Two vulnerable Eritreans in danger of imminently being forced to return to Eritrea from Egypt

Tuesday, 17 August 2021 12:16 Written by Eritrea Hub

AUGUST 17, 2021 ERITREA HUB NEWS

16 August 2021

Source: Human Rights Concern – Eritrea (HRCE)

The Egyptian Immigration Authorities are planning to return two Eritrean Asylum-Seekers to their country of origin where they are certain to be imprisoned and likely to face tortured or might even be killed.

Alem Tesfay Abraham and Kibrom Adhanom have been detained at Al Qanater prison in Cairo, since March 2012 and 2014 respectively. They have been detained in humane, harsh conditions, and without due legal process. These two refugees, who had to leave Eritrea for genuine fear of persecution and who wished to claim asylum in a safe country, have spent over nine years in Egyptian prisons without having committed any crime.

The Egyptian and Eritrean governments are planning to forcibly return the two detainees to Eritrea in violation of international law. On Sunday 8 August 2021, the prison management took them to the immigration office, where they met two Eritrean Embassy officials and were informed by the Egyptian immigration officers that they would be sent back to Eritrea.

Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees that “everyone has the right to freedom of movement” and “the right to leave any country, including his own.” These two men have simply exercised these rights.

Egypt is party to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and is also a signatory to the African Union Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa. Under these Conventions, Egypt is duty bound to make every effort to protect the rights and ensure the safety of asylum-seekers and refugees, of whatever nationality. Additionally, Article 91 of the country’s 2014 Constitution stipulates that political asylum must be made available to anyone who has been persecuted.

Mr Adhanom and Mr Tesfay Abraham were conscripts in the Eritrean National Service, which can lasts for decades. All able-bodied men and women over 18 are conscripted into National Service for indefinite periods, and are often used as cheap labour, which amounts to slave labour, under very poor conditions in government owned projects, including construction, mining or any other use the regime finds for them. Because of this appalling treatment, thousands of young Eritreans desert and escape their country. Mr Adhanom and Mr Tesfay Abraham are two of such escapees.

The punishments for desertion are severe. If Mr Adhanom and Mr Tesfay Abraham are refouled, they would most certainly be imprisoned incommunicado, under harsh conditions, and tortured. Seeking asylum in another country is a crime in Eritrea; therefore, Mr Adhanom and Mr Tesfay Abraham would be in grave danger if they were to be returned to Eritrea as failed asylum seekers.

Anyone who has left Eritrea without official permission is regarded as a traitor who has committed a crime, according to the Eritrean regime’s policy. Returnees have to sign a “repentance” form and accept ill-defined punishment for this confession. Refouled Eritrean asylum-seekers have faced incommunicado detention, torture, inhumane and degrading treatment for extended periods of time upon return.

The findings of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council Commission of Inquiry into the Situation of Human Rights in Eritrea, by highly respected UN experts who took evidence from many witnesses, confirm this mistreatment: –

“A common pattern of treatment of returnees is their arrest upon arrival in Eritrea. They are questioned about the circumstances of their escape, whether they received help to leave the country, how the flight was funded, whether they contact with opposition groups based abroad. Returnees are systematically ill-treated to the point of torture during the interrogation phase. After interrogation, they are detained in particularly harsh conditions…. Returnees… were held in prison between eight months to three years… They were made to undertake forced labour and were frequently punished by prison guards. The Commission finds that, with a few exceptions, those who have been forced to return to the country have been arrested, detained and subjected to ill-treatment and torture.”

In the light of this well-documented and internationally attested evidence, Human Rights Concern-Eritrea (HRCE) urgently calls upon the government and Immigration Department of Egypt: –

to cease all efforts to repatriate the above-mentioned Eritrean refugees;

to release them immediately from prison;

to provide them with temporary safe accommodation;

to ensure they are accorded all the rights outlined in the UN and African Refugee Conventions;

to ask the UNHCR to assess their asylum cases and seek a safe country where they may be resettled.

—

Human Rights Concern – Eritrea (HRCE)

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

+44 7958 005 637

www.hrc-eritrea.org

Preliminary thoughts on reconfiguring the Horn of Africa

Tuesday, 17 August 2021 12:05 Written by Martin Plaut

AFRICA, ERITREA, ETHIOPIA, HORN OF AFRICA, SOMALIA

Date: 15/08/2021Author: Martin Plaut0 Comments

The war in Tigray is tearing at the seams that bind the current structures holding the nations of the Horn of Africa together.

When the Eritreans joined in the invasion of Tigray, supported by Somali troops, at the start of this war in November this year this was the inevitable outcome. Sudan is now caught up in the war, while all the nations of the region look on with concern.

As the US Institute for Peace warned last year:

“While many of the facts remain unclear, the risks of escalation are certain: Intrastate or interstate conflict would be catastrophic for Ethiopia’s people and for the region and would pose a direct threat to international peace and security. The acceleration of polarization amid violent conflict would also mark the death knell for the country’s nascent reform effort that began two years ago and the promise of a democratic transition that it heralded.

As we cautioned in the study group’s Final Report and Recommendations released on October 29, the fragmentation of Ethiopia would be the largest state collapse in modern history. Ethiopia is five times the size of pre-war Syria by population, and its breakdown would lead to mass interethnic and interreligious conflict; a dangerous vulnerability to exploitation by extremists; an acceleration of illicit trafficking, including of arms; and a humanitarian and security crisis at the crossroads of Africa and the Middle East on a scale that would overshadow any existing conflict in the region, including Yemen. As Ethiopia is currently the leading Troop Contributing Country to the United Nations and the African Union peacekeeping missions in Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia, its collapse would also significantly impact the efforts by both to mitigate and resolve others conflicts in the Horn of Africa.”

Even if an Ethiopian state collapse is avoided, it is clear that a new dispensation for Ethiopia is required, which could involve a new relationship with neighbouring states – and Eritrea in particular.

The Tigrayan perspective

Whether Tigray should remain part of Ethiopia or become an independent state has been a question hotly debated since the TPLF was launched in the 1970’s. It is – not surprisingly – once again on the agenda. The atrocities inflicted on Tigrayans, and particularly on Tigrayan woman, has given this extra impetus.

How might an independent Tigray relate to the remainder of Ethiopia? Would it be viable? What would its borders look like? All these questions – and more – are issues that need to be resolved before a final decision is taken, hopefully in agreement with other Ethiopians.

It is a question for the people of Tigray and the people of the region to decide upon.

The Eritrean perspective

It should not be forgotten that President Isaias convened a meeting of his senior advisers and commanders just before the war began.

As Eritrea Hub reported at the time:

The president told them that the country had to accept that it has a small and not very viable economy and a lengthy Red Sea coast, which Eritrean cannot patrol on its own. He is reported to have suggested that some sort of “union” with Ethiopia might be possible, at least in terms of economic co-operation and maritime security.

In so doing Isaias appears to be echoing Prime Minister Abiy’s grandiose dream of re-establishing the old empire-state of Ethiopia. This idea is not as far-fetched as it would appear, despite the fact that Isaias led Eritrea’s 30 year war of independence from Ethiopia.

The war, which has involved the enforced conscription of tens of thousands of young Eritreans and cost so many lives, has not produced the unity President Isaias was looking for. But it may yet see a new relationship between Eritreans and the people of the region.

Key criteria for regional transformation

If the map of the Horn is to be withdrawn – and it seems likely – then there are some key criteria that should apply:

First – this is an issue for the people of the Horn of Africa. Outside interests should be resisted. Advice can be welcome, but these questions must not be decided by western, Chinese or Russian influence or Arab cash.
Second – the outcome will be shaped by the current conflict but it should not be the result of a solution imposed by the victor; whoever that is.
Third – solutions need to take into account tradition, history and economic realities. The views and needs of minorities need to be protected.

Points to consider

While the shape of a settlement should be arrived at by negotiations by the people of the region, there are some lessons that can be learned from the past and from abroad.

Conflict and war is not inevitable. Bitter wounds can be healed. One only has to consider the tragic losses inflicted on the French and Germans by what amounted to three world wars that they fought against each other. From the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871 through the First and Second World Wars the youth of both countries slaughtered each other in their millions. Yet today they live together in peace and harmony, with borders crossed as if they hardly exist.
Nations and nationalities are never finally resolved. One only needs look at the United Kingdom. The British have been attempting to forge a final settlement of the government of these islands since at least 1800 – if not before. Yet the future is far from settled. Ireland gained independence in 1922, creating Ireland and Northern Ireland. Yet the North may – in the not too distant future – leave the UK and join Ireland, if this is agreed in a referendum. Scotland is pushing for independence and this too may come about, if the Scots vote for it in a referendum. There are movements for self-government or independence in Wales, Cornwall and Yorkshire. Some want all of England to have far more devolved administrations. None of this is settled, but these disputes are being resolved by peaceful negotiation and referenda. Not by war.
Nation states and forms of government are important, but not invariably critical. Traditions, religions, social and community links can be just as important. Consider a few of these. Eritreans have visited sacred sites in Tigray down the centuries; irrespective of who ruled in Asmara or Addis Ababa. Somali and Afar traders have crossed vast spaces carrying goods down the years. Sometimes they were called traders, sometimes businessmen, sometimes smugglers. Think of the khat trade, which crosses frontiers irrespective of laws, governments or regulations. Farmers follow their flocks, wherever they lead, in search of fresh pastures. These are vital parts of the life of the Horn of Africa and will continue, whatever is settled in conferences, on battlefields or signed into agreements.

The Tigray Defence Forces strategy

Tuesday, 17 August 2021 12:01 Written by Martin Plaut

AFRICA, ERITREA, ETHIOPIA, HORN OF AFRICA

Date: 16/08/2021Author: Martin Plaut

The TDF has been pushing southwards from Tigray into the Amhara region. It is difficult to be certain of their strategy, but one of the TDF commanders has been giving a rare insight into what is being attempted.

This is the source.

Here is a translation:

“I’m head of 3rd battalion of Ahiferom division. If I were to express the battle of Woldia in few words, since the enemy was boasting a lot, we entered into it after making high preparations.

However, it was not as we had expected. It was a very easy battle. All the weapons and tanks that were there were captured [by the TDF]. The place we are in is called Geregera.

We are continuing towards Gondar. Gayint is next, then we will take control of Debre Tabor and are going to block the Humera route.

We are prepared to block the route between Gondar and Bahir Dar. This is the mission we have been given”.

EXPLAINER: Why Ethiopia’s war crisis is deepening by the day

Monday, 16 August 2021 13:42 Written by Eritrea Hub

AUGUST 15, 2021 ERITREA HUB ETHIOPIA, NEWS, TIGRAY

Source: Associated Press

By CARA ANNAAugust 13, 2021

1 of 7

FILE – In this Saturday, May 8, 2021 file photo, Ethiopian government soldiers ride in the back of a truck on a road near Agula, north of Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. The United States said Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021 it is sending a special envoy to Ethiopia as the fast-moving conflict in the Tigray region has spread into neighboring regions and Ethiopia’s government this week called on all able citizens to stop the resurgent Tigray forces “once and for all.” (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The United States says it is sending a special envoy to Ethiopia as the fast-moving conflict in the Tigray region has spread into neighboring regions and Ethiopia’s government this week called on all able citizens to stop the resurgent Tigray forces “once and for all.”

The widening war in Africa’s second-most populous country, with 110 million people, is also a growing humanitarian crisis. Millions of people in Tigray remain beyond the reach of food and other aid as the United Nations and U.S. say Ethiopian authorities allow just a small fraction of what’s needed. And hundreds of thousands of people in the Amhara and Afar regions are displaced as Tigray forces move in, vowing to go to the capital, Addis Ababa, if needed to stop the fighting and remove the blockade on their region of 6 million people.

“It’s one of these cases where we’ve run out of words to describe the horror of what civilians are being inflicted,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters this week. “More conflict can only lead, sadly, to more civilian pain.”

Here’s a look at the latest in the nine-month war and what pressure the U.S. special envoy might apply.

WHAT IS THE U.S. SEEKING IN ETHIOPIA?

The U.S. announced overnight that special envoy Jeffrey Feltman would travel to Ethiopia, neighboring Djibouti and the United Arab Emirates, a key Ethiopia ally, starting on Sunday. This is a “critical moment,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan tweeted. “Months of war have brought immense suffering and division to a great nation, that won’t be healed through more fighting. We call on all parties to urgently come to the negotiating table.”

That seems highly unlikely. Ethiopia’s government this year declared the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which dominated the government for nearly three decades before Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018, a terrorist group. The Tigray forces have set several preconditions for talks and say Abiy no longer has the legitimacy to govern. They retook much of the Tigray region in June in a dramatic turn in the war as Ethiopia’s military retreated.

What began as a political dispute has now killed thousands of people.

Discussing what pressure the U.S. could apply to encourage negotiations, a congressional aide told The Associated Press that “I understand all options are on the table, from Global Magnitsky (sanctions over human rights violations) to an executive order on sanctions, to removal from (the African Growth and Opportunity Act), to more restrictive measures on assistance,” as well as ways to block Ethiopia’s efforts to get cash from international financial institutions. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on policy discussions.

Officials and lawmakers in Washington have signaled impatience as Ethiopian officials deny widespread human rights abuses such as gang-rapes and forced expulsions of ethnic Tigrayans or blame the Tigray forces.

The Ethiopian government’s prickly dismissal of a new Amnesty International report on shocking sexual violence against Tigrayan women during the war “reflects the tone-deafness with which the government is handling the multiple conflicts and humanitarian crises across the country,” Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Sen. Jim Risch tweeted on Thursday.

WHAT DOES ETHIOPIA’S GOVERNMENT SAY?

Ethiopia’s government has repeatedly expressed frustration, alleging without evidence that the U.S., U.N. and others are taking the side of the Tigray forces or supporting the fighters with aid. It has asserted that disproportionate attention is paid to the Tigray people and not enough is done to address alleged abuses by Tigray forces in the Amhara and Afar regions.

The most urgent allegation was raised by the U.N. children’s agency, which cited “credible information from partners” about deadly attacks last week on a camp for newly displaced people in Afar. A U.N. team plans to assess the scene as soon as security allows, the agency said Thursday. Ethiopia’s government has blamed the Tigray forces, whose spokesman Getachew Reda denied it but said they’re willing to cooperate in an independent investigation.

In the Amhara region, humanitarian groups are having trouble reaching their colleagues in Woldiya, one center of the fighting, amid a communications blackout. Now the Tigray forces have formed a military alliance with the Oromo Liberation Army, also designated by Ethiopia as a terrorist group.

On Thursday the prime minister’s spokeswoman, Billene Seyoum, told reporters that the government’s call to arms this week, signaling an end to a unilateral cease-fire, meant that Ethiopians are urged to stop the Tigray forces by “all means necessary.” She said this is not a result of the military’s inability to take on the Tigray forces, and asserted that “in the millions, people are taking this call.”

WHAT ABOUT THE FATE OF EVERYDAY PEOPLE?

Caught in the middle are civilians, and efforts to reach them with aid are increasingly challenging because of the Ethiopian government’s concern that it will end up helping the Tigray forces.

Just 10% of the aid needed for Tigray reached the region in recent weeks, the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Samantha Power, told reporters after a brief Ethiopia visit last week in which the prime minister did not meet her. USAID has estimated that up to 900,000 people in Tigray face “man-made” famine conditions while phone, internet and banking services remain cut off.

The U.N. World Food Program on Friday said at least 30 trucks a day must enter the region to address the need and what has arrived so far is a “drop in the ocean.”

Meanwhile, Ethiopia’s government has suspended the operations of two major international aid groups, the Dutch section of Doctors Without Borders and the Norwegian Refugee Council, accusing them of spreading “misinformation.” This has further deterred many humanitarian workers from speaking openly, worried about retaliation. It also means efforts to respond to the crises in the Amhara and Afar regions could be affected.

“Some humanitarian organizations may now alter their public messaging campaigns or self-censor to avoid facing suspension. This would further contribute to Ethiopia’s closing civic space,” the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies wrote on Thursday.

That means even less knowledge about conditions on the ground as many journalists face government-imposed restrictions, it said, adding that “civilians will suffer.”

Qatar asks US court to force Eritrea to pay $300 million debt

Saturday, 14 August 2021 11:22 Written by Asmahan Qarjouli

AUGUST 13, 2021 MARTIN PLAUT NEWS

Source: Doha News

QNB asks US court to order Eritrea to pay $300 million debt

August 11, 2021

Source: Aalmeen News

Officials at the Eritrean embassy in London locked one of the Qatari bank’s lawyers in the building to hinder the delivery of court documents in 2018.

Qatar National Bank QPSC [QNB] asked a Washington, D.C. court to order Eritrea to pay about $300 million of debt after the Horn of Africa nation refused to respond to two lawsuits filed by the lender, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

Eritrea borrowed $200 from the Middle East’s largest lender in 2009 and 2010 and only returned $45 of the amount in May 2012 without returning the remaining amount.

The bank later sought legal recourse in the UK in 2018 per the loan agreement, and a year later, a judge ordered Eritrea to pay its creditor $254 million in addition to interest. Eritrea stopped responding to lawyers.

This prompted QNB to request a judgement by default from a US federal court on Friday after filing a complaint in the same US legal body in February, saying that President Isaias Afwerki’s government, who has ruled the country for 28 years, allegedly avoided being served with legal documents.

QNB said that Eritrea’s debt has now risen to $295.3 million, which is equivalent to more than 10% of the African nation’s $2.3 billion gross domestic product [gdp].

Avoiding legal action

QNB alleges that Eritrea has not been responsive with court rulings and chose not to defend itself in both the UK and US cases, while responding to lawyers with hostility.

The bank said in the court filings that staff at the Eritrean embassy in London even locked one of the bank’s lawyers in the diplomatic building until he agreed to leave without handing the court documents.

Another representative was also “physically assaulted” as a receptionist threw the court papers on the embassy’s pavement, after which a British judge allowed the documents to be sent via email or post.

“The receptionist physically knocked the documents out of a process server’s hands and threw them on the pavement outside the embassy’s front door,” read the bank’s complaint.

Among the documents filed by QNB was a letter sent in March 2009 by Eritrea’s Afwerki, in which he stated his commitment to repaying the loan to the Qatari bank through tax revenue and income from the Bisha mine, a gold-copper-zinc project currently run by China’s Zijin Mining Group Co. that entered production ten years ago.

Bloomberg said the legal dispute can lead to the discouragement of investments in Asmara, which already stands as the second last economy out of 190 others in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings.

The Washington court’s decision would enable QNB identify and seize Eritrea’s overseas assets.

Source=Qatar asks US court to force Eritrea to pay $300 million debt - Eritrea Hub

US envoy heads to Ethiopia to urge end to fighting

Friday, 13 August 2021 23:28 Written by AFP

Jeffrey Feltman’s trip comes as humanitarian organisations warn of a continued crisis as battles rage in Tigray.

The United Nations says 400,000 people are at risk of famine because of the continuing conflict [File: Reuters]

13 Aug 2021

US President Joe Biden is sending his special envoy for the Horn of Africa to Ethiopia to push for an end to increased fighting that has worsened fears of an unfolding humanitarian disaster.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan announced the trip by envoy Jeffrey Feltman on Thursday, while urging Ethiopia’s government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) to come to the negotiating table after nine months of conflict.

KEEP READING

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“Months of war have brought immense suffering and division to a great nation that won’t be healed through more fighting,” Sullivan tweeted.

“We call on all parties to urgently come to the negotiating table,” he said.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s federal troops and forces from the TPLF, which controls Tigray, have been battling since November in a war that has killed thousands of people and sparked a major refugee crisis. The conflict has been marked by ethnic killings and rape as a weapon of war.

In July, the United Nations warned more than 100,000 children in Tigray could suffer life-threatening malnutrition in the next 12 months. A total of 400,000 people risk famine in the region, according to the UN, with aid workers saying they have struggled to gain access.

Alliance with OLA

Earlier this week, TPLF forces said they were in talks to forge a military alliance with fighters from Ethiopia’s most populous region, Oromiya, heaping pressure on the government in Addis Ababa.

The leader of the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) told Reuters news agency by phone on Thursday the group opted to join forces with the TPLF, which it bitterly opposed during its three decades in power in Ethiopia, because they now have a common cause.

“I hope we are going to squeeze this government and if possible – and I know it’s possible – we are going to overthrow this regime and stop this crisis,” said OLA leader Kumsa Diriba, who goes by the nom de guerre Jaal Marroo.

The government has designated both the TPLF and the OLA as “terrorist” organisations.

Also this week, Abiy’s government urged citizens to join the fight against the resurgent TPLF. It said all capable Ethiopians should join the army, special forces and militias to show their patriotism.

After retaking control of most of Tigray in late June and early July, Tigrayan forces have pushed into the adjoining Afar and Amhara regions, capturing the United Nations World Heritage site of Lalibela last week.

Feltman’s mission follows a trip earlier this month to Addis Ababa by US aid chief Samantha Power, who pushed all sides to end hostilities and warned of an impending “humanitarian catastrophe” if more aid cannot enter.

France suspends military cooperation with Ethiopia

Friday, 13 August 2021 23:21 Written by AFP

French President Emmanuel Macron and Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed had made an agreement in March 2019, in which France would loan 85 million euros ($100 million) to support landlocked Ethiopia's ambition to build a navy

AFP , Friday 13 Aug 2021

Abiy Ahmed, Macron

France has suspended a deal on military cooperation with Ethiopia, two sources close to the issue said on Friday, as concern intensifies over the conflict in the country's north.

The deal agreed between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President Emmanuel Macron in March 2019 was suspended at the beginning of July, two official sources with knowledge of the issue told AFP, asking not to be named.

Macron and Abiy had made an agreement in which France would loan 85 million euros ($100 million) to support landlocked Ethiopia's ambition to build a navy.

Abiy was awarded the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for his role in helping to end the decades-long conflict with neighbouring Eritrea.

But international partners have grown increasingly concerned with his leadership as the conflict in the northern Tigray region intensifies.

Northern Ethiopia has been wracked by conflict since November when Abiy sent troops to topple the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which dominated national politics for nearly three decades before Abiy took office.

He said the move came in response to TPLF attacks on federal army camps. But while Abiy promised a swift victory, more than nine months later the TPLF has made advances into the neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions.

Aid workers are struggling to reach cut-off populations, with 400,000 facing famine-like conditions in Tigray, according to the UN.

On Tuesday, Abiy's office issued a statement calling for "all capable Ethiopians who are of age" to join the armed forces as the conflict escalates.

The TPLF has said it is not seeking to reclaim power at the national level and is instead focused on "degrading" pro-government troops and trying to facilitate aid access to Tigray.

Danakali Ltd to leave London Stock Exchange

Thursday, 12 August 2021 23:12 Written by Eritrea Hub

AUGUST 12, 2021 ERITREA HUB NEWS

E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

WWW: eritrea-focus.org

12 August 2021

Danakali Ltd to leave London Stock Exchange

By Habte Hagos

Australia’s potash miner Danakali (ASX, LON: DNK) has requested a cancellation of its listing on the London Stock Exchange, expected to be effective on 24 September.[1]

Danakali Ltd has been working for nearly a decade to develop the Colluli Sulphate of Potash Project in Eritrea – which it describes as a “Global Game Changer”. The project has an expected life of 200 years and is due to become fully operational in February 2022, subject to the completion of a power plant by Aggreko Plc (a British Company based just outside Glasgow, Scotland).

Dankali is listed in the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the Australian Stock Exchange. The share price shortly after listing in September 2018 stood at 53.50p but they have been sluggish ever since and steadily dropped, standing at just 21.55p per share today, with an average daily trading volume of between 5,000 and 10,000 shares.

On 28 July 2021, Danakli Ltd issued a “press release” saying “Shares of the Danakali stock can be purchased on either the London Stock Exchange or the Australian Stock Exchange under the ticker DNK. Your purchase of future sale of Danakali stock is completely confidential. Contact your local bank or broker to find out the specific process to purchase your DNK shares today”. The company also bragged about its strong partnerships with: ENAMCO (the Eritrean Government), AFC, Afreximbank, EuroChem, Aggreko and RA International. It added “these key partners are all working with us to bring Colluli into production as quickly and safely as possible”. However, this upbeat rhetoric has not delivered the desired outcome, perhaps explaining today’s announcement.

Eritrea Focus, in partnership with Freedom United and other partner organisations, has campaigned for many years for Danakali Ltd and others to divest from Eritrea. Eritrea is a country that enslaves its people in perpetuity in the ineptly called “National Service”, which the UN Commission of Inquiry asserts to be modern day slavery. There is no private sector in Eritrea, the Government owns the entire workforce and deploys them where it pleases, including sending them to the war front in Tigray with little or no military training.

We wrote on numerous occasions to Danaklai Ltd and its partners stating “as the Colluli project is a joint venture with the Eritrean National Mining Company (ENAMCO), there are allegations that National Service conscripts are working and more will work on this project. Furthermore, it is certain that profits from this project will bolster the state’s ability to sustain this forced conscription system. Much of the government’s income comes from mining projects. Indeed, the UN has noted that “one important and undisputed source of revenue is proceeds from mining operations owned jointly by the Eritrean state and a transnational corporation.[2]” But the company continues with the project, commending Eritrea’s stability and conducive investment climate.

Eritrea Focus and its partners will work hard for a complete divestment from the country until slavery is eradicated for good and the people are granted their human rights under the UN charter, and not treated as commodities that the Government can trade as it pleases.

Habte Hagos, chair, Eritrea Focus

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s call for total mobilisation, in his own words

Thursday, 12 August 2021 15:49 Written by Eritrea Hub

Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore on reported killing of hundreds of civilians, including children, in Afar, northern Ethiopia

Tuesday, 10 August 2021 14:39 Written by UNICEF

Ethiopia

Format

News and Press Release

Source

UNICEF

Posted

9 Aug 2021

Originally published

9 Aug 2021

Origin

View original

NEW YORK, 9 August 2021 – “UNICEF is extremely alarmed by the reported killing of over 200 people, including more than 100 children, in attacks on displaced families sheltering at a health facility and a school in Afar region on Thursday, 5 August. Crucial food supplies were also reportedly destroyed in an area that is already seeing emergency levels of malnutrition and food insecurity.

“The intensification of fighting in Afar and other areas neighbouring Tigray, is disastrous for children. It follows months of armed conflict across Tigray that have placed some 400,000 people, including at least 160,000 children, in famine-like conditions. Four million people are in crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity in Tigray and adjoining regions of Afar and Amhara. More than 100,000 have been newly displaced by the recent fighting, adding to the 2 million people already uprooted from their homes.

“UNICEF estimates a 10-fold increase in the number of children who will suffer from life-threatening malnutrition in Tigray over the next 12 months. The food security and nutrition crisis is taking place amid extensive, systematic destruction of health and other services that children and communities rely on for survival. In partnership with Regional Bureaus and humanitarian partners, UNICEF is deploying emergency supplies and mobile health and nutrition teams across northern Ethiopia to provide urgent assistance.

“The humanitarian catastrophe spreading across northern Ethiopia is being driven by armed conflict and can only be resolved by the parties to the conflict. UNICEF calls on all parties to end the fighting and to implement an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Above all, we call on all parties to do everything in their power to protect children from harm.”