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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 
 
ASMARA 00000028  001.2 OF 007 
 
 
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. 
 
 
ASMARA 00000028  002.2 OF 007 
 
 
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 
------------------------------------------ 
 
 
ASMARA 00000028  003.2 OF 007 
 
 
¶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 
 
ASMARA 00000028  004.2 OF 007 
 
 
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 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
 
ASMARA 00000028  005.2 OF 007 
 
 
¶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 
 
ASMARA 00000028  006.2 OF 007 
 
 
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 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶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 
 
ASMARA 00000028  007.2 OF 007 
 
 
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