http://en.starafrica.com/news/eritrea-says-soldiers-protest-stupid-not-coup.html
Eritrea says soldiers' protest 'stupid', not coup
Posted by: Steve Forrest Posted date : January 26, 2013 at 1:28 pm In:
Africa
NAIROBI (AFP)
Eritrea dismissed reports Saturday that a protest by mutinous soldiers
seeking political reform, a rare challenge to the authoritarian regime of
the Horn of Africa nation, was a coup attempt.
In the first formal response since soldiers briefly seized the information
ministry on Monday in the capital Asmara, Eritrea's ambassador to the
African Union Girma Asmerom said that reports of a coup had been "wishful
thinking".
Some opposition groups had initially said the protest - which ended
peacefully after a few hours when soldiers agreed to leave the ministry-
had aimed to topple the hardline regime of President Issaias Afeworki.
"All over the world an armed, crazy, stupid and terrorist individual or
group can take stupid actions such as kidnapping of individuals or taking
hostages by raiding government and private institutions and offices," a
statement read.
"Such isolated incidents, which frequently occur in the West, are
considered terrorist acts. I don't understand why in Africa they are
considered coup d'etats. It is the highest form of double standard and
hypocrisy".
European diplomats in Asmara reported that tanks and troops were seen
Monday at the ministry complex, the site of a former hilltop fort that
towers over the highland capital.
Opposition parties are banned and those that challenge Issaias - who has
ruled the Horn of Africa nation with an iron grip since independence in
1993 - are jailed without trial, often in the harshest of conditions.
"Rest assured that the president is healthy, and Eritrea is a peaceful
country," Girma added, boasting that there would "never be a coup" as
Eritrea is a "society built on trust".
The statement made no mention of reports by opposition websites on Friday
that Asmara had launched a purge of top leaders following the reported
mutiny.
The reports, including by Awate.com and Asmarino.com, could not be
confirmed independently, although Eritreans in the capital Asmara said
there had been numerous arrests.
If confirmed, the arrests would echo the regime's political purge of 2001,
when 15 top officials who wrote an open letter calling for democratic
reforms - dubbed the Group of 15, or G-15 - were jailed or fled into exile.
Several of the G-15 - accused of treason although they have never been
tried - are believed to have since died in brutal prison conditions.
Impoverished Eritrea falls below North Korea on the Press Freedom Index of
the Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, ranking last out
of 179 countries.
Independent media were shut down after Issaias' draconian purge in 2001,
while Eritrea expelled the last registered foreign correspondent in 2010.
Signature : Steve Forrest
Copyright : © 2013 AFP
Received on Sat Jan 26 2013 - 11:18:54 EST
