Ignore them not: Eritrean Veterans

Many of our Veterans came to a foreign country after they were deceived by what surrounded them.

Some left when their group was dissolved for reasons they still do not understand (ELF).

Some left our liberated country when the conditions surrounding them did not fit what they expected and did not testify to the reasons they left their families and joined the armed fight (EPLF).

Some others, a younger generation, left because – they say – the system crashed them instead of helping and respect them (Warsay – Ykaalo).

These groups of Veterans are totally ignored by the media. Foreign media or Eritrean media likewise.

Suicide in the Eritrean communities is concentrated mainly among Eritrean Veterans. For them facing unemployment, absence of college education, shortage of family’s and community’s support when they arrived in the foreign country, made them more vulnerable and – at times – prone to point a gun barrel into their mouths and pull the trigger (many died of self-inflicted wounds  in our beloved country, Eritrea). There was never a structural system built to help our Veterans, let alone providing them with the basic survivals kits of finance, medical, educational and emotional support.

Married and un-married Veterans were likely to face the thought of committing suicide, but divorce rate are tied to the aforementioned reasons.

Suicide comes with a stigma.

The families left behind are marked as one that had son or a daughter that committed suicide maybe for mental problems or family’s problems. The “blame” is squarely put on the person that committed suicide and those the victim left behind.

The system is never blamed even though it should be kept responsible. For, it never tried to reach out to Veterans and involve educated Eritreans to reach out to our Veterans. Suicide, drug use, alcohol cannot be prevented by talks in our comfortable living rooms or over the phone to fill up our office’s break time. These are problems that should be addressed with immediate attention.

The rule is that most people committing suicide are those ignored by society around them.

Neglect of our Veterans is not a “flu-like-virus” that we can heal with a medical prescription, or with offering some money to buy said medication and then walk away.

Along with a day for our Veterans, we should include a rule to assist those we lost to drug, alcohol, lack of financial support and more shortage of assistance. We should reach those that are living in shelters and being abused by the physically stronger gang members.

We need to acknowledge the elephant sitting at the center of our lives: we ignored them and focused only to compete and make our life, our kids’ and our bank accounts larger and fuller.

We need to rescue them from poverty and from “giving up” on life.

We need to tell them that we are their families composed by Veterans and sisters, brothers, daughters and sons and elderly parents. We should make them believe that they are not alone.

An Eritrean martyr said: “An Eritrean is never alone”. Let us follow that quote and make it our daily choice to fulfil.

Suicide, drug use and surrender to alcohol is a problem that existed since, but it is a shame when our great Veterans fall Eritrean veterans 2 into the crevices of life and stretch their hands screaming for help. Most of the times we ignored them because we are so taken away with our own lives.

There is no government policy to help our Veterans, there is no prayer created for them. There is no music or symphony composed for them.  There is no book that tells our young generations about their sacrifices.

But they do exists! Our Veterans are around us.

We meet them and greet them as if they are only our neighbours, the valet parking our car at hotels. The waiter cleaning our table after lunch at a fancy restaurant.

They stayed behind in education because they were liberating our land and we were enjoying education at Ivy League colleges.

They stayed behind with high employment skills, because by the time they joined us abroad, they were of old age, illiterate and had a family to sustain.

They accepted to clean our garages and stared at us driving our fancy cars, because they could never cope with the time between us.

The time between us is like a huge spiral they are not able to come afloat from.

They were fighting a war for us and we were building security for ourselves.

The list is long and unbearable to read and then have the courage to look at them while enjoying a free country we all call Eritrea. Because they gave us a free Eritrea!

It might be late for some to go back to school. It might be late for some to get their minds rotten with drugs and hopelessness to remember us.

But is never late to hold their hands and say: Thank you!
To say: I honor you because you honored me by giving me freedom!

The day to appreciate them is today! It is all our tomorrows and it was all our yesterdays.

The time is now and the time is forever!
April 29, 2016 , by Kiki Tzeggai

Dedicated to:  
Tegadalay Dawit “Shaleka”
You took your own life.  We will never forget you!

UN calls on African Union to respond to Eritrea violations

The United Nations rights council has called on the African Union to investigate Eritrean leaders over alleged crimes against humanity after a damning report by a UN commission.

In that report, the UN’s Commission of Inquiry (COI) for Eritrea said the government of President Isaias Afwerki had committed heinous crimes since independence a quarter-century ago, including the “enslavement” of 400,000 people.

Many of those abuses are allegedly linked to a harsh national service programme in the secretive Horn of Africa state, which for many is almost impossible to escape and which the COI compared to lifetime enslavement.

The AU should set up an investigation with a view to examining and bringing to justice those responsible for violations and abuses of human rights identified by the commission of inquiry, including any that may amount to a crime against humanity.
In a resolution that passed with consensus by the body’s 47 members, the Human Rights Council said it “strongly encourages the African Union to follow up on the (COI) report.”

“The AU should set up an investigation… with a view to examining and bringing to justice those responsible for violations and abuses of human rights identified by the commission of inquiry, including any that may amount to a crime against humanity,” a statement released by the UN Human Rights Council said.

The AU, based in Addis Ababa, capital of Eritrea’s bitter rival Ethiopia, has no prosecutor or court system.

But the AU played a leading role in setting up a special court to prosecute former Chadian military dictator Hissene Habre, who was sentenced to life in May for war crimes and crimes against humanity over his brutal 1982-1990 rule.

Experts said that model could be replicated, including to avoid the involvement of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which many African leaders have condemned for allegedly focusing excessively on the continent’s leaders.

The rights council resolution broadly endorsed the COI’s findings and urged Eritrea to resolve a range of systematic abuses.

Those include extrajudicial killings, torture and indefinite detention allegedly committed by people at the top of Isaias’s government.

Eritrea has rejected the COI’s findings.

By: Ken Karuri

We need to send Eritrea to the International Criminal Court

As one of the world’s most oppressive regimes, the Eritrean government has committed extensive crimes against humanity over the past 25 years, according to a report released June 8 by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea. President Isaias Afwerki, in power since Eritrea’s independence in 1991 following the 30-year war with Ethiopia, has led an increasingly repressive authoritarian regime. The U.N. commission found that enslavement, enforced disappearance, rape, murder, torture and religious persecution are systematically used to instill fear in Eritreans and maintain the regime’s power. These blatant violations of international law clearly constitute crimes against humanity as widespread, systematic attacks against the civilian population.

The Eritrean leadership’s brutality is particularly evident in its enslavement of up to 400,000 people, primarily through military conscription. Eritrea’s system of open-ended service forces conscripts to serve indefinitely, often for decades at a time. This deprivation of liberty amounts to modern-day slavery and allows for inhumane treatment, which Eritrea currently has no legal mechanisms to redress. In military camps, conscripts are frequently subjected to torture, sexual and gender-based violence, forced labor and domestic servitude. Recent developments could further exacerbate their situation. On June 21, Eritrea accused Ethiopia of contemplating full-scale war, strengthening the Eritrean regime’s justification for compulsory military service as a necessary response to perceived Ethiopian aggression.

Based on the testimony of 833 Eritreans in exile, the U.N. commission also found that mass detainment and enforced disappearance are wielded as tools of control over the population, often in an arbitrary manner that flouts international law. In 2015, thousands of Eritrean prisoners of conscience, including politicians, journalists and practitioners of unauthorized religions, continued to be imprisoned without charge or trial. In a testimony to the commission, a former detainee detailed the horror of incarceration in Eritrea: ”There is a saying in prison: If you scream, only the sea will hear you.” The report did not specify individuals responsible for ongoing crimes, but indicated that they operate within the military, National Security Office, ruling party and the highest echelons of government.

In light of these appalling human rights abuses, referring Eritrea to the International Criminal Court (ICC) is crucial given the country’s virtually nonexistent rule of law. The nation has no functioning judiciary, national assembly or civil society; opposition to the ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice Party is prohibited; and the Constitution of 1997, which established democratic institutions, has never been enforced. The vacuum created by this lack of a coherent legal foundation generates a climate of impunity for human rights abuses, one incapable of protecting citizens and holding perpetrators accountable for their actions.

Eritrea’s human rights record is not merely a domestic issue. The regime’s continued disrespect for human life poses an imminent threat to international peace and security through its role in the ongoing refugee crisis. The horrifying violence countless Eritreans face on a daily basis is a powerful force driving close to 5,000 citizens to flee the nation each month, contributing to a global humanitarian emergency. In 2015, Eritreans comprised the third-largest nationality after Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans undertaking the dangerous journey in search of asylum and safety. The weight of the ICC’s authority is urgently needed to ensure the protection of the Eritrean people and to stem this alarming flow of refugees.

As Eritrea is not a state party to the ICC, the tribunal can only exercise jurisdiction over crimes committed in Eritrea if the nation ratifies the Rome Statute, or if the U.N. Security Council refers the situation to the court. The Security Council must treat Eritrea’s serious human rights abuses as the atrocities they are by referring the country to the ICC. In doing so, it can ensure those responsible for these crimes are prosecuted to the fullest extent.

International mechanisms set in place by the Security Council and the ICC can play a pivotal role in ensuring the victims of the Eritrean government’s heinous abuses have their voices heard. No population should be forced to live in an atmosphere of fear while its oppressors are given broad latitude in their actions without facing consequences. Eritrea’s human rights abuses are still occurring today, and they must not slip through the cracks of global attention when they should be instead condemned and prosecuted for what they are: deliberate, systematic violations of fundamental humanity.

Grieboski is the chairman and CEO of Grieboski Global Strategies, founder and chairman of the Institute on Religion and Public Policy, and founder and secretary-general of the Interparliamentary Conference on Human Rights and Religious Freedom.

TAGS:Eritrea, International Criminal Court, ICC

Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia protest against their president

Hundreds of Eritrean refugees living in Ethiopia are demonstrating in the capital, Addis Ababa, in support of the UN’s recent human rights report into Eritrea, known as the Commission of Inquiry, that said there were systematic crimes against humanity.

Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia protest against their president 2
”It is not law that rules Eritreans – but fear,” the report said, which details allegations of extrajudicial killings, sexual slavery and enforced labour.

The government described the report as ”politically motivated and groundless”.


The protesters are carrying banners calling for Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki to be taken to the International Criminal Court.


Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia protest against their president 3

They have also presented a petition to the African Union asking it to push for the full implementation of the report.

Protests are also taking place in northern Ethiopia where thousands of people who fled Eritrea over the years are now living as refugees.

Earlier this week, pro-government Eritreans protested against the UN report in Geneva, where it was being discussed.

By: Emmanuel Igunza
BBC Africa, Addis Ababa

UN Inquiry finds crimes against humanity in Eritrea

Geneva (8 June 2016) – Crimes against humanity have been committed in a widespread and systematic manner in Eritrean detention facilities, military training camps and other locations across the country over the past 25 years, according to a new report by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea, released Wednesday.

Crimes of enslavement, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, torture, persecution, rape, murder and other inhumane acts have been committed as part of a campaign to instil fear in, deter opposition from and ultimately to control the Eritrean civilian population since Eritrean authorities took control of Eritrean territory in 1991, the report says.

“Eritrea is an authoritarian State. There is no independent judiciary, no national assembly and there are no other democratic institutions in Eritrea. This has created a governance and rule of law vacuum, resulting in a climate of impunity for crimes against humanity to be perpetrated over a quarter of a century. These crimes are still occurring today,” said Mike Smith, chair of the Commission of Inquiry.

“There is no genuine prospect of the Eritrean judicial system holding perpetrators to account in a fair and transparent manner. The perpetrators of these crimes must face justice and the victims’ voices must be heard. The international community should now take steps, including using the International Criminal Court, national courts and other available mechanisms to ensure there is accountability for the atrocities being committed in Eritrea,” said Smith.

The report highlights that “Eritreans also continue to be subjected to indefinite national service, arbitrary detention, reprisals for the alleged conduct of family members, discrimination on religious or ethnic grounds, sexual and gender-based violence and killings.”

The indefinite duration of military and national service programmes are frequently cited by Eritreans as the main reason for fleeing the country. In 2015, 47,025 Eritreans applied for asylum in Europe, many making the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean in unsafe boats, exploited by smugglers in search of safety.

In addition, the report notes that no improvement was found in the human rights situation documented in Eritrea during the first Commission of Inquiry report published in June 2015.

The report identifies that “particular individuals, including officials at the highest levels of State, the ruling party – the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice – and commanding officers bear responsibility for crimes against humanity and other gross human rights violations.”

The report further states that “the National Security Office is responsible for most cases of arbitrary arrest, enforced disappearance and torture in official and unofficial detention centres.”

Dossiers of evidence have been compiled on a number of individuals the Commission has reasonable grounds to believe bear responsibility for crimes against humanity. This evidence will be made available at the appropriate time to relevant institutions, including courts of law, following strict witness protection requirements, to ensure there is justice for the Eritrean people.

The patterns of conduct described in the report are based on 833 testimonies by Eritreans, including 160 written submissions received during the first term of the Commission of Inquiry, from mid-2014 to mid-2015.

The Commission received some 45,000 written submissions in the course of its second investigation. The vast majority of these were group letters and petitions critical of the Commission’s first report.

These submissions contained common themes, similar content and were the direct result of an organised Government campaign to attempt to discredit the Inquiry. A thorough analysis of these written submissions was conducted and the Commission concluded that they added no substantial information relating to its investigations.

The report states that “the façade of calm and normality that is apparent to the occasional visitor to the country, and others confined to sections of the capital, belies the consistent patterns of serious human rights violations.”

The report further states “that the types of gross human rights violations in Eritrea documented by the Commission … are not committed on the streets of Asmara, but rather behind the walls of detention facilities and in military training camps. Torture and rape are not normally perpetrated in the open.”

Despite requests to the Government of Eritrea, the Commission was denied access to visit the country. The Commission remains open to visiting Eritrea to present its latest findings and recommendations directly to the Government.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

For more information please contact Dan McNorton on [email protected] or +41 79 618 3474.
Further media materials, including video, B-roll and witness testimony are available at: http://www.ohchr.org/COIEritreaMedia
Crimes against humanity are acts committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against any civilian population, even in the absence of an armed conflict.
The Commission of Inquiry on human rights in Eritrea was first established by the Human Rights Council in June 2014.
The Commission’s first report was published on 8 June 2015 and documented a number of grave human rights violations in the State’s military/national service programmes, including their prolonged and indefinite duration, abusive conditions and the use of conscripts as forced labour.
The Commission of Inquiry was instructed by the UN’s Human Rights Council in July 2015 to further “investigate systematic, widespread and gross violations of human rights in Eritrea with a view to ensuring accountability, including where these violations may amount to crimes as against humanity.”
Interviews were conducted in 13 countries – Australia, Canada, Djibouti, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
The Commission consists of three independent experts: Chairperson Mr. Mike Smith (Australia), Mr. Victor Dankwa (Ghana) and Ms. Sheila B. Keetharuth (Mauritius), who is also the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea.
The Commission of Inquiry is scheduled to present its report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on 21 June 2016.