GOING, GOING, NEARLY GONE: HUMAN RIGHTS & CIVIL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 07 ASMARA 000028

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

LONDON FOR AFRICA WATCHERS, PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/10/2017
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL UNSC ECON EAID SOCI KIRF KPAO
ER
SUBJECT: GOING, GOING, NEARLY GONE: HUMAN RIGHTS & CIVIL
LIBERTIES IN ER

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Classified By: CDA Jennifer McIntyre for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Eritrea, once praised by many for its
freedoms and
possibilities, has abandoned the path of human rights and
instead
become one of the most restrictive and controlling societies
in
the world. The Government of the State of Eritrea (GSE)
operates
with a callous indifference to the hardships faced by its own
people.
President Isaias Afwerki oversees a totalitarian regime, with
only
a privileged few in his inner circle. Decisions are made in
secrecy and the general population struggles to survive in a
failed economy while living in fear of being arrested,
detained,
tortured and possibly killed. The GSE affords its citizenry
virtually no human rights and for all practical purposes
civil
liberties do not exist. There are no political, economic or
social freedoms for the people of Eritrea and the GSE, with
its political wing, the People's Front for Democracy and
Justice (PFDJ),controls nearly every aspect of Eritrean
life. Yet, despite these failings many Eritreans, within
Eritrea and in the diaspora, continue to support the
government by falling prey to the propaganda and lack
of information available on what is really happening
within the country. As the GSE continues to play a
destabilizing role in the region and rebuff any
efforts on our part to engage bilaterally, the time
has come to confront more forcefully the GSE on
issues of human rights, civil liberties and democratic
freedoms. Septel will offer thoughts to the Department
on how we might do so. End Summary.

ONE STATE, ONE PARTY, ONE MAN AND NO DEMOCRACY
-------------- -


2. (U) Political freedoms in Eritrea do not exist. The GSE
allows one political party, the People's Front for
Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) to operate. President
Isaias Afwerki serves as the head of the party, the
President of the country and the commander-in-chief.
The Constitution, a beautiful example of hope and possibility
written after independence, remains just a piece of paper
and has not been implemented. The National Assembly, as
provided for in the Constitution, does not exist. While
the GSE claims local level elections were held in 2003,
most Embassy interlocutors agree these elections were
a farce and locally elected officials have no real
authority or power. The GSE and the PFDJ work in concert
to control all aspects of Eritrean politics, economics
and society. In September 2001, the President coordinated
the arrest and imprisonment of eleven of fifteen high ranking
GSE/PFDJ members who called for greater transparency and
democracy within the government and the party. Collectively
called the G-15, the eleven were arrested and imprisoned
along
with others in the media and civil society who spoke out
during this time. All continue to be held in a separate
detention facility with no visitation allowed, and one of
the eleven reportedly died while in detention. Of the
remaining G-15 members, one recanted his statements and
remains in Eritrea. The other three were outside of Eritrea
at the time of the arrests and have continued to live in
exile. One of these exiles, Mesfin Hagos, leads one of
the largest diaspora opposition groups, the Eritrean
Democratic Party. Since September 2001, individuals
perceived as a threat to President Afwerki and to his ruling
cabal have been systematically arrested and persecuted.


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NO DUE PROCESS: ARRESTS, DETENTIONS AND BEATINGS ARE THE NORM
-------------- --------------


3. (U) While Eritrean law requires that individuals arrested
be
charged with a crime and afforded a hearing within a maximum
28
days, in reality this rarely occurs. Regular practice for
the
GSE is to arrest and detain individuals with no due process
and
no mechanism for the citizenry to challenge these arrests
and
detentions. Individuals are often arrested and receive no
explanation for why they were arrested. For others, the
explanations vary from not carrying identification to
attempting to illegally cross the border, having a child
who illegally departed Eritrea, or speaking out against the
GSE. Individuals are then held indefinitely, sometimes
without
the ability to communicate directly with family and friends.

Sometimes individuals are released within a few hours and
in other cases held for weeks, months and even years,
without ever being charged with a crime or having a day
in court. In addition, depending upon the prison or
detention center where the person is held, the family
may have limited or no contact with the individual,
in some cases for years.


4. (U) Family members of individuals who have departed Eritrea
and failed to return are currently the GSE's favorite
targets.
In summer 2005, GSE officials began a practice of arresting
the parents of Eritreans who left Eritrea without GSE
permission.
These departed Eritreans are often identified as national
service
evaders. There is no law, policy or regulation that legally
supports the GSE's practice of arresting the family members
of persons who have not served their national service.
Nonetheless, parents were told to pay 50,000 nakfa (USD 3330)
per child and were imprisoned if they did not have the money.
In May 2006, the wives of men detained in the Debub region
appeared at the Presidential Palace in Asmara, demanding to
know where their husbands were and insisting on answers.
In response, the GSE arrested them too. In December
2006, the GSE expanded their practice beyond arresting
parents to include spouses, arresting over 500 in Asmara
and the surrounding areas. These family members continue
to be detained under harsh conditions, some receiving only
bread and tea as sustenance. There are recent reports that
an adult child who is doing his own national service was
arrested because his two parents who departed Eritrea several
years ago did not return. For some families, their relatives
departed Eritrea as long as 10 years ago. In a new twist to
the
50,000 nakfa fine levied on family members of alleged
national
service evaders, GSE officials have established a payment
plan for families unable to pay the entire amount
immediately.


5. (U) The extent of the oppression under which Eritreans
live is evident by the empty streets of Asmara. After the
last bus runs at 9pm, Asmara can feel like a ghost town.
Since August 2006, when officials arrested hundreds of
Eritreans at various bars and dance clubs throughout Asmara,
many young Eritreans now opt to stay home.

TIGHTENING THE NOOSE ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS
--------------


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6. (U) Eritrea has four official religions - Islam, the
Eritrean
Orthodox Church, the Catholic Church and the Evangelical
Lutheran
Church. The GSE maintains a tight control over all
religious
practice and persecutes those who are not members of the four
official religions. In 2002, the GSE proclaimed that all
other churches operating in Eritrea must register with the
government in order to continue to practice in Eritrea.
Among the other religious institutions only four churches
submitted registration papers - the Seventh Day Adventist,
the Baha'i, the Mehrete Yesus (Evangelical) Presbyterian
Church,
and the Faith Mission Church. To date, the GSE has not
approved any of the church registrations. In 2004, because
of these restrictions and the persecution of individuals based
on their religious beliefs, the USG formally designated
Eritrea
a "Country of Particular Concern" (CPC).


7. (U) Following the designation of Eritrea as a CPC,
the situation has deteriorated further. The GSE routinely
arrests and detains members of the unregistered religious
groups, often for extended periods of time and without due
process. Individuals detained are beaten and told that
they will be released only if they renounce their faith and
proclaim allegiance to the Eritrean Orthodox church. For
those who choose not to renounce their beliefs, the beatings
and detention continues. Estimates vary from 1500 to 2000
individuals who are being detained for their religious
beliefs.
While some individuals have been released after a short
period
of time, others have been held in detention, often in secret
prisons constructed from shipping containers, for years.


8. (U) In the past, the GSE did permit the four official
religious
institutions to function with minimal intervention although
rumors
swirl about the circumstances under which the current Mufti
was placed as the head of the Islamic institution. Local
observers claim he was placed there as a stooge for the GSE
in the late 90's when the previous Mufti refused to comply
with GSE pressures for the mosques to preach exactly what the
GSE wished. Since late 2005, the GSE has increased its
meddling
in the official religions. The GSE appointed a
"lay administrator" Yoftahe Demetros, to run the
Orthodox church effectively sidelining the Patriarch.
(Note: The Eritrean Orthodox Church and Islam each represent
approximately 35% of the Eritrean population. End Note.)
Shortly after Yoftahe's appointment in January 2006,
Patriarch Antonios was deposed because of his efforts
to modernize the church (and encourage the greate
participation of young people, thus creating a
space where dissent could possibly germinate.)
The GSE placed him under house arrest and controlled
his movements and visitors. The GSE has continued
its intervention into the affairs of the Orthodox church.
In early December 2006, the government seized the keys
to all church offering boxes. Now the GSE collects
all the weekly offerings and manages the offering
distribution without any explanations. The GSE also
decreed that church leaders, previously exempt from
military and national service, must now serve.
To date, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Islamic
institution and the Eritrean Orthodox Church have
provided the GSE with the names of all priests,
ministers and Islamic religious leaders.


9. (C) The Catholic Church has also come under scrutiny

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by the GSE. The GSE and the Catholic Church continue to
confront each other over the enrollment in military and
national service of seminarians and priests. Unlike
the other religious institutions, the Catholic Church
has so far refused to comply with the government's
demand for names. Arguing that the priests' vows
and canon law prevent them from serving in the military,
the Catholic Church continues to defy
the government with the dispute intensifying in fall 2006.
While the Catholic Church has openly stated its willingness
to compromise by substituting other forms of non-military
service for its priests to fulfill national service
requirements, the GSE has refused to negotiate.
The Church is preparing for a harsh backlash by the GSE.

LOCKED IN AND LOCKED DOWN: ESCAPEES SHOT ON SIGHT
-------------- --------------


10. (C) Despite the GSE efforts to frighten individuals
into staying, many Eritreans continue to try to leave.
The GSE strictly controls the freedom of movement by
everyone, including foreign diplomats. Checkpoints
line all major roads and individuals are required to
present passes and/or identification for travel.
License plates are noted by police or militia manning
the posts. For individuals who wish to depart the country,
including foreign visitors, the GSE requires exit
visas. Obtained through the Department of
Immigration with approval from the Ministry
that oversees their work, individuals must have
an exit visa before being allowed to legally depart.
In some cases, individuals are asked to place bonds
as high as 100,000 nakfa (USD 6660) in order to get
the exit visas. Men between the ages of 15-50 and women
between the ages of 15-27 face great difficulty in
obtaining these visas. Children as young as five
have been refused exit visas. U.S. visa applicants,
for both immigrant and non-immigrant visas, request
the consular section of the U.S. Embassy to not place
the U.S. visa in the Eritrean passport until after
the applicant gets the exit visa, as the GSE has refused
to issue exit visas to individuals with valid U.S.
visas. While the GSE professes to be corruption-free,
many U.S. visa applicants have shared stories of
extremely high prices paid for exit visas.


11. (U) For those who try to leave without an exit visa,
crossing the border illegally carries a high risk.
Eritreans caught trying to cross illegally into
Ethiopia reportedly are shot on sight. Crossing
into Sudan carries high risk too. Post has received
reports of individuals summarily executed "as examples"
to others who might attempt to escape by this route.
In the past, the Government of Sudan turned a blind
eye to the illegal crossing of Eritreans. Even the
GSE seemingly consented by issuing Eritrean passports
unobtainable in Asmara at the Eritrean Embassy in
Khartoum for 500 USD. However, normalized relations
with Sudan appear to have changed this. Recently the
GSE collaborated with Sudanese militia to return
those Eritreans who had illegally crossed into
Sudan and subsequently sent these individuals
to "re-training" at work camps/prisons. Individuals
who are caught crossing illegally, are often
severely beaten and then sent to work camps/prisons
where they are forced to do hard labor and often
tortured or beaten there as well. Some are forced
to do military training and re-enlisted into
military service.

NO FREEDOM OF SPEECH, NO FREE PRESS, NO CIVIL LIBERTIES
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12. (U) With the University of Asmara closed down,
media controlled completely by the GSE Ministry of
Information, and no civil society, Eritrea's civil
liberties have ceased to exist. No venues exist
within Eritrea for individuals to speak freely and
openly about ideas, politics or personal freedoms
and individuals are not permitted to gather freely.
National security personnel permeate society incognito,
further intimidating people and limiting dissent to
intimate gatherings between individuals with high
levels of trust. The GSE raids the meetings of
unregistered religious groups, basing the action
on a law banning the assembly of more than three
people. This government action has resulted in
a de facto restriction on the freedom of assembly.
All media outlets - television, print media and
radio - are controlled by the GSE. The
GSE has placed severe restrictions on the few
remaining non-governmental organizations in-country,
limiting the movement of their staff and scope of
their programs. (Comment: Presumably one reason for
this action was to minimize the influence and access
of outsiders to the local population. End Comment.)
As a result, many bilateral donor emergency assistance
and development programs have downsized and are
considering further limiting or even closing their
development programs within Eritrea. Sadly, the
greatest impact will be on Eritrea's most vulnerable
citizens. Presently only nine NGOs are allowed to
operate in-country after a high in 2002 of over forty.


13. (U) Two international reporters represent Agence
France-Presse (AFP),Reuters and the BBC. These
reporters tread with care based on the experiences
of their predecessors. After publishing stories
that could be perceived as anti-GSE, previous AFP
and Reuters/BBC reporters were "frozen" (i.e. told
they could not publish stories about Eritrea) and
even expelled from the country. The Eritrean
national who served as the Voice of America
stringer was threatened and not allowed to report.
In 2001, the GSE shut down the free press and
arrested many members of the media, most of
whom remain held incommunicado by the GSE.
Even working for the Ministry of Information
offers no protection for members of the media.
In November 2006, the GSE arrested and
continues to detain nine employees of the MOI.
Reporters without Borders identifies Eritrea
as one of the worst countries in the world for
press freedoms, second only to
North Korea.


14. (U) In fall 2003, the GSE told the University of
Asmara to stop enrolling new students in both
undergraduate and graduate programs. Over the past
three years, the University by virtue of non-enrollment
has ceased to function. While the GSE attributed
the closure to a change in Eritrea's educational
policy designed to develop the technical skills of
its young people, most see the closure differently.
As universities are places where young people gather,
with the potential to foment radical ideas and dissent,
closing the university and limiting opportunities for
the youth to meet in groups appears to be a
logical progression in the GSE's restrictive
policies. In place of the University, the GSE,
through the Ministries of Education and Defense,
established four technical
training institutions with smaller enrollments,
scattered throughout the country. The GSE controls
access to the institutions and the students do not
have the freedom of movement. Most of the University

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professors have been summarily reassigned or "frozen"
in their duties and the remaining students dispersed
to these technical institutes. Students who plan to
pursue their education beyond high school have no
choice in their course of study. Rather the GSE
assigns them to a technical institute based on
their performance on the annual matriculation exam,
taken by all 12th graders during their final year
of schooling.


15. (U) Even prior to the closure of the University
and the implementation of stricter controls over
students' studies, the GSE enforced a policy of
universal conscription. A recent news report
named Eritrea as the country with the highest per
capita enrollment (1 in 20) in the military and
with the largest standing army in Africa (an
astounding statistic in a country of approximately 4
million). All men between the ages of 18-40 and
women between the ages of 18-27 are enrolled in
national service, with a significant percentage
of these men and women enlisted in the military.
In addition, the GSE requires all 12th grade
students to spend the year at Sawa - a military
education program located in western Eritrea.
During this final year of schooling, the Eritrean
youth are separated from their families and receive
military and political training in addition to
completing their secondary education.

IN A CONTROLLED ECONOMY: NO ECONOMIC FREEDOMS AND NO JOBS
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16. (U) The reach of the PFDJ and the GSE continues to
expand into the private sector. Over the past three
years, GSE proclamations supporting the PFDJ's economic
infiltration have resulted in a strangulation of the
private sector and crippling of the economy. While
small shops continue to operate, businesses of any
significant size, including the shoe factory, construction
companies, and import/export businesses are all strictly
limited by the GSE. The PFDJ controls all major industries,
all imports and exports and, through its banking institution,
access to foreign currency, which most major companies
need in order to compete in the market. In April 2006,
the GSE closed down all privately-held construction
companies and arrested many of the company heads.
As one of the few growing sectors of the Eritrean
economy, the closure of the private companies
further consolidated control of construction
in the hands of the PFDJ-held companies.
In December 2005, the government arrested
the head and all of the employees of the
shoe factory, resulting in the closure of
another profit-making venture. In January 2005,
the GSE issued a proclamation limiting all
imports and putting in place requirements
that many small- to medium-sized companies
were unable to meet. Subsequently issued
regulations have extended further control over import
and export through the limitifS?EQ1 and the other by the PFDJ),the ability of the
account holder to withdraw the currency is
strictly controlled. The virtual freeze on most
imports has resulted in periodic shortages of many
commodities (to include items such as milk,
poultry and gasoline) as well as extraordinarily
high prices, for example a gallon of gasoline costs
over $8 a gallon, well beyond the means of most Eritreans.


17. (U) To further control the economy, the GSE has

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strict labor requirements that impede on the
individual's ability to have gainful employment.
Individuals conscripted into national service are
not permitted to have other employment to supplement
the meager 400-600 nakfa (USD 28-40) they receive
monthly. If caught holding another job, the
individuals can be arrested and detained indefinitely.
The conscription into national service and the
military has resulted in labor shortages throughout
the country and in a high number of women-headed
households, further exacerbating the economic
difficulties of average Eritrean families.
In many rural areas there are no young people
available to do agricultural labor, and the absence
of young men is particularly noticeable. While the
GSE attempts to address this problem by deploying the
military to conduct harvest activities, this solution
only partially solves the problems created by a missing
labor pool. Individuals released from national service
and attempting to seek employment in other sectors, must
obtain permission from the GSE to switch jobs,
especially if they are leaving civil servant positions
within the government. The GSE often refuses to issue
the necessary paperwork. Unemployment remains high
with estimates varying from 15-50%, however, with
no official numbers it is hard to know for sure.

COMMENT
--------------


18. (C) The fundamental reality in Eritrea is that civil
liberties and human rights are concepts that the GSE
considers annoying preoccupations of western democracies
and not something that the GSE need respect or permit.
The GSE has consistently and repeatedly ignored our
requests, and those of other nations and international
bodies, for dialogue on human rights issues and
seemingly revels in its "in-your-face" defiance
of international concerns. Nonetheless, as Eritrea
increasingly engages in regional policies and
strategies that undermine the stability of the
Horn of Africa, it is important that we ensure
the world knows this regime for what it is.
Equally important is that we ensure that the
Eritrean diaspora, particularly those in the
United States, be presented the unvarnished
realities of life in Eritrea under Isaias.
The diaspora is a principal source of revenue
for the GSE and we will, without doubt, get the
GSE's much closer attention if funding flows recede
in direct proportion to increases in its human
rights violations. Moreover, if nothing else,
the people of Eritrea need to know that the U.S.
Government, and hopefully our international partners,
both cares about basic freedoms for people everywhere
and is willing to speak out in the face of an
aggressively hostile regime. We have already
scaled back our bilateral engagement over the
past two years and it is clear that Eritrea
has no intention of joining with us as a partner
in the GWOT or in strengthening regional stability.
All things considered, we believe the time is right
for us to show leadership in exposing Eritrea's
human rights abuses and restrictive policies, and
we believe the time is right to press for a change.
Septel will offer thoughts on possible strategies we
might employ to do so. End comment.
MCINTYRE