Eritrea in 2014: Highlights

2014-12-23 18:50:54 Written by EMDHR- South Africa Published in Youth Corner Read 9267 times

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By the EMDHR- South Africa

Eritrea remained the only country in the world without a constitution. The 1997 constitution was rejected by the regime and has refused to implement it since;
Eritrean remained the only country in the world without a national assembly;
Eritrea remained without an independent media;
Eritrea remained without an independent judiciary;
Eritrea continued to be ruled by a tyrannical one-man totalitarian regime;
Thousands of innocent Eritrean citizens continue to languish in prison without due process of law;
Eritreans continued to be arbitrarily arrested by security agents of the regime and the extensive round ups by the army;
Thousands were detained for trying to flee the country along all the borders of the country;
The inhumane and degrading treatment of prisoners worsened. For instance, there have been many young Eritreans who experienced paralysis at the Adi Abeito detention facility as a result of torture and denial of medical treatment;
The dictator openly rejected the notion and practice of democracy in Eritrea;
The pfdj declared by the tyrant the only alternative to lead the nation but in actual fact the pfdj is a defunct and dead organisation (a shadow of its old self)- unless the delusional despot is “living in the moon” (his own words always get back to haunt him);
Militarisation of the education systems continued, high school students forced to go to Sawa and “college” students technically and effectively designated as military reservists;
Mass conscription of Eritrean men as old as 70 intensified in 2014;
Mass exodus of Eritrean youth continued, 3000-4000 a month left the country this year. e.g.. 37 000 of them claimed asylum in European countries;
Hundreds of Eritrean migrants died in the Mediterranean Sea in 2014, a boat carrying 244 Eritrean disappeared and is believed to have capsized at the end of June, killing almost all of its passengers. Another boat carrying 177 people, mostly Eritreans capsized drowning its ill-fated passengers;
The refugee crisis continues to exacerbate in refugee camps and detentions in Sudan, Ethiopia, Israel, Yemen, Libya, and Egypt. This is a humanitarian emergency of huge proportion and the refugees are in desperate need of assistance;
Power black outs worsened in Asmara and many other cities, and towns;
Poverty and hunger continue to plague the Eritrean population inside the country. The Eritrean people are denied the right to receive international emergency assistance by the regime;
Forced labour in the mining industry exploited by the mining companies;
The collapse of the health care system affecting those in need resulting in the increase of the death rates;
Social collapse accelerated, villages and towns are being emptied by continuous military recruitment and migration, leaving the infirm elderly left without care and support. It is reported many old people are living under unspeakable conditions in their twilight, denied of the honour they deserve;
Mistreatment and malnutrition of the army worsens. Due to the size of the army the army is suffering from lack of food and no salaries paid. The regime keeps making promises it doesn’t keep. As a result the youth in the army are abandoning it for exile which is forcing the regime to recruit elderly people;
Sexual abuses, rape and harassment continued to be perpetrated by army officers in Sawa and army units;
Internal resistance is growing. For instance, opposition to the regime’s Sawa policy was openly defied by high school students and their parents who refused to go to Sawa, the dumping site of the youth’ childhood, knowledge, prime age, and their future;
The countryside population is resisting the recruitment of the elderly and calls for them to go to military training;
Institutions are near the verge of total collapse and as a result the regime has tried to desperately “restructure” by reshuffling the same idea and the same psychopathic henchmen;
Isaias declared on 24 May 2014 that he would begin “drafting a constitution” but nothing ever was said about it since then and if it did come out it would have one line article which says- [“Do what we tell you to do”];
Four catholic church bishops made a brave call for transformation titled “Where is your brother” which inspired many Eritreans inside the country and in the diaspora. As a result the regime is underhandedly trying retaliate by arresting catholic priests and other hostile acts towards the church;
The national economy has been reduced to a subsistence one, with lack of supplies in basic food and other essential commodities increasing. Lack of hard currency is also hitting the country due to the diversion of remittances to the smugglers run ‘industry’ outside the country and mismanagement of the economy by the irrational regime. This is expected to further deteriorate as a result of dwindling number of supporters (drying up the flow of hard currency) among Diaspora Eritreans which could shake the existence of the regime itself;
In 2014 the United Nations Human Rights Council established a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the human rights abuses and crimes against humanity committed by the regime against defenceless citizens. The Council also appointed three commissioners to lead those investigations. The Council had already extended the mandate of the human rights Special Rapporteur, Ms. Sheila Keetharuth by another year and is also part of the Commission;
A law suit was filed in 2014 in Canada against Nevsun Resources (a mining company operating the Bisha Mine) by three brave Eritreans supported by human rights activists;
Eritrea remains under the UN Security Council Resolution which has made it difficult for the regime to collect the illegal 2% extortion;
Despite crippling fragmentation among the the camp of “justice seekers” in the Diaspora, brave Eritreans have not stopped challenging the tyrannical regime which is put on the defensive and retreating. In 2014 there were lots of positive activities and events to embolden the Movement. The young generation has almost completely abandoned and rejected the regime and only one step remains- Decisive Action!
All told, 2014 was grimmer and the Eritrean people and the country were worse off- unfortunately;
Will 2015 be different? We will see…..but we hope to report the exact reverse at the end of 2015…..’fists clinched’!