Urgent Call
BY THE ERITREAN REVOLUTIONARY DEMOCRATIC FRONT (ERDF)
Dear Sirs,
We would like to draw your attention to the shocking news and great danger 15 Eritrean asylum seekers in Libya currently face.
Reliable sources have disclosed that presently 583 Eritreans are being held in custody in Libya. From among those Eritreans who are held at Jazat Prison House (Tripoli), 15 are ready to be forcibly deported to Eritrea with in 5 days. It has been confirmed that the victims have already filled the necessary forms for deportation.
The victims include: 1 Frezghi Teclezghi 2 Birhana Seyum 3 Teclemicael 4 Adhanet Tesfalidet 5 Yirga-alem Girmay 6 Micael Hagos 7 Micael Mulugeta 8 Tzega Habtemariam 9 Solomon Kebede 10 Habtom Mengis 11 Salim Abdu 12 Amanuel Kidane 13 Girmay Woldu 14 Gidey 15 Awet.
The International Community is quite aware that Eritrea is a nation that has been held hostage to systematic terror, death and misery for more than 13 years now. The regime in power has been conducting unabated acts of perpetration and grossly violating the basic rights of its citizens. The regime arbitrarily arrests, tortures and secretly kills any one who expresses a different view. The case of the 11 higher government officials who are still incommunicado since September 2001 is worth mentioning. Journalists from the independent press and other elderly people who tried to mediate between the dissidents and the government are still in custody. Some of them lost their life in prison. They were not brought to justice either. The 223 Eritreans who were involuntarily deported in December 2002 from Malta to Eritrea were detained on arrival by the repressive regime and their where about is unknown to date. This case is still fresh in our memory. Freedom of thought, expression and assembly are denied. There is no independent media except that of the dictatorship. Strangely enough, there is no constitution and rule of law in the country despite international pressure.
The recent updated report on Eritrea by Amnesty International (AI INDEX: AFR64/003/2004, 19 May 2004) is an authentic testimony to the gross human rights violation in the country. On our part, we have reached a point where we concluded that the prospects for democracy and rule of law are very remote and virtually impossible under the existing regime.
In our view, those held in Libya are not economic migrants but innocent citizens. Among them could also be ordinary members of the opposition parties and military conscripts who oppose the indefinite extension of the military service. In all cases, these people fled their homeland in fear of imminent persecution by the dictatorial regime of persident Isayas Afeworki. Hence, they deserve protection and the right to refugee status according to UN refugee Convention and existing international law. Should they be involuntarily deported to Eritrea, they would face capital punishment at worst or prolonged detention at best. It is our firm belief that closing borders to the victims of tyranny and forced deportation cannot solve migration. The only sustainable solution would be the creation of a democratic government that upholds the fundamental rights of all citizens in Eritrea.
In light of the ever-worsening human rights violation and over all political situations in Eritrea, we strongly call on Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, UNHCR and all Human Rights Activists to intervene before it is too late. We appreciate your continuous efforts to stop forcible deportation and inhumane treatment of refugees anywhere in the world. We wish you all the success in your noble and humanitarian mission.