1. Another group of Eritreans deported from Ethiopia arrived yesterday at the port city of Assab. The 470 Eritreans, including 114 children, came from different parts of Ethiopia and had been in detention for up to three months. Many of the deportees were public servants and owners of small and large-scale enterprises and had lived in Ethiopia for up to forty years. The deportees said some Eritreans among them were taken away by Ethiopian officials on the way to Assab. This brings the total number of Eritreans expelled from Ethiopia to around 16,000.

2. Reports from Addis Ababa indicate that the Ethiopian government has initiated another mass arrest of Eritrean youth in towns surrounding Addis Ababa. The fate of these Eritreans is uncertain, as is the status of some 1,206 Eritreans being detained in the remote military camp of Blattien, 350 km. southwest of Addis Ababa. It is uncertain whether the Ethiopian government intends to deport these Eritreans or continue detaining them indefinitely. The Eritrean government has been unable to ascertain the condition of these detainees.

3. A group of over thirty international, national and regional student and youth organizations meeting at the World Youth Festival in Costa di Caparica, Portugal, signed last week an urgent appeal to the Ethiopian government. The various organizations expressed their concern over "the continuing violation of human rights of Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin who have lived in Ethiopia for generations." The urgent appeal from the World Youth Festival called upon the Ethiopian government to respect the rights of non-discrimination and freedom of movement and to immediately release
85 Eritrean exchange students from detention and guarantee them freedom of movement. The Festival participants also appealed to the government of Ethiopia to stop arbitrary arrests, imprisonment, torture, and mass expulsions and called upon both Ethiopia and Eritrea to accept urgent cessation of hostilities, and to start unconditional peace talks.

4. Ethiopian radio reported that the Ethiopian national football team will not be playing the Eritrean national team on August 23 in Egypt. The Eritrean Football Federation said it has not received a formal notice from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) about Ethiopia's withdrawal from the African Cup qualifying match. The Ethiopian Football Federation said they would not participate in any sporting event with Eritrea while Eritrea occupies territories disputed in the border conflict. Sources close to the federation said a possible reason for Ethiopia's withdrawal could have to do with fears that team members may defect. The Ethiopian national team has attracted attention in the last eight years when, on at least two different occasions, team members used away matches as opportunities to seek asylum in the West. According to CAF regulations, a no-show by Ethiopia will result in their forfeit of that match. The Eritrean team is already in Egypt training for the game.

Veronica Rentmeesters, Information Officer

Embassy of Eritrea to the US
1708 New Hampshire Ave NW, Washington DC 20009, USA TEL: 202 588 7587 FAX: 202 319 1304
E-M: veronicX@embassyeritrea.org

Eritrea Online / Dehai Homepage