Government slams European Parliament resolution

Eritrea has strongly criticised a resolution adopted by the European Parliament which accuses Asmara of human rights violations and says President Isayas Afewerki is ruling the country "with an iron grip". The resolution, adopted on 7 February, expressed concern over the "authoritarian trend" in the country, highlighting the arrests of prominent dissidents, the ban on the private press, non-implementation of the constitution, and failure to hold parliamentary elections. It also condemned Eritrea's expulsion of the Italian ambassador last September and demanded his "immediate reinstatement". The resolution also called for an "inter-Eritrean national conference" bringing together political leaders and civil society representatives "with a view to finding a solution to the current crisis and to setting the country on the path to democracy and sustainable development". But in a strongly worded statement, the Eritrean government said it was dismayed by the "unfair and unjustified" resolution adopted by the European Parliament. "The resolution, which is replete with gross misrepresentation of facts, raises serious questions of intent," the statement, issued by the foreign ministry, said. It rejected accusations in the resolution which said the recently held Eritrean National Assembly session had decided to prohibit the formation of political parties in the country. The Eritrean statement said it was the "view of the population" that ratification of the law on political parties should be postponed. "The European Parliament has the liberty to disagree with the decision of the National Assembly, but it cannot question the constitutionality of the act," the government statement said. It also denied that the dissidents were arrested because they were "advocates of democratic reform", saying they had committed "grave crimes", including "conspiracy to oust the president illegally, unlawful liaison... with the Ethiopian government, and continuous acts of sedition". "The government of Eritrea is extremely saddened by this behaviour [of the European Parliament] and calls on the European Parliament to redress the damage done," the statement concluded. The European Union is Eritrea's leading development partner, and there is now a question mark over the degree of assistance Eritrea can expect. Denmark has already announced it will not provide further bilateral aid after 2005.