Eritrean News Agency ERINA Update
Wednesday, June 17, 1998
1. As the Ethiopian government continues to pursue its witch-hunt of
Eritreans with greater intensity, 800 expelled Eritreans have arrived at the Eritrean border town of Om Hajer in the southwestern tip of the country. they were sent through the most arduous and longest route to Eritrea. Meanwhile, reports coming from several sources indicate that thousands of Eritreans have been rounded up and are being held in a place called Guellele in the suburbs of the capital, Addis Abeba. The whereabouts of those arrested in other Ethiopian towns such as Mekelle, Bahr Dar, and Dessie is not known. There are fears for the lives of these people as there is no countervailing pressure from foreign embassies and international agencies in these areas. Moreover, the Ethiopian Government continues to reject express demands from the international community to publish the full list of those it has arrested as well as those it is expelling.
2. Ethiopia's state-run Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission has issued an appeal for "27,000 tones of food, blankets, tents, plastic sheeting and household goods." This is purportedly to assist the
"300,000 displaced people." This figure is suspect and must be verified as the sole source of it is the Ethiopian regime which is notoriously generous with its facts and figures. With the forced conscription campaign that the regime has launched in Tigray under full swing, its intention to use humanitarian assistance for its war effort cannot be ruled out. Indeed, the Commission's unabashed preference "for cash that should be sent to the government account number in the National Bank" betrays its sinister intentions.