Eritrean News Agency (ERINA)
ERINA Update
Friday, July 10, 1998
1. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia said yesterday that his government "has the unrestricted right to expel any foreigner from the country for any reason whatsoever." In an interview on Ethiopian television, the Ethiopian Prime Minister said, "Any foreigner, whether Eritrean, Japanese, etc., lives in Ethiopia because of the goodwill of the Ethiopian government. If the Ethiopian government says 'Go, because we don't like the colour of your eyes,' they have to leave." In a bid to justify these alarming and extremist statements unbecoming of any Head of Government, Prime Minister Meles said expelling foreign citizens was the "unrestricted right" of any state and was not "linked in any way with the issue of human rights." He further revealed that any criticism, like that of the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Mary Robinson, would not deter Ethiopia from expelling Eritreans. As the Prime Minister spoke on television, the government of Ethiopia started a new wave of massive arrests of Eritreans from Ethiopia. Hundreds of Eritreans were arrested yesterday night and today. These include the families of Eritreans who have already been deported to Eritrea. Previously, the government of Ethiopia had said that the families of those deported could stay in Ethiopia if they wished. Now, however, they are being arrested, many separated from their under-age children and with no one to look after their property. To date, over 6,000 Eritreans have arrived in Eritrea after having been deported from Ethiopia. Almost all are permanent residents who have lived in Ethiopia for decades. Many are Ethiopian citizens who were expelled because of their ethnic origin.