Many people are concerned that the usual EU principle of giving aid in conjunction with seeking improvements in human rights, has recently been waived in the case of Eritrea. The human rights situation in that country is desperate, with minorities, especially Christians, facing severe persecution when they seek to express their 'freedom of thought, conscience and religion' (As per Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights).
Historically, such unmonitored grants have been used to further pressure dissenters into obedience to state control. If you agree that the EU should have tied the 122m Euro development to verifiable improvements in civil liberties, you may wish to add your name to the online petition calling on them to do so. You can find it at www.csw.org.uk/eritreapetition
16 comments:
The eritrean president is himself a christian, so stop lying please, those people who got arrested was people who dont want to do the army duty when Eritrea is under a war situation against the 20 times bigger Ethiopia.
http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGAFR640142006&lang=e
The above link points to an Amnesty International website article, which contains the following "background information":
Since 2002, only the Orthodox, Catholic and Lutheran Christian churches and Islam have been allowed to operate in Eritrea. Members of some 35 minority Christian evangelical churches face fierce persecution, even though freedom of religion is guaranteed in the Eritrean Constitution. An estimated 2,000 members of minority churches, including about 20 pastors, are currently detained. Detainees are held incommunicado in harsh conditions without charge or trial. They are imprisoned in police stations at first, then in army camps and security prisons in different parts of the country, including the main military training centre at Sawa. Some are held in metal shipping containers and underground prisons. Several detainees have become seriously ill and are rarely provided with adequate medical treatment. They are repeatedly tortured by being beaten and being tied up in painful positions, in an effort to make them cease worshipping and recant their faith.
Like i said, those getting arrested is people who refuse to do national army duty, every eritrean is obliged to do their army duty even those that claim that is against their religion, in times of occupation everybody has do do their duty to protect their country, it does'nt work if it was voluntarily service, Eritrea is a small country fighting against occupation by Ethiopia and Ethiopia is backed by the US and the West. so you have to understand that during war times civil libirties will be affected! why dont you write about why people getting arrested?
i)because none of the impartial international observers agree with your interpretation of events. Amnesty International disagrees with you (above) see also Human Rights Watch at: http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/04/16/eritrea-repression-creating-human-rights-crisis
ii) With regard to your specific comment, the forced imprisonment, torture and imprisonment without due process of law of conscientious objectors would in and of itself be something I would wish to press the EU to oppose - were this the only issue, as you allege.
http://www.afrol.com/articles/34481
Afrol (African News Agency) reports that Eritrea is the world's worst country for press freedom.
The United Nations forced to suspend operations in Horn of Africa due to obstructions placed in their way by Eritrean government:
From the UN website:
http://www.un.org/geninfo/faq/briefingpapers/securitycouncilroundup2008.pdf
The verdict of the African Union on human rights in Eritrea can be read here: http://www.afrol.com/articles/14148
Why is the situation the way it is was my question?
You have to know little history before you post articles, read more history please, down here you got a response to accusations that does'nt tell the truth
Eritrea Could Teach U.S. Much to Combat Terror"
How does the good senator care to explain the statement made by the previous Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld when he was in Eritrea, when he said : "Eritrea Could Teach U.S. Much to Combat Terror"
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=42407
For your information Senator, before America woke on 9/11 to the horrific terrorist attacks, Eritrea on its own was fighting terrorists and frustrating OBL when he was hiding in Sudan and trying to spread his Jihad. That is why Secretary Rumsfeld was compelled to make that strong appreciative comment about Eritrea.
What the good senator does not mention is , how much contribution money he has received from the lobbyists hired on behalf of the butcher of the horn of Africa Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, to raise the falsified amendment against Eritrea and write this unsubstantiated accusation .
This concerted mud slinging is nothing new. Ethiopia diverts/wastes millions of aid money meant to feed the hungry people, instead a huge chunk of it ends up as a payment to lobbyists like DL Piper to salvage its image, who in turn lobby the good Congressmen.
http://www.thelawyer.com/dla-piper-focus-of-ethiopian-hate-campaign-in-us/1000492.article
If the good congressman has any credibility left, does he care to explain what happened to the previously falsified "UN monitoring report" that accused Eritrea of landing 2000 of its special forces before the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia, yet to their embarrassment, not a single Eritrean was found dead or alive in Somalian soil ? Another WMD ?
But I can give you a substantiated evidence upon evidence from the international media that accused The Bush administration for allowing Ethiopia to divert American aid money to purchase a massive armaments from North Korea breaking American and UN sanctions. But there are evidence upon evidence of US, Ethiopia and AU peace keepers running arms in Somalia.
Here are few links from Reuters incase you have forgotten.
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN0728288520070407
Similarly Ethiopia, Uganda, Djibouti and other peace keepers were accused of gun running.
http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSL24158241._CH_.2400
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7417435.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8073407.stm
Senator, by writing this unsubstantiated article, you only lowered your credibility. If you have any left, you should be asking why America is giving Ethiopia at least $1.5 billion a year in aid and other grants inspite of horrific human rights abuses, and Ethiopia occupying Eritrean sovereign land refusing UN/Hague ruling.
Is this how democracy is spread these days ?
193 Protesters Said Killed in Ethiopia election fraud
http://tinyurl.com/og52nu
Illegal invasion of Somalia with UN and US complicity
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VJka6q16Os
Somalia Crisis worse than Darfur, says UN
http://tinyurl.com/cern3e
Ethiopia’s ‘own Darfur’ as villagers flee government-backed violence
http://tinyurl.com/ysmvtc
Ethiopia: Army Commits Executions, Torture, and Rape in Ogaden Donors Should Act to Stop Crimes Against Humanity
http://tinyurl.com/cg4ygx
http://www.slate.com/id/2178793/
Thanks for the links.
For the most part they are irrelevant to the matter in hand however.
The petition I posted, calls on the EU to tie their aid negotiations to human rights concessions from the Eritrean government. So they should. The fact that Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and others commit human rights abuses means that I would object to EU aid being sent to the without conditions too.
I notice you have not responded to any of the points made, or to the links I posted by, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, The United Nations, Afrol, and the African Union.
Why are you an apologist for a brutal dictatorship?
When it comes to those so called impartial international observers, i dont trust them because they are npt impartial nor are the UN, as we all know it is the US that has the power and they uses those groups and control them. im not an apologist for the president but i can understand why he act the way he does, i dont know what country you live in but if that country was attacked and occupied by a country that is 20 times bigger and a populatio 80 millons stronger then i think the goverment would grip their power more and in that way it would affect the civil liberties to a negativ directio, what im saying is get Ethiopia to accept the final and binding agreement that both parts signed under intenationall observers,they havent and still all you read in the media is how bad it is in eritrea. Get to the root problem and then the rest will come
i dont like to discuss religion that much, i personally think that religion should be privat and that everybody has the right to their belives.
when it comes to eritrea and these accusations it would be very good if you read this article it is long so hope you have time.
Challenges and Threats Posed by New Religious Movements
read this link http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/94085
"Over the last five years we have travelled to various countries to meet with and interview many Eritreans. Their accounts of what is happening in Eritrea corroborate accounts from credible international news agencies, and governmental and non-governmental agencies worldwide. We have met many Eritrean nationals who are proud to be Eritrean and who would love to return to their beloved homeland. It has been painful for them to share about these things because of their love for their country but they have had the courage to speak out about the human rights abuses being perpetrated in Eritrea. Even though they now live in different countries around the world and don’t know each other, they talk about the same things, mentioning the same people by name and describing the same treatment of being arrested, imprisoned and tortured. The most compelling evidence is when some of them mention the same names of prison guards; describe in detail the same brutal methods of beating and torture, and then reveal the scars on their bodies received while they themselves endured those beatings."
- Release International
UN hearings on Eritrean human rights abuses
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/eritreas.human.rights.record.in.the.spotlight.at.united.nations/24786.htm
30 Elderly Christian Women illegally arrested in Eritrea. Dodging national service?!?
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/eritrea.arrests.30.evangelical.christian.women/24845.htm
http://www.grassrootsonline.org/news/articles/human-rights-eritrea-why-do-they-matter
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