Stockholm : Fires hit Pro-Eritrea (PFDJ) community compounds

Three Eritrean compounds In Tapiola in Solna, north of Stockholm exposed during Monday morning.
 Arson investigations have been launched into three fires that broke out near Stockholm. in the early hours of Monday morning in three separate locations, all of which house organizations that sympathize with the regime in Eritrea.
All the fires broke out within hours of one another, with emergency services first getting a call shortly after 1am about a fire in Hogdalen south of Stockholm.

A second fire was reported in Solna, just north of the city, around 2.30am, followed thirty minutes later by reports of a third fire in Husby, also north of central Stockholm.

More than 50 people were evacuated from their homes as a result of the fires, which were eventually brought under control thanks to the efforts of dozens of firefighters.

The fires all erupted in offices housing organizations that support the regime in Eritrea, the TT news agency reported, although no representatives from the organizations were willing to be quoted by name about the incidents.

However, one person active in the Husby-based organization who wished to remain anonymous due to fears of reprisals said he was "100 percent certain" the fires were "political".

"It's those damn traitors who are behind this," he told TT, referring to Eritrean-Swedes who "hate their country" and often demonstrate against events organized in support of the current Eritrean regime.

Tensions have been running high between groups loyal to the Eritrean government and those critical of the regime of Eritrean president Isaias Afewerki.
When pro-regime actions are held in Sweden, opposition groups often stage counter-demonstrations, according to TT.

Regime critics in turn often blame the Eritrean authorities for engaging in threats and blackmail in order to squeeze tax money from Eritreans in exile.

Preliminary investigations into arson have been opened for all three fires, with police confirming that the Husby and Högdalen blazes were intentionally set, while forensic teams continue to investigate the scene of the fire in Solna.

However, police have refrained from confirming that the fires are connected.

"In Högdalen, the fire broke out in a building that houses an Eritrean organization, as well as several other companies. As far as I know, there is no connection to the fire in a laundry room in Husby. We're obviously looking into any connection, but for the moment we don't see one," police spokesman Mats Eriksson told the Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper.

Swedish-Eritrean MP Arhe Hamednaca, who is critical of the authoritarian regime in Eritrea, told TT he doesn't think the Eritrean democratic opposition is responsible.

"It could be a group siding with the government that wants to drag the opposition through the mud; they're known for doing that," he told TT.

He explained that supporters of the regime are desperate following an uprising among troops in Eritrea that took place about a month ago as well as recent reports in the Swedish media about how the regime has been threatening Eritreans in Sweden.

Last week, three people were arrested in Stockholm on suspicion of blackmail and conspiring to commit murder in a case believed to be connected to the Eritrean regime's systematic oppression of Eritreans living in exile.
 

3 Eritreans arrested in Stockholm

Two men and one woman have been arrested in Stockholm on suspicion of blackmail and conspiring to commit murder in a case believed to be connected to the Eritrean regime's systematic oppression of Eritreans living in exile.

 The three suspects allegedly presented extortion demands from kidnappers in Egypt and told their victims that their relatives would be killed unless they paid huge sums for their release.

The threats persisted for weeks until the three were arrested earlier this week.

According to Krister Peterson, chief prosecutor at the International Public Prosecution Office, several similar crimes have been reported in Sweden in the past.

Eritreans in Sweden have claimed that hundreds of families in Sweden have been targeted by kidnappers operating in the Sinai desert in Egypt, reported news agency TT.

Many similar cases have also been reported in other countries, including Norway.

"There is a suspicion that Eritrean refugees have been kidnapped while fleeing the country and that people in Sweden have then been forced to pay for their release," said Peterson.

TT reported that at least seven Swedish Eritrean families were targeted last year by a high-ranking Eritrean military officer.

He reportedly kidnapped relatives of the families in Eritrea,brought them to the Sudanese border and then demanded that the families pay $7,000 within 24 hours or the relatives would be handed over to kidnappers in Egypt.

One woman told TT that her 16-year-old brother was abducted in Sudan a few months ago and brought to another group of kidnappers in Sinai.

"They called once every half hour while they were beating him and demanded $38,000...We had to pay to save his life", the woman said.

One month later, the kidnappers released the 16-year-old near the Israeli border. He is now being held in Israel  and it is unclear what will happen to him next, according to the woman.

A 2012 United Nations report described how generals from the Eritrean army liaise with kidnappers in Sinai, earning millions from kidnappings, human trafficking, and arms trading.

"The criminal network smuggles Eritrean migrants and Eritrean weapons, often in the same vehicle," the UN report says.

"Once they arrive in Sudan or Sinai the Eritrean migrants are taken hostage and are tortured, raped or killed, while their kidnappers demand on average between $30,000 and $40,000 in ransom, which is often negotiated with the help of Eritrean middlemen."

Investigators from the UN arrived in Sweden this week to gather testimonies from Swedish Eritreans. They are also interested in how Eritrea continues to collect taxes from Eritreans living in exile, often through intimidation and blackmail.

The UN has enforced sanctions against Eritrea because of the country's support for armed groups in the Horn of Africa, including the terrorist-labelled al-Shabaab in Somalia .

Eritreans being forced out of Israel ; UN representative

UNHCR representative William Tall.

Israel is returning Eritrean asylum-seekers to Africa under false pretenses and breaking international law, a UN official said in comments published Monday

Israel’s claim that illegal Eritrean migrants have voluntarily agreed to repatriation to their homeland is false, and the government actions are in violation of international law, a UN official was quoted as saying.

William Tall, the representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Israel, told Haaretz that Israel’s claim that illegal Eritrean migrants have voluntarily agreed to repatriation does not match the reality on the ground.

He said he visited the prisons where Eritrean nationals are being held and heard what Israel has offered. “Agreement to return to Eritrea under an ultimatum of jail … can’t be considered voluntary by any criterion. It is explicitly not voluntary return,” Tall said.

Under the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, of which Israel is a signatory, countries cannot return refugees or asylum-seekers to their country of origin against their will if they feel threatened there.

Thousands of Eritreans and other Africans have entered Israel illegally over the past decade, claiming asylum-seeker status. Israel rarely grants refugee status and has made attempts to repatriate the Africans over the past year, including giving them payouts in exchange for leaving.

Last week, Haaretz reported that several Eritreans currently in Israeli jails testified that Interior Ministry immigration officials gave them the choice of “voluntarily” returning home or remaining in prison for three years.

eritrean asylum seekers in South Tel Aviv

In June, the Population and Immigration Authority, which is part of the Interior Ministry, decided in coordination with the Shin Bet that illegal migrants who cross into Israel from Egypt will be detained for periods of up to three years, rather than being permitted to move into Israeli cities.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has labeled the Eritrean government as totalitarian and in violation of human rights.

According to the UN High Commissioners annual report for 2011, 74% of Eritrean applicants for refugee status outside of Israel do receive the protection.

“The government needs to provide an Eritrean access to sanctuary. That’s not happening,” said Tall. “We are concerned that these returns will be made under pressure …under no circumstances can return under threat of imprisonment, without any access to the asylum apparatus, be considered voluntary.”

The entry of African migrants has been almost completely stanched by the construction of a barrier along Israel’s border with Egypt. The number of migrants from Africa illegally entering Israel dropped from over 2,000 in January 2012 to 36 in December. All 36 of the migrants were arrested and taken to a recently constructed detention facility in the Negev desert.

In mid-2012, several incidents of violence against migrants were reported, especially in the south Tel Aviv area, including two cases in which anti-migrant activists hurled Molotov cocktails at apartments occupied by migrants.

Eritrean dictator condemns Egyptian shoot-to-kill policy

Eritrea has sent a complaint to the UN Security Council complaining about Egyptian security's shoot-to-kill policy of Eritrean refugees attempting to cross illegally Egyptian borders into Israel, diplomatic sources in New York tell Ahram Online.

Eritrean tand near the border fence between Israel and Egypt (sep. 2012)

the Eritrean complaint, which was signed by President Isaias Afewerki, suggested that Egyptian authorities are opting for a bloody approach to border control that, in the words of the letter, "violates human rights."
This is the second complaint to be forwarded to the UN Security Council about Sinai in less than six months. Last summer Israel complained about a lack of security and border control in Sinai, claiming that the situation undermined Israeli security.
Israel is less upset now with Egypt on Sinai, and according to New York diplomats it is not objecting to the border control mechanism that Eritrea is complaining about. On the contrary, according to one Egyptian diplomat, Israel "is speaking rather positively about the efforts of Egypt to check Islamist militant operations in Sinai, even if it is underlining the need for more to be done."
During the past few weeks, Egyptian military and police forces upgraded their operations in Sinai. On the one hand, Islamist militant groups have been attacked, and on the other, illicit tunnels built between the long-besieged and impoverished Gaza Strip and Sinai for the smuggling of all sorts of commodities, including basic needs, have been flooded by Egyptian forces.

Egyptian forces arrest  militants after a firefight at the al-Goura settlement in Egypt's Sinai region ( Sep.2012)

"Sinai is not clean yet. It would take much more work to clean it completely, and it is not easy," said a security source who works in Sinai.
According to this source, there are two reasons why Sinai remains troubled. The first is what he qualifies as "a not so forthcoming willingness on the side of the presidency to apply a firm approach towards Islamists". The second reason, which the source says is more important, are "the strong links between Islamists and Sinai tribes" based on "financial interests and sympathy." "It is the tribes that provide them with refuge and ways of escape," he added.
Last August, some 17 Egyptian borders guards were attacked and killed by Islamists during a Ramadan breakfast. Following the attack, President Mohamed Morsi removed the head and his deputy in the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF).
 Today, the Egyptian mission in New York is trying to convince members of the UN Security Council that the killing of Eritrean refugees by security forces in Sinai "is not at all deliberate." Meanwhile, the army is still trying to contain the restive Islamist militant spots in the peninsula.
"Sinai is a tough challenge because we know that the only way to fix the situation there is to pump in massive investment. But there are no investment offers coming our way and our economy is far too frail to allow the state to start a Sinai development scheme that is already there," said a government source.
He added that for the near future Sinai would remain a security rather than "development" file, "even though we know this is not the right approach."

Dawit Isaac Case Presented to African Commissioner

Reporters Without Borders welcomes the referral of the case of imprisoned Swedish-Eritrean journalist and writer Mr. Dawit Isaak to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR). Dawit Isaak's case will be discussed this week during the Commission's extra-ordinary session 18-25 February in Banjul, The Gambia.
"The fact that the Commission has taken up our request means that it has found our submission substantial. It is an important first step in what I hope will result in a ruling against Eritrea. In that case, the Commission, who is the African Union´s main human rights body, will demand the release of Dawit Isaak", says Swedish lawyer Jesús Alcalá.

Free dawit poster released by Swedish government

Mr. Jesús Alcalá will personally attend the session. Together with lawyers Mr. Percy Bratt and Ms. Prisca Orsonneau, Mr. Alcalá sent a writ for Habeas Corpus to the Eritrean High Court, in June 2011, on behalf of Mr. Dawit Isaak who has been imprisoned since 2001 without charge, trial or sentence.
The Eritrean Government has previously stated before the ACHPR that Habeas Corpus is a principle respected in Eritrea and that the Eritrean Courts are independent. The High Court, however, has refused to hear the case.
According to the principle of Habeas Corpus every prisoner has the right to meet a judge and have his say. The judge will then decide whether the imprisonment as such is legal or not.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights has been created by the African Union to protect and promote human rights and to interpret the African Charter. The eleven commissioners can try whether Eritrea respects Human Rights and the African Charter the country has ratified. They can also demand explanations to the Eritrean Government as the writ shows the imprisonment of Mr. Dawit Isaak runs counter to Eritrean law and is in breach of several African and international conventions.
He has neither been charged nor sentenced. He is kept in solitary confinement and denied the right to meet his family, his lawyer, Swedish diplomats or the International Red Cross. He has been in custody for more than eleven years. Had Eritrean law been respected he would have been charged within a month or otherwise set free.
Mr. Dawit Isaak's life is in grave danger. Several colleagues of his have died in prison. An investigation made by Reporters Without Borders last August reported the death of three journalists arrested around the same time as Mr. Dawit Isaak.

Eritrean Football Team given asylum in Uganda

Eritrean national team during cecafa 2012 in Uganda

Uganda has granted asylum to the 15 players from the Eritrea football team and the team doctor who absconded in the country in December during the 2012 Cecafa Tusker Senior Challenge Cup.

Apollo David Kazungu, the Commissioner for Refugees in the Office of the Prime Minister in Uganda, said on Monday that the Refugee Eligibility Committee had found the group's claims valid and granted them refugee status.
The Eritrean team had been eliminated in the tournament in the early stages after drawing with Zanzibar 0-0, losing 3-2 to Malawi and being beaten 2-0 by Rwanda in their last match on Saturday.
Instead of boarding the next plane out of Uganda, 17 players and officials left their Sky Hotel reportedly to go shopping, but only three returned to Asmara.
"This is very good news if they have finally been sorted by the relevant authorities. But next time teams should come and play football and return to their countries," said Uganda Football Association's vice-president in charge of youth, Patrick Ogwel.
Kazungu explained that two of the players who had applied for asylum returned home, but the rest refused to return because they feared they would be conscripted into military training.
He also revealed that although the Eritrean players have been granted asylum, they have not been relocated to the resettlement camp because they prefer to stay around Kampala.
Kazungu explained that the Ugandan government's policy is not to force any refugee into the settlement camps, adding that it is acceptable for the Eritreans to stay in an urban setting like Kampala if they can afford to.
After the 2010 Cecafa tournament in Tanzania, 13 players from Eritrea's team also disappeared and defected. Several of those players have since reappeared in Houston, Texas under a refugee resettlement programme in the United States.

Eritrean asylum seekers to deported

Protest against the internment of refugees, Saharonim prison, 31.8.2012

STOP THE DEPORTATION OF 25 ERITREAN ASLYUM SEEKERS FROM ISRAEL TO ERITREA OR UGANDA

“Your Only Way Out of the Israeli Prison is to Uganda or Eritrea” Immigration Authorities to Eritrean Asylum Seekers detained in Saharonim

25 Eritrean asylum seekers are in imminent danger of being deported back to Eritrea from Saharonim detention center in Israel. Israeli authorities in the facility told the asylum seekers that the only way they would ever get of the Israeli prison would be to go to Eritrea or Uganda. These individuals are currently being held under the Anti-Infiltration Law which mandates their automatic detention for a minimum of three years without trial.
Being released as an asylum seeker or refugee is impossible as prisoners lack access to the forms the Ministry of Interior requires to begin the RSD process. Therefore, after months of detention, many individuals have signed forms saying they want to go to Uganda and a very few have signed saying they want to go to Eritrea.
News reaching human rights groups over the last few days make it seem that even individuals who had signed to go to Uganda are now in the process of being deported to Eritrea. We are unsure exactly when/if the deportations will take place, but we do fear that it could happen over the next week.
Amnesty International is very concerned for the fate of Eritrean asylum seekers who are returned to Eritrea. The Eritrean government considers any request for asylum in other countries to be an act of treason. Eritreans who are forcibly returned to Eritrea face a real risk of being subjected to violations, including incommunicado detention, torture and other forms of serious ill treatment. In addition, detention conditions in Eritrea are appalling, and in themselves amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Returning asylum seekers to Eritrea is a clear violation of the principle of non-refoulement and the 1951 Refugee Convention.

Stand for Eritrean asylum seekers 

Action 1:
Please Email your local Israeli embassy or consulate.
You can find a list of their offices here: embassy.goabroad.com/embassies-of/israel
EMAIL TEMPLATE:
ATTENTION: Amnon Ben-Ami, Head of Israeli Immigration Authority
Dear Mr Ben-Ami,
I am writing to express my grave concern over the potential deportation of Eritrean asylum seekers from detention to Eritrea or Uganda. I have become aware that many Israeli human rights groups have been contacted by several asylum seekers on this issue.
I am very concerned for the fate of Eritrean asylum seekers returned to Eritrea. Seeking asylum abroad is considered by the Eritrean government to be an act of treason. Eritreans forcibly returned to Eritrea face a real risk of being subjected to violations, including incommunicado detention, torture and other forms of serious ill-treatment. In addition, detention conditions in Eritrea are appalling, and in themselves amount to cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment. Returns of asylum seekers to Eritrea is a clear violation of the principle of non-refoulement and the 1951 Refugee Convention.
As a member of the international community living in Israel I urge you to respect the principle of non-refoulement and cancel any plans of deportation of Eritrean asylum seekers back to Eritrea. These Eritreans should be given access to fair and transparent refugee status determination proceedings in accordance with international standards.
Yours sincerely,
(Your name here)
Action 2
Please email Amnon Ben-Ami’s assistants at these email addresses and cc your local Israeli consulate in these emails: galito@moin.gov.il, rose@moin.gov.il, tamarm@moin.gov.il, doveret@moin.gov.il
Action 3
Call your local consulate or the Embassy in DC and tell them that you are very concerned about this.

Eritrean dictator calls for UN investigation into trafficking of Eritreans

The President of the State of Eritrea, Isaias Afwerki, yesterday called for the United Nations to launch an independent and transparent investigation on Human Trafficking against Eritreans which he described it as something that goes from "bad to worse." In his letter addressed to UN chife Ban Ki - Moon , he vowed that, in collaboration with the world body ,his country will do all it can to stem and eliminatethe perpetrators who commit such a  hideous crime against its citizens.
 [Read below the letter:]
   
H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-Moon
Secretary General
The United Nations
New York
Dear Mr. Secretary General,
For the past ten years or so, Eritrea has remained to be a target of malicious and concerted practices of “human trafficking“. This despicable ploy was unleashed in tandem with the decision to block the implementation of the “final and binding” arbitration decision of the border dispute, and, is part and parcel of the war declared against the country. This crime, which is unparalleled in its magnitude, complex organization as well as immense suffering that it inculcates on its victims, continues to increase from bad to worse.
The architects of this scourge have further resorted to various schemes, under suitable labels  to conceal and disguise the crime as well as their real identity. Indeed, the latter machinations are not less – in intensity and impact – than the original crime.
As Your Excellency will agree with me, the Government of Eritrea has statutory obligations, as well as universal morale and humanitarian responsibilities, to stem and eliminate the perpetration of the hideous “slavery” and flagrant violation of human rights meted on its citizens. In the event, the Government of Eritrea emphatically requests the UN to launch an independent and transparent investigation of this abominable affair so as to bring to justice the culpable parties.
Sincerely
Isaias Afwerki

Canada condemns abuse of Eritrean refugees in Sudan, Egypt

The Canadian government has condemned reported kidnapping, torture and human trafficking of Eritrean refugees in Sudan and Egypt.
The condemnation comes one day after approximately 150 Eritrean protestors marched around downtown Ottawa Monday, calling on the Canadian government to condemn the human rights abuses and kidnappings. The march was led by Eritrean-Canadian Human Rights Group in Ottawa and made stops at Parliament Hill, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR) office, and the Egyptian and Sudanese embassies.
According to media reports, Eritrean refugees are being captured by in Sudan by Rashaida, an Arab ethic group, and sold to Bedouins in Egypt’s Sinai Desert. Aaron Berhane, media representative for the Eritrean-Canadian group, said refugees face sexual exploitation, forced marriage, bonded labour and even organ harvesting if ransoms are not paid. “They kidnap them, ask them to pay a ransom money from thirty to thirty-five thousand (dollars),” said Berhane. “If they are not able to pay that, they just steal their organs. Some of them survive, some do not. They torture them until they pay that ransom money.”
Behane said the kidnappings have been occurring for at least four years, and that organs removed from Eritrean victims are sold all over the world.
Along with the condemnation, the Canadian government also put pressure on Egypt and Sudan to protect Eritrean refugees.
“Canada encourages the Government of Egypt to work with the UNHCR to ensure that those in need of protection have access to it,” said the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in an email. “Canada is particularly concerned by the human rights and humanitarian situations in Sudan and calls on the Government of Sudan to respect their international legal obligations in protecting the rights of those living within their borders.”
On Tuesday, a letter from Eritrean President Afewerk posted on an Eritrean news website asked the UN Secretary General to conduct an “independent and transparent investigation” into the alleged human trafficking.
“This crime, which is unparalleled in its magnitude, complex organization as well as immense suffering that it inculcates on its victims, continues to increase from bad to worse,” read the letter.
Behane said the group is also asking the UNHCR to do more to stop the kidnappings. The UNHCR acknowledged the problem last month.
“Over the last two years we have seen people disappearing from the Shagarab camps — some of them kidnapped, and others believed paying to be smuggled elsewhere,” said Melissa Fleming, spokesperson for the UNHCR in a press release Jan. 25.
Fleming said the UNHCR’s Sudan office reported that 619 people left the camps in the past two years, in addition to unconfirmed cases, but distinguishing between voluntary and forced departures is difficult. She said the UNHCR is working with the Sudanese authorities, the International Organization for Migration and other humanitarian agencies to reduce the risk of kidnappings in the region.

Sudan president 1st head of state to visit Eritrea after Asmara mutiny

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir held talks with his Eritrean counterpart Issaias Afeworki on Saturday, official media reported, on a visit to Asmara just days after a protest by mutinous soldiers there.

Omar al-Beshir (left) Isaias Afwerki (right) last year in Khartoum

Troops demanding political reform briefly seized the information ministry in the Eritrean capital on January 21 in a rare challenge to the one-party authoritarian regime that borders Sudan.
Official television in Khartoum showed pictures of Bashir sitting and talking with Issaias in Eritrea during the visit which lasted less than a day.
"The leaders of the two states confirmed that they will continue their consultations to improve peace and stability and relations between them," the television report said.
It showed pictures of Khartoum's Minister of Defence Abdelrahim Mohammed Hussein, intelligence chief Mohamed Atta al-Moula and other officials who accompanied Bashir.
Eritrea's ambassador to the African Union Girma Asmerom has said that reports of a coup earlier this month were "wishful thinking".
Opposition parties are banned under the regime of Issaias, who has ruled the Horn of Africa nation since its independence in 1993.
Independent media were shut down after a political purge in 2001, and Eritrea expelled the last registered foreign correspondent in 2010.
In eastern Sudan last year the UN said that about 2,000 asylum-seekers were arriving at the Shagarab refugee camp every month, most of them from Eritrea, where many have fled to avoid military service.

Traffickers attacking Eritrean refugees in Sudan

Eritrean refugees in Sudan are living in fear of further attacks after several were kidnapped last week from the Shagarab camp complex, 70km west of the Eritrean border, rights groups say.
Since 2009, human traffickers have snatched thousands of Eritrean refugees from camps in eastern Sudan for ransom, sexual exploitation, forced marriage and bonded labour.

The refugees are captured by Rashaida, an Arabic group that straddles Sudan and Eritrea, and sold to Egyptian Bedouins from the Sinai Desert.

The Shagarab camp . East Sudan

“They torture them, beat them and starve them so as to prompt their relatives to pay ransom money which can range from $35,000 to $50,000,” said Million Berhe, who works with Gandhi, an Italian charity that supports trafficking victims.
“Those unable to pay are killed. Others - their organs are harvested in what is now a very rife organ-trafficking ring,” she told AlertNet.
On Jan. 22, fighting broke out at the Shagarab camps after the abductions, with angry residents attacking others they believed were responsible.
“The traffickers then came back with reinforcements and, heavily armed, started shooting and attacking the refugees,” said Berhe.
Eventually, the police intervened. “According to my sources in the camp, the traffickers are now waiting for an opportunity to attack the camp again and kill the refugees,” she said.
WOMEN GANG-RAPED
The Shagarab camp complex hosts almost 30,000 people and receives about 2,000 new asylum seekers each month.
Eastern Sudan has taken in tens of thousands of Eritreans who have fled persecution and military conscription in the authoritarian Horn of Africa nation over generations.
Refugees are often kidnapped while moving between different sections of the sprawling camp. And women are gang-raped, sometimes by up to 12 men at a time, according to Meron Estefanos, a radio presenter with Radio Erena, who has interviewed hundreds of the hostages. The radio station broadcasts from Sweden to Eritrea.
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) acknowledges the problem but says it does not have the power to stop the kidnappings.
“Over the last two years we have seen people disappearing from the Shagarab camps – some of them kidnapped, and others believed (to be) paying to be smuggled elsewhere,” UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said last week.
“UNHCR calls on all national and international actors to step up efforts to counter criminal groups seeking to exploit refugees and asylum-seekers and to reduce the risks of kidnapping, smuggling and trafficking of people,” she told a briefing in Geneva.
UNHCR is providing funds to strengthen the police presence around the camps, and is helping the refugees set up community-based policing to reduce the risk of abduction.
The U.N. agency recorded 551 people leaving the camps last year, although it could not tell whether their departure was forced or voluntary, Fleming said.

Eritrea blocks Al Jazeera

Eritrean government has blocked Al Jazeera channel in the country, The ban comes in the wake of reports that were aired by the Doha-based news network about dissident soldiers that seized the Eritrean information ministry in January.

 

In solidarity with the soldiers, Eritreans staged protests in front of their embassies in Cairo, Rome, London as well as the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa.
“This (ban) is a reaction to coverage of protests against the Eritrean government that were carried out in different parts of the world,” according to the Arabic daily.
The Eritrean information ministry blocked all Al Jazeera channels and issued a decree that prevents anyone in the country from giving access to the news channel to the public.
“The ruling was sent to all government institutions as well as public places such as hotels, restaurants and cafes in different towns and villages,” the report said.
Earlier yesterday, The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister H E Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor Al Thani sent a written message to the Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki pertaining to the bilateral relations of both countries, QNA reported.

ኤርትራ ውያን ኣብ ዓዲ እንግሊዝ፡ ንምንቅስቓስ ሓይልታት ምክላኻል ኤርትራ ብምድጋፍ ኣብ ፊት ኤምባሲ ኤርትራ ሰላማዊ ሰልፊ ኣካይዶም

"ሎሚ ኣብ ፎርቶ፡ ጽባሕ ኣብ ኮምብሽታቶ''

ኤርትራ ውያን ደለይቲ ለውጢ ኣብ ዓዲ እንግሊዝ፡ ንምንቅስቓስ ሓይልታት ምክላኻል ኤርትራ ብምድጋፍ ኣብ ፊት ኤምባሲ ስርዓት ህግደፍ ውዕዉዕ ሰላማዊ ሰልፊ ኣካይዶም። ካብ ዝተፈላለያ ከተማታት ዓዲ እንግሊዝ ናብ ለንደን ዝወሓዙ መንእሰያት ዝበዝሑዎም ኤርትራውያን ደለይቲ ለውጢ፡ ነቲ ምዑታት ኣባላት ሓይልታት ምክልኻል ኤርትራ ኣብ ውሽጢ ኤርትራ ዘካየዱዎ ዲሞክራስያዊ ለውጢ ዝጠልብ ምንቅስቓስ ዘለዎም ደገፍ ንምግላጽን፡ ውድቀት ምልካዊ ስርዓት ህግደፍ ንምጽዋዕን፡ ሎሚ 1 ለካቲት፡ ኣብ ለንደን፡ ኣብ ፊት ኤምባሲ ስርዓት ህግደፍ ውዕዉዕን ዕዉትን ሰላማዊ ሰልፊ ኣካይዶም። እቶም ብስርሒት ፎርቶ ሓይልታት ምልካኻል ሞራሎም ክብ ዝበለ ኣማኢት ሰልፈኛታት፡ ፎርቶ ደሓን ትእቶ፡ ንህዝብና ኣበራቢራቶ፡ ንዝብና ኣስሚራቶ”፡ “ ሎሚ ኣብ ፎርቶ ጽባሕ ኣብ ኮምሽታቶ” ዝብሉ እዋናውያን ጭርሖታት ብምቅላሕ፡ ብዘይካ ፍጹም ምውጋድ ምልካዊ ስርዓት ህግደፍ ድሕነት ህብዝን ሃገርን ኤርትራ ክረጋገጽ ከምዘይክእል ደጊሞም ኣረጋጊጾም። እቲ ድሕሪ ምንቅስቓስ ተባዓት ኣባላት ሓይልታት ምክልኻል ኤርትራ ኣብ ውሽጢ ሰሙን ንኻልኣይ ግዜ ዝተኻየደ ውዕዉዕ ሰላማዊ ሰልፊ ብተሳተፍነቱን ውዕዉዕነቱን ፍሉይ ድምቀት ዝነበሮ እዩ። ድሕሪ’ቲ ኣብ ዝሓለፈ ሰሙን፡ መንእሰያት፡ ናብ ውሽጢ ኤምባሲ ስርዓት ህግደፍ ኣትዮም ዘካየዱዎ ተቓውሞን፡ ብድሕሪኡ ኣብ 10 Downing Street ብህጹጽ ዝተኻየደ ሰፊሕ ሰላማዊ ሰልፍን፡ እዚ ናይ ሎሚ ‘ውን ክብ ዝበለ ከምዝኸውን ስለዝተገመተ፡ ኣፍደገ ምልካዊ ስርዓት ህግደፍ ብብዝሒ ፖሊስ እዩ ክሕሎ ውዒሉ።

Labour peer accuses UK of aiding Eritrean government

Labour peer and former English Foreign Office minister Baroness Kinnock has demanded an explanation of why the UK "facilitated meetings between the Eritrean government and a range of mining and investment companies".

Former
Foreign Office minister Baroness Kinnock

Lady Kinnock wanted to know if the government had been helping an administration she called "one of the most secretive and repressive regimes in the whole world".
Foreign Office Minister Baroness Warsi admitted such a meeting was "not something I'm aware of" and said Lady Kinnock was "more well-informed than I am on this issue" but promised to write to her.
The issue was first raised at questions on 30 January 2013 by Lib Dem Lord Chidgey, vice-chair of the all-party group on Africa.
Lord Chidgey said the appointment of Ethiopia's new prime minister as chair of the African Union represented "shifting political ground" and an opportunity to "unlock the security stalemate" between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
The Bishop of Wakefield added it was a chance to "reset and promote regional reforms".
Lady Warsi told peers the situation in Mali and Algeria "shows the importance of stable government" and stressed that Eritrea and Ethiopia "should continue to speak".
There is a fragile peace in the one-party state of Eritrea following decades of fighting with Ethiopia and Yemen.
In late January, state television was temporarily taken off air when dissident soldiers reportedly stormed the ministry of information, calling for the implementation of the country's 1997 constitution.
The Eritrean ambassador to South Africa told news agencies there was no sign of a coup.

Eritrean migrants in Israel rally in support of compatriots

Around 150 Eritrean asylum seekers protested outside the Eritrean embassy in Ramat Gan, Israel on Friday morning, in a show of solidarity with Eritrean political prisoners and a group of army officers who staged a failed coup in Asmara last month.

Eritrean migrants protesting, Feb. 1, 2013 Photo: Ben Hartman

The protesters called for the release of political prisoners and shouted for the implementation of the 1997 constitution, the same demands made by a group of Army officers who stormed the state television headquarters at the Ministry of Information in Asmara on January 21st and forced the station off the air, before government forces managed to retake the offices later in the day.
Speaking in English, asylum seeker Isayas Teklebrhan gave a speech calling for “the immediate resignation of dictator Isayas Afwerki, the immediate release of all political prisoners, and the immediate implementation of Eritrea's constitution.”
Eritrea has no free press and is widely-considered one of the most repressive regimes on Earth.
On Friday, Gabriel, an Eritrean asylum seeker living in Israel said the ill-fated coup was a source of inspiration watched closely by Eritreans in Israel and across their Diaspora, and was a turning point for anti-regime efforts.
“This act has inspired Eritreans all over the world. For years we've tried from outside Eritrea to inspire the people there and now they are inspiring us. We think there is for sure a chance that there will be a revolution there soon.”