G7 Statement on Ethiopia “Eritrean withdrawal has not yet commenced”

Thursday, 06 May 2021 14:02 Written by Martin Plaut

MAY 5, 2021 MARTIN PLAUT ERITREA, ETHIOPIA, TIGRAY, UNCATEGORIZED

Ethiopia

40. We recall our statement of 2 April 2021 about the situation in Tigray, and remain deeply concerned about the continued violence and the worsening humanitarian and human rights crises. We condemn the killing of civilians, rape and sexual exploitation, and other forms of gender-based violence, destruction and looting of religious and cultural heritage sites, and the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of Tigrayans and Eritrean refugees. We welcome the agreement between the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to investigate human rights violations and abuses. We call on all parties to cease hostilities immediately, ensure the protection of civilians and respect human rights and international law as well as media freedom and access, and hold those responsible for human rights violations and abuses, including sexual violence, accountable. We urge parties to the conflict to provide immediate, unhindered humanitarian access, given the worsening food insecurity. The presence of foreign forces in Tigray is deeply disturbing and destabilising. We acknowledge the announcement from the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea that Eritrean forces will withdraw from Tigray but remain concerned that this has not yet commenced. The process of withdrawal must be swift, unconditional and verifiable. We call for the establishment of a clear inclusive political process in Tigray. We remain committed to the unity and territorial integrity of Ethiopia. We also call for a broader inclusive political process in Ethiopia to enable credible elections and wider national reconciliation.

An appeal to the BBC for coverage to end Eritrea’s wall of silence

Thursday, 06 May 2021 13:59 Written by Eritrea Hub

MAY 5, 2021 ERITREA HUB NEWS

Eritrea Focus

2 Thorpe Close, Ladbroke Grove, London, W10 5XL

3 May 2021

Mr Tim Davie

BBC Director-General, Broadcasting House, London, W1A 1AA

Dear Mr Davie,

I was pleased and re-assured to see your statement marking World Press Freedom Day (BBC boss warns of ‘growing assault on truth’ around the world (yahoo.com). You are absolutely right to draw attention to the fact that journalists across the globe face “intimidation, harassment and hostility”. I agree with your assessment that “Trusted information is an essential public good, but many journalists around the world – including those from the BBC – are facing intimidation, harassment and hostility. Some even face threats to their lives and liberty.”

You will no doubt be aware that the people of Eritrea face the worst restrictions on their access to information in the world. This is recorded by the index produced by Reporters Without Borders, which shows Eritrea as even more repressive than North Korea (2020 World Press Freedom Index | RSF).

The people of Eritrea have relied on the BBC for accurate news and information ever since the 1960’s when they began their fight for independence. We had assumed that our nation would have an open media landscape when it achieved its independence in 1993. Sadly, this was not to be and the dictatorship that our people live under restricts the activities of its own journalists as well as visiting reporters. There is no independent media of any kind based in Eritrea. It is one of the few nations in which the BBC – along with other international media houses – has no resident correspondent or reporter.

No other nation or people have a greater need for the BBC’s accurate and reliable news. It is for this reason that I am calling on the BBC to make a commitment to make a particular effort to report about and to Eritrea. We welcomed the BBC’s recent broadcasts in Tigrinya and our people listen and watch the BBC keenly. But there is room for a greater concentration of BBC journalism on Eritrea – particularly since its forces are involved in the tragic war in Ethiopia, and its troops are accused of some of the worst abuses, including the rape of girls and women.

I offer to meet you and your colleagues in the next few weeks to discuss how the BBC’s work can be augmented. This is an extraordinary situation and requires an extraordinary response.

Yours faithfully

Habte Hagos

Chairman, Eritrea Focus

Tigray is truly on the brink of starvation – “access is a matter of life or death” – USAID

Wednesday, 05 May 2021 21:43 Written by Martin Plaut

MAY 5, 2021 MARTIN PLAUT ETHIOPIA, NEWS, TIGRAY

The medical charity, known by its French initials MSF, said residents were struggling to access food distribution points and lamented that the aid response “hardly ever extends beyond larger towns” to Tigray’s rural areas.

This warning from the US government’s aid agency, USAID, says it all.

It underlines a similar warning from Doctors Without Borders – MSF

‘Alarming’ malnutrition in Ethiopia’s war-hit Tigray: MSF

By AFP

Doctors Without Borders on Wednesday described “alarming” malnutrition in parts of Ethiopia’s war-hit Tigray region and said the situation was likely to worsen with the coming rainy season.

The medical charity, known by its French initials MSF, said residents were struggling to access food distribution points and lamented that the aid response “hardly ever extends beyond larger towns” to Tigray’s rural areas.

“MSF teams are observing alarming levels of malnutrition among children and pregnant and breastfeeding mothers screened at mobile clinics across several locations throughout the Northwest region of Tigray,” Karline Kleijer, head of MSF’s emergency support department, said in a statement.

Among 309 children screened at remote clinics in recent weeks, 26.6 percent were malnourished and six percent were severely acutely malnourished, Kleijer said, adding the situation “warrants immediate action.”

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops into Tigray in November to detain and disarm leaders of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the regional ruling party that once dominated national politics.

He said the move came in response to TPLF attacks on army camps and that fighting would be over quickly.

But as the six-month-old war drags on, world leaders are increasingly concerned about what US Secretary of State Antony Blinken last month called an impending humanitarian “disaster.”

Tigray’s North Western zone includes the town of Shire which is housing tens of thousands of displaced Tigrayans, many kicked off land in western Tigray in what Blinken has described as “ethnic cleansing.”

Fighting in Tigray disrupted the harvest in a region that was already food insecure.

Wednesday’s MSF statement did not specify why residents couldn’t access food distribution points.

But documents from Tigray’s Abiy-appointed interim government, obtained by AFP last month, said Eritrean soldiers were blocking and looting food aid and forcing aid workers out of parts of the region.

Eritrea denied the allegations.

Kleijer said Wednesday that “the quality and quantity of food available has fallen sharply, with many families eating just one meal a day and often only bread.”

She added: “As rainy season approaches food insecurity issues are expected to worsen, as fields are often inaccessible to the farmers due to the conflict or they don’t have the means to plant crops.

Without more aid malnutrition could become widespread, as could outbreaks of communicable diseases, she said.

‘Escaping Eritrea’ Filmmaker Evan Williams Describes ‘Phenomenal Sacrifice’ of Eritreans Sneaking Footage Out of Country

Wednesday, 05 May 2021 14:13 Written by Martin Plaut

MAY 5, 2021 MARTIN PLAUT NEWS

In a scene from the FRONTLINE documentary “Escaping Eritrea,” a source shows secret footage from inside a prison.

MAY 4, 2021

Priyanka Boghani

The United Nations estimates that Eritrea is among the top three countries, alongside Syria and South Sudan, with the greatest proportion of their citizens who have become refugees — with 12,500 refugees per 100,000 people.

According to the U.N.’s last available estimates, released in mid-2020, more than half a million Eritreans have become refugees.

In FRONTLINE’s latest documentary, Escaping Eritrea, producer Evan Williams set out to learn what was driving so many Eritreans from their homeland. He talked to FRONTLINE about his investigative journey, which stretched across five years, as he found people who were trying to smuggle secret footage out of the country and worked to corroborate their findings.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

How did you first come upon this story?

The refugee crisis was at a real peak [in 2015-2016], with people coming across the Mediterranean, and one of the biggest groups coming across into Europe, in particular, were from Eritrea. And the idea was, “Well, why are they coming from Eritrea, when technically there isn’t a war, or famine, or some other natural disaster there?” Particularly compared with why Iraqis, Syrians and Afghans were fleeing.

There had been a number of television pieces about the terribly dangerous conditions that Eritreans and others face when they go through the desert, and they’re going through North Africa and they cross the Mediterranean — many of whom, of course, drown. But nobody had ever tried to investigate at the source what was going on inside the country that made them want to leave. …

The documentary mentions this investigation took five years. Why did it take so long?

It’s a country that’s gone through many years of privations and a 30-year war against Ethiopia … and it’s had border hostilities with Ethiopia ever since. And this is very important because what it meant was that the country is a one-party, one-leader state. The place is run as a dictatorship, and it’s a very tightly controlled country, and with a small population, it’s very easy for them to control information. It’s actually very easy for them to control the population. [The U.N. estimates Eritrea’s population to be 3.5 million, although other estimates put it as high as 6 million.]

When we tried to contact groups who might be interested in trying to get some material out, it was very, very difficult — first of all, finding people who were brave enough to take those risks to try and get information out and also had the wherewithal to get it out, because the internet is controlled, mobile phones are monitored. It doesn’t have the same communication infrastructure that we are all used to, in developed and many developing countries. It just doesn’t exist, and if it does exist, it’s controlled. Or people believe that they’re being monitored or can be monitored through it.

That’s a long way of answering the question that we couldn’t just call an “opposition group,” if there was one, and say, “Let’s organize a secure way for you to transfer material.” We had to find groups that were already trying to do it or were interested in trying but just didn’t have the technical capacity. And that took time. …

“Some of these are people who decided that this was the way they wanted to get the story out, they were leaving their country. It’s a phenomenal sacrifice.”

We had a good initial start. We did find Michael, who came out reasonably early in the production, around 2016. He had a whole bunch of material that he had remarkably filmed secretly inside one of the prisons [that held people who tried to escape national service]. And that set us off on a course of, “OK, let’s try and get more about the detention centers that are across the country, because that’s one of the things that drives people away.” So, we discovered through our reporting that it was the country’s system of mandatory national service — which means military service at the age of 18 — that was driving many away.

The system in place is really one where, at 18, you do your training for several months and then you’re in the military service for as long as the government may want you. …

If you’re caught trying to flee the country or escape that national service, that’s when you’re put in detention centers. That’s why detention centers became very important to us: trying to get visual evidence that, first, these places exist, because the government denies that; and second of all, gaining information about what the conditions were like inside those detention centers — and also then getting testimony from survivors and refugees and others about what happens inside them, and exhaustively cross-checking these reports, studies and other reporting.

How did you build trust with activists and eyewitnesses who were afraid to tell their story because of what might happen to them?

That took time, not only to find them but then yes, you’re right, for me to go and establish the right level of trust with them, so that we could work together. Once we’d agreed how to go forward, then it would take another several months in many cases for them to be able to obtain anything. And that’s one of the reasons it took so long.

And then of course we had the layer of, as I said before, you can’t just email it. It’s real old-school. So that meant someone physically bringing material out. Some of these are people who decided that this was the way they wanted to get the story out, they were leaving their country. It’s a phenomenal sacrifice. And yet this is what some of the people that we were working with decided that they would do. …

What kind of safety measures did you take to protect the identities and whereabouts of your sources?

They’re anonymized in the film itself. And we’ve taken steps not to give certain information away about them and their location. That’s number one. And when we were filming them, we would often have to choose locations that they were secure in. It comes down to being careful about who sees us with them. …

We had to be careful about communicating. I never called in to the country. We always used second or third parties from the community itself, who might have had other reasons to call. We spoke often in code. We would never directly talk about detention centers or secret filming or any of the key words that might trigger some sort of attention. We didn’t know whether that would or not, but we decided that’s how we would do it.

We worked together in establishing a safety protocol for the people involved in trying to film things. …

How did you work to verify the footage and the testimony that you were getting?

What we would do is go through all the material with the person who actually filmed the material. And that gives you a layer of authenticity about detail to start with. …

Then we would actually show large sections of this to other refugees who had come out, who had been in the same location. … I would get them to describe for me conditions inside wherever they said they were held and see if that sort of matched with what I had. Then I would show them some of the material and get them to tell me where it was and what was going on. … It’s a process of getting them to lead you through it, rather than forcing them to tell you what you want to hear. …

Were you able to get into Eritrea at any point during the filmmaking process?

No, unfortunately. We asked the government if I could go in, towards the end of 2016, beginning of ’17, and they just didn’t get back to us. Which, again, is important, because I’ve exhaustively sought their response to the film. I gave them more than a month, once we had the final bits together, to respond. I’ve written to them several times. I’ve had conversations with the embassy in London and with the ministry of information, and we’ve been very specific about the allegations we make in the film and the material we have and would have welcomed their input.

“We spoke often in code. We would never directly talk about detention centers or secret filming or any of the key words that might trigger some sort of attention.”

But basically, their condition was, unless I could send them the entire film before it goes on air, they would not participate in a filmed interview. … We said we’d be more than happy to show them excerpts and some of the more important material in a filmed interview, with a representative of their embassy, and they rejected that. They said, quote, “We are not going to play the media game.” The ministry of information would only say the accusations were “astounding.”

Hanna’s story is one of incredible courage and resilience. Are people like her at risk, even though they are no longer in Eritrea?

No, is the answer. … You’ve still got people around you that would consider themselves part of the Eritrean independence revolution and would see any criticism as a betrayal of the nation. … But they’re not a physical threat, as such, to people. There’s been no evidence of them committing any violence against people, not even among Eritreans that I’m aware of. But they are noisy, and they can be threatening.

Hanna’s story is so incredible. In many ways, it embodies, in one woman and one family, the country and its struggle. It’s so moving and also so terrible that this could happen to somebody [like Hanna’s father] who was actually very powerful in the country. And I think the message from the government is probably … if they can do it to them, they can do to anybody. …

When people watch the documentary, what do you hope they take away from it?

With my current affairs hat on, I want people to know why these people are leaving their country. And I want us to then look, perhaps more knowingly, when we see refugees in our countries, about why people leave. …

I think all countries have become a lot tighter and a lot more unsympathetic towards [refugees]. So, hopefully, this will help inform people about this particular case of Eritreans but also then the broader refugee situation.

I also think there’s something quite moving in the examples of the human spirit here, where people have gone through all sorts of untold misery and problems, and yet they refuse to be broken by it.

If you look at Hanna, for example, she’s an amazing woman who just burns with this sort of incandescent hope. Remarkably. I don’t know how she does it. But she’s got that feeling about her, that she’s not going to give up. The fact that the teams themselves wanted to get this material out to me said a great deal about people’s courage, and their lack of willingness to just completely accept an unjust situation for themselves — where they perceive that to be unjust for them and their country people. …

When you were mentioning it, I recalled that in the beginning of the film the narration mentions that a lot of these refugees are younger, almost teenagers. Is that the makeup of the refugee population?

Remarkably, what we found is, I think the latest figure [from this U.N. report] was something like 8,000 were officially registered as unaccompanied children. So that means these were children under the age of 18 who had left the country on their own.

Now, when you think about that, there’s something pretty bad going on, if children under 18 are going to cross a hostile border with landmines and soldiers, with the possibility of being shot and imprisoned. And they’re doing that because they don’t see any hope. They see their elder siblings or relatives or neighbors going into the military and having what they see as a terrible life, or worse, if they’re detained for trying to flee it. …

“I also think there’s something quite moving in the examples of the human spirit here, where people have gone through all sorts of untold misery and problems, and yet they refuse to be broken by it.”

They get officially dragooned into the military training service at 18. But some of the children told us that [the authorities] would do what they called a “giffa,” which is like a sweep. So if the military felt, or a unit felt, it needed to boost the numbers, they might go through and clean up all the kids that were roughly 18, 16, 17 and then get them in to train and get them into the barracks. …

You’ve now done quite a few films that involved really terrible atrocities, from ISIS to the brutal campaign against the Rohingya in Myanmar. How do you cope?

It is upsetting and it can be quite traumatic. … But I think I’ve just tried to channel any emotion into the project, in a way, to try and make that the outlet. We’re doing this for a purpose, which is to help these people tell the story that they couldn’t otherwise tell. …

Whatever impact it has on us as filmmakers is absolutely nothing compared to the experiences of the people we speak to and document. And while it can take a toll, it’s our job to try to give them a voice and reveal their reality.

Escaping Eritrea premieres Tuesday, May 4, at 10/9c on PBS stations (check local listings). It will also be available to stream in FRONTLINE’s online collection of documentaries, on YouTube and in the PBS Video App.

East Africa: ERIPS Statement on Addressing the Conflict and Refugee Situation in Ethiopia's Tigray Region

Tuesday, 04 May 2021 21:31 Written by ERIPS

Frederic Courbet/ UNHCR

The Shimelba refugee camp in the Tigray region of Ethiopia (file).

3 MAY 2021

Eritrean Research Institute for Policy and Strategy (Washington, DC)

DOCUMENT

The war in Tigray region of Ethiopia is not just about Tigray or Ethiopia but also about Eritrea and the whole region.

First of all, the humanitarian catastrophe that has been perpetrated on the people of Tigray and Eritrean refugees, and still continuing as we write this letter, must stop. All parties to the war should unconditionally agree to ceasefire immediately. At the core of all the havoc that is being wreaked in the region is the unelected president of Eritrea, Isaias Afwerki. Action delayed in halting his military maneuvers and destructive adventures will have grave consequences for the entire region of the Horn of Africa for a very long time to come.

As the international community struggles to resolve the calamitous war in Ethiopia's Tigray region, the plight of the 100,000+ Eritrean refugees living in the four camps in Ethio-pia is drowned out by the so many emergencies that are going on in the region. It is re-ported that about 20,000 Eritrean refugees have been forcibly repatriated to Eritrea and two of the four refugee camps are burned down. The war is causing limitations on movement and access in the region, thus putting the refugees who depend on the UNHCR and other humanitarian agencies for their livelihood, at risk of hunger and dis-placement in addition to being made vulnerable to the dangers of being in the crossfire of the war. Concern for the human rights and humanitarian needs of Eritrean refugees must therefore be a high priority, but this matter will never be completely resolved without understanding and addressing the internal crisis in Eritrea that is partly responsible for driving this conflict and producing disproportionate number of refugees.

Eleven of the fifteen National Assembly members who called for the implementation of the 1997 ratified constitution were imprisoned on September 18, 2001 without due process and incommunicado to-date. Consequently, the Isaias regime has instituted a reign of terror on its own people.

Civil society groups, religious communities, independent journalists, and opposition political parties are marginalized, and often criminalized, imprisoned, and tortured. Military conscription is mandatory and indefinite beginning at the age of 18 as stipulated in the national service proclamation. However, reports are increasingly coming out that the government is rounding up children as young as 15 and 16 and sent to the war in Tigray and other parts of Ethiopia with little or no training. In 2016, the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on the Human Rights in Eritrea reported that the way Eritreans were treated in detention facilities and military training camps amounts to crimes against humanity.

Eritrea is among countries with the highest prison population rates in the world, with prison conditions beneath human decency. Reliable sources put the number of prisoners in Eritrea in the tens of thousands. Many of them are prisoners of conscience who dared to express their views peacefully, and many others who tried to flee the country or escape from the indefinite conscription into the so-called National Service.

Eritrean authorities show no mercy; they are cruel to disabled veterans, underage boys and girls, expectant mothers and brides, respected elders, and religious leaders. These leaders include the Head of the Eritrean Orthodox Church, His Holiness Abune Antonios, who has been under house arrest since 2007, and Hajj Musa Mohammed Nur, the Board President of Al Dia Islamic School in Asmara, who died in prison on March 1, 2018. The overcrowded prisons in Eritrea contain people who took part in the armed struggle, top military officers, ministers, journalists and religious leaders. It is also important to underscore that there are hundreds of thousands of Eritrean conscripts, many of whom are underage currently sent to the war in Tigray whose parents do not know whether their children are dead or alive.

It is no wonder, then, that so many Eritreans – both young and old – are desperate to leave Eritrea. Unfortunately, their flight from Eritrea has been extraordinarily perilous.

Back during an April 18, 2018 hearing of the Congressional Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, Co-Chair Rep. Randy Hults described the hazards caused by the growing refugee crisis in Eritrea in the following manner: "For those that leave Eritrea, the dangers they face are almost unimaginable. Many of these asylum seekers are exploited by smugglers and human traffickers, or find them-selves in Libyan slave markets enduring detention, torture, and forced labor. Some, after gaining their freedom, expressed they would rather endure the experience of slavery over again than to be sent back to their native country. The question remains why are so many people leaving this country?"

The answer to this question lies in the horrific conditions with which Eritrean citizens have been forced to live, the indefinite national service, economic stagnation, lack of opportunity and absolute control of every aspect of life. Currently, for example, Eritrea is under a complete lock down, supposedly because of the pandemic, which is causing tremendous hardship and hunger, due to loss of livelihoods. On the other hand, the regime has refused to participate in the WHO vaccine distribution program, COVAX.

There is increasing evidence that the Federal Government of Ethiopia contrary to inter-national refugee law, is making it easier for the Isaias regime to kidnap Eritrean refugees and return them to what amounts to indentured servitude or prison. In a December 16, 2020 statement, Refugees International explained the seriousness of this matter:
"Refugees International is concerned about reports that Ethiopian government forces and Eritrean soldiers have forced Eritrean refugees to return to Eritrea or other locations where they may be in danger. For example, Eritrean refugees who fled to Addis Ababa to avoid the fighting in Tigray have been rounded up and returned to camps in Tigray. This is unacceptable, as camps in Tigray are in the middle of an active conflict zone and have little access to food or medical supplies."

Human Rights Watch reported on April 21 of this year that the Ethiopian government quietly changed its asylum procedures for Eritrean refugees, undermining their access to the asylum process and denying the numerous unaccompanied minors necessary protections. While it has for years provided asylum to Eritrean refugees as a group, the human rights agency said that in January of this year, the Ethiopian government began registering limited categories of Eritrean refugees, particularly eliminating minors and placing them in danger of being returned to abusive situations in violation of international refugee law.

During the past year, ERIPS has informed the U.S. Government of Isaias' designs of forcibly returning Eritrean refugees. It also explained that this aim is one of the factors in his government's decision to intervene in the Tigray conflict. We continue to urge action to bring a peaceful, sustainable resolution to the ongoing crisis in Eritrea that has spread to the region.

The international community must give due consideration to the disastrous impact the Isaias Afwerki regime has had in the Horn of Africa. This regime is known for instigating conflicts with neighboring countries (Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Yemen) since the early 1990s. These wars have led to the unnecessary loss of lives, which in the eyes of Isaias Afwerki are expendable. The current war will inevitably devour the lives of Eritrean youth, who are forcibly conscripted to the army, and exposing the Eritrean civilian population to death, destruction, and displacement. For these reasons alone, the international community should want to end Isaias' reign of terror in the Horn of Africa expeditiously.

To effectively address the conflict in Tigray and to bring upon a political settlement of the crisis, ERIPS calls again upon the international community to immediately act so that:
1.   All warring parties (the Federal Government of Ethiopia, the Tigray Regional Government, Amhara militia and the Eritrean regime) will enter a binding cease-fire immediately.
2.   The Eritrean regime of President Isaias Afwerki will stop interfering in the internal affairs of Ethiopia, cease and desist any war footing.
3.   The Federal Government of Ethiopia will lift any blockade and allow free access to all humanitarian agencies , to ameliorate the current humanitarian crisis of the civilian population in the Tigray region, for the UNHCR and all other agencies to have free access to all refugees and to relocate the refugees to third countries to ensure their safety.
4.   The Federal Government of Ethiopia will ensure that all Eritreans have the right to apply for and receive asylum and publicly announce any changes to its asylum and camp management policies.
5.   UN will lead an independent investigation of the atrocity crimes and crime against humanity in the Tigray region.

For the international community to play its role in bringing a lasting solution to the Horn of Africa, addressing the political and humanitarian situation in Eritrea will be critical. ERIPS recommends that the international community put significant pressure on Eritrea so that:
1.   Eritrea will make a transition to democracy.
2.   National service will be limited to 18 months.
3.   Eritrean prisoners of conscience and political prisoners will be released.
4.   Those responsible for the grave human rights violations and regional wars will be held accountable.

EU cancels election observation mission to Ethiopia

Tuesday, 04 May 2021 21:22 Written by DW

EU High Representative Josep Borrell says Ethiopian authorities would not agree to key parameters regarding the bloc's observation mission. The June elections come amid an ongoing crisis in the Tigray region.

Election campaign in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia

National elections in Ethiopia are scheduled for June 5

The EU on Monday canceled its upcoming election observation mission to Ethiopia, High Representative Josep Borrell said in a statement.

Borrell said Ethiopian authorities would not agree to key parameters of the election observation mission. "As conditions are not fulfilled, the deployment of the mission has to be cancelled," he said.

"The integrity of an election observation mission is the cornerstone of the EU's support for democracy."

"It is disappointing that the EU has not received the assurances necessary to extend to the Ethiopian people one of its most visible signs of support for their quest for democracy," he later added.

The statement says the EU has given more than €20 million ($24.1 million) to the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) to prepare for the upcoming elections this summer.

When are the elections?

Ethiopian elections are slated for June 5. The elections were originally supposed to be held in August 2020, but were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's Prosperity Party is facing off against ethnic parties based in various regions of Ethiopia.

The Prosperity Party grew out of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), which ruled the country with a tight grip for 28 years from 1991 to 2019.

One political controversy in recent months involves the state of Oromia. Several opposition leaders belonging to the Oromo ethnic minority were jailed last year after the killing of popular Oromo singer Hachalu Hundessa in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa.

Hundessa's killing triggered massive protests in the Oromo region last summer. The Ethiopian government at one point shut off the internet to quell the demonstrations and cracked down on the anti-Ahmed opposition amid the unrest.

Reports of new atrocities emerge from Tigray

How has Ethiopia responded to the withdrawal?

Ethiopia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement after the announced withdrawl saying they were disappointed, and that they had made all possible efforts to ensure the mission went ahead.

It said negotiations had fallen apart over disagreements on telecommunications technologies. It said the EU wanted to import satellite communication equipment, despite suitable infrastructure in the country.

It said the EU had rejected its demands that observer members make no disparaging remarks about election integrity before it released its preliminary report.

"The government is committed to make the upcoming elections free, fair, and democratic and is determined to continue working with all stakeholders to make it so," it said.

"While external observers could add some value to strengthen the quality of the electoral process, they are neither essential nor necessary to certify the credibility of an election.

"The validity and legitimacy of Ethiopia's election is determined solely by Ethiopian laws, Ethiopian institutions, and ultimately, by the people of Ethiopia."

What's the current political situation in Ethiopia?

The elections come as Ethiopia faces a political and humanitarian crisis in its restive Tigray region, which lies in the northern part of the country.

In November, an ethnic nationalist paramilitary group called the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) attacked several Ethiopian military bases in the Tigray region. The TPLF claims Abiy Ahmed's rule is illegitimate, since elections were postponed.

Ahmed characterized the attacks by the TPLF as "treason" and has ordered a military offensive against the group. The Ethiopian government has been accused of ethnic cleansing in Tigray, although it denies the allegations.

The TPLF has also been accused of war crimes in its operations against the government. Eritrea, which backs Ahmed in the conflict, has also sent troops to Tigray.

Tigray: TPLF says Eritreans are calling for a demilitarised border zone along the Ethiopian frontier

Monday, 03 May 2021 19:04 Written by Eritrea Hub

MAY 2, 2021 ERITREA HUB ETHIOPIA, NEWS, TIGRAY

Source: TPLF

Admonishes “certain Eritreans” who kept silent until Tigray gets completely destroyed and “when the people of Tigray started to rise up, are knocking the doors of governments and international organizations and have started asking for the establishment of ‘buffered demilitarized zone’.”

Claims that those to whom these Eritreans were pleading for the demilitarized zone (i.e. foreign diplomats) had informed him about their request.

“Even more, we have heard you saying ‘the Eritrean army has not withdrawn from Tigray because it didn’t get security guarantee from the Tigrayan side’. It is amazing!”

Claims that those to whom these Eritreans were pleading for the demilitarized zone (i.e. foreign diplomats) had informed him about their request.

Asserts that only Tigray and its people can have a say about the fate of TPLF or any other Tigrayan party; that the time when others interfered in the affairs of “the country of Tigray” has been closed.

Lists the despicable atrocities committed on the people of Tigray by the Eritrean forces and questions their sanity for requesting an ‘international peacekeeping force’.

Implies scores will have to be settled (Let us meet where we ought to meet!) and closes with ‘Tigray shall prevail’. Warns the enemies of Tigray “wherever you go we will find you and bring you to justice.”

Bluff and subterfuge: Eritrea’s letter to the UN

Saturday, 01 May 2021 10:55 Written by Martin Plaut

APRIL 29, 2021 MARTIN PLAUT ETHIOPIA, NEWS, TIGRAY

In an attempt to shift blame, the Eritrean government openly implicated itself as being in violation of international laws.

Source: Ethiopia Insight

29 April, 2021

BY MISTIR SEW

In an attempt to shift blame, the Eritrean government openly implicated itself as being in violation of international laws.

On 16 April, Sophia Tesfamariam, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Eritrea to the United Nations, sent a letter to the Security Council (UNSC). She explained Eritrea’s involvement in Ethiopia’s war in the Tigray region.

The letter begins with a complaint: “I have the honor to strongly register my government’s dismay by the unwarranted statements made” by the US Ambassador to the UN and the UN’s Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. She is protesting against the briefings given to the UNSC on the role of the Eritrean army in the invasion of Tigray and the atrocities it committed against civilians.

However, the letter’s stratagem does more harm than good by implicating the Eritrean government in the aggression of a sovereign nation and war crimes.

Violating sovereignty

The letter does not seem to be written by a regime that understands or seriously takes its duties (and rights) under international law towards another state.

The tensions between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the federal government of Ethiopia is an internal Ethiopian matter. Strictly speaking, the letter itself is an illegal interference into the affairs of Ethiopia.

Therefore, through its letter, Eritrea confirmed that it had violated Ethiopia’s sovereignty when it deployed its army and security personnel in Tigray.

One may argue that Eritrea is doing all these at the will of the Ethiopian regime and, therefore, not breaching Ethiopia’s sovereignty. But then again, we have not yet heard any formal (or informal) invitation of Eritrea by the Ethiopian government led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Moreover, Eritrea is not entitled under international law to intervene in a civil war situation even if it was invited. The concept of sovereignty extends beyond a government in office. It embraces the people, the territory, and the territorial and political integrity of a country. Nor do Abiy Ahmed’s prime ministerial powers give him the authority to bargain Ethiopia’s sovereignty.

Self-defense pretext

The letter tries to justify Eritrea’s invasion as a “legitimate measure” of self-defense against the “regional threat,” namely the TPLF. It blames the “TPLF clique” for “attacking” the Ethiopian army stationed in Tigray with the aim of “confiscating” the army’s weaponry and subsequently invade Eritrea.

It refers to the “decision” of TPLF’s Central Committee to invade Eritrea without providing any evidence to that effect. Even if Eritrea’s allegations of TPLF’s plan is true, current international law rejects pre-emptive attacks in the name of self-defense unless the action meets strict requirements.

These requirements are spelled out under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter and general international law. They are: (1) proof of a prior armed attack, (2) reporting of such an attack to the UNSC, (3) the necessity of responding to the attack, and (4) the proportionality of the response.

First, the Eritrean regime might argue that rockets fired by the Tigrayan forces attacked it first and that it acted in self-defense. But, the rocket attacks on Asmara happened more than a week after Eritrea launched a full-scale military operation in Tigray.

Furthermore, the letter is silent on the plan by the Eritrean troops, Ethiopian federal army, and Amhara regional forces to attack the regional government of Tigray. The preparations started well before 3 November and had been ongoing for more than two years.

The letter does not offer any insight regarding the military deployment of the Eritrean and Ethiopian army contingents around the borders of Tigray before the beginning of the war. The letter does not explain how swiftly these contingents coordinated their attacks against the Tigrayan forces as soon as the conflict had begun.

Bait and switch diplomacy: Abiy and Isaias’s two-act drama

By Tewodros Tsegaye

The conduct of the Eritrean regime is naked aggression against Ethiopia. History is repeating itself as Eritrea’s army did commit the same act of aggression in 1998, as confirmed by the Hague Claims Commission in 2005, which ruled that it violated the UN charter by “resorting to armed force” to attack Ethiopia in May 1998.

Second, there is no trace of reporting by the Eritrean government to the UNSC on the “attack by TPLF.” Unless authorized by the UNSC, any use of force against a sovereign state’s territorial integrity and political independence amounts to a violation of the United Nations Charter.

Suppose Eritrea’s military action has been instigated by the right of self-defense. What, then, stopped the Eritrean government from reporting its actions to the Security Council before or when launching its military operation in Tigray?

President Isaias Afwerki’s invasion of Tigray, therefore, does not have any legal justification. This is why he opted for denying his troops’ involvement until very recently.

Third, the government of Isaias had not exhausted all avenues of peaceful resolution of the tension between itself and the TPLF. The use of force was not a necessity or last resort as strictly required under international law.

Fourth, sexual violence, extrajudicial killings, wanton destruction of property, looting, vandalism, and hindrance of aid delivery violate the proportionality requirement in the event of acting in self-defense.

Evasion of war crimes

The letter denies the use of sexual violence and hunger as weapons of war. It states that the “alleged” sexual violence and associated crimes committed by the Eritrean troops “is not just outrageous, but also a vicious attack on the culture and history of our people.”

True, the people of Eritrea cannot collectively be blamed for the crimes that are being committed by the troops. But, human rights groups, the international media, and international organizations have documented many cases of gang rapes, assaults, and inhumane treatment of women in the hands of the Eritrean army. The abuses reached a level of sexual slavery. A woman had been raped for several days by 23 Eritrean soldiers, and objects were put into her body, which is an extreme act of sadism.

Systemic and widespread rape is used as a weapon of war by the Eritrean army. Over 800 women have been identified as victims of rape in few clinics of Adigrat and Mekelle alone. Even Abiy Ahmed admitted atrocities had been committed in Tigray by his and Eritrean troops.

The Axum, Mariam Dengelat, Wukro, Adigrat, Tembien, Selekleka, Hawzen, Hadush Adi, and Adi Irob massacres of innocent civilians have been widely documented by Amnesty, Human Rights Watch, and, to some extent, by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission.

Hence, describing these mass crimes as “outrageous” via a high-ranking female official is an insult to families who have lost their loved ones, those who sustained severe physical and phycological traumas, and the international organizations, advocacy groups, and the media.

The Eritrean letter also refers to humanitarian assistance as an urgent task of the international community. It blames the TPLF for “waging” this war at the time of critical harvest season.

It is audacious to claim that the Eritrean regime cares for Tigrayan farmers more than the TPLF does, which, by the way, was voted in office by the same farmers two months before the war began.

It is also disingenuous as the Eritrean army, along with federal and Amhara forces, deliberately used starvation as a weapon of war. They are destroying and looting food, agricultural equipment, water, and medical facilities. They are banning farmers from plowing their lands for the forthcoming harvest season while hindering aid from getting to those in desperate need.

These crimes are well documented by the Tigray Interim Administration, which Abiy’s government designated after he had declared “victory” back in late November.

Bluff and subterfuge

The letter says that the TPLF’s threat “has been largely thwarted.” Therefore, Ethiopia and Eritrea agreed on the withdrawal of Eritrean troops, replacing them with “Ethiopian contingents along the international boundary.”

This “agreement,” however, cannot be celebrated and taken in good faith.

First, the Eritrean regime has not yet admitted that its army is fighting inside Tigray. It is making a vague promise and telling a half-truth.

Second, despite the Eritrean and the Ethiopian regimes’ promise of the troops’ withdrawal, there is no proof of their exit. As the US Ambassador to the UN told the Security Council on 15 April, the Eritrean forces are wearing Ethiopian army uniforms, an indication that they wish to stay in Tigray indefinitely.

Third, sources on the ground are saying more Eritrean troops are stationed in Tigray as well as in other parts of Ethiopia.

Senator Chris Coons said he is disappointed by the behavior of Abiy, who failed to get the Eritreans out of Tigray. The ousted president of Tigray, Debretsion Gebremichael, said he does not believe that the Eritrean army will exit from Tigray without coercion.

In conclusion, Eritrea’s letter to the UN is an open admission of aggression against the territorial integrity of its neighbor and a futile attempt to cover up war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The way forward

The international community is duty-bound to take appropriate actions and coerce the Eritrean regime (along with the Ethiopian federal government and Amhara regional leaders) to:

1. Immediately halt the massacres, sexual violence, continued looting, and destruction of property.

2. Allow unfettered access to aid and relief efforts to avert the looming manmade hunger.

3. Withdraw troops from Tigray through adequate supervision and monitoring without giving room for sabotage, manipulation, and delay tactics.

4. Cooperate with independent and international investigators to expose the gross human rights violations committed in the last six months.

5. Return all private and public properties looted from Tigray, including industrial equipment, vehicles, machinery, livestock, etc.

6. Halt the hostile attitude towards international organizations and other relief workers.

Letter from the Eritrean Government to the UN

Letter of Eritrea’s Ambassador to the UN to Current President of UNSC

GENERAL

On Apr 16, 2021

16 April 2021

Excellency,

I have the honour to strongly register my government’s dismay by the unwarranted statements made by the US Permanent Representative to the UN during the closed UNSC Session yesterday. In this respect, OCHA’s pliant and unconstructive role, and especially its persistent position to venture into areas beyond its mandate, is unfortunate and unacceptable

To begin with, let us get the facts straight. The crisis in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia erupted solely because the TPLF clique – supported and emboldened for decades by certain powers – unleashed a massive, pre-emptive attack on all the contingents of the entire Ethiopian Northern Command. The purpose of this “blitzkrieg” was to neutralize Ethiopia’s largest army contingent, confiscate its weaponry (80% of the total arsenal of the DF) and seize power in Ethiopia through violence and subsequently invade Eritrea. The TPLF Central Committee endorsed this unprecedented act of insurrection and grave regional destabilization in its meeting earlier in the month.

The TPLF’s unprovoked attack also took place during the critical harvest months in the Tigray Region. The timing of the TPLF’s attack demonstrates its callousness particularly in the context of the fact that 1.6 million poor farmers in Tigray have depended – since 2009 – on humanitarian assistance under the Global Safety Net.

In the statements from OCHA and the US Ambassador to the UN, these facts are glossed over. Instead, we heard false allegations of the “the use of sexual violence and hunger as a weapon”. We are indeed appalled by attempts to blame those who were forced to resort to legitimate measures of self –defense that other countries would have done under similar circumstances. The allegations of rape and other crimes lodged against Eritrean soldiers is not just outrageous, but also a vicious attack on the culture and history of our people.

Irrespective of the culpability of the defunct TPLF clique, innocent civilians in Tigray Region should not be victimized in any way. Humanitarian assistance has to be delivered. These are the urgent tasks of the moment.

Furthermore, as the looming grave threat has been largely thwarted, Eritrea and Ethiopia have agreed – at the highest levels – to embark on the withdrawal of Eritrean forces and the simultaneous redeployment of Ethiopian contingents along the international boundary. Eritrea avails of this occasion to thank UNSC member States who have insisted on adherence to established norms in this case too.

Please accept Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration and I would be most grateful if the letter could be circulated among all members of the United Security Council.

Sophia Tesfamariam
Ambassador and Permanent Representative

H.E. Mr. Dang Dinh Quy
President
Security Council of the United Nations
New York, NY, 10017

Eritrea Liberty Magazine Issue #68

Friday, 30 April 2021 21:59 Written by EPDP Information Office

Ethiopia: People are traumatized – “the situation is worsening by the moment”

Wednesday, 28 April 2021 22:57 Written by Eritrea Hub

APRIL 28, 2021 ERITREA HUB ETHIOPIA, NEWS, TIGRAY

Hundreds lie dead in Ethiopia’s war-torn Tigray region according to a secret inside account, which described priests beaten up, churches ransacked, and “rampant” hunger and fear gripping the populace who have no medicine left.

Source: Independent Catholic News

Maria Lozano and Fionn Shiner

Apr 27th, 2021

Hundreds lie dead in Ethiopia’s war-torn Tigray region according to a secret inside account, which described priests beaten up, churches ransacked, and “rampant” hunger and fear gripping the populace who have no medicine left.

Speaking to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the priest, unnamed for security reasons, described the effects of a conflict ongoing since November 2020 between the government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

He said: “There is still devastating war going on in almost the whole of the Tigray region… I don’t have the words to describe their suffering – there is great despair and the people are traumatised.”

The result of the conflict is that “there is rampant hunger and fear”, according to ACN’s source.

He said: “There are no official public services, not enough food, no medication, no security and trust. Hundreds were killed.”

Last November, fighting broke out in Tigray after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent federal troops, supported by militia and army from Amhara, and troops from Eritrea, to fight the TPLF, which he accused of holding illegitimate elections.

The source insisted that “the situation is worsening by the moment.”

Describing how children and orphans have suffered, he said: “The people are at the end of their strength. [Mothers] come to ask help because they have lost their children and don’t know where they are.”

According to ACN’s source, there has been a lot of violence against priests and Sisters, and in his own area “three parish priests have been threatened and beaten” and that all the property of the parishes has been “completely cleaned out by the soldiers.”

Yet, he said: “The Church has never stopped doing her job… tending her sheep with due care for her people.” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken asserted in March that “ethnic cleansing” has taken place in western Tigray, with reports circulating from Amnesty International and others that Eritrean troops committed massacres in the region.

ACN’s source was grateful for the support the charity has sent to the Tigray region, saying: “Please continue to pray for us and support us. We need your help, both material and spiritual… Many thanks for your solidarity and sincere concern during these dramatic times.”