THE SAD STORY OF FORMER EMBASSY ASMARA LES DANIEL

S E C R E T ASMARA 000371

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C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (ADDED ADDRESSEES)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/23/2018
TAGS: PHUM PGOV APER KSOCI KIRF ASEC ER
SUBJECT: THE SAD STORY OF FORMER EMBASSY ASMARA LES DANIEL
HAILE

Classified By: Ambassador Ronald K. McMullen for reason 1.4 (d).


1. (C) Summary: In May, the People's Front for Democracy and
Justice (PFDJ, the ruling political party of Eritrea) called
the Embassy to request the dismissal of its employee, Daniel
Haile. The Embassy refused to accede to the request and
protested the action to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(MFA). The MFA intervened with the party and asked why this
action had been taken. The PFDJ claims that Daniel was
required to work for the party and was collecting paychecks
from the Eritrean government while working for the U.S.
government. The MFA told the Management Officer (MO) that
Daniel would be arrested and prosecuted. Daniel chose to
flee the country rather than face Eritrean justice. End
Summary


2. (C) On May 7, two members of the PFDJ named Demotros and
Fessehasion went to the home of Daniel Haile and told him
that he must resign his position at the U.S. Embassy because
"the U.S. Government is the enemy of Eritrea and we don't
want Eritreans working for the U.S. Embassy." The two
officials stated that if Daniel did not resign his position
in three days, he and his family would be arrested. They
further stated that they would be calling the Embassy to say
that he was no longer eligible to work here. Demotros
Afwerki of the PFDJ called the Embassy Human Resources
section the following day. He told the HR Specialist that if
Daniel Haile is working for the Embassy he must be fired
immediately. When the HR staff member asked why, he was told
"because he has not completed his national service."


3. (C) The Management Officer (MO) promptly called the MFA
to protest this action to the Protocol Chief, Fesseha
Ghebrehiwet. MFA agreed that it is not permissible for party
officials to get directly involved in Embassy matters. Only
the MFA is permitted to make demands of foreign missions
here, Fesseha stated. MO said the Embassy would take no
action against Daniel Haile until the matter was fully
clarified. Daniel was advised to take leave, which he did.
Fesseha contacted Demotros Afewerki directly and asked him
why he contacted the Embassy. Demotros explained that he
was merely "verifying Daniel's employment with the Embassy."
Demotros claims that Daniel works for the party and has been
drawing two paychecks without showing up for work at the
PFDJ, which is against the law.


4. (S) As a result of MFA's conversation with Demotros,
Daniel received a beating consisting of at least two serious
blows to the head with fists from Demotros and Fessehasion
and was again told that he had to quit. The Management
Officer went to the MFA on July 9th to receive the results of
the MFA's investigation into the matter. Fesseha stated that
PFDJ will refrain from ever contacting the Embassy directly
in the future. However, he said it was clear to him that
Daniel Haile violated the law. MO demonstrated to Fesseha
that Daniel was legally hired in 1999 and had a full waiver
from National Service obligations at that time. Fesseha
accepted this waiver as proof that the Embassy did not act in
a manner contrary to Eritrean law, but he said that Daniel
knew that he had duties with the PFDJ that required him to
resign his position at the Embassy. He added that Daniel's
offense was serious and he would be arrested and subject to
criminal proceedings. He asked that Daniel be fired
immediately. MO responded that Daniel has served for ten
years and cannot be instantly replaced. A period of training
of 1-2 months would be required. Fesseha said that he would
convince PFDJ that one week was needed to replace Daniel.


5. (S) Daniel was immediately informed of the discussion by
the Ambassador, MO, and Regional Security Officer (RSO).
Daniel decided to resign to protect his family from arrest.
Two days later he fled Asmara. He subsequently sent an
e-mail to the RSO stating that he had successfully escaped to
Sudan. His current whereabouts, however, are unknown.

WHY DID THIS HAPPEN TO DANIEL?
--------------


6. (C) On February 22nd, the RSO fired Isaac Abraham, the
Local Guard Force Commander. The reason for the termination
related to a failure to report five separate security
incidents. It was known to Embassy staff that Isaac reported
regularly to the Eritrean National Security Agency (ENSA)












WHY WERE ISAAC ABRAHAM'S ACTIONS SO EFFECTIVE?
--------------


7. (C) Local law stipulates that Eritreans can be summoned
to do National Service work until the age of 40. In
practice, however, men remain subject until age 54 and women
are subject until age 47. Medical waivers have been granted
for many members of the United Nations (UN) and U.S. staff.
It is assumed that these waivers are kept in force because UN
and U.S. staff are actively reporting to the ENSA on thier
activities, which is itself a form of unpaid National
Service. These waivers can be revoked at any time. In
2000, Daniel had his waiver from military service upheld, but
his waiver from National Service was revoked. He was then
summoned to work by the PFDJ. Several other members of the
local guard force had the same experience around the same
time. They informed the RSO, and he agreed to adjust their
shifts to permit them to keep their jobs at the Embassy.
National Service pay averages $30 per month or less. In
2003, Daniel was promoted to the position of residential
security technician. This required that Daniel be on-duty
during day time hours which directly conflicted with his
position at the PFDJ. However, the PFDJ supervisor at the
time did not have a problem with Daniel's not coming to work
and there were no difficulties until this May.


8. (C) Comment: The brutish and amateurish nature of the
PFDJ's approach to this matter leads the Embassy to believe
that the attack on Daniel Haile was an act of revenge carried
out by friends of Isaac Abraham and not an effort on the part
of the Eritrean Government to target local employees of the
U.S. Embassy. The incident is a clear demonstration of how
vulnerable and without recourse the citizenry is in a society
where security figures are at liberty to target individuals
and families without the need for supervisory clearance or
permission. It also shows the MFA as a willing participant
in random, extrajudiciary enforcement actions carried out
against Eritrean citizens. End Comment.
MCMULLEN