http://www.voanews.com/content/eritrea-open-doors-european-investigators/2927105.html
Eritrea Opens its Doors to European Investigators
David Arnold
August 21, 2015 12:06 PM
For many years Europe has welcomed refugees from Eritrea - a nation
that has acquired a reputation among western powers as a totalitarian
state - a hermit nation on the Horn of Africa.
But even after yet another United Nations charge of human right
violations by Eritrea’s leaders, a high government official in the
nation’s capital, Asmara, says a few European countries may be
rethinking their blanket amnesties.
There may be several reasons why European Union immigration officials
are re-assessing blanket asylum approvals for Eritreans. They may want
to stop or reduce further Eritrean entries and to stop other migrants
who falsely claim Eritrean nationality to receive asylum.
Or, EU officials may think Eritrea is shedding some of its domestic
policies, policies they believe lead to past abuse human rights abuse.
The UN refugee agency says youth conscription intensified last year,
but the political advisor to President Isaias Afewerki says the E-U is
sending officials to Eritrea to see if their justification for that
asylum policy is based on facts on the ground.
Why are EU immigration officials visiting Asmara?
“Several European countries sent their immigration departments to come
and look at the situation for themselves sin Eritrea,” Yemane Gebreab
told the Voice of America recently. “The British have been here, the
Danes have been here, and the Norwegians have been here several times,
the Dutch have been here, the Swedes are here right now, and officials
from Switzerland have been here.
“So, key European countries have sent their people to look at the
situation on the ground,” Yemane says. “And I think that they have
come to the realization that what is being said about Eritrea is not
true, that there is no political persecution in this country, that
national service is not indefinite, that it does not constitute slave
labor.
“Those who are traveling to Europe are traveling there essentially for
economic reasons,” Yemane argues.
Are they all really Eritreans?
Economic refugees from other African countries lie about their
nationality to get fast-track approval of asylum. Yemane says many
Ethiopian migrants falsely claim Eritrean citizenship to gain
automatic asylum.
But the Ethiopian government has its own refugee problems to solve.
Security officials in Addis Ababa have arrested 200 Ethiopians on
charges of smuggling. They asked INTERPOL – the International Criminal
Police Organization - to help extradite 80 more for prosecution in
Ethiopian courts.
Yemane says some migrants bound for European asylum are imposters.
“People in this neighborhood - Ethiopians, Sudanese, Somalis and
others have claimed they are Eritrean to expedite their asylum
procedures.
“As far as minors are concerned the same thing goes. You look at
Ethiopia. Ethiopians are now at the heart of the human trafficking
network. There are a lot of people in northern Ethiopia, minors who
are going to Europe posing as Eritreans.”
Blaming conscription on a war economy
The Eritrean government’s view of its own recent history is that of a
small country forced to become a war economy when they fought a
two-year border war with Ethiopia. The war cost an estimated 100,000
lives and justified national service for anyone 18 or older. Some
refugees report that service lasted for many years and became the
instrument of punishment for critics of the state. Some have also
charged that those who serve their country become forced labor in
Eritrean gold mines operated by foreign firms.
However, Yemane says current government policy requires that the 17
mining companies operating in Eritrea cannot hire an Eritrean unless
he or she has a document proving they have been released from national
service.
Besides, Yemane says, national service is not just a standing army.
Teachers and nurses also serve
“National service doesn’t mean only people serving in the military. It
means people swerving mainly in the civilian sectors. So as you go to
our schools, our teachers – probably around 60 percent – are national
service members. They fulfill their national service obligation in our
educational system, teaching. If you go to our health system, our
hospitals and clinics and health centers, again a significant
percentage are national service members. If you look at our
agriculture, the people who are providing extension services to
farmers and giving them advice are national service people.”
An African affairs researcher who recently traveled to Asmara spoke
with Mr. Isaias and others in the Asmara government. She described a
“charm offensive” of officials looking to rid themselves of their old
image.
Yemane says post-war Eritrea will be different.
Predicting a five-year economic transformation
“War and its pain are restrictions on the society and the economy
because they, in a sense, take a priority at that time,” Yemane says.
“Now, that phase is coming to an end. We are entering a new phase of
growth and we believe that in the next three to five years the
Eritrean economy will see a significant transformation.
“We believe that in three to five years we will be able to provide job
opportunities for our young people. We are getting more and more
confident in the development prospects in Eritrea and that is leading
to this change.”
For the sake of economic development, the Eritrean government now
considers whether to give up its war economy and the longtime practice
of jailing its dissenters and its journalists. Meanwhile, the leaders
of the European Union struggle with the summer’s massive flow of
migrants and whether to still welcome future Eritreans who claim
political asylum.
Part 3 of a series on the risks of the dangerous trail to Europe, why
Eritreans are leaving home and whether policies in Europe and Eritrea
are changing.
Received on Fri Aug 21 2015 - 23:18:32 EDT