Understanding Eritrea

UNDERSTANDING ERITREA
MARTIN PLAUT
Understanding Eritrea
Inside Africa’s Most Repressive State
A
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Martin Plaut.
Understanding Eritrea: Inside Africa’s Most Repressive State.
ISBN: 9780190669591
Printed in India on acid-free paper

In memory of Dominique Jacquin-Berdal, whose early death deprived us all
of a great scholar and keen observer of the Horn of Africa
CONTENTS
Abbreviations ix
1. I ntroduction 1
2. A Difficult History 5
3. The Thorny Relationship with Ethiopia 25
4. Quarrelling with Neighbours 51
5. Foreign Friends 69
6. From Freedom to Dictatorship 103
7. Eritrea’s Economy: Smoke and Mirrors 133
8. The Flight from Eritrea 149
9. Exile: Life for the Diaspora 169
10. O
pposition 197
11. T
he Outlook for Eritrea 209
Appendix 1: Leadership of Government, Military
and Party 217
Appendix 2: US Ambassador Ronald K.Â€Mcmullen’s
Assessment of Isaias Afewerki, Via Wikileaks 221
Appendix 3: Algiers Agreement that Ended the 1998–2000
Border War Between Ethiopia And Eritrea 225
Appendix 4: Eritrean Democratic Alliance (EDA) (2005) 235
Bibliography 237
Index 241
vii
ABBREVIATIONS
Derg The movement that seized power in Ethiopia in

1974. The term means ‘committee’ and was short-
hand for the Coordinating Committee of the Armed
Forces, Police, and Territorial Army
ELF Eritrean Liberation Front
EPLF Eritrean People’s Liberation Front
EU European Union
TPLF Tigray People’s Liberation Front
OLF Oromo Liberation Front
PFDJ People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (the name
of the EPLF after 1994)
UN United Nations
UNHCR United Nations High Commission for Refugees
UNMEE United Nations Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea
ix
© S.Ballard (2016)
N
SUDAN S A U D I
A R A B I A
0 75
km Red Sea
Nafka Jazan
ERITREA
Dahlak
Archipelago
Keren
Kassala Agordat Massawa YEMEN
ASMARA
Barentu Dekemhare
Teseney Mendefera
Adil Keyh Al Hudaydah
Tserona
Badme Ti’o
Himora Aksum Adigrat
Mek’ele Mocha
Assab
Gondor E T H I O P I A
Claim by Ethiopia but Claim by Eritrea but

awarded to Eritrea awarded to Ethiopia DJIBOUTI
1
INTRODUCTION
The capital of Eritrea, Asmara, situated on a high plateau, is one

of the most pleasant cities in Africa. Its quiet streets, its cool,
welcoming bars and its friendly people make it a joy to visit. The
Italians who colonised it left an indelible mark on the vibrant
culture. Delicious traditional food is served alongside Italian
cuisine. The streets are lined with some of the best-preserved
Modernist architecture: a legacy of the Fascist era and Italy’s
determination to make Eritrea a fine gateway to an empire that
included Ethiopia. A railway links the city with the port of
Massawa, bending and twisting down a steep escarpment—
descending more than two kilometres to the plain below. The
beaches and islands that dot the coast are pristine and could
easily compete with the Sinai for the tourist trade.
Life for ordinary Eritreans is tough. Farmers plough the
unforgiving soil, hoping that last year’s rains will be repeated.
Most of the population work in subsistence agriculture, but
there is also time for celebration. Over the weekend the roads
surrounding Asmara are alive with cyclists. The country’s team is
one of the best on the continent and cycling is a passion. The
1
lanes of the villages and cities echo to the sound of music. Barren,
rugged mountain ranges fade into the distance. Flashes of bril-
liant reds and iridescent blues and greens mark the flight of birds
through the green-grey bush.
There is great diversity among the country’s ethnic groups. Yet
given the country’s undoubted natural beauty and rich cultural heri-
tage, why do as many as 5,000 Eritreans flee across its borders every
month? What explains their determination to leave at almost any
price—risking the dangers of crossing the Sahara and the
Mediterranean to escape the land they love? Eritrea is not at war.
Unlike Syria or Yemen it is not racked by civil conflict. Its cities and
countryside are peaceful. The country is poor, but then so are many
other African states, yet they are not haemorrhaging people.
The answer lies in politics. This nation of 3.5–6.5 million
people (no one knows for certain: the only complete census was
taken in 1931) is held in servitude. There is just one legal politi-
cal party and even this holds no regular congresses: the last took
place in 1994. The president, Isaias Afwerki, is an autocrat who
brooks no opposition. Opinions that diverge from the official
line are simply not tolerated. The last independent journalists
and editors were rounded up in 2001, their papers closed. The
Constitution, written and approved by the Constituent Assembly
(or parliament) has never been brought into force.
A United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea con-
cluded in 2015 that the Eritrean government engages in ‘sys-
temic, widespread and gross human rights violations’ carried out
in a ‘context of a total lack of rule of law.’ Fear hangs over the
Eritrean people; both inside the country and among the diaspora.
This is the product of the ruthless repression that the regime has
meted out. There is, as the Norwegian academic, Kjetil Tronvoll,
put it, an Eritrean ‘Gulag archipelago’: political prisons, deten-
tion centres and labour camps which stretch across the country
like a chain of islands. Some are formal prisons, others converted
2
INTRODUCTION
stores and some even makeshift facilities, often shipping contain-

ers. Here prisoners languish for years at a time. Brutal treatment
is routinely administered and there is no recourse to any form of
legal action. None of these detainees ever sees a court, let alone
a defence lawyer.
Yet even this would not have driven people across the border
and into the loneliness and despair of exile. To understand why
they flee in such numbers one has to grasp just what it is young
people face. They are conscripted into the military with no guar-
antee that it will ever end. National Service, as it is called, is
indefinite. Some have served for decades, yet have no prospect of
release. Pay is derisory, conditions are grindingly tough and there
is routine abuse from officers. Women are in danger of sexual
abuse and frequently used as servants.
This phenomenon is rooted in Eritrea’s extraordinary history.
Its people fought for their freedom from Ethiopia for thirty
years, achieving independence in 1991 and international recogni-
tion as a sovereign state two years later. For much of this period
the nation has been led by Isaias Afwerki, known universally as
Isaias (Eritreans and Ethiopians are known by their first names,
and frequently by a nickname given to them early in their lives).
His forceful personality and intolerance of opposition were argu-
ably critical to winning the war against Ethiopia, but when inde-
pendence came, it was another story.
At first relations between a post-independent Eritrea and the
new Ethiopian government were good. Gradually, however, they
soured, then erupted into full-scale warfare. In 1998–2000 these
neighbours, who shared so much in common, fought one of the
bloodiest conflicts in Africa since the Second World War.
Although ostensibly over a minor border village, there were far
deeper roots to the war. These go back to the history of the
region and the history of political parties that still dominate both
countries. For this reason I have spent what readers might con-
3
sider an inordinate time explaining the complex relationship

between guerrilla movements that were rarely mentioned in the
wider world before they seized power in both countries in 1991.
I have attempted to lay out how this came about. Much is still
veiled and obscure. This is hardly surprising when Eritrea refuses
to allow foreign news organisation to have correspondents based in
the country. Nor are the UN agencies given much greater free-
dom: their operations inside Eritrea are severely curtailed. Few
sources of accurate, open information are therefore available. And
Eritreans (as well as Ethiopians) are culturally disposed to being
closed and secretive. Winston Churchill once said of the Soviet
Union that it was a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.
I hope in this book to clarify some of Eritrea’s riddles.
4
2
A DIFFICULT HISTORY
Down the centuries fleets have sailed past Eritrea’s shores; navies
have used her harbours and armies have trampled her soil.
Greeks, Saudis, Yemenis and Egyptians all left their mark before
the Ottoman Turks extended their rule to the Eritrean coast in
the sixteenth century. Its ports were important links in trade
with countries as far afield as India. But Eritrea’s recent destiny
has been shaped, above all, by its proximity to Ethiopia.
An exposure to these foreign influences forged an Eritrean
social entity and a distinct Eritrean consciousness. This identity
has always been complex precisely because it reflects a diverse
population. Eritrea’s peoples are divided roughly equally between
two major religions: Islam and Christianity. They speak nine
different languages. Most of the eastern and western lowland
areas are inhabited by predominantly Muslim ethnic groups. The
majority of highlanders belong to the Tigrinya ethnic group and
are Orthodox Christians.
The coastal lowlands are inhabited by the Afar in the east,
closely linked to Afar in Djibouti and Ethiopia. Further west-
wards, along the Danakil desert, are the Saho, whose neighbours
are the Tigrinya population. They inhabit the centre of the coun-
5
try, from the port of Massawa onto the plateau and to the
Ethiopian border. The Tigrinya people make up about half of all
Eritreans and live in towns such as Asmara, Mendefera and Adi
Qeyih. The Rashaida, also on the coastal plain, have family ties
across the Sudanese border. Inhabiting a large part of the west-
ern plains are the Tigre, who are the second largest ethnic group.
They live in the towns of Nakfa, Agordat and Tessenai. Between
the Tigre and the Tigrinya are the Bilen, who cluster around the
town of Keren—the strategically important gateway from Sudan
into the highlands. Three other smaller ethnic groups live on
Eritrea’s borders with Sudan and Ethiopia. They are the Hedareb,
Nara and Kunama.
While most of the lowland peoples are Muslim the highland-
ers tend to be Christian. The Kunama have their own ancient
religion and suffered long years of persecution from both
Christians and Muslims as a result. The Eritrean government
recognises these nine ethnic groups, each of which speaks their
own language. But Eritrea does have other ethnicities, including
the Jeberti–Tigrinya-speaking Muslims who are not officially
recognised. There is also a remnant of the Italian colonial com-
munity and once there was a small number of Jews, most of
whom came from Yemen, but hardly any remain. Since 2001
hundreds of thousands of Eritreans have fled their country and
this makes it difficult to provide an accurate estimate of the eth-
nic balance.
The Christian agriculturalists of the central highlands share a
common language, religion and ethnic background with the
Ethiopian region of Tigray, just across the border. Intermarriage
between Tigrinya speakers of Eritrea and Tigray has traditionally
been common. These areas had been part of the Ethiopian
Empire intermittently for most of the first millennium AD. TheÂ€
mainly Muslim lowland pastoralists, on the other hand, had little

in common with them. Rather, they looked to Sudan or across
the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia or Yemen.
6
A DIFFICULT HISTORY
The complex identities of the ethnic groups who made Eritrea

their home were gradually united as a single nation. Colonisation
by Italy and Ethiopia played critical roles in this process. So too
did Britain, which captured the territory from Italy during the
Second World War. This was no simple process—rather it was
an evolution that took place over the centuries; in many ways
it is still continuing. Recent Eritrean history comprises five peri-
Â€
ods: Italian colonialism (1886–1941), followed by British military

rule (1942–1952), Federation with Ethiopia (1952–1960), the
struggle for liberation (1961–1991) and the post-Independence
era (1991–present).
Eritrea’s roots
The kingdoms of Ethiopia had a major influence over their north-

ern neighbour. When they were powerful, Ethiopian rulers
extended their influence over parts of Eritrea; when they were
weak their control ebbed and the rulers returned to their heart-
lands in Aksum and Tigray. By the end of the nineteenth century
Ethiopia was barely more than a loose confederation of kingdoms.
The Ethiopian empire was alternatively dominated by Amhara or
Oromo princes from the provinces of Gondar and Wollo in the
centre of the country, or by Tigrean rulers from the northern
region of Tigray, which at times included the Tigrinya-speaking
areas of what is now Eritrea. The empire’s boundaries were fluid.
When Tigrayan princes were in the ascendancy they extended their
influence towards Eritrea’s Red Sea Coast, exacting tribute from
the Muslim lowland chiefs around Massawa or in the West.
After 1557 the coastal plain of Eritrea became part of the
expanding Ottoman Empire. For most of the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries the rulers of the coast were appointed by the
Ottoman Pasha of Jeddah, sporadically acknowledging the over-
lordship of Tigray’s rulers. As the Ottoman Empire declined,
7
Egypt inherited its place along the Red Sea coast. Britain had
used the Eritrean coast as a means of attacking Ethiopia in 1868
after the emperor Tewodros II took captive the British consul,
Charles Duncan Cameron. With his fleet anchored in the Gulf
of Zula, just south of the port of Massawa, Lt. Gen. Sir Robert
Napier led a vast army into the Ethiopian interior to free
Cameron and a group of hostages jailed with him. Napier finally
took the fortress of Magdala, and the emperor committed sui-
cide. The captives were freed and the British left, taking with
them quantities of historical and religious artefacts.
Egypt had taken Massawa in the 1800s and then attempted to
extend its influence into the interior. In the 1870s, the Tigrean
emperor Yohannis IV (1872–1889) defeated two Egyptian inva-
sions of the Eritrean highlands. Subsequently he believed that in
return for allowing the evacuation of Egyptian garrisons from
Sudan after the rise of the Mahdi, he had British and Egyptian
agreement to take over Massawa.
In the event, Britain (worried about expanding French influ-
ence in Africa) instead encouraged Italy to take Massawa in 1885.
The Italians were ideal candidates to play this role: they already
had a small Eritrean foothold. Rome had established an agricul-
tural concession in the western Eritrean town of Keren in 1867,
and then purchased the port of Assab from local rulers in 1869.
This was not done without difficulty. It was a period of Ethiopian
strength, with the Tigray region in the ascendency and trading
through the port of Massawa, which it indirectly controlled.
As the British former colonial civil servant Gerald Kennedy
Trevaskis puts it, ‘Italy created Eritrea by an act of surgery: by
severing its different peoples from those with whom their past
had been linked and by grafting the amputated remnants to each
other under the title of Eritrean.’ The Italians ruled Eritrea from
1886 until their imperial moment was extinguished by Britain
during the Second World War.
8
A DIFFICULT HISTORY
Yohannis felt betrayed, the more so as Italy promptly

attempted to use the port as a base from which to extend its
influence into Ethiopia. These hopes were dashed when the
Italians were crushed in 1896 by the Ethiopian forces of Emperor
Menelik at the battle of Adua. The defeat was a major blow to
the Italians, who lost thousands of troops, both killed and cap-
tured. Italy was humiliated since the defeat represented one of
the few victories ‘native’ troops inflicted on a European power
during the colonial era. Rome had little option but to accept this
reverse, and signed treaties with the emperor in 1900, 1902 and
1908 establishing the border between its new colony, Eritrea,
and Ethiopia.
With the rise of fascism under Mussolini, Italy was deter-
mined to avenge its loss of face and extend its presence in the
Horn of Africa. In October 1935 Italy invaded Ethiopia from the
territory it controlled in Eritrea. Thousands of Eritrean local
troops—‘askaris’—fought alongside their Italian colonial mas-
ters. Despite the League of Nation’s condemnation of the Italians
it was not until the outbreak of the Second World War that
external powers took a decisive stand against their aggression.
Using tanks, aerial bombardment and nerve gas the Italians cap-
tured Addis Ababa on 5 May 1936. The emperor left for exile in
Â€
Britain but Ethiopian guerrilla forces continued the fight. In

February 1941 British troops, supported by a large contingent of
Indian soldiers and including Free French and Ethiopian forces,
attacked Eritrea from Sudan. For over two months there was a
fierce battle around the town of Keren, which was heavily
defended. Italian troops were dug in along the rocky mountain-
sides guarding the pass into the town. In March the Allied sol-
diers captured the town—an event that was hailed in the British
press as a major victory over the Axis forces. They drove on to
Asmara, which fell on 1 April 1941.
Â€
On 5 May Haile Selassie returned to Addis Ababa exactly five

Â€
years to the day from when it had been occupied by Italy. He was
9
returned to his throne by a combined force of British, South

African, Indian and Sudanese troops fighting alongside Ethiopian
patriots.
While Ethiopia was independent once more, the international
community was left with the problem of what to do with Eritrea,
which was under temporary British Military Administration.
Italian colonialism had brought with it some of the benefits of
European rule, in the shape of modern port facilities, roads and
railways. The city of Asmara had developed into a pleasant town,
with broad streets, an opera house and fine government build-
ings. By the time the Italians were driven out by the Allied forces
in 1941, they left behind a far more developed state than the
feudal empire that had previously existed in Ethiopia.
The British disbanded the large Eritrean colonial army and the
Italian fascist militia, but most Italian civil servants remained in
place. Saddled with huge post-war debts the British sold off parts
of Eritrea’s infrastructure. At the same time the United States
was allowed to establish a strategically important satellite listen-
ing post at Kagnew, close to the airport of the capital, Asmara.
From this base up to 3,000 American personnel did vital work
during the Cold War. They tracked Soviet rocket launches; a
practice that continued until 1977.
The British struggled to come up with an effective administra-
tion for Eritrea. Sometimes London favoured partition of the
country into Muslim and Christian blocs and at other times
looked to establish British control of areas of Ethiopia. This
exacerbated tensions between these two communities, each of
which represented approximately half of the population. Eritrean
politics divided along religious lines, the Muslim League seeking
independence and the mainly Christian Unionist Party favouring
links with Ethiopia. In 1946 there were inter-communal riots,
which elders from both communities worked hard to bring under
control. In 1947 political parties were legalised.
10
A DIFFICULT HISTORY
Two years later London presented the United Nations with a

plan that envisaged the division of Eritrea, with the western low-
lands going to Sudan and the remainder to Ethiopia. The United
Nations refused to endorse the scheme. Britain, fed up with
attempting to resolve the future of Eritrea, turned the issue over
to the UN which sent a Commission to visit Eritrea, seeking the
views of its people. In 1952 the UN finally decided that the terri-
tory should be federated with Ethiopia, while continuing to exer-
cise considerable autonomy over its own affairs. There matters
might have rested. However, the emperor’s absolutist rule alienated
the Eritrean population by imposing on it a series of decrees and
unilateral actions. These included outlawing the teaching of
Eritrean languages, replacing them with Amharic (the official lan-
guage of the empire) and dismantling industries and removing
them to Addis Ababa. Eritrean trade unions and political parties
(allowed under the British military administration) were crushed;
neither was acceptable in the emperor’s Ethiopia.
Armed resistance to Ethiopian rule erupted on 1 September
Â€
1961, when a bandit turned rebel, Hamid Idris Awate, and eleven
of his supporters were involved in a clash with a police unit.
Opponents of Addis Ababa formed the Eritrean Liberation Front
(ELF), which moved from isolated resistance to open warfare.
From then on the conflict with Ethiopia escalated until it became
the largest rebellion on the African continent, involving tens of
thousands of combatants. At the same time there was, at first,
still considerable support inside Eritrea for unity with Ethiopia,
particularly from among the Christian highlanders. In November
1962, after intense pressure from Addis Ababa, the Federation
was dissolved, and Eritrea was absorbed into Ethiopia. This
served to spur on the opposition, led at first by the ELF, whose
support came mainly from the Muslim community, although
some Christian highlanders, including the future leader of
Eritrea, Isaias Afwerki, were also drawn into membership.
11
The first decade of the armed struggle from 1961 to 1974 was
largely confined to the Muslim lowlands. Disputes within the
ELF and hostility towards Christian recruits resulted in the for-
mation of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) in the
early 1970s. The EPLF rejected ethnic differences and stood for
a secular and socialist state, but the majority of its support came
from the Christian highlands. The lowlanders’ backing for the
ELF was predominantly motivated by a sense of alienation from
a highland government, which spoke a different language and
practised a different religion. An uneasy truce between the two
movements culminated in a bitter civil war that the EPLF finally
won in 1981, driving the ELF out of Eritrea. From then on the
ELF was forced to base itself in and operate as best it could from
neighbouring Sudan.
Despite these divisions, Ethiopia’s campaign against the
Eritrean rebels fared badly. Discontent inside the Ethiopian army
over the conduct of the war and the handling of a devastating
famine led to the overthrow of the emperor in 1974. Haile
Selassie was replaced by a military committee, known as the
Derg. In time this came under the dictatorial rule of Mengistu
Haile Mariam. The emperor was finally murdered, with his body
buried beneath a latrine in the grounds of the imperial palace.
At first it appeared as if the Derg was willing to see a settle-
ment of the Eritrean question. But after initial discussions with
the Eritreans failed, the war was continued and intensified. The
events of 1974 led to a second, equally important development.
Students from the northern Ethiopian province of Tigray,
angered by the lack of development of their area, decided to
launch their own campaign against the rulers in Addis Ababa.
Building on the ancient claims of Tigray as the centre of the
Ethiopian state, they fought to break rule from the capital. In
1975 the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) was formed
and launched its own war against the Ethiopian authorities.
12
A DIFFICULT HISTORY
Initially relations between the EPLF and TPLF were cordial,

with the Eritreans providing support to the Tigrayan rebels, but
this relationship soon deteriorated.
Nationalism in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia

On the face of it the EPLF and the TPLF had much in com-
mon. They both opposed Ethiopian absolutism, whether exer-
cised by Haile Selassie or Mengistu Haile Mariam. Both organ-
isations were Marxist in outlook. In reality, however, the forms
of national identity that the two movements pursued, and in a
sense embodied, were rather different. These factors contributed
to hostility and distrust that have afflicted their relations ever
since. The Eritreans saw their struggle as an anti-colonial move-
ment designed to regain a lost political independence. The TPLF
leadership, on the other hand, moved from a Tigrayan national-
ism to an acceptance that they were part of the Ethiopian state.
The TPLF came to see their rightful place as being at the heart
of events in Ethiopia. They regarded the current regime as an
oppressive state, which should be overthrown.
The EPLF attempted to mobilise Eritrean opinion irrespective
of religion, but came up against considerable difficulties. Not all
of the Christians in the highlands supported the cause of inde-
pendence, and as late as 1982 some were still willing to act as an
armed militia for the Ethiopian administration. Outside the
highlands, despite the terror employed by the Mengistu regime,
a majority within the Kunama and the Afar people were at best
ambivalent about the EPLF. Some actually supported continued
Â€
unity with Ethiopia and thousands of Kunama served in the

Ethiopian army. As a result the EPLF had to fight a vigorous
campaign within its own community to win their support, or at
least acquiescence.
While it recognised and even celebrated Eritrea’s ethnic diver-
sity, the EPLF resolutely refused to allow ethnicity to undermine
13
its campaign for an independent state. This is not to suggest that

ethnicity played no part in the Front’s activities; great care was
taken to represent the whole of the population within the leader-
ship, even when they were not as well represented among its mem-
bership. At the same time critics of the movement question just
how much real influence key Muslim members of the EPLF exer-
cised. The EPLF certainly spent a good deal of time and effort
inculcating a wider sense of Eritrean identity in its new recruits.
For the TPLF mobilisation in Tigray was relatively simple,
since it could call upon an existing concept of Tigrayan national-
ism in all the areas in which it operated. They shared a common
language and mode of livelihood. Apart from a few highland
Muslims all Tigrayans were Orthodox Christians. The TPLF’s
activities were an attempt to end Amhara rule. In Tigrayan eyes
the Amhara had usurped the traditional power base of Ethiopian
society, and transferred it from the ancient Tigrayan capital of
Axum to Addis Ababa. Haile Selassie’s rule was widely (and cor-
rectly) perceived as essentially Amhara. In its first political pro-
gramme, released in 1976, the TPLF specified that it was fight-
ing for the independence of Tigray from Ethiopia. Shortly
thereafter a TPLF congress repudiated the manifesto, but did
not make this public. This has been a recurrent issue for the
movement, and has also been seized upon by its critics.
Since the TPLF’s war aims, at least in the beginning, centred
on achieving power in Tigray itself, its successes against the
forces of the Derg posed something of a problem for the move-
ment, and led to considerable internal debate. Would it be satis-
fied with capturing Tigray, or would a hostile government in
Addis Ababa require the movement to fight to control all of
Ethiopia? By early 1989 the TPLF exercised almost total control
over the Tigrayan countryside and was enjoying increasing suc-
cess against Ethiopian troops in garrisons across the province. In
February 1989 TPLF forces, bolstered by an EPLF armoured
14
A DIFFICULT HISTORY
brigade, took the area around Endaselasie, in western Tigray.

Within two weeks garrisoned towns across the province were
abandoned, sometimes without a fight.
The TPLF had achieved its initial objectives and held most of
Tigray. The question now was whether to press on to Addis
Ababa. The movement had by this time established the Ethiopian
People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), together with
a number of other Ethiopian organisations, with the aim of taking
power in Addis Ababa. Its leadership had ambitions to rule the
whole of Ethiopia but were frustrated by many of its own support-
ers who (to use Lenin’s famous phrase) voted with their feet. In
1990 some 10,000 TPLF fighters spontaneously walked home.
After months of protracted discussion the leadership managed to
convince its followers that they should continue prosecuting the
war. Tigrayan nationalism was, at least for the time being, to be
subordinated within a wider Ethiopian identity.
The EPLF and the TPLF therefore relied upon completely
different nationalisms. The Eritrean struggle for independence had
generated a powerful sense of collective identity, as did the increas-
ingly genocidal responses of the Derg towards Eritreans during the
1980s. It was nationalism forged in blood and with a clear objec-
tive in mind: the freedom of Eritrea. Moreover, it was a national-
ism that could justly claims that it was shaped by its own experi-
ence of colonialism. The Tigrayans also had much to be proud of.
They could hark back to past greatness, including the rule of the
last ‘Tigrayan’ emperor and to a history of rebellions against impe-
rial rule. The most important of these was a peasant uprising of
1943 against Haile Selassie’s autocratic rule. Known as the ‘woyane’
rebellion (a term meaning ‘revolt’) it was the event from which the
TPLF took its inspiration. But while Eritrean nationalism was
clearly associated with a nation state, Tigrayan nationalism played
a difficult balancing act—recognising the aspirations of the
Tigrayan people, but within the framework of the wider Ethiopian
15
state. It was a problem that was to dog the relationship between

the TPLF and the EPLF.
Co-operation and confrontation

Opposition to the dictatorial rule exercised from Addis Ababa
temporarily united the two liberation movements, but divisions
existed on a number of grounds, including ideology, strategy and
tactics. Over time these grew in importance.
In 1974, as the founders of the TPLF were preparing to
launch an armed struggle, they had contacted the Eritrean move-
ments, an obvious source of assistance. They sought support
from the EPLF, rather than the ELF. This was partly because
Â€
another group of Tigrayans (The Tigray Liberation Front) had

been established in 1972–73 and had formed a prior alliance with
the ELF. From the EPLF the TPLF obtained military training
Â€
as well as arms, and, significantly, two EPLF veterans. They were

Mahari Haile (who took the field name ‘Mussie’ and went on to
be the first military commander) and Yemane Kidane (known as
‘Jamaica’) who became a member of the Ethiopian government.
The first group of TPLF trainees, twenty in all, was deployed to
Eritrea at the same time.
This co-operation was fruitful and the Tigrayans learned a
good deal from the Eritreans. However, not all of it was to their
liking. Ideology came to play a significant part in their differ-
ences. On the face of it both movements shared a radical perspec-
tive; in reality this was more of an impediment than a spur to
unity. The EPLF’s Marxism tended to be mostly third-worldist:
long on anti-imperialist rhetoric and slogans. It considered the
Soviet bloc ‘strategic allies’, even though they never received
direct assistance from Moscow. States in the region that were
close to the Soviets, like South Yemen, provided some training
and support. This ceased after the Derg seized power in Ethiopia
in 1974, since it won the backing of the Soviet Union.
16
A DIFFICULT HISTORY
The TPLF, on the other hand, was influenced by Maoism, and

admired Albania as an example of an anti-Soviet socialist state. In
the early 1980s Meles Zenawi rose to authority in the movement,
and in 1984 the Marxist-Leninist League of Tigray (MLLT) was
formed, as a vanguard party within the TPLF. This vanguard
Â€
party established links with what it saw as ‘genuine’ Eritrean

groups, notably a former faction of the ELF called the DemoÂ�
cratic Movement for the Liberation of Eritrea. The Democratic
Â€
Movement was allowed to continue to have bases in the Tigray

region until about 1996, much to the annoyance of the EPLF.
The United States had openly backed the emperor, Haile
Selassie, but his fall in 1974 and the assumption of power by the
Derg led to a recalibration in international relations. At first
Moscow only reluctantly supported the new regime, since it was
a military dictatorship. But in the end the Soviet Union decided
to back the Ethiopians. This tested the EPLF’s ideological com-
mitment. However, the EPLF resisted labelling the Soviet Union
as imperialist, realising that they might one day need its support
as a permanent member of the Security Council if they were to
gain international recognition as an independent state. The
Tigrayans had no such inhibition, since Ethiopia was already a
fully-fledged member of the UN. The TPLF therefore con-
Â€
demned the Soviets as imperialist. Arcane as such arguments

might now seem, they were an important source of friction
between the two movements.
Ideology was not the only question to divide them; they also
fell out over military tactics. While the TPLF’s military strategy
was one of mobile guerrilla warfare, the EPLF combined mobil-
ity with fixed positional warfare, based on a securely defended
rear area. In this base area they established a considerable infra-
structure, including schools, hospitals and workshops. As the
Eritreans moved towards more conventional forms of warfare, the
Tigrayans became increasingly critical of their tactics.
17
Matters came to a head during Ethiopia’s ‘Red Star’ campaign

of 1982 against the Eritreans. It was the most sustained offensive
the government forces ever undertook and came within an ace of
capturing the EPLF’s base area, and with it Nakfa, the last town
in rebel hands. Tigrayan fighters training with the EPLF were
called on to go into action. This was apparently done without the
permission of the TPLF Central Committee, who were furious
at not being asked. After heroic efforts their combined forces
just managed to repel the Ethiopian onslaught. Casualties were
heavy, however, and the TPLF was deeply critical of the EPLF,
accusing the Eritreans of being willing to sacrifice its fighters to
secure Nakfa.
According to senior members of the TPLF, the Eritreans
wanted TPLF fighters to remain in Eritrea to defend their posi-
tions. By this time, however, the TPLF leadership were deter-
mined to overthrow the Derg. Their strategy, therefore, was to
forge alliances with other Ethiopian opposition movements and
to take the military struggle south to the gates of the capital.
The TPLF therefore withdrew their fighters from Eritrea, a
decision that was resented by their allies. Worse was to follow.
In the mid-1980s the simmering differences culminated in a
major public row. Insults were exchanged. The TPLF defined
the EPLF as ‘social imperialist’; the EPLF in turn labelled the
TPLF as ‘childish’. The row masked a serious theoretical differ-
ence with major political ramifications for the national question
in Ethiopia. The issue was which of its peoples had the right to
self-determination up to, and including, secession. It had been a
critical issue for the student radicals at Addis Ababa University
in the 1960s and 1970s—many of whom went on to lead the
Eritrean and Tigrayan liberation movements. The TPLF recog-
nised Eritrea’s unique status as a former colonial state. At the
same time they promoted the right to secession of the various
nationalities within Ethiopia and—far more controversially—of
those within Eritrea as well. During its exchange of polemics
18
A DIFFICULT HISTORY
with the EPLF from 1985, the TPLF stated that ‘a truly demo-
cratic’ Eritrea would have to respect ‘the right of its own nation-
alities up to and including secession’.
This appalled and infuriated the EPLF, which argued that it
was precisely because Eritrea was a former colonial state that they
had the right to independence. They declared that Ethiopian
nationalities had a right to self-determination, but not to inde-
pendence, as this was conditional on a colonial experience. The
EPLF was aware that any widening of the definition of self-
determination to include independence for Ethiopian nationali-
ties would detract from Eritrea’s special status, as a colonially
defined territory. Moreover, giving Eritrean nationalities the
right to secede would jeopardise Eritrea’s future cohesion, not
least because the Tigrayan and Afar peoples live on both sides of
the border.
The TPLF said that the EPLF’s refusal to recognise the right
of its own nationalities was an example of its ‘undemocratic’
nature. For this reason the TPLF regarded its relationship with
the EPLF as tactical, rather than enduring, and consequently the
TPLF provided support to other Eritrean movements, such as
the Democratic Marxist League of Eritrea.
According to EPLF documents, the TPLF’s flirtation with
other movements came as a surprise and a disappointment. It led
to a rupture in their alliance:
…the TPLF had concluded that the EPLF was not a democratic organ-
isation and that its relationship with the EPLF was ‘tactical’. The
EPLF had thought that its co-operation with the TPLF was genuine
and not based on temporary tactical considerations. And so, when the
TPLF’s secret stand became public the EPLF realised its naiveté and
although it did not regret its past actions, decided to break its relation-
ship with the TPLF and not enter into polemics with it.
It was at this critical juncture, when relations were at their
most difficult, that the movements sought to resolve the ques-
19
tion of just where the border ran between Eritrea and Tigray.
For a long time this had appeared of little real importance since
both rebel groups ranged freely across the border, as did the
Ethiopian army. Very little has been heard of the negotiations
that took place in late 1984, but a founder member of the TPLF,
Ghidey Zeratsion, offered an insight into the negotiations. He
indicates why the issue became so critical for the Eritreans:
The border issue was raised for the first time at the meeting between
the TPLF and EPLF in November 1984. At this meeting, the EPLF
raised the issue and wanted to demarcate the boundary based on inter-
national agreements and documents. The areas under consideration
were Badme, Tsorena-Zalambessa, and Bada. The TPLF agreed that
there are areas between Ethiopia and Eritrea where they are not clearly
demarcated. At the same time it argued that it was not prepared for
such discussion and had not made documentary studies on the issue.
Furthermore, the TPLF argued that it was not in a position to sign
border agreements on behalf of Ethiopia because it did not have the
legitimacy to do so. And hence, the TPLF proposed to maintain the
existing administrative areas as they are and prepare the necessary docu-
ments for the final demarcation after the fall of the Derg. The EPLF
was convinced by the argument and both agreed to postpone the
demarcation and maintain the existing administrative regions.
One may ask why the border issue was so important for EPLF while it
was still trenched in the Sahel area?
The EPLF was very much constrained by its ability to get recruits for
its army. It has been rounding up and forcefully recruiting people all
over Eritrea. In such a situation, border areas like Badme were safe
havens for people who wanted to escape recruitment. At the same time,
there are a number of Eritreans living in these areas who were attractive
for EPLF’s quest of recruits. As a result, the EPLF was intruding these
border areas and provoking a reaction from the TPLF. At one instant
Â€
the two fronts were at the verge of war if the EPLF had not withdrawn.
The EPLF could not afford to open another front while it was confined
in the Sahel trenches by the Derg’s army.
20
A DIFFICULT HISTORY
By early 1985 relations between the two movements had

become mired in distrust.
As the relationship deteriorated the TPLF began providing
assistance to Eritrean movements hostile to the EPLF.
In June 1985 the EPLF decided to teach the TPLF a brutal
lesson. The Eritreans cut the TPLF’s supply lines to the Sudan
that passed through their territory. This was done at the height
of one of the worst famines in modern times, denying Tigrayans
access to food aid at a crucial juncture. Little was said publicly
about the incident at the time, but it is not hard to imagine the
animosity that it generated. The TPLF responded with charac-
teristic efficiency, mobilising 100,000 peasants to build an alter-
native route through to Sudan that did not go via Eritrea. The
cost was high: many perished in the construction.
While the EPLF leadership has been silent about these events,
Tigrayans recall it with great bitterness. As one put it: ‘the EPLF
behaviour was a savage act… I do not hesitate to categorise it as
a “savage act”. It must be recorded in history like that!’ This
anger is hardly surprising: the closure of the border caused thou-
sands of Tigrayans to die of starvation before the alternative road
could be completed.
Despite this rupture the imperatives of war against the Derg
forced the movements to co-operate with each other. By 1987
both Fronts had had considerable military success, but further
advances required co-ordinated action. In April 1988, after four
days of discussions in Khartoum, a joint statement was issued,
indicating that their differences had been set aside. At the same
time there was no suggestion that they had been resolved. This
was a military pact, not an alliance of like-minded organisa-
tions—a point stressed by the TPLF’s Yemane Kidane. The two
fronts were not reconciled ideologically or politically: ‘Never,
never. Only a military relationship. Ideologically never, politically
never. We maintained our differences. So we always say it is a
21
tactical relationship, not a strategic relationship. If they call it

strategic, it is up to them.’
Military co-operation led to military success. In May 1991 the
Eritreans finally took their capital, Asmara, after a war lasting
thirty years. They also accompanied the Ethiopian rebels as they
marched into Addis Ababa, providing troops and artillery. With
both capitals in rebel hand, bonds between the EPLF and TPLF
appeared strong. Isaias Afwerki became president of Eritrea,
while his opposite number, the TPLF leader, Meles Zenawi,
took control of Ethiopia. Their members had fought side by side
against appalling odds. The leadership of the movements had
come to know and rely upon one another. Past differences had
been smoothed over, even if they had not been forgotten.
Divisions remained, but there appeared a chance that these could
be overcome, given the goodwill that existed.
Agreements were made in 1991 and 1993 allowing the free
movement of labour across their common border; for Eritrea’s
use of Ethiopian currency, the Birr; for regulated Ethiopian
trade through the port of Assab to minimise the effects of
Ethiopia’s loss of its coastline, and so on. Above all, the TPLF
honoured its promise to support an Eritrean independence refer-
endum in 1993, despite hostility from many sections of
Ethiopian society. When Meles Zenawi went to Asmara to take
part in the formal declaration of independence in late May 1993
in his capacity as an Ethiopian head of state, he offered a warn-
ing to his audience. The speech appealed for reconciliation, but
Meles went on to call for both sides not to ‘scratch the wounds’
of the past. It was a timely warning. Despite this discordant note
his words were well received in Asmara and relations between
the two capitals appeared to be on a firm footing.
Indeed, co-operation between the two governing parties was
so strong that a senior Eritrean seriously looked forward to the
day when the two countries were united once more in a regional
22
A DIFFICULT HISTORY
organisation. Amare Tekle, the former Referendum CommissÂ�

ioner of Eritrea, optimistically recommended the establishment
of a ‘cooperative relationship between Eritrea and Ethiopia as a
necessary first step for the creation of a Horn of Africa CommuÂ�
nity.’ Diplomats of the two countries occasionally even repre-
sented each other’s interests in international fora. Relations—at
least on the surface—appeared warm. Extraordinary as such
sentiments might seem today, they genuinely reflected the opti-
mism of the time.
* * *
What had begun as a supportive relationship between two lib-
eration movements was to sour badly. Ideological differences had
festered and finally turned to open hostility. It had taken the
exigencies of war to get the EPLF and TPLF to work together
once more. The result had been an extraordinary success: the
rulers in Addis Ababa had been overthrown and new regimes had
emerged. There was, for once, a real chance to move forward and
establish a positive relationship between the two nations. It was
a rare moment of optimism in the Horn of Africa, but it was not
to last.
23
3
THE THORNY RELATIONSHIP WITH ETHIOPIA
Growing tensions
Relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia are critical for the com-
munities living on both sides of their mutual border. Their long
and tangled history makes this inevitable. The culture and
economies of communities on this 1,000 km frontier are natu-
rally intertwined. They lived, traded and married each other for
centuries before any boundary was drawn on a map. So it will
perhaps come as some surprise that even at the moment of vic-
tory over the Derg the first cracks appeared in the relationship
between the two movements that represented them.
On taking Asmara the EPLF expelled the Ethiopian army of
occupation from its soil. It also insisted that tens of thousands of
Ethiopian citizens who had been involved in the Ethiopian
administration leave as well. Between 1991 and 1992 around
120,000 Ethiopians were forced to go. At the same time a large
number who had not participated in Addis Ababa’s rule were
allowed to stay. Some of those who were expelled had worked in
Eritrea all their lives; they knew no other home. One Ethiopian
complained: ‘The Eritrean soldiers told us we were strangers.
25
But I was born in Eritrea like everyone else in my family.’ Many

were forbidden from taking their possessions with them when
they left, and some had to abandon houses, businesses and cars.
The deportees included a significant number of Eritrean born
women and children who had married or cohabited with
Ethiopian civil servants and soldiers. ‘Collaborators’ of this kind
were considered traitors. Even those who were not expelled suf-
fered social ostracism. The newly installed Ethiopian government
neither complained nor retaliated. Around half a million
Eritreans who had lived in Ethiopia for generations were allowed
to remain in the country. Reportedly, the Eritrean community in
Addis Ababa had been one of the most reliable sources of intel-
ligence for the Tigrayans and their allies.
The Ethiopian victory presented its own problems for the new
rulers in Addis Ababa. Many Ethiopians, watching the Eritrean
forces marching into their capital alongside the Tigrayans, assumed
that the TPLF was in the EPLF’s pocket. This was particularly
strongly felt among the Amhara, whom the Tigrayans had dis-
placed from power. They whispered that Meles Zenawi was too
pro-Eritrean in his policies. This proved to be a liability for
Ethiopia’s new leader. Meles was accused of either failing to be
robust enough in his defence of his country’s interests, or—from
the perspective of the TPLF—insufficiently strong in prosecuting
policies that favoured his home region of Tigray.
The question of secession, referred to above, also served to
drive the movements apart, since their views of administration
were diametrically opposed. The new Ethiopian government
reformed the state along ethnic lines. The constitution of 1995
allowed for ‘a voluntary union of the nationalities of Ethiopia’
and included the right to secession. It was the position the EPLF
had rejected years earlier. By contrast, the Eritreans built on
their vision of their country as a product of colonialism, and
opted for a unitary state. They opposed any notion that the state
26
should be ethnically defined. In practice neither government

brooked much dissent. Political parties, other than the People’s
Front for Democracy and Justice—the successor to the EPLF—
were not permitted in Eritrea. Some Ethiopian political parties
were tolerated, but tightly controlled and frequently repressed.
Despite these tensions the outward signs were that all was well
between Addis Ababa and Asmara. Government delegations
came and went, and life proceeded as normal. Yet relations
between the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea were not put
upon the kind of solid footing that would withstand the strains
of office. Part of the problem was that Eritrea achieved de facto
independence in May 1991, but this was not formalised until the
referendum of May 1993. In the interim there were few official
channels of communication. Even after 1993 the leaderships of
the two victorious movements continued to treat relations
between the two countries as if they were relations between lib-
eration movements. Sometimes they reverted to personal con-
tacts. This may have been because both sides distrusted the
institutions they inherited, or because as fighters they had no
experience of governmental structures. Hence the bureaucratic
infrastructure that should support interstate relations was either
not established or else sidelined. If President Isaias had a serious
issue that he wished to raise concerning Ethiopia he simply con-
tacted Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, and vice versa. The insti-
tutional checks and balances that might have served as restrain-
ing influences on both leaders in democratic states were either
poorly developed or absent.
This undermined relations between the states in two crucial
ways. Firstly, it left plenty of scope for misinterpretations and
recriminations. Secondly, it meant that if the relationships
between individuals broke down, there were no official structures
to fall back upon. Personal relationships and personal histories
became entangled with state relations. Even when committees
27
were established, they operated with such informality that when

challenged by the critical events that led to the border war, they
failed to function effectively.
While the Eritreans and Tigrayans were coming to grips with
the administration of their countries, troubling events were tak-
ing place along their border. After 1993 a series of localised,
small-scale disputes broke out in a number of locations. These
were the sorts of conflicts that flare up along any ill-defined
border that is straddled by farming communities. Frequently
these happened during the ploughing season, as farmers clashed
over the exact boundaries of their fields. In earlier times village
elders would have sorted out such incidents, for in reality these
were ‘intra-village’ disputes, rather than cross border conflicts.
Traditional approaches to conflict-resolution were well-estab-
lished means of reducing tension. But since 1991 these methods
had largely been abandoned along the border. They had been
replaced by government to government, or even party to party,
meetings between EPLF and TPLF officials. Low-level discus-
sions were held between local officials in an attempt to resolve
these matters, but to little avail. In 1992 Eritrea’s representative
in Ethiopia, Haile Menkerios, warned President Isaias of the
need to settle the border but he was rebuffed. A senior adviser to
the president, Yemane Gebreab, is quoted as telling Haile that he
was ‘obsessed with the border issue.’ With the dignity of a dip-
lomat Haile replied that he would not raise it again, but warned
that unless the issue was addressed it would lead to bloodshed.
Discussions continued, without resolving the question.
Following a more serious clash over the Bada area of southern
Eritrea, President Isaias Afwerki finally wrote to Prime Minister
Meles Zenawi on 25 August 1997, proposing that a Joint Border
Commission be established at governmental level. Ethiopia pre-
sented a rather different picture of these events, maintaining that
the initiative for establishing the Commission came from its side,
28
following a deterioration in relations ‘as a consequence of eco-

nomic issues’.
The first meeting of the Commission took place in Asmara on
13 November 1997. The Eritrean side evidently pressed for a
speedy resolution of the border issue, given the deteriorating
situation on the ground. According to Ethiopia, a common
understanding was reached at the meeting:
• To assign to a technical sub-committee drawn from both countries

to examine the border question and to report to the commission to
be formed.
• That each party should declare to the other side the list of its mem-
bers to be represented in the sub-committee.
• That both sides respect the status quo and take measures to alleviate
impending border disputes until such time that a lasting solution is
attained.
Despite this no further meeting took place until 8 May 1998,

with the Eritreans blaming Ethiopian procrastination for the
delay.
In the meantime an apparently minor, unrelated event
occurred that convinced the Eritreans that the Tigrayans were up
to no good. The German government aid agency (the GTZ)
operated in three regions of Ethiopia. Early in 1997 the Regional
Education Board of Tigray approached the GTZ. They were Â€
asked to help fund the printing of a new map of Tigray for dis-
tribution to primary schools. The GTZ agreed and printed 1,000
maps with the agency’s logo. The map turned out to be deeply
controversial, for Eritreans discovered that it portrayed the bor-
der in a completely new light. Several areas that had been the
subject of the heated discussions between the two countries were
now shown as being part of Tigray. Eritreans saw this as proof
positive of the hostile intentions of the Tigrayans. It was inter-
preted as the product of a long held TPLF vision of a ‘Greater
29
Tigray’ encompassing all Tigrinya speakers, as outlined in the

TPLF manifesto of 1976.
It was against this background that a high level Eritrean del-
egation left Asmara on 7 May 1998 for a meeting of the Border
Â€
Commission the following day. Led by Defence Minister Sebhat

Efrem, it was en route to Addis Ababa when an incident occurred
at the border village of Badme. At first the clash was apparently
not regarded as particularly serious, and the Commission’s dis-
cussions proceeded according to plan. Both sides claim the meet-
ing on the 8th went well. According to the Ethiopians it was
agreed that two members of the Commission would meet in
Asmara in a month’s time to hammer out an agreement and
report back to the larger group. They say that it was further
accepted that Eritrean armed units that had crossed into
Ethiopian territory since 6 May would return to Eritrea and that
Â€
the status quo ante would prevail until a final agreement had
been reached. When the meeting ended the Commission agreed
to meet at 10:00 a.m. the following morning, but when the
Ethiopians arrived to pick up their guests they discovered that
the Eritreans had checked out of their hotel, and flown back to
Asmara. In Ethiopian eyes this was a clear indication of a lack of
good faith on the part of their guests; as was the rapid appear-
ance of Eritrean armoured units in Badme.
Economics also helped to sour relations between the two
states. Open animosity over bilateral trade relations surfaced in
late 1997 following Eritrea’s introduction of its new currency, the
Nakfa. While apparently not a causal factor in the immediate
crisis of mid-May, the new currency and ensuing dispute over
trade relations had three consequences.
Firstly, the introduction of the Nakfa necessitated a clear
delineation of the border from mid-1997 in order to regulate
cross-border trade, taxation and foreign exchange flows. Secondly,
the new currency prompted a dispute in late 1997 over the pre-
30
cise nature of post-Nakfa trade relations between Eritrea and

Ethiopia, tarnishing relations between the two administrations.
Thirdly, friction was exacerbated as the currency and trade dis-
pute severely disrupted the flow of goods, remittances and
labourers across the border, generating new political tensions
between the governments. The currencies—the Nakfa and the
Birr—were agreed to be equivalent and interchangeable. These
economic factors combined to rekindle old animosities between
the ruling groups of both countries, eroding their willingness to
compromise or negotiate over disagreements.
In December 1997 a de-facto, partial trade embargo was
applied, largely at Asmara’s instigation, following the dispute
over the introduction of Eritrea’s new currency. Nevertheless,
normal air, road and telecommunications links remained open.
It was only after the fighting at Badme, in mid-May 1998, that
a complete rupture took place, as the Ethiopian authorities sus-
pended all trade links and halted the use of the ports of Massawa
and Assab for foreign trade.
A number of factors in this complex relationship can be
described as cultural. One related to a question of perception.
The EPLF had given training and succour to the TPLF in its
early stages, and tended to treat the movement as its ‘younger
brother’. Ordinary Tigrayans, not involved in the politics of the
Fronts, also felt patronised and looked down on by Eritreans.
They had for years taken low paid, low status jobs in Eritrea, as
casual labourers and domestic servants, for example. Tigrayans
were denigrated as ‘agame’. The term refers to a district of Tigray
from which many migrants came, but it was used to imply that
they were uncouth peasants. Most Tigrayan men working in
Eritrea were hired as labourers. Some got work slaughtering farm
animals, while others took up jobs as woodcutters, potters and
shepherds. Women were hired as waitresses, housemaids and
washer-women. On the other hand educated Eritreans, who had
31
saved from their earnings, used their skills and capital to buy into
or build up businesses in Ethiopia. Class, privilege, snobbery and
envy were unspoken elements that ate away at the relationship
between the Fronts.
A further issue was communications. Ethiopians and Eritreans
are reserved by nature. This trait was exacerbated by the need for
secrecy when conducting a campaign of guerrilla warfare. It
became ingrained in both movements during the long years of
fighting the Ethiopian government. Sometimes this was required
by the circumstances of the conflict. Eritreans forbade all discus-
sion of family and origins, partly to ensure that their members
concentrated entirely on the fight for independence. It was also
vital given that the entire Eritrean population numbered around
just three million people. The EPLF feared infiltration to extract
information. They were fighting a far stronger enemy, with intel-
ligence support first from the CIA and then later from the Soviet
and East German security agencies. There was also a concern
that—given the small population—many might have known
each other personally. Personal information might endanger
families still living behind enemy lines. Understandable as these
fears might have been during the war, these practices were so
engrained that they were not abandoned even after the move-
ment took the capital in 1991. While this cult of confidentiality
may have served both movements well during the years of tur-
moil, it allowed for misunderstandings to multiply and for
rumour to replace open discussions that might have resolved
genuine differences.
Finally there was the machismo that was an accretion of the
long years of struggle. Both movements and both leaderships had
been hardened by battle and suffered from what might be termed
a ‘Spartan complex’. Anything less than a steely will was seen as
a sign of weakness. They had developed a resolution that saw
them through the most difficult of times. The Fronts inculcated
32
in their members a determination to press ahead, no matter the

cost. This too militated against resolving differences through
compromise.
None of these issues were insurmountable. Given time and
patience they could, and probably would, have been resolved. But
instead of eliminating their differences after they came to power
in 1991 they had been allowed to accumulate.
Some analysts who knew both Fronts well warned that there
could be trouble in store. John Young—who wrote an influential
history of the TPLF—predicted in 1996 that ‘political differ-
ences between the TPLF and the EPLF during their years of
struggle will be reflected in their present and future relations,
and as a result they may be far more problematic than is gener-
ally imagined.’ He was proved tragically correct.
The border war
By mid-1998 old differences, compounded by fresh divisions and

irritations, had turned cautious allies into adversaries. All that
was required was a spark to set off hostilities. The small-scale
land disputes along the undemarcated frontier had been allowed
to fester. The spark that led to the conflagration came on 6 May
Â€
1998—with gunshots at the border village of Badme. Home to

between 3,500 and 5,000 farmers and herders, it was a location
so insignificant that few in either capital had ever heard of it.
Exactly what transpired in that initial clash is not entirely clear,
but the situation was certainly tense even before the first bullet
was fired. As the Ethiopian prime minister, Meles Zenawi, put
it later, the incident was like: ‘Sarajevo, 1914. It was an accident
waiting to happen.’
On the day the first shots were fired an Eritrean patrol entered
an Ethiopian-administered area on the Badme Plain. They
refused to leave their weapons on the outskirts of the village and
33
a clash ensued in which at least one Eritrean was killed. The

Eritrean military were outraged. A BBC reporter in Asmara
recounted, ‘As one general told me, banging his fist on the desk
in his office: “To die on the battlefield is one thing, there is
honour, but to be killed in cold blood is completely unaccept-
able. They must be punished.”’ At this point both sides com-
pletely overplayed their hands. Two Eritrean infantry brigades,
complete with artillery and tank support, forced the Ethiopians
out of Badme. A day later the Ethiopian Parliament declared war.
The conflict, fought over the next two years, cost around 100,000
lives and resulted in a million civilians being displaced.
As is almost invariably the case in conflicts, each side blamed
the other for triggering the outbreak of war. Both countries put
forward incompatible demands that remained essentially unchanÂ�
ged throughout the dispute. Ethiopia called for Eritrea’s uncon-
ditional withdrawal, since it asserted that Badme was part of its
sovereign territory. Eritrea demanded a demilitarisation of the
area and arbitration, since it believed the ownership of Badme
was under dispute. Despite months of fruitless diplomacy by the
United States and Rwanda (which had close links with both
sides) this stalemate was only finally broken by events on the
battlefield.
In the meantime both sides mobilised for war. Positions along
the border were reinforced, with reports of up to 200,000 sol-
diers being deployed. There were patriotic appeals from Addis
Ababa to the farmers in Tigray, requesting that they provide the
Ethiopian army with food. In the event the first major round of
fighting, which took place between 22 May and 11 June 1998,
Â€ Â€
was brief and bloody, and largely confined to clashes close to the
border. Both countries also began massive international pur-
chases of arms and ammunition.
At first Ethiopian troops, caught unprepared for the Eritrean
onslaught, were forced onto the defensive. The Eritrean airforce
34
bombed the Tigrean regional capital of Mekele and the town of

Adigrat. During an air-raid on Mekele on 5 June an elementary
Â€
school was hit and 51 civilians were killed and 132 wounded,
arousing enormous anger across Ethiopia. While this fighting
was taking place the international community attempted to inter-
vene. On 15 May 1998, just two days after the conflict became
Â€
public, President Hassan Gouled Aptidon of Djibouti arrived in

Addis Ababa offering to mediate between the combatants. Isaias
rejected the offer in a characteristically brusque fashion.
Two days later the United States Assistant Secretary of State
for African Affairs, Susan Rice, flew into the Ethiopian capital
on a joint mediation mission with Rwandan prime minister, Paul
Kagame. From the beginning of the war there was an intense and
continuing diplomatic engagement with the problem. A formal
proposal for a full cease-fire, with an indication of how the con-
flict might be resolved, was actually worked out remarkably rap-
idly by the United States and Rwanda, and presented to both
countries on 30 and 31 May:
Â€
The US.—Rwandan recommendations are summarised as follows:

1) Both parties should commit themselves to the following principles:
resolving this and any other dispute between them by peaceful
means; renouncing force as a means of imposing solutions; agreeing
to undertake measures to reduce current tensions; and seeking the
final disposition of their common border, on the basis of established
colonial treaties and international law applicable to such treaties.
2) To reduce current tensions, and without prejudice to the territorial
claims of either party; a small observer mission should be deployed
to Badme; Eritrean forces should redeploy from Badme to positions
held before May 6, 1998; the previous civilian administration should
return; and there should be an investigation into the events of May
6, 1998.
3) To achieve lasting resolution of the underlying border dispute, both
parties should agree to the swift and binding delimitation and
35
demarcation of the Eritrea-Ethiopian border. Border delimitation

should be determined on the basis of established colonial treaties
and international law applicable to such treaties, and the delimita-
tion and demarcation process should be completed by a qualified
technical team as soon as possible. The demarcated border should
be accepted and adhered to by both parties, and, upon completion
of demarcation, the legitimate authorities assume jurisdiction over
their respective sovereign territories.
4) Both parties should demilitarise the entire common border as soon
as possible.
This text was then taken up and worked on intensively by the
Organisation of African Unity and became what was known as
the ‘Framework Agreement.’ What is remarkable about this draft
is that although it was presented to both parties less than a
month after the outbreak of hostilities, it contained most of the
key elements to be found in the final peace treaty that was signed
in Algiers two and a half years later. These include the idea that
an international mission should be placed along the border, that
Eritrea should withdraw its forces to the areas it held before
6 May, and that the border should be delimited on the basis of
Â€
colonial treaties and international law.

Ethiopia was broadly satisfied with the US-Rwandan proposals
and declared as much, stating that they were ‘in-line in substance
with the position of the Ethiopian Government on the crisis.’
Eritrea, on the other hand, was not at all happy with the plan.
They refused to withdraw their forces from Badme, since this
would leave the disputed town in Ethiopian hands. Privately they
complained bitterly that the Americans under Susan Rice had
attempted to ‘bounce’ them into accepting the proposals, copies of
which were apparently released to the press before Asmara had
even had sight of them. President Isaias had little time for Rice.
He had even less time for her associate, Gayle Smith, who had
previously represented the TPLF in the United States.
36
What followed was a war that surpassed all other African con-
flicts since the Second World War. The two countries mobilised
more than half a million troops and spent hundreds of millions
of dollars on the best military equipment they could lay their
hands on. Modern jet fighters, heavy artillery and tanks were
deployed; vast networks of trenches were dug and minefields
were laid. The fighting ranged from massed troop charges to
probing raids.
Three rounds of fighting took place, with Ethiopia gradually
gaining the upper hand. In the end its superior manpower,
drawn from its far larger population (some 60 million as opposed
to Eritrea’s 4 million) combined with its greater access to Soviet
and East European military hardware, took its toll on the
Eritrean armed forces. A third round of fighting, in May 2000,
saw Ethiopian troops break through in the Western lowlands of
Eritrea. The Eritrean forces were rapidly outflanked and lost most
of the fertile Gash-Barka region, including the cities of Agordat
and Barentu. The Eritreans retreated into the rugged mountains
around the town of Keren, which they managed to hold. In the
centre the Eritreans suffered further reverses, while Ethiopian
forces came close to taking the eastern port of Assab. The Eritrean
capital Asmara and the port of Massawa were bombed.
Finally, on 14 June 2000, with Ethiopia controlling nearly a
Â€
quarter of Eritrean territory, the war came to a halt. Four days later
both sides agreed to an OAU proposal for a cessation of hostilities
and the establishment of a 25-kilometre wide, temporary security
zone running inside Eritrea. A United Nations peacekeeping
force—the United Nations Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea, or
UNMEE—would patrol this zone and ensure that neither side
breached the peace, while a permanent peace was brokered. Talks
to find a durable end to the war had opened in Algiers on 30 May.
Â€
The meeting was convened by the Organisation of African Unity

and attended by Anthony Lake representing the US and Rino
37
Serri representing the European Union. Despite vitriolic com-

ments from each side about the other, progress was remarkably
swift. It soon became clear that Ethiopia’s victories on the battle-
field had overcome Eritrean intransigence. On 1 June Ethiopian
Â€
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi announced the war was over,

although some sporadic fighting continued around Assab for about
a week. Finally, on 18 June, both sides formally agreed to end their
Â€
two year old conflict.

Indirect talks continued to flesh out the agreement, focussing
on technical issues surrounding the role of the peacekeepers and
their mandate. Both countries maintained large armies along the
border, with as many as 200,000 troops on each side facing each
other in trenches that were as little as 50 metres apart in some
areas. Despite this, the cease-fire held.
On 14 September 2000 the first UN military observers arrived
Â€
in Addis Ababa and Asmara. In November the UNMEE force

commander, Major General Patrick Cammaert, arrived in Asmara
to begin his assignment. A few days later he was joined in the
region by the UN Secretary General’s special representative,
Legwaila Joseph Legwaila, who headed the mission’s political
arm. Finally, on 12 December 2000 the war was formally con-
Â€
cluded when Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki signed an agreement in Algiers
to bring the war to an end. The Algiers peace agreement allowed
for the establishment of a number of independent commissions
to demarcate the border, examine the claims of both sides for
damages they had suffered and investigate the causes of the war.
The InterÂ�national Committee of the Red Cross was given the
responsibility for the repatriation of prisoners of war and interÂ�
nees. [See Appendix 3]
After signing the agreement President Isaias said he hoped that:
‘The chapter of cycles of conflicts and hatred can be closed… [we
can now] forget the past and look into a future of peace and hope
for our two brother peoples’. Prime Minister Meles was not as
38
optimistic, saying that the peace agreement would not in itself

bring about normal relations with Eritrea. That, he warned, would
require a change of government. On this depressing note one of
Africa’s bloodiest and bitterest wars drew to a close. The region
could look forward to the embrace of a frosty peace.
With the war at an end and international organisations
attempting to come to grips with the devastation that had been
left behind, it was time to count the cost.
Tens of thousands of soldiers had been killed and wounded.
Their exact number will probably never be known. In early 2001
Ethiopian officials began informing families individually of the
deaths of their relatives. Each family received a lump sum of six
months salary (of around $300) and a small pension. There was
no announcement of the overall death toll, but officials privately
accept that between 30,000 and 60,000 were killed. Eritrea waited
until Martyr’s Day 2003–20 June, the day on which it com-
Â€
memorates the sacrifice of its fighters during its war of indepen-

dence—to announce that it had lost 19,000 in the conflict. There
is no independent verification of this figure and no announce-
ment of the numbers of wounded or disabled on either side. But
at least families could now grieve for those they had lost.
Unofficial estimates of the dead varied between 100,000 and
300,000.
Vast numbers of Ethiopians and Eritreans had been displaced
by the fighting. The Ethiopian offensive of May 2000 forced
more than a million Eritreans—nearly a third of the popula-
tion—to flee. Ethiopia too had its share of displaced, although
the numbers concerned were considerably lower, since Eritrean
troops had not penetrated much beyond their mutual border.
Around 315,000 Ethiopians had to leave their homes, mostly in
the Tigray region around border towns like Zalambessa. A
smaller number (approximately 29,000) were displaced in the
Afar region. Death, injury and the flight of civilians are tragic
39
but all too predictable aspects of most modern conflicts. What

characterised the Ethiopia—Eritrea war was the accompanying
expulsion of the citizens of the opposing country. Not that all
these ‘foreigners’ were expelled, but a terrible price was exacted
on ordinary people for the ‘sins’ of governments over whom they
had no control.
In June 1998 Ethiopia set in motion a campaign against
Eritrean civilians inside its territory. They were stripped of their
Ethiopian citizenship, rounded up, often in the dead of night
and bussed across the border. Families were broken up, children
separated from their mothers. Travel papers were stamped:
‘Expelled, never to return.’ Many of those who were treated in
this way had never been to Eritrea and knew no home other than
Ethiopia. In all, about 75,000 people were deported.
Eritrea promised at the outbreak of war that its remaining
Ethiopian residents would not be penalised and at first this was
broadly observed. From August 1998 until January 1999 some
21,000 Ethiopians left Eritrea voluntarily, as work at the port of
Assab dried up. As the war grew in intensity the hostility towards
Ethiopians living in Eritrea increased. Individuals were beaten up
and there were reports of rape after major battles. The Eritrean
authorities initiated a programme of internment. Following the
major Ethiopian offensive in May 2000, Ethiopians were forced
to register with local authorities in preparation for repatriation,
and shortly afterwards 7,500 were put across the border. The
expulsions continued even after the Algiers peace agreement of
December 2000; by March 2003 UNICEF estimated that around
60,000 Ethiopians expelled from Eritrea were living in difficult
circumstances in Tigray.
Aftermath of the war

The Algiers peace agreement was designed not only to end the
war but also to regulate the post-war relationship between
40
Ethiopia and Eritrea. It incorporated a number of earlier under-

takings entered into by both sides, including the Agreement on
the Cessation of Hostilities, and the earlier Framework
Agreement and the Modalities for its Implementation, endorsed
by the OAU summit, July 1999. The Algiers agreement estab-
lished, or called on, four separate organisations to assist Ethiopia
and Eritrea to move from war to peace. Each was assigned a
specific task, with a separate system of reporting. The fifth was
the United Nations peacekeeping mission, which had already
been envisaged in the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement of
18 June 2000.
Â€
The Red Cross ensured the safe repatriation of prisoners; the

OAU was asked to investigate the causes of the war; the border
itself would be designated by a Boundary Commission working
in the Hague and UNMEE would guarantee the peace with its
4,200 strong force patrolling the border. It was a gold-plated
peace agreement, drawn up with the best of intentions by skilled
negotiators from across the globe. But it came up against the
intransigence of both parties. Their unwillingness to compromise
for the common good, together with an unwillingness of the
international community to enforce the agreement, left Eritrea
and Ethiopia locked into a bitter, armed truce. They have con-
fronted each other since 2000 in a situation which can be
described as ‘no war–no peace.’
The International Committee of the Red Cross performed its
role with great efficiency. Working quietly behind the scenes it
managed to return the last prisoners of war by the end of 2002:
2,067 Eritreans and 1,067 Ethiopians. In addition the Red Cross
assisted in the repatriation of 5,055 Ethiopian and 1,086 Eritrean
civilian internees. The Organisation of African Unity conducted
its own enquiry into the war, but this has never seen the light of
day. In July 2003 it was declared simply that its publication was
deemed ‘not conducive’ to the peace process.
41
The Boundary Commission to establish the border, and a

parallel Claims Commission to assess damages, were established
at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague. The
Boundary Commission was headed by one of the most eminent
legal authorities on borders and boundary disputes, Sir Elihu
Lauterpacht. The five-man commission took evidence from both
parties, allowed each side to respond to the other and finally
published its binding decision on the border on 13 April 2002.
Â€
The 125-page adjudication, with accompanying maps, drew on

treaties drawn up between Ethiopia and Italy of 1900, 1902 and
1908. The reasoning behind their adjudication was long and
complex, but turned on two specific points: the provisions of the
treaties and whether either party had established by administra-
tion a claim so strong that it superseded the provisions contained
in those treaties.
The Boundary Commission decided that the position of the
critical Western portion of the border, which covered the town
of Badme, rested on one specific portion of the 1902 treaty (to
which Britain was also a party since it related to the frontier
between Eritrea and Sudan). Point three of this text indicated
that part of the Ethiopia—Eritrea border would be drawn so that
‘the Canama [sic.] tribe belong to Eritrea.’ From this single
phrase the Commission decided that the village was rightly
Eritrean. The Commission went on to examine Ethiopia’s claim
that it had administered the Badme area for such a long time
that it had won effective title to the area, even if it had not been
awarded the town by treaty. Having looked at evidence like the
collection of taxes, the establishment of an elementary school
and the destruction of incense trees the Commission concluded
that: ‘The Commission does not find in them evidence of
administration of the area sufficiently clear in location, substan-
tial in scope or extensive in time to displace the title of Eritrea
that had crystallized as of 1935.’
42
That appeared to be clear enough. Certainly the legal team

that drew it up thought they had made their decision crystal
clear. Unfortunately the Commission did not indicate the loca-
tion of Badme on the maps that accompanied the decision.
Instead they gave the co-ordinates of the line along which the
border would run. Exactly why Badme was not shown on the
maps is open to speculation. There is no doubt that a great deal
rested on the location of this village, since whoever had legiti-
mate title to it could justifiably claim that they had only been
defending their own sovereign territory when the initial conflict
erupted. It may be that the jurists thought it would be too con-
troversial to rub Ethiopia’s nose in this uncomfortable fact. In
taking this decision they unwittingly unleashed a controversy
that has yet to be resolved.
Both countries had their own legal teams at the Hague when
the decision was given. So too were observers from the United
Nations and the Organisation of African Unity. According to a
senior UN official the observers were given very little time to study
the lengthy judgement. One of the OAU staff in the Hague had
been instructed to communicate with the secretary general of the
OAU, Omara Essy, on the outcome as soon as possible. So within
an hour of it being made public an email was sent to OAU head-
quarters outlining the ruling. The first point reads as follows:
‘1. Western Sector. Delimitation line follows claim of Eritrea
i.e. from common border with Sudan, follows Mereb river down
to Setit point 6 and straight to Mai Ambessa, point 9. This
confirms the Colonial boundary and Ethiopia retains Badme.’
The result was electric. The Ethiopian foreign minister, Seyoum
Mesfin, called a press conference to announce the good news.
This is from the official transcript of that conference made by
the United Nations:
Rarely are press conferences punctuated by applause but at Saturday’s
press conference given by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ethiopian jour-
43
nalists punched fists in the air and applauded Seyoum Mesfin as he told
them that all the government’s territorial demands had been met…
Minister Seyoum’s demeanor when he finally took the high table was
one of wry vindication… After the press conference journalists were in
jubilant mood and treated to food and drinks in a party atmosphere. In
town people were glued to radio sets and televisions listening to the
minister’s statement.
On the question of Badme, the foreign minister told the jour-
nalists: ‘The rule of law has prevailed over the rule of jungle. This
decision has rejected any attempt by Eritrea to get reward for its
aggression. This decision was fair and legal. Badme and its sur-
roundings which Eritrea invaded and occupied in May 1998 on the
basis of its false claims, it’s now been decided by the Commission
that Badme and its surroundings belong to Ethiopia.’ The journal-
ists stood and cheered. Eritrea took the news more coolly, putting
out a statement attacking the ‘flowery and bombastic statements’
that were issued by Ethiopia and declaring simply that ‘it is the
Eritrean people who have emerged victorious.’
So who was right? Within a few hours a member of the UN
staff tipped me off that the Ethiopian interpretation was inaccu-
rate. He explained that when the UN had consulted its maps,
using the co-ordinates supplied by the Boundary Commission, it
was clear that Badme was just inside Eritrea. When I looked at the
decision carefully it became clear that Seyoum Mesfin’s interpreta-
tion of the text was indeed incorrect. The location of the border
had been drawn so that both Ethiopia and Eritrea won and lost
certain areas that they had previously considered their own. But on
the critical question of Badme, which had triggered the war, the
ruling was clear: the village had been awarded to Eritrea. Jubilation
in Addis Ababa turned to disbelief and then to fury. Ethiopia sent
its information minister to London to see senior BBC managers
to try to get my report withdrawn, but the BBC refused. Soon
academics backed my interpretation of the ruling. It was clear that
44
Eritrea had indeed been awarded Badme, even though other areas
of the frontier were decided in Ethiopia’s favour.
Whatever outsiders felt about the judgement the two parties
reacted rapidly. Eritrea, although unhappy about aspects of the
ruling, other than Badme, decided it had won a moral victory
and asked for its speedy implementation. Ethiopia, on the other
hand, was unwilling to accept the outcome and submitted a
lengthy comment on the Commission’s decision in January 2003,
asking for the ruling to be re-considered. A statement from the
Foreign Ministry said, ‘the Commission made it known that its
decision would be based not on the colonial treaty but the sub-
sequent practice of the parties. It also affirmed in its decision
that the boundary co-ordinates are provisional, and that they
would only be final and binding after verification on the ground.’
Ethiopia argued that to implement the ruling without taking
into account the impact on farmers and villages, whose lands
would be divided by the border, would impose an unacceptable
human cost on those concerned.
The normally rather reticent Boundary Commission defended
itself robustly against these charges. It pointed out that the deci-
sion had been based firmly on the treaties and that it had been
given no scope for varying the co-ordinates, except for purely
technical reasons. It was specifically precluded from taking into
account the human suffering that any of its decisions precipitated
by the terms of the Agreement signed by both countries. Article
4 (2) of the Algiers Agreement stated that: ‘The Commission
shall not have the power to make decisions ex aequo et bono.’ In
other words, that it should rule solely on the legal merits of the
case, without considering whether it was fair or equitable. The
Commission was particularly tart about the question of Badme,
saying that the Ethiopian evidence to it had been ‘inconsistent’
about its location and that some of the Ethiopian maps presented
to it also had Badme within Eritrea. As a result the Commission
45
found in Eritrea’s favour: ‘This conclusion followed from the

inadequacy of Ethiopia’s evidence.’
The statement was not well received in Addis Ababa, which
simply dug in its heels. Under intense pressure from his own
political party, Prime Minister Meles appealed informally to the
international community for time and understanding. Asmara
continued to insist that demarcation proceed without delay, urg-
ing the United Nations to be ‘more courageous’ and expressing
its ‘frustration and impatience.’ The head of UNMEE, Legwaila
Joseph Legwaila, was left warning that peace in the region would
be endangered, unless both sides started talking to each other.
‘The status quo, that is non-communication between the two
governments, complicates the situation. When you don’t talk to
each other, misunderstandings can lead to conflict.’ Declaring
that there was a danger of a stalemate, Mr Legwaila said, ‘It is
Â€
not the intention of the UN Security Council to watch and see

this become another Cyprus.’ He went on to point out that with-
out demarcation the peace that the UN had managed to main-
tain would be meaningless.
Mr Legwaila’s appeals fell on deaf ears. Neither side was pre-
Â€
pared to talk to the other. On 9 September 2003 matters took a

Â€
turn for the worse when Prime Minister Meles wrote to the UN
Secretary General expressing open criticism of the Boundary
Commission’s work. This was followed by a further letter to the
Security Council from Ethiopia on 22 September urging it to
Â€
salvage the peace process, and declaring that the Boundary

Commission was in a ‘terminal crisis.’ The three page letter
called on the UN body to ‘set up an alternative mechanism to
demarcate the contested parts of the boundary.’ ‘It is unimagi-
nable for the Ethiopian people to accept such a blatant miscar-
riage of justice,’ warned Prime Minister Meles.
The Boundary Commission responded forcefully to this
attack. Sir Elihu Lauterpacht rejected any notion of a terminal
crisis:
46
The Commission does not accept that assessment: there is no ‘crisis’,

terminal or otherwise, which cannot be cured by Ethiopia’s compliance
with its obligations under the Algiers Agreement, in particular its obli-
gations to treat the Commission’s delimitation determination as ‘final
and binding’ (Article 4.15) and ‘to cooperate with the Commission, its
experts and other staff in all respects during the process of… demarca-
tion’ (Article 4.14).
Sir Elihu went on to point out that Ethiopia’s proposal to
establish an alternative mechanism to demarcate the contested
parts of the border was a ‘repudiation of its repeated acceptance
of the Commission’s Decision since it was rendered.’
The force of the argument had little impact on the Ethiopian
authorities, who had clearly lost face. Unable to get their way,
they insisted instead on further discussions with the Eritreans on
implementing the Boundary Commission’s ruling. Eritrea,
believing—probably rightly—that this was simply a manoeuvre
to re-open the ruling, rejected any notion of talks. Instead
President Isaias insisted that the international community, which
had been witnesses to the Algiers Agreement, should fulfil their
implied obligation and force Ethiopia to abide by their undertak-
ing to regard the Commission’s ruling as ‘final and binding.’
On 25 November 2014 Meles Zenawi proposed to the
Â€
Ethiopian parliament that a fresh attempt should be made to end

the stalemate. He put forward a five-point offer, which the par-
liament adopted:
1. R esolve the dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea only and only
through peaceful means.
2. Resolve the root causes of the conflict through dialogue with the
view to normalising relations between the two countries.
3. Ethiopia accepts, in principle, the Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary
CommiÂ�ssion decision.
4. Ethiopia agrees to pay its dues to the Ethiopia-Eritrea BounÂ�dary
Commission and to appoint field liaison officers.
47
5. S
tart dialogue immediately with the view to implementing the
Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission’s decision in a manner con-
sistent with the promotion of sustainable peace and brotherly ties
between the two peoples.
Had there been sufficient goodwill, this offer might have

resolved the issue, but there was not. Ethiopia’s suggestion that
there be an immediate ‘dialogue’ to implement the Commission’s
decision ran into the Eritrean insistence that there was really
nothing to discuss: all that was required was an unqualified
Ethiopian acceptance.
The Eritreans relied on the United States to twist Ethiopia’s
arm and to enforce compliance with the ruling. Washington may
have used diplomatic pressure behind the scenes to try to get
Addis Ababa to change its position, but overt pressure was never
going to be exerted. Ethiopia was, and remains, too strategically
important in the region for America to alienate. The collapse of
legitimate authority in Somalia and the growing threat of al-
Shabaab and ‘Islamic State’ in the wider Horn of Africa have
meant that Ethiopia is an indispensible ally. No matter how cor-
rect the authorities in Asmara might be they were never going to
win the wholehearted support of the United States.
Having said this it is also true that President Isaias played his
cards extraordinarily badly. He alienated the United Nations
peacekeepers by imposing ever-more severe restrictions on their
operations. The UN finally terminated UNMEE’s mandate in
July 2008, since it was no longer fulfilling any useful function.
Even the international charities that had been sympathetic to the
Eritrean cause were first forced to pay taxes on all their imports—
including food and medicines—and then they too were told to
leave the country. By comparison, Prime Minister Meles was a
model of reasonableness. He worked hard to mend fences with
the international community, and with the West in particular.
Even though he was in the wrong about Badme and the border
48
demarcation the prime minister was a consummate negotiator

and won important diplomatic victories.
What had begun as a minor border skirmish has completely
transformed relations between the two neighbours. Ethiopia was
left with a large garrison in place along the border and no access
to the sea via its traditional ports—Massawa and Assab. The
people of Tigray, who have traditionally moved freely across the
border to trade and meet family members in Eritrea, have been
unable to do so. For Eritrea the consequences have been even
more serious. They too lost this social interaction, as well as the
revenues from the ports of Massawa and Assab, which had con-
tinued to serve Ethiopia after independence in 1991. The Eritrean
government felt it had to maintain a vast army on permanent
border duties, fearing a fresh conflict. This is not beyond the
realms of possibility: indeed, there have been several clashes
along the border since peace was declared, the most recent in
June 2016, leaving many dead and injured. The military confron-
tation has drained the political and economic lifeblood out of
Eritrea. It has also severely undermined its democracy.
These neighbours—who shared so much in common—have
become locked into a vicious cold peace, determined to do all
they can to undermine each other without actually resorting to
open warfare. There is no way of knowing if either will one day
overstep the mark and full-scale war will not resume.
* * *
The conflict with Ethiopia has sometimes been regarded as an
issue of little substance. Commentators have dismissed the bor-
der war of 1998–2000 as ‘two bald men quarrelling over a comb.’
This is a trite, vaguely amusing quip, but hardly accurate. The
differences between the two major parties—EPLF and TPLF—
run very deep indeed. There was a bitter ideological divergence
between them that was reinforced by events. This may have
49
seemed relatively insignificant at the time, but divisions became

ingrained in the psyches of the leading members of both move-
ments. Differences culminated in the Eritrean decision to close the
border to the Tigrayans just when they needed access to Sudan
most: at the height of the 1984–85 famine. Hundreds, possibly
thousands, died as a result, hence it was hardly surprising that the
TPLF regarded it as a ‘savage act’. This was hardly the basis for a
long-term relationship. Rather, a hostile, conflictual relationship
was established which has proved sadly enduring. Both countries
have paid a high price in treasure and blood to maintain the ‘no-
war, no-peace’ that now characterises this stalemate.
50
4
QUARRELLING WITH NEIGHBOURS
The independence of Eritrea in 1993 should have been a moment

for celebration for all the countries of the Horn of Africa. It drew
a line under thirty years of conflict in the region. For a while the
Eritreans apparently went about their business with few quarrels
with their neighbours, but this did not last. Soon President Isaias
launched a very different policy: one which saw neighbouring
states as threats that had to be countered. Perhaps these quarrels
were inevitable. After all, Eritrea was a new state, which had to
assert its territorial integrity: something that is common to many
newly independent nations.
Dan Connell, a long-time observer of Eritrean affairs, put it
very well when he wrote that the regime believed that ‘the best
defence of its borders against hostile acts by neighbouring states
or by oppositional groups based in them is the construction of
effective insurgent forces that challenge these regimes from
within and that will, as a quid pro quo, assist in patrolling
Eritrea’s borders—effectively acting as buffers.’ Eritrea is not
alone in adopting this strategy. It has, unfortunately, become
the dominant expression of foreign policy across the Horn of
51
Africa. It is what the British Africanist Lionel Cliffe called

‘mutual intervention.’
Eritrean support for these rebel movements is conducted via
what the UN describes as a ‘small but efficient team of officers’
from the National Security Office, the Eritrean military and the
ruling party (the PFDJ) ‘under the direct supervision of the
President’s Office. This narrow clique of senior officers, reporting
to President Isaias, maintains a network of training centres,
camps and other facilities. Their work is led by Brigadier General
Te’ame Goitom Kinfu (also known as Wedi Meqelle) who is in
charge of Eritrea’s External Operations Directorate.’
A squabble over islands

Just two years after formal independence Eritrea had become
entangled in a serious quarrel with another small country on the
other side of the Red Sea: Yemen. For generations their fisher-
men had plied these waters. Mostly they fished, sometimes they
smuggled goods and transported people. The Red Sea is one of
the busiest shipping lanes in the world. It is also dotted with
hundreds of islands—some large and many small—which make
up the Hanish archipelago. Roughly equidistant between Yemen
and Eritrea, it was not clear in which country’s territory they fell.
On 20 December 1995 Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Salih
Â€
was pleased to announce that a German company had submitted

an application for a £1 million hotel and scuba diving complex
on Greater Hanish island. For President Isaias and the Eritrean
leadership this rang alarm bells. The islands were disputed terri-
tory and Eritrea was not about to renounce its claims so easily.
Telephone calls between the two heads of state failed to resolve
the issue. So did a Yemeni deputation sent to Eritrea. Eritrea was
willing to refer the matter to the International Court of Justice,
but only if all 200 odd islands in the Hanish archipelago were
considered, a suggestion that Yemen balked at.
52
Frustrated by its inability to resolve the matter amicably,

Eritrea attacked. Despite having neither a navy nor an airforce it
captured Greater Hanish using small craft, taking 95 Yemeni
troops captive. At this point the United States and the United
Nations intervened before matters got further out of hand. A
French diplomat, Francis Gutmann, was appointed and by May
1996 an agreement was reached. The matter was referred to a
tribunal established by the Permanent Court of Arbitration. The
tribunal worked hard, taking evidence and consulting hundreds
of maps dating back many centuries. As the judges put it dryly,
they looked at ‘more maps of every conceivable period and prov-
enance than have ever been seen before’.
The ruling went almost entirely in Yemen’s favour. President
Isaias gritted his teeth and accepted the ruling. In itself the loss
of almost all the islands beyond Eritrea’s 12-mile coastal zone
made little difference. The tribunal called on both nations to
allow the fishermen of Eritrea and Yemen to continue their his-
toric activities. But it established an important precedent: Eritrea
and its government would stand by international treaties and
agreements, even when they went against their country’s per-
ceived national interests. This was important. When Ethiopia
refused to abide by the Algiers treaty that ended their border war
and the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, Eritrea
assumed the international community would back its cause.
Eritrea looked to the United States for assurance in this regard
since Washington had been directly involved in drafting the
Algiers treaty, but they were sorely disappointed.
An indication of just how badly President Isaias felt he was
treated can be judged from this answer he gave to the Los
Angeles Times in October 2007:
The U.S. has come out to openly say that they were on the side of
Ethiopia against Eritrea… We believe the U.S. deliberately complicated
Â€
the process [of demarcating the border in accordance with a 2002 Court
53
of Arbitration ruling that gave Badme to Eritrea] to delay it and find

some opportune moment for reversal. These five years of complications
have not come from the regime in Addis. It’s come from Washington.
The president’s inclination to blame anyone but himself for his
country’s misfortunes is characteristic of Isaias. At the same time
one can feel some sympathy for the frustration of the president
and his government, given the way they were treated by the
U.S. Eritrea had been persuaded to abide by international judge-
Â€
ments over the Hanish islands—now the international commu-

nity was abandoning it to its fate.
At the same time it is important to understand the exagger-
ated role President Isaias believed his country should enjoy. At
independence he saw Eritrea as the major player in the region.
This may seem strange for such a tiny nation, but Isaias really
believed Eritrea was pivotal to the future of the Horn of Africa.
The EPLF, which had helped its Ethiopian allies in the early
days of their rebellion against the emperor, thought of them-
selves as the ‘big brothers’ of their Ethiopian colleagues, the
TPLF. Unsurprisingly, this was not an opinion shared by
Â€
Ethiopia’s new leader, Meles Zenawi, or the rest of his country-

men. Isaias Afewerki also believed his country’s victory was a
vindication of the belief that nothing was impossible if there was
sufficient will to achieve it. He began to exercise his powers well
beyond the Horn of Africa.
One of the earliest indications of Isaias’s foreign policy ambi-
tions came in a most unlikely setting: the war that erupted in
the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1996. Eritrea had been
good friends with the Rwandan government of Paul Kagame.
When Kagame decided to overthrow Congolese President
Mobutu Sese Sekou by sending in troops in 1996 the Eritreans
came to Rwanda’s aid. The spark that led to this conflagration
was President Mobutu’s support for the Hutu troops that had
fled to his country following the Rwandan genocide of 1994—
54
the ‘génocidaires’. From their Congolese bases the Hutus pre-

pared to fight their way back into Rwanda. They sent their
troops on raiding parties into Rwanda. President Mobutu was
incapable, or unwilling, to halt this aggression. It was a situation
the newly installed Rwandan government of Paul Kagame was
not prepared to tolerate.
By late 1996 matters had come to a head and Rwanda was
plotting the overthrow of President Mobutu. A ‘Tutsi legion’
consisting of troops from Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi moved
into the Congo. They were joined by what the scholar Filip
Reyntjens referred to as ‘Eritrean and Ethiopian mercenaries’.
My information is that the Eritreans were not mercenaries hired
on three-month contracts but a full battalion of Eritrean govern-
ment troops. They invaded Congo in support of Laurent Kabila,
then a tavern keeper and little-known Congolese rebel. The
‘Tutsi legion’ marched across the entire width of the Congo,
nearly 1,500 kilometres as the crow flies, and much further on
foot. It was an extraordinary feat, especially for soldiers who
walked the entire distance in gumboots, with little or no logisti-
cal support. The toll on the Eritreans was enormous. By the time
they reached Kinshasa in the far West of this giant country in
May 1997 they were exhausted and starving. Many had died
along the way; others were desperately ill. Ultimately these
Eritrean troops had to be evacuated from the Congo.
In May 1998 the border war with Ethiopia erupted and all
other concerns were put to one side. Eritrea emerged from the
war defeated, but when it became plain that Ethiopia would not
abide by the Commission’s ruling over the border, and that none
of the major powers would compel Addis Ababa to comply,
President Isaias was furious. Many Eritreans took a similar view:
they had trusted the international community and believed they
had been betrayed and humiliated. Eritrea decided that it should
do what it had during its long fight for independence: fall back
on self-reliance and fight for its rights.
55
War by proxy
The Eritrean government believed that it would only win control

of those areas along its border with Ethiopia that they had been
awarded if they forced the government in Addis Ababa to comply
with the ruling. At the same time they believed that Prime
Minister Meles and his associates were weak; after all, it had
required Eritrean troops to help put the Tigrayans in power in
1991. In Eritrean eyes their neighbours had undermined their
own position by insisting on ethnic federalism. This meant that
Ethiopia was divided along ethnic and linguistic lines, with each
group having its own regional state—nine in all. From an
Eritrean perspective this was madness. Eritreans believed they
had overcome ethnic rivalries and established a national identity
as they fought for their independence. If they withdrew their
support for Meles—so the argument went—the Ethiopian gov-
ernment would fall. To help matters along, Eritrea began sup-
porting opposition movements inside Ethiopia.
Since the Ethiopian government led by the TPLF was an
authoritarian regime that brooked little opposition, the Eritreans
had no difficulty in finding willing partners. The Somalis,
Oromo and Tigrayans all had grievances against the government
in Addis Ababa. They sought external bases, weapons and assis-
tance. This was by no means a one-way trade: the Ethiopians
were soon doing much the same with dissident Eritrean groups.
Nor was Eritrean backing for rebels restricted to those of
Ethiopian origin. Asmara armed opposition movements across
the Horn, including Djibouti, Somalia and Sudan. When this
was brought to the attention of the United Nations the Security
Council imposed sanctions against Eritrea for undermining its
neighbours. The first sanctions were adopted in 2009 (resolution
1907) and gradually tightened.
In some ways this was surprising, since the Security Council
drew on a Monitoring Report drawn up by a team of Somalia
56
experts dated 10 December 2008 (S/2008/769) which concluded

Â€
that: ‘The presence of Ethiopian forces on Somali territory and its

support to allied Somali groups continue to be regarded by the
Monitoring Group as violations of the arms embargo. Eritrea con-
tinues to provide political, financial and military support to armed
opposition groups. Yemen remains the most important source of
commercial arms transfers to Somalia.’ Yet only Eritrea was singled
out for sanctions. The Security Council didn’t take equivalent
measures against Ethiopia. This indicated the vital importance of
Ethiopian forces in countering the Somali Islamists of al-Shabaab.
It also reflected the fact that Eritrea was seen as a regional bully,
having been held to be responsible for another conflict—its border
conflict with Djibouti in 2008 (see below).
To complement the Eritrean sanctions, and to monitor their
impact, the UN Monitoring Group was required to provide the
Security Council with regular reports. Their extensive publica-
tions provide a unique insight into the workings of the Eritrean
state. The UN monitors worked hard to maintain their indepen-
dence. They used, wherever possible, verifiable documentary
evidence or first hand accounts. However, they have been criti-
cised for relying too heavily on Ethiopian and United States
intelligence. This was perhaps unavoidable, since there are few
independent sources of information about Eritrea, since President
Isaias refuses to allow international news agencies to be based on
Eritrean soil and severely restricts the work of international
organisations and diplomats.
Somalia
Somalia has been the fiercest proxy battleground on which the

conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea has been played out. For
Ethiopia—with its large and restive Somali population in the
semi-desert eastern region of the Ogaden—this has been a critical
57
issue. Somalia has a traditional claim to the Somali speakers of the

Ogaden, just as it does to much of Djibouti and Northern Kenya.
In July 1977 Somali President Siad Barre invaded Ethiopia in an
attempt to take the Ogaden by force. It was only with considerable
Soviet and Cuban support that the attack was defeated. Ever since,
Ethiopian leaders of all political persuasions have maintained a
wary eye on Somalia. Strategists in Addis Ababa have pursued an
overriding objective: to keep Somalia weak and divided. To that
end Ethiopia has armed a variety of Somali movements. In the
early 1990s this was done through private channels. From 1996
Ethiopia became directly involved, sending troops into Somalia to
crush any forces they saw as a threat to their interests. Weapons
supplies were also provided in large quantities to groups singled
out by Ethiopia as potential allies.
Some of the Eritrean leadership knew Somalia well, having
used it as a friendly base during their long war of independence.
Many had carried Somali passports. With Somalia divided
between rival warlords following the fall of the Siad Barre gov-
ernment in 1991, the country was wide open to outside influ-
ence. Eritreans therefore regarded Somalia as a natural battle-
ground on which to confront Ethiopia during and after the
border war of 1998–2000.
As early as 1999 Hussein Aideed, son of a former Somali
president, acknowledged that he received three ship-loads of
supplies from Eritrea: two of military equipment and one of
food. Equipment was also provided by Eritrea by air during 1998
and 1999. This caused considerable American unease, since some
of the weapons were designed to bolster groups fighting the
Ethiopian government. As Susan Rice, Assistant Secretary of
State for African Affairs told a Congressional Hearing on 25 May
Â€
1999: ‘We are very concerned by credible reports that Eritrea has
delivered large quantities of weapons and munitions to self-pro-
claimed Somali President Hussein Aideed for the use of a violent
58
faction of the Oromo Liberation Front. The [Ogadeni Islamist]

terrorist organisation Al-Ittihad may also be an indirect recipient
of these arms.’
By 2006 the Eritreans had switched allies and were arming the
Union of Islamic Courts, which briefly held power in Mogadishu.
Arms and ammunition arrived by dhow at a string of small ports
along the Somali coast, while Eritrean planes landed with vehi-
cles and personnel. Shipments of weapons were also recorded via
larger vessels. Fighters belonging to the Union of Islamic Courts
were sent to Eritrea where they received training. The Eritrean
government provided ‘advisers’ and ‘engineers and mine-laying
experts’ to assist the Courts. They also despatched around 800
Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) fighters who participated in the
battles around Baidoa in December before advancing on
Mogadishu. At the same time around 1,000 Ogaden National
Liberation Front (ONLF) troops went into the Ogaden through
central Somalia and were largely responsible for intensified fight-
ing in the Ogaden in 2007–8.
The Eritrean intervention failed. In December 2006 the
Courts were defeated by Ethiopian troops who had invaded the
country. The Islamists were driven from Mogadishu. Some of
the leadership fled to Eritrea, leaving the more hardline fighters
to confront the Somali government and Ethiopia. Al-Shabaab
grew out of these fighters, beginning a long and bloody guerrilla
campaign against the Ethiopians and their Somali allies.
The Eritreans, always keen to maintain a foothold in Somalia,
transferred their allegiance to al-Shabaab. When Jendayi Frazer,
the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, visited
Somalia in April 2007 she accused Eritrea of fuelling the insur-
gency in Somalia. ‘No insurgency group can survive without
support from neighbouring countries,’ Ms Frazer told reporters
in Nairobi. ‘Certainly Eritrea is the country of greatest concern,’
she said. But although Eritrea had previously supplied large
59
quantities of arms and ammunition to its Somali allies, it is less

clear that this practice was continued with al-Shabaab. The UN
Monitors found little hard evidence of weapons supplies. Rather,
their reports have repeatedly alleged that Eritrea sent funds to
al-Shabaab via trusted intermediaries. The evidence, which takes
the form of documentation and witness reports, points to the
Eritrean embassy in Nairobi as the key nexus through which the
transfers were made. Payments are said to have begun in 2008
and continued over a number of years. As the activities of its
Kenyan embassy came under scrutiny, Eritrea is said to have
diversified its funding operation to Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda
and Yemen.
Ethiopian rebel movements
At least seven armed rebel groups have received Eritrean patron-

age at various times. This included providing rear bases and
training all the way up to planning sophisticated military opera-
tions. Most have their roots in a single ethnic group and the
most significant groups are:
• The Ogaden National Liberation Front (a Somali movement)

• The Oromo Liberation Front
• Various Afar movements, including the Afar Revolutionary
Democratic Unity Front
• The Tigray People’s Democratic Movement
To this list of ethnic rebel groups must be added Ginbot Sebat,
otherwise referred to as Ginbot 7. Although its support is pre-
dominantly from the Amhara, it receives backing from the coun-
try’s emerging middle class, of various ethnicities. The movement
is led by Berhanu Nega, who won 137 of the 138 seats in the 2005
election for Addis Ababa. He was the mayor elect, but was pre-
vented from taking office by the government. When protests
60
erupted the authorities sent their security forces onto the streets of
the capital, crushing opposition and imprisoning its leadership.
The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), representing Ethiopia’s
largest ethnic group, has been operating in the borderlands
between eastern Sudan and western Ethiopia since 1973. The
links between the EPLF and the OLF go back to the wars
against the Derg. It was with EPLF help that the OLF managed
briefly to capture the Ethiopian town of Assossa in 1989. John
Young, who has written extensively about rebel movements in
Ethiopia and Sudan, says that OLF fighters were infiltrated into
the Ethiopian region of Gambella in mid 2002. He claims that
seven OLF battalions, each made up of 150–200 fighters, were
transported from Eritrea and cites witnesses as reporting that the
OLF fighters flew to the Sudanese town of Akobo. They then
marched into Gambella and on into western Wellaga—a state
with a high Oromo population. Most were apparently wiped out
in clashes with Ethiopian government forces. Young also sug-
gests that there have been some attempts to infiltrate OLF forces
into Ethiopia via Somalia. None has been very successful.
The OLF, and its Eritrean allies, then changed tactic. They
ended mass infiltration and turned to bombings. In so doing
they came closest to achieving their goal of striking a serious
blow against the Ethiopian authorities. The chosen target was
the African Union summit, scheduled for January 2011. Eritrea
planned massive bomb attacks on the gathering at a moment
when African heads of state were in attendance. The aim was to
place explosives at the Ethiopian prime minister’s office, the for-
mer imperial palace and the Sheraton hotel, at which many lead-
ers were staying. A further blast was planned for the Mercato
area—home to Africa’s largest open-air market. The plan was
designed to ‘make Addis Ababa like Baghdad,’ according to the
UN Monitors. ‘If executed as planned, the operation would
almost certainly have caused mass civilian casualties, damaged the
61
Ethiopian economy and disrupted the African Union summit,’

they reported.
The UN Monitors outlined how three teams were trained,
armed and briefed by Eritrean security. They were smuggled into
Ethiopia via neighbouring Djibouti. The man behind the opera-
tion was General Te’ame, the head of the External Operations
Directorate. These allegations were denied by the Eritrean gov-
ernment, just as they rejected all other reports from the
UN Monitors. In the event the OLF operation was disrupted
Â€
and most of those involved were either killed or captured. But

the scale and audacity of the operation underlined just how seri-
ous the threat posed by the Eritrean government really was. The
UN report concluded that: ‘since the Eritrean intelligence appa-
ratus responsible for the African Union summit plot is also
active in Kenya, Somalia, the Sudan and Uganda, the level of
threat it poses to these other countries must be re-evaluated.’
The Tigray People’s Democratic Movement (TPDM—also
known by its Tigrinya acronym ‘Demhit’) was established in
2001. Like other Ethiopian opposition movements, it grew
thanks to President Isaias’s patronage. The TPDM has been
described as the most important Ethiopian opposition group
active inside Eritrea with ‘a dual function as an Ethiopian armed
opposition group and a protector of the [Eritrean] regime.’ The
rebels had an estimated strength of 4,000 fighters in 2014, many
drawn from refugees fleeing from Ethiopia. The group was a real
threat to the government of Ethiopia, since it drew its support
from the same ethnic group that currently holds power in Addis
Ababa. Like other movements it received training and weapons
from the Eritrean regime. Some of its forward bases were close
to the Ethiopian border and its members were also to be found
at important Eritrean military training camps, including the
country’s main camp for National Service conscripts at Sawa. The
Ethiopians did not take the TPDM’s threat lightly and in April
62
2012 Ethiopian troops were reported to have crossed into Eritrea

to attack TPDM bases.
The significance of the TPDM was evident during the most
significant challenge to President Isaias’s hold on power: the
‘Forto’ army mutiny of 21 February 2013. These events will be
Â€
described in detail in Chapter 9. There are reports that with the

loyalty of his own forces in question, the president relied on the
TPDM for security. They were also allegedly deployed later in
the same year to round up Eritrean youths in Asmara who had
failed to report for military service. In one incident stones were
thrown at TPDM fighters, who opened fire. This reliance on
foreign forces was deeply resented by the Eritrean population.
‘They demanded the identity documents of a friend of mine and
[me]’, said a resident of the capital. ‘When this happened earlier
this year there was a riot. People really hate them.’
Until late 2015 the TPDM was a significant threat to the
Ethiopian government, but on 13 September the Ethiopian
Â€
authorities were able to announce—to their evident satisfac-

tion—that Molla Asgedom, the movement’s chairman, had led
hundreds of his fighters back into the country. The statement
claimed this defection was the result of lengthy contacts between
the Ethiopian government and the TPDM leadership. ‘The
Ethiopia Security began to work with Molla and other “patriotic”
individuals in the TPDM leadership since well over year [sic],
and the goal of the joint operation was to spy on the activities of
the Eritrean regime, transfer information to Addis that would
help foil military operations from Eritrea, and eventually pull the
entire rebel command out of Eritrea’, the government said in a
press release.
The Reuters newsagency carried this report:
In a statement, the foreign ministry said TPDM leader [Molla]
Asgedom and “nearly 800 fighters” crossed to Ethiopia from Sudan on
Sunday, having fought their way past Eritrean troops. ‘We came to the
63
conclusion that an armed struggle was meaningless,’ [Molla] told the

state-run Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation, adding the group had
been in contact with Addis Ababa for over a year before deserting.
Footage of a large group of young men in fatigues and wield-
ing AK-47 rifles and grenade launchers while camped in an open
field near Ethiopia’s border with Sudan was shown on Ethiopian
television. ‘The government’s sole aim was to disintegrate
Ethiopia,’ Molla said, referring to Eritrea. If these statements
accurately represent Molla’s views (and he will have been carefully
briefed by the Ethiopian government on what to say) then it
seems clear that this was a major breach in Eritrean security.
How was it possible for them to miss contacts between the
TPDM and the Ethiopians for a year?
Ginbot Sebat, which began as a peaceful political movement,
took up arms after its suppression by the Ethiopian regime follow-
ing the May 2005 election. In the crackdown that ensued in
November following opposition demonstrations in Addis Ababa,
over 300 people were killed and at least 30,000 detained. Although
most of the detainees were released in a matter of weeks, the gov-
ernment handed out long prison sentences to a number of opposi-
tion leaders. Again, most were released two years later after they
petitioned for a pardon. The opposition decided there was little
room left for democratic opposition. Meeting in Washington in
2008, Ginbot 7 was formed; the name, ‘May 15’ in Amharic, com-
memorates the day of the 2005 election.
Its recruits fall under the direction of Eritrean Colonel Fitsum
Yishak (also known as ‘Lenin’). Fistum is deputy commander of
the External Operations Directorate, working for General Te’ame
whose role is to supervise training for regional opposition move-
ments. Te’ame is also directly involved in training of highland
Ethiopian armed opposition groups—the TPDM and Ginbot
Sebat. Ginbot fighters who crossed into Eritrea received training
in the use of weapons and explosives in a camp at Harena, south
64
of the port of Massawa. Some of their members had been recruited

as far afield as South Africa, with the Eritrean embassy in
Johannesburg issuing them with documents. Once in Asmara they
were met by Ginbot Sebat’s secretary general, Andargachew Tsige.
Andargachew, who became involved in politics in the early
1970s resisting the former military regime—the Derg—is a
British citizen. He arrived in Britain in 1979, settling in London
with his family. But he continued to be actively involved in
Ethiopian politics, and travelled constantly for Ginbot Sebat. On
23 June 2014 he was in the Yemeni airport at Sana’a in transit
Â€
between the United Arab Emirates and Eritrea when he was

arrested by Yemeni security services. They arranged his abduc-
tion to Ethiopia, in whose prisons he has remained ever since.
The British government issued a Foreign Office statement
expressing their concern for the circumstances of his arrest and
appealing for Andargachew not to face the death penalty. The
appeals appear to have succeeded, but there is no sign that he
will be released and he continues to languish in an Ethiopian jail.
In 2015 several Eritrean backed Ethiopian armed groups
formed a united front, bringing together the TPDM and Ginbot
Sebat as well as two other smaller movements—the Patriotic
Front and Arbegnoch. The new organisation called itself the
‘Salvation Front.’ Berhanu Nega became the Front’s chairman.
But bringing these groups under a single umbrella organisation
inevitably led to tensions.
The defection of Molla Asgedom, and his TPDM fighters, is
reported to have been the result of differences between Molla
and Berhanu. Speaking a few days after Molla’s defection to
Ethiopia, Berhanu denied that 700 fighters had gone with him.
‘The betrayal by the General Molla crew did not affect our move-
ment because TPDM still has thousands of other soldiers left in
Eritrea,’ Berhanu said. The vice-chairman of TPDM, Mekonnen
Tesfay, was quoted as supporting Berhanu’s assertion that
65
the Ethiopian opposition army inside Eritrea is still powerful.

Â€
Although the Eritrean authorities will have been smarting at the

loss of these troops they have not abandoned their long-held
ambition of undermining the Ethiopian government, which is
certain to respond in kind. The two countries are locked into a
fragile truce in which proxies play a useful part in their ongoing
confrontation.
Fighting Djibouti
As if it did not have enough troubles along its southern border

with Ethiopia, Eritrea has clashed with its eastern neighbour,
Djibouti on several occassions. As with Ethiopia there are reports
of a number of preliminary skirmishes in April 1996 when the
two countries almost went to war after a Djibouti official accused
Eritrea of shelling the town of Ras Doumeira. In 1999 Eritrea
accused Djibouti of siding with Ethiopia, while Djibouti blamed
its neighbour for supporting Djiboutian rebels and having
designs on the Ras Doumeira region.
Differences between Eritrea and Ethiopia remained, but
attempts were made to mend fences. President Isaias visited
Djibouti in early 2001 and President Ismail Omar Guelleh made
a reciprocal visit to Asmara in the early summer of 2001.
Ultimately the smouldering differences erupted into conflict. On
10 June 2008 there were clashes along the border. The govern-
Â€
ment of Djibouti issued a statement saying: ‘At 6:40pm [15:40

GMT], under the cover of darkness and prayer time, Eritrean
troops opened fire on our soldiers. In the face of this attack, our
military struck back… As this statement is published, the fight-
ing continues.’ Nine Djibouti soldiers were killed in the engage-
ments and more than sixty wounded. A number were taken
prisoner. The scale of the Eritrean casualties is unknown. A
formal ceasefire was announced on 9 June 2010, but Eritrea did
Â€
66
not leave matters there. It began supporting a faction of FRUD—

the Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy, a rebel
movement representing the Afar people against Djibouti’s Issa
dominated government. The UN published photos of the FRUD
leader, Mohamed Kadd’ami, addressing his troops in October
2009 inside Eritrea. The UN Monitors also mentioned that there
was a failed plot by al-Shabaab against Djibouti in January 2015,
but the UN has chosen not to publish details of what took place
and this element of the report remains confidential.
The clash with Djibouti was unlikely to end well for Eritrea.
Djibouti hosts French forces and an American military base—the
latter the US Africa Command’s most important foothold on the
continent. In the last resort both would come to the aid of their
hosts. China too is in the process of securing a military foothold
in Djibouti. Ethiopia has increased its ties with Djibouti, relying
on its port since the loss of Assab and Massawa, with the Chinese
renewing the railway line from Djibouti port to Addis Ababa. If
Eritrea ever really threatened Djibouti’s sovereignty it could find
itself facing a number of enemies.
* * *
This is only a brief summary of Eritrea’s interventions across the
region. At times the Eritrean actions represented the legitimate
concerns of a new state, as in the dispute with Yemen. At other
times they were attempts to continue their proxy war with
Ethiopia. In either case the Eritreans behaved in a characteristi-
cally robust fashion: diplomacy was never one of President Isaias’s
strong suits. To pursue these aims the country has been involved
in backing a wide range of movements, providing them with
arms and ammunition, training and intelligence. Most often this
was in an attempt to prosecute its conflict with Ethiopia by other
means. Ethiopia has retaliated in kind, backing Eritrean move-
ments attempting to end President Isaias’s rule.
67
Neither strategy appears to have been particularly successful.

After more than a decade of such interventions the governments
in Addis Ababa and Asmara are both firmly in place. Neither
shows any sign of allowing any change in their policies. Attempts
by Eritrea to infiltrate men and weapons into Ethiopia have
almost invariably ended in failure. The most sophisticated
attempt to attack its southern neighbour—the Oromo plan to
disrupt the African Union Summit—was unsuccessful. Many
Ethiopians have died attempting to pursue the strategy of armed
resistance; others languish in Ethiopian jails. Ethiopia has a
sophisticated intelligence service that probably shares informa-
tion with the United States, which relies in turn on Ethiopia to
fight Islamist rebels in Somalia and, until January 2016, had an
important drone base in the Ethiopian town of Arba Minch. It
would also appear that Ethiopian agents have succeeded in infil-
trating Ethiopian (and Eritrean) rebel movements. Taken as a
whole, Ethiopia has been largely successful in neutralising
Eritrea’s strategy of destabilising the government in Addis Ababa.
68
5
FOREIGN FRIENDS
There is an Eritrean myth that goes something like this: ‘We

fought for our independence for thirty years. No one came to our
aid and we relied entirely on ourselves to defeat Ethiopia, which
was supported and armed first by the Americans and then the
Soviet Union’. From this comes the basic ideological position of
the regime, which is summed up in this adage: ‘Stand alone,
stand proud: we can do it on our own’. It is a worthy sentiment—
indeed, when one sees the dependency that has afflicted so many
African states it has much to recommend it. However, when
taken to extremes any concept can be destructive. Under Isaias
Afewerki, self-reliance became an obsession. It is such an all-
encompassing ideology that any diversion from it was (and still
is) considered to be a grave mistake. It was seen as little short of
treason to question the president’s authority, for he believed he
was the only person who could safely be entrusted with the inde-
pendence that had been so hard-won over so many years.
Like all ideologies it has a basis in fact. While Ethiopian
regimes, from Haile Selassie to the Derg, relied on foreign
forces, vast imports of military supplies and the support of expa-
69
triate advisers, Eritrea did not. But this does not mean that it
had no external support. Significant early steps towards Eritrean
liberation were taken in Cairo. The city had long been an impor-
tant centre for Eritrean Muslims, especially for the generations
of Islamic scholars who had received instruction at Cairo’s pres-
tigious Al-Azhar Al-Sharif University. Addis Ababa always
believed that there was an Egyptian hand behind every Eritrean
rebel group. The reason for this was straightforward. Any eco-
nomic development in Ethiopia was likely to increase the use of
the Blue Nile, which is the lifeblood of the Egyptian people.
Any reduction in the river’s flow is seen as an existential threat,
since the country receives almost no rainfall. As the old adage
goes: ‘Egypt is the Nile and the Nile is Egypt.’ Hence Cairo’s
attempts covertly to maintain Ethiopia in a weakened state by
supporting opposition movements. This policy was pursued qui-
etly, but with vigour. It continues to this day, with Addis Ababa
locked in disputes with Egypt over the Grand Renaissance Dam,
even though this is designed to produce hydo-electricity for
Ethiopia, rather than for irrigation.
The ELF, with its mainly Muslim base, had a natural entry
into Arab and Muslim society. In December 1960 leaders of the
ELF met the Saudi royal family, including King Saud and Crown
Prince Faisal, in Riyadh. They were promised support in the
United Nations. A senior member of the Eritrean opposition,
Woldeyesus Ammar, recalls that a year later the ELF opened the
first Eritrean office abroad in Somalia. This was followed in May
1961 by an invitation from Palestinians to present their case
before an Islamic Conference held in Jerusalem.
Algeria, Iraq and Syria also provided assistance, at times. The
ELF received its first weapons from Syria in 1963 and nineteen
Eritreans went for military training in Aleppo. For the next fif-
teen years Syria backed the ELF. But young members of the
Â€
movement gradually became disillusioned with the way their
70
FOREIGN FRIENDS
organisation behaved. They believed it was not sufficiently radi-

cal, and in response established a study circle in the Sudanese
town of Kassala to read the works of revolutionary leaders.
Among those who participated in the reading group were Isaias
Afewerki and his associate Romadan Nur (who later became the
EPLF’s secretary general).
During the 1960s a number of radical African and Arab lead-
ers came to power and the Eritreans were able to glean some
support. Somalia, Algeria, Libya, Iraq and the Palestine
Liberation Organisation provided arms and money. In 1967 and
1968 a small group of ELF fighters was sent for training in
China, among them Isaias. A further group went to Cuba. These
young Eritreans returned home with more than military train-
ing: they had a new way of looking at their world. On arriving in
Sudan after his time in China, Isaias was struck by how conser-
vative the ELF was. He felt it was failing to reflect the intellec-
tual trends of the 1960s. ‘It was the peak of politics in the ELF,’
he later recalled. ‘The talk of reform was everywhere. Everyone
trained in Syria and elsewhere joined hands. There were all sorts
of revolutionary ideas. We had high hopes in those days.’ The
reforms they called for would split the movement, a development
that is dealt with in Chapter 5.
Once the split took place the ELF was able to corner most
Arab support, while the socialist EPLF found it easier to make
links with radical regimes like the People’s Republic of South
Yemen, which was based in Aden. Some of the first EPLF land-
ings on Eritrean soil took place from dhows laden with weapons
that had set off from Aden, to attack Ethiopian controlled oases
in the scorching deserts of the Danakil. Training and weapons
from the South Yemen had been an important element in their
preparations for the attack.
While the links with Communist states like Cuba were useful,
they came at a price. This was the Cold War and the United
71
States was locked in a confrontation with the Soviet Union and

its allies. Developing nations were pawns in this global struggle.
When officers overthrew the Ethiopian emperor in September
1974 the country moved to the left. Somewhat reluctantly the
Soviet Union was drawn into backing Ethiopia’s new military
regime, the Derg. As war loomed between Ethiopia and Somalia
in 1977 the Cubans attempted to head it off. The Somali
President, Siad Barre, was determined to try to recapture terri-
tory in Ethiopia’s vast, dry eastern region that has long been
claimed by the Somali people. The Cuban president, Fidel
Castro, mediated between the two countries. Ethiopia’s leader
Mengistu Haile Mariam and Somalia’s President Siad Barre met
under Castro’s guidance in Aden in March, but to no avail. In
July the Somalis mounted a massive attack with 70,000 troops.
They forced Ethiopian forces to retreat, until Somali forces were
within 200 kilometres of Addis Ababa.
The Soviets, believing that they could not allow an ally to be
vanquished, decided to intervene in force. A secret military pact
was agreed between Addis Ababa and Moscow in terms of which
the Soviets would provide $385 million worth of arms. In return
the Ethiopians cut ties with the United States. The Soviet Union
then established an air-bridge to Ethiopia that lasted for the next
eight months. Over this period 225 Soviet transport aircraft fer-
ried supplies to Ethiopia, landing on average every twenty min-
utes. In the end Moscow’s bill for supporting the Derg ran into
many hundreds of millions of dollars. Estimates of the costs of
Soviet support for the Derg down the years range from $1 billion
to $4 billion.
A contingent of 11,600 Cuban troops and a further 6,000
military advisers were sent to bolster the Ethiopian war effort.
Naturally the Cubans broke their ties with the Eritreans, who
were seen as a threat to the Ethiopians. After the defeat of
Somalia in March 1978, Soviet advisers began participating
72
FOREIGN FRIENDS
directly in the war against the Eritrean rebels, while advanced

Soviet weapons were being used in the conflict. The Eritreans
had learned that their links with Cuba would not survive, if it
did not suit the interests of their erstwhile Soviet mentors.
Although the United States had lost Ethiopia as an ally, it
chose not to support the Eritrean cause. This was, at least in
part, because it distrusted the EPLF, which was by the late 1970s
the major force inside Eritrea. The EPLF’s Marxism was too
overt for Washington’s taste and the US instead continued to
maintain what relations it could with the Ethiopian regime.
Loans from the World Bank and IMF were approved and
Washington provided vast quantities of aid through Addis Ababa
when the terrible famine of 1984–85 struck. It was only in 1990,
with the Derg on the ropes, that the US really intervened in the
Horn in a major way. A conference, chaired by the Assistant
Secretary of State for African Affairs, Herman Cohen, was held
in London in May 1991. This paved the way for the Ethiopian
leader Mengistu Haile Mariam going into exile in Zimbabwe,
and for the TPLF, supported by the EPLF, to march into Addis
Ababa. Demonstrators in the Ethiopian capital denounced what
had transpired as ‘Cohen’s coup.’ It was no such thing—the vic-
tory of the rebels was, by this point, inevitable: the US merely
facilitated the transfer.
A more reliable—if less well resourced—source of support for
the Eritreans came from Third World and Western socialists. A
range of left-wing figures backed the Eritrean cause. These
included the Tanzanian politician Abdulrahman Babu, the British
historian Basil Davidson and the South African intellectual Ruth
First. Lionel Cliffe was among a range of British scholars who
supported Eritrean independence, travelling into EPLF con-
trolled areas during the fight for independence. The British
Labour Party recognised Eritrea’s right to independence in 1981
and several prominent Labour politicians, including Glenys
73
Kinnock, visited ‘the field’—as the areas of Eritrea held by EPLF

rebels were known. British non-governmental organisations, in
particular Oxfam and the church agencies, put resources behind
the EPLF’s relief organisation during the 1980s—especially dur-
ing the terrible famine of 1984–85. The radical charity War on
Want ran a consortium through which the aid was provided and
was an outspoken advocate for the Eritreans.
The famine was an opportunity for the EPLF to show what it
could do to meet the needs of the people. Grain, brought in by
truck from Sudan, was distributed to the people, naturally win-
ning their gratitude and support. Some of the aid was also
siphoned off to purchase the arms and ammunition to meet the
Ethiopian war-machine. There are also suggestions that the
EPLF grew marijuana in substantial quantities in the areas under
its control, using the foreign exchange the crop generated to
purchase weaponry on the black market.
There follows a brief overview of Eritrean relations with vari-
ous nations. They are all part of a web of ties that bind the Horn
together, but have been characterised by complex manoeuvres
over the years that have seen friends turn into enemies (some-
times overnight) only for the relationship to be cemented a few
years later.
Sudan
It is probably accurate to say that no country was as important to
Eritrean independence as Sudan. At the same time, the relation-
ship between the Sudanese and the liberation movements was
both complex and difficult. Support could turn to a clamp-down,
and then be reversed, as the Sudanese authorities used the
Eritreans in their frequent foreign policy manoeuvres. The
Eritreans learnt to be acutely aware of the most minute changes
in Sudanese policy and to keep in close personal touch with
senior officials and politicians.
74
FOREIGN FRIENDS
The turmoil and repression of the 1960s saw tens of thousands

of Eritrean refugees fleeing to neighbouring Sudan, to escape the
harassment of the Ethiopian authorities. This only intensified
once the armed struggle was launched. The Sudanese govern-
ment was under pressure from Ethiopia to curb the activities of
the ELF. When they failed to persuade Khartoum, the authori-
Â€
ties in Addis Ababa began supporting southern Sudanese rebel

movements, including the Anya Nya liberation front. A pattern
was established: when Ethiopia wished to put pressure on the
Sudanese they supported Sudanese rebellions. The Sudanese did
the same in reverse, by providing or withholding aid to the
Eritreans. The degree of freedom of action for Eritrean organisa-
tions operating in Sudan became a barometer of the Sudanese
relationship with Ethiopia.
A case in point took place in 1972. There was a distinct but
temporary improvement in relations between the two countries
following the signing of the Addis Ababa Agreement ending
seventeen years of war between the southern Sudanese and
Khartoum. The Sudanese government of President Nimeiri
responded by deploying his army to seal the Sudanese-Eritrean
border, making life distinctly difficult for the Eritrean rebels. But
matters didn’t end there. In 1973 a group of Sudanese opposition
parties based in Ethiopia (the Umma Party, Democratic Unionist
Party, Sudanese Communist Party and the Muslim Brotherhood)
formed a single body: the National Front. Backed by the Libyans,
the National Front was used by the Ethiopians as a means of
exerting pressure on the Nimeiri government. President Nimeiri
responded by lifting the restrictions he had imposed and increas-
ing his support for Eritrean movements, as well as Ethiopian
rebel groups.
In May 1976 the Ethiopian military regime (the Derg) sent a
delegation to Khartoum in an attempt to improve relations
between the two governments. The delegation promised they
75
would end their support for the National Front in return for
Sudanese mediation with the Eritrean liberation movements. On
15 May 1976 the Derg presented a formal Nine Point Programme
Â€
to end the Eritrean fight for independence. The Eritreans rejected

the plan, since it only offered regional autonomy. In July the
National Front attempted to overthrow Nimeiri. The Sudanese
president held Ethiopia responsible for the failed coup and made a
public statement supporting Eritrea’s right to independence. He
went further, warning that Sudan would raise an army from
among the Eritrean and Ethiopian refugees living on its territory
to oust the Ethiopian government, whom he described as
‘Communist puppets’. This fanciful scheme came to nothing and
Sudan’s resolve gradually crumbled. By 1980 Ethiopia’s President
Mengistu was visiting Khartoum and Nimeiri was in Addis Ababa.
Support for Eritrean causes was, once again, reduced.
In 1985 Nimeiri was overthrown and his place taken by Sadiq
al-Mahdi. Al-Mahdi won an election the following year, only
to be ousted in a coup in June 1989 by the Sudanese army,
working with the National Islamic Front. This brought Omar
al-Bashir to power, a position he has held ever since. Relations
between the newly installed Islamist government and the secu-
lar EPLF were tense.
From rebels to government
The Eritreans were also suspicious that the Sudanese government

were supporting their rivals: the Eritrean Islamic Jihad, which had
been formed by the merger of four smaller movements in
November 1988. The Jihadis pursued an Islamist agenda, wishing
to establish a state based on Sharia law. Support for the Eritrean
Islamic Jihad continued after the EPLF took Asmara in 1991 and
even after Eritrea’s formal independence in 1993. Their ranks may
have even been strengthened by the inclusion of veterans who had
76
FOREIGN FRIENDS
fought in Afghanistan. In December 1994 the newly formed

Eritrean government broke off diplomatic relations with Khartoum,
stating that ‘the Islamic government of Sudan… is opposed to the
peace, security and stability of the people of Eritrea’.
Eritrea, flexing its muscles, stepped up its support for Sudanese
opposition groups. In December 1994 these organisations met in
Asmara and formed the Sudanese Alliance Forces. The Eritrean
authorities were working with a range of disparate organisations,
including the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (which went on to
become the government of South Sudan in 2011), the Democratic
Unionist Party, Umma Party and the Communists. In order to
step up their pressure on the Sudanese, the Eritrean government
authorised their take-over of the Sudanese embassy in Asmara.
The rebels now had the status of a government in exile and Eritrea
encouraged them to overthrow the Sudanese government. As
President Isaias told the Economist in October 1995: ‘We are out
to see that this [Sudanese] government is not there anymore. 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.’ Together with Uganda and Ethiopia (who
were also keen to oust Omar al Bashir and were backed by the US)
the Eritrean government moved against the Sudanese. This alliance
gave their support to the southern rebels of the Sudan People’s
Liberation Movement.
They came close to achieving their goal. By spring of 1997 the
Khartoum government had lost control of most of the 2,000 km
of its eastern borders. The Sudanese army had also suffered seri-
ous setbacks in the south, losing the town of Kurmuk in Blue
Nile province. The Sudanese rebels had considerable military
support from Ethiopia. Addis Ababa had its own objectives here:
to destroy the bases of two armed movements who had been
operating from Sudan (the Oromo and Beni Shangul). The
Sudanese government was looking distinctly vulnerable and
77
might have fallen, had it not been for the outbreak of hostilities
between Eritrea and Ethiopia in 1998.
When the war commenced, Ethiopia moved rapidly to mend
fences with President al-Bashir. Eritrea did not, with predictable
results. In March 1999 the Sudanese government allowed the
Alliance of Eritrean National Forces, comprising ten opposition
groups, to declare their intention of overthrowing President
Isaias. This prompted an about-turn in Asmara, which launched
a charm offensive against Khartoum. This was led by Hamad bin
Khalifa Al-Thani, the emir of Qatar and a staunch ally of
President Isaias. The emir brokered a rapprochement between
Sudan and Eritrea, which led to the signing of a memorandum
of understanding on 10 November 1998. In May 1999 the two
Â€
presidents met in Doha to restore diplomatic relations and

promised to refrain from ‘hosting or organising regional or inter-
national conferences that aim to adopt tasks posing a threat to
security and stability of neighbouring countries.’ In due course
the Sudanese rebel movements were asked to leave Eritrea. Sudan
and Eritrea—previously at daggers drawn—were once again on
good terms. In April 2002 the two countries exchanged ambas-
sadors and, equally predictably, the Sudanese opposition was
asked to leave the Sudanese embassy.
The rapprochement proved short-lived. By October 2002
Ethiopia, Yemen and Sudan had formed what was called the
Sanaa Forum and Sudan was accusing Eritrea of sending its
troops to fight in eastern Sudan. This was followed in 2004 by
further accusations that Eritrean planes had transported weapons
and ammunition to Darfur rebels in western Sudan. Eritrea was
labelled a ‘destablilising factor’ in the region.
In January 2005 the politics of the region was shaken up once
more. This time the catalyst was the peace agreement signed
between the Sudanese government and the southern rebels of the
Sudan People’s Liberation Movement to be followed by the birth
78
FOREIGN FRIENDS
of South Sudan. With the SPLM having ended their conflict

with Khartoum the Eritrean-backed alliance opposing the
Sudanese government was severely weakened. By October 2005
an Eritrean delegation was once more in Khartoum and the labo-
rious process of mending fences began again. This was finally
sealed in June 2006, when Presidents Isaias and al-Bashir met in
Khartoum. The formula they agreed to was a familiar one:
Sudanese rebels would be restricted by the Eritreans, and vice-
versa. Two years later President al-Bashir was in Asmara, visiting
his opposite number. At least for the moment ties between these
two neighbours had been restored.
Sudan unofficial
Given the incessant disruption of relations between the govern-

ments and their repeated support for each other’s rebel movements,
why is Sudan included in a chapter entitled ‘Foreign Friends’? The
answer is that despite the ups and downs of official policy, rela-
tions between the two nations are—on the whole—good. Some
125,000 Eritreans live in Sudan; many having done so for the last
forty years. Sometimes Sudanese officials make their lives difficult
and unpleasant, but for the most part they manage to get by.
These exiles see life in Sudan as preferable to going home, some-
thing that has been offered them on several occasions.
In the second half of the 1950s the Eritrean Liberation
Movement (the precursor to other Eritrean movements) opened
an office in Sudan. During Eritrea’s thirty years’ war of indepen-
dence (1961–1991) Sudan provided a relatively secure rear base
from which to operate. Occasionally Ethiopian troops marauded
across the border, but generally the ELF and the EPLF were
able to operate from Sudanese soil. When I travelled into Eritrea
in the 1980s I went via Port Sudan. The EPLF maintained a
comfortable guest house in the city, which must have been well-
79
known to the Sudanese police and security personnel. When it

came to travelling into the liberated areas of Eritrea, trucks would
simply drive across the remote semi-desert of eastern Sudan,
picking up supplies at the ancient port of Suakin. Everything
from fuel to tyres and spares was kept in a giant compound
owned and operated by the Eritreans. From there it was on and
across the border into Eritrea itself. These movements were regu-
larised and authorised by senior Sudanese officials.
Thirty years later, little has changed. As the UN Monitors
reported in 2014, ‘a shared border, common kinship, and a long
history of political involvement in the Sudan all gave the
Government of Eritrea a distinct advantage in the region. The
two countries share a 660 km-long undemarcated border where
citizens and goods can move freely without visas and with mini-
mal restrictions.’
Eritrea’s long relationship with the peoples of eastern Sudan has
paid dividends. The Eritrean sponsorship of the peace deal signed
in 2006 between the Sudanese authorities and the groups fighting
in the area cemented this accord. The UN Monitors report that a
‘number of regional and national Sudanese officials… act as agents
of Asmara. Governor Mohamed Taher Aila was consistently identi-
fied for his close personal relationship with President Afwerki.’
General Manjus, the Eritrean officer responsible for security along
the country’s western border, is said to have subcontracted border
patrolling to paramilitaries from the Rashaida ethnic group, which
lives on both sides of the frontier.
This close relationship with eastern Sudan has allowed the
Eritrean government to use Sudan as a major smuggling route for
its weapons needs—by-passing the UN’s sanctions. Small arms,
trucks and ammunition have been imported into Eritrea via the
town of Kassala. The UN says it has photographic evidence of
these transfers. Forged bills of lading were allegedly provided,
signed by Omar al-Naqi, Brigadier General of the Sudanese
80
FOREIGN FRIENDS
Armed Forces and Director of General Security in Kassala. These

allegations form part of the points raised with the Eritrean gov-
ernment by the UN Monitors. The reply was a routine denial.
The Eritrean relationship with Sudan does not end there. The
UN reports provide evidence that Eritrean intelligence runs well-
organised operations in both Khartoum and Juba. They control
the smuggling operations, keeping tabs on the Sudanese and
South Sudanese governments and monitoring the role of the
large Eritrean diaspora in both countries. There are reports that
the Eritrean ruling party run a number of businesses in Juba and
in the Ugandan capital, Kampala. Some of these are commercial
ventures for the benefit of senior Eritrean military and party
officials. Using local businessmen as silent partners they own a
range of firms, providing everything from restaurants to water
and food distribution. It is through this network that the
Eritrean government is reported to have provided support to
Somali warlords and funds to various Somali groups.
Arabian friends
It is hard to assess just how important the Arab states across the
Red Sea are to Eritrea, which has been intimately involved in the
affairs of the states of the Arabian peninsula. Occasionally—par-
ticularly when Asmara’s relations with Iran have been good—
relations with the Arab world have gone into reverse. But this is
not the norm. Most of these ties have been covert and private
and therefore difficult to track. However, the work of the UN
Monitors has proved extremely helpful in making sense of these
activities. They provide a glimpse into the way in which personal
ties (some of which can be traced back to the long war of inde-
pendence) still play a major role in Eritrea’s affairs. Trusted
Eritreans use their influence in any way they can to enhance the
interests of the party and the regime. There are no real boundar-
81
ies between state relations, inter-personal connections and ques-

tions of security.
These paragraphs from the UN Monitor’s 2011 report are
quoted at length, since they give a flavour of what has been tak-
ing place:
Dubai is a major hub for PFDJ [Eritrea’s ruling party] offshore financial
networks, serving as a conduit for much of the revenue—in the form of
taxes, remittances and contributions—gathered by the Eritrean diaspora
in North America, Europe and the Middle East. These funds can in
turn be directed to a range of purposes, including Eritrean covert opera-
tions. This case study examines one potential route of PFDJ funds:
from the United States, through Dubai and Nairobi, into the hands of
armed opposition groups in Somalia and the Horn of Africa.
Oakland, California, and the Washington, DC, area host some of the
largest Eritrean communities in the United States, and therefore pro-
vide major sources of funding for PFDJ… some of this cash is depos-
ited in Eritrean embassy bank accounts, but much of it is moved
through increasingly opaque financial networks, employing money
transfer companies and individual couriers. According to Eritrean
sources, Tesfay (or Adey) Mariam is suspected of being one such finan-
cial facilitator. While working as a taxi driver in Arlington, Virginia,
Tesfay Mariam—an Eritrean citizen with dual United States national-
ity—has organized the transfer of hundreds of thousands of dollars to
Eritrean individuals and PFDJ-linked businesses in Dubai. Law
enforcement agents have confirmed that a taxi driver resident in
Virginia is involved in the transfer of illicit funds to Dubai, but did not
provide the name of the individual.
According to former Eritrean consular staff and Eritrean businessmen
in Dubai, the Eritrean consulate in Dubai, and specifically the
Commercial Attaché Mehari Woldeselassie, also play a central role in
these arrangements. The consulate banks incoming revenues at an
account with HSBC, a preferred bank of the Eritrean Government and
PFDJ because of its global reach. In addition to supervising the opera-
tions of this account, Mr. Woldeselassie also manages procurement on
Â€
82
FOREIGN FRIENDS
behalf of the Red Sea Corporation and coordinates commercial activities

through some of the front companies mentioned above.
Senior Eritrean military figures travel regularly to Dubai, where they
coordinate their financial transactions through the Dubai consulate. For
example, General Teklai Habteselassie travelled to Dubai en route to
Ukraine, in December 2009, in what a senior official of the Government
of Eritrea has acknowledged was intended to be a military procurement
mission General Te’ame Abraha and Colonel Tewelde Habte Negash
regularly visit Dubai.
And Tesfalidet Habtesellasie, the most senior official in the President’s
office, travels frequently to China and Eastern Europe from Dubai.
From Dubai, at least some of the hard currency stream is directed
towards Nairobi, where the Eritrean embassy receives transfers into
accounts under its control. Sources with access to financial transactions
at the embassy have informed the Group that the embassy has used
dollar-denominated accounts at Standard Chartered Bank and Barclays
Bank in Nairobi to receive dollar deposits from abroad.
It is this nexus of political and personal relations that charac-
terises Eritrea’s ties with the Arab world. Frequently they can also
spill over into issues of state security.
A player in the Yemeni civil war
Among the most controversial developments of recent years has

been the Eritrean government’s decision to enter the Yemeni civil
war. Since 2004 the Houthis—tribesmen from northern Yemen,
who follow the Shia branch of Islam—have been fighting the
Yemeni government. For the Saudis and other Sunni govern-
ments in the Arabian peninsula this Shia uprising is seen as a
major threat. In 2014–2015 the Houthis captured the Yemeni
capital Sana’a, leading to the fall of the Saudi-backed government
of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi. This was interpreted as a victory
for the Iranians, the arch-enemies of the Saudis, and the major
83
Shia power in the region. The Saudi government accused Iran of

being the real force behind the Houthi revolt.
Unwilling to accept their loss of authority, the Saudis and
their allies in the United Arab Emirates are reported to have
turned to President Isaias. A number of sources, including the
UN Monitors, describe how this took place. The UAE authori-
ties are said to have first approached Djibouti, looking for rear
bases from which to fight the Houthi; but Djibouti turned them
down. The snub was wounding and on 4 May 2015 Djibouti and
Â€
the UAE broke diplomatic relations. The Saudis, perhaps fearing

this outcome, had already turned to Eritrea.
The Indian Ocean Newsletter reported that in April 2015 two
delegations from Saudi Arabia and the UAE visited Eritrea,
requesting the use of Eritrean ports and those Hanish islands
that are part of Eritrean territory. It will be recalled that Eritrea
fought with Yemen over control of the Hanish Islands in 1995–
96, finally allowing the issue to be resolved by international arbi-
tration. In the process Eritrea lost most of the islands, but some
close to the Eritrean coast are apparently still useful as bases. The
Eritreans offered the visiting delegations the use of their ports
and the islands for operations in Yemen. It provided President
Isaias with an opportunity to break out of Eritrea’s diplomatic
isolation and a valuable source of development assistance, since
the Gulf States undertook to modernise Asmara airport and
build new infrastructure.
In this tactical thaw with Asmara, the UAE and Saudi Arabia
have performed something of a U-turn. In the past they opposed
President Isaias, who had allowed Iran to use Eritrea as a base from
which to supply arms to the Houthis and to train their fighters.
Relations between Eritrea and the Saudis were cemented during a
two-day visit to the kingdom by President Isaias in April 2015. In
return for the assistance Eritrea is reported to have received fuel
and finance. President Isaias has made no secret of this relation-
84
FOREIGN FRIENDS
ship. In an interview on Eritrean national television in January

2016, the president suggested a willingness to become more
actively engaged in the region. ‘Without taking limit, scope and
size into consideration, collaboration of the regional countries is
key,’ he said, referring to Eritrea’s involvement in the Yemen coali-
tion. ‘We can say that the announcement of this Saudi-led anti-
terrorism effort is a small part of a bigger plan.’
The UN Monitors also received evidence that some 400
Eritrean troops were fighting alongside the UAE forces in
Yemen, on behalf of the Arab coalition. This is a very powerful
allegation to make, and it is worth noting the sources it came
from. These are listed as:
Telephone call with a former high-ranking Eritrean official with active
ties to the Eritrean military, 22 August 2015; interview with an Eritrean
Â€
political analyst with high-level contacts in the Middle East and Africa,
18 August 2015. This was substantiated by information received by a
Â€
credible development source in direct contact with Eritrean officials and

shared with the Monitoring Group on a highly confidential basis.
The allegations were given credibility by a report by Stratfor,
a Texas based group of security analysts. In October 2015 they
reported receiving satellite images of three landing craft belong-
ing to the UAE docking in the Eritrean port of Assab on
16 September. Jane’s Defence Weekly reported in April 2016 that
Â€
the UAE appears to be ‘constructing a new port next to Assab

International Airport in Eritrea, which could become its first
permanent military base in a foreign country.’ The magazine says
that satellite imagery shows rapid progress has been made since
work began sometime after September 2015. A section of the
coastline is being excavated, with a pier or breakwater being con-
structed, which already extends 700 metres from the original
coastline. None of this is proof of what role President Isaias is
playing in Yemen, but given the secretive nature of the Eritrean
state, it is probably as good as it gets.
85
Voice of America—the US government’s external broad-

caster—examined these claims. They interviewed Michael
Woldemariam, an assistant professor of international relations
and political science at Boston University: ‘There’s a lot we don’t
know about what this cooperation looks like, what the arrange-
ments look like,’ Professor Woldemariam said. ‘But from what I
can tell, the main element of this cooperation is the use of
Eritrea, particularly the port of Assab, as sort of a basic logistical
hub from which states like Saudi Arabia and UAE are able to
launch their operations into Yemen.’
Professor Woldemariam added that he believed fighter jets
were also using Assab airport to attack Yemeni targets. But he
said that he had not seen proof of Eritrean soldiers actually
fighting with UAE units fighting in Yemen.
Eritreans living in Yemen confirm the presence of Eritrean
forces on the ground. How many of them are involved in the
conflict is not clear, but there seems to be little doubt that they
have become participants in the fighting. As if the story was not
complex enough, the UN Monitors also said they had seen a
pattern of Eritrean support for the Houthi rebels over a number
of years. This is a murky story indeed.
The European Union
Since independence, relations between Asmara and Washington

have been difficult, with few moments of real warmth. The US
has for many years seen Ethiopia as the more important player in
the Horn of Africa. As a result, as noted above, Washington
failed to put real pressure on Addis Ababa over the question of
the border demarcation and this badly soured its relationship
with Asmara. Relations between Asmara and Brussels have been
more complex, with attempts on the part of the Europeans to
have a more constructive dialogue, but with only limited success.
86
FOREIGN FRIENDS
The European’s response to Eritrea developed over many years.

It should not be forgotten that Europe supported the Eritrean
people well before the de-facto independence of the country in
1991, especially during the 1984–85 famine, when European
countries were major donors. Cross-border operations fed hun-
dreds of thousands of people who would otherwise have starved.
Europe attempted to build a strong relationship with the
Eritrean government once it had achieved independence. Despite
Eritrea’s repression and its record of human rights abuses the EU
has tried to maintain its ties with the regime. This has been dif-
ficult to achieve. The problem was perhaps most starkly high-
lighted during the 2001 clampdown on all forms of opposition,
with the imprisonment of senior politicians, journalists and edi-
tors. Among those who were arrested then is Dawit Isaak, a
Swedish-Eritrean journalist who has been held in detention ever
since. His status as a Swede meant the EU has repeatedly called
for his release and EU representatives have repeatedly taken up
his case: all to no avail.
When the arrests took place the Italian ambassador to Eritrea,
Antonio Bandini, presented a letter of protest to the authorities.
He was promptly expelled from the country. Other European
ambassadors were withdrawn in protest. The EU presidency said
relations between the EU and Eritrea had been ‘seriously under-
mined’ by the government’s action. At first the Europeans
demanded that Eritrea improve its human rights before normal
relations were resumed. President Isaias did nothing of the sort,
assuming that he could contain and diffuse the EU’s anger. He
was proved right: in the end it was the Europeans who buckled.
They needed to find partners in the Horn of Africa with whom
they could work. Eritrea was too strategically important and too
troublesome to be ignored. European politicians, officials and
diplomats were under pressure to find solutions. By contrast,
President Isaias was answerable to no one and therefore immune
to EU pressure or persuasion.
87
An internal EU document dated October 2008 explained just

how poorly the EU had responded to the situation. The report
said that it had been decided at the time that European ambas-
sadors would be: ‘conditioning their return on the willingness of
President Isaias to engage on human rights dialogue. This
request was never satisfied, but EU Ambassadors nevertheless
returned to Eritrea, in a non-coordinated way.’ The Europeans
had sent an important message to Asmara; one that the regime
was quick to grasp. All they had to do was wait and the EU
would come cap in hand; and so it proved.
In May 2007 President Isaias was invited to visit Brussels and
was ‘warmly welcomed’ by the Development Commissioner,
Louis Michel, despite the fact that Dawit Isaak and the others
remained in prison. In the light of the talks at the European
Commission the EU altered its stance towards Eritrea, as the
internal report made clear:
In June 2007 the European CommissÂ�ion changed its strategy and initi-
ated a process of political re-engagement with Eritrea. The main reason
for Commissioner Louis Michel’s change of approach was his determi-
nation to ignite a positive regional agenda for the Horn of Africa, where
Eritrea has a major role to play in view of its presence in the conflicts
in Sudan and Somalia.
The document concluded that for this ‘political re-engage-

ment’ to work both sides would be required to show that they
were serious about it. Concrete evidence was required:
Both sides need political dialogue to bring some results: the European
Commission needs a visible sign of cooperation from Eritrea in order to
continue to justify its soft diplomacy, while the increasingly isolated
Eritrean regime might need to keep a credible interlocutor and a generous
donor. The liberation of Dawit Isaak based on humanitarian grounds
could be such a sign but, although welcome, it would only be a drop in
the ocean.
88
FOREIGN FRIENDS
Although no ‘visible sign’ emerged and there was no real

progress, fresh aid was promised and then provided to Eritrea.
Instead of making improvements to human rights, the Eritrean
government refused to accommodate the EU’s concerns in any
way. Despite this the Europeans pressed ahead with their
‘renewed engagement’ strategy. Brussels had learnt nothing from
the mistakes made following the withdrawal of its ambassadors.
Asmara, on the other hand, had realised that if it remained
obdurate European politicians and civil servants would, in time,
give in to its demands. President Isaias was setting the agenda.
On 2 September 2009 the EU and Eritrea signed a ‘Country
Â€
Strategy for 2009–2013’. This acknowledged the impact of Eritrea’s

2001 crackdown on dissent, albeit in diplomatic language. ‘From
2001 to 2003, there was a slowdown in EU-Eritrea development
cooperation, and the Political Dialogue process witnessed the
emergence of substantially divergent views on developments in
Eritrea and the Region.’ The report talked about ‘limited’ political
dialogue, but said that regular meetings were planned.
A mission by the Development Committee of the European
Parliament in late 2008 painted a more gloomy, albeit more accu-
rate, picture. The fact-finding mission by a delegation from the
Committee found that: ‘Since the interruption of the democra-
tisation process in 2001, EC cooperation with Eritrea has been
confronted with major political and technical difficulties. CooperaÂ�
tion was frozen for several years in reaction to the expulsion of
the Italian Ambassador, which led to a certain backlog with the
9th EDF funds.’ At the same time the delegation maintained
that the situation had improved sufficiently in recent years and
funds had begun to flow once more.
Apparently hopeful that progress could be made, the DevelopÂ�
ment Commissioner, Louis Michel, opened fresh talks with
Eritrea. By August 2009 he was sufficiently encouraged to visit
Asmara, after receiving assurances from an Eritrean diplomat
89
that Dawit Isaak would be released into his care. Having booked
a ticket for Dawit to return with him to Europe, Louis Michel
left for Asmara. But once he met President Isaias it became
immediately apparent that he had no intention of allowing Dawit
to go free. Indeed, Mr Michel was not even permitted to visit the
Â€
prisoner, and had to return home without him, Dawit’s unused

ticket in his pocket.
These setbacks did not persuade the EU to abandon its policy
of attempting to placate Eritrea. In October 2009, despite the
fiasco of the Michel visit, European foreign ministries were pre-
pared to take a considerably softer line towards Eritrea than their
American counterparts. A US diplomatic cable, released via
Wikileaks, reported how one European representative after
another called for restraint, while opposing extending sanctions
against the Afwerki regime:
Italy described Eritrea as governed by a ‘brutal dictator,’ and noted that
Italy had not gotten results from its efforts at engagement. He cautioned,
however, against ‘creating another Afghanistan’ by applying Eritrea-
focused sanctions. The Italian representative questioned whether the
sanctions should be focused on spoilers in general and include others
beyond Eritrea. The French said that while engagement was ‘useless,’
France would continue on this track as there was no other option.
Speaking at the same day-long meeting the British official
Jonathan Allen explained his government’s position: ‘London has
already made clear to Asmara that the UK was aware Eritrea was
supporting anti-Western groups that threatened British security.’
In reply the American senior representative, the Deputy
Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, Karl Wycoff pointed out
what was described as: ‘the inconsistency between the private
acknowledgement that Asmara was not only playing a spoiler
role with regard to Somalia but also supporting violent, anti-
West elements and the provision by some countries [of ] assis-
tance packages to Asmara. He also noted that strong actions,
90
FOREIGN FRIENDS
including sanctions, were needed to have a chance of changing

Isaias’s behaviour.’ Despite the American concerns the EU
pressed ahead with its strategy: a strategy in which it had little
faith and which its representatives described as ‘useless’.
The situation was reviewed in 2011 once more, when the EU
drew up a ‘Strategic Framework for the Horn of Africa.’ This laid
out Europe’s relationship with the region as a whole: ‘The EU is
heavily engaged in the region, with involvement focused around
five main areas: the development partnership, the political dia-
logue, the response to crises, the management of crises and the
trade relationship.’
The document then elaborates on how this would be achieved.
Once again human rights was an integral part of the strategy:
The development of democratic processes and institutions that contrib-
ute to human security and empowerment will be supported through:
• promoting respect for constitutional norms, the rule of law, human
rights, and gender equality through cooperation and dialogue with
Horn partners;
• support to security sector reform and the establishment of civilian
oversight bodies for accountable security institutions in the Horn
countries;
• implementing the EU human rights policy in the region
In line with these policies it was decided to provide Eritrea
with aid worth €122 million between 2009 and 2013.
Since the Strategic Framework document was drawn up the
situation inside Eritrea has shown no sign of improvement.
Although the EU continued to raise the human rights situation
there has been no progress on the release of political prisoners,
the implementation of the Constitution or on freedom of
expression. The country remains a one-party state, locked into
permanent repression. Human rights violations continue to drive
four to five thousand Eritreans across its borders every month.
Many arrive on European shores. In the first ten months of
91
2014, for example, the number of asylum seekers arriving in

Europe nearly tripled, according to the UN Refugee Agency. In
2015 a total of 38,791 people crossed the central Mediterranean,
arriving mostly in Italy, according to FRONTEX—the EU
agency monitoring the situation. Eritrea remained one of the top
ten countries from which illegal arrivals came.
The refugee question has become a toxic issue in Europe.
Politicians are under pressure to end illegal migration from all
sources. Borders have been closed, fences erected and passport
controls reinstated. While the Eritrean case is very different from
that of Iraqi or Syrian refugees, they have been caught up in the
rising tide of opposition to foreigners of all kinds. A number of
European states have been attempting to respond to this, and
have—once again—attempted a ‘new engagement’ with Asmara.
In 2014 the Danish government sent officials to Eritrea to investi-
gate the situation. They then wrote a report that was published by
the Danish Immigration Service report. This concluded: that: ‘the
human rights situation in Eritrea may not be as bad as rumoured.’
The Danish report was not well received by scholars and
human rights activists. It was inaccurate and misquoted the key
academic source that it relied on. Professor Gaim Kibreab,
whose work featured heavily in the Danish report, said he felt
‘betrayed’ by the way in which it was used. ‘I was shocked and
very surprised. They quote me out of context. They include me
in a context with their anonymous sources in order to strengthen
their viewpoints. They have completely ignored facts and just
hand-plucked certain information.’ Two of the three Danish
authors resigned in disagreement with the report’s conclusions
and the Danish Immigration Service decided not to use it.
Despite this, the report continued to have considerable cur-
rency. It was picked up by a number of European nations, incluÂ�
ding the UK.
The British sent their own officials to Asmara and they
returned with similar conclusions. In March 2015 the UK’s posi-
92
FOREIGN FRIENDS
tion on the country suddenly changed. The Home Office pub-

lished updated country guidance suggesting a marked improve-
ment in Eritrea’s human rights situation. This was interpreted by
British bureaucrats as a sign that they should treat Eritrean
requests for asylum less sympathetically. The acceptance rate for
Eritrean refugees promptly plummeted from 84 per cent in 2014
to 44 per cent in 2015. When these cases were taken to the
courts the British judiciary was not persuaded that Eritrean
human rights had really improved. Data obtained under the
Freedom of Information Act shows that from March 2015 (when
the changes were introduced) to September 2015, 1,006 out of
1,179 Eritreans rejected by the Home Office decided to appeal.
Of the 118 cases in progress under the same time period, 106
were allowed. That is an appeal success rate of 92 per cent, which
is considerably above the average for appeals.
The idea that Eritrea was ‘improving’ had gained credibility
over the last few years. It appeared only a matter of time before
there would be yet another attempt to launch a ‘fresh engage-
ment’ with the Eritrean government. This was reflected in a
publication by the Royal Institute of International Affairs—
Chatham House. Jason Mosely wrote:
The creation of the position of the EU Special Representative (EUSR)
for the Horn of Africa in 2012 offers the possibility of a new kind of
engagement between the EU and both Eritrea and Ethiopia. In terms
of engagement with Eritrea, in particular, the EU is hampered on two
fronts. First, as a guarantor of the Algiers Agreement, its influence in
Eritrea has suffered from its perceived failure to enforce compliance by
Ethiopia. Second, the EU also has a diplomatic stance rooted in a
human-rights based approach to foreign policy, although it is not the
only actor in the region in this regard. Neither of these factors leaves it
well placed to act as an ‘honest broker’ from Asmara’s perspective.
However, the EUSR, Alex Rondos, has managed to cultivate a func-

tional relationship with Eritrea. With the goal of improving overall
93
regional stability in mind, and thus consistent with his mandate, it is

possible that his office could play an important role in improving rela-
tions between Eritrea and the EU and its member states.
The somewhat dismissive reference to human rights suggested
that rights are regarded as an inconvenient adjunct to foreign
policy, an encumbrance that might be disposed of. It accurately
reflected the mood within the EU Council of Ministers.
In 2014 Italy’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lapo
Pistelli, made an official visit to Asmara. He was fulsome in his
praise for his hosts, saying that he found them ‘well informed
and keen to engage.’ The enthusiasm with which he greeted this
‘new beginning’ was reflected in the official communiqué from
the Italian government. ‘It’s time for a new start,’ Pistelli declared
during his visit to Asmara. ‘I am here today to bear witness to
our determination to revitalise our bilateral relations and try to
foster Eritrea’s full reinstatement as a responsible actor and key
member of the international community in the stabilisation of
this region.’ It was almost as if the setbacks of the past had never
taken place.
The Khartoum process

Since then the EU has attempted to deal with Eritrea as part of
a wider African initiative to try to end the exodus across the
Mediterranean. In October 2014 senior European officials met
with their African opposite numbers in Khartoum, including
Eritrea. During this gathering Eritrea’s Minister of Foreign
Affairs, Osman Saleh, told the gathering that:
Eritrea values its partnership with the European Union and is deter-
mined to work with the EU and all European countries to tackle
irregular migration and human trafficking and to address their root
causes. We call for an urgent review of European migration policies towards
Eritreans, as they are, to say the least, based on incorrect information,
94
FOREIGN FRIENDS
something that is being increasingly acknowledged [emphasis in the

original].
The Khartoum meeting came up with a series of rather vaguely
phrased suggestions aimed at reducing smuggling and human
trafficking. This became known as the ‘Khartoum Process’ and
was endorsed by the EU in December 2014.
In November 2015 a much higher profile meeting was held in
the Maltese capital, Valetta. The Valetta summit, which again
included Eritrea, brought together African leaders and their
European counterparts. Designed to deal with the refugee crisis
the political communiqué that was released contained little that
was controversial. It concluded that: ‘We recognise the high
degree of interdependence between Africa and Europe as we face
common challenges that have an impact on migration: promot-
ing democracy, human rights, eradicating poverty, supporting
socio-economic development, including rural development, miti-
gating and adapting to the effects of climate change.’
Buried in the summit’s Action Plan that accompanied the
communiqué were a series of recommendations. These included
a recognition that African states bear the greatest burden of refu-
gees, only a minority of whom actually make the journey to
Europe. There was also an understanding that the African refu-
gee camps in which so many languish needed to be upgraded.
Security in the camps had to be improved, and education and
entertainment should be provided, so that young men and
women were not simply left to rot. There were even suggestions
that some—a tiny, educated minority—might be allowed to
travel via legal routes to European destinations.
Paragraph 4 of the document contained more worrying sug-
gestions. There were details of how European institutions would
co-operate with their African partners to fight ‘irregular migra-
tion, migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings’. This
aim was laudable enough, until one considered them through the
95
eyes of a refugee struggling to get past Eritrea’s border force,

with strict instructions to shoot to kill. Europe was offering
training to African ‘law enforcement and judicial authorities’ in
new methods of investigation and ‘assisting in setting up special-
ised anti-trafficking and smuggling police units.’ The European
police forces of Europol and the EU’s border force (FRONTEX)
would in future assist African security police in countering the
‘production of forged and fraudulent documents.’
Promises of technical support and intelligence sharing were
followed by an offer of aid. On 11 December 2015 the EU
Â€
announced that it intended to provide €200 million worth of aid

for Eritrea. Most was allocated to the energy sector and what was
described as strengthening the country’s ability to ‘better manage
public finances.’ Announcing the programme, EU Commissioner
for International Co-operation and Development, Neven Mimica,
said:
The EU provides development aid where it is most needed to reduce
poverty and support people. In Eritrea, we have agreed to promote
activities with concrete results for the population, such as the creation
of job opportunities and the improvement of living conditions. At the
same time, we are insisting on the full respect of human rights as part
of our ongoing political dialogue with Eritrea.
The idea that Eritrea would accept the EU’s conditions on
human rights suggests the Europeans have learnt very little from
its past experiences. There is no evidence that the Eritrean gov-
ernment has ever been willing to accept aid conditionality of any
kind. This is likely to be a dialogue of the deaf, with President
Isaias ignoring European demands, secure in the knowledge that
they have little option but to deal with Eritrea on his terms.
In the meantime a consensus developed among European offi-
cials that human rights organisations had exaggerated how seri-
ous the situation was in Eritrea. It looked as if it was only a
matter of time before Eritreans claiming asylum across Europe
96
FOREIGN FRIENDS
would have their refugee claims rejected, and they were put on
an aircraft home. This was strengthened by suggestions—from
Eritrean diplomats and officials—that within a few months all
National Service conscripts would only be required to serve eigh-
teen months. This illusion soon fell apart.
In February 2016 the Reuters news agency carried a report,
quoting EU diplomats. Speaking on conditions of anonymity
they ‘accused Eritrea of back-tracking on privately made commit-
ments by some officials last year to fix national service at 18
months, a term stipulated four years after Eritrea’s independence
from Ethiopia in 1991.’ President Isaias had done what he has
done so often in the past. He had allowed (and possibly even
encouraged) his officials to give assurances to gain a deal with an
international partner, only to pull the rug from under the pledges
they had given. This was followed by a two-week visit to Eritrea
by Swiss and German diplomats, who toured Eritrea in March but
were not allowed to see prison or military facilities. Accompanied
by Eritrean officials, they gathered information that could ‘help
them better understand the situation in the country and verify
asylum seekers’ stories,’ as the official Swiss press release put. But
Mario Gattiker, the head of the Swiss State Secretariat for
Migration, told the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper that although
there had been ‘indications’ that Eritrea had reduced conscrip-
tion to eighteen months, ‘those hopes did not turn out to be
true. Eritrea officially went back on its promise of shortening the
required national military service. And the proof of improved
human rights conditions is still missing,’ Gattiker said.
What is extraordinary is just how easily the diplomatic com-
munity was taken in. The Reuters report quoted an unnamed
Western diplomat as saying about the Eritreans: ‘They are engaÂ�
ging more… You have to build their confidence. They don’t move
quickly.’ Even the language is re-cycled. The only aspect that
remains unchanging is President Isaias’s intransigence.
97
Despite these setbacks European diplomats and civil servant

have been under intense pressure to find some way of ending the
African refugee exodus. They proceeded with the plans outlined
in Malta, despite the risks these entailed. The civil servants were
fully aware of what this involved. In May 2016 the German
magazine, Der Spiegel and the television programme ‘Report
Mainz’ uncovered details of the EU’s plans, which involved a
programme of co-operation with some of Africa’s most notori-
ous regimes.
The magazine reported that Germany was leading this work,
but that the European Commission had warned that ‘under no
circumstances’ should the public learn about what was being
considered. A staff member working for Federica Mogherini, the
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, said that Europe’s
reputation could be at stake if the details became public. Nor
were they unaware of the dangers that co-operation with African
security services might hold. Under the heading ‘Risks and
assumptions’ the EU document states: ‘Provision of equipment
and trainings [sic] to sensitive national authorities (such as secu-
rity services or border management) diverted for repressive aims;
criticism by NGOs and civil society for engaging with repressive
governments on migration (particularly in Eritrea and Sudan).’
The detailed proposals outlined a range of requirements for
nine African states, from Uganda to Djibouti. The most contro-
versial involve proposed deals with Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia.
The Sudanese President Omar al Bashir was wanted for war
crimes by the International Criminal Court; Eritrea was being
investigated by the UN for crimes against humanity; Ethiopia
has repressed its largest ethnic group, the Oromo people. Despite
these gross violations of human rights the plans envisaged Sudan
receiving a range of computers, scanners, cameras, cars and all
the necessary training at seventeen border crossing points. Two
‘reception centres’ were proposed at Gadaref and Kassala, on
Sudan’s eastern border with Ethiopia and Eritrea.
98
FOREIGN FRIENDS
The Eritreans were promised training for the judiciary and

what was described as ‘Assistance to develop or implement
human trafficking regulations.’ No doubt this would involve
working with Eritrea’s notoriously corrupt border force. The EU
itself admitted that its planned partner states were riddled with
corruption—often involving the officials who would have to
implement these policy recommendations:
Smuggling and trafficking networks in the region are highly organised
and sophisticated, often with the complicity of officials… Corruption is
reported to be widespread in almost every beneficiary country, facilitat-
ing illegal migration and trafficking through the complicity of ticket
bureaux, check-in-desks, immigration officials, border patrols, etc.
Despite these identified risks the proposals have been taken
forward. An EU spokesman denied that these plans had not yet
been implemented. But when pressed on whether the documents
were forgeries, the spokesman made no reply.
* * *
From this brief review of Eritrea’s foreign relations a number of
trends are clear. Firstly, that a great deal is done covertly.
Informal relationships have always been vitally important to
Eritreans, who are clearly comfortable operating in this way.
After all, there are just a few million Eritreans worldwide and
working through personal relationships is not difficult. The most
important foreign relations continued in this way even after the
EPLF took Asmara in 1991 and achieved full statehood in 1993.
President Isaias keeps a tight reign on the networks that he con-
trols, both inside and outside the country.
Secondly, relations have frequently been ruptured when this
suited the president, and just as rapidly repaired. This reflects the
informal nature of his dealings, which he directly and personally
controls. Often changes of policy are the result of little more
than Isaias’s whims. Eritrean diplomats have frequently com-
99
plained that they are left powerless and required to sweep up the
mess that he has landed the country in.
On the plus side is the third characteristic: that Eritrea has no
qualms about changing sides and can react rapidly to crises.
President Isaias had no compunction about changing sides in the
Yemeni conflict. And this is by no means the only example.
Eritrea, although frustrated by and suspicious of the United States’
intentions following the 1998–2000 border war with Ethiopia was,
nonetheless, willing to consider a different approach in 2002. In
that year President Isaias appeared keen to offer the United States
naval bases in the country. In November 2002 brigadier general
John Costello of the US Navy’s Central Command held talks with
Sebhat Ephrem, Minister of Defence. Then, in December,
President Isaias told the US Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld,
that his country could have access to Eritrea’s military bases as part
of its war against terror. Rumsfeld, on a four-nation tour of the
Horn, did not say whether the US would take up the offer, but the
gesture was noneÂ�theless genuine.
Since independence relations with Ethiopia have moved from
warm to cool, then to conflictual. Now they are frozen; yet it
would not be difficult to imagine how they might alter once
more. It seems highly unlikely that this will take place while
President Isaias is in power. The Ethiopian government is essen-
tially waiting until Isaias leaves the scene, one way or another.
Some Ethiopians are still not reconciled to Eritrean indepen-
dence, but they are a minority. Addis Ababa is presently concen-
trating on developing alternative routes to the sea, by supporting
the construction of a new port being built by Djibouti at
Tadjourah. If a new leader (or leadership) emerges in Eritrea
there could well be a thawing of relations.
It is worth noting the difficulty of describing a state’s foreign
policy when so much is covert, personal and subject to such swift
alteration. What remains is information about those parts of the
100
FOREIGN FRIENDS
iceberg that protrude above the waves. Apart from this, there are
just ripples on the surface of Eritrea’s complex and fraught for-
eign policies.
Finally, there is the difficulty that western states have had in
coming to grips with a regime that is so unwilling to enter into
a serious dialogue with them. President Isaias’s intransigence has
left both Washington and Brussels floundering about in an
attempt to fashion a coherent policy towards Eritrea: a minor but
strategically significant state, in a troubled region.
101
6
FROM FREEDOM TO DICTATORSHIP
How was it that Eritrea, which won independence in 1991, and

became a respected, internationally recognised nation in 1993,
has sunk so far in just over two decades? Once hailed as a beacon
of hope for the Horn of Africa and a possible ‘Singapore’ of the
region, it is now mired in poverty, repression and bitter recrimi-
nations with almost all its neighbours.
The answer can be traced, in good measure, to the personality
and policies of one man: Isaias Afwerki. At seventy he has been
both the towering figure who led his people to independence and
the dictator who now holds them in servitude. Without under-
standing something about him there is little chance of grasping
the current situation. Eritrean culture recognises the heroic
leader. As a Tigrinya proverb puts it: ‘Whoever reigns is my
King; that which rises (from the East) is my Sun.’ Yet, whatever
his weaknesses, Isaias has done little to encourage a cult of per-
sonality. Asmara is not a city littered by his portrait or domi-
nated by giant North Korean statues of the ‘great leader’ of the
kind that can be found in other African capitals. But the presi-
dent has made such an indelible imprint on his nation that it is
103
simply impossible to understand Eritrea without grasping some-

thing about its president.
The enigma of Isaias
Isaias was born on 2 February 1946 in the Aba Shi’aul district of

Â€
Asmara—a working class suburb of the city. His father was an

official with the state tobacco monopoly, while his grandmother
was a migrant from Tigray. His paternal grandfather was a sol-
dier who served with Ras Alula, the Tigrayan prince who was
one of the greatest Ethiopian generals of the nineteenth century.
Isaias father’s village was Tselot, close to the outskirts of Asmara.
Visitors who have been to the village in recent years report that
it is still unmodernised: donkeys roam the streets, with no run-
ning water or sewerage. The simple houses enjoy dramatic views
down the escarpment to the plain below.
Isaias spent most of his youth in Asmara. He went to the
Prince Makonnen Secondary School. Woldeyesus Ammar, a
leading member of the ELF, quotes his schoolmates as saying
that he was known for making derogatory remarks about
Muslims. The school was one of only two publicly funded
schools that was attended by many of Eritrea’s future leaders.
Like them Isaias became involved in secret nationalist politics
even before leaving to study engineering at the Haile Selassie
University in Addis Ababa in 1965. He—along with fellow
Eritrean students, Mussie Tesfamikael and Woldeyesus Ammar—
maintained his interest in Eritrean politics. Just how much Isaias
was really engaged in politics is questionable: some of his fellow
ELF members at the university recall him missing meetings of
the party cell.
Isaias’s studies did not progress well. He failed his June 1966
exams and was forced to repeat his first year. Without funding
for food or lodging from the university it was not a tempting
104
prospect. Isaias told his comrades that he had decided to leave,

to join the ELF in the field. On 17 October of that year Mussie,
Â€
Woldeyesus and several others of his comrades spent the night

with him in the Merkato bus station in Addis Ababa, seeing
him off for Asmara. From the Eritrean capital Isaias travelled
to Kassala in eastern Sudan. There he was joined by two
Â€
Â�others: Mussie (who was executed by Isaias in 1974) and Haile

Â€
Wold’ensae, better known as ‘Drue’ (who went on to become

Eritrea’s foreign minister). The three men founded a clandestine
organisation.
Haile, who had been with Isaias at university in Ethiopia,
described in an interview with Dan Connell how his friend
received him when he arrived at Kassala in late December 1966.
‘I knocked on the door—in fact, Isaias was the one who opened
the gate—and the first thing he told me was that I have to shut
my mouth, that he’s going to tell me a lot of things.’ Haile was
told to register his presence but to make no further comment.
‘I was shocked,’ Haile recalls. ‘What happened to this guy?
Why is he so afraid?’ It turned out that the ELF, which had
begun in the western lowlands among Muslim Eritreans had few
highland Christians in its ranks. Men like Isaias and Haile had
assumed it was an exemplary revolutionary organisation. The
movement did not live up to their expectations. Its leadership
was poor and sectarian. Isaias, who had already shown his suspi-
cions of Muslims, believed it was hostile to its Christian recruits.
This was a shock for these young idealists. ‘This was a very dark
moment for us,’ said Haile. To confront it Isaias, Haile and
Mussie decided they needed to form a clandestine, tight-knit
cell. This form of organisation was banned by the ELF—‘This
was a very dangerous endeavour,’ Haile told Connell. To seal
their pact the three men took an oath, which they signed in
their own blood. They carved an ‘E’ on their right arms—sym-
bolising their determination to live or die for Eritrea.
105
It is perhaps worth pausing here, for what had taken place

tells us a good deal about Isaias and the men he surrounded
himself with, even at this early age. An idealistic nationalist he
had shown himself little interested in academic life. Practical and
down to earth, he had little patience with intellectual activity:
what mattered was progress towards freeing his country from
Ethiopian rule. Addis Ababa University was—at this time—a
hub of left-wing student activism, and Isaias probably brought
with him some of these views. But it was his reaction to what he
found out about the ELF in Sudan that really marked him out.
This tall, good looking young man, was determined not to give
up the struggle. Far from becoming disgruntled and down heart-
ened when the organisation failed to live up to his expectations,
he organised: and organised subversively.
Taking a secret oath, signed in blood, to establish a clandes-
tine party-within-a-party marked Isaias out as the kind of
driven revolutionary with real leadership potential. Not for him
the slow climb through the ranks, the doffing of his cap to the
current party bosses. Isaias would use secretive structures and
personal dedication to take him to the top. The Eritrean pen-
chant for discretion suited Isaias down to the ground. A covert
and manipulative management of his movement, and finally the
affairs of the Eritrean state, became the hallmarks of his leader-
ship style. Colleagues have been endlessly moved between posi-
tions to leave them uncertain of their status and dependent on
his favour. As a journalist I had the opportunity to interview
him—both during the EPLF’s time as a guerrilla movement and
after the capture of Asmara in 1991. It was an experience that
left me feeling distinctly uneasy (even before the regime rounÂ�
ded up all independent journalists in 2001.) Isaias combined
Â€
bombast with a poorly disguised contempt for the media. His

idea of an interview has always consisted of a lengthy, but unre-
vealing, tirade.
106
In 1967 Isaias, and four others (including the EPLF’s future

secretary general, Ramadan Mohammed Nur) left for China to
further their political and military studies. This was at the start
of the Cultural Revolution and China was a country in ferment.
President Liu Shaoqi and other Communist leaders were removed
from power. Beaten and imprisoned, Liu died in prison two years
later. Factions of the Red Guard movement were battling for
supremacy on the streets of Chinese cities that were only saved
from anarchy in September 1967, when Mao had Lin send the
army in to restore order. The young Eritreans must have looked
on amazed—but for someone of Isaias’s calibre there was much
to grasp. Mao, an authoritarian leader, who had seen the need to
turn his society upside down to strengthen its revolutionary zeal,
was someone the young Eritrean could emulate.
Founding the EPLF
Isaias and Ramadan began making derogatory remarks about the

ELF, and soon fell out with their Eritrean comrades, who threat-
ened that this would be sorted out when they returned home.
They were not deterred, making notes of how best to form a
clandestine party. When the time came to leave China instead of
making his way to Sudan, Isaias went to Saudi Arabia, attempt-
ing to cross into Eritrea by dhow. He was arrested and held for
nearly six months before Osman Saleh Sabbe, a senior ELF
leader, could negotiate his release.
By the time he returned in 1968 the ELF was in turmoil. The
organisation had divided its forces into five divisions. Isaias was
sent to be political commissar of the 5th division to his home
region, Hamasien, which surrounds Asmara. The division was
composed mostly of Christians. Isaias and others who shared his
views were deeply opposed to the religious segregation of the
movement. He joined a reform movement known as ‘Eslah’ in
107
Arabic. Its members were mainly composed of younger, more

educated activists—including those who had been trained in
Syria, Cuba and China. With the ELF beset by bitter in-fighting
Isaias then joined one of its factions: the Popular Liberation
Forces (PLF2) which decided to withdraw from the ELF. Isaias Â€
then led the group into an alliance with other breakaway factions
to form the Eritrean Liberation Forces—People’s Liberation
Front. Osman Saleh Sabbe, who had rescued him from a Saudi
prison, served as the movement’s foreign representative in Cairo,
supplying them with arms until their relationship ended in 1976.
Away from prying eyes, in the deserts of the Danakil in eastern
Eritrea an even more important event was taking place. This was
the formation of the Eritrean People’s Revolutionary Party—often
referred to simply as the ‘People’s Party’. Its secret membership led
by Isaias and his closest associates, it was founded on 4 April 1971.
Â€
As one of the founders, Mahmoud Sherifo, told Dan Connell: ‘We

met there and discussed the need to form a core among us before
uniting the new forces, to campaign on the basis of nationalism
and progressive ideas… to [get] rid of the prejudices and grudges
of the past. We decided to work in a very secretive manner.
Marxism would be our leading ideology…’ This was precisely the
way Isaias had worked ever since he had been a schoolboy. It was
the culmination of the practices he had established with his closest
confidants and signed in blood in Sudan.
Woldeyesus Ammar, writing from the perspective of the ELF,
had a rather different take on these events. He accuses Isaias of
having written to friends in the highlands as early as 1968, urg-
ing them to send as many Christians to join the fight as possible,
to defend the ‘dignity’ of their people. When the break with the
ELF came in November 1971, according to Woldeyesus, Isaias
made it plain that he saw them as an oppressed group within the
wider movement. Isaias is said to have declared in the group’s
founding document, Nehnan Elamanan (‘We and our Goals’):
108
‘What do you do when they chase you out of what you thought
was a national cause? What do you do when they oppress you
while fighting for freedom?’ To address this oppression Isaias and
his colleagues are said to have established their own organisation,
which drew its support from the highland community, even if
‘almost all or even all of us are Christians by birth, by culture
and by history’. According to this narrative, it was a desire by
Isaias to enhance the position of Christians within the liberation
struggle, as opposed to any faults with the ELF, that led to the
rupture with the party.
Yet even at this early stage in the formation of what became
the EPLF Isaias did not have things all his own way. Before he
could assert his supremacy over his movement he had to rebuff
two internal challenges: from left and from right. Binding a
close-knit group of supporters around him he saw off both of
them. The left wing faction was led by his old friend, Mussie
Tesfamikael, with whom Isaias has taken his blood-oath. The
internal debate that surrounded this split was important. Mussie,
informed by the left-wing Marxist ideology then prevalent
among revolutionary movements in the developing world, called
for more radical policies. He also criticised the lack of democratic
decision-making within the new organisation. Mussie and
his supporters met in secret late at night—leading to their
Â€
Â�nickname: menqa—the bats. They underestimated Isaias. He

denounÂ�ced his critics in a publication entitled: ‘The destructive
movement of 1973’. Isaias mobilised his supporters, established
a committee to try them and rounded up the menqa. The prin-
ciple of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ was reversed and became
‘guilty until proven innocent.’ As many as eleven may have been
arrested and jailed—some of them for years. Mussie suffered an
even harsher fate. Together with a colleague he was executed on
11 August 1974.
Â€
The Yameen (Arabic for ‘right’) movement proved easier to

resist. This was purged by an internal security organisation
109
known as ‘the guardian of the revolution.’ The ‘guardian’ rou-

tinely tortured anyone they suspected of disloyalty—including
new recruits, just in case they turned out to be infiltrators.
Professor Gaim Kibreab quotes Michael Ghaber, a prominent
ELF dissident and historian who was active in the 1960s, as
pointing out how severe the problems of security were for the
early Eritrean movements, which were subjected to intense scru-
tiny by the Ethiopians. ‘In the early phases of the resistance,
trust was a luxury that we could not afford. It was safer to be
suspicious.’ The problem was that this became entrenched in the
movements. Professor Gaim concludes:
A slight deviation, on matters of procedure let alone substance, was
interpreted as a betrayal of the organisation and its goals. The practice
that began in the early 1960s became entrenched as norms throughout
the 30 years of war, even in the liberated areas where there was no
imminent threat from the enemy. From the early 1970s onwards as the
independence movement splintered, an ominous element was added to
the cocktail of fear and suspicion as betrayal could come from rival
factions as well as from agents of the Ethiopian state.
Dr Bereket Habte Selassie, the widely respected Chairman of
Â€
the Constitutional Commission after independence, witnessed

this in the spring of 1976 when he was travelling through areas
inside Eritrea under the movement’s control. ‘I heard about wide-
spread practice of torture under Solomon [Woldemariam’s]
watch. I dismissed the rumours as enemy propaganda, or fac-
tional spite,’ he later recalled. But one day, while going to the
toilet, he heard cries coming from the bush. There, to his hor-
ror, he found Solomon’s deputy beating a man about the head.
‘The victim, whose hands and feet were tied and who apparently
knew me, called me by my name and begged to be rescued.’ But
Dr Bereket was helpless, and the victim—a law student—was
Â€
killed in 1976 for being a member of the reform movement.

Solomon himself soon fell foul of the organisation. Within a few
110
years he too had disagreed with Isaias and began calling for inter-
nal party democracy. It did little good. By 1980 the pressure on
Solomon was intolerable and he fled to Sudan, fearing for his
life. The following year he was persuaded to return, but was
arrested on arrival, never to be seen again.
Isaias had shown his true colours. Faced with internal chal-
lenges he had acted ruthlessly. Always prepared to escalate any
disagreement, he had outmanoeuvred his opponents, taking
them to a kangaroo court, then torturing them, jailing them, or
putting them before a firing squad. His supporters should have
learnt from this, but few did. Instead, confronted with the exi-
gencies of a civil war and a fight for independence, they rallied
behind their charismatic leader, suppressing concerns about his
lack of democratic practices. This is the background to the emer-
gence of the Eritrea People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) in 1974–
75, which was to lead the country to independence.
While the Eritrean liberation movements fragmented, and
then re-formed, they still managed to prosecute the war against
the Ethiopians. But they were also involved in bitter struggles
against others: effectively an Eritrean civil war. They first erupted
in February 1972, when the ELF leaders voted to ‘liquidate’ the
breakaway PLF associated with Isaias and another faction associ-
ated with Osman Saleh Sabbe. A truce was negotiated two years
later and extended in 1975. By this time the EPLF had emerged
and the ELF and EPLF signed an agreement in Khartoum to
form a joint command of a United Front.
The pact did not last: the ELF accused the EPLF of opening
secret negotiations with the Soviet Union in 1980, which was
then allied with the Ethiopian government. In August 1980 the
second civil war erupted and the ELF was finally driven from
Eritrea, seeking sanctuary in Sudan. The EPLF had won this
war and enforced its rule inside the liberated areas, using the old
ELF slogan: ‘the field cannot tolerate more than one organisa-
111
tion.’ Part of the reason for this success was that unlike the ELF,
which was fragmented and crippled by rival centres of power, the
EPLF tolerated no such divisions. Many were killed in these
conflicts and the bitterness this engendered still underlies many
of the divisions that exist within Eritrean society today. Nothing
has been forgotten and even less has been forgiven, despite the
passing of the years.
The EPLF had been born out of the cauldron of a civil con-
flict, yet within a few years it had managed to establish its
supremacy. Foreigners who visited it during the 1980s were
struck by what a remarkable movement it was. The EPLF con-
trolled large areas of western Eritrea, bordering on Sudan. The
little town of Nakfa remained in its hands throughout the war,
although sometimes Ethiopian offensives came close to over-
whelming the defences. In this arid, mountainous rear base the
EPLF constructed a complex and sophisticated administration.
A corner of Eritrea was being transformed into an alternative
society, even though it existed under martial conditions.
There were well run hospitals, dug into the hillsides, with
rudimentary drugs and saline drips being produced in laborato-
ries. There were workshops that could mend anything from a
broken watch to a tank-track. Villagers and nomads had their
needs met. Trade was conducted via Sudan, radio transmissions
were broadcast and newspapers and magazines produced. Small-
scale factories produced plastic sandals beloved of the front line
fighters (they were far more appropriate to the conditions than
the heavy boots the Ethiopians were equipped with) and sanitary
towels for its women.
There had been limited participation by women in the ELF
and the EPLF was, at first, a male only organisation. In the early
1970s women began offering to join the movement and the
EPLF first opened its ranks and then started actively recruiting
female combatants. This was no easy task in a culturally conser-
112
vative society. To gain the support of local people the EPLF

promised they would be like brothers or fathers to the women:
there would be no sex in the movement. The rule was strictly
enforced: rape was a capital offense and there were stiff punish-
ments for anyone even caught having consensual sex. The strat-
egy worked and women joined in their thousands. After a few
years marriage was allowed, with the permission of the unit com-
mander. By 1993 when independence became official, women
made up about a third of the roughly 95,000 EPLF fighters.
Women paid as heavy a price for Eritrea’s freedom as men.
They carried out some of the most dangerous operations behind
enemy lines. Sometimes they engaged in ‘honey traps’—using
sex to gain secrets from Ethiopian officers or luring them to
their deaths in such operations. Women served on the front line,
to all intents and purposes equal combatants. None, however,
gained promotion to the highest ranks in the party during the
war. A National Union of Eritrean Women was formed, but it
took its orders from the party and enjoyed little autonomy.
When the EPLF was founded Isaias had to share at least some
power with others who led the Front. But by the 1980s he had
managed to hone it into the movement he wanted. The EPLF was
a tough, nationalist organisation that would do the bidding of the
leadership. Its members were prepared to make almost any sacri-
fice for the independence of their country, and frequently laid
down their lives. But just as important, it was a broad movement
that was in reality controlled by a Leninist inner-party, which
took all the most important decisions. It is the manner in which
Isaias has worked ever since: maintaining a tight group of utterly
loyal lieutenants, whom he shuffles and re-shuffles over time—
favouring one over the other, and then reversing course. It may
have been a highly successful means of controlling and running a
revolutionary movement fighting a much larger enemy—Ethiopia—
but it set terrible precedents for a future Eritrea.
113
Dan Connell identifies the mid 1980s as one of several critical

moments in which the seal was set on this process. In a cam-
paign that resembled Mao’s Cultural Revolution—which saw key
opponents identified, humiliated and eliminated—Isaias launched
a ‘three privileges campaign’. This coincided with the secretive
People’s Party holding its second congress in early 1987. The
aim, says Connell, was to discredit rival political leaders by
appealing over their heads to mid-level cadres, just as Mao had
done, and Isaias had witnessed during his time in China:
That period—the mid-1980s—represents a crucial turning point in the
trajectory of the EPRP/EPLF in which Isaias made a bid to marginalise
the political core of the movement’s founding leadership and then dilute
it through the militarisation of party and front decision-making bodies,
packing the party’s Central Committee and the front’s Political Bureau
with military men unswervingly loyal to him. The ‘three privileges
campaign,’ which set the stage for this reorganization, was a moral
crusade in which Isaias appealed to second-tier cadres to heap shame on
their leaders for drinking, womanising and using their positions to
secure material advantage. He then brought three generals into both the
party CC [Central Committee] and the EPLF’s Political Bureau.
If Connell is correct, then this is the decisive moment when
Isaias took unquestioned control of the party. But some within
the movement are sceptical about this explanation. They point to
other debates that would have transformed the EPLF, with seri-
ous consideration being given to the establishment of a multi-
party system and a mixed economy. Most of the members of the
EPLF would have been unaware of just what was going on, since
much of this activity took place within the People’s Party or the
higher echelons of the EPLF. And since secrecy was the hall-
Â€
mark of both organisations, there was little opportunity for open

discussion. Instead most fighters concentrated on the task at
hand: resisting the onslaught of the Ethiopians and then turning
defence into offence.
114
Of course these were not the only influences that shaped the
nature of Eritrea’s emerging state. As outlined above, the EPLF’s
relationship with the movement from which it had been born,
the ELF, was important. So too was the constantly conflictual
relationship with the TPLF and the long years of warfare with
Ethiopia. All had come together to reinforce authoritarian ten-
dencies inside the movement that led the fight for independence.
Once this was achieved they would come to the fore.
Independence and beyond

The liberation of Asmara came on 24 May 1991, to the joy of
Â€
almost every Eritrean. EPLF troops drove into the capital. There
were wild celebrations: after decades of struggle the Eritrean
people were free to decide their own destiny. There was—for a
moment—anticipation that the murderous divisions within
Eritrean society would be a thing of the past. Discussions were
held with members of the ELF leadership in exile and some
began preparing to go home. In the end this did not take place:
quite why Isaias changed his mind and did not extend the hand
of friendship and reconciliation remains unclear.
This is the recollection of Woldejesus Ammar:
A week after the liberation of Asmara, Issayas declared the formation of
the Eritrean Provisional Government in London and saw no need of
calling the other factions for participation and power-sharing in a new
Eritrea. He disdained the call for a joint Eritrean conference to build
national consensus. In his first public speech in Asmara on 20 June 1991,
Â€
he promised amnesty to all those individuals who were ‘duped’ by the

other factions. He added that any person talking or acting in the name of
fronts other than the EPLF will be prosecuted for criminal acts.
Eritreans would be ‘forgiven’ for backing the ‘wrong’ move-
ment and allowed to return—but only as individuals. They would
not be permitted to come as organisations or movements. Eritrea
115
was to be a one-party state and the EPLF would be that party.

This was in stark contrast to the earlier commitments of the
EPLF. Its 1977 ‘National Democratic Programme’ had promised
Â€
an elected leadership, respect for the constitution, equal rights,

freedom of speech, worship and peaceful protest. At its Second
Congress, held in 1987, the party went further, with a commit-
ment to multi-party politics in the post-independence era. The
EPLF promised to: ‘Protect the democratic rights of freedom of
speech, the press, assembly, worship and peaceful demonstration
as well as the right of nationalist political parties and nationalist
associations of workers, peasants, women, students, youth and
professionals.’ Now that independence had been achieved, these
promises apparently counted for little.
The political mould of Eritrea had already been determined.
Outwardly the Front was a nationalist movement representing all
of the country’s peoples. In reality it was a tightly run, hierarchi-
cal organisation controlled by a narrow clique—the leadership of
the People’s Party. At its heart was Isaias, who went on to
become Eritrea’s first president. He was nominally answerable to
a National Assembly, but in 1993 it was simply decided that
members of the EPLF Central Committee would become mem-
bers of the Assembly. Isaias was effectively answerable to no one
but the inner-circle of the People’s Party.
Women, too, were disappointed that their hopes of equality
were not borne out in practice. When they entered Asmara and
other cities they were full of confidence. As one article from 1993
put it: ‘women with long afros and black rubber sandals walk the
streets. They have a masculine swagger and their gaze is intense
and serious.’ Women gradually found themselves back in the
home, doing domestic chores. The slogans spoke of ‘no develop-
ment without women’s participation,’ but the government’s practice
was rather different. The EPLF, which had once challenged soci-
etal mores and even the institution of the family, now embraced
116
both. Victoria Bernal quotes one former fighter as saying: ‘We

came back from the field and instead of us pulling them forward,
they are trying to pull us back… We had changed, but the society
had not changed.’ This is an all-too familiar story: one that
women have endured in almost every conflict across the globe.
The first challenge to Isaias’s power came from an unlikely
quarter. Civic societies and religious groups, some of which had
grown up during the long years of the liberation war, each had a
life of their own. For a Leninist this was unacceptable.
The Eritrea Relief Association—the humanitarian wing of the
EPLF—had channelled vast sums of money to relieve the suffer-
ing of the people since it was founded in 1975. It had won a
reputation for efficiency and probity. Both the Eritrean diaspora
and the international humanitarian organisations (like Oxfam
and Save the Children) had come to know and trust it. Run from
Khartoum it had moved vast quantities of aid into the country—
particularly during the major famine of 1984–85. Its chairman
was Paulos Tesfagiorgis, who came from a well-known Asmara
family. Although a member of the EPLF and the People’s Party,
Paulos was an independent-minded person whose easy charm
won him many friends in the international community.
In 1987 the People’s Party discussed the future shape of
Eritrean society just prior to the EPLF’s second congress. Paulos
revealed to Gaim Kibreab that he had written a paper for Isaias
on the role of civic society associations once freedom had been
won. Isaias decided that the issue was ‘premature’ and—accord-
ing to Paulos—from then onwards set out to undermine the
Relief Association’s independence.
In 1991, with the war at an end, Paulos returned home. He
went to see Isaias with a proposal to establish a new developmen-
tal NGO, the Regional Centre of Human Rights and Development.
Paulos says he was encouraged by the meeting; Isaias explained
that the country was short of skilled manpower and required a
focus on development.
117
Believing that he had a green light to establish the Centre and

participate in rebuilding his country, Paulos filed an application
with the Department of the Interior to register the organisation.
He was informed that for this to go ahead he would have to
promise that the Centre would allow the Department to have full
oversight over all its activities. Copies of all correspondence with
any foreign organisation would have to be filed with the govern-
ment. Paulos balked at this interference, but in the end an agree-
ment was reached and the Centre was registered. For a while
things went smoothly and in 1994 the Centre was even able to
hold a regional development conference. But the party was
clearly uncomfortable about the Centre’s autonomy and unwilling
to allow it to flourish. In late 1994, following several confronta-
tions, the government finally ordered that the Centre should be
closed, confiscating its assets. Project money was returned to
donors and the initiative was at an end.
If the treatment of the Eritrea Relief Association and the
Regional Centre of Human Rights and Development was trou-
bling what happened next was truly alarming. In Eritrea no one
is as revered as much as the nation’s fighters. The men and
women who fought for their country’s freedom—many of them
paying the ultimate price and being regarded as martyrs—are
held in the highest esteem. That, at least, is the official position.
How President Isaias actually treated his war veterans tells a
rather different story.
In April 1993 the country voted in an internationally super-
vised referendum on whether to become an independent nation.
Some of the polling took place abroad; I helped supervise the
London vote. The result was a foregone conclusion: 1,100,260
people (99.83 per cent of the electorate) voted in favour with just
1,822 people voting against. Independence was scheduled to be
formally declared on 24 May 1993, two years to the day after the
Â€
EPLF entered Asmara. But before this could take place the party
118
took a number of decisions. Among the most contentious was

that its fighters, who had received no pay for the past two years,
would have to wait a further four years before being rewarded—
irrespective of what job they were given.
This was announced without consultation. On 20 May theÂ€
troops stationed around Asmara revolted. Many had fought for

years—some for decades—for next to no rewards, but now they
were in their own capital. Life was expensive and they had
responsibilities towards their families. Driving round the city in
tanks and armoured cars, the fighters were vociferous in the
denunciation of the EPLF leadership, accusing them of abusing
their powers. Ministries were occupied and businesses were
closed. They demanded that Isaias come to meet them to hear
their grievances. While there was plenty of anger there was no
suggestion of a coup: this was a protest and nothing more.
The president met the fighters and was ordered by them to
walk to Asmara Stadium to speak to the troops, who were ferried
in by bus and truck. With the stadium packed to capacity with
well-armed fighters, the president listened to their demands
before assuring them that he had sympathy for what they had to
say. He promised that US$7 million would be allocated to their
most pressing needs and that a commission of inquiry would be
held to look into their wider allegations of abuse of power and
corruption. He also promised to convene a third congress of the
EPLF. By 7:00 p.m. Isaias had accepted all their demands and
Â€
the disgruntled troops agreed to return to their barracks. It

proved to be a costly mistake. Once safely in his office the presi-
dent went on the air to attack the soldiers as ‘illegal, misguided
and infantile’. Over the coming months between 200 and 300
were rounded up and imprisoned at Adi Qala—Eritrea’s most
notorious prison. There they rotted for the next two years before
being sentenced to up to twelve years in prison.
The treatment of the wounded and disabled fighters was
equally severe. During the war the EPLF had done its best to
119
look after its wounded and maimed combatants, even when it

was fighting in the field, with few resources to spare for their
care. The main hospital at Orota performed surgical miracles to
reconstruct their shattered bodies in wards driven deep into the
hillsides to avoid Ethiopian bombs. So one might have assumed
that in 1993, once the war was over, the government would have
welcomed the formation of an Eritrean War Disabled Fighters’
Association. A rehabilitation centre was established at Mai
Habar, a few miles outside the capital. It was prepared to receive
3,000 veterans, but over 10,000 arrived and the centre was over-
whelmed. To make matters worse the president refused all out-
side help—whether offered from international organisations or
the diaspora.
In 1994 the Association called for a meeting with Isaias, but
he was unwilling to grant this request. So, on 11 July that year
Â€
the disabled veterans marched on the capital, despite being told

that permission for the demonstration had been refused. They
set off anyway and were met by police and told to disperse.
Others might have turned around but the ex-fighters were made
of sterner stuff and refused. Some threw stones at the police,
who replied by firing live rounds at the crowd. Some of the dem-
onstrators were killed. When the news reached the capital there
was astonishment and outrage that these esteemed liberation
heroes should be treated this way. Rumours circulated that a
massacre had taken place. The president’s response was dismis-
sive: ‘We cannot afford to slaughter sheep for you every morning,’
he is said to have remarked.
The treatment of the Eritrean Relief Association and the vet-
erans and disabled combatants became the blueprint for Isaias’s
response to the requests from a range of other civic organisa-
tions. Women who had fought for their country, religious organ-
isations—Christian and Muslim—and the students of Asmara
University all suffered a similar fate. The president was simply
120
not prepared to brook any opposition. Indeed, it soon became

clear that he was unwilling to tolerate the establishment of any
organisation that was in any way independent of the EPLF. Every
Â€
group had to be dependent on the party and finally on the presi-

dent and those he gathered around himself.
Towards repression
Despite these disturbing events many Eritreans, as well as the

country’s small band of international supporters, hoped that
these were just early difficulties that would be resolved over time.
Few believed they were the hallmark of a truly repressive regime.
And for a while the evidence seemed to bear this out. Eritrea
took its place on the world stage, joining the UN and the African
Union. Relations with Ethiopia improved and were normalised.
At home a small but lively independent press emerged, some-
times even carrying material critical of the government. The
BBC and Reuters were among international news organisations
that stationed correspondents in the country.
Eritrea was born a one-party state. When the Provisional
Government took power in 1991 it banned all parties other than
the EPLF. Members of other parties could only return to the
Â€
country as individuals. As Isaias put it in a speech in Asmara

Stadium marking Martyrs’ Day, 20 June, Eritrea would not
Â€
become a ‘playground of political organisations.’ The democracy

Eritreans had fought for was proving elusive. But at least a start
was made on drawing up a constitution. Proclamation No. 1
issued by the Provisional Government called for the drafting of a
constitution ‘on the basis of which a democratic order would be
established.’ The task was given to Bereket Habte Selassie. A
commission was established with a two year mandate to consult
as widely as possible on what the constitution should contain.
A first draft was ready by 1995. There was extensive public
discussion followed by revisions. The final draft was submitted to
121
the National Assembly in July 1996 and ratified in May 1997. The
constitution contained guarantees of all sorts of human rights—
including free speech, assembly and an independent judiciary.
All that was required was for the document to be imple-
mented. For a moment it seemed that this was about to occur.
The 1997 presidential dinner (the most prestigious annual recep-
tion) held on the eve of Independence Day, was dedicated to the
Constitution. On Independence Day itself, 24 May, during the
Â€
celebration in the national stadium a copy of the Constitution

was carried from one end of the arena to the other, and presented
to Isaias. The moment was of enormous symbolic importance. A
committee to frame election laws was formed and a draft was
submitted to the National Assembly for discussion. Then fate
took a hand. In May 1998 the border war with Ethiopia erupted,
and the constitution was set to one side.
When the war ended two years later the issue was back on the
agenda. In September 2000 the National Assembly passed a reso-
lution calling for general elections to be held before the end of
2001. The task of bringing this about fell to Mahmoud Sherifo,
the Minister of Regional Government. He completed a draft law
on political parties and was about to start public consultations
when the president ordered him to cease and report to him. The
minister refused, arguing that his mandate came from the
National Assembly. Isaias promptly dismissed him. Since then
the Constitution—despite being ratified—has gathered dust. In
May 2014 the president finally put the matter to rest: a new
constitution would be drafted based on what Isaias described as
important lessons gleaned from ‘hostile external schemes aimed
at derailing the nation-building process.’ There is little evidence
of progress since this announcement.
By 2001 matters were coming to a head, as even some of
Isaias’s closest confidants understood that the situation could not
be allowed to fester any longer. The first rumours of dissent
came during the border war of 1998–2000. Eritrean fighters,
122
once famed for their ability to win against overwhelming odds,

had been routed. Andebrhan Welde Giorgis, once close to Isaias,
says that the reverses ‘shattered the aura of invincibility’ of the
army and ‘exposed the structural weaknesses in the Eritrean
operational command and military intelligence, and raised the
spectre of further setbacks.’ Part of the blame, it was being whis-
pered, lay with the president himself. Isaias was said to have
intervened directly in the strategic decisions, giving orders rather
than allowing the military to use their judgement on how best to
run the war. Some of the old hands in the military who had been
frozen out of positions of influence returned to their posts. With
their help—it is said—a full-scale defeat was avoided.
Exactly what took place is still not clear, but Haile Wold’ensae
explained to Dan Connell that amid the chaos of war the issue
of Isaias stepping down was discussed. The president’s supporters
accuse his critics of passing to Ethiopian officials an offer to
remove Isaias, via American and Italian intermediaries. They sug-
gest that a full-scale coup plot was under way. The president’s
critics were labelled ‘traitors’ when the inevitable recriminations
got under way.
Andebrhan cites as significant a central committee meeting of
the ruling party (by this time renamed the PFDJ) that was held
from 31 August until 2 September 2000:
Â€ Â€
This marked the first ever overt conversation that generated a historical
debate within the historical leadership of the EPLF… The president
faced concrete, direct and substantive criticism, accusing him of mis-
managing the affairs of state and displaying an increasingly autocratic
style of leadership. Put on the defensive and unable to present a coher-
ent and credible justification of his conduct and actions, the president
resorted to subterfuge and blackmail to muzzle the debate. With the
Rubicon crossed, however, there was no turning back.
The September meeting of the National Assembly discussed
the president’s conduct of the border war and established a com-
123
mission to assess what had taken place and to draw up rules for
multi-party elections to be held in December 2001. When
pushed on why he had failed to hold regular meetings of the
party and the government, the president retorted simply: ‘it was
not convenient to convene meetings.’ Frustrated by his stance
senior officials began collecting signatures for a petition calling
for regular meetings of the Front and the National Assembly.
The president and his supporters retaliated by spreading allega-
tions of betrayal. The scene was set for a final showdown.
The first open revolt came in September 2000. A group of
prominent intellectuals—thirteen in total—came together in
Berlin. They signed a letter to the president demanding greater
transparency and freedom of expression and questioning the
causes of the recent ‘tragic war’ with Ethiopia. The signatories
included Paulos Tesfagiorgis (the only one still inside Eritrea)
and others—like Bereket Habte Selassie who had drafted the
constitution and Kassahun Checole, a well known publisher—
who were living abroad. The ‘Berlin Manifesto’, which was
leaked to the media, caused a stir in Eritrean circles, but no
change in government policy.
In May 2001 a group of fifteen of the EPLF’s most senior
members published an open letter to party members. Soon
known as the ‘G15’ they included men and women who had
fought for their country’s independence for decades. In it they
accused Isaias of stifling debate and damaging the country. The
letter called for human rights, an independent judiciary and the
establishment of a ‘constitutional government through free and
fair elections.’ The signatories included Mahmoud Sherifo,
Minister of Local Government and effectively Isaias’s deputy,
Haile Wold’ensae, Minister of Foreign Affairs and then Trade
and Industry, and Mesfin Hagos, the former Chief of Staff of the
Eritrean Defence Force. Over the next few months the dissidents
gave interviews to local and international media expanding on
and explaining their criticisms.
124
It was a challenge Isaias could not ignore, and his critics prob-
ably knew what was coming. Why they failed to take pre-emptive
action between May and September is something of a conun-
drum: perhaps they were transfixed by the threat they faced,
rather like rabbits in headlights. On 18 and 19 September 2001
Â€
the axe fell. In dawn raids the president sent his security forces
to round up eleven of the fifteen signatories. Of the remaining
original signatories three were not in the country and one had
been persuaded to withdraw his support. The prisoners were first
held at a naval base and then transferred to the newly constructed
Eiraeiro prison on the coastal plain, north of the Asmara-
Massawa road. None has been ever seen again; some are reported
to have died in detention. They have faced no trials or tribunals
and their fate can only be surmised. The only explanation given
by the authorities was that the signatories had ‘committed crimes
against the sovereignty, security and peace of the nation.’
The repression did not end there. Even before the arrests of
his closest colleagues the president had moved against students
at the University of Asmara. Around 400 were rounded up after
they demonstrated to free one of their leaders in August 2001.
They were held in a desert detention camp South of Massawa. At
least two were feared to have died of heat and dehydration. The
university itself was closed and students transferred to vocational
schools in military camps.
On 18 September, at the same time as members of the G15
Â€
were being arrested, the government shut down all private news-
papers and publications. The date was no accident—coming less
than a week after al-Qaeda’s attacks on New York and Washington.
The world’s attention was focussed on the collapse of the Twin
Towers and the passenger aircraft crashing into the Pentagon.
There was little interest in events in Eritrea. President Isaias went
on French radio to denounce thirteen editors and journalists who
had been rounded up: they were, he said, traitors. ‘These are not
125
even journalists,’ he declared. ‘You cannot say a spy is a journal-

ist.’ Nor was this the end of the clampdown. In November 2006
another wave of arrests saw journalists from the state media
jailed. A group of elders who attempted to mediate between the
president and his critics was also detained; some never emerged
from custody. Today the country is at the very bottom of the
Reporters Without Borders annual league tables ranking press
freedom around the world. Eritrea ranks at number 180 on the
list—just below North Korea and Turkmenistan.
President Isaias—challenged by those who had fought along-
side him for so many years—had emerged victorious. He now
ruled supreme, surrounded by a small clique of party, military
and security officials, none of whom was his equal.
At the same time blame for the current predicament cannot be
laid solely at the feet of Isaias. His colleagues in the EPLF lead-
ership must take their share of the responsibility for the coun-
try’s predicament. The problem for them was that he was not
just clever and manipulative; Isaias was far more ruthless than
any of his contemporaries. He was prepared to use any means to
hang onto power and had no compunction about destroying any-
one who questioned his authority. As one former fighter put it:
‘He uses and disposes of human beings as if they were plastic
shopping bags.’
UN Commission of Inquiry
International concern about Eritrea’s human rights abuses has

gradually increased. Amnesty International and Human Rights
Watch have produced regular reports outlining the repression of
anyone who fell out with the regime, from politicians and jour-
nalists to religious leaders. In July 2014 the UN’s Human Rights
Council agreed to establish a Commission of Inquiry to report
on the situation. The resolution provided a long list of alleged
126
abuses that it asked a Special Rapporteur to report on. The

report called upon the Eritrean government: ‘to cooperate fully
with the Special Rapporteur and the commission of inquiry, to
permit them and their staff members unrestricted access to visit
the country, to give due consideration to the recommendations
contained in the reports of the Special Rapporteur, and to pro-
vide them with the information necessary for the fulfilment of
their mandates’, underlining ‘the importance for all States to lend
their support to the Special Rapporteur and the commission of
inquiry for the discharge of their mandates.’
The establishment of a UN Commission of Inquiry was some-
thing of a rarity. Previous Commissions had investigated North
Korea, Syria and Burundi. The Eritrea Commission was chaired
by Mike Smith, Professor in the Department of Policing, IntelliÂ�
gence and Counter-Terrorism at Macquarie University in New
South Wales, Australia. He was supported by Sheila B. Keetharuth,
Â€
a human rights lawyer from Mauritius and Victor Dankwa, a

Ghanaian constitutional expert. Although they contacted the
Eritrean government repeatedly they received little in the way of
co-operation. Instead of visiting Eritrea and taking evidence the
Commission was forced to tour the diaspora, talking to as many
sources as they could find. They visited the refugee camps in
Ethiopia as well as speaking to exiles around the world. The
result of their investigation was a damning 483-page report based
on 550 interviews and 160 written submissions.
Presenting their findings in June 2015, Mike Smith gave this
assessment:
A massive domestic surveillance network penetrates all levels of society,
turning even family members against each other. Much of the popula-
tion is subject to forced conscription and labour, sometimes in slave-
like conditions. Tens of thousands have been imprisoned, often without
charge and for indeterminate periods… Over the past several months,
our Commission of Inquiry has found that systematic, widespread, and
127
gross human rights violations have been and are still being committed
with impunity in Eritrea.
Our findings are sobering. The many violations in Eritrea are of a scope
and scale seldom seen anywhere else in today’s world. Basic freedoms
are curtailed, from movement to expression; from religion to associa-
tion. The Commission finds that crimes against humanity may have
occurred with regard to torture, extrajudicial executions, forced labour
and in the context of national service.
The last sentence proved particularly significant. The UN
Human Rights Council asked the Commissioners to continue
their work for a further year and to report on whether there
had—indeed—been ‘crimes against humanity.’ Such a finding
would be among the most serious charges that could be laid
against a state. A year later the Commission reported once more.
Their verdict was clear. The Commissioners reported that
Eritrean officials had committed ‘crimes of enslavement, impris-
onment, enforced disappearance, torture, reprisals as other inhu-
man acts, persecution, rape and murder.’ They concluded that:
‘there are reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against
humanity have been committed in Eritrea since 1991.’
The Eritrean government was furious. By 2016 President Isaias
had authorised his officials to try to break out of the isolation in
which they found themselves. They did all they could to discredit
the Commission of Inquiry. The Eritrean Ministry of Foreign
Affairs issued a statement accusing the Commission of showing
a ‘total disregard for the basic principles of fundamental rules of
procedure and established norms of fair play’ and suggesting that
its credibility has been undermined. The statement failed to
mention that it was the government’s own actions that kept the
Commission out of Eritrea.
Documents leaked from the Eritrean capital provided an
insight into the scale of the official campaign against the
Commission. The government’s aim was to collect 300,000 sig-
128
natures protesting against the work of the Commission. A

seven-page letter in Tigrinya from the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs detailed the operation. Every Eritrean foreign embassy is
required to fulfil an allocated quota of signatures against the
Commission’s report. For Eritreans in the diaspora this was not
a mere request. Living—as many of them do—in countries like
Sudan, they were open to real pressure to comply with this
request for support. Refusal would leave the exiles open to accu-
sations of being unpatriotic, resulting in a denial of assistance
from any Eritrean embassy—including passports, visas or any
other form of official documentation or permission. Thousands
of Eritreans across the diaspora were officially encouraged to
travel to Geneva. ‘Spontaneous’ protests were planned against the
Commission’s findings, even before they had been made public.
In the event there were competing demonstrations when the
findings were revealed in Geneva in June 2016. Critics of the
Eritrean government among the diaspora also came in their
thousands and—according to the Swiss police—outnumbered
the pro-government demonstrations.
When the second report came before the UN Human Rights
Council in July 2016 the Eritrean authorities fought a rear-guard
action to try to prevent it being adopted. President Isaias’s senior
aid, Yemane Ghebreab, called for the report to be rejected, claim-
ing that it would stoke tensions across the Horn. ‘Its grave con-
sequences will not be limited to Eritrea but will engulf the entire
region,’ he said. ‘This resolution will be used and abused to fan
the flames of war.’
In the event, the text was somewhat watered down, following
objections from several countries, including China and the
United States. Earlier drafts explicitly called for it to be referred
to the Security Council. Instead it was sent to all ‘relevant organs
of the UN for consideration and urgent action.’ Speaking for the
Commission, Mike Smith welcomed the decision saying that it
129
‘fully endorses the work we have done over the past two years.’
Eritrea was recommended to be referred to the International
Criminal Court and the Special Rapporteur was given a mandate
to examine human rights in the country for a further year.
* * *
The adoption of the Commission of Inquiry’s report was a con-
siderable blow to the regime. It had mobilised all its resources to
try and defeat it, without success. Its finding that crimes against
humanity had, indeed, been committed by the authorities against
their own people was also a setback from those in the EU who
were attempting to establish a new relationship with Asmara to
try to halt the exodus of refugees. A close relationship with a
regime with this appellation will be difficult for any western state
with a commitment to human rights.
Much depends on how President Isaias and his associates
respond. The regime is not easy to second-guess. Outsiders
have long attempted to get to grips with the president. On
Â€
12 November 2008 the American Ambassador to Asmara,

Â€
Ronald K. McMullen, sent a secret cable to the US State

Â€
Department, entitled: ‘Is Isaias Unhinged.’ It contained a not

very flattering, but perceptive, biography of the president. Its
conclusions cannot—for obvious reasons—be verified, but it is
worth reproducing and is carried in full at the end of this book.
[See Appendix 2.] But the key point he made is this: Isaias is ‘an
austere and narcissistic dictator whose political ballast derives
from Maoist ideology fine-tuned during Eritrea’s thirty-year war
for independence.’ Furthermore, he was said to harbour ‘paranoid
beliefs’ that the United States and the Ethiopians are attempting
to assassinate him.
This is the individual who controls the destiny of Eritrea and
whose decisions, as we have seen, have serious implications for
the rest of the Horn of Africa and the Arabian peninsula. No
130
wonder he has managed to remain president while being loathed

and feared by large sections of his own people. Many have under-
estimated Isaias Afewerki: no one has found a means of ending
his rule.
131
7
ERITREA’S ECONOMY
SMOKE AND MIRRORS
The Eritrean economy is not what it seems. Eritrea appears to be

a poor, developing country, with most of its citizens working in
peasant agriculture while the state relies for its hard currency on
a small but growing mining sector and remittance income from
the diaspora. In part this is accurate, hence Eritrea differs little
from many other African states. Its GDP per capita is somewhere
below Guinea in West Africa, and just above Mozambique in
Southern Africa. How anyone can be certain is hard to fathom—
as we shall see—but as a generality this is probably accurate, as
far as it goes.
There is, however, another dominant reality. Eritrea’s econ-
omy, like its politics, has been captured by a narrow elite.
Alongside the open, observable economy there is another, much
more significant, hidden economy. This is entirely controlled by
the party and—ultimately—by President Isaias himself. The
officials around him do not just muddle through: they have a
reputation for being efficient and organised, using long term
planning to achieve the aims of the president and the party.
133
The scale of this second reality has been spelled out in detail
over several years by the UN Monitoring Group, but few outside
of the Security Council have paid much attention. These obser-
vations are from the Monitor’s 2015 report. They complain that
their work has been hampered by a lack of financial transparency
across all aspects of economic life. This quotation gives a flavour
of what is really going on: ‘Senior officials within the GovernÂ�
ment and PFDJ continue to exert full economic control over
revenue through a clandestine network of State-owned compa-
nies.’ The UN believes that these activities, directed by the most
senior government and military officials, operate not only inside
Eritrea but also abroad. They will be outlined below.
This assessment, corroborated by independent information,
indicates that the covert economy is far more important than the
overt economy. Yet this clandestine public face of Eritrea is
not—for the most part—reflected in reports prepared by inter-
national organisations, including the IMF, World Bank, African
Development Bank etc. Let us begin with the picture that is
painted by these official bodies.
Eritrea’s overt economy
The African Development Bank provides a pithy summary of the

economy’s growth in its 2015 report: ‘Economic growth is pro-
jected at 2.1% in 2015, up from 1.3% in 2013 and 2% in 2014,
reflecting improved economic activity and increased investment
in the mining sector.’
The key question is this: how does the African Development
Bank know? As the UN Monitors spell out, the Eritrean gov-
ernment has never published a budget, so how can the Bank
publish such an assessment? The answer is—almost certainly—
that their economists have been provided with limited informa-
tion that the state wishes to release. It is a kind of ‘take it or
134
ERITREA’S ECONOMY
leave it’ relationship, with little opportunity for a forensic audit

or a deeper scrutiny.
Nor is this just a financial question. The UN Commission of
Inquiry into Human Rights in Eritrea pointed out that there has
never been a census of the country’s population. The Commission
therefore comes to this conclusion: ‘In the absence of an official
census, Eritrean population is estimated in-between 3.2 and
6.5 million.’
Â€
Others use different statistics. Perhaps the most authoritative

finding was from a report dated March 1997, from Eritrea’s
National Statistics Office, Department of Macro Policy and
International Economic Co-operation and the Office of the
President. Entitled ‘Eritrea Demographic and Health Survey,
1995’, it states: ‘Since there has not been any survey or census
conducted in the country before or after independence, the
population size is not known with any degree of precision. Some
rough professional estimates put the country’s population in the
range of 2.5 to 3.5 million. Estimates of the number of Eritreans
Â€
living abroad range between 700,000 and 1,000,000.’

Outside organisations have provided other statistics. The
African Development Bank states: ‘As of 2014, the population was
estimated at 3.5 million’, and quotes the ‘National Statistical
Â€
Office, 2014.’ By contrast the CIA World Factbook put the figure
at 6,527,689—a July 2015 estimate. The Eritrea-European Union
Co-operation Agreement, signed in Asmara on 28 January 2016,
Â€
carries this assessment: ‘In statistical reports, population size varies

from 3.5 to 6.5 mio [sic] people, owing to the fact that no recent
census date is available. Related figures (i.e. GDP per capita) thus
also have to be assessed with caution.’
Pause for a moment and consider what this implies. If the popu-
lation estimates are so widely different and there is no published
budget, how can almost any development indicator be trusted? As
the EU Co-operation Agreement signed with the Eritrean govern-
135
ment puts it diplomatically, all related data must be ‘assessed with

caution.’ Growth rates per capita could be wildly incorrect. Eritrea’s
celebrated successes in reducing maternal mortality could be com-
pletely skewed. Its percentage of pupils in school may be little
more than fiction. No one can be really sure; no official report can
be relied upon in this respect—all are based on a quicksand of
estimates, guesses and official briefings.
This is not just a statistical problem. Consider the African
Development Bank statement in 2015: ‘Eritrea is aiming at creat-
ing a modern, private sector-led economy.’ Where does the Bank
get this from? It is quoting the government’s policy document,
issued two decades earlier (1994) together with a later ‘National
Indicative Development Plan.’ In other words, the Bank is simply
reflecting what the Eritrean authorities have told it. There is
little sign of any independent investigation or probing of the
evidence. This assessment that the government aims to create a
‘modern, private sector-led economy’ is not supported by the
European Union. The EU’s joint report with the Eritrean gov-
ernment states: ‘Private sector engagement is not yet fully com-
plementary to the Government of the State of Eritrea’s develop-
ment initiatives.’ As we will see, the EU’s cautious statement is
somewhat more accurate—yet even this polite formulation hides
what is really going on.
The Eritrean growth tables provided by the Bank are similarly
questionable. They show that for the past three years they are
based on little more than informed thumb-sucking. The last con-
firmed growth figure the Bank can quote (and what is the source?)
dates from 2013. The figure for 2014 is an estimate and the figure
for 2015 is a projection. These are hardly solid grounds for any
report. The Eritrea-EU Co-operation Agreement has, as one of its
stated objectives, an improvement in the production of govern-
ment statistics by the Office of the Auditor General, which is
described as the country’s ‘Supreme Audit Institution.’ It would be
136
ERITREA’S ECONOMY
encouraging to know that this would really take place, but if past
practice is anything to go by it is unlikely to bear fruit: transpar-
ency is hardly a hallmark of President Isaias’s government.
Agriculture
Agriculture is mainly peasant-based, with most farmers barely
making a living. The African Development Bank states: ‘Based
on anecdotal evidence, poverty is still widespread in the country
where 65 per cent of the population lives in rural areas and
80 per cent depend on subsistence agriculture for their liveli-
Â€
hoods.’ In a year of good agricultural production, the country can

produce a maximum of 70–80 per cent of its cereal requirements
and in a bad year, as little as 20–30 per cent. This puts the coun-
try and its people at real, and continuing, risk.
A joint mission organised by two specialised UN agencies, the
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and World Food
Programme (WFP), produced a report in 2005 that provides
perhaps the best insight into why agriculture absorbs such a large
proportion of the population, yet provides so little output. As
they put it: ‘Agriculture is the most vital sector in Eritrea despite
a rather small estimated contribution of only 12–15 per cent to
national GDP. The crop and livestock sectors together employ
Â€
the vast majority of the population and provide the basis for food
security. However, domestic food production even in good years
remains well below the requirements, and the country relies
heavily on commercial imports and food aid.’ Eritrea is almost at
the very bottom of the 2015 UNDP’s 2015 Human Development
Index. Only the Central African Republic and Niger come lower.
Why is output so low?

Geography has a good deal to do with it. Rainfall is erratic, soil
is poor and there are no perennial rivers, making irrigation dif-
137
ficult. But this is not the whole story. Labour is very scarce as a
result of conscription. As the FAO and WFP say: ‘The shortage
of labour was observed everywhere. The main cause of this
shortage is the conscription of men into defence forces and
national service for long periods of time. The army does provide
assistance in crop harvesting and threshing, but the extent of this
assistance was difficult to ascertain.’ The unresolved tensions
with Ethiopia following the border war—and the president’s
insistence on maintaining high alert in a state of ‘no war-no
peace’—have drained the economy of its manpower. The rural
areas have been particularly hard hit, as there are few mecha-
nisms to escape conscription. This is not the only area in which
conscription has a negative impact. The Ethiopia-Eritrea border
is closed. Traditional trading routes and traditional pastures are
denied to farmers, again cutting output. This has hit hard the
Eritrean ports of Massawa and Assab, which once handled almost
all Ethiopian trade. Today they lie largely idle, with Ethiopia
having diverted its imports and exports through Dijbouti.
The cumulative impact of these issues has been felt across the
population and poverty is widespread. ‘Poverty is still rampant,’
noted the FAO/WFP. ‘A study undertaken in 2002/03 indicates
Â€
that 66 per cent of the population has incomes below the poverty
line (and 37 per cent below the extreme poverty line). On average
66 per cent of household expenditure is spent on food in urban
areas, and 71 per cent in rural areas.’
The result is severe malnutrition. A World Health OrganisaÂ�
tion study in 2010 concluded that half of all Eritrean children are
stunted as a result of malnutrition. The worst time for these
children is when they stop breastfeeding. Then the rate of what
the WHO describes as ‘chronic malnutrition’ rises to 71 per cent.
Meanwhile the prices of basic commodities have careered
upwards. By mid-2016 a kilo of sugar cost the equivalent of
€1.80 and a kilo of potatoes €2.00.
138
ERITREA’S ECONOMY
Formal employment
This consists of substantial but poorly paid government employ-
ment, and a private sector described by the African Development
Bank as ‘small and underdeveloped’. Apart from these there is
really only one major development. That is the Nevsun mine at
Bisha, 150 km west of Asmara. The mine is controversial, with
accusations that it has employed government conscripts. It is an
accusation hotly contested by the Canadian mining company
which part owns the mine, along with the government. Nevsun
has a 60 per cent stake in the venture, with the Eritrean state
holding the remaining 40 per cent. The prospects of the mine
appear good. Having initially produced gold it has subsequently
moved onto copper and Nevsun says there are large deposits of
zinc to be exploited. Three other companies—two Chinese and
one Australian—are currently involved in mining projects, but
Nevsun’s is the only mine that is currently operational.
Work at Bisha began in September 2008 and Nevsun hired
Senet, a South African company, to undertake the construction
of the infrastructure. The work was subcontracted to an Eritrean
company, Segen. This is what the UN Commission of Inquiry
Â€
had to say: ‘Even though BMSC [Bisha Mining Shareholders

Corporation] and Senet were able to directly employ foreign
workers and some Eritreans who had been released to perform
technical and skilled functions, they were required by the
Eritrean Government to hire Segen and other Eritrean public
companies to carry out all of the unskilled labour and basic con-
struction work.’
The UN Commission found that Senet attempted to conceal
the status of the workforce, most of whom were National Service
conscripts. One former conscript described how his unit came to
work at the mine:
In February 2010, we all had to go to Bisha. We did not get any details,
we were only told to go to Bisha. I don’t know how many we were, but
139
it was the whole military division. I was part of a team to do construc-

tion, we were building houses. They kept us working in the construc-
tion site. They would not tell us what we were doing, but sometimes we
heard we were building the offices or living or changing quarters. We
just guessed what it was for.
Most of the superiors came with us. We were under the control of our
direct commanding officers; the commanding officer of the brigade gave
orders to our superiors. Before we went to Bisha, they briefed us that
we were not to reveal our identity as soldiers. We wore civilian clothes
and working uniforms.
In my company, Segen, there were Eritreans and Indians. In Mereb and
Senet, there were different nationalities, including white people, many
Eritreans and foreigners. We were not allowed to talk to them. The
structure at the mine was hard to understand. They kept it that way
deliberately.
However, after talking among us, we understood that the agreement
between the Segen CEO and our commanders was that Segen would
pay $21 per day per worker, but we only received 450 Nakfa per month
[approximately $30]. I think there was an official agreement and an
informal agreement. We continued our life, as in the military base, the
salary was paid by the officers.
The UN Commission report contains many statements detail-
Â€
ing the brutal conditions under which these conscripts worked.

In November 2014 three Eritreans brought a lawsuit against
Nevsun in Canada, accusing the company of using forced labour.
This case is slowly making its way through the Canadian courts.
The Bisha mine is one of the chief sources of income and hard
currency for the Eritrean government. The UN Commission
found that Nevsun had paid the Eritrean authorities $85 million
in royalties and taxes and would contribute an estimated $14
billion over the next ten years. The UN Monitors, using pub-
lished company reports, concluded that Nevsun has paid rather
more. They calculate that since 2011 the company has paid close
140
ERITREA’S ECONOMY
to $528 million in income taxes, royalties and other government

remittances to the Government, $226 million to the Eritrean
National Mining Corporation (ENAMCO), which owns 40
per cent of the mine, in the form of dividends and $299 million
Â€
in local supply of goods and services. Exactly what proportion of

the government’s revenue this represents is impossible to say,
since no budget has been published. The African Development
Bank report, dated 2015, could only quote statistics from three
years earlier, before the Bisha mine came on stream. At that time
there was no mining.
Prospects for mineral extraction are said to be good. A second
mine, producing gold, is reported to have begun commercial
extraction at Koka in 2016. It is 60 per cent owned by a subsid-
iary of China’s Shanghai Construction Group. The Colluli pot-
ash project, which is owned by the Australian company Danakali,
is projected to begin production in 2018. The mine is in the
Danakil Depression, one of the hottest and lowest points on
earth, and is reported to have reserves of 6 billion tonnes of
potassium-bearing salts. A number of European and Asian com-
panies are also reported to be investigating the country’s poten-
tial. The Eritrean government gave this upbeat assessment in
December 2015. ‘Recently, commercial quantity of oil and gas
reserve [sic] has been confirmed. Even though the country’s full
potential has not been exploited fully, it is reported that it has a
potential of producing to 200,000 barrels of oil per day.’
The question is whether these prospects will be realised. It is
worth noting that Eritrea is one of the most difficult countries
for business to operate in anywhere in the world. The country
comes 184th out of 189 in the World Bank’s 2016 ‘Doing
Business’ index. It is not hard to see why. Many regulations are
non-existent. Essential supplies are difficult to come by, with 180
interruptions of supply a year. Businesses are left with power for
around 270 days a year. Most have to turn to their own genera-
141
tors, assuming they can find diesel to power them. Hardly sur-
prising then that Eritrea’s growth rate has stagnated.
The overall situation is well summarised by the US State
Department in its 2015 ‘Investment Climate’ Statement.
The investment climate in Eritrea is not conducive to U.S. investment.
Â€
While there is opportunity, especially in the extractive industries sector,

the Government of the State of Eritrea (GSE) maintains a command
economy, with government activities predominating over private enter-
prise. Unreliable power, complicated and changing import regulations,
difficult air and ground transportation links, insufficient port facilities,
lack of fuel, unrealistic exchange rate, restrictions on repatriation of
profits, the near impossibility of getting a construction permit unless
the project is government-sanctioned, and in-country travel restrictions
all work to undermine trade and investment.
One needs to add one note of caution. It is quite possible that
major investors, like Nevsun, have private arrangements with the
authorities that circumvent these regulations. They may well also
have permission to bring in their own fuel and other supplies,
without having to cope with the red tape that bedevils smaller
businesses.
In November 2015 it was announced that new notes would
replace the previous currency. The population was given six
weeks to redeem the old Nakfa notes for new ones at par—that
is one old note for one new note. On the face of it this was a
neutral act. In reality it was designed to destroy all the currency
that had been secretly hoarded by businesses and private citizens.
At a stroke the wealth of many people, carefully saved over the
years, was wiped out. The hoards of notes were frequently the
result of irregular or covert currency transactions and their own-
ers had no way of explaining how they had accumulated the
money. In the end some people simply gave the old currency
away—or abandoned it with the rubbish. In the wake of the
announcement no more than 5,000 Nakfa could be withdrawn
142
ERITREA’S ECONOMY
from bank accounts a month—even if it had been deposited

legally. Any larger sums required special authorisation. To pay
for a wedding celebration, for example, an application must be
made to the Commercial Bank of Eritrea declaring every single
item to be purchased. A letter from the local authorities is
required to verify the celebration. Nothing—it seems—is spared
the invasive scrutiny of the Eritrean bureaucracy.
The covert economy

The controlling forces that drive the Eritrean economy are hid-
den. As the UN Monitors put it in their 2015 report:
The Government continues not to disclose its budget appropriations
and the country’s budget is not publicly available. In general, financial
transparency also leads to financial accountability, which requires
Governments to justify raising public resources and revenue and to
explain how they are used. The standard practice by institutions and
Governments alike to build and maintain budgets in order to demon-
strate compliance with laws and communicate effectiveness is a practice
not currently followed in Eritrea.
This is the way President Isaias operates. Former officials say
that it is not a question of budgets not being published—none
exists, even inside the Treasury. Kubrom Hosabay, who was
Chief of the Treasury and then Chief of the Inland Revenue until
2006, says that no formal budget appropriation takes place even
inside ministries. No budget document was drawn up, even dis-
creetly, to which officials within government could refer. Only
recurrent expenditure is tracked, with expenses like salaries, utili-
ties and stationery budgeted for, but no formal budgets are
drawn up. These are simply copied from the preceding year.
In their 2014 report the UN Monitors spelled out how the
covert economy really functions. The UN had: ‘obtained informa-
tion through direct sources that Government officials have created
143
and maintain a global financial structure that is not registered in

the name of PFDJ. This architecture includes tax havens, secret
Â€
trusts and companies incorporated under the names of officials

and, in most cases, under the names of private individuals.’ This
conclusion was reinforced the following year: ‘The complete lack
of financial transparency by the Government of Eritrea enables it
to maintain a PFDJ-controlled informal economy.’
As the Monitors have repeatedly informed the UN Security
Council, most companies in Eritrea are owned by the state and
managed by senior government officials, the PFDJ and the mili-
tary. ‘The network of companies linked to PFDJ continues to be
the driving force of the economy. The Government, through
PFDJ and the military, has exclusive control of all economic
activity, including the agriculture, trade and production sectors,’
the Monitors reported in 2015.
How did this informal economy come about? This goes back
to the legacy of the country’s fight for independence. In its 2011
report Monitors said:
The informal, PFDJ-controlled economy is in many respects a legacy
of the financial organization of EPLF during the liberation struggle. It
involves a much higher proportion of hard currency transactions than
the formal economy and is managed almost entirely offshore through a
labyrinthine multinational network of companies, individuals and bank
accounts, many of which do not declare any affiliation to PFDJ or the
Eritrean State, and routinely engage in ‘grey’ or illicit activities.
It is, of course, impossible to accurately assess quite how large
this informal or covert economy is, but one can sketch an outline
of its relative significance. Certain key elements of the economic
structure are relevant. These include the Red Sea Trading
Corporation and other business ventures owned by the ruling party
and the various means by which the regime extracts funds from its
large diaspora. The Red Sea Trading Corporation (RSTC) was
established during the 1980s. Its initial funds were reported to be
144
ERITREA’S ECONOMY
just $20,000. After independence it might have been disbanded,

but instead it was maintained. The Red Sea Trading Corporation
blossomed with the regime’s support. Over the next decade it
became part of a network of firms that came to dominate the
economy. These exist under an umbrella: the Hidri Trust Fund,
which is run by the Economic Affairs Department of the PFDJ,
and headed by Hagos Gebrihiwot ‘Kisha’. There are some thirty
front companies, run by the ruling party, with a net worth esti-
mated to be in the order of $500 million. The Red Sea Trading
Corporation is arguably the biggest of the PFDJ’s commercial
operations, but every company specialises in one activity: RSTC
specialises in imports and distribution of commodities and com-
mercial goods. Other companies are government fronts. Everything
from Asmara’s only five-star hotel (the Asmara Palace Hotel—for-
merly the Intercontinental) to internet cafes, publishing houses,
insurance companies and bookshops are owned by a PFDJ run
company or government department.
The initial aim was to hold down the costs of basic commodi-
ties and to channel profits into a fund to assist crippled veterans
of the war and their families, but there is no evidence that this
has been done. The head of the tax system, Brigadier General
Estifanos Seyoum, in 2001 accused the RSTC of not paying its
share of taxes. He had a Master’s degree in Finance and
Economics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and
therefore had a strong background to make such a judgement.
Estifanos soon paid a price for challenging the Corporation. He
was removed from his position and imprisoned, providing a
graphic illustration of just how powerful the conglomerate and
its controllers really are.
The main hubs through which the Eritrean state operates are
Dubai and Qatar. Dubai serves as a conduit for the regime and a
route for many of its international operations. In their 2011
report the UN Monitors provided a case study of how this
145
worked. This was carried in detail in the section on ‘Arabian

friends’ in Chapter 5. What this indicates is Dubai’s role as a
banking nexus through which PFDJ offshore finances flow, con-
trolled by trusted party cadres. The funds are then available to
senior Eritrean officers who travel through Dubai en route to
other countries. Among them is the Commander of the Air
Force, Teklai Habteselassie, who is one of President Isaias’s most
trusted officers. He was recorded travelling via Dubai to Ukraine
in December 2009 to procure arms.
The control of foreign currency is said to be overseen by
Hagos Gebrehiwot Maesho, who runs what is described as a
‘hard currency oversight board’ that decides how much to allo-
cate for key foreign purchases, including arms supplies. In the
past these purchases have been—at least in part—financed by
donations from Libya (before the overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi)
and Qatar. In 2011 the UN Monitors reported that: ‘Qatar is
perhaps Eritrea’s most important economic partner at the
moment, and Qatari officials have acknowledged to numerous
foreign diplomats that their Government has provided signifi-
cant, direct financial support to the Government in Asmara.’
Dubai is also important as a centre from which the Eritrean
government provides funding for its operations around the Horn
of Africa. Hard currency is provided to the Eritrean embassy in
Nairobi, from where payments have been made to armed groups
operating in Somalia and elsewhere.
Significant as these Arab donors and hubs are, they are not the
only sources of non-transparent funding for the Eritrean regime.
There are at least three other income streams. These are the
funds from the diaspora, who are forced to pay the Eritreans
government two levies: a 2 per cent tax and a further tax to sup-
port the defence budget. Both of these will be dealt with in the
chapter on the diaspora, but it is worth noting at this stage that
according to the International Monetary Fund more than a third
146
ERITREA’S ECONOMY
of Eritrea’s funding comes from the diaspora, if one includes the

remittances sent to family members. This was the IMF’s conclu-
sion in 2004: ‘Diaspora are the largest single source of foreign
currency inflows into the country, with the ratio of these trans-
fers to GDP averaging 37 per cent over the last ten years.’ This
assessment came with a warning: ‘These levels of diaspora
financing are clearly exceptional; but even lower levels are achiev-
able only if confidence and trust in government policies and
economic developments are maintained and contracts are hon-
ored. Both fiscal and external sustainability depend critically on
the continued support of the diaspora.’ Sadly it is just this trust
and confidence that is now lacking. On the plus side (for the
government) it must be remembered that in the last decade min-
ing has come on stream and it is possible that this percentage has
fallen significantly.
The third source of hard currency is the trade in contraband
goods and smuggling. Much of this is undertaken through
Sudan, with General Teklai Kifle ‘Manjus’ controlling the
Eritrean side of the border. He is reported to deal in electronic
goods, sugar and alcohol, which are imported from the United
Arab Emirates and sold to Sudan via a wealthy Khartoum busi-
nessman. Millions of dollars are also made from the sale of
Eritrean scrap metal. In addition to this is the human trafficking
outlined in the chapter on refugees, also controlled by General
Manjus. Exactly how much is derived from these sources is—of
course—a matter of speculation, but is said to be extensive.
* * *
The Eritrean economy is bifurcated. On the one hand there is
the overt economy, with most citizens involved in peasant agri-
culture or the service sector (mainly government employment)
and one major mine. On the other hand there is the covert
economy, with its dodgy levies, taxes, donations and informal or
147
illegal deals. This funds a good deal of President Isaias’s foreign

policy adventures: his attempts to undermine the Ethiopian
regime by financing militias in Somalia and Ethiopia. It also
provides Eritrea with the hard currency it requires to buy weap-
ons and ammunition. These two economies—one hidden and
one open—exist alongside each other. That both are real and
functioning is well known to Eritrean citizens and—via the UN
Monitors—the international community, even if the details are
obscure. Little has been done by the UN to attempt to eradicate
Â€
the non-transparent transactions, since this would require con-

fronting the Arab regimes in the region—something neither the
West nor the Russians or Chinese are keen to do.
148
8
THE FLIGHT FROM ERITREA
It is one of the saddest commentaries on the current situation in

Eritrea that so many of its people flee the country. According to
the UN Refugee Agency—the UNHCR—by the end of 2015
just over 475,000 Eritreans were refugees—or, as the agency puts
it officially—the ‘population of concern’. This represents around
7 per cent of the possible population.
Why is it that so many, mostly young people, are seeking
refuge in another country?
It is by no means an easy choice. They have to make their way
past borders guarded by troops with orders to shoot to kill.
There is then the danger and uncertainty of life in exile: whether
it is running the risk of being seized by people traffickers and
held for ransom; dying in the wastes of the Sahara; or drowning
in the Mediterranean. If they survive this they land up in a
strange country, far from friends and family and begin to build a
new life. It is hardly a tempting prospect, yet hundreds of thou-
sands have chosen this path.
Given the gross human rights abuses and the lack of freedom
it would not be surprising if some Eritreans opted for this risky
149
choice, but this would not explain the vast numbers that flee the
country—statistics that make Eritrea one of the highest refugee
contributing countries to the European Union and the highest
from Africa. To understand why Eritrean youth abandon their
country it is necessary to outline the system of National Service,
or conscription, since this is the main cause of the flight.
National Service
In its report, ‘Just Deserters: Why indefinite national service in
Eritrea has created a generation of refugees’, published in
December 2015, Amnesty International provided a useful sum-
mary of how conscription operates:
In 1995, the Eritrean government issued the Proclamation of National
Service (No. 82/1995) under which National Service, which encom-
Â€
passes active national service and reserve military service, was declared
mandatory for men and women between the ages of 18 and 50. Active
National Service is compulsory for all citizens between the ages of 18
and 40, followed by reserve duties. The initial period of service is meant
to be 18 months, consisting of six months’ military service followed by
12 months’ deployment in military or government service.
The objectives of National Service include, inter alia, “the establishment
of a strong Defence Force based on the people to ensure a free and
sovereign Eritrea; to create a new generation characterised by love of
work, discipline, ready to participate and serve in the reconstruction of
the nation; to develop and enforce the economy of the nation by invest-
ing in development work our people as a potential wealth; to develop
professional capacity and physical fitness by giving regular military
training and continuous practice to participants in Training Centers.”
The Ministry of Defence is responsible for National Service. In practice,
other ministries are involved in the assignment of people to National
Service positions which fall under the mandate. The National Service
Proclamation also lays out the punishments for evasion or desertion,
including for attempting to do either by trying to leave the country.
150
In 2002, the government launched the ‘Warsai Yikealo Development

Campaign’ (WYDC) where National Service conscripts were deployed
to posts in the civil service, national and local administrations and
state-owned companies, in addition to the military. The WYDC also
extended the statutory 18 month period of service indefinitely.
The government cites aggression and the threat of invasion from its
neighbour Ethiopia as the key justification for the necessity of indefinite
service. After the two countries returned to armed conflict from 1998–
2000, an independent Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission ruled, in
2002, in favour of Eritrea over a disputed piece of land occupied by
Ethiopia. The ruling has not been implemented and the international
community has made little effort to enforce the decision. Partly as a
result of this, the government considers the country must be on a per-
manent war footing.
The rather cool language that Amnesty International uses is
useful, but it does not quite capture the issues that people con-
front. In reality they are held in a form of permanent limbo.
There is no fixed duration for conscription; it is indefinite. Some
conscripts have been in National Service for twenty years and
more. Although the Eritrean government has, from time to time,
suggested that this will end, there is no evidence that this has
been implemented. Most young people in National Service are
paid a pittance. Exact figures vary but most sources agree that
soldiers earn a monthly salary of about 500 Nakfa ($33) after
completing their training and much less (less than 100 Nakfa per
month) during the training. They face an impoverished, desolate
life, bereft of hope.
For women there is an added danger: brutal sexual exploitation
by army officers. The UN Commission on Human Rights in its
lengthy report collected many testimonies of what took place. This
is just a small selection of what the Commissioners were told:
A former trainer at Sawa military training centre told the Commission
that the sexual abuse of young women in Sawa military training camp
was ‘normal.’
151
The Commission also heard from former conscripts that suggested the
this practice is pervasive. ‘Over 70 per cent of the girls were violated like
Â€
that. Students are not allowed to go to the officers’ rooms, but some-
times the officers ask them to come to their house. The girls cannot say
no because they know what will happen in training if they say no. When
they enter the room, the officers tell them to take off their clothes and
they abuse them. The girls do not report it.’
Another former conscript reported: ‘90 per cent of the girls are
Â€
destroyed. Girls don’t even dream about a better life in Eritrea.’

The results of these abuses are predictable. Women are raped,
fall pregnant, are humiliated and often rejected by their families
and their communities. The UN Commission concludes that this
behaviour is ‘widespread and notorious’ and that officers use their
control over the recruits in a manner that ‘amounts to torture’
and ‘sexual slavery.’
Confronted with indefinite conscription enforced by torture
and sexual exploitation it is hardly surprising then that so many
Eritreans will do almost anything to leave the country. This story
is perhaps typical. It describes the case of a young man—given
the name Abdu—not his real name. Like many young Eritreans
he passed through Sawa, the country’s main training camp. It
comes from a series of 52 in-depth interviews conducted by the
London-based Overseas Development Institute.
Abdu is from Asmara. He tried to stay in school for as long as possible to
avoid entering Sa’wa—the education and military camp all Eritrean
youngsters are forced to join. To no avail—by the time he was 20, in 2007,
Abdu had to join. The camp was located in a volcanic area called Wia,
with high temperatures (48–50C) and no grass, no trees. Young people
died because of the heat; others lost their mind. There were two basic
meals a day (bread and tea in the afternoon and bread and lentils for tea).
After six months he was moved to a different camp and asked to work
as a cameraman for the state channel. He had no say in the matter, yet
he was relatively lucky. Others had to work in construction, moving
152
stones and building dams for 16 hours a day for the equivalent of £7 a
month. He saw no future there, even though he was doing better than
others.
His first attempt at escaping was in 2008. He was caught at the border
and jailed for two years and seven months, until 2010. In jail, he was
made to dig holes every day; he doesn’t know why. Abdu was released
five months earlier than his original sentence dictated, and was told by
officials, ‘We give you mercy.’ Abdu disagrees: ‘But it’s not mercy. They
took two years.’
After he was released, Abdu was sent back to his previous work place.
Finally, he could contact his family again. He now knew that if he tried
and failed a second time to escape, he would be killed, not jailed. So he
stopped thinking and continued working.
In February 2014, he got permission to visit family in Asmara. During
that time, the Ministry of Defence discovered there were some missing
tapes in the archives Abdu was handling. Abdu’s colleague was asked
where the tapes were, but he didn’t know so was taken to prison. One
of Abdu’s friends called him and warned him. After calling around and
talking to an uncle, Abdu decided to escape and moved towards the
Sudan border.
So desperate have some National Service conscripts become
that they will seize almost any opportunity to escape. On Sunday
3 April 2016 vehicles carrying conscripts were driving through
Â€
Asmara, on the way to the port of Assab. Reports of what took

place are sketchy, but what appears to have happened is this. Two
conscripts decided to take their chance as they passed through
the city and jumped from the truck. They were immediately shot
dead by guards. But the conscripts had alerted their families and
a city bus was used to block the road. When the vehicles halted,
other conscripts made a run for it. The guards, determined to
halt the escape at any cost, opened fire, shooting into the crowd.
A total of twenty-nine people were killed or injured. Six died on
the spot and eighteen were taken to Halibet hospital.
153
For five days the government said nothing, but because the
names of the injured were published on opposition websites the
authorities were forced to admit that there had indeed been an
incident. Two died and eleven were injured ‘when they jumped
and fell from military trucks,’ tweeted Yemane Gebremeskel, the
government spokesman. ‘Police stablilized z situation by firing
few warning shots into z air.’ [sic] Why the troops risked their
lives by jumping from the trucks and why shots had to be fired
to ‘stabilise the situation’ was not explained.
Official collaboration in trafficking

How is it that so many thousands manage to cross the border,
when it is patrolled by the military, whose troops have orders to
shoot to kill?
Part of the answer is that the frontier lies in remote, rugged
terrain, which is difficult to patrol. But there is also evidence
that officials, including some of the highest military officers, are
involved. Although there were rumours that this had taken place
for some time, the first evidence came in 2011 from the UN
Monitors. Their report pointed to General Teklai Kifle ‘Manjus’,
commander of the Eritrean border forces as well as the western
military zone, as being at the heart of this operation.
The Monitors laid out in considerable detail the role General
Manjus played in smuggling arms across the border (in violation
of the UN sanctions regime) as well as his links with senior
Sudanese officials. The experts then explained the general’s role
in human trafficking:
The well-documented exodus of young Eritreans to escape poverty or
obligatory ‘national service’ represents yet another opportunity for
corruption and illicit revenue. People smuggling is so pervasive that it
could not be possible without the complicity of Government and party
officials, especially military officers working in the western border
154
zone, which is headed by General Teklai Kifle ‘Manjus’. Multiple

sources have described to the Monitoring Group how Eritrean officials
collaborate with ethnic Rashaida smugglers to move their human
cargo through the Sudan into Egypt and beyond. This is in most
respects the same network involved in smuggling weapons through to
Sinai and into Gaza.
According to former Eritrean military officials and international human
rights activists, military officers involved in the practice charge roughly
$3,000 a head for each person exiting Eritrea. Eritreans seeking to leave
the country illegally (i.e. without an exit visa), and who can afford to
pay these fees, often choose to do so rather than risk imprisonment.
In some cases, however, smugglers may demand an additional ransom
payment up to $20,000 per head in order to release their charges. An
Eritrean directly involved in smuggling operations into Egypt explained
to the Monitoring Group how family members are required to send the
funds via money transfer agencies to Eritrean officials operating in the
Eritrean embassy in Egypt, and in Israel, in order to secure the release
of their relatives.
Although the Government of Eritrea prohibits human smuggling, and
has reportedly imprisoned some officials for taking part in it, senior
Government and/or party officials linked to General Kifle’s command
profit from the practice. The Monitoring Group has obtained details of
a Swiss bank account into which the proceeds from smuggling have
been deposited and has provided the Swiss authorities with information
related to this account, together with the personal and contact details
of the Swiss-based coordinator of this trafficking ring and details of the
co-ordinator’s Egypt-based associates.
The report also described the smuggling network from Eritrea
to the Sinai that was organised by two officers under General
Manjus’s command. An informant told the UN Monitors that
the officers received next to nothing for their work: ‘Manjus gets
all the money. They don’t get anything. They are in the military
so they just do what they are told.’ The 2011 report was referred
to and supplemented in subsequent years.
155
Survivors of human trafficking interviewed by Professor

Mirjam van Reisen, Meron Estefanos and Conny Rijken
described how the Border Surveillance Unit drove them out of
Eritrea. They were hidden under covers in trucks and four-wheel
drive vehicles so as to avoid border check-points. Members of the
Eritrean diaspora in Western countries paid $5,000 to $7,000 for
a safe passage to get a relative out of Eritrea. This meant that:
‘you pay a high rank official, the relative doesn’t get checked at
the checkpoints, the official will drive your family member all the
way to Khartoum and that is where he receives the money.’
Other researchers have corroborated their conclusion. A report
by the Sahan Foundation and the IGAD Security Sector Program
described how Eritreans with sufficient money and connections
pay for a comfortable four-wheel vehicle to take them to
Khartoum and are simply put on a flight to a European capital:
Not all migrants and refugees are obliged to face the hazards of desert
and maritime journeys described above: some smugglers offer ‘first class’
treatment—at a price. These include a number of well connected
Eritrean smugglers operating from Khartoum, who conduct complex
international smuggling operations, organising flight connections to
remote international destinations, from where European visas are
obtained for their ‘passengers’. Chief among them is an Eritrean indi-
vidual known as ‘John Habtu’ (aka ‘Obama’), who allegedly holds citi-
zenship in the Netherlands, but who owns a property in Leeds, and
who for a price of $20,000 or more per head is organising travel of
people from Sudan to Singapore and the Philippines, from where his
clients are issued European visas and flight tickets to Europe. During
the last week of August 2015, the Singaporean authorities made some
arrests of Eritreans at Changi airport, which may have been connected
to ‘Obama’s’ smuggling operations.
Another Khartoum-based smuggler using the Singapore route is known
as Awet Kidane. One Eritrean migrant paid Kidane $30,000 to travel
from Khartoum to Belgium via Singapore. Once in Belgium, the travel-
156
ler’s family members were instructed to transfer money to contacts in

Sweden and Dubai, a system of payment similar to that employed for
land-based travel through Libya.
The Sinai route
The route via the Sinai resulted in some of the worst abuses
inflicted in recent years. Once crossing into Sudan Eritrean refu-
gees contacted traffickers who were meant to guide them across
the Red Sea and then into Israel. Instead many were sold to local
tribesmen. The lengthy report by van Reisen, Estefanos and
Rijken provided graphic detail of how Eritreans were treated by
the Bedouin. Held in the most appalling conditions—often little
more than holes in the earth—the Eritreans were given phones
and told to contact relatives anywhere in the world. They had to
extract thousands, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars, from
their relatives and friends to win their freedom. The captives
would be tortured, abused and raped—while on the phone. One
technique that was frequently used was for a plastic bag to be set
on fire and for the burning material to be dropped onto the flesh
of the victim as they spoke to family members across the world:
in Dubai, London, or Asmara. The screams of agony persuaded
the relative to raise almost any sum the traffickers demanded.
While working for the BBC I interviewed one victim while the
torture was taking place: one of the most harrowing experiences
of my career as a journalist.
There were also reports of organs—including kidneys—being
taken from some of the victims. So pervasive was this practice,
and so disgusted were ordinary Eritreans, that they are reported
to have daubed graffiti on houses in Asmara. ‘You built this
house with the kidneys of our children,’ declared one sign
painted on the home of two colonels.
For those women who became pregnant the outlook was hor-
rifying. This was one victim’s testimony.
157
I was still in chains when I gave birth. In fact I was tortured in the morn-
ing, and in the afternoon my labour came and I gave birth in the evening.
I tore off my clothes to cover the baby… There was this other woman
who gave birth three months earlier, and there was another lady who was
held with us, they helped me. She asked them to get us a blade to cut the
umbilical cord, and they brought her a corrugated rusted piece of metal
and she had to use that one… They didn’t give me anything.
It is not possible to arrive at a conclusive figure for the num-
bers of Eritreans, Sudanese and Ethiopians who were subjected
to these abuses. The researchers estimated that one of the gangs
involved in this trafficking between 2009 and 2013 handled
15,000–20,000 people. And the mortality rate was high—
between 5,000 and 10,000 did not survive.
The Sinai route is now closed: Israel constructed a barrier to
further entry. A fence, six to ten metres high, now snakes along
the Israeli border with Egypt in the Sinai. Costing $524 million,
the security fence has resulted in a dramatic reduction in the
number of Africans entering Israel. In 2012–2013 over 10,000
arrived, but this figure fell to just 200 in 2015.
The Libyan route
By 2016 Libya was the main route that Eritreans used to try to
reach Europe. Once they crossed into Sudan they moved to the
capital, Khartoum before using a people trafficker to reach the
Libyan coast. Every step had to be carefully planned, generally
using mobile phones. Relatives, friends and fellow countrymen
advised on the most appropriate route, but none was safe. Many
were held in a transit camp near Khartoum known to migrants
as ‘Hajar’, or as ‘Kilo 105’. Situated in the arid lands north of
Khartoum the camp served as a final staging point before smug-
glers moved the travellers into Libya. All along the way were
hazards: trucks that broke down, traffickers that demanded addi-
158
tional payments, attacks from bandits. Many did not make it.
Images of bodies and bones littering the Sahara are not difficult
to find on the internet.
There are also reports that the torture camps, pioneered in the
Sinai, are being replicated in the ungoverned spaces of Libya.
There is currently an additional threat, this time from so-called
‘Islamic State’ or ISIS. Meron Estefanos, a Swedish-Eritrean who
Â€
monitors the plight of refugees closely, said that in mid 2016 as

many as 1,000 Eritreans were being held by ISIS in Libya. She
believed that the same group had killed at least 100 Eritreans
between February 2015 and May 2016. Her research indicated
that at least 200 Eritrean women were among those who had
been taken captive: sixty to seventy have managed to escape. The
women were forced to convert to Islam (if they were Christian)
and then given away as ‘brides’ or slaves. An ISIS fighter was
allowed to choose as many as he wanted—depending on his
seniority. It was only once they had been given as ‘gifts’ that
some managed to escape. Before that they were held captive in
closely guarded compounds. Over forty Eritrean women who
were held captive by ISIS have managed to escape and arrive in
Europe, providing Meron with first-hand testimonies of what
they had endured.
Despite the dangers involved, Libya remains an important
escape route for Eritreans, but this is something the EU is deter-
mined to halt. An embryonic Libyan government now operates
from Tripoli and despite the evidence of abuse, EU officials are
working with the new authority to intercept the refugees at sea by
the Libyan Coast Guard. On 20 June 2016, the EU extended its
Â€
anti-smuggling naval operation in the central Mediterranean to

include training the Libyan Coast Guards and Navy, which are
intercepting boats and sending migrants and asylum seekers back
to Libya. The EU is also asking NATO to assist its operation.
‘The EU isn’t sending people back to Libya, knowing that’s
unlawful, so it wants to outsource the dirty work to Libyan
159
forces,’ said Judith Sunderland, Associate Europe and Central

Asia Director at Human Rights Watch. The operation is being
strengthened by a European naval force, operating from a base in
Rome. Sandro Gozi, Italy’s European Affairs Minister, revealed
the plan in an interview with the BBC. He explained in May
Â€
2016 that the EU naval force will ‘soon’ be able to ‘stop the traf-
ficking in Libyan territorial seas.’
Since October 2015 there has been UN authorisation for naval
forces to intercept boats in international waters. UN Security
Council resolution 2240 allowed for international navies to
‘inspect’ and ‘seize’ vessels involved in human trafficking—but
only on the high seas. The UN approved action inside Libyan
coastal waters, but only in the context of cooperating with the
Libyan Government. When this resolution was passed no such
government was in place. But in March 2016 a ‘National Salvation’
government backed by the UN arrived in Tripoli. The new govern-
ment operates from within a heavily guarded naval base, but this
has not prevented the international community from recognising
it. With its permission the EU and NATO now operate inside
Libyan territorial waters. This allows navies to destroy the boats
and other facilities operated by the people smugglers without put-
ting at risk any refugees or migrants who are already at sea.
The British government has already deployed a warship to the
area. All that is needed is a formal request from the Libyan
government for the operation to begin.
David Cameron told the G7 summit in Japan in May 2016 of
his plans. He argued that it was a global challenge that required
a comprehensive solution, and reiterated his desire to work with
the Libyan government to help them build the capacity of their
coastguard. The aim would be to help them ‘intercept boats off
the coast, both those carrying migrants and those carrying arms’.
‘We will now take an active leadership role in that process.
Four military planners have deployed to Rome this week to the
HQ of Operation Sophia, the naval mission in the Mediterranean,
160
where they will work with other EU colleagues to agree a plan

going forward for the Libyan coastguard,’ Mr Cameron said.
Â€
‘Once that is established we will then send a training team to

assist the Libyan authorities in improving their coastguard mari-
time operations. Then, once the relevant UN security resolutions
are in place, we intend to deploy a navy warship to the region to
assist in the interception of arms and human smuggling.’
The Libyan route out of Africa appears to be closing—a trend
that can be seen from Morocco in the West to Israel in the East.
‘The EU—soon perhaps with NATO’s help—is basically deputiz-
ing Libyan forces to help seal Europe’s border,’ commented
Judith Sunderland, of Human Rights Watch. As Libya became
increasingly dangerous Egypt has emerged as one of the few
remaining alternatives. But travelling to Italy by Egypt is longer,
more costly and even more dangerous than the journey via Libya.
Until recently Eritreans who were arrested by the Egyptian
authorities were deported to Ethiopia, but since mid-2015 this
route has been blocked. Some are now forcibly returned to
Eritrea—even if they were registered with the UNHCR as refu-
gees when they were in Sudan.
Smuggling networks
These hazards have not dissuaded Eritreans from making the
journey. A total of 157,000 Africans crossed from Libya to Italy
in 2015, with Eritreans making up the largest percentage of this
total, at just over 39,000. FRONTEX, the EU border agency, has
an interesting take on the Eritreans who make this journey. This
is from a press release issued on 18 February 2016. They con-
Â€
cluded that the difficult and complex journey relied on a well-

organised system:
the route from Eritrea seems to be controlled by one sophisticated
network managing the whole journey, starting from Eritrea going
161
through Sudan, and then into Libya. This means that the payment is
made to the same network, usually using the Hawala system—an infor-
mal way of transferring funds based on honour code operating outside
traditional financial channels.
Just who runs this ‘sophisticated network’? A publication by
the Sahan foundation and IGAD (the Horn of Africa regional
grouping) in February 2016 provides some useful answers. Their
work is based on investigations by the Italian authorities who
began following the tragedies near Lampedusa in October 2013
and September 2014, during which some 800 migrants and refu-
gees drowned. The investigations, ‘Operation Tokhla’ and
‘Operation Glauco 2’, uncovered a good deal of information
about the smuggling networks. Importantly, they revealed the
key ringleaders in these networks:
The Tokhla investigation resulted in several arrests, including Maesho
Tesfamariam, one of the Eritrean ringleaders responsible for organising
the ill-fated journey of September 2014 and who, at the time of his
arrest, was based in Germany. Authorities also arrested 24 people in
Sicily as a result of the Glauco 2 investigations in June 2015, most of
whom were Eritrean nationals.
Glauco 2 exposed the modus operandi of two other prominent smugglers
formerly based in Libya: Medhanie Yehdego Mered (born in Eritrea), and
Ermias Ghermay (born in Ethiopia). The two men are portrayed by
Italian prosecutors as the most prominent individuals responsible for
coordinating the transfer of human cargoes through Sudan and Libya.
Ghermay, who has operated from the notorious beachhead of Zuwara
near Tripoli, is known to have been responsible for organising the vessel
that sank off the coast of Lampedusa in October 2013.
The investigation demonstrates his communications from his base in
Zuwara with collaborators in Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, as well as
calls to Israel in relation to financial payments. Since the investigations
concluded, numerous credible sources in Libya have reported that
Ghermay has gone to ground and may no longer be a major figure in
the world of human smuggling in Libya.
162
These smuggling operations flourish in the lawlessness that

has gripped Libya since the overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi in
October 2011. Eritreans are, of course, not the only ones to use
this route. The South Africa-based think-tank the Institute for
Security Studies reports that since 2013 around 100 trucks a
week have been leaving Niger, each carrying twenty-five to
thirty-five migrants from West Africa, all heading to Libya.
After the drownings off Lampedusa the EU sent naval forces
to try to prevent a repeat of the tragedy. This had unforeseen
consequences. The Institute for Security Studies reports that
instead of taking their human cargo all the 160 nautical miles to
Italy, the smugglers now have the goal of taking them just twelve
nautical miles: into international waters. At this point—say sur-
vivors—they are transferred from fishing vessels into large rubber
dinghies. One of the migrants is given a satellite phone and a
number to call—usually the Italian Coastguard. This is, as far as
the smugglers are concerned, the end of their responsibility. If
the migrants are lucky the naval vessels find them, and transport
them to Italy. The warships have become taxis for the traffickers,
only rarely arresting anyone involved in this trade.
The smuggling operation is extremely lucrative. These are the
sums calculated by the Institute for Security Studies:
Payments to armed groups or local militia in order to have a secure depar-
ture point make up a large proportion of the costs incurred by smugglers
operating through Libya. Other expenditures include bribes of up to
US$100 at each land checkpoint while transporting migrants by truck;
up to US$5,000 a month for renting a ‘safe house’ where migrants are
kept under surveillance while they await departure; up to US$80,000 for
a boat that will hold 250 migrants; around US$4,000 for a rubber dinghy
to ferry groups of 20 migrants to a waiting vessel; US$5,000–7,000 paid
to a captain to pilot the larger craft out to international waters; and
roughly US$800 to buy a satellite telephone for migrants to call for rescue
in international waters. These costs are easily covered by the revenues
163
generated by charging groups of 200 migrants, with each paying between

US$1,000 and US$2,000, depending on circumstances.
The smugglers can therefore charge up to $400,000 for each
crossing, from which the costs itemised above must be deducted.
The authors calculate that similar smuggling operations through
Egypt can net the traffickers as much as $60,000 per crossing.
The Ethiopian route

So far the discussion has revolved around the flight into Sudan,
and from there into the Sinai, Libya or Egypt. But another
major route exists—south into Ethiopia. Over the years tens of
thousands of Eritreans have chosen this means of leaving their
country. It is no easy journey. This is the conclusion of the
North Africa Mixed Migration Task Force, consisting of a range
of humanitarian organisations:
Eritreans cross the border to Ethiopia by foot and often at night to
avoid detection because of the risk of being shot or detained by Eritrean
border guards. All interviewees reported being very scared when fleeing
Eritrea. Some of them crossed in groups of up to eight people, some
with just one other person and some on their own. The crossings took
place in rural areas away from main roads, but the areas where the
interviewees had crossed where close to Rama, Gerehu Srnay, Zalambessa
and Badme on the Ethiopian side. All of them had been found by
Ethiopian soldiers who had taken them to the closest police station.
From there they had been sent to the main registration centre for
Eritrean refugees in Endabaguna and later to one of the four refugee
camps located in the Tigray region.
By December 2015 the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) esti-
mated that 131,000 Eritreans were living in Ethiopia. The
majority are housed in camps in Afar and Shire, in Tigray region
in Northern Ethiopia. Others are in the barren Afar region.
These camps are seldom visited by the international commu-
nity and even less frequently reported in the media. Mai Aini
164
camp in Tigray is hardly an inviting destination. A journalist

who visited in 2014 for the Israeli paper, Haaretz, provided this
vivid description of what conditions were like.
We drove along a dusty, unpaved road to get to the place, stuck at one
of the hottest, lowest points in northern Ethiopia, near the border with
its neighbor and former enemy Eritrea. The refugees descend from the
highlands of their home country, fleeing from the torture, forced con-
scription and labor, religious persecution and other human-rights
abuses of their authoritarian government, to cross the border from
Eritrea into Ethiopia and, accommodated by Ethiopia’s ‘open door’
policy, they are immediately placed in the camps.
Unless they are among the lucky few with a family in Ethiopia to sponsor
them, it is unlikely that a new refugee family will leave the camp any time
soon. There, they may languish for years, under the watchful eyes of
armed soldiers manning checkpoints to ensure their confinement.
As we neared the camps, signs of the people[’s] desperation became
evident; the surrounding areas were nearly barren as a consequence of
the refugees’ ceaseless hunt for wood to fuel their cooking fires. Once
inside the first camp we visited, Mai-Aini, the air felt hotter and denser,
and it was thick with dust. There was no running water.
With the assistance of outside agencies, why do conditions in the camps
remain so dismal? ‘It is very complicated,’said Dr. Bereket Berhane, an
Â€
Eritrean refugee living in Addis Ababa and chairman of the Eritrean

Youth Global Movement, who was our guide for this visit. ‘Ethiopia is
a poor East African country. I’m thankful for what they are doing. The
refugees are being hosted in a safe area where they have water and
firewood. There are tens of thousands of refugees, and the indigenous
community itself is struggling from day to day. There is only so much
a country can do.’
Life in the camps is crushingly boring; there is little to do and
all the time in the world to do it. Many of the refugees are
children, what the aid agencies term ‘unaccompanied minors’.
Rudimentary education is available, but little more. There are art
165
classes, during which the children can paint about their experi-
ences and their fears of the fate that lies ahead of them. For some
the prospect of living in a desolate camp with no hope of a better
future is too much to bear. They leave, crossing into Sudan in an
attempt to find a way of reaching Europe—no matter how risky
that might be. This is the experience of an Eritrean interviewed
by the North Africa Mixed Migration Task Force:
All refugees in the camp know the problems on the road to Libya. But
because of the small chances for resettlement everybody will try to go
the illegal way. At this time of the year the weather is good, so maybe
I will go after one month. I fear it a lot, but because I have no other
option I have to go. There are lots of people I know that have gone.
Some of my friends have made it to Europe and others have died.
To deal with this issue the Ethiopian government introduced
a policy of allowing Eritreans to live ‘out of camp.’ Since 2010
they can be granted permission to live in Addis Ababa or one of
Ethiopia’s other cities. The government has also begun to allow
some of the refugees to study at university, but they remained no
more than a small minority.
Addis is estimated to be home to some 8,000 Eritrean refugees.
For some this has been vital—deterring them from attempting the
dangerous sea route to Europe. ‘Previously I had plans to take
dangerous journey to reach Europe via Sudan and Libyan Desert;
but I dropped my decision after I was granted a work-permit that
would allow me to be out of camp,’ Baraki explained. He is now
employed at a workshop where he earns money to support himself.
‘I would rather stay here in Ethiopia until the repressive regime
[back home] is overthrown and a democratic government replaces
it,’ he said. One of his friends drowned while trying to reach Italy
via the Mediterranean in 2015.
166
The long road
The journeys that Eritreans make to seek a better future are

extraordinarily difficult and dangerous. A study by the Overseas
Development Institute in London found that some arrived at
their final destination in just two and a half months; others took
up to seven years. All along the way obstacles had to be negoti-
ated. Sometimes journeys were broken for years at a time as
Eritreans were held captive, or had to work their passage. One
couple who were interviewed worked in Libya for just over a year,
with the man on construction sites and his wife employed as a
maid, before moving on to Europe. The study found that it cost
most Eritreans an average of £3280 to use the Mediterranean
route via Libya and Italy:
Biniam, 28 years old, paid £2,540 for a year-long journey. This was his
path.
• Sawa, Eritrea: At the age of 12 he was rounded up and taken to

Sawa camp, for national service. For the next 15 years he was based
at Sawa, only being allowed to visit his family in Asmara when his
superiors let him.
• Tesenay, Eritrea: In 2013, at the limits of his endurance, he decided
to leave. He moved to Teseney, close to the Sudanese border, where
he worked on the farm of a relative. Unsure whether to move on,
Biniam sought the advice of a friend on the farm. ‘We had built a
trust. He told me to go for it.’
• Khartoum, Sudan: A few days later, Biniam was in Khartoum.
• Benghazi, Libya. Sudan wouldn’t be a safe place for a defected
Eritrean to stay. So using savings, Biniam paid smugglers to get him
to Europe via Libya. The trip cost around £2,000 and time in prison.
• Sicily, Italy (2014): From Zuwarah port, it took Biniam four attempts
to cross the Mediterranean. He finally made it in October 2014 when
a passing ship rescued them and took them to Sicily. Before he could
be fingerprinted by authorities, Biniam made a dash for Milan.
167
• Calais,France (2015) Unimpressed with Milan, Biniam continued

onto the UK. After a three week wait in the Calais ‘jungle’, trying
Â€
every night to creep into vehicles, Biniam finally made it across the
Channel by hiding in a truck’s cargo.
• Bolton, UK (2015) He was eventually allocated accommodation in
Bolton, and in June 2015 granted asylum by the British government.
Biniam’s journey is one among many and each is different. Some
involve even more complex and circuitous trips via South Africa,
Latin America and the Caribbean to reach their chosen destina-
tions. An Eritrean who landed up in Cape Town explained that he
had been waiting ten years for South African immigration officials
to decide on his status, which was still designated ‘asylum pend-
ing.’ His most viable route to a more secure life was to pay smug-
glers to go through South and Central America to the United
States, but the costs are prohibitive—as much as $30,000.
* * *
As one route closes another will be investigated and then used,
but remaining in their own country is, for many Eritreans, sim-
ply not an option. The brutal repression and the prospect of an
indefinite existence as a National Service conscript convinces
many that they should head for the border. The journey they
face is littered with obstacles. Only the richest can afford to bribe
their way onto a Land Rover to Khartoum, or onto a flight leav-
ing Asmara. Officials and human traffickers take their cut and
even then there is no guarantee of safe passage. The emergence
of ISIS or Islamic State has only compounded the hazards. Yet
thousands of young men and women make the decision to flee
from the country that they know and love.
168
9
EXILE
LIFE FOR THE DIASPORA
For the hundreds of thousands of Eritreans who have left their

country the hazardous journey into exile is only the beginning of
their ordeal. Memories of life at home come flooding back: of
walking the streets of Asmara; sipping coffee in a café; sharing
good times with friends. The peace of Eritrean villages; the
bleating of goats; the children all around. Even the smells and
tastes of home seem irresistible.
Exactly how many Eritreans live abroad no one knows. As with
so many aspects of Eritrean life the facts are clouded and obscure.
Until Independence in 1993 many were classified as Ethiopians. In
1994 the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, estimated that one mil-
Â€
lion Eritreans had fled their country, which amounted to nearly

one out of every three Eritreans—if the total population was cor-
rectly estimated. This figure was also used by the World Bank in
its study of Eritrea at the time of independence: ‘Of an officially
estimated population of about 3 to 3.5 million, as many as one
million Eritreans were forced to leave the country due to the
repressive policies of the military regime.’ The diaspora is to be
169
found in almost every corner of the globe: from Australia to the

United States; from South Africa to Norway. Few have chosen to
go home since independence, but very few have forgotten their
homeland. This is the dilemma of Eritrean exile.
Early exiles
As Professor Gaim Kibreab, the foremost scholar on the Eritrean
refugee experience, points out, the decision to flee the country
began with the war of liberation in 1961. Conflict with the
Ethiopian government drove many to seek sanctuary in Sudan.
From there they gradually re-built their lives and moved on to
other countries. Many remain in Sudan: 117,320 were known to
the UN Refugee Agency in January 2015.
Sizeable communities live across the region, in Egypt, the UAE
and Bahrain as well as Europe, North America and Australia. They
have put down roots, established families and got on with their
lives. They are to be found in every walk of life—from cleaners and
taxi drivers to social workers and lawyers. As with many diasporic
communities, they have often done better than the native popula-
tions through hard work and perseverance. But no one should
underestimate the sacrifices they have made and the suffering of
individuals—some of whom have been deeply traumatised by the
escape route they took as well as the isolation, racism and indiffer-
ence they experienced in their host countries. To counter this
Eritreans did what other exiles had done before them: they started
restaurants in which they congregated; they established societies,
churches and mosques that reflected their faiths and inclinations.
In other words, they formed communities.
From the first the liberation movements worked hard to retain
their ties with the diaspora. Indeed, the EPLF was reliant on the
diaspora for its very survival. As Professor Kibreab explains, the
movement established a range of bodies to tie them to its strug-
gle, since the Front had few other sources of finance:
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In the early 1970s, three Eritrean diaspora organisations emerged in the

Middle East, Europe and North America. These were the Eritrean
General Students’ Union (GUES), Eritreans for Liberation in North
America (EFLNA) and Eritreans for Liberation in Europe (EFLE).
Even though the GUES maintained a veneer of autonomy, it was from
the outset affiliated to the ELF. Although the EFLNA and the EFLE
Â€
mobilised massive material and political support for the EPLF, in the
beginning, they were not formally affiliated to the Front. This was not
because of the EPLF leadership’s respect for autonomy of civil diasporic
organisations, but rather to shield them from the influence of its
Foreign Mission, which was until March 1976, headed by the energetic
Osman Saleh Sabbe. Osman Saleh Sabbe was in favour of affiliation of
the diaspora organisations to the EPLF, but the field leadership pre-
ferred to see that the EFLNA and EFLE maintained a thin cover of
temporary formal autonomy.
In March 1976, the EPLF leadership accused the head of its Foreign
Mission, Osman Saleh Sabbe, of conspiring behind its back to form a
united Front with the ELF and after an acrimonious confrontation
severed its relations completely. Sabbe withheld all financial and logisti-
cal assistance in an attempt to pressurise the leadership of the EPLF to
submission. When the flow of external resources dried up suddenly, the
EPLF leadership made a U-turn and appealed to the leaderships of
EFLNA and EFLE to be affiliated to the Front and to substantially
increase their financial contributions.
The response from the exiles was extraordinary: few other
diasporic groups could match their commitment. Across North
America and Europe EPLF supporters abandoned their studies
and took up full time work in order to fund the movement. They
moved into crowded apartments to save money so that they could
increase their donations. There are even tales of some eating pet-
food in order to reduce their expenditure. The North American
organisation raised over $200,000 from around 500 members—an
average annual contribution of $400. The European branch, with
3,000–4,000 members, many of them living in Italy, contributed
171
between 10 and 20 per cent of their meagre incomes. Students

gave from their grants or scholarships; European branches
organised street collections.
These commitments bound the exiles tightly to the liberation
movement. In this case their loyalty was to the EPLF, but other
political organisations, including the ELF, benefitted from simi-
lar generosity down the years. For those enduring the lonely
years of exile it was a way of re-asserting their Eritrean identity.
Whenever their country has been really challenged the response
has been the same: they rallied to the cause. Yet although the
movement they supported was heavily reliant on external funding
this did not result in the diaspora having a real say in the policies
of the EPLF. Under Isaias control always remained tightly cen-
Â€
tralised; the exiles might advise, but they did not exercise much
influence. In this sense the EPLF was very different from South
Africa’s African National Congress. The ANC leadership was
outside the country during the liberation struggle and it was
from Lusaka or Dar es Salaam that they attempted to guide the
movements that were active inside the country. The EPLF was
based in, and remained inside, Eritrea.
The identification with the country that the exiles felt did not
evaporate at independence. When the border war erupted in May
1998 much the same level of external support was to be seen.
Victoria Bernal, at the University of California, recorded what
took place:
In June 1998, for example, Eritreans met in Copenhagen and pledged
$1,000 per household; in Riyadh they pledged one month’s salary each;
in Edmonton, Canada $26,000 was raised on the spot at a single meet-
ing. Jubilant reports of these and other meetings circulated via the
Internet on the U.S.-based Eritrean website, www.dehai.org. A message
reporting on a meeting held in St. Louis on June 14 where $55,000 was
pledged in two hours stated, ‘St. Louis resident Eritreans made history
and a lesson to share with other brothers and sisters. This is something
that all Eritreans need to emulate.’…
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In response to these efforts, the Eritrean government promptly set up

a national defense bank account and the donations flowed in. It is worth
noting, moreover, that these donations were not earmarked as humani-
tarian aid to alleviate the suffering caused by war but were aimed at
bolstering the Eritrean state’s capacity to wage war. Tekie Beyene, gov-
ernor of the Bank of Eritrea, described the contributions from the
diaspora as ‘beyond anybody’s imagination.’
These contributions were made at a moment of severe crisis.
Eritrea’s continued existence appeared to be at stake as Ethiopian
forces drove deep into the new state’s territory. The diaspora was
glad to play its part and the contributions were, in the main,
entirely voluntary. During the border war exiled communities pur-
chased Eritrean bonds worth $36.5 million and made contribu-
tions of $106.4 million. The total contribution to the war effort
reached $142.9 million. As we shall see, this generosity was
exploited and the willingness to pay was gradually eroded.
Financial payments were not the only means by which
Eritreans were bound to their state. During the war of liberation
the EPLF cleverly came up with the idea of organising a giant
festival in Bologna. First held in 1974, it attracted thousands of
Eritreans from across Europe. They came together to share their
culture, network and raise money for the movement. Improvised
hotels, bars and cafes were established and hundreds of thousands
of dollars were raised for the struggle. The festival was a chance
for exiles to let their hair down, to eat, drink and socialise with
other Eritreans. It was a very popular event. Smaller scale festi-
vals were developed in other European locations, as well as
becoming a feature of life in North America.
In Germany there were similar commemorations. Martyrs’ Day,
on 20 June, was a particular moment for the community to gather
Â€
in public. In Frankfurt, for example, trees were planted and candles

lit to commemorate the dead. Gatherings were held in virtually
every German town with an Eritrean community. In a park in
173
Nuremberg there is even a memorial dedicated to the martyrs of

the Eritrean revolution. It consists of a plaque, mounted on a low
brick pedestal, and a tree behind it. A stylized olive wreath is
engraved on the plaque and below it an inscription in German and
Tigrinya reads: ‘This tree was planted in memory of the people
who gave their lives for Eritrea’s independence. We will never for-
get them—The Eritreans living in Nuremberg’.
As the reality of life back home became clear support for the
festivals and commemorations gradually ebbed away. Criticism of
the regime increased as the word spread of the wave of arrests in
September 2001 that saw leading critics of the president and inde-
pendent journalists rounded up. As exiles realised that their antici-
pated state, based on human rights and the rule of law, was reced-
ing into the distance, they began to lose faith in the Eritrean
government. Attendance waned and contributions fell. Although
no one forgot the sacrifices made to achieve their country’s inde-
pendence, some chose to recall the dead in the privacy of their
own homes, rather than at government sponsored events.
This is not to suggest that the Eritrean government and
President Isaias are without genuine supporters, both inside and
outside the country. But their numbers have been in decline. If
it was not for the continued stalemate with Ethiopia, and the
lack of action by the international community to enforce the
Algiers Agreement that ended the border war, opposition might
have spilled onto the streets. Professor Gaim Kibreab quotes a
telling interview he conducted in 2003 with an elderly chairman
of one of Eritrea’s regional assemblies. After turning off his tape-
recorder, the interviewee said:
Look, I am almost 70 years old, and I do not fear anything for my life,
but as long as danger is shadowing our nation and as long as our ene-
mies are still on our necks, my conscience will not allow me to oppose
and demonstrate. This is a nation built by blood and sweat of my chil-
dren. We need our unity more than ever, when now, again, the inter-
174
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national community has betrayed us. The moment the border is demar-
cated and our sovereignty is safeguarded, I will be the first to go out in
the street and demonstrate.
As Professor Gaim suggests, the old man probably spoke for
many of his generation.
From willing contributors to coerced exiles
Today Eritreans living abroad face a range of pressures, planned

and organised by the regime. These have two aims: to increase
the revenues received by Asmara and to keep the Eritrean dias-
pora quiescent and supportive. It has left many fearful for their
families back home and isolated from their communities abroad.
One of the most important means of extracting this revenue is
via what became known as the 2 per cent tax. Officially the
‘RehabiliÂ�tation Tax’ it was imposed under Proclamation 17 of 1991
and Proclamation 1 of 1995. These stipulated that: ‘Every indi-
vidual with a salary pays 2 per cent of a rehabilitation tax from
gross monthly income.’ It applied to citizens wherever they lived—
inside the country or abroad. The penalty for non-payment is
severe: denial of all assistance from the Eritrean government. No
embassy will provide support and no official is allowed to deal with
anyone in the diaspora if this payment has not been made.
These are some of the measures that this ruling applies to:
obtaining or renewing an Eritrean passport; obtaining an Eritrean
ID card or other crucial records including marriage, death and
birth certificates; the purchase, sale or inheritance and transfer of
property throughout Eritrea; obtaining land for house construc-
tion in one’s village of origin; sending consumer goods, such as
sugar, clothing, edible oil, wheat flour, etc. to one’s family; claim-
ing unaccompanied luggage on arrival in Eritrea. Before any of
these measures can be undertaken proof must be provided that the
2 per cent tax has been paid in full. Students are required to con-
175
tribute at a lower rate, but everyone is required to pay—and the

payments are backdated to the moment that employment began.
Since 2011 the international community, as represented by the
United Nations, has attempted to prohibit the 2 per cent tax.
Security Council resolution 2023 condemned its collection,
which—the resolution said—was used to ‘destabilize the Horn
of Africa region’ and for purposes including ‘procuring arms and
related materiel for transfer to armed opposition groups or pro-
viding any services or financial transfers provided directly or
indirectly to such groups.’ The Security Council called for action
saying that it: ‘Decides that Eritrea shall cease using extortion,
threats of violence, fraud and other illicit means to collect taxes
outside of Eritrea from its nationals or other individuals of
Eritrean descent.’ All states were asked to halt the collection of
the tax.
The resolution was passed after strong statements from
Somalia, Djibouti and Ethiopia. The Ethiopian prime minister,
Meles Zenawi, accused Eritrea of violating the security of the
region and went on to present a long list of complaints. He said
that Eritrea had:
invaded islands held by Yemen before it had invaded Ethiopia. It had
also invaded Djibouti, first denying it had done so, and then admitting
it had by withdrawing and allowing Qatari troops to replace its own.
Further, it had publicly stated it would arm and train any group willing
to remove the regime in Khartoum. It had characterized the regime in
Somalia as a puppet regime and was arming Al-Shabaab to further
destabilize that country.
Prime Minister Meles concluded with these words: ‘The
problem was not a lack of communication, but one of attitude,
resulting from a certain clique in Asmara that had never grown
up from a rebel group. It was also a problem of lawlessness.’
The Eritrean government appears to have decided not to partici-
pate in the debate and there was little support for the Eritrean
176
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position from any African state; both Nigeria and South Africa
attacked what the Eritrean government had done. Other represen-
tatives were equally critical. Speaking for the United Kingdom, the
ambassador, Mark Lyall Grant, ‘expressed concern about Eritrea’s
disruptive activities in Somalia and the region’ and ‘urged Eritrea
to comply with this and all other Council resolutions.’
Given the overwhelming support for the resolution one might
have assumed that it would have been enthusiastically enforced,
but this has not been the case. Britain, despite having called for
compliance, has done little to ensure that the tax is not being
collected.
US and Canada crack down
Eritrea has been in trouble with North American governments

for several years. In the 1990s Eritrea’s Washington embassy had
established a money-transmitting business in the American fed-
eral capital. In August 2000 this was taken over by a company,
Himbol Financial Services. This provided a transfer system for
American Eritreans, as well as the country’s nationals in other
parts of the world. In 2001 Himbol hired Kesetbrhan M. Keleta
Â€
to run the business, which he did for the next year. Although
Kesetbrhan attempted to obtain a licence for this operation his
application remained pending. Despite this he continued to send
the remittances—around $10 million in total—until he left
Himbol’s employment at the end of 2002. He was found guilty
of running the business without a licence and sentenced to
thirty-one months in jail. Kesetbrhan appealed to the Supreme
Court, but his petition was denied.
In 2009 the US State Department ordered Eritrea to close its
consulate in Oakland, California, charging the Eritreans with using
remittances to fund Somali rebels of al-Shabaab. The Bush admin-
istration gave the Eritreans just ninety days to shut the mission,
177
complaining about Eritrea’s behaviour in Somalia and interference

with the activities of the American embassy in Asmara. In a brief-
ing for reporters, Jendayi Frazer, Assistant Secretary of State for
African Affairs, said US officials believe that taxes on the earnings
of the estimated 200,000 Eritreans living in the United States,
collected by the Oakland consulate, had been used to finance
weapons and training for Somali insurgents. Frazer said tensions
with Eritrea that pre-dated the Bush administration had been
escalating, with Asmara refusing to grant visas to American offi-
cials assigned to the US embassy in the capital and demanding to
inspect diplomatic pouches. Whether the American action suc-
ceeded in halting the 2 per cent tax is a moot point. It is more
likely that it was transferred via another route.
When the Canadian authorities discovered that the 2 per cent
tax was being extracted from their nationals, they acted. In 2011
newspapers reported that the Consulate General of Eritrea in
Toronto was behaving as a fundraising front that solicited a 2 per
cent income tax and a $300 to $500 ‘national defence’ fee from
the Eritrean diaspora. In May 2013—after investigating the alle-
gations—the government expelled the Eritrean Consul. The
Consul, Semere Ghebremariam O. Micael was told to leave
Â€
Canada for persistently violating the UN sanctions regime.

Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, John Baird, said Mr Micael
Â€
had been declared persona non grata and gave him a week to
leave. ‘Canada has repeatedly made clear to Eritrea to respect
international sanctions and Canadian law,’ the Department of
Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Even this did not end Eritrean activities. A year later there were
further newspaper reports that the 2 per cent tax was still being
extracted. In May 2014, as a condition for maintaining a diplo-
matic post in Toronto, Eritrea agreed that the consulate would not
have any role in the solicitation and collection of taxes. But several
Eritreans who phoned the Toronto consulate said they were still
178
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being instructed to pay the tax. They tape-recorded the conversa-

tions as evidence the consulate was still an active player in the taxa-
tion scheme. At this point the Canadian authorities appeared to
have given up, ending their campaign to halt the tax collection.
British enforcement of the tax ban

The British government assured the UN that it took steps as
early as 2011 to ensure that the diaspora tax was not being col-
lected in the UK. This was referred to in the 2012 report by the
Â€
UN Monitoring Group:
On 20 May 2011, the Government of the United Kingdom notified the
Â€
Eritrean authorities that, since aspects of the collection of the two

per cent tax may be unlawful and in breach of the Vienna Convention
Â€
on Diplomatic Relations, until it was demonstrated otherwise, the

Eritrean embassy should suspend, immediately and in full, all activities
relating to the collection of the tax.
The Foreign Office said it had reminded Eritrea that the dias-
pora tax was illegal. In a parliamentary answer Baroness Warsi
explained that: ‘On 20 DecemÂ�ber 2012, Foreign and CommonÂ�
Â€
wealth Office officials raised these concerns with the Eritrean

ambassador and reminded him of UN SCR 2023.’
Despite these assurances and repeated warnings, it is clear that
the British government’s policy has been continually flouted by
the Eritrean embassy. The British government is fully aware that
this has taken place. In its report to the UN Security Council in
July 2013, the UN Monitoring Group had this to say about the
diaspora tax: ‘the Group has obtained receipts, dated 2012 and
2013, which document taxation by the Government of Eritrea of
its citizens living in the United Kingdom, Italy, Sweden and
Canada, and it has been reliably informed by dozens of Eritrean
citizens living in the diaspora of taxes being levied in other coun-
tries with significant Eritrean populations.’
179
To strengthen the British resolve, Eritreans living in the UK

decided they would provide the government with evidence of the
pressure they were under. Simon Tesfamariam, who has dual
British and Eritrean citizenship, went to the Eritrean embassy on
the morning of 18 December 2013. He went as an ordinary
Â€
Eritrean to get official clearance to allow him to do business in

the country. Unlike other Eritreans he was wearing a secret cam-
era during the visit.
This is a transcript of his conversation with Eritrean Embassy
staff:
EE: What was your address when you last paid?
ST: When I paid? 90 Guinness Court I think. [his previous address]
EE: Since then, there hasn’t been any payment.
ST: Well it’s probably because I was still a student then. I was told to
pay for my ID card.
EE: Yes, you paid for ID card. You were underage so 2% tax was not
applicable. Bring your ID.
ST: From when do I need to pay according to this?
EE: OK… The year you were born is 1978, right?
ST: Yes.
The Embassy staff member then consults with another mem-
ber of staff before returning to Simon.
EE: In 1996, you turned 18 years old. You have not paid anything since
1996. If you were a student, you have to bring proof of that.
ST: Well I was a student until 2001, until I finished university.
EE: You have to bring proof if you were in college or university.
ST: So I have to bring proof that I finished university?
EE: OK, you know you were under age until 1996 and then from then
until 2001, in education. Proof is needed or if you were under social
services and so on.
ST: Well, I was under social services from 1995 to 1997 but not after
that. I was living in a children’s home.
180
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EE: OK from 1996 to 2004 what were you doing? Were you working,
studying, you have to bring proof. Anyway even if you were a student,
£50 per year is paid by everyone. For the rest, until 2013 you have to
provide proof of income.
Before 1996, you don’t need to. However, after and until 2013 you need
to bring a payslip, a P60 or anything that indicates your income. When
you come with all these documents, then you can pay the 2% tax.
ST: Do I have to pay it all at once?
EE: No you don’t have to pay it all at once; you can break it down and
pay in Eritrea.
ST: So do I have to pay it in Eritrea?
EE: Yes you have to pay it in Eritrea.
ST: But do I have to go myself? How can I?
EE: You can send it.
ST: OK, so it has to be paid there in pounds?
EE: Yes in pounds. However if you have anything to do and there is any
query, for example Power of Attorney, or anything to do there, you will
have to pay it all and get clearance. You will not be able to do anything
without clearance. However, if you have no query or nothing to do,
then you can pay it little by little.
ST: But I don’t get clearance until everything is clear.
EE: Yes, clear.
Simon Tesfamariam’s experience is common. Every Eritrean

resident abroad must pay the 2 per cent tax before their embassy
is permitted to provide any assistance to the individual. But—as
the transcript makes clear—instead of collecting the money in the
UK and transferring it to Eritrea, the embassy instructs their citi-
zens to make the payment directly to Eritrea. This has allowed the
Eritrean authorities to claim that they are not collecting the tax at
the embassy. It is clearly a ruse, since the outcome is identical.
This evidence was presented to the British Foreign Office, but
to little effect. The Eritrean government continued to demand
payments, which the Eritrean embassy ensures are sent to Asmara.
181
In 2013, under pressure from the diaspora, the British govern-

ment met the Eritrean ambassador, as well as members of the
Eritrean community. This was revealed in a parliamentary reply
on 24 February 2014 by Baroness Warsi:
Â€
The UK supports United Nations Security Council resolution (UNSCR)

2023, which condemned Eritrea’s use of the Diaspora tax and called on
Eritrea to cease using illicit means to collect the tax. The UK has made
clear that the use of coercion or other illicit means to collect the tax in
the UK must cease. Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials
last raised this on 25 October 2013 in a meeting with the Eritrean
Â€
Ambassador. On 8 November 2013, officials from the FCO, the

Â€
National Crime Agency and West Yorkshire Police met members of the
Eritrean Diaspora to discuss the Diaspora tax. At this meeting,
Eritreans were urged to report any use of coercion or other illicit means
to collect the tax to the police. We will continue to engage with the
Diaspora on this issue.
The implication was clear: the British authorities regarded the
tax as ‘illicit’ (rather than illegal) and that coercion to collect it
had to end. But the United Kingdom was not about to launch
any investigation of its own; rather it was calling on Eritrean
exiles to complain to the police if they were being forced to make
a payment. This was a somewhat unusual way of enforcing a UN
Security Council resolution—especially one that the British gov-
ernment supported. Nonetheless, British Eritreans set about
collecting evidence to present to the police.
In March 2015 a group of Eritreans went to a central London
police station with the evidence. ‘We wish to register a criminal
complaint against the Ambassador of the Embassy of Eritrea, 96
White Lion Street, London N1 9PF, as advised by the Foreign
and Commonwealth Office,’ they said in an accompanying letter.
They continued: ‘A colleague, and a fellow member of the
Eritrean community living in the UK, Temesghen Debessay
Asfha, was required to pay a tax to the Eritrean government in
182
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order to wind up his affairs in Eritrea. On 26 May 2014 he was

Â€
told to pay the tax of £350 in Eritrea and was instructed that if
this was not paid in full his affairs would not be concluded. This
included a charge of £200 for the Eritrean military.’ They pre-
sented evidence in the form of receipts. They went on to declare
that the tax collection is ‘a clear violation of the assurance given
by the Ambassador to the Foreign Office on 25 October 2013
that the tax collection had ended.’ Explaining that the tax was
being extracted from one of the poorest communities in Britain,
they asked for the expulsion of the Eritrean ambassador. Having
obtained a receipt from the police, they left, hoping that action
would follow.
On 15 April 2015 Chief Inspector Claire Clark wrote to the
Â€
complainants acknowledging that their report had been made.

Ms Clark said she had asked her Parliamentary and Diplomatic
Protection Department to investigate the allegations. In the end
the evidence was not considered sufficiently strong to bring a
prosecution and no further action was taken.
Western governments appear to have given up attempting to
halt tax collection in their countries by the Eritrean government.
Although it is clear that considerable coercion is being exerted
through Eritrean embassies no effective action is being pursued by
the U.S., Canada, Britain or any other nation—despite their
nominal support for the UN sanctions programme.
Israel deports ‘infiltrators’
Chapter 8, ‘The Flight from Eritrea’, outlined the route to Israel

via the Sinai. For many years Israel was seen as an important
potential place of refuge. Before the construction of the giant
security fence mentioned above, many thousands of Eritrean
refugees made the journey. There are now around 43,000 African
migrants in Israel, mostly from Eritrea (some 31,500) and Sudan
(around 8,500).
183
The Israeli government is a signatory to the United Nations

refugee convention, but almost no one is ever granted full refugee
status. Israel has one of the lowest rates of refugee registration in
the world: 0.16 per cent of applications are successful. This is not
surprising: they are not classified as refugees, or even as migrants,
but as ‘infiltrators’—a term the Israelis devised to deal with
Palestinians attempting to return from exile. Ethiopians Jews
who come to Israel (who call themselves ‘Beta Israel’, rather than
‘Falasha’, which is considered derogatory) are regarded very dif-
ferently. As Jews Israel considers they have a ‘right to return’ and
are therefore treated as citizens, even though they sometimes face
discrimination. In 2010 there were 110,000 Israelis of Ethiopian
extraction.
According to three campaigning organisations, the Aid OrganiÂ�
zation for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Israel (ASSAF),
Amnesty International and the Hotline for Migrant Workers,
Israel deals with its African refugees under a policy of ‘temporary
collective protection.’ The groups explain what this means in
practice:
By utilizing this policy, the government of Israel acknowledges the
danger in these… countries and does not deport asylum seekers to their
countries of origin. Asylum seekers are given deferred deportation
orders, which render their stay in Israel legal. This documentation,
however, does not allow them access to formal work permits, health
care or welfare services. Asylum seekers are stuck in a legal limbo; while
being allowed to remain in the country, they lack access to basic services
in order to survive, advance, and integrate.
Israel’s Eritrean community therefore lives in a twilight world:
unable to integrate, but not deported. Many have been rounded
up. Israel has two detention centres to which they are sent. One
is a ‘closed detention centre’ or prison, called ‘Saharonim’. Others
are held in a smaller detention centre, ‘Holot’, which is designed
to hold around 3,300 prisoners. Most are single men arbitrarily
184
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picked from the refugee community. Some have been in the

country for several years. ‘Holot’ is in a remote desert location,
fifty kilometres from the nearest town. The detainees are under
constant pressure to leave the country voluntarily.
They face the option of remaining in indefinite detention, or
accepting a passage to a third country. Some have taken the sec-
ond option. According to Israel’s Population, Immigration and
Border Authority, 2,920 asylum seekers accepted deportation in
the first eleven months of 2015. But this was fewer than half the
number of asylum seekers who left in the same period the previ-
ous year. The Aid Organization for Refugees and Asylum Seekers
says that the Israeli government has not provided information on
how many returned to Eritrea. Nor have they been able to find
out what happened to anyone who accepted this option. ‘Human
rights organizations have not managed to establish contact with
any asylum seekers who left Israel in order to “voluntarily” return
to Eritrea over the past two years. Despite all efforts, it is unclear
how many of them returned to their homeland and what became
of them.’
Eritreans who have been ‘willingly’ put on planes have been
sent to Rwanda and Uganda. On leaving Ben Gurion International
Airport they are given Israeli travel documents, but on arrival in
Uganda or Rwanda these are—by all accounts—removed from
them. They are provided with cash, but this is soon used up.
They are required to check into a local hotel, which charges $100
to $150 a night—normally the sum for a month’s stay. From
then on they are on their own. They are in Rwanda or Uganda
illegally, subject to arrest and deportation to their country of
origin. This, despite the Israeli Supreme Court ruling that
human rights are grossly abused in Eritrea. The Eritreans are,
effectively, in yet another double bind: in a strange country,
without papers. There are also reports that they are monitored
and threatened by agents of the Eritrean government if they
engage in critical journalism or speak out against the regime.
185
The Aid Organization for Refugees and Asylum Seekers report

concludes:
Asylum seekers coming to Uganda can contact the Ugandan Prime
Minister’s Office, charged with caring for asylum seekers, to request
refugee status and receive a three-month residency permit, serving also
as an identifying document. However, reports indicate that it is hard to
complete this process without entry permits to Uganda. None of those
interviewed for the present report managed to complete the process,
although some have been in the country for about a year. The asylum
seekers reported economic hardships, and most of them testified that
they still did not feel safe in Uganda. Leaving Uganda presents difficul-
ties as well. One of the interviewees explained that leaving Uganda is
not always possible: ‘Someone tried to cross the border to South Sudan
and they took all of his things, his clothes, and sent him back to
Kampala. Six friends went to the border. They took their suitcases and
put them in prison for 15 days. Three were told to go back, three
moved to South Sudan.’
The situation in Rwanda is similar. Eritreans find themselves
without papers, fearful and no further forward in their search for
a safe home.’
Why do Uganda and Rwanda accept Eritreans (and Sudanese)
deportees from the Israelis? In 2013 the Israeli paper Haaretz
published a lengthy report in which a number of human rights
groups alleged that both African countries were being provided
with Israeli arms as a reward for taking the ‘infiltrators’. The
governments deny that there is a ‘refugees for arms’ deal.
Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo is quoted as
saying: ‘Israel is a good friend of Rwanda and we work together
closely, especially in the fields of agriculture and technology, but
there is “no special package” for the refugee question.’ The
Ugandan authorities also said that they were unaware of any deal.
The Israeli prime minister’s office, when asked about the pro-
gramme said: ‘The Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu
186
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has completely halted the illegal infiltration into Israel and is

determined to continue returning to their countries of origin the
thousands of illegal migrant workers who have entered here. All
actions are taken in accordance with international law.’
Whether or not an arms deal is part of the package for Uganda
and Rwanda it is clear that Eritreans are under intense pressure
to leave Israel. As Human Rights Watch concluded in 2014:
Israel’s policy of facilitating the departure of Eritreans and Sudanese to
third countries, such as Ethiopia, Rwanda and Uganda, also puts it at
risk of violating its international obligations. Without legally binding
formalized transfer agreements with these countries including assur-
ances that they will have access to full and fair asylum procedures, there
is a risk that Eritreans and Sudanese transferred to these countries could
also be victims of refoulement.
Spooks, threats and internet trolls

It is one of the burdens that Eritrean exiles have to bear that even
when they have escaped from the repression that has engulfed
their own country they are not free. When I participated in a
public meeting at the University of London in 2014 with Dan
Connell, I experienced some measure of the pressure that is
exerted on the opposition abroad. We were heckled and an attempt
was made to shout us down. The youth wing of the ruling party—
the YPFDJ—are among the most actively involved in these
attempts at intimidation. We had to call in the University security
to allow the talk to proceed. An Eritrean government website
described Dan Connell and me as being an ‘Axis of Evil’. Eritreans
in exile are treated much more ruthlessly.
A network of spies and informers has been carefully nurtured
by the Eritrean regime to monitor and control their citizens
abroad. The Eritrean diaspora is under constant surveillance—
and they know it. Go to almost any Eritrean opposition gather-
ing and you will see them: young men and women who gather
187
information and intelligence on anyone who steps out of line.

Anyone who challenges the regime cannot go home for funerals,
weddings or other family events. The doors of their homeland
are firmly closed to them.
On the other hand it is important not to underestimate just
how powerful the psychological hold of the regime is over its
diaspora. Many were brought up by their families to identify
strongly with the movement and its leaders. A good number still
hold these views. It requires a real wrench to break with these
ties. For some it leads to isolation from their own parents, for
whom the EPLF had an almost mythical status.
Sometimes this involves violence. When members of the
opposition attempted to protest during the 2014 Eritrean gov-
ernment festival in Bologna they were attacked by pro-govern-
ment security staff. In the first incident, two members of the
official security staff attacked demonstrators, injuring two of
them. One needed stitches in his head, the other to his head and
back. The festival security staff were identified by the distinctive
T-shirts they wore, with ‘Eri blood’ written on them and a pic-
ture of a red heart. The following day—when opposition contin-
ued—a government supporter drove a car into the demonstra-
tions. Again a member of the opposition was injured and needed
medical treatment.
Much of the government’s effort is more subtle, but no less
intimidating. There are accusations of Eritrean agents hacking into
computers and mobile phones belonging to members of the oppo-
sition, while members of their families are harassed and arrested
inside the country. The UN Commission of Inquiry found a range
of examples of this kind of intimidation. They uncovered spies that
operate around the world—a sophisticated network that keeps the
diaspora under constant surveillance.
Some of these examples involve the collection of the 2 per cent
tax. One witness who reported having been a spy for an Eritrean
embassy told the Commission that:
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In 1997, Mr. [A], the consul in [a foreign country]… called me for a

Â€
meeting joined by other spies. They told us we should continue our

struggle in [a foreign country]. He introduced us to each other and
started meeting us individually. There was an organisation… We were
assigned to this organisation, not to work but to ensure the PFDJ was
represented in every organisation. They wanted me to join the board. I
refused, arguing I was too young and inexperienced. Later, Mr. A told me
Â€
he had a job for me. He told me I should work for them as a security
agent in [city Z]. He said this would only be between him and me.
Later, he gave me appointments and said I would always be able to enter
the consulate, without needing permission and without having to wait
for an appointment. Even the people at the consulate were not allowed
to ask us any questions. I received a schedule for the entire week. I was
asked to go every day to different hotels or restaurants. There were
three shifts per day. We were asked to chat with people who came to
those places and report on what we heard. Every day, I had to report
back to the consul in person. I believed this was the right thing to do
… We had to observe every religious group. Those working in the reli-
gious groups are church members and PFDJ members at the same
time… We did not know who was an agent and who was not. The work
was organised by the consul alone, not with others. Now they have
people who don’t trust each other. At the time, it was different… I
decided to discontinue my work with them.
Other forms of intimidation concern spying on Eritreans who
are considered to be political dissidents or engaging in religious
activities not authorised in Eritrea.
One witness explained to the Commission that: ‘My brother
and my father cannot go back to Eritrea because they belong to the
opposition party. There are spies in [a foreign country] who spy
on what Eritreans do there.’ Another person told the CommissÂ�ion
that: ‘People cannot speak freely. Even here in [a foreign country],
Eritreans cannot speak freely because the Government of Eritrea
sends people to spy on those who have fled Eritrea.’
The Commission says that many of its witnesses spoke about
the fear of returning to Eritrea to visit because they might have
189
been blacklisted as a result of their political and other activities.

Others explained that they felt constrained to join organisations
in the diaspora or express free opinions regarding the situation
in the country. ‘Most importantly, the Commission found that
there are legitimate fears among Eritreans in the diaspora that
the Eritrean Government engages in phone tapping and email
surveillance in Eritrea such that they cannot freely communicate
with their relatives in the country.’
There was also evidence of the web of spies the Eritrean
authorities use to intimidate the diaspora, using threats of retali-
ation of family members back home.
A witness told the Commission that:
When I left the country, the security forces kept on asking my wife if I
was coming back or not. They made frequent visits to the house. They
tried to make her their informant so that they could extract information
about my activities. They thought that I was involved in political activi-
ties. In 2008, due to the visits and harassment, she packed and left the
country with the children.
The Commission quoted a further witness as saying that while
he was living abroad, his mother was approached by national
security officers: ‘One day when going to work she spoke to a
woman in the intelligence unit who said to her “Your son is very
active in the opposition, why don’t you tell him to just concentrate
on his studies?” to which my mother replied “You know today’s
children, they don’t listen to their mothers.”’
The cumulative effect of this pressure has left its mark on the
exile community. They are cautious and sometimes even fearful
about expressing their opinions openly. There is a sense in which
they are only partly separated from an abusive state, and still in
awe of its ability to influence their lives.
There is, however, one group of exiles that is not affected by
such pressures. They are the relatives of senior Eritrean govern-
ment officials who continue to support the regime. A number
190
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have sent their families abroad in recent years; some for study,
some to remain. So the family of General Sebhat Ephrem, for-
mer Minister of Defence and currently Minister of Mines and
Energy, lives in Sweden. The daughter of General Filipos
Woldeyohannes, Army Chief of Staff, has been living in Uganda.
Quite why they have been sent abroad is unclear, but it may
serve as a form of insurance against what the future might hold
in store.
Using the courts
A quiet, but well-orchestrated, campaign has been underway in

the Netherlands. The Eritrean government has attempted to use
the Dutch courts to try to silence its critics. The cases were
brought by leaders of the youth wing of Eritrea’s ruling party—
the Young People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (YPFDJ),
but the campaign is guided by senior government officials,
including some close to President Isaias. No fewer than seven
court cases were opened against liberal newspapers, a radio sta-
tion, a website, the Dutch government and an academic: Professor
Mirjam van Reisen.
The first to face the courts was Mirjam van Reisen, a professor
of International Relations at the University of Tilburg. An
adviser to the European Union and the UN, Professor van Reisen
is a well-respected expert on Eritrea. In May 2015 a Dutch web-
site, Oneworld.nl, published an article alleging that some of the
interpreters working for the Dutch immigration service were
linked to the Eritrean regime.
They were hired to translate sensitive conversations between
officials and refugees who were seeking asylum. Many of their
clients had fled from Eritrean state repression. For the translators
to have links to the Eritrean government was contrary to the
regulations governing the Dutch immigration service. These
191
stated that: ‘Neither you, nor your family in first or second

degree are (or have been) involved with a regime with which
foreigners claim to have experienced problems.’
When asked about these links Professor van Reisen described
them as worrying. ‘Many Eritrean asylum seekers are immensely
traumatised,’ she said. ‘When the refugees discover that the
interpreters are linked to the regime they fled from, this under-
mines their trust in protection by the Dutch authorities. In addi-
tion, it arouses fear. The interpreters get sensitive information
about the asylum seekers through the interviews that they trans-
late. With this information, they may threaten these refugees.
Relatives inside Eritrea may also be threatened.’ The article iden-
tified the brother and sister of the president of the Dutch youth
wing of the ruling party (the YPFDJ) as being among the trans-
lators. ‘The interpreters are linked to the centre of the (Eritrean)
intelligence in the Netherlands and across Europe,’ Professor van
Reisen said.
On 23 May 2015 the president of the YPFDJ in the Netherlands,
Â€
Meseret Bahlbi, went to a police station and filed a charge of libel

and slander. He asked for an apology, correction and a fine of a
minimum of €25,000. The case came to court on 10 February Â€
and—to the immense relief of Professor van Reisen—the accusa-

tion was rejected. Her right as an academic to freedom of speech
was upheld. The judge found that the YPFDJ had indeed received
instructions from the ruling party. Further the judge ruled that
among the goals of the YPFDJ are to ‘act as informants for (the
embassies of ) the regime in Eritrea’. Perhaps at least as damaging
for the Eritrean government was an admission by Meseret Bahlbi
that the regime engages in torture.
Although this case backfired, others were pursued. One was
against the Dutch migration agency. Brought by Bahlbi’s siblings
the court once again found against them. There were also two
cases against Volkskrant, the country’s foremost liberal newspa-
192
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per, but these were also lost. Despite this the complainants have
not abandoned the cause and have appealed against several of the
judgements.
The campaign has been accompanied by vociferous attacks on
social media. Van Reisen has been physically threatened. Both she
and I have been demonised, quite literally—with one Tweet por-
traying us as vampires, with blood dripping from our mouths.
Some attacks are faintly amusing, but they have to be taken seri-
ously since they are orchestrated by a government. In 2015 Yemane
Gebreab, President Isaias’s closest political adviser, told 550 young
Eritreans attending the party’s youth rally in Germany that fight-
ing the country’s ‘enemies’ was their top priority. ‘We have to
remember, always remember, that we have still enemies who plot
on a daily basis,’ Yemane told the conference. ‘Enemies who don’t
tire and don’t sleep, who try to bring our downfall… Therefore,
our first objective—as YPFDJ and as Eritrean youth, and as com-
munity… the objective which still remains at the very top of the
list, is to conclusively defeat this hostility hovering over of our
nation. That remains the job.’ In this context of the network of
Eritrean government agents operating around the world the Dutch
campaign takes on a new, and more sinister, significance.
These issues were grasped by the Dutch Parliament in June
2016. Its MPs passed a resolution calling for strict measures to
halt the infiltration of the immigration service by YPFDJ cadres
together with a string of restrictions on Eritrean government
supporters. There was also a demand for conditions to be attached
to EU aid for Eritrea.
* * *
There has been a gradual transformation in the position of
Eritrea’s exile community. Numbering several million and spread
across the globe, some have consciously turned their back on
their past and concentrated on forging their lives in their new
193
homes. But most have maintained close ties with their country
of origin. In the 1970s and 1980s some went to extraordinary
lengths to support the war of independence. The achievement of
that goal in 1993 was given an ecstatic welcome, but as the real-
ity of the new state emerged their enthusiasm gradually waned.
When President Isaias turned on his colleagues and arrested
them in 2001 it sent a shock wave through the diaspora. Some
continued their support, but over time dissent gradually grew.
What had been pride and joy turned to resentment and finally to
determined opposition.
Today there is a deep split between backers and opponents of
the Eritrean government. There is one not very obvious source of
strength for the president: the willingness of key individuals to
continue to work with him and support his administration even
though members of their own families have been brutally mis-
treated. Seyoum Tsehaye, the head of the country’s radio and
television service, has been jailed without trial since September
2001. Yet his brother, Alem Tsehaye, continues to serve as
Eritrean ambassador to India. The ambassador to Kenya, Beyene
Russom, is the husband of a well-known prisoner of conscience,
Senayit Debesay. The Eritrean ambassador to France’s sister,
Ruth Simon, who worked as a journalist for the French news
agency, AFP, was only released from jail after many years of
imprisonment. The Swedish-Eritrean journalist, Dawit Isaak,
perhaps the country’s best-known political prisoner, is in a simi-
lar position. His brother, Tedros Isaak, who also lives in Sweden,
is a staunch supporter of the regime.
President Isaias has sent his lieutenants abroad to bolster sup-
port among the exiles. At first this took the form of persuasion
and encouragement, through festivals and meetings. As these
gradually proved ineffective more drastic measures were intro-
duced. Today Eritreans abroad are under intense pressure to pay
taxes to Asmara and to provide the regime with uncritical back-
194
EXILE
ing. Anyone who steps out of line can expect to come under
intense pressure. This takes the form of social pressure and
blocking access to their families back home. In parts of Africa
this can be far more severe. Eritrean security forces operate in
Sudan and South Sudan and are capable of attacking or kidnap-
ping dissidents. Exiles in Uganda complain that they are threat-
ened, abused and sometimes assaulted.
Some in the diaspora have decided to keep a low profile, but
others have refused to be cowed and have attended mass rallies
against the regime from Washington to Geneva. It is striking
that in June 2016, when the Commission of Inquiry report was
being debated by the UN Human Rights Commission, refugees
in Israel clubbed together to hire a fleet of twenty-two buses to
bring protesters from the Holot detention centre in the Negev
desert to make their views known in central Tel Aviv. Even in the
most difficult of circumstances members of the diaspora are now
determined to oppose the regime.
195
10
OPPOSITION
The Eritrean government’s control over its population is perva-

sive, oppressive and totalitarian. The regime attempts to ensure
that nothing escapes its purview. Internally its network of spies
and informants is said to have extended to recruiting children
who make their living by selling cigarettes and sweets on the
streets. Abroad the regime’s activities are equally vigilant, as
described above. Yet despite this, opposition to President Isaias
is growing—and, most worrying for the president, it now reaches
the streets of Asmara. Political resistance takes two forms—
internal and external—and I will consider each in turn.
Internal resistance
Soon after the liberation of Asmara in 1991 the first signs of

disquiet became evident. Women fighters complained of their
treatment; the disabled called on President Isaias to address their
needs; and the veterans took to the streets demanding that they
be paid. All were ignored and their concerns dismissed. Their
leaders were arrested and jailed. Instead of meeting their griev-
197
ances they were treated as little more than traitors for question-
ing the president and the party that he led. Reasoned criticism
was snuffed out. A climate of intolerance was established that has
become increasingly stifling as the years have gone by.
These developments came to a head during and after the border
war with Ethiopia. They culminated in the confrontation with the
G15—who had been some of the president’s closest and most loyal
supporters. They were arrested in 2001, together with all indepen-
dent journalists. A government sponsored mis-information cam-
paign was unleashed against them. This was organised by bado
seleste (literally Zero Three). Former ambassador Andebrhan
Weldegiorgis has described Zero Three as a ‘presidential disinfor-
mation service’ used to discredit Isaias’s opponents.
Dating back to the liberation struggle, it was used to spread
rumour and gossip against anyone thought to oppose the ruling
party. This rumour-mill was used to attack the G15 prior to
their arrest, portraying them as ‘un-patriotic’ and ‘traitors.’
Following the arrests of the G15 internal opposition went quiet.
People grumbled in private, but there was little outward expres-
sion of dissent.
Yet the government’s portrayal of Eritrea as a peaceful, contented
nation is clearly wide of the mark. Several attempts have been
made against the president’s life. In August 2009, for example,
troops tried to kill him on the road between Asmara and the port
city of Massawa. The assassin was named as Lieutenant Daniel
Habte Yihdego, who is said to have opened fire on the president’s
car, before exchanging fire with his body-guards. The presidential
car was damaged, but Isaias escaped unharmed. He was said to
have been severely shaken by the attack. The president reverted to
the practice he adopted during the liberation struggle of changing
his sleeping arrangements and travel plans at the last moment, to
prevent a repetition of the attempt on his life. However, nothing
was done to address the underlying discontent.
198
OPPOSITION
Isaias made elaborate plans to ensure his security. This was the
assessment of the American ambassador to Eritrea, Ronald
K. McMullen, in a cable dated 18 February 2010, provided via
Â€ Â€
Wikileaks:
To protect himself and his regime from assassination, coup d’etat, army
mutiny, or a foreign commando strike, Isaias has created three separate
Presidential Guard units of about 2,000 troops each, according to a well-
connected Eritrean businessman. These elite solders get extra pay, have
modern equipment, and receive specialized training. Most are currently
stationed in or near Asmara, including a sizeable group lodged about 800
yards from the DCM’s (Deputy Chief of Mission) residence. The three
units are nominally led by Major General Filipos, but in reality Isaias
personally commands each one. In addition, Presidential Guardsmen also
serve as jailors for the G-15 (senior Eritrean officials arrested in 2001).
Isaias’ right-hand man is Colonel Tesfaldat Habteselassie, who commands
the 70-man presidential bodyguard detachment.
Operation Forto
On the morning of 21 February 2013 tanks rolled into Asmara

Â€
for the first time since the Ethiopian forces had been driven from
the city in 1991. The events that unfolded represented the most
significant internal challenge Isaias had ever faced. No definitive
account of the revolt has been written and what follows has been
pieced together from various sources.
In the early hours of the Monday morning troops from the
Tserona area, close to the Ethiopian border, converged on the
town of Dekemhare, some 40 km south-east of the capital. They
arrived in the town with twelve tanks, needing fuel. When the
local garrison refused to provide it they seized it. The soldiers
then headed north, arriving on the outskirts of Asmara at around
10:00 a.m. They sent three tanks to secure the airport, with the
rest entering the city about fifteen minutes later, to the astonish-
199
ment of the residents. The mutineers had assumed that other

units from the rest of the country would join them, but they
failed to materialise. Was the revolt betrayed, or did other officers
get cold feet? There is no clear explanation, but for the rebels
who were now inside their capital the die was cast.
The first major objective was the Ministry of Information
building on a small hill overlooking Asmara. Known as ‘Forto’ it
is home to the state broadcasting station, Eri-TV. Around 100
Â€
troops surrounded the building and gathered the staff into one
room. The head of Eri-TV, Asmelash Abrha, was marched into
the studio and forced to read a communiqué the mutineers had
prepared. This called for the implementation of the 1997
Constitution and the release of all political prisoners and those
caught fleeing the country. But after just a couple of sentences
the TV station went off the air—officials loyal to the president
had managed to cut the signal.
This was not how the mutineers had planned it. They had
been tipped off that the president himself would be at the infor-
mation ministry, continuing a meeting with regional administra-
tors. But—in line with his security practices—the venue had
been changed at the last moment. President Isaias was in his
office. At this point there was something of an impasse. The
president was safe; the rebels in control of the ministry.
Isaias sent the commander of the mechanised brigade, Colonel
Tsehaye Mekonen, to negotiate with them. The rebels were led
by Colonel Sied Ali Hjay (better known as Wedi Ali) who was
the hero of the defence of the port of Assab against the Ethiopians
in 2000. A confrontation ensued during which Colonel Tsehaye
was shot and wounded. Wedi Ali is said to have ordered his tanks
to open fire on the President’s Office. They hesitated—reluctant
to shell their own capital. Two of the most senior military com-
manders loyal to the president (Brigadier General Eyob and
General Sebhat Ephrem) then appealed to the troops. The gen-
200
OPPOSITION
erals declared that they shared the rebels’ aims. They begged
them, in the name of the martyrs, to end the rebellion and to
present their grievances to the government. Discussions went on
into the early hours of the evening, with promises being made
that the soldiers would not be arrested. No agreement could be
arrived at and the rebellion started to unravel. Fearing that they
would be captured, some of the rebel officers left the city, only
to be surrounded and taken prisoner. Wedi Ali managed to evade
capture for a while, but when he was finally tracked down he
defended himself before committing suicide.
The rebellion was over and Isaias had survived. So why had it
failed? Firstly, because the plan had gone off at half-cock, with
their supporters in other parts of the military failing to join
them. They may also have been betrayed, which would explain
the last-minute change of venue for the president’s meeting.
Secondly, military radio communications were apparently under
the control of the President’s Office, leaving the rebels no other
means of contacting the rest of the army. Finally, men like
General Sebhat had remained loyal, even though he was reputed
to be critical of the slow pace of democratisation. He had refused
to sign the G15 letter to the president in 2001 and although he
had been sidelined he was not prepared to join the revolt.
The diaspora followed every twist and turn of this story via
every news-source they could find. Some went further. Protesters
entered the Eritrean embassy in London in support of the rebel-
lion and there were similar scenes in Stockholm, Frankfurt,
Rome and Houston. For a moment—just a moment—there was
hope among the opponents of the regime that their day had
finally come.
The government later attempted to dismiss the events as a
‘small incident’. Thomas Mountain, an American journalist sym-
pathetic to the government, described the revolt as a ‘tempest in
a teapot.’ It was three weeks before Isaias went on television to
201
give his version of events. ‘A handful of people stormed the

building of the Information Ministry,’ he said. ‘We were sur-
prised.’ The president claimed that the troops who joined the
rebellion had been ‘brought to Forto by deception and under false
pretexts’ and when divisions emerged ‘many of the soldiers aban-
doned the conspirators and left Forto.’ By the following day the
rebels had, ‘whether voluntarily or forced, come forward and
repented saying they were deceived and asked for forgiveness.’
Wedi Ali was encircled and committed suicide. ‘This brought the
film to its end,’ the president declared. The rebellion had been
defeated but opposition was not at an end.
Revolt in the diaspora
There was a time when Eritreans in exile who were critical of the
regime were quiescent. Many still are, fearful of the consequences
for their families back home. Others genuinely believe in what
the president and his government are doing. But an increasing
number now challenge the regime.
Since November 2011 a group of dissidents have been attempt-
ing to find new ways of challenging President Isaias. The group,
calling themselves ‘Freedom Friday’ (or ‘Arbi Harnet’ in Tigrinya),
hit upon a plan of contacting Eritreans by phone to ask them to
stay at home on a Friday evening, rather than going out on the
town. Meron Estafanos, a human rights activist who had worked
for years to help save Eritreans drowning in the Mediterranean,
was the public face of the movement. ‘We believe in a non-violent
solution,’ she said. ‘We can’t ask the people back home to go out
and be killed. So we reversed the Arab Spring and appealed to
people to stay in their homes.’ Using automated phone calls, they
contacted Eritreans. Making up to 10,000 calls an evening
Freedom Friday asked people to remember the religiously perse-
cuted one week, and those who died another.
202
OPPOSITION
On 18 September 2013 the Freedom Friday Movement

Â€
launched an underground newspaper, twelve years to the day

after the government closed all privately owned newspapers and
arrested their journalists. Called ‘MeqaleH Forto’ or ‘Echoes of
Forto’, it drew its inspiration from the failed rebellion. DistriÂ�
buted by supporters inside the country it carried articles in
Tigrinya and Arabic describing the resistance movements inside
and outside Eritrea. Soon copies were being read by the popu-
lace, or left in public places. These were followed by posters,
pasted up in the dead of night, defying the regime. None of this
is without risk for those inside the country. Some activists have
been arrested and imprisoned, but still the campaign goes on.
Opposition parties and organisations

Once the Eritrean government could count on the unwavering
support of the majority of the population inside the country as
well as among the diaspora, but that is no longer the case.
Internal resistance has, so far, been held at bay, but among the
exiles there is growing confidence. Pro-government demonstra-
tions are now met with competing demonstrations by the oppo-
sition. ‘It is a question of contesting the political space,’ was how
one opposition supporter put it. Whenever there is a major
event, whether it is the annual Bologna festival, or the launch in
Geneva of the UN Commission of Inquiry report on Human
Rights, both sides call on their supporters to make their views
known. On occasions these have led to direct clashes. Both
camps mobilise their activists and thousands converge on the
chosen location. It would be untrue to suggest that either side
has the upper hand. The balance of forces swings between pro-
government members of the diaspora and critics of the regime,
but the days of unequivocal support for the regime are over.
There are a plethora of organisations that oppose the current
regime, all of which originated from the Eritrean Liberation
203
MoveÂ�ment of the late 1950s. Perhaps as many as fifty are in

existence, although many are defunct and some have less than a
dozen members.
Analysing these parties is a little like attempting to grasp mer-
cury on a pane of glass. The Eritrean opposition is continually
dividing and merging and anything written is often out of date
before publication. However, some important themes can be
discerned.
Firstly, there is the old division between the ELF and the
EPLF (today the PFDJ) that emerged in the 1970s and 80s.
Today’s parties reflect this political divide.
Secondly, there is a Muslim-Christian fracture. This was always
present in the ELF–EPLF divide, but it has been reinforced.
Some parties operate from a distinctly Islamist perspective.
Thirdly, there is the ethnic question. Eritrea’s nine ethnic
groups were not equally represented in the old party hierarchies.
The minorities believed themselves to be discriminated against
and when the Ethiopia-Eritrea border war was under way (1998–
2000) the Ethiopian government assisted in the establishment of
ethnically based parties among the Afar and Kunama.
Fourthly, parties have to decide what relationship they will
have with Ethiopia. Some embraced the former imperial power
while others rejected it. At the same time there is minimal sup-
port for the re-incorporation of Eritrea into a greater Ethiopia.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, there is the relation-
ship between current forms of organisation and the past. The
wounds inflicted by the bitter in-fighting amongst Eritrea move-
ments, and the civil war they fought from the 1970s, have been
deeply felt and enduring. Eritrea is a small country, with a small
population, many of whom knew each other personally. Deaths
and torture inflicted on family members have not been forgotten
or forgiven, making reconciliation and unity difficult to achieve.
All these issues are well understood by the regime. President
Isaias and his colleagues have worked diligently to undermine
204
OPPOSITION
attempts to resolve differences. Movements have been infiltrated;

opposition leaders threatened or bought off. Producing a united
opposition has been anything but easy and Eritreans have spent
years attempting to do just this. The problem is—at least in
part—that many of those who engage in politics abroad bear scars
from the past. Old rifts stand in the way of wider unity.
The main movements
Two major movements have emerged, loosely representing the

old ELF–EPLF divide. Confusingly, they have similar names.
Sixteen parties founded the Eritrean Democratic Alliance
(referred to below as the Alliance) in 2005. (See Appendix 4 for
the list of parties that came together in this movement.) Since
then other Islamist movements have joined. Most were loosely
within the old ELF camp. This in itself caused tensions, with
the Alliance dividing into blocs, which had to be reconciled. The
Alliance consists of ethnically-based organisations (representing
the Kunama and Afar), Islamic-based organisations (like the
Eritrean Islamic Reform Movement and the Eritrean Islamic
Party for Justice and Development) and the old ELF and its
offshoots. The Alliance has held meetings in Sudan and in
Ethiopia, where it is now based.
The second movement developed out of a merger between the
left wing of the ELF, known as the ELF-Revolutionary
Command, and senior party members of the EPLF identified
with the G-15 and former journalists and student dissidents who
avoided arrest in 2001. The various trends joined to form the
Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (the Party) in January 2010.
Its first chairman was ELF veteran WoldeJesus Ammar. It
included within its leadership Mesfin Hagos, a former army
commander and a member of the G15 who happened to be out-
side Eritrea in 2001.
205
While the Alliance had warm relations with Ethiopia, the

Party did not. The Party refused to attend a conference called by
the Alliance in Ethiopia in the summer of 2010 at Akaki. The
conference was followed by a congress held in the Ethiopian city
of Awasa in 2011, which was, in effect, Ethiopia’s attempt to
launch an Eritrean government in exile. The delegates, who had
come from across the world, established yet another movement
(the Eritrean National Council for Democratic Change) and
elected a legislature of 127 members. But this new body was
wracked with differences, which proved insuperable. In December
2015 the Ethiopian government, fed up with the bickering, with-
drew funding from the legislature. Ethiopia instead channelled
its support through individual parties.
This has not quite killed off the movement. The chairman of
the Council, Haj Abdenur, issued a statement in which he
announced that a second congress would be held in May 2016.
This—he said—would be paid for by Eritreans around the world.
But the fracture within the Council is deep: there are fifteen
political organisations inside the Council and a further six that are
in an opposition camp. Ethiopia has refused to allow the planned
congress to take place until their differences can be overcome.
The Alliance and the Party were joined by a third organisa-
tion, which was designed to unite previously hostile movements.
This was the Forum for National Dialogue, or Medrek. Organized
by Andrebrhan Weldegiorgis and other former EPLF leaders, it
was said to be a place in which unity could be found in 2013.
Speaking at the London launch of the Forum, Dr Assefaw Â€
Tekeste, a public health specialist and former head of the EPLF

Health Department during the liberation struggle, said their aim
was to use their links with people inside the country. ‘Our focus
is inside Eritrea and we will try to strengthen their hand. We
don’t want to lead or guide them.’ Ambassador Andebrhan told
the meeting: ‘We are a bridge between the diaspora, who are
206
OPPOSITION
important, and our colleagues inside Eritrea. But the Forum is

led from inside Eritrea.’
Although the Forum has attempted to be an alternative to the
other parties or movements, it has fallen foul of many of the
same problems. Its leadership is seen as too reminiscent of the
old EPLF and some have been accused of being high-handed. A
meeting held in Nairobi in 2015 was meant to be a springboard
for growth, but like many Eritrean meetings, it ended without
achieving its aim.
* * *
The fractious opposition currently poses little threat to the
Eritrean government. The divisions within it and their inability
to overcome past conflicts and animosities mean they have nei-
ther the organisational capacity nor the manpower to challenge
President Isaias. At the same time there is no reason why this
could not change. There are constant attempts to form new
organisations and to bridge previous divides. Eritreans are known
for their innovation and tenacity. Why should these skills not be
applied to forms of opposition?
One needs to remember that the opposition have an enduring
ally in the lowering figure of the president. Isaias Afwerki has
never revealed a softer, more accommodating side of his person-
ality. He has been rigidly determined to resist reforms that—in
his view—would undermine the security of Eritrea or his grip on
power. As long as this stubborn dictator remains in absolute
control there will be a stream of fresh recruits for the opposition.
Their problem is how to turn them into a real movement to
replace the current regime.
207
11
THE OUTLOOK FOR ERITREA
The political movements can point to only limited achievements.

The opposition groups have managed to maintain their presence;
they hold regular meetings and continue to challenge the regime
via the internet and foreign based radio stations. When the
Eritrean authorities attempt to hold public meetings abroad they
are now regularly challenged. Demonstrations are held to show
that President Isaias no longer retains the affection of large sec-
tions of the population. Inside the country only one political
party is allowed to operate—the PFDJ, or People’s Front for
Democracy and Justice. Founded at the third congress of its pre-
decessor (the EPLF) in February 1994, it has never held any
form of democratic election. Its 75-strong Central Council and
its 19-strong Executive Council are dominated by a single figure:
Isaias Afewerki. Like so much of Eritrean life, it is the president
who remains the centre of all activity. Much as the opposition
would like to challenge his stranglehold on the country, they
have so far found no means of doing so.
It was perhaps inevitable that political culture would be weak
in a free Eritrea. The brutal history of the movements and the
209
long and bitter struggle for independence militated against the

easy development of a vibrant civil society. It required tight,
military discipline to sustain the decades of fighting against the
Ethiopian government. Orders had to be followed without ques-
tion—whatever the sacrifice. This culture was reinforced by the
Marxism-Leninism of the 1960s and 1970s, which was imbibed
by many of the movements, including the EPLF. The party’s
Â€
insistence that Eritrea was a single nation, sometimes denying the

ethnic, cultural and religious inclinations of its peoples, strength-
ened this tendency. Then there were the deep wounds and bitter
memories of the civil war between the EPLF and ELF for domi-
nance in the field. Many were killed and internal rifts suppressed.
These factors combined to produce a dominant culture that was
intolerant of free speech and not conducive to an open, inclusive
democracy. The party’s formal commitment to these freedoms
counted for nothing once independence was achieved.
Having said this, there have always been internal debates, even
if they have not been allowed to flourish beyond a narrow circle
of the political elite. Once Asmara was liberated in 1991 the
tight-lipped secrecy of the war years was gradually eroded, even
if the tradition took a while to wear off. By 2000 a lively press
had emerged and discussion had began to develop, only to be
snuffed out. In exile Eritreans have certainly not been reticent
about expressing their views. In person and online there has been
a vigorous interchange of ideas, even though these have at times
been vituperative and abusive. There is nothing to suggest that a
culture of free expression could not thrive inside Eritrea, if it is
given the opportunity to do so.
What really stands in the way of the country achieving the
democracy it deserves? The obvious answer is President Isaias and
his close associates in the military and party. It is they who
imprison their opponents, refuse to allow opposition parties to
function, implement the Constitution or hold for free and fair
210
elections. Until this obstacle is removed no progress is likely to

be made. Yet this is not the whole answer, since it begs further
questions.
The president claims that the country is effectively in a state of
war with Ethiopia, since Addis Ababa has refused to implement
the Boundary Commission’s ruling on where the border lies—the
issue that sparked off the 1998–2000 conflict. There is some legiti-
macy in this view. Eritrea is clearly in the right: Ethiopia ought to
end its prevarication and implement the Commission’s decision as
it promised it would. The necessary maps have been supplied to
both countries. The ruling has legal force. All that is required is
for Ethiopia to recognise its validity.
There have been unconfirmed reports that some members of
the international community have been quietly working behind
the scenes to try to ensure that this takes place. If it did, ten-
sions between the two neighbours might subside. The Eritrean
army could stand down and be reduced to an appropriately small
force. The National Service recruits could be demobilised and
sent home. Of course this would take time and finance. Releasing
tens of thousands of young men and women would leave very
substantial numbers unemployed. Eritrea would need help from
the international community, which would almost certainly be
happy to oblige. They are keen to see stability in the Horn of
Africa. For European politicians ending the exodus of Eritreans
is a top priority.
The Eritrean government is engaged in a serious attempt to
broaden its appeal and to break out of the international isolation
in which it finds itself. In this it has allies among the foreign
community and the EU states in particular. They are so deter-
mined to try to halt the flow of refugees that they are willing to
close their eyes to almost any abuses by President Isaias’s govern-
ment. Foreign aid and co-operation are certainly on the table.
Despite the repeated failures of previous attempts to ‘reset’ rela-
211
tions with Asmara, officials in Brussels are determined to con-

tinue with these policies. The reports by the UN Human Rights
Commission are a setback for these initiatives, especially since
the Commission of Inquiry has found evidence of crimes against
humanity by the regime. But for the EU they are no more than
that: a setback; an obstacle to be overcome.
If sufficient tact, diplomatic leverage and negotiating skill
could be deployed to resolve the conflict with Ethiopia then the
political climate in the Horn of Africa could be transformed. The
ending of the stalemate of ‘no war-no peace’ would also allow the
border to be re-opened. Trade could once more flow between the
neighbours, allowing Ethiopia access to Eritrea’s ports.
Ethiopians would also benefit from this, since Djibouti is strug-
gling to cope with the trade through its port. Eritrea’s ports of
Assab and Massawa are ideally placed to play this role. They
could also play a valuable role in aid operations across the region.
In June 2016 the UN’s World Food Programme made the first
use of Massawa in years when it undertook a trial shipment of
1,100 tonnes of sorghum for South Sudan through the port. For
the last decade the WFP came close to ending its relationship
with the Eritreans following yet another row with the Isaias gov-
ernment over the distribution of food aid. The ports would need
to be rehabilitated and brought back to working order, but this
would not be an insuperable obstacle.
Ethiopia has resisted ending the border stalemate since this
would require accepting that it has been in the wrong. Instead of
showing some flexibility and moving towards reconciliation, the
Ethiopian authorities have done exactly the opposite. They have
increased tension from time to time by alleging that Eritrea has
violated the border in one way or the other. This may, occasion-
ally, have been true, but the tactic is designed to continue the
stalemate, which is extremely costly for Eritrea. It is meant to
deprive Asmara of the resources it might use to cause trouble for
212
Addis Ababa. The International Crisis Group believes that there

have been at least eight significant flare-ups since 2011, often
involving rebel groups sponsored by one or the other of the bel-
ligerents. One point is worth underlining: if a full-scale war were
to erupt between Ethiopia and Eritrea it is almost certain that
the vast majority of the Eritrean diaspora would put their differ-
ences with President Isaias aside and rally to the cause. Eritreans
of all political persuasions are intensely patriotic. Much the same
could be said of Ethiopians, which is why ending this stalemate
has proved so intractable.
If a war with Ethiopia can be avoided, but tension on the
border continues, then there is little prospect of progress for
Eritreans. Politics inside the country is likely to remain frozen.
President Isaias and the ruling party would have little reason to
allow a cessation of the current repression, since it allows them
to remain in place, largely unchallenged. Senior members of the
military as well as senior government officials can enjoy the fruits
of office with few impediments to their rule.
What might bring this to an end? It would, of course, be pos-
sible for the regime to open discussions with the opposition
and—gradually—to lift the one-party state, allowing a demo-
cratic renewal. Something similar did take place in South Africa,
when the apartheid government opened talks with the African
National Congress, leading to the release of Nelson Mandela. In
the mid-1980s this appeared entirely unlikely, since the country
was in flames, yet just five years later the discussions had been
held and an agreement had been reached. Nothing can be ruled
out, but at the moment there are few signs that Eritrea is about
to reach a similar rapprochement. Does Eritrea really have the
leaders of the stature of Mandela or de Klerk, who made this
transition possible?
As indicated throughout this book, this regime is predicated
on Isaias Afewerki. His style of rule is arbitrary, personal and
213
ruthlessly repressive. Former allies and friends have been removed

and jailed. Others have been ‘frozen’ and put out to grass, often
at a whim. He has also made large numbers of enemies. The
hundreds of thousands who have suffered years of abuse during
their National Service or languished in his prisons loathe their
leader. There have been at least two attempts to remove him
from power by force: once by assassination and once by rebellion.
These are incidents that have come to public attention—others
may have taken place below the radar. It is certainly possible that
despite the care the president exercises over his security that one
day this will slip and he will be assassinated. More than twenty
African leaders met a similar fate during the previous century.
Predicting such an event is—of course—impossible. Only
those intimately involved in any such plot would be in a position
to know that it was under way. Even then it could easily fail.
What one can legitimately ask is what such a dramatic develop-
ment might unleash. Many Western nations, as well as powers
like China and India, have considerable stakes in the Horn of
Africa. All would be concerned that (rather like the Arab Spring)
the termination of President Isaias’s grip on power might lead to
something worse. There have been (and still are) some hardline
Islamists among the opposition, but they do not presently repre-
sent a major element of the opposition.
The most likely scenario would be that a group within the cur-
rent hierarchy would take the reins of power—perhaps in a joint
administration, involving a leadership council. They would then be
in a position to reach out to the opposition movements. An intense
dialogue could take place leading to an interim administration and
elections. The way would then be open for a legitimate govern-
ment to be formed, guaranteeing the rights of all citizens.
The nightmare would be at an end. Eritrea could rejoin the
international community and take its rightful place among the
family of nations. This is an optimistic assessment. One could
214
just as easily paint a much gloomier scenario, involving division,

civil strife and years of mayhem. From the current perspective
this would appear unlikely. All the opposition can do is maintain
their attempts to forge a more effective unity, minimise differ-
ences and provide an alternative to the current regime. Together
they can keep up the pressure on President Isaias and weaken his
attempts to reach out to the rest of the world to reinforce his
hold on power. Friends of Eritrea can only wish its people well
in this endeavour.
215
APPENDIX 1
LEADERSHIP OF GOVERNMENT, MILITARY AND PARTY
President Isaias Afewerki

Chairman of the State Council
Chairman of the Transitional National Assembly
C-in-C of the Armed Forces
Chancellor of Institutions of Higher Learning
Chairman of PFDJ
Vice-president vacant since 11/2001
State Council
Ministers
Agriculture Arefaine Berhe (06/1997–)
Defence Sebhat Efrem (app. 04/1994)
Education Semere Russom (04/2007–)
Energy & Mines Sebhat Efrem (app. 04/2014?)
Finance Berhane Habtemariam (12/2012)
Fisheries Tewolde Kelati (01/2010–)
(Marine Resources)
Foreign Affairs Usman Saleh (04/2007–)
Health Amna Nurhusein (03/2009–)
Industry & Trade Nusredin Ali Bekit (07/2014)
Information Yemane Gebremeskel (12/2014)
217
Justice Fozia Hashim (f) (06/1993–)

Labour and Human Kahsai Gebrehiwet (03/2014)
Welfare
Land, Water and Tesfai Gebreselasie (03/2009)
Environment
Local Government Weldemikael Abraha (03/2014)
National Development Dr. Gergish Teklemikael (03/2009–)
Â€
& Economic Co-operation

Public Works Abraha Asfaha (1993–)
Tourism Askalu Menkerios (f) (03/2009–)
Transport & Tesfaselasie Berhane (03/2014)
Communication
Regional Administrators
Anseba Ali Mahmud (05/2014)
Debub (South) Efrem Gebrekristos (app. 02/2013)
Debubawi Keyh Bahri currently vacant
(Southern Red Sea)
Gash-Barka Fisehaye Haile (05/2014)
Ma’ekel (Central) Major General Romadan Awliya
(app. 04/2014)
Semenawi Keyh Bahri Tsegereda Weldegergis (f)
(Northern Red Sea) (11/2008–)
Military Commanders
Navy MG Mehamed Humed Karikare
(1996–)
Air Force MG Teklay Habteselasie (2002–)
Western Command BG Tekle Kifle ‘Manjus’ (04/2014)
Eastern Command BG Musa Mehamed Rab’a (03/2014)
Southern Command MG Haile Samuel China (04/2014)
Peoples Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ)
Chairman Isaias Afewerqi (03/1993)
General Secretary Mehamed Said El Amin (03/1994)
218
APPENDIX 1
Secretary Political Yemane Gebreab (03/1994)

Department
Secretary Organisational vacant
Affairs Department
Secretary Economic Hagos Gebrehiwet ‘Kisha’ (03/1994)
Affairs Department
Secretary Research & Zemehret Yohannes (03/1994)
Documentation
Department
Transitional National Assembly
Chairman Isaias Afewerki
Members (06/1997–) 150 (75 PFDJ Central Council. 60
from the 527-member Constituent
Assembly ‘elected’ 1997, 15 repre-
senting the diaspora)
High Court
President (Chief Justice) Mekorios Beraki (08/2001–)
Source: Eritrea Directory, 2016. Kindly provided by a source who
wishes to be anonymous. Given the secretive nature of the
Eritrean government it is not possible to ensure that this data is
entirely accurate or up to date.
219
APPENDIX 2
US AMBASSADOR RONALD K. MCMULLEN’S Â€
ASSESSMENT OF ISAIAS AFEWERKI, VIA WIKILEAKS
Subject: Bio Notes on Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki

Ref: Asmara 345 ‘Is Isaias Unhinged?’
By Ambassador Ronald K. McMullen, 5 March 2009
Â€ Â€
1. (C) Summary: Isaias is an austere and narcissistic dictator

whose political ballast derives from Maoist ideology fine-tuned
during Eritrea’s 30-year war for independence. He is paranoid
and believes Ethiopian PM Meles tried to kill him and that the
United States will attempt to assassinate him. He is not notably
nepotistic and has not favored his ancestral village or immediate
family. This message includes some biographic tidbits offered as
an addendum to USG bio information on foreign government
leaders. End Summary.
2. (C) Aiming for 112: Isaias, 62, told a visiting German parlia-
mentarian in late 2008 that he is healthy and expects to live
another 40 or 50 years. He said he hopes to serve his country as
long as he is able. In a May 2008 television interview, Isaias said
Eritrea might hold elections ‘in three or four decades.’
3. (S/NF) An Alleged Ethiopian Assassination Attempt: Isaias
and Meles, brothers in arms during the 1980s, are now blood
221
enemies. Why? In 1996, while returning from a vacation in

Kenya, Isaias, his family, and his inner entourage stopped in
Addis, where Meles offered to fly them back to Asmara in one of
his aircraft. Isaias accepted the offer; en route the aircraft caught
fire, but managed to turn back and land safely in Addis.
According to someone who was on the aircraft, an infuriated
Isaias accuse Meles to his face of trying to kill him and his fam-
ily. Isaias has not trusted Meles since, according to this source.
4. (S) Fears of an American Assassination Attempt: Isaias thinks
the United States will attempt to kill him by missile strike on his
residence in the city of Massawa, according to late 2007 informa-
tion from the Force Commander of UNMEE.
5. (C) Holier Than Thou: Isaias has berated the Chinese ambas-
sador in Asmara for China´s embrace of market capitalism. Isaias
was sent to China by the Eritrean Liberation Front for political
commissar training in the 1960s, where, according to the
Chinese ambassador, ‘he learned all the wrong things.’ Isaias was
turned off by the cult of personality surrounding Mao, but
apparently internalized Maoist ideology.
6. (C) Fluent in Arabic: Asmara-based Arab ambassadors are
impressed by Isaias’ fluency in Arabic. There is some debate
about where he learned it, but all agree he is a comfortable and
capable Arabic speaker.
7. (C) Talented Speechwriter: In mid-2008, after Isaias delivered
an impressive address in English to a gathering of ministerial-level
representatives on the subject of Darfur, Yemane Ghebremeskel,
the director of the office of the president, said Isaias had written
the speech himself.
8. (C) Hot Temper: At a January 2008 dinner he hosted for a
codel and embassy officials, Isaias became involved in a heated
discussion with his Amican legal advisor about some tomato
seedlings the legal advisor provided to Isaias’ wife. Isaias com-
222
APPENDIX 2
plained that despite tender care by his wife, the plants produced
only tiny tomatoes. When the legal advisor explained that they
were cherry tomatoes and were supposed to be small, Isaias lost
his temper and stormed out of the venue, much to the surprise
of everyone, including his security detail.
9. (C) Holds a Grudge: A senior party official said Isaias and
Djibouti President Guelleh had agreed during a ‘secure’ 2008
telephone conversation to try to resolve at the presidential level
issues related to the June border clash. According this senior
Eritrean official, Isaias was livid when Guelleh supposedly shortly
thereafter lambasted Eritrean aggression in a media interview.
Isaias reportedly felt personally betrayed by President Guelleh,
and has been obstinate about resolving the Djibouti-Eritrea bor-
der dispute ever since.
10. (C) Thin Skinned: Isaias asked to be named the patron of the
World Bank-funded Cultural Assets Rehabilitation Project
(CARP). When individuals involved with CARP published the
book ‘Asmara: Africa’s Secret Modernist City,’ it failed to include
a note of thanks to CARP’s patron. Isaias was miffed and shut
down CARP.
11. (C) Good Op-Sec: Isaias has an aversion to talking on the
telephone and frequently sleeps in different locations to foil a
coup or assassination attempt. During the winter months he
spends most of his time in Massawa rather than in Asmara.
When dining in restaurants, Isaias will often switch plates with a
subordinate, apparently to avoid being poisoned, according to the
Qatari ambassador.
12. (C) The Early Years of Little Beer Pot: Isaias’ father, Afwerki,
comes from the village of Tselot, which is perched on the lip of
a 7,000 escarpment four miles southeast of Asmara. When Isaias
was a boy Afwerki reportedly spent much of his time in Tigray,
where he owned a coffee farm that was later nationalized by the
223
Derg. With Afwerki largely absent, Isaias lived with his mother
(rumored to have family roots in Tigray) in a working class
neighborhood in eastern Asmara near the train depot and the
Lutheran church. Isaias’ mother made and sold a traditional beer
called sewa. By some accounts, Isaias was nicknamed the Tigrinya
equivalent of ‘Beer Pot,’ after the ceramic jug from which sewa
is dispensed. Today he is a heavy whisky drinker, but perhaps as
a youth his nickname referred as much to his habits as to his
mother´s business.
13. (C) No Pork for His Ancestral Village: In November 2008
emboffs visited Tselot and saw no indication that the village has
received any special favor from Isaias. Like most Eritrean villages,
it has electricity but no running water or sewer system. Gaunt
cattle and untended donkeys roam the village. Their droppings
are quickly gathered and formed into oval patties, which are then
stuck on rock walls, dried, and used as fuel for cooking. Afwerki
is said to be buried in the village cemetery, but emboffs could not
locate his grave. Isaias’ immediate family is rarely featured in the
state-run media and keeps a low profile. Although his portrait
adorns many shops in Asmara, there is no cult of personality in
Eritrea. Isaias often appears in the media clad casually in slacks,
jacket, open-necked shirt, and sandals or loafers. He rarely trav-
els in a motorcade.
14. (C) Hard-hearted: When a visiting U.S. movie star in early
Â€
2008 raised the plight of two Embassy Asmara FSNs who have
been imprisoned without charge since 2001, Isaias glared stonily
at her and replied, ‘Would you like me to hold a trial and then
hang them?’
MCMULLEN
224
APPENDIX 3
ALGIERS AGREEMENT THAT ENDED THE 1998–2000
BORDER WAR BETWEEN ETHIOPIA AND ERITREA
Agreement Between the Government of the Federal Democratic

Republic of Ethiopia and the Government of the State of Eritrea
12 December 2000
Â€
The Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

and the Government of the State of Eritrea (the ‘parties’),
Reaffirming their acceptance of the Organization of African
Unity (‘OAU’) Framework Agreement and the Modalities for its
Implementation, which have been endorsed by the 35th ordinary
session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, held
in Algiers, Algeria, from 12 to 14 July 1999,
Â€
Recommitting themselves to the Agreement on Cessation of

Hostilities, signed in Algiers on 18 June 2000,
Â€
Welcoming the commitment of the OAU and United Nations,

through their endorsement of the Framework Agreement and
Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities, to work closely with the
international community to mobilize resources for the resettle-
ment of displaced persons, as well as rehabilitation and peace
building in both countries,
225
Have agreed as follows:

Article 1
1. T
he parties shall permanently terminate military hostilities
between themselves. Each party shall refrain from the threat
or use of force against the other.
2. The parties shall respect and fully implement the provisions
of the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities.
Article 2
1. In fulfilling their obligations under international humanitar-
ian law, including the 1949 Geneva Conventions relative to
the protection of victims of armed conflict (‘1949 Geneva
Conventions’), and in cooperation with the International
Committee of the Red Cross, the parties shall without delay
release and repatriate all prisoners of war.
2. In fulfilling their obligations under international humanitar-
ian law, including the 1949 Geneva Conventions, and in
cooperation with the International Committee of the Red
Cross, the parties shall without delay, release and repatriate or
return to their last place of residence all other persons detained
as a result of the armed conflict.
3. The parties shall afford humane treatment to each other’s
nationals and persons of each other’s national origin within
their respective territories.
Article 3
1. I n order to determine the origins of the conflict, an investiga-
tion will be carried out on the incidents of 6 May 1998 and
Â€
on any other incident prior to that date which could have

contributed to a misunderstanding between the parties regarÂ�
ding their common border, including the incidents of July
and August 1997.
226
APPENDIX 3
2. T he investigation will be carried out by an independent,

impartial body appointed by the Secretary General of the
OAU, in consultation with the Secretary General of the
United Nations and the two parties.
3. The independent body will endeavor to submit its report to
the Secretary General of the OAU in a timely fashion.
4. The parties shall cooperate fully with the independent body.
5. The Secretary General of the OAU will communicate a copy
of the report to each of the two parties, which shall consider
it in accordance with the letter and spirit of the Framework
Agreement and the Modalities.
Article 4
1. Consistent with the provisions of the Framework Agreement
and the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities, the parties
reaffirm the principle of respect for the borders existing at
independence as stated in resolution AHG/Res. 16(1) adopted
by the OAU Summit in Cairo in 1964, and, in this regard,
that they shall be determined on the basis of pertinent colo-
nial treaties and applicable international law.
2. The parties agree that a neutral Boundary Commission com-
posed of five members shall be established with a mandate to
delimit and demarcate the colonial treaty border based on
pertinent colonial treaties (1900, 1902 and 1908) and appli-
cable international law. The Commission shall not have the
power to make decisions ex aequo et bono.
3. The Commission shall be located in the Hague.
4. Each party shall, by written notice to the United Nations
Secretary General, appoint two commissioners within 45 days
from the effective date of this Agreement, neither of whom
shall be nationals or permanent residents of the party making
the appointment. In the event that a party fails to name one
or both of its party-appointed commissioners within the
227
s pecified time, the Secretary-General of the United Nations

shall make the appointment.
5. T he president of the Commission shall be selected by the
party-appointed commissioners or, failing their agreement
within 30 days of the date of appointment of the latest
party-appointed commissioner, by the Secretary-General of
the United Nations after consultation with the parties. The
president shall be neither a national nor permanent resiedent
of either party.
6. In the event of the death or resignation of a commissioner
in the course of the proceedings, a substitute commissioner
shall be appointed or chosen pursuant to the procedure set
forth in this paragraph that was applicable to the appoint-
ment or choice of the commissioner being replaced.
7. The UN Cartographer shall serve as Secretary to the ComÂ�
missÂ�ion and undertake such tasks as assigned to him by the
Commission, making use of the technical expertise of the UN
Cartographic Unit. The Commission may also engage the
services of additional experts as it deems necessary.
8. Within 45 days after the effective date of this Agreement,
each party shall provide to the Secretary its claims and evi-
dence relevant to the mandate of the Commission. These
shall be provided to the other party by the Secretary.
9. After reviewing such evidence and within 45 days of its
receipt, but not earlier than 15 days after the Commission
is constituted, the Secretary shall transmit to the
Commission and the parties any materials relevant to the
mandate of the Commission as well as his findings identi-
fying those portions of the border as to which there
appears to be no dispute between the parties. The Secretary
shall also transmit to the Commission all the claims and
evidence presented by the parties.
10. With regard to those portions of the border about which
there appears to be controversy, as well as any portions of
228
APPENDIX 3
the border identified pursuant to paragraph 9 with respect to

which either party believes there to be controversy, the par-
ties shall present their written and oral submissions and any
additional evidence directly to the Commission, in accor-
dance with its procedures.
11. The Commission shall adopt its own rules of procedure
based upon the 1992 Permanent Court of Arbitration
Optional Rules for Arbitrating Disputes Between Two
States. Filing deadlines for the parties’ written submissions
shall be simultaneous rather than consecutive. All decisions
of the Commission shall be made by a majority of the
commissioners.
12. The Commission shall commence its work not more than 15
days after it is constituted and shall endeavor to make its
decision concerning delimitation of the border within six
months of its first meeting. The Commission shall take this
objective into consideration when establishing its schedule.
At its discretion, the Commission may extend this deadline.
13. Upon reaching a final decision regarding delimitation of the
borders, the Commission shall transmit its decision to the
parties and Secretaries General of the OAU and the United
Nations for publication, and the Commission shall arrange
for expeditious demarcation.
14. The parties agree to cooperate with the Commission, its
experts and other staff in all respects during the process of
delimitation and demarcation, including the facilitation of
access to territory they control. Each party shall accord to
the Commission and its employees the same privileges and
immunities as are accorded to diplomatic agents under the
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
15. The parties agree that the delimitation and demarcation
determinations of the Commission shall be final and bind-
ing. Each party shall respect the border so determined, as
well as territorial integrity and sovereignty of the other party.
229
16. R
ecognizing that the results of the delimitation and demar-
cation process are not yet known, the parties request the
United Nations to facilitate resolution of problems which
may arise due to the transfer of territorial control, including
the consequences for individuals residing in previously dis-
puted territory.
17. T
he expenses of the Commission shall be done equally by
the two parties. To defray its expenses, the Commission may
accept donations from the United Nations Trust Fund estab-
lished under paragraph 8 of Security Council Resolution
1177 of 26 June 1998.
Â€
Article 5
1. C
onsistent with the Framework Agreement, in which the
parties commit themselves to addressing the negative socio-
economic impact of the crisis on the civilian population,
including the impact on those persons who have been
deported, a neutral Claims Commission shall be established.
The mandate of the Commission is to decide through bind-
ing arbitration all claims for loss, damage or injury by one
Government against the other, and by nationals (including
both natural and juridical persons) of one party against the
Government of the other party or entities owned or controlled
by the other party that are (a) related to the conflict that was
the subject of the Framework Agreement, the Modalities for
its Implementation and the Cessation of Hostilities
Agreement, and (b) result from violations of international
humanitarian law, including the 1949 Geneva Conventions, or
other violations of international law. The Commission shall
not hear claims arising from the cost of military operations,
preparing for military operations, or the use of force, except
to the extent that such claims involve violations of interna-
tional humanitarian law.
230
APPENDIX 3
2. T he Commission shall consist of five arbitrators. Each party

shall, by written notice to the United Nations Secretary
General, appoint two members within 45 days from the effec-
tive date of this agreement, neither of whom shall be nationals
or permanent residents of the party making the appointment.
In the event that a party fails to name one or both of its party-
appointed arbitrators within the specified time, the Secretary-
General of the United Nations shall make the appointment.
3. The president of the Commission shall be selected by the
party-appointed arbitrators or failing their agreement within 30
days of the date of appointment of the latest party-appointed
arbitrator, by the Secretary-General of the United Nations after
consultation with the parties. The president shall be neither a
national not permanent resident of either party.
4. In the event of the death or resignation of a member of the
Commission in the course of the proceedings, a substitute
member shall be appointed or chosen pursuant to the proce-
dure set forth in this paragraph that was applicable to the
appointment or choice of the arbitrator being replaced.
5. The Commission shall be located in The Hague. At its dis-
cretion it may hold hearings and conduct investigations in the
territory of either party, or at such other location as it deems
expedient.
6. The Commission shall be empowered to employ such profes-
sional, administrative and clerical staff as it deems necessary
to accomplish its work, including establishment of a Registry.
The Commission may also retain consultants and experts to
facilitate the expeditious completion of its work.
7. The Commission shall adopt its own rules of procedure based
upon the 1992 Permanent Court of Arbitration Optional
Rules for Arbitrating Disputes Between Two States. All deci-
sions of the Commission shall be made by a majority of the
commissioners.
231
8. C laims shall be submitted to the Commission by each of the

parties on its own behalf and on behalf of its nationals,
including both natural and juridical persons. All claims sub-
mitted to the Commission shall be filed no later than one
year from the effective date of this agreement. Except for
claims submitted to another mutually agreed settlement
mechanism in accordance with paragraph 16 or filed in
another forum prior to the effective date of this agreement,
the Commission shall be the sole forum for adjudicating
claims described in paragraph 1 or filed under paragraph 9
of this Article, and any such claims which could have been
and were not submitted by that deadline shall be extin-
guished, in accordance with international law.
9. In appropriate cases, each party may file claims on behalf of
persons of Ethiopian or Eritrean origin who may not be its
nationals. Such claims shall be considered by the CommissÂ�
ion on the same basis as claims submitted on behalf of that
party’s nationals.
10. I n order to facilitate the expeditious resolution of these dis-
putes, the Commission shall be authorized to adopt such
methods of efficient case management and mass claims pro-
cessing as it deems appropriate, such as expedited procedures
for processing claims and checking claims on a sample basis
for further verification only if circumstances warrant.
11. U pon application of either of the parties, the Commission
may decide to consider specific claims, or categories of
claims, on a priority basis.
12. The Commission shall commence its work not more than 15
days after it is constituted and shall endeavor to complete its
work within three years of the date when the period for fil-
ing claims closes pursuant to paragraph 8.
13. I n considering claims, the Commission shall apply relevant
rules of international law. The Commission shall not have
the power to make decisions ex aequo et bono.
232
APPENDIX 3
14. I nterest, costs and fees may be awarded.

15. T he expenses of the Commission shall be borne equally by
the parties. Each party shall pay any invoice form the
Commission within 30 days of its receipt.
16. The parties may agree at any time to settle outstanding
claims, individually or by categories, through direct negotia-
tion or by reference to another mutually agreed settlement
mechanism.
17. D ecisions and awards of the commission shall be final and
binding. The parties agree to honor all decisions and to pay
any monetary awards rendered against them promptly.
18. Each party shall accord to members of the Commission and
its employees the privileges and immunities that are accorded
to diplomatic agents under the Vienna Convention on
Diplomatic Relations.
Article 6
1. T
his agreement shall enter into force on the date of signature.
2. T
he parties authorize the Secretary General of the OAU to
register this agreement with the Secretariat of the United
Nations in accordance with article 102(1) of the Charter of
the United Nations.
DONE at [Algiers, Algeria] on the [12th] day of December,
2000, in duplicate, in the English language.
For the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of
Ethiopia:
[Prime Minister Meles Zenawi]
For the Government of the State of Eritrea:
[President Issaias Afewerki]
233
APPENDIX 4
ERITREAN DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE (EDA) (2005)
Founding members EDA

1. D emocratic Movement for the Liberation of Eritrean
Kunama
2. Eritrean Cooperative Party
3. Eritrean Democratic Opposition Movement (Gash Setit)
4. Eritrean Democratic Party
5. Eritrean Federal Democratic Movement
6. Eritrean Islamic Party for Justice and Development
7. Eritrean Liberation Front (Central Council)
8. Eritrean Liberation Front-National Unity Organisation
9. Eritrean Liberation Front-National Congress
ritrean Liberation Front-Revolutionary Council
10. E
11. E
ritrean National Democratic Front
ritrean People’s Congress
12. E
13. E
ritrean People’s Democratic Front
ritrean People’s Movement
14. E
15. E
ritrean Revolutionary Democratic Front
ed Sea Afar Democratic Organisation
16. R
235
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239
INDEX
Abdu (pseudonym) 152–153 Aila, Mohamed Taher (Sudanese

Abraha Asfaha 218 governor) 80
Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) 14, 22, airport 84
61, 64, 106 Aksum (Ethiopia) 7
Adi Qala prison 119 Al-Bashir, Omar (president of
Adi Qeyih 6 Sudan) 76, 79, 98
Adigrat (Ethiopia) 35 Alem Tsehaye 194
Adua (battle) 9 Ali Mahmud 218
Afar Revolutionary Democratic Al-Ittihad 59
Unity Front 60 Allen, Jonathan 90
African Development Bank Alliance of Eritrean National
134–135, 136, 137, 139, 141 Forces 78
African Union summit (Addis Al-Mahdi, Sadiq (president of
Ababa, 2011), planned attack Sudan) 76
on 61–62, 68 Al-Naqi, Omar (Sudanese army
Afwerki, Isaias see Isaias Afwerki officer) 80–81
Agordat 6, 37 Al-Shabaab 48, 57, 59, 60, 67,
agriculture, subsistence 1, 133, 176, 177
137 Al-Thani, Hamad bin Khalifa
Aid Organization for Refugees (emir of Qatar) 78
and Asylum Seekers in Israel Amare Tekle 23
(ASSAF) 184, 185, 186 Amhara 14, 26, 60
Aideed, Hussein (Somali warlord) Amharic language 11
58–59 Amna Nurhusein 217
241
INDEX
Amnesty International 126, Baird, John 178

150–151, 184 Bandini, Antonio 87
Andargachew Tsige 65 Baraki (refugee) 166
Andebrhan Welde Giorgis 123, Barclays Bank 83
198, 206 Barentu 37
Anya Nya liberation front (Sudan) Barre, Siad (president of Somalia)
75 58, 72
Aptidon, Hassan Gouled (presi- beaches 1
dent of Djibouti) 35 Bedouin 157
Arba Minch drone base Beni Shangul (Ethiopia) 77
(Ethiopia) 68 Bereket Berhane 165
Arbegnoch (Ethiopia) 65 Bereket Habte Selassie 110, 121,
Arefaine Berhe 217 124
armed forces 20, 49, 52–53, 55, Berhane Habtemariam 217
63, 123, 138, 151, 199–202, 211 Berhanu Nega 60, 65–66
arms trade 146, 148, 154, 176 Berlin Manifesto (2000) 124
Askalu Menkerios 218 Beyene Russom 194
Asmara 1, 6, 9, 10, 22, 25, 37, 63, Biniam (refugee) 167–168
103, 104, 115, 199 border with Ethiopia
Asmara Palace Hotel 145 Algiers peace agreement 36,
Asmara University 120, 125 37–39, 40–41, 53, 93, 174,
Asmelash Abrha 200 225–233
Assab 8, 22, 31, 37, 38, 40, 49, Boundary Commission 41,
85–86, 138, 200, 212 42–49, 151, 211
Assefaw Tekeste 206 disputes and demarcation 20,
Assossa (Ethiopia) 61 28, 29–31
Awet Kidane 156 ‘Framework Agreement’ 36, 41
Axum (Ethiopia) 14 Joint Border Commission
(1997) 28–29, 30
Babu, Abdulrahman (Tanzanian war (1998–2000) and subÂ�
politician) 73 sequent clashes 28, 33–39,
Bada 20, 29 49, 55, 58, 122–123, 138,
Badme 20, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 151, 204, 213
42–45, 48, 54, 164 Border Surveillance Unit 156
bado seleste (Zero Three) 198 business 141, 142
242
INDEX
Cameron, Charles Duncan 8 Democratic Movement for the

Cameron, David 160–161 Liberation of Eritrea 17
Cammaert, Patrick 38 Democratic Unionist Party
Castro, Fidel 72 (Sudan) 75, 77
China 107 Derg 12, 15, 17, 72
civil society 117, 210 Djibouti 58, 66–67
civil war (ELF/ELPF) 12,
111–112, 210 economy
Clark, Claire 183 covert (run by PFDJ) 133–134,
Cliffe, Lionel 52, 73 142, 143–148
Cohen, Herman 73 overt 133, 134–143, 147, 148
Colluli potash project 141 Efrem Gebrekristos 218
Commercial Bank of Eritrea 143 Eiraeiro prison 125
conscription see National Service elections 122, 124, 210, 214
Constitution 2, 91, 116, 121–122, employment, formal 139–140
200, 210 Endabaguna (Ethiopia) 164
Costello, John 100 Endaselasie 15
crimes against humanity 128, 130, energy sector 96, 141–142
212 Eritrea-European Union
Cultural Assets Rehabilitation Co-operation Agreement 135
Project (CARP) 223 Eritrea Relief Association 117,
culture of confidentiality and 118
secrecy 4, 32, 106 Eritrean Democratic Alliance 205,
currency 22, 30–31, 142–143 235
cycling 1 Eritrean diaspora 2, 127, 129,
169–195
Danakali (Australian company) use of Dutch courts 191–193
141 in Ethiopia 26, 31–32, 40,
Danakil (Ethiopia) 71, 108 164–166
Daniel Habte Yihdego 198 festivals and commemorations
Dankwa, Victor 127 173–174, 188, 194, 203
Davidson, Basil 73 financial aspects 133, 144,
Dawit Isaak 87, 88, 90, 194 146–147, 171–173, 175
Dekemhare 199 in Israel 183–185, 186–187, 195
Democratic Marxist League of protest and opposition 174,
Eritrea 19 188, 195, 201, 202–203, 209
243
INDEX
in Rwanda 185, 186–187 external support 71, 73–74,

spying on and harassment of 79–80, 170–172
187–190, 191–192, 193, relations with Soviet Union 16,
194–195 17, 32, 72–73, 111
in Sudan 79, 129, 170, 195 relations with TPLF 13,
taxation of 175–177, 178–183, 14–15, 16, 17–23, 26, 27, 29,
188–189, 194 31–33, 49–50, 54, 115
in Uganda 185, 186–187, 195 See also: People’s Front for
in United Kingdom 179–183 Democracy and Justice
Eritrean General Students’ Union Eritrean People’s Revolutionary
(GUES) 171 Party (EPRP) 108–109.
Eritrean Islamic Jihad 76–77 See also: Eritrean People’s
Eritrean Islamic Party for Justice Liberation Front
and Development 205 Eritrean War Disabled Fighters’
Eritrean Islamic Reform Association 120
Movement 205 Eritreans for Liberation in
Eritrean Liberation Forces- Europe (EFLE) 171
People’s Liberation Front 108 Eritreans for Liberation in North
Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) America (EFLNA) 171
11, 12, 16, 70–71, 79, 105–106, Eri-TV 200
107–108, 111, 112, 115, 171, Ermias Ghermay 162
172, 204, 205 Eslah reform movement 107–108
Eritrean Liberation Movement 79 Essy, Omara (secretary general of
Eritrean National Council for the OAU) 43
Democratic Change 206 Estifanos Seyoum 145
Eritrean National Mining Ethiopia
Corporation (ENAMCO) 141 constitution (1995) 26
Eritrean People’s Democratic Eritreans in 26, 31–32, 40,
Party 205–206 164–166
Eritrean People’s Liberation ethnic federalism 56
Front (EPLF) 12, 13–15, 18, history 7–9
25, 32–33, 73, 111, 112, 113, Italian invasion of (1935) 9
114–117, 204 relations with Cuba 72
comparisons with African Na- relations with Djibouti 67, 100,
tional Congress (ANC) 172 138, 212
244
INDEX
relations with Egypt 70 Italian 6, 10

relations with Eritrea 22–23, Jeberti 6
25–26, 27–31, 40–41, 46, 49, Jews 6
55–56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, Kunama 6, 13, 42, 204, 205
61, 62–63, 64–66, 67–68, Nara 6
100, 121, 138, 148, 176, 204, Rashaida 6, 80, 155
205–206, 211, 212–213. See Saho 5
also: border Tigre 6
relations with Germany 29 Tigrinya 5–6, 19, 29–30
relations with Israel 184 exile see diaspora; refugees
relations with Italy 42 expulsion of Ethiopians 25–26, 40
relations with Rwanda 34, 35 External Operations Directorate
relations with Somalia 57–58, 52, 62, 64
59, 72 Eyob, Brigadier General 200–201
relations with Soviet Union 16,
17, 37, 72 famine (1984–1985) 12, 21, 50,
relations with Sudan 75–76, 73, 74, 87, 117
77–78 Filipos Woldeyohannes 191
relations with the United Na- First, Ruth 73
tions 43–44, 57 Fisehaye Haile 218
relations with the United States fishing 52, 53
17, 34, 35, 36, 48, 53–54, Fitsum Yishak (Lenin) 64
68, 72, 73, 86 Food and Agriculture
relations with Yemen 78 Organisation (FAO) 137, 138
restoration and overthrow of food security 137
Haile Selassie 9–10, 72 foreign relations 51, 53, 54, 55,
security services 68 67, 99–101, 121, 148, 211
self-determination and seces- African Union 121
sion 18, 19, 26 Algeria 70, 71
Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Australia 139, 141
Democratic Front (EPRDF) 15 Canada 139, 178–179, 183
ethnicity 2, 7, 12, 13–14, 204 China 71, 139, 141, 222
Afar 5, 13, 19, 67, 204, 205 Cuba 71, 72
Bilen 6 Democratic Republic of Congo
Hedareb 6 54, 55
245
INDEX
Denmark 92 Sweden 87
Djibouti 35, 56, 57, 62, 66–67, Switzerland 97
176, 223 Syria 70
Dubai 81–83, 145–146 Uganda 60, 62, 81
Egypt 70 United Arab Emirates 84,
Ethiopia 22–23, 25–26, 27–31, 85–86, 147
40–41, 46, 49, 55–56, 57, United Kingdom 90, 92–93,
58, 59, 60, 61, 62–63, 64–66, 177, 179, 182, 183
67–68, 100, 121, 138, 148, United Nations 2, 4, 11, 37,
176, 204, 205–206, 211, 41, 43, 45, 48, 53, 56, 57,
212–213. See also: border 121, 126–130, 135, 139–140,
European Union 86–91, 93–98, 151–152, 188, 189–190, 195,
99, 101, 135–137, 211–212 203, 212
France 90 United States 34, 35, 36, 48,
Germany 97, 98 53–54, 73, 82, 86, 90–91,
Iran 81, 84 100, 101, 123, 177–178, 183
Iraq 70, 71 Yemen 52–53, 60, 67, 71, 83,
Israel 183, 184, 185, 187 84, 85–86, 100, 176
Italy 87, 90, 94, 123, 162 ‘Forto’ army mutiny (2013) 63,
Kenya 60, 63, 83, 146 199–202
Libya 71, 146 Forum for National Dialogue
Netherlands 191–193 (Medrek) 206–207
Nigeria 177 Fozia Hashim 218
Palestine 70, 71 Frazer, Jendayi 59, 178
Qatar 145, 146, 176 ‘Freedom Friday’ (Arbi Harnet)
Rwanda 34, 35, 54, 55 202–203
Saudi Arabia 70, 84–86 freedom of expression 91, 116,
Somalia 56, 58–60, 62, 71, 81, 122, 124, 126, 210
82, 90, 146, 148, 176, 177, Front for the Restoration of Unity
178 and Democracy (Djibouti) 67
South Africa 65, 177 FRONTEX 161–162
South Sudan 60, 81
Soviet Union 72–73 G15 (2001) 124–125, 198, 199,
Sudan 56, 60, 62, 74–75, 76, 205
77, 78, 79–81, 147, 154, 176 Gaim Kibreab 92, 117, 170, 175
246
INDEX
Gambella (Ethiopia) 61 and Egypt 8

Gattiker, Mario 97 Italian colonisation (1886–
geography 1941) 1, 8–9, 10
and identity 5 British military rule (1942–
physical 137–138 1952) 9–11
Gergish Teklemikael 218 federation with Ethiopia
Ghidey Zeratsion 20 (1952–1960) 11
Ginbot Sebat (Ginbot 7, Ethiopia) struggle for liberation from
60–61, 64–65 Ethiopia (1961–1991) 3,
Gozi, Sandro 160 11–13, 14–15, 17–23, 76, 79,
Guelleh, Ismail Omar (president 111, 115, 210
of Djibouti) 66, 223 independence and referendum
Gutmann, Francis 53 (1991–1993) 22, 27, 115–121
Horn of Africa 23, 48, 51–52, 54,
Hadi, Abd Rabbuh Mansur 93, 130
(president of Yemen) 83 hospitals 112, 120
Hagos Gebrehiwot Maesho 146 Hotline for Migrant Workers 184
Hagos Gebrihiwot (Kisha) 145, Houthis 83–84, 86
219 HSBC (bank) 82
Haile Menkerios 29 Human Development Index 137
Haile Samuel China 218 human rights 2–3, 87, 88, 89, 91,
Haile Selassie 9–10, 12, 14, 17 92–93, 94, 96–97, 122, 124,
Haile Wold’ensae (Drue) 105, 126, 127–128, 149
123, 124 Human Rights Watch 126, 160,
Haj Abdenur 206 187
Hajar (Kilo 105) transit camp human trafficking 94, 95–96, 99,
(Sudan) 158 154–155. See also: refugees
Hamid Idris Awate 11 economics of 155, 156–157,
Hanish archipelago 52, 54, 84 163–164
Harena 64–65 Egyptian route 161
Hidri Trust Fund 145 Ethiopian route 164
Himbol Financial Services 177 via Khartoum 156–157
history (chronological) Libyan route 157, 158–163
and Ethiopian kingdoms 5, 7 across Mediterranean 159–161,
and Ottoman Empire 5, 7–8 162, 163–164, 166, 202
247
INDEX
networks 161–162 as a revolutionary 106, 113

Sinai route 155, 157–158 ruthlessness 2, 3, 109–110,
and torture 157–158, 159 111, 126, 224, 213–214
state of mind and behaviour
industry 11, 112 130, 221, 222–223
internal security 52, 109–110, and three privileges campaign
127, 197, 199, 214 114
international charities and organ- training in China 107, 222
isations 48, 57. See also: specific Islamic State (ISIS) 159, 168
names Israel
International Committee of the border fence and refugee policy
Red Cross 38, 41 157, 183, 184–185
International Court of Justice 52 Eritrean community 183,
International Criminal Court 130 184–185, 195
International Monetary Fund and Ethiopian Jews 184
146–147
Isaias Afwerki 221–224 John Habtu (Obama) 156
attempts to overthrow 63, 119, Joint Border Commission (1997)
198, 199–202, 214, 222, 223 see border, Joint Border
early life 104–105, 224 Commission
in ELF 11, 71, 104, 105–106, journalists 2, 4, 57, 87, 106,
107–108 125–126, 194, 198
family 104, 223–224 judiciary 99, 122, 124, 219
and foundation of EPRP
108–109 Kadd’ami, Mohamed 67
linguistic ability 222 Kagame, Paul 35, 54
as national president 22, 27, 29, Kagnew satellite listening post 10
35, 48, 54, 67, 69, 103–104, Kahsai Gebrehiwet 218
116, 120–121, 130–131, 210, Kassahun Checole 124
217 Kassala (Sudan) 80, 81, 105
opposition to 122–123, 124– Keetharuth, Sheila B. 127
126, 197–207, 209, 214 Kenya 58
and PFJD 123, 124, 210, 218 Keren 6, 8, 9, 37
relations with Meles Zenawi Kesetbrhan M. Keleta 177
38, 221–222 Khartoum Process 94–95
248
INDEX
Kinnock, Glenys 73–74 Mekele (Ethiopia) 35

Koka mine 141 Mekonnen Tesfay 65–66
Kubrom Hosabay 143 Mekorios Beraki 219
Kurmuk (Sudan) 77 Meles Zenawi 17, 22, 26, 27, 28,
33, 38–39, 46, 47–49, 54, 56,
Labour Party (Britain) 73 176
Lake, Anthony 37 Mendefera 6
languages 5 Menelik (Emperor of Ethiopia) 9
Lauterpacht, Elihu 42, 46–47 Mengistu Haile Mariam 12, 72,
Legwaila, Legwaila Joseph 38, 46 73
Libya 159–160, 163 MeqaleH Forto (newspaper,
Lyall Grant, Mark 177 Echoes of Forto) 203
Meron Estefanos 156, 157, 159,
Maesho Tesfamariam 162 202
Magdala (Ethiopia) 8 Meseret Bahlbi 192
Mahari Haile (Mussie) 16 Mesfin Hagos 124, 205
Mahmoud Sherifo 108, 122, 124 Michael Ghaber 110
Mai Aini camp (Tigray, Ethiopia) Michel, Louis 88, 89–90
164–165 Mimica, Neven 96
Mai Habar rehabilitation centre mining 133, 139–141, 142
120 Mobutu Sese Sekou 54–55
malnutrition 138 Mogherini, Federica 98
marijuana 74 Molla Asgedom 63–64, 65
Marxist-Leninist League of mortality, maternal 136
Tigray (MLLT) 17 Mountain, Thomas 201
Massawa 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 31, 37, 49, Musa Mehamed Rab’a 218
138, 212, 222, 223 Mushikiwabo, Louise 186
McMullen, Ronald K. 130, 199, Muslim Brotherhood (Sudan) 75
221–224 Muslim League 10
Medhanie Yehdego Mered 162 Mussie Tesfamikael 104, 105, 109
media 112, 116, 120, 125–126,
210 Nakfa 6, 18, 112
Mehamed Humed Karikare 218 Napier, Robert 8
Mehamed Said El Amin 218 National Assembly 116, 122,
Mehari Woldeselassie 82–83 123–124
249
INDEX
national budget 134, 135, 143 People’s Front for Democracy and
National Front (Sudan) 75, 76 Justice (PFDJ) 27, 52, 82, 123,
national identity and character 15, 124, 144, 209, 210, 218–219.
26–27, 32, 56, 207, 210, 213 See also: Eritrean People’s
National Islamic Front (Sudan) 76 Liberation Front
national reconciliation 204 People’s Party see Eritrean People’s
National Service 3, 62, 97, 127, Revolutionary Party (EPRP)
128, 138, 139–140, 150–154, Permanent Court of Arbitration
168, 211, 214 (The Hague) 53
National Union of Eritrean Pistelli, Lapo 94
Women 113 political culture 209–210
Nevsun mine (Bisha) 139–141, political opposition 2, 27, 87, 116,
121, 197–198, 202–207, 210,
142
214, 215
Nimeiri, Gaafar (president of
political prisoners 91, 127, 200,
Sudan) 75, 76
210, 214
Nusredin Ali Bekit 217
political protest 119, 120
political scenarios, future 211,
official statistics 135–137, 141
213–215
Ogaden (Ethiopia) 57–58
Popular Liberation Forces (PLF2)
Ogaden National Liberation Front
108, 111
59, 60
population 135, 169
oil and gas 141
port facilities 10, 22, 49, 84, 142,
one-party state 121, 209–211 212
Organisation of African Unity poverty 137, 138
(OAU) 36, 37, 41, 43 Presidential Guard 199
Oromo 56, 98 prisoners of war and internees 38,
Oromo Liberation Front 59, 60, 40, 41
61–62, 68, 77 prisons 2–3, 97
Orota hospital 120
Osman Saleh Sabbe 94, 107, 108, railways 1, 10
111, 171 Ramadan Mohammed Nur 107
Oxfam 74, 117 rape 40, 113, 128, 151–152
Ras Doumeira (Djibouti) 66
Patriotic Front (Ethiopia) 65 Red Sea Trading Corporation
Paulos Tesfagiorgis 117–118, 124 144–145
250
INDEX
refugees 2, 3, 39–40, 75, 91–92, schools 136

98, 149–150, 161–162. Sebhat Efrem 30, 100, 191,
See also: human trafficking 200–201, 217
arrivals in Europe 91–92, secession 18–19, 26
94–95, 211 Segen (Eritrean company) 139,
camps 95, 127, 164–166 140
journeys of 149, 155, 156–159, self-reliance as ideology 69–70
164, 166, 167–168 Semere Ghebremariam O. Micael
Regional Centre of Human 178
Rights and Development Semere Russom 217
117–118 Senayit Debesay 194
religious groups Senet (South African company)
139, 140
Christian 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13,
Serri, Rino 37–38
109, 204
Seyoum Mesfin 43–44
Muslim 5, 6, 10, 12, 14, 204,
Seyoum Tsehaye 194
205, 214
Shanghai Construction Group
religious organisations 120
141
Rice, Susan 35, 36, 58–59
Sied Ali Hjay (Wedi Ali) 200,
Rijken, Conny 156, 157
201, 202
roads 10
Simon Tesfamariam 180–181
Romadan Awliya 218 Smith, Gayle 36
Romadan Nur 71 Smith, Mike 126, 129–130
Rondos, Alex 93–94 smuggling 52, 80, 81, 95, 147,
Rumsfeld, Donald 100 154
Ruth Simon 194 Solomon (Michael) Woldemariam
110–111
Salih, Ali Abdullah (president of Somalia 48, 57–59, 61, 62, 68, 72
Yemen) 52 Somalis 56
Salvation Front (Ethiopia) 65 South Africa, comparisons with
Sanaa Forum 78 213
sanctions 56, 57, 80, 90, 91, 154, South Sudan 79
178, 183 Standard Chartered Bank 83
Saudi Arabia 6 Suakin (Sudan) 80
Save the Children 117 Sudan 6, 8, 12, 21, 50, 77–78, 80,
Sawa camp 62, 151, 167 147, 154
251
INDEX
Sudan People’s Liberation Army relations with EPLF 13, 14–15,

77 16, 17–23, 26, 27, 29, 31–33,
Sudan People’s Liberation 49–50, 54
Movement 77, 78–79 Tigrayans 6, 7, 8, 12, 14, 15, 21,
Sudanese Alliance Forces 77 26, 29, 31, 49, 50, 56
Sudanese Communist Party 75, torture 110, 128, 152, 192, 204
77 trade 30–31, 112, 138, 212
Sunderland, Judith 160, 161 trade unions 11
Trevaskis, Gerald Kennedy 8
Tadjourah (Djibouti) 100 Tsegereda Weldegergis 218
taxes and levies 145, 147, 175– Tsehaye Mekonen 200
177, 178–183, 188–189, 194
Tselot 104, 223, 224
Te’ame Abraha 83
Te’ame Goitom Kinfu 52, 62, 64
Umma (Sudan) 75, 77
Tedros Isaak 194
Union of Islamic Courts
Tekie Beyene 173
(Somalia) 59
Teklai Habteselassie 83, 146, 218
Unionist Party 10
Teklai Kifle (Manjus) 80, 147,
United Nations Commission of
154–155, 218
Inquiry on Eritrea 2, 126–130,
Temesghen Debessay Asfha
135, 139–140, 151–152, 188,
182–183
189–190, 195, 203, 212
Tesfai Gebreselasie 218
Tesfalidet Habtesellasie 83, 199 United Nations High
Tesfaselasie Berhane 218 Commission for Refugees
Tesfay (Adey) Mariam 82 (UNHCR) 149, 164, 170
Tessenai 6 United Nations Mission to
Tewelde Habte Negash 83 Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE)
Tewolde Kelati 217 37, 38, 41, 46, 48, 222
Theodore II of Ethiopia 8 Usman Saleh 217
Tigray Liberation Front 16
Tigray People’s Democratic Valetta summit (2015) 95–96, 98
Movement (Demhit) 60, Van Reisen, Mirjam 156, 157,
62–64, 65–66 191, 192, 193
Tigray People’s Liberation Front Voice of America 86
(TPLF) 12, 14, 15–16, 17, 18,
32–33, 73 War on Want 74
252
INDEX
war veterans 118, 119–120, 145, World Health Organisation 138

197 Wycoff, Karl 90–91
Warsai Yikealo Development
Campaign (WYDC) 151 Yemane Gebreab 29, 129, 193,
Warsi Baroness 179, 182 219
Wedi Meqelle see Te’ame Goitom Yemane Gebremeskel 153, 217,
Kinfu 222
Weldemikael Abraha 218 Yemane Kidane (Jamaica) 16, 22
Wellaga (Ethiopia) 61 Yemen 6, 16, 83–84
Woldeyesus Ammar 70, 104, 105, Yohannis IV of Tigray 8, 9
108, 115, 205 Young People’s Front for
women 112–113, 116–117, 120, Democracy and Justice
151–152, 157–158, 159 (YPFDJ) 187, 191, 192, 193
World Bank 141
World Food Programme (WFP) Zalambessa 20, 39, 164
137, 138, 212 Zemehret Yohannes 219
253
1: British encampment near the Ethiopian fortress of Mandala, during the punitive expedition led
by Sir Robert Napier to rescue British hostages held by Emperor Tewodros, 1867–68. The force
landed South of the Eritrean port of Massawa. [From author’s own collection]
2: Italian settlement at Assab, in what was to become Italian Eritrea. Engraving
in the 28 February 1880 issue of the British weekly The Graphic. [Wikimedia
Â€
Commons]
3: Eritrean troops—or ‘Askaris’ as they were termed by the Italians—were used in

a number of Italian colonial campaigns, including the invasion of Ethiopia in 1935.
[From author’s own collection]
4: Eritrean Muslim Community club, Asmara, 1946, which preceded the estab-
lishment of the Muslim League in early 1947. [From author’s own collection]
5: UN Commission visits Eritrea to decide the future of the former Italian colony,
1950. [From author’s own collection]
6: Emperor Haile Selassie signs the new constitution of Eritrea incorporating the
territory into Ethiopia, but granting it federal status, with considerable autonomy,
1952. [United Press photo from author’s collection]
7: Eritrean Liberation Front fighters plant explosives on the railway between the
port of Massawa and the capital, Asmara, 1970. [From author’s own collection]
8: Eritrean People’s Liberation Front fighter with captured Soviet artillery near
port of Massawa, 1990. [From author’s own collection]
9: Eritrean end user certificate for Bulgarian
weapons signed by Eritrea but apparently sup- 10: Eritrean government demand for two per cent
plied to the Ogaden National LiberaÂ�tion Front. income from Canadian Eritreans plus a defence levy.
[UN Monitoring Group report, 2011] [UN Monitoring Group report, 2012]
11: Shabay-Mandar, a training camp for Ethiopian armed opposition groups,
inside Eritrea. [UN Monitoring Group report, 2012]
12: Eritrean weapons supply depot Kassala, Eastern Sudan. [UN Monitoring
Group report, 2014]
13: Eritrean documents found on an Ethiopian opposition fighter, supplied by the
Eritrean embassy, South Africa. [UN Monitoring Group report, 2014]
14: Eritrean vigilante group—‘Eri-blood’—used to intimidate opposition supporÂ�

ters during the 2014 Bologna festival.

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Oxford New York

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Derg The movement that seized power in Ethiopia in

Himora Aksum Adigrat

Claim by Ethiopia but Claim by Eritrea but

The capital of Eritrea, Asmara, situated on a high plateau, is one

stores and some even makeshift facilities, often shipping contain-

sider an inordinate time explaining the complex relationship

mainly Muslim lowland pastoralists, on the other hand, had little

The complex identities of the ethnic groups who made Eritrea

ods: Italian colonialism (1886–1941), followed by British military

The kingdoms of Ethiopia had a major influence over their north-

Yohannis felt betrayed, the more so as Italy promptly

Britain but Ethiopian guerrilla forces continued the fight. In

On 5 May Haile Selassie returned to Addis Ababa exactly five

returned to his throne by a combined force of British, South

Two years later London presented the United Nations with a

Initially relations between the EPLF and TPLF were cordial,

Nationalism in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia

unity with Ethiopia and thousands of Kunama served in the

its campaign for an independent state. This is not to suggest that

brigade, took the area around Endaselasie, in western Tigray.

state. It was a problem that was to dog the relationship between

Co-operation and confrontation

another group of Tigrayans (The Tigray Liberation Front) had

as well as arms, and, significantly, two EPLF veterans. They were

The TPLF, on the other hand, was influenced by Maoism, and

party established links with what it saw as ‘genuine’ Eritrean

Movement was allowed to continue to have bases in the Tigray

demned the Soviets as imperialist. Arcane as such arguments

Matters came to a head during Ethiopia’s ‘Red Star’ campaign

By early 1985 relations between the two movements had

tactical relationship, not a strategic relationship. If they call it

organisation. Amare Tekle, the former Referendum CommissÂ�

THE THORNY RELATIONSHIP WITH ETHIOPIA

But I was born in Eritrea like everyone else in my family.’ Many

should be ethnically defined. In practice neither government

were established, they operated with such informality that when

following a deterioration in relations ‘as a consequence of eco-

• To assign to a technical sub-committee drawn from both countries

Despite this no further meeting took place until 8 May 1998,

Tigray’ encompassing all Tigrinya speakers, as outlined in the

Commission the following day. Led by Defence Minister Sebhat

cise nature of post-Nakfa trade relations between Eritrea and

in their members a determination to press ahead, no matter the

The border war

By mid-1998 old differences, compounded by fresh divisions and

1998—with gunshots at the border village of Badme. Home to

a clash ensued in which at least one Eritrean was killed. The

bombed the Tigrean regional capital of Mekele and the town of

public, President Hassan Gouled Aptidon of Djibouti arrived in

The US.—Rwandan recommendations are summarised as follows: