Freedom in the World 1998 - Eritrea

1998 Scores

Status: Partly Free
Freedom Rating: 5.0
Civil Liberties: 4
Political Rights: 6

Overview

Eritrea appeared on the verge of renewed war with its southern neighbor, Ethiopia, as both sides reinforced their military strength after six weeks of mid-year territorial clashes which killed hundreds of people, mostly civilians. Mediation efforts from numerous quarters, including African leaders and the United States, have failed. Since 1992, both Eritrea and Ethiopia have been close to the U.S., each led by a new generation of leaders committed to open markets, if not open societies. Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki was a brother-in-arms to his Ethiopian counterpart, Zenawi Meles, in a long war against the Marxist regime which their insurgent movements together defeated.

The fighting between the two poverty-stricken countries over a small patch of barely arable land along their common frontier is fed, at least in part, by the strong nationalism used by each leader as a political tool for mobilizing domestic constituencies. Thousands of Ethiopians resident in Eritrea were expelled, and an unknown number of Ethiopians were detained for unclear reasons. The International Committee of the Red Cross has been allowed access to civilian detainees in both Eritrea and Ethiopia.

War costs are seriously impacting Eritrea's economy. It is one of the world's poorest countries, and its remarkable strides since independence in 1992 are now in jeopardy. Eritreans saw the national goal of sustainable development slip further into the future as the conflict diverted desperately needed resources from economic and social programs. The loss of port fees when Eritrea closed its Red Sea entrepot of Assab to Ethiopian trade was a severe blow to government revenues, which may never be fully recovered if port facilities in neighboring Djibouti are upgraded as planned.

A constitution adopted in May 1997 was to have produced the first national elections this year since Eritrea won independence from Ethiopia in 1992 after nearly three decades of war. This event appears to have been postponed indefinitely, another early victim of the hostilities. The Eritrean government did accept the decision of an international tribunal that awarded sovereignty to Yemen over the Red Sea Hanish islands, where the two countries clashed briefly in 1996, defusing another possible regional conflict.

Ethiopia gained control over Eritrea in 1950 after a half century of Italian occupation. Eritrea's independence struggle began in 1962 as a nationalist and Marxist guerrilla war against the Ethiopian government of Emperor Haile Sailaise. The war's ideological basis faded when a Marxist junta seized power in Ethiopia in 1974, and by the time it finally defeated Ethiopia's northern armies in 1991, the Eritrean Peoples Liberation Front (EPLF) had discarded Marxism. Internationally recognized independence was achieved in May 1993 after a UN-supervised referendum produced a landslide vote for statehood.

The government seeks to balance senior governmental positions between the (roughly equal) Christian and Muslim population. Guerrilla attacks by the Eritrean Islamic Jihad, believed to be backed by Sudan's fundamentalist regime, have hit the country's western lowlands. Eritrea has broken diplomatic ties with Sudan and openly supports the armed Sudanese opposition. The ruling Popular Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) party's austere and single-minded commitment to rebuilding Eritrea has earned international kudos. Its current bellicosity and military spending is seriously tarnishing that hard-won image.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Eritrea has never known democratic rule with open elections. The current 150 transitional national assembly is comprised of the PFDJ's 75 central committee members, 60 members of the constituent assembly which drafted the constitution and 15 representatives of the Eritrean diaspora of over a half million people. It is unsure when presidential and legislative elections required by the new constitution will be held. Independent political parties authorized by the new charter are not yet registered, and those based on ethnicity or religion will be barred. The government's desire to reduce ethnic identification has extended to the renaming of the country's regions on geographical rather than the former ethnic bases.

The PFDJ seems to maintain broad support. Created in February 1994 as a successor to the wartime EPLF, the PFDJ maintains a dominance over the country's political and economic life that even open elections are unlikely to change. The new constitution's guarantees of civil and political liberties are unrealized as pluralistic media and rights to political organization are absent. President Isaias Afwerki often restates his mistrust of multiparty democracy. A number of uncharged political prisoners were reportedly detained, and no free media is allowed. The clashes with Ethiopia, added to Eritrea's near state of war with neighboring Sudan, may reinforce PFDJ's already authoritarian tendencies.

An independent judiciary was formed by decree in 1993 and is apparently operating without executive interference, although the ruling party's dominance over all areas of governance may compromise that autonomy. Lack of training and resources limit the courts' efficiency, and jurists have not been called upon to deliberate difficult cases that might challenge government policies. Constitutional guarantees are often ignored in relation to cases relating to state security. Amnesty International estimates that over 100 political prisoners remain incarcerated, many of them sentenced at secret trials to long jail terms.

Open discussion in public fora is tolerated; disseminating dissenting views is not. Government control over all broadcasting and pressures against the small independent print media has constrained public debate. In late December, Ruth Simon, a former Eritrean guerrilla fighter and correspondent for Agence France-Presse, was released and given "amnesty" after 20 months' detention without charge for allegedly misquoting President Afwerki regarding Eritrean incursions into Sudan. A 1997 press law allows only qualified freedom of expression, subject to the official interpretation of "the objective reality of Eritrea." Broadcast media will remain under state control and external funding for independent print media is barred. A small civil society sector is taking hold, although it is hindered by the absence of free media, and there are no independent domestic human rights groups. A new labor code guarantees workers' rights, but it is not clear that these will be respected in practice.

Religious freedom is generally respected, although Islamist activities believed to be sponsored by Sudan and Iran could harm relations among religious communities. Jehovah's Witnesses who refused to serve in the armed forces or to take a national oath of allegiance were stripped of citizenship and had property seized, and the government has denounced what it describes as political activities by the Roman Catholic Church.

Women comprised at least a third of EPLF independence fighters, and the government has strongly supported improvements in the status of women. Equal educational opportunity, equal pay for equal work, and penalties for domestic violence have been codified, yet traditional societal discrimination persists against women in the largely rural and agricultural country. Female genital mutilation is still widely practiced, despite official education campaigns.

A serious lack of infrastructure and the task of post-war reconstruction is complicated by severe environmental problems and the threat of renewed war. Military spending and uneven rainfall that cuts crop yields hurt Eritrea's economy in 1998. A broad privatization program and economic liberalization continued, but with a distinct preference for self-reliance over short term efficiencies.