Yossi Schwartz, ISL the RCIT section in Israel /Occupied Palestine, 04.09.2023
Eritrea was called Mdree-Bahree (which means Land of the Sea). The term “Eritrea” derives from the Greek term Sinus Erythraeus, which can be translated in English as the Red Sea. The name was given to the sea between the Arabian Peninsula and the Africa continent, by Greek tradesmen of the third century B.C. This part of the world is considered the origin of the human race. It’s from this place that our first ancestors migrated to other parts of the globe. The first known inhabitants of Eritrea are the Kunama and Nara about 3500 B.C ago. The ‘Land of Punt’ is believed to be in this part of the world. Around 2000 BC the Beja people from southern Egypt entered Eritrea. The first inscription in the Geez alphabet dates from 800 B.C.
In 1890 Italy colonized the land of Midri-Bahri along the Red Sea, and named it Eritrea. Italian colonization was replaced by the British in 1941 that was annexed to Ethiopia. In 1993 after 30 years of war with Ethiopia it won its official independence. Nevertheless, it has remained a semi colony.
Although some EPLF cadres at one time espoused a Stalinist ideology, Russian Stalinism supported the Mengistu regime in Ethiopia. The EPLF declared it is committed to establishing a democratic form of government and a free-market economy in Eritrea. It became a semi colony of the United States as the United States agreed to provide assistance to Eritrea, conditional on continued progress toward a capitalist economy. In May 1991 the EPLF established the Provisional Government of Eritrea (PGE) to administrate Eritrean affairs until a referendum was held on independence and a permanent government established. EPLF leader Afewerki became the head of the PGE, and the EPLF Central Committee served as its legislative body.
Eritreans voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence between 23 and 25 April 1993 in an UN-monitored referendum. The result of the referendum was 99.83% for Eritrea’s independence. The Eritrean authorities declared Eritrea an independent state on 27 April 1993. The government was reorganized and the National Assembly was expanded to include both EPLF and non-EPLF members. The assembly chose Isaias Afewerki as president. The EPLF reorganized itself as a political party, the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ).
President Isaias and his party, the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice—the successor to the EPLF—remained firmly in power. Conditions within Eritrea grew increasingly repressive, with personal rights and freedoms routinely violated. The government’s program of conscription into national service, for lengthy, indefinite periods of time, was compared to enslavement and was one of the reasons why large numbers of Eritreans have taken dangerous journeys to flee the country. The country came under fire by the UN Human Rights Council, which accused Isaias’s government of having committed human rights violations against the citizens of the country. Reports released in 2015 and 2016 detailed the alleged human rights violations, such as enslavement, rape, torture, and murder; some violations were labeled as crimes against humanity.
“The relationship between Israel and the government of Eritrea, often referred to as the “Africa’s North Korea,” has been strained for a while now. Israel has not authorized the appointment of an ambassador to Asmara, Eritrea’s capital, and the Israeli embassy building has been left deserted since 2020. Eritrea consistently votes against Israel in international forums, including the United Nations, and was a vocal opponent against Israel’s reinstatement as an observer in the African Union. With this information in mind, one might be tempted to ask why Israel did not disengage all official diplomatic relations with Eritrea. One of the most common explanations to this conundrum is Israel’s security interests in the Horn of Africa, a region that constitutes a strategic geographical location. If foreign sources are to be believed, Israel maintains intelligence bases and Navy submarines in and around that area” [1]
“Israel and Eritrea formed diplomatic relations in the 1990s after Eritrea became independent. Since independence, the country has known only one ruler, the dictator Isaias Afewerki, who turned the country into one of the most isolated and totalitarian states in the world today. Nevertheless, Israel maintained ties with Eritrea over the years both on the diplomatic and security planes. At the same time, thousands of Eritreans fled to Israel, many of them trying to avoid being drafted.
In 2019, the Supreme Court rejected a petition calling for the Israeli government to release a Foreign Ministry paper detailing human rights conditions in Eritrea. The paper could have played a role in determining the status of Eritrean refugees in Israel, but the justices accepted the government’s position that making the document public would harm bilateral relations.
The court’s ruling provided a rare peek into the relationship between Israel and the murderous regime in Eritrea, which most Israelis are unaware of.
Reports in the foreign media alleged, among other things, that there was an Israeli base in Eritrea, that the Israeli Navy operated in its Red Sea territorial waters and that Israel has listening posts in the country that provide intelligence on countries in the region. No official Israeli source has ever confirmed those allegations.
In 2017, the Houthi rebels in Yemen threatened to attack “secret bases” that Israel supposedly operated in Eritrea. It should be noted that Israel supported Ethiopia when it was fighting Eritrean rebels seeking independence, but that didn’t stop Israel and Eritrea from cooperating after the latter won its independence” [2]
Human Rights Watch says that Eritrea is among the worst in the world, particularly with regards to freedom of the press. Eritrea is a one-party state in which national legislative elections have been repeatedly postponed the judiciary is weak, and constitutional provisions protecting individual freedom have yet to be fully implemented Some Western countries, particularly the United States, accuse the Government of Eritrea of arbitrary arrest and detentions and of detaining an unknown number of people without charge for their political activism. Additionally, Eritrean citizens, both men and women, are forcibly conscripted into the military with an indefinite length of service and used as forced labor.
“The Eritrean Embassy in Israel has been around since 2004. Lacking an official ambassador, the embassy is currently run by a designated custodian. It filed an official request to hold a cultural festival that, among other things, would help raise funds for the Eritrean regime, and asked Israeli officials to provide protection for the festival, fearing asylum-seeker reprisal” [3]
Tel Aviv police were informed many times during the week before Saturday, September the second, that the Eritrean refugees would clash with the supporters of the regime attending the celebration and yet on Saturday morning only two policemen guarded the hall. As was expected a clash between the supporters of the regime and the refugees took place and the police arrived using brutal force. 170 people were injured, 19 seriously and 39 were detained. Thus, the police wanted this clash.
Why? This was an opportunity to deport the Eritrean refugees.
Following a ministers’ meeting in Jerusalem, Netanyahu hit out at the Supreme Court for blocking deportations and said he would start deporting “rioters” immediately
“Israel is considering tough steps including the immediate deportation of Eritrean asylum seekers involved in riots in Tel Aviv on Saturday.Some 170 people were injured in violent clashes with police and in-fighting between groups of supporters and opponents of the Eritrean regime.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “a red line” had been crossed. He also ordered a new plan to remove all African migrants that he described as “illegal infiltrators”.
Saturday’s unprecedented disorder began after activists opposed to the Eritrean government said that they had asked Israeli authorities to cancel an event organized by their country’s embassy” [4]
Instead, police appeared in riot gear and fired tear gas, stun grenades and live rounds. On Saturday the Zionist camp that said they want democracy did not say one word on the brutal police nor on the Likud announcement that it is time to remove the refugees. Yes, they want democracy but only for the Jews.
Hands off the African refugees!
To hell with the racist police!
Recognize the African asylum!
Endnotes:
[1] https://www.ynetnews.com/article/skltrbmc2
[2] https://martinplaut.com/2023/09/03/tel-aviv-riots-put-spotlight-on-israels-covert-ties-with-eritreas-dictator/
[3] https://www.ynetnews.com/article/skltrbmc2
[4] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-66700307