E R I T R E A

** E R I T R E A **

ACRONYMS:

ARDU - Afar Revolutionary Democratic Union ARDUF - Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front CERA - Commission for Eritrean Refugee Affairs CRS - Catholic Relief Secretariat ECE - Evangelical Church of Eritrea EDLM - Eritrean Democratic Liberation Movement EDM - Eritrean Democratic Movement ELF - Eritrean Liberation Front ELF-RC - ELF-Revolutionary Council ELF-UO - ELF-Unity Organisation EPLF Eritrean People's Liberation Front ERRA - Eritrean Relief and Rehabilitation Association ERD - Emergency Relief Desk PFDJ - People's Front for Democracy and Justice PGE - Provisional Government of Eritrea PROFERI - Programme for Refugee Reintegration and Rehabilitation of Resettlement Areas in Eritrea

** POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS **

RULING PARTY HOLDS FIRST CONFERENCE (SWB 1 Sep 95 [VBME in Tigrigna, 30 Aug 95]) The first conference of the People's Front for Democracy and Justice [ruling party, previously known as Eritrean People's Liberation Front, EPLF], which opened yesterday with the theme of clear vision and firm pledges for the reconstruction of the nation, is still in progress.åôThe conference, which is being held at the Expo Hall [in Asmara], yesterday discussed the prevailing situation and challenges and their solutions. It also discussed, among other issues, ways to strengthen and further develop the front, build a stable and democratic political system, strengthen national unity, build the nation and strengthen relations with people's organizations.

SECULARISM, NATIONALISM AND DEMOCRACY BASIS FOR ERITREA'S CONSTITUTION (NN/hrnet.africa 17 Oct 95 [EP 23 Sep 95]) The Secretary of the Constitutional Commission of Eritrea (CCE), Ato Zemihret Yohannes, has said that the consitution of Eritrea is in the process of formulation on the basis of secularism, nationalism and democracy. Ato Zemihret made the remark during a recent interview with Eritrean Television. He further stated that the proposed form of government envisages a presidential system in which the head of state would be elected by a National Assembly for a consecutive two five-year term. No language will be classified as `official'. Rather, all languages will have equal status, with an opportunity for all to develop, Ato Zemihret elaborated. On the constitutional issues to be presented for public debate, the CCE Secretary said they fall under six major categories: form of government, system of government, basic human rights, electoral system, question of languages as well as armed forces and security institutions.

ESCALATING CONFLICTS IN DANKALIA (ELF-RC Eritrean Newsletter Aug-Sep 95, p.9) There has recently been widespread opposition to the EPLF's forced conscription of youngsters into the national service from the province. The people there are particuarly opposed to the government's action being rather arbitrary and indiscriminate. Overzealous EPLF officials have not even spared the sick... Families with only one child were equally less fortunate; old and dependant parents were left without care and attention.

In mid July 1995, civilians ganged up against government authorities and their cohorts in Bilobiya, 210 km. north-west of the seaport of Assab, when they tried to forcibly take their youngsters. In the skirmish that followed, two government soldiers were reportedly killed, while unspecified number of individuals were wounded on both sides.

Following the incident, the government rounded up about 1200 civilians from the trouble area as well as the port of Assab and outskirts and threw them in jail... A group of 20 men, led by a certain Osman Derder, managed to slip through government cordon and took to the hills, further escalating an already explosive situation. Sources say that their number has since swollen to the hundreds...

On August 4 1995, Mohammed Ali Koran, the head of the PFDJ in Dankalia, and his driver were ambushed and kidnapped by armed elements while travelling with their car. The operation was carried out by a unit reportedly led by Osman Derder, whose name has now become all too familiar in the region. Three days later, the EPLF party chief and his driver were released by the "rebels" unharmed but without their car...

Few days after the two were released, a battle was fought between government troops and the Danakil force. 5 government soldiers were reportedly killed and others wounded. The district Governor of Buri was among those who were critically wounded.

Government reinforcement of about 400 troops were sent from Massawa to the area. Rather than pacifying the situation, however, the government's belligerent action appears to have further worsened the security of the region. Latest information reveal that the Danakil force, whose number has now grown to 800-900, have since sought refuge among their Afar cousins in Ethiopia. There is fear that they might continue with guerrilla forays against government targets in Eritrea's Dankalia using their Afar retreat as a base...

** INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS **

PRESIDENT CONGRATULATES ETHIOPIAN LEADERS (NN/hrnet.africa 2 Sep 95 [EP 26 Aug 95]) President Isaias Afwerki, in separate messages, Wednesday congratulated H.E. Dr. Negasso Gidada and H.E. Ato Meles Zenawi upon their election as President and Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) respectively. In his message of congratulations to Dr. Negasso, the Eritrean leader said: "I feel exceptional pride today for what the people of Ethiopia have achieved. This monumental achievement is a result of the sacrifices the people of Ethiopia dearly paid to secure democracy, freedom and justice." President Isaias further stated: "I take this opportunity to reiterate my government's commitment to further strengthen the bonds of friendship and cooperation that happily exist between our two peoples and countries."...

åUGANDAN PRESIDENT IN ERITREA, CALLS FOR REGIONAL INTEGRATION (SWB 8 Sep 95 [Radio Uganda, Kampala, in English 6 Sep 95]) [Ugandan] President Yoweri Museveni has assured [Eritrean] President Isayas Afewerki and the people of Eritrea that the people of Uganda are ready to work with them to bring security and progress to the region. The president, who is on an official visit to Eritrea, was last evening speaking at a state banquet hosted in his honour by President Afewerki at City Hall in Asmara.

Mr Museveni said the people of Uganda have no alternative but to work together with the people of Eritrea because they are bound together in a common destiny. The president explained that other countries and regions have already worked out economic cooperation arrangements to accelerate their economic growth. He observed that since the gap between them and ourselves is likely to widen, the challenge facing our region is very urgent and can only be addressed through genuine cooperation. He therefore called for reaffirmation of [the] commitment to regional integration mechanisms already put in place in the context of IGADD [Inter-Governmental Authority on Drought and Development], Comesa [Common Market for East and Southern Africa] and the African Economic Community...

ISSAIAS AFWERKI ON SUDAN--WE WON'T TAKE ANY MORE (Economist via RBB 14 Oct 95) ERITREA has at last lost patience with the Islamist government in Sudan. Relations between the 2.5-year-old state and its far larger neighbour have worsened rapidly this year. Now President Issaias Afwerki has told The Economist flatly: "We are out to see that this government is not there any more. We are not trying to pressure them to talk to us, or to behave in a more constructive way. We will give weapons to anyone committed to overthrowing them."...

Mr Issaias accuses the Sudanese of trying to destabilise the whole region. They stand widely accused of trying to murder Egypt's president, Hosni Mubarak, while he was visiting Ethiopia in June this year for an Organisation of African Unity meeting. Mr Issaias says they have kept fighting going in Somalia, by backing certain factions. And Eritrea itself is vulnerable. Its population is almost evenly divided between Christians and Muslims. In fighting to break free from Ethiopia, the Eritreans overcame these differences. But with 450,000 Eritreans still refugees in Sudan, the government fears infiltration of armed fundamentalists across its western border.

Relations have not always been bad. Mr Issaias's Eritrean People's Liberation Front used Sudan as a rear base in its long struggle for independence. It had a political office in Khartoum, and used Port Sudan for bringing in supplies. It worked closely with certain Sudanese officers; one of them, Abdul Aziz Khalid, now in opposition to his own government, is active these days in Sudanese opposition circles in Eritrea. And in his early months of power the Eritrean president thought he could handle the men in Khartoum through diplomacy.

Now, says Mr Issaias, he regrets the time wasted in trying to talk to them: "We have tried to develop some kind of partnership. But our goodwill has been abused. We have done enough, and it's not going to work."...

Who will he arm and with what? Mr Issaias isn't saying. Possible recipients of his bounty include the northern political parties, now banned in Sudan, as well as the Sudan People's Liberation Army, a mainly southern movement which has been riven by splits and defections in the past three years. "But we won't give weapons to factions," he says. In arming these diverse groups, he is anxious that they do not use his weaponry on each other. He is insisting on a unified political stand. The June meeting of the Sudanese opposition committed all groups - at least in words - to a referendum on self-determination for the south of their country.

Until now Sudan's neighbours have tried to engage its government in dialogue and bind it into agreements. But, they claim, the regime seems determined to press ahead, spreading its version of Islam throughout the region...

ERITREAN PRESIDENT PRAISE RELATIONS WITH QATAR (Qatar News Agency 14 Sep 95) Asmara - Eritrean President Issaias Afeworki has praised his country's relations with Qatar describing them as historical, strong and sound.

The Eritean president told QNA that he was eager to see stronger cooperation between Eritrea and Qatar achieved, adding that his country was considering expanding economic cooperation with Qatar.

About Eritrea's relations with other GCC states he said those countries had been the leaders in supporting Eritrean people a matter that created a strong base for relations between the two sides...

YEMEN, ERITREA DISCUSS SECURITY AND FISHING (Reuter 5 Oct 95) SANAA - Eritrean Interior Minister Ali Said Abdella arrived in Yemen on Thursday for what Yemeni officials said would be talks on security and fishing issues.

The official Saba news agency said Abdella was carrying a message from President Isayas Afewerki to President Ali Abdullah Saleh, but gave no further details.

The officials said Abdella was expected to discuss with his Yemeni counterpart Hussein Mohammad Arab a number of security issues of mutual interest.

One official said these were likely to include regulating the residence of Eritreans in Yemen and means of coordinating fishing operations in the territorial waters of the two countries.

The official weekly September 26 newspaper said in its Thursday issue that Eritrea had been holding about 25 Yemeni fishermen "for a long time for entering Eritrean territorial waters by mistake".

The newspaper said Yemen was asking for the release of the fishermen and that the issue would be raised with Abdella.

Yemeni authorities have since August started a clampdown on foreigners staying in Yemen illegally. The campaign is targeting Eritreans, Somalis and Ethiopians in particular.

In August, 92 people -- mostly Eritreans-- drowned and 52 were rescued when their ship was wrecked off the Yemeni coast...

ERITREA FREES YEMENI FISHERMEN (Reuter 8 Oct 95) SANAA - Eritrea has freed 25 Yemeni fishermen it was holding after they recently entered Eritrean waters by mistake, a Yemeni official said on Sunday.

He told Reuters that talks between Yemeni Interior Minister Hussein Mohammad Arab and Eritrea's interior minister, Ali Said Abdella, led to the release of the fishermen on Friday...

POPE NAMES AMBASSADOR TO ERITREA (Reuter 30 Sep 95) VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul named Monsignor Patrick Coveney on Saturday as his ambassador, or Papal Nuncio, in Eritrea, the Vatican said.åôThe 61-year-old Irish archbishop is Papal pro-Nuncio in neighbouring Ethiopia.

PRESIDENT HAS TALKS WITH RUSSIAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER (SWB 7 Oct 95 [VBME in Tigrigna, 5 Oct 95]) President Isayas Afewerki today, 5th October 1995, in the state reception room met the deputy foreign minister of the Russian Federation, Mr Boris Kolokolov, with whom he exchanged views on political and economic issues affecting the two countries, as well as on regional and international issues. They said there was goodwill on both sides to further expand their long-standing relations by exploring new areas of cooperation...

** DOMESTIC NEWS **

MINISTRY TRAINS MINE CLEANERS (NN/hrnet.africa 28 Aug 95 [EP 19 Aug 95]) 40 members of the Ministry of Defence have completed one month training course on mine clearing using advanced methods and technology. The course jointly conducted in Keren by Eritrean and US governments, involved 32 American teachers. Present at the graduation ceremony were Ato Berhane Gerezgiher, Commander of Ground Forces, Major Binward, in charge of the demining program, Ato Asmerom Gerezgiher, Administrator of Senhit Province and other high-ranking officers. The de-mining program which will be implemented in three phases is expected to play an important role in the clearing of explosive mines still remaining undetected in Eritrea, it was reported.

JUDGES, PROSECUTION ATTORNEYS COMPLETE TRAINING COURSE (NN/hrnet.africa 28 Aug 95 [EP 19 Aug 95]) 41 judges and prosecution attorneys graduated August 13, upon completion of a- one-year training course. The course covered basics of law, civil, criminal, contract laws, ownership documents, inheritance laws as well as systems and procedures of presenting complaints of appeal, in addition to the execution of court verdicts and judicial moral code. Speaking at the graduation ceremony, the Minister of Justice, Woizero Fawzia Hashim, expressed satisfaction at the efforts made by the instructors for making the course a success. åô LOCUST INVASION CAUSING SEVERE DAMAGE TO CROPS (SWB 22 Sep 95 [VBME in Tigrigna, 20 Sep 95]) sqrt sqrt Text of report by Eritrean radio on 20th September; place names in round brackets phoneticff

The Ministry of Agriculture has said that over the past three days, a locust invasion has caused and continues to cause crop damage in Senhit and Sahel [central and northern Eritrea respectively] Provinces.

According to the ministry, there has been severe crop damage in (Jenger), (Medarih), (Begu Laelay), (Halimentel), Halhal and (Melebso) in Senhit Province. Similarly, it was understood that very severe damage had been incurred by wheat and barley crops on 365 ha in Fil Fil, (Geleb), (Korobol), (Legaa Tahtay) and Rora (?Habar), and particularly in (Mareh) and (Endlalaba) of the Rora areas of (Haboro) subdistrict of Sahel Province...

OVER 1,700 CASES OF AIDS (SWB 19 Oct 95 [VBME in Tigrigna, 17 Oct 95]) The vice-minister of health, Dr Tekeste Fikadu, in an interview for Eritrean television yesterday said it was necessary to change the public's attitude by means of information, education and communication if the number of AIDS patients in Eritrea was to fall...

He said the spread of AIDS had been combated with the limited resources available. He went on to say that there were more AIDS patients in urban than in rural areas. An investigation carried out between 1988 and 1995 had shown that the number of people infected with AIDS in the country together with those who had come in from foreign countries totalled 1,784. This number included those who had died of AIDS...

** DEVELOPMENT **

AUSTRALIA TO DONATE $1.85 M TO ENCOURAGE LOCAL FARMERS TO SELL PRODUCTS IN COMPETITIVE MARKETS (AED 11 Sep 95) Australia, though the Australian Food Security Working Group, is to donate approximately $1.85 million to encourage local farmers to sell their products in competitive markets, according to the weekly sqrt sqrt Eritrea Profileff. The money will also be used to supply farmers with necessary farming tools.

KUWAIT TO LEND TO SYRIA, MOROCCO AND ERITREA (Reuter 26 Sep 95) KUWAIT - Kuwait said on Tuesday it would lend Eritrea, Morocco and Syria a total of 27.6 million dinars ($92.6 million) on easy terms to finance power and water projects.

The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) would lend 7.6 million ($25.5 million) to Eritrea for construction of a power plant, 10 million ($33.55 million) to Syria to finance an irrigation project and 10 million ($33.55 million) to Morocco to build wells and supply tap water to villages.

The state-owned fund, the oldest Arab aid agency and Kuwait's main overseas aid body, has already lent about 440 million dinars ($1.47 billion) to these three countries...

The agency said the loan to Eritrea was repayable over 30 years with a five-year grace period, one percent annual interest and 0.5 percent mangement fee. The loan to Syria was over 25 years with a five year grace period, at 2.5 percent interest and with a 0.5 percent management fee.

Morocco was granted similar terms as the other two countries, the agency said.

ITALIAN AID FOR 1995-96 (ION 30 Sep 95, p.7) Italian deputy foreign minister Scammacca Del Murgo and the head of Italian cooperation services Francesco Aloisi this week began a visit to Asmara and Addis Ababa to carry the glad tidings of their country's aid for the coming year. Each country should receive between US$20 million and 30 million. Eritrea will get the most aid because, along with Mozambique and Tunisia, it is a priority of Italian cooperation aid. Ethiopia comes second.

ARAB BANK GRANTS 12M-DOLLAR LOAN FOR MASSAWA POWER STATION (SWB 3 Oct 95 [VBME in Tigrigna, 23 Sep 95]) The Eritrean government has received a 12m-dollar loan from the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, Eritrean radio reported on 23rd September. The loan will be used for a power station to be built in the eastern port city of Massawa. According to the agreement, the loan will have a five-year grace period and will be repaid over 18 years at an annual interest rate of 3%.

WORLD BANK PROJECTS (ION 7 Oct 95, p.5) International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank subsidiary for loans to the private sector, has two loan projects for Eritrea in the pipeline. The first project, worth US$25 million and due to be authorized in January 1996, is a development fund to finance micro-projects being set up by local communities (in sectors such as health, small-scale irrigation and so on). The second project, worth $20 million, is only at the pre-feasibility study stage and an International Development Association mission is expected to go to Eritrea next December. The loan is intended to rehabilitate and expand capacity in Eritrea's ports in order to meet growing demands from Eritrea itself and from neighbouring countries. It will therefore include drafting a global plan of rehabilitation and extension of Eritrean port facilities in general, modernization of quays No. 5 and 6 at Massawa port (including civil engineering, improved navigational aids, dredging, etc) and also a training programme for officials of Eritrea's Ports and Maritime Transport Authority.

** BUSINESS NEWS **

ALITALIA IN ASMARA (ION 16 Sep 95, p.7) Italian flag carrier Alitalia is scheduled to inaugurate its Rome-Asmara route within the next few months and probably before the end of the year. All special agreements required by the flights have already been finalized with the Eritrean government.

US OIL COMPANY SIGNS PROSPECTING AGREEMENT WITH GOVERNMENT (SWB 10 Oct 95 [VBME in Tigrigna, 3 Oct 95]) The minister of energy, mines and water resources, Ato [Mr] Tesfay Gebre Selase, said that efforts are under way to put oil and mineral prospecting to its correct use of enhancing economic development in the country. åAto Tesfay, in an interview with Eritrean television, said that prospecting for oil and minerals had been delayed since independence due to the lack of prospecting equipment, and it had taken time to carry out studies, which had only been done occasionally.

In accordance with the mining decree, the government of Eritrea has signed a seven-year oil prospecting agreement with the American oil company, Anadarko [Petroleum Corporation], worth 28m dollars. When they strike oil in an area which comprises 27,000 sq.km. in [word indistinct], the government and the company will share the income between them, and, in addition, the Anadarko company will pay tax to the government, Ato Tesfay said.

Ato Tesfay went on to say that prospecting is under way in different parts of Eritrea for copper, gold and silver...

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