Italian ambassador asked to leave

The government of Eritrea has asked Antonio Bandini, the Italian ambassador in Asmara, to leave the country following European Union (EU) protests over alleged human rights violations in Eritrea in the last two weeks. The Italian foreign ministry in Rome said on Sunday that Eritrea had singled out Italy for punishment, because, as the former colonial power in Eritrea, its ambassador traditionally acted as the dean of the EU diplomatic corps, the BBC reported on Monday.

The EU ambassadors had lodged an official protest to the Eritrean government last week following the arrest of 11 former members of Eritrea's ruling party, the indefinite closure of the country's independent press, and the arrest of independent journalists. The 11 political leaders arrested were all members of the so-called G-15 reform group, who were dismissed from their government posts in May after signing an open letter of protest critical of President Isayas Aferwerki's allegedly autocratic style of government. At least seven journalists working for the independent press, which in recent months had become a forum for a reform debate going on in the country, have also been arrested.

Meanwhile, EU member states are to summon Eritrean ambassadors in their countries to make a joint protest about the expulsion of Ambassador Bandini, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported on Monday. AFP quotes an EU spokesman as saying that "all of the EU member states are going to be taking the same action, because the action that the Eritreans took was directed at the EU, not just against Italy".