extremely heated atmosphere on both sides.

Last week, NZZ Magazin tried several times in writing and by telephone to contact the Eritrean mission in Geneva. This was not available and did not answer any inquiries.

Waiting and staring at the phone, drinking coffee. Even on Saturday evening, Yemane and his comrades-in-arms didn’t know the venue. A demo on site was impossible. Instead, they gathered in Bern, Geneva and Zurich for small silent marches.

The secrecy tactics of the supporters loyal to the regime paid off this weekend.

The secrecy tactics of the supporters loyal to the regime paid off this weekend. Or the event didn’t take place after all. The opposition suspects that the event was ultimately held on a smaller scale on private property. Maybe you will see it later on social networks. The pro-regime movement has its own media service that produces images and videos.

The embassy is also busy filming and taking photos. Some of these images are broadcast on Eritrean TV. The state news agency also reports on the festivals. In this way, the regime wants to show its own population how much Isaias Afewerki is celebrated abroad.

Visit from Asmara: State secretaries receive Eritrea’s number two

It was a discreet but top-class meeting: As research shows, the Eritrean presidential adviser Yemane Gebreab was in Bern on October 18, 2021. Gebreab is considered the closest associate of the Eritrean dictator Isaias Afewerki and the second most powerful man in Eritrea.

It was a “polite visit”, writes the foreign department EDA on request. The meeting was suggested by the Eritrean side. According to information from the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Presidential Advisor’s reception lasted half an hour and took place in a meeting room of the FDFA. However, the Swiss delegation was important for such a short courtesy visit: Livia Leu and the then head of migration Mario Gattiker, two state secretaries took time for the guest from Eritrea.

The Swiss Refugee Aid (SFH) sharply criticizes the visit: “From the point of view of the SFH, it is incomprehensible that the reception took place at a time when Eritrean troops were deployed in the Tigray region.” A civil war has been raging in neighboring Ethiopia since 2020. Eritrean troops repeatedly take part in the fighting. According to the refugee agency, the Eritrean soldiers are accused of war crimes and alleged crimes against humanity.

The Department of Foreign Affairs countered the criticism. Such contacts would allow important points to be raised. State Secretary Leu “urgently” called for compliance with international humanitarian law. In addition to the war, the meeting also dealt with the issue of migration.

Eritreans were for years the largest group of asylum seekers in Switzerland, tens of thousands of Eritreans are currently living here. The regime does not accept returns of rejected asylum seekers. That is why bourgeois politicians have been calling for negotiations with the East African country for years.

“A solution is needed in the area of ​​migration policy,” says Central National Councilor Marco Romano. The situation has been blocked for over ten years, he criticizes. “We have a huge diaspora in Switzerland and should therefore remain in contact with the regime,” says FDP National Councilor Andri Silberschmidt. “Unfortunately, not all countries are democracies. However, if a dialogue gives the prospect of improving the status quo, it is preferable to breaking off contact.”

NZZ am Sonntag, Switzerland