ELF-RC Leadership Submits

Protest Memorandum To UNHCR;

Continues Activities in Khartoum

By

ELF-RC Office for Information and Culture

27.03.2006

The ELF-RC chairman, Mr. Woldeyesus Ammar, on 27 March 2006 submitted a protest memorandum to the UN agency for refugees (UNHCR) demanding an urgent review of its December 2002 decision that continues to deny refugee status to Eritreans.

Addressed to the UNHCR Country Director for the Sudan, Mr. Kalunga Lutato, and copied to the UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva,  the memo revealed that the number of fresh Eritrean refugees crossing the border to the Sudan is increasing by the day although adequate refugee support is lacking in the region.

The memorandum stressed that the situation of Eritrean refugees in the Sudan is “extremely depressing” because humanitarian assistance had dropped to “dismally low levels” due to untimely departure of many humanitarian organizations from Eastern Sudan. Writing on behalf of his organization and its  humanitarian wing, Mr. Woldeyesus Ammar urged the UNHCR to rescind its 2002  decision that was based on wrong analysis about changed “circumstances” in Eritrea that caused refugees.  (See full text of the memo below.)

ELF-RC Leadership Activities in Khartoum

The ELF-RC leadership team in Khartoum continued during the past week its bilateral discussions in the shape of  informal sessions with opposition organizations and leaders. One of the opposition delegations met during the week was the Islamic Party for Justice and Development. Its chairman, Al-Amir Khalil Mohammed Amir, reiterated his sorrow and condolence on the untimely martyrdom of ELF-RC chairman, Seyoum Ogbamichael, but expressed his satisfaction that the Eritrean opposition has an organization with the caliber of the ELF-RC which could successfully overcome problems and continue ‘business as usual’.

The two sides discussed the situation inside Eritrea, issues in the opposition camp as well as the  agenda items that could be of importance in the upcoming meeting of the Eritrean Democratic Alliance scheduled to start on 25 April 2006.  Al-Amir Khalil welcomed the idea of calling for merger of organizations with similar programmes as a step forward in strengthening the struggle for change of regime in Eritrea.

The ‘brainstorming sessions’ on issues of concern in the opposition camp were continued with  important personalities like Mr. Yassin Mohammed Abdalla of the Suwera Center for Human Rights and senior leadership elements like Mr. Hamid Adem Suleiman, a long-time member of the Executive Committee in the old  Jebha. Discussions were also held with senior cadres when the team visited the EDA Headquarters in Khartoum.  The ELF-RC leadership team consisted of the chairman, Mr. Mengisteab Asmerom, head of Information and Culture, Mr. Tesfai Woldemichael  (Degiga), Director of the Office of the Chairman, and Mr. Mohammed Adem Artaa, RC member and head of the ELF-RC Khartoum Office.

Contacts with the local media

The ELF-RC Chairman, Mr. Ammar, was interviewed last week by Radio Voice of the East located in Khartoum and broadcast with focus inside Eritrea. The interview, which lasted for half an hour and was broadcast twice last week, mainly dealt with the current situation in Eritrea and what the opposition can do to mobilize Eritreans against the dictatorial regime.

Published in last Friday’s Al-Watan newspaper was an interview with Mr. Tesfai Woldemichael. The interview covered developments within the ELF-RC and prospects of change and growth in the opposition camp.

Scheduled Meetings

Date: 27 March, 2006

Ref.: Eri-Red Cross/Crescent/2-2006

Subject: Plight of Eritrean Refugees

To:

Mr. Kalunga Lutato,

The Country Representative

UNHCR,  Khartoum, Sudan

Dear Mr. Lutato,

Please receive my best wishes and the best wishes of the leadership and members of the ELF-RC, a leading Eritrean opposition organization struggling for change and democratization in Eritrea, a country which is currently in an unenviable situation created by the oppressive regime of  a rogue  leader,  Isaias Afworki.

This message aims to draw your kind attention to the plight of Eritrean refugees whose number is increasing by the day but whose status and rights as refugees continue to be denied since 31 December 2002. Yet, the circumstances that caused and are causing refugee flight from Eritrea have not changed, as indicated below.

Developments in Eritrea under the incumbent regime continue to raise serious concerns of regional and international bodies with keen interest in the political and human rights situation of peoples under absolutist regimes.

Since May 1991, Eritreans fell under the rule of another one-man regime whose militarist mentality turned him against his own people and against all neighbours and other erstwhile friends of Eritrea.

It was only four weeks after entering Asmara, that the new dictator said his government would not allow the existence of other parties. To make matters worse, the regime stood against all international norms in repatriation of refugees and asked UN and other humanitarian agencies to give him money  but “never mind” of how he repatriates the refugees from the Sudan.  As the world now knows, only a small percentage of our refugees returned home. A big bulk of Eritreans were condemned to languish in poorly assisted refugee camps in the Sudan because they were not welcome back in their newly ‘liberated’ homeland. 

Secondly, the regime’s belligerent attitude that provoked armed conflicts with Ethiopia, the Sudan and other neighbours made matters worse: on top of starting bloody conflicts, the dictatorial regime in Asmara resorted to political persecution of its opponents.

Any quick perusal of recent human rights reports of human rights organizations is sure to depict an extremely gloomy picture of human condition in Eritrea. As an example, the latest document for the year 2005 of the US State Depart described the Eritrean human rights situation in a vivid manner. I am therefore taking the liberty of quoting that recent document extensively in a way of summarizing the  situation through the words of non-Eritrean observers.

Sir, the document states:

 “The Eritrean government’s tyranny became more ruthless in 2005. Rule by force and caprice remains the norm, as the government aggressively moves to intimidate the population and to isolate it from the outside world… The border dispute with Ethiopia continues to fester and is used by the government [only] to justify repressive policies…

“...The government has arrested thousands of citizens for expressing dissenting views, practicing an “unregistered” religion, avoiding endless military conscription, attempting to flee the country, or on suspicion of not fully supporting government policies…. Most of those arrested are held indefinitely in incommunicado detention. None are formally charged, given access to lawyers or brought to trial. ..Prisoners are often held in secret prisons, including underground cells. Because of the large number of arrests, less prominent prisoners are packed into cargo containers or in other overcrowded prisons. In addition to psychological abuse, solitary confinement and abysmal conditions, escapees report the use of physical torture. Prisoners are suspended from trees with their arms tied behind their backs, a technique known as almaz (diamond). Prisoners are also placed face down, hands tied to feet, a method of torture known as the ‘helicopter.’  
 
”The government often uses national service as retribution for perceived criticism of government policies. Those accused of evading service are frequently tortured. Conscripts are often used for public works projects, such as road building. There have been persistent reports that they are also used as laborers on party, military, and officers’ personal farms.

“Three separate immigration decisions in 2005, by an appellate court in the USA(.. ), the European Court of Human Rights (..) and the United Kingdom Immigration Appeal Tribunal(..) granted asylum to Eritreans fleeing conscription on the grounds that national service is used as a measure of political repression and that anyone forcibly returned to Eritrea is likely to be tortured.  

“In January 2004, the African Union adopted a 2003 African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights report finding Eritrea’s arrest of the eleven government officials in 2001 and their continued incarceration in violation of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. In April, the Inter-Parliamentary Union unanimously concluded that continued detention was a gross violation of fundamental rights under Eritrean and international law, and inferred from the conflicting justifications given by the government that the accusations against the eleven were groundless.”

Dear Mr. Lutato,

Many Eritreans, and especially those of us opposed to the repressive petty dictatorship in Eritrea, are still asking: how can one become an exception in seeing the situation in Eritrea other than what it is, and as stated in the previous paragraphs? More importantly, how can the UNHCR continue justifying its denial of the status of refugee to Eritreans, a declaration that biased the rest of the world against Eritrean asylum seekers fleeing from the ruthless regime in Asmara?

It was clear that in December 2002, Eritreans in the opposition camp, and especially the refugees in the Sudan, were stunned to receive the UNHCR decision denying the status of refugees to Eritreans under a wrongly applied “ceased circumstances” clause while the circumstances in Eritrea were not changed.

 Contrary to what has been going on in Eritrea, the UNHCR stated in its conclusion of 2002 that: The ending of the war with Ethiopia and the attainment of independence by Eritrea represented fundamental and durable changes which may be said to have removed the root causes of the Eritrean refugee problem… The High Commissioner is of the opinion that refugees from Eritrea, who fled their country as a result of the war of independence which ended in June 1991, as well as those who fled as result of the border conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea which ended in June 2000, should no longer have a well-founded fear of persecution or other reasons to continue to be regarded as refugees.”

Dear Sir,

UNHCR’s application of the “cessation clause” to Eritreans has severely affected   the old cases of Eritrean refugees in the Sudan. The decision also affected Eritrean asylum seekers in the rest of the world because many host countries were influenced by UNHCR’s decision to apply the “cessation clause” against Eritreans and, as a result, many Eritreans were denied the status of political refugees.

It is understood that this is not the first time that we are raising this issue to you as Eritreans. The ELF-RC has done it several times and through different channels, including appeals to the UN Secretary General and the UN High Commissioners for Human Rights and for Refugees as well as by addressing messages to host countries and organizations.  Other Eritrean bodies, among them local bodies of our refugees and civil societies the world over have repeatedly called on UNHCR to rescind the cessation clause, and to try to respond in an adequate manner to the basic humanitarian needs of Eritrean refugees.

Because of wrong perceptions and conclusions, humanitarian assistance to Eritrean refugees in the Sudan went down to dismally low levels, and was worsened following the untimely departure of  many humanitarian organizations from Eastern Sudan.

Today, the situation of our compatriots in the refugee camps of the Sudan is extremely depressing. In the 1990s, it was estimated that the budget for relief assistance to Eritrean refugees averaged USD 7 per refugee per year compared to USD 138 per person per year for refugees in Angola. It is believed that, today, the situation in the 28 refugee camps in Eastern Sudan is much gloomier than what that old comparison could show.

We therefore call on you to kindly use your good offices in recommending and advising the UNHCR to take review the situation of Eritrean refugees in the Sudan. We also respectfully ask and expect the UN refugee agency to do the following:

1.                  To immediately rescind its decision that denied the status of refugee to many Eritreans since 31 December 2002.

2.                  To start providing adequate relief assistance to Eritrean refugees in the 28 refugee camps of Eastern Sudan, and to kindly invite other humanitarian organizations to come and provide support to the old and new cases of Eritrean refugees in Eastern Sudan and in northern Ethiopia.

3.                  To resume basic services like provision of water and sanitation, in particular and as a matter of emergency,  at the most affected  refugee camp of Umgurgur.

4.                  To resume enhanced elementary education to children as a fundamental right of refugee children, and to support the technical  training of adult refugees in various skill formations. Most social services have tragically come to a halt in several refugee camps in Eastern Sudan.

5.                  To support income-generating and self-reliance projects for poor households.

6.                  To subject to quick review the one-sided decision to reduce the number of refugee camps from 28 to four major concentrations.

7.                  To involve the refugees in all decisions that affect their fate, especially the plan of ‘integrating’ of the camps, and the on-and-off repatriation programmes arranged with the unpredictable and unreliable regime in Eritrea.

With kind regards

Woldeyesus Ammar,

ELF-RC Chairman

and Board Member of the Alliance of

the Eritrean Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies (A/ERCCS).                          

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