Demobilisation pilot phase completed

Nearly 3,600 female soldiers were discharged from the Eritrean army last week, bringing to an end the pilot phase of the national demobilisation and reintegration process (DRP).

The soldiers, who were mostly employed in national service jobs in government ministries and schools, were given their discharge papers in five different centres across the country.

Dr Tekeste Fekadu, the head of the National Commission for Demobilisation, told IRIN that more than 5,000 soldiers had been discharged during the pilot phase, which started one month ago. “It has gone very well so far and we would like to proceed with the rest of the programme as soon as possible,” he said.

The 5,000 male and female fighters are the first of 200,000 who are due to be discharged over the next two years, following the end of the border dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia. “The pilot phase was a test for the main programme, so we must first do an assessment of how it went, to see if we need to make any changes to our procedures before we start,” Tekeste told IRIN. The assessment would begin immediately, he added.

Under the DRP, members of the regular army, ex-fighters who were mobilised during the border war, and members of the national services and reserve army, are due to receive two months' food rations from the UN's World Food Programme when they are discharged. They will also be given money, medical tests and transport home.

In an attempt to ease their transition back to civilian life, there are also plans to offer advice about social and health issues such as HIV/AIDS, post-traumatic stress counselling and information about how to find work, continuation of education and learning new skills.

Since the beginning of the border war in 1998, more than 6 percent of Eritrea’s population has served in the armed forces. As a result both the civil service and private companies have suffered serious staff shortages.

In order to meet the urgent demand for manpower, the government plans to employ soldiers in local public works programmes - such as building dams, repairing roads and public buildings - while they await demobilisation.

The total cost of the DRP is likely to be around US $200 million, a proportion of which has already been pledged by the World Bank and other international donors.