Eritrea: Information on ethnic inter-tribal fighting, especially that involving the Jaberti tribe

Publisher	Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
Author	Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada
Publication Date	1 July 1992
Citation / Document Symbol	ETH11310
Cite as	Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Eritrea: Information on ethnic inter-tribal fighting, especially that involving the Jaberti tribe, 1 July 1992, ETH11310, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac1e24.html [accessed 4 June 2023]
Disclaimer	This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

There are recent "unconfirmed" reports of growing opposition in Eritrea (AP 9 Apr. 1992). Information on this topic is scarce, however, due to the current ban on foreign journalists and to persistent claims from the Eritrean People's Liberation Front's (EPLF) government (the only public voice right now in Eritrea) that political and ethnic problems do not exist in liberated Eritrea. The EPLF administration has been qualified as a "monolithic rule" in a 1991 article (Africa Confidential 26 July 1991). Another source reported that while the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Movement (EPRDF) in power in Addis Ababa "allows some opposition, the EPLF allows none" (Africa Confidential 12 July 1991).

As far as ethnic opposition to the EPLF hegemony is concerned, only the Afar problem has been more thoroughly documented. Following the return of Afar sultan Ali Mirah and his claim for an independent Dankalie (Afar land) in 1991, EPLF leader Isaias Aferworki stated that he "strongly opposed" any loss of land for Eritrea (Christian Science Monitor 8 Aug. 1991). The Afar complained, on the other hand, that they were losing their land and rivers to the government and added that they would engage in war in order to recover their land from the Eritrean "occupants" (Ibid.; Libération 4 July 1991). In 1992, Eritrean leaders reportedly "continue to hold their traditional distrust of Afar tribes" (Indian Ocean Newsletter 30 May 1992, 2). The EPLF even recently ordered its troops into the Afar region, in order to prevent nationalist candidates from being elected in local elections (Ibid.).

According to one source, "not all [of Eritrea's nine ethnic groups] are unequivocal about independence" (Africa Events June 1991). In addition to the Afar, the Beni Amer groups in Eritrea reportedly resent EPLF hegemony (Africa Confidential 26 July 1991). The Kunama in southwest Eritrea expressed their preference for a central Ethiopian rule instead of EPLF government control (Africa Events June 1991). Also, after the takeover by the EPLF in 1991, expulsion of non-Eritreans took place in the newly liberated Eritrea (Africa Confidential 12 July 1991; The Independent 6 July 1991; Le Devoir 6 July 1991). The composition of the new EPLF government, announced in mid-June 1992, is likely to increase ethnic tensions, since regional governors have not in all cases been appointed to their native region (Indian Ocean Newsletter 20 June 1992, 4).

The religious factor, in part related to ethnicity, seems to play an important role in Eritrean politics. The EPLF is, for the most part, composed of Christians (Ibid. 15 Feb. 1992, 2). In Assab, most EPLF garrison troops and public servants are Christian Eritrean high-landers (Ibid. 30 May 1992, 2). The dissident Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF), for its part, is supported mostly by the Muslim peoples of Eritrea as well as by the lowland peoples (Ibid. 18 Jan. 1992, 4; Africa Events June 1991). The Eritrean Islamist group, the Jihad, is hence "trying to revive its attacks on the EPLF" (Africa Confidential 26 July 1991).

Within this context, the Jaberti people, a Muslim Tygrinyia and Arabic-speaking people of Southern Eritrea, have been in the past supporters of Rabita Islamiya and the Mahber Showat (Group of Seven), two islamist anti-colonianist groups, but they reportedly joined the "liberation movement" in 1961 (Eritrean Community Centre 23 July 1992). The Jaberti are mostly involved in agriculture and business, and they are part of the Tygrigna group of peoples (Eritrean Relief Association 23 July 1992; Ethiopian Community Centre 23 July 1992). At the time of the Abyssinian empire (before Mengistu's rule), "the Moslem minority, the Jeberti, were victims of persecution, often excluded from land ownership and state administration" (Araya 1986, 13). Even if they converted to Christianity, the Jaberti were refered to as "Christians by day and Moslems by night" in Eritrean folklore (Ibid.). According to a 1986 source, this Amhara/Tigrean chauvinism in Eritrea "continues to reassert itself" (Ibid., 15). Corroboration of the above information is currently unavailable to the IRBDC in Ottawa.

References

Africa Confidential [London]. 26 July 1991. "Ethiopia: Eritrean Alliances."

. 12 July 1991. "Ethiopia: Majorities and Minorities."

Africa Events [London]. June 1991. "It Tolls for None."

Araya, Mesfin. 1986. "Reflections on Eritrean Nationalism," Proceedings, 1st International Conference on the Horn of Africa. New York: The New School for Social Research.

Associated Press (AP). 9 April 1002. "Heads of State, Insurgents Discuss Region's Woes." (NEXIS)

The Christian Science Monitor [Boston]. 8 August 1991. "In Ethiopia, a King Ends his Exile." (NEXIS)

Le Devoir [Montréal]. 6 July 1991. "L'érythrée se déclare indépendante et chasse des milliers de civils éthiopiens."

Eritrean Community Centre, Montréal. 23 July 1992. Telephone Interview with a Representative, himself of the Jaberti tribe.

Eritrean Relief Association, Ottawa. 23 July 1992. Telephone Interview with a Representative.

Ethiopian Community Centre, Washington. 23 July 1992. Telephone Interview with a Representative.

The Independent [London]. 6 July 1991. "Ethiopians 'Deported'." (NEXIS)

The Indian Ocean Newsletter [Paris]. 20 June 1992. "Eritrea: New Government Line-up."

. 30 May 1992. "Ethiopia: The New Afar Scene."

. 15 February 1992. "Eritrea: Israeli Delegation Discusses Establishing Diplomatic Relations."

. 18 January 1992. "Eritrea: Religion Divides the Revived ELF."

Libération [Paris]. 4 July 1991. "L'indépendance de l'érythrée arrive à bon port."

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