Protests against European resolution

Eritreans around the world have been protesting against a resolution issued by the European Parliament last month accusing Eritrea of human rights violations. 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". In the French city of Strasbourg, home to the European Parliament, about 2,000 Eritreans held a peaceful demonstration this week to express "anger and dismay" at the resolution, the US-based Eritrean website Dehai said. They called on the Parliament to "rescind its hasty resolution" and to "respect Eritrea's sovereignty and territorial integrity". Their sentiments were echoed in other European countries and in the US. A petition signed by 9,000 Eritreans was handed over to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Dehai said. The petition claimed the European Parliament had failed "to take into consideration the facts on the ground". It stressed that the country's democratisation and development had been hampered by the two-year border war with Ethiopia, and said the recent National Assembly session in Asmara "had addressed the issues raised". In Kenya, the huge Eritrean community complained via the European Commission against the "extreme and unjustified" resolution. "The resolution does not take stock of the situation the average Eritrean in Eritrea finds himself in nowadays," the community said in an open letter. It expressed anger over the "illegal action" taken by the European Parliament which, it said, was "tantamount to interference in the domestic affairs of our country". "We call on the European Commission to pay more attention to the endeavours of Eritrea to re-emerge from the destructive war with Ethiopia, and continue the development partnership between Europe and Eritrea, which the European Parliament failed to do," the letter stated. Independent observers told IRIN it was important for Eritreans "to know they're known outside their own borders, that what they do in the 'privacy' of their own country is being watched...and will have lasting effects on the way their country is handled in the future". But, the observers added, there had to be some balance and an attempt to place events in an "Eritrean context". "The donor countries certainly have legitimate demands about democratisation and human rights, but there are also often other issues, deep, internal issues in developing countries, which don't always mesh with the demand for immediate gratification by the donors," said one NGO worker with many years' experience in Eritrea.