Wednesday, May 18, 2005

ERITREANS CALL ON THEIR GOVERNMENT TO RELEASE CHRISTIAN PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE
Jubilee Campaign And Christian Solidarity International To Hold Rally At Eritrean Embassy

By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

LONDON, ENGLAND (ANS) -- At least 36 churches have been closed and close to 900 Eritrean Christians have been detained by the government in Eritrea, an east African nation bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan, in recent months, according to two Christian human rights organizations.

Release-Eritrea (www.release-eritrea.org.uk), calls on the Government of Eritrea to unconditionally release all Eritrean Christians imprisoned for their faith and open Minority Churches which have been shut for three years this week.

In information obtained by ASSIST News Service (ANS), the organization says it is particularly concerned about those prisoners who have been held incommunicado, without due legal course.

In a statement, Release-Eritrea says: "It is to be remembered that a year ago the government took three prominent Church leaders into custody (Dr Kiflu Gebremeskel, Rev haile Naizghi and Pastor Tesfazion Hagos) and continues to detain them illegally. Earlier this year many more church leaders have joined the trio with the total number of church leaders and ministers imprisoned currently standing at a total of 16 in three prisons across the country."

Release-Eritrea also says concern is also mounting for other vulnerable prisoners like Mr Demoz Afworki, a 67-year-old gentleman who was detained in March, and Helen Berhane a 30-year-old woman who has now been incarceration -- mainly in shipping containers -- for nearly two years now.

The Release-Eritrea statement, which may be found at its website, continues: "It has also come to our attention that medical care has also been unforthcoming to some prisoners. It is particularly disturbing to hear that Rev. Dr Tekleab Mengisteab, who is an insulin dependent diabetic, had to be taken into hospital critically ill at least on one occasion, due to the fact that he was unable to obtain the medication he depends on. His family was unable to contact him in hospital even during this critical time."

In a statement which was also released to the media, Dr Berhane Asmelash, Director of Release-Eritrea, said: "I am really distressed to hear about the continued incarceration of my friends and colleagues with whom I have served the Lord over the years. I have absolutely no words to excuse the actions of a government they have served, faithfully and dutifully, treating them with utter disdain befitting condemned criminals. This is in total breach of the Eritrean constitution, our penal code and indeed international treaties that we have entered into."

The organization says that Article 19 of the Eritrean Constitution allows for "freedom of conscience, religion, movement, assembly, organization and expression of opinion."

Moreover the group says that, "in Article 17, the Constitution stipulates the right to a fair and public trial, the presumption of innocence and the right of appeal. It also states that anyone arrested should be brought before a court of law within 48 hours of their arrest, while the Eritrean Penal Code states that once arrested, a person should be charged within 28 days or released."

Release-Eritrea also states that Eritrea has also acceded to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, "all of which contain provisions for, amongst other things, the right to freedom of religion."

Release Eritrea is a global partnership of Eritreans and friends of Eritrea standing against religious persecution in Eritrea.

It says that on May 22 2002, the PFDJ -- Popular Front for Democracy and Justice -- (the ruling party of Eritrea) ordered the closure of all churches not belonging to the Orthodox, Roman Catholic or Evangelical Lutheran denominations.

"So far, at least 36 churches have been closed. Many followers of these churches and their leaders have been imprisoned, harassed and tortured. Currently it is estimated that close to 900 Eritrean Christians are held in prison across the country without trials or any legal due course," the group says.

Release-Eritrea says that on several occasions since then the Eritrean government issued blanket denials of the existence of persecution in the country stating that "no groups or persons are persecuted in Eritrea for their beliefs or religion" and that people were "free to worship according to their wish."

Eritrea is one of the three new countries, which the United States recently designated as "countries of particular concern for several violations of religious freedom."

You can contact Release Eritrea by emailing staff@releaseeritrea.org.uk

JUBILEE CAMPAIGN AND PARTNERS TO HOLD RALLY AT ERITREAN EMBASSY

Meanwhile, another Christian group, Jubilee Campaign, on Wednesday, May 25, will join Christian Solidarity International (CSI) in hosting a rally in Washington, DC, to protest the Eritrean government's repression of religious minorities and to call on Eritrean officials to release immediately and unconditionally all prisoners being held solely for religious reasons.

Information received by ASSIST News Service (ANS) states the event will take place at noon next Wednesday outside the Embassy of Eritrea at 1708 New Hampshire Avenue NW in Washington.

Jubilee Campaign's Ann Buwalda says: "We invite and urge you to attend this important peaceful demonstration on behalf of persecuted Christians and members of other minority religious groups in this tiny nation on the horn of Africa."

The rally is being held in May to mark the third anniversary of the order by President Isaias Afwerki to require all religious groups to register with the government and to close down all "unauthorized" congregations pending registration.

Buwalda says: "In the months following this decree, however, it became clear that the government had little intention of registering even those groups that complied with the strict and intrusive demands of the registration process."

She continues: "To make matters worse, the government and military then began arresting those who defied the order by continuing to meet, detaining them without charge in a variety of camps and facilities -- sometimes even in metal shipping containers -- and subjecting them to treatment that Amnesty International described in a 2004 report as torture. In some cases, the government has gone so far as to raid Bible study groups held in private homes, New Year's Eve parties and weddings, hauling all the participants to jail."

According to Jubilee Campaign, Eritrea recognizes only four religious groups: Sunni Islam, the Roman Catholic Church, the Eritrea Orthodox Church and the Evangelical Church of Eritrea, an umbrella group of denominations associated with the Lutheran Church. All others are subject to arrest, detention and inhumane and humiliating treatment.

Buwalda adds: "Even the authorized groups, however, have not entirely escaped the dragnet. A Catholic wedding party was broken up late last year, and Jubilee Campaign has received credible reports that reform movements within the Orthodox Church have experienced the crackdown as well. In addition to the Christian groups, the Jehovah's Witnesses have suffered a great deal of persecution, and members of the Baha'i Faith have also had their congregations shut down."

Along with the rally scheduled for next Wednesday, Jubilee Campaign and Christian Solidarity International are facilitating meetings between members of Eritrean Christian groups from around the US and Members of Congress, the State Department and the US Coalition on International Religious Freedom.

If you live in the Washington, DC, area, Jubilee Campaign invites you to join them from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. next Wednesday, May 25, for this peaceful demonstration on behalf of believers suffering for their faith in Eritrea and to, "Take a stand for religious freedom!"

BACKGROUND ON ERITREA

A web search on this country reveals that Eritrea became independent of Italy in 1941 after over 50 years of colonial rule, but a 30-year war of independence from Ethiopia began in 1962. In 1993 Eritrea became Africa's 52nd state, but war broke out again between Eritrea and Ethiopia in 1998.

In 2000 an international peacekeeping force created a buffer zone between the two countries.

In the last two years, the ruling Popular Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) has become increasingly intolerant of dissent.

Under the pretext of maintaining national unity, the government has banned religious organizations from involvement in politics. The PFDJ has also
placed such severe restrictions on international NGOs that they have all but wound up their activities.

The population of Eritrea is divided almost equally between Muslims and Christians and interfaith relations are generally good. The PFDJ, which is close to the Orthodox Church, is concerned to crack down on any perceived extremism, be it from Muslims or Christians.