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NEWS and Events
The Troubling Situation of Eritrean Students in South
Africa
London,
July 7, 2003
In Eritrea there are a range
of evident signals today that substantiate restlessness, neglect and
abuse in the country. One of
those signals is the increasing number of young people fleeing the
country and seeking refuge elsewhere. And the majority of those who are
out of the country under various government programmes, concerned by the
alarming situation of the country, are not willing to return to
Eritrea.
Eritrean government
officials are putting pressure on around 600 Eritrean students in South
Africa who are growing more anxious by the day with regards to the
perturbing human rights conditions in Eritrea. All of them went through the chancellorship of Dr
Woldeab Isaac at University of Asmara and are apprehensive of their
previous experiences.
University of Asmara is a highly politicised institution where
conditions are so regimented that the students are strictly controlled
and treated as instruments of government propaganda machinery.
In early June of this year,
in order to ‘teach the students a lesson’ by example, the Eritrean
government swayed the government of South Africa into deporting two
students back to Eritrea who are now in a military camp where they are
constantly being shamed for their ‘unpatriotic plan’ to visit Germany
while they were studying.
EHDR-UK has expressed its
concerns to government officials in South Africa and at present is making
plans to launch a campaign to draw public attention to a crisis in the
making. It has also
mentioned that the students are aware of the facts that:
·
Opposing or even questioning the government or
its policy is tantamount to treason, and those who express their views
openly are detained indefinitely.
·
Students are rounded up in the streets and sent
to labour camps.
·
Many citizens are confined not only without any
means of communication with their loved ones but also without having a
day in a court of law.
·
Independent press has been closed down and
journalists put behind bars.
·
Eritreans do not have a say in the way the
country is governed and the Constitution, which was ratified in 1997, has
yet to be implemented.
·
Abuse of power is rampant and there is no accountability
for any action taken by the government or high-ranking government
officials.
Considering the
above-mentioned facts, EHDR-UK concluded that it is perfectly
understandable the dilemma the students find themselves in at the moment;
therefore, it has taken the stand that they should not be forcibly
returned to Eritrea.
Eritreans for Human and
Democratic Rights - UK
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