1. The Government of Ethiopia is expelling thousands of Eritreans from the country. It is also firing thousands of others from their jobs. Those being evicted include elected officials and many members of Eritrean community organizations as well as many business people. Many have already been called to police stations, interrogated and told to leave within two days. The thousands that are being expelled from their jobs are mainly technicians and experts who have been loyally serving the Ethiopian government for many years.
The Eritreans who are being expelled are mostly permanent residents, who have lived in Ethiopia for decades. Many others hold Ethiopian citizenship.
The mass expulsion of Eritreans by the Ethiopian government constitutes a gross violation of human rights. It is victimizing peaceful and law abiding people. It is creating a climate of insecurity among all Eritreans living in Ethiopia.
An official Ethiopian statement has said that the Eritreans are being
expelled because they pose a security threat to Ethiopia. This is totally unfounded. The real reason is Ethiopia's extremely cynical and dangerous attempt to play the nationalist card by pandering to the extremist elements who have not yet accepted Eritrea's independence.
Ethiopia's decision to expel Eritreans en masse is the latest and as yet the most irresponsible attempt to turn the conflict between the two countries into discord between two peoples. Earlier, it closed Eritrean consulates, limited Eritrean diplomatic staff in the Eritrean Embassy to two diplomats, detained over twenty local staff of the Embassy. The Eritrean diplomats who were expelled were searched and harassed before they left the country, in violation of the Vienna Accords on Diplomatic Relations. Ethiopia has also been arresting and torturing thousands of peaceful Eritreans throughout the country.
The Eritrean Foreign Ministry has issued a statement today calling on
the international community to denounce Ethiopia's gross violation of human rights.