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DE RUEHAE #0691/01 2370908
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P 250908Z AUG 06 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY ASMARA
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INFO RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 5946
RUEHDJ/AMEMBASSY DJIBOUTI 2832
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1193
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1366
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASMARA 000691 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
LONDON FOR AFRICA WATCHERS, PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/25/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR CASC ER
SUBJECT: DIASPORA MEMBERS HARASSED DURING SUMMER VISIT 
 
 
Classified By: CDA Jennifer McIntyrem for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: Every summer the return of the beles, or 
prickly pears, to streets and villages of Eritrea also mark 
the return of the other beles, the Eritrean diaspora.  While 
the GSE welcomes the return of the diaspora, and their 
foreign currency, by sponsoring festivals and events and 
having special airfares and hotel rates, post has encountered 
two reports of Eritrean American citizens being harassed and 
even detained by unidentified Eritrean authorities during 
their visits.  From a consular perspective, providing 
services to Eritrean dual nationals is challenging as the GSE 
does not notify post of the detention of Eritrean American 
citizens.  From a political perspective, given the GSE,s 
desire and need for foreign currency, alienating the visiting 
diaspora by harassing them seems to contradict the message 
the GSE markets to its citizens abroad.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (C) In the first case, the GSE prevented an Eritrean 
American citizen from leaving on her scheduled flight and 
detained her at the airport for no apparent reason. Over the 
course of the next 10 days she was repeatedly asked to appear 
at various government offices, some unmarked, and to present 
numerous papers.  These unidentified Eritrean authorities 
asked her multiple questions about her activities in the US 
and in Eritrea and insisted that she had not paid the 
 
required 2% tax all Eritrean citizens abroad are expected to 
pay.  (Note: The 2% tax is paid at Eritrean Embassies and 
Consulates abroad, in foreign currency, preferably dollars or 
euros, and is required of any Eritrean citizen if they wish 
to receive services from the GSE such as the issuance of 
birth certificates or marriage licenses. End Note.)  The 
Amcit came to the Embassy for assistance after several days 
of going back and forth with Eritrean authorities. 
Eventually she was able to prove she had paid the tax and was 
permitted to leave the country. 
 
¶3. (C) Post became aware of the second case on August 18 when 
a highly distressed Eritrean American citizen came to the 
Embassy for assistance in departing the country.  According 
to the woman, the GSE had detained, harangued and harassed 
her since her arrival in June.  The Amcit noted that her 
problems began upon entry into Eritrea when she failed to 
declare the USD 10,000 she was carrying.  The day following 
her arrival, she was asked to report to authorities. (Note: 
She was unsure which office she went to. Post believes it was 
customs officials. End Note.) She reported she was detained 
in jail overnight and released the following morning when a 
family member posted 50,000 nakfa bail.   At the time of her 
release, the GSE confiscated the USD 10,000 and charged her a 
nakfa 20,000 (USD 1333) fine.  Eritrean officials 
subsequently provided her with the appropriate documentation 
to clear the violation and issued an exit visa that would 
allow her to depart in August.  Post was never notified by 
the GSE of her detention.  (Comment: How the GSE knew she had 
undeclared USD upon entering Eritrea is unclear.  Post 
suspects the GSE compares the plane manifest with immigration 
forms and customs declarations and then tracks down those who 
did not declare foreign currency. End Comment.) 
 
4.(C) Over the ensuing two months, Eritrean authorities 
repeatedly called the woman back in for questioning.  Going 
to what she described as an abandoned building near the Nyala 
Hotel in Asmara, she was questioned and harassed by Eritrean 
officials who did not identify their office or names to her, 
sometimes asked to sit for hours and then told she shouldn,t 
have come or asked why she was there. (Comment:  Consular 
staff believe these were officials of the Eritrean National 
Security office. End Comment.)  During the final few weeks, 
she was told each time was the last, only to be called in 
again. They often told her she couldn,t leave Eritrea, 
despite having a valid exit visa, because &everyone knew8, 
and that they would catch her at the airport. In her final 
meetings, the woman was asked to return with someone who 
could vouch for her; and that person needed to have at least 
100,000 nakfa (USD 6666) or a home. She received no 
explanation as to why she needed to do this and at this point 
she contacted the US Embassy. 
 
¶5. (C) Desperate and scared with her three girls (ages 9, 12, 
17 ) also Amcits) in tow, the woman came to the Embassy on 
August 18 for assistance.   As she was afraid to leave the 
Consular waiting room and fearful that Eritrean Airlines 
would not allow her to change her tickets and that somehow 
they &knew8, Poloff  personally accompanied the family to 
the airline office where the next hurdle involved working out 
payment, as Eritrean Airlines insisted on payment for the 
change fee in U.S. dollars (Note: The woman had only local 
currency, as the confiscated USD 10,000 was never returned. 
End Note.)    After resolving the fee payment issue, the 
Poloff accompanied the Amcit and daughters to the airport and 
the family nervously departed Eritrea that night. They safely 
arrived dispirited and disheartened in the US on August 19. 
(Comment: Until actual departure of the airplane, post was 
equally unsure whether the family would be allowed to leave 
the country. End Comment.) 
 
¶6. (C)  Comment:   Consular cases involving Americans of 
Eritrean descent are difficult handle.  The GSE does not 
acknowledge dual citizenship and considers all Eritreans born 
in Eritrea or of Eritrean descent to be Eritrean citizens, 
even if they have never set foot in Eritrea.  For over one 
year, Post has been unable to obtain meetings with the 
consular officials in the MFA and is not informed when 
Eritrean Americans are detained.  We are only aware of those 
cases brought to our attention by the Americans themselves. 
From a political perspective, the GSE,s heavy-handed 
approach to the diaspora seems driven by paranoia but 
ultimately may prove self-defeating.  Desperate to have the 
hard currency from the diaspora, the GSE appears also to be 
fearful of the ideas and democratic beliefs many carry with 
their dual citizenships. Harassing dual nationals and 
threatening their family members in Eritrea may be a way to 
scare some people but may also lead to the disillusionment of 
the diaspora and possibly to a reduction in support from 
abroad.  End Comment. 
MCINTYRE