Vol 21. No. 32 Saturday, June 20th, 2015 Pages 8, Price 2.00 NFA

The Eritrean Delegation which participated in the 25th Summit of the African Union (AU) held in South Africa from June 7 to 15, stated that human trafficking and smuggling are among the most serious contemporary challenges confronting the African conti-nent and that the scourges have claimed and continue to claim the lives of thousands of Africans, es-pecially youth.

The Delegation clarified that Eritrea, as one of the countries affected, has been closely work-ing with its neighbors, countries of transit and destination as well as the AU and other regional and international organizations to combat the problem of human trafficking.

In this regard, the Delegation called for the expeditious imple-mentation of the outcomes of the Regional Conference on Human Trafficking and Smuggling in the

The Ministry of Labor and Hu-man Welfare released a statement saying that over Nfa. 3.5 billion had been disbursed to Martyrs’ families over the past 10 years.

Mr. Zerai Tekleab, an official at the Ministry, explained that the Government of Eritrea created a monthly benefit scheme back in January 2004. Eritrean citizens, at

Ambassador Zemede Tekle, Commissioner of Culture and Sports, opened an art exhibition depicting the barbaric acts of Ethi-opian colonizers against peaceful Eritrean citizens, as part of a series of commemorative events in honor of June 20.

The artist on display is Ghidei Ghebremichael and the exhibition is located outside the building of the Ministry of Education in the capital, Asmara.

The work highlights the barbaric acts of Ethiopian colonizers meted against innocent Eritrean citizens

RemembRance PRayeRs & candlelight Vigils in honoR of eRitRea’s maRtyRs

Prayer services were conducted yesterday at St. Michael’s Church and the Al-Khulafae Al-Rashideen Mosque in Asmara in honor of Eritrea’s fallen heroes and heroines.

Abune Basilios, Administrator of the Eritrean Or-thodox Tewahdo Church, Abune Yohannes, Pope of the Northern and Southern regions, and Sheikh Al-Amin Osman, the Eritrean Mufti, respectively pre-sided over the prayer services, in which hundreds of people participated.

Furthermore, Eritrean nationals at home and abroad conducted indoor and outdoor candlelight vigils in hon-or of June 20.

Addressing the gathering at Bahti Meskerem Square, the Administrator of the Central region, Maj. General Ramadan Osman Awliyai, noted that the sense of self-lessness and dedication are some of the distinct core values that explain Eritrean people’s resilience and their ability to withstand all challenges. He further added that Eritreans, whether at home or abroad, must strengthen their celebrated unity and uphold the solemn promise made to the country’s Martyrs.

Prayer service at St Michael’s Church

Prayer service at the Al-Khulafae Al-Rashideen Mosque

eRitRea calls attention to human tRafficking

between 1967 and 1975. More spe-cifically, the exhibition highlights the slaughter of innocent civilians in the Hazemo region of Eritrea.

Similarly, a documentary film and pictorial exhibition portraying similar enemy acts in Adi-Ibrihim, Adi-Kukei, Megoraib, Metkelabet, She’ibgedged, Ailet, and 62 other villages, as well as Asmara, are featured at the show.

Moreover, the PFDJ branch in the Central region has organized different artistic performances and other events in honor of Martyrs Day.

aRtistic exhibition dePicting eRitRea’s histoRy of Resilience oVeR 3.5 billion nakfa

distRibuted to maRtyRs’ families

Horn of Africa held in Khartoum, Sudan from October 13 to 16, 2014.

The Assembly of Heads of State and Government accepted Eritrea’s call and endorsed the outcomes of the Regional Confer-ence.

Moreover, during the discus-sions on the reform of the UN and Africa’s increased representation in the UN Security Council, the Eritrean Delegation underscored the need to reaffirm the African Common Position on the issue as contained in the Ezulwini Con-sensus and the Sirte Declaration.

The Delegation also called for redoubling AU’s efforts to garner support from other countries and regional groupings to the African Common Position, and cautioned against piecemeal approach to the reform process.

home and abroad, as well as mem-bers of the Eritrean Defense Force have all contributed to this endeav-or through various activities.

In a show of solidarity with Martyrs families, students at the Yis’hak Tewoldemedhin Second-ary School have raised over 33 thousand Nakfa in support of the Martyrs fund.

The students explained that this some was collected overtime with each one of them contributing 2 Nakfa a day for several months.

The beneficiaries commended this particular initiative and said that the gesture attests to the com-mitment of fellow citizens to honor the trust of Martyrs.

Martyrs family receiving gift at YT Secondary School

Artist Ghidei Ghebremichael’s work on display

2Eritrea Profile, Saturday June 20th, 2015

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Abiding Commitment

At the present juncture when the Eritrean people at home and abroad are once again commemorating Martyrs Day, they equally reaffirm their resolve to pay the debt owed to our fallen heroes – the nation’s dear sons and daughters who laid down their lives to restore the dignity of fellow compatriots.

Indeed, such an attribute constitutes a distinguishing asset for our people who rightly take pride in standing firm and united against all odds.

In concrete expression of living up to the Trust of Martyrs, Eritrean nationals inside the country and the Diaspora are duty bound to exert unreserved effort to build a secure and prosperous nation.

Moreover, our patriotic people need to mount ever more resolute resistance against anti-Eritrea machinations that date back to the Cold War era. This characteristic attribute of the Eritrean people still remains a source of pride and dignity to our beloved Homeland.

Billion Temesghen

Eritrea claimed its independence after a bitter 30 years war having paid a heavy price - precious sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, uncles and aunts, old and young… all of whom we honor and com-memorate today.

The Independence and the self-sustained nation building process we joyfully celebrate in May is an unmistakable result of the incredible sacrifice of our martyrs and fallen heroes and heroines that altruisti-cally gave their lives both for our independence obtained in 1991 and for the sovereignty of our country during intermittent acts of hostility and agression.

Eritrea’s Martyrs commemoration day is the most profoundly felt day in our calendar, it is time in which bitter sweet sensations dominate ev-ery Eritrean soul. It is also a time of pride in which we officially renew

our vow to which Eritreans live up to every day.

These past few days have seen school events, exhibitions and dif-ferent memorial services organized by a number of organizations and Government ministries. The Eri-trean flag is on display everywhere and streets are decked with symbols and emblems that highlight the oc-casion.

The artistic exhibition of Ghidey Ghebremichael is being displayed in front of the Ministry of Educa-tion’s building, in Asmara, showing life sized impressions of a group of travelers being massacred at a check point. It is actually a token from an actual event that occurred in 1975.

Every mosque and church in Eri-trea held remembrance and dedica-tion prayers on the morning of June 19. Moreover the morning was glo-rified by a commemorational mass- sport sponsored and organized by the Olympic medalist Zerisenay

Eve of June 20: Eritrea’s Martyrs Commemoration Day

Tadesse. The event took place in Asmara in two sections. The first road race of 10k started at the Bahti Meskerem Square, for profession-als, representing several teams from all over the country. The second segment involved a wide range of voluntary participants of all ages, in-cluding ministers and officials.

As the evening deepens, and we reach the eve of May 20th Eritrea’s Martyrs Day, habitually it has been a heartfelt and distinguished event; when from the youngest to the old-est of the family flocks out on the roads with candle lights in honor and tribute to the glorious children, parents and siblings. The candle light memorial service just like the previous ones and those many to come, is underway with a majestic noble sense of honor, gratitude and remembrance felt by all.

Our martyrs will always be in our hearts, they belong to us and live trough us.

eRitRean nationals in Jeddah commemoRate maRtyRs day

Eritrean nationals living in Jeddah city and its environs pledged to continue supporting 73 families of fallen heroes, while NUEW-branch members contributed 2,700 Riyal. Furthermore, the taxi owners asso-ciation stated that they would provide continuous support to 30 mar-tyrs’ families and raised 180 thousand Nakfa. Additionally, Mr. Fitusm Tewoldemedhim, an Eritrean national residing in Riyadh city has con-tributed 20 thousand Nakfa to the Martyrs Trust Fund.

WoRkshoP in diffeRent geRman cities in PRogRess

As part of initiatives to set up a National Committee in a number of German cities, members of Eritrean organizations in Monchenglad-bach, Oberhausen, Krefeld and Recklinghausen organized workshop to this end. The participants of the workshop put forth proposals aimed at reinforcing organizational capacity towards backing up the develop-ment drive in the Homeland.

eRitReans in khaRtoum suPPoRt national deVeloPment

Mr. Ibrahim Idris, Charge d’Affairs in the Eritrean Embassy, said that community members are making significant contribution in sup-port of national development drive. He further indicated that fostering relations of partnership and portraying Eritrea’s correct image are be-ing given due attention.

afoRestation and Wildlife conseRVation actiVities in

anseba Region

Anseba regional Administration has secured a “Dima Award” spon-sored by the Ministry of Agriculture upon registering commendable outcome in afforestation as well as wildlife, soil and water conserva-tion. According to reports, the inhabitants of the region continue to practice judicious application of the available natural resources, apart from the introduction of energy-saving devices like the smokeless Ah-danet stove.

NEWS BRIEFS

Running in honor of June 20

Thousands march through Independence Ave and gather at Bahti Meskerem for candlight vigil

3Eritrea Profile, Saturday June 20th, 2015

Ray Ja Fraser

Last week, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry (COI), created to investigate alleged hu-man rights abuses in Eritrea, pro-duced its final report.

The COI report was widely cov-ered by the mainstream press, and has led to a substantial amount of discussion regarding Eritrea. The report has also come in for con-siderable criticism, with several detailed articles rebutting differ-ent parts of the report.

Notably, the last few days have uncovered more problems with the COI report.

On Tuesday, June 16, 2015, Sheila Keetharuth, who served as the lone Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights Situation in Eritrea (and one of the authors of the COI) appeared on Al-Jazeera’s The Stream interactive show alongside three members of the Eritrean Diaspora.

Two of the members offered views and perspectives that were in direct contradiction to Keethar-uth’s claims (and the general COI report).

The show clearly illustrated that understandings and reflections about Eritrea are much broader than those presented within the report.

Accordingly, why has Keethar-uth only now begun to engage with the wide spectrum of view-points (i.e. after the publication of the COI)?

During the show, Keetharuth suggested that thousands of let-ters, statements, and enquiries from the Diaspora were not con-sidered due to a technical issue (i.e. addressed to the special rap-porteur rather than the commis-sion).

Is that good enough? Does that make the statements of thousands of individuals invalid or inadmis-sible?

Surely if the aim is to present an accurate, objective, impartial

view and account of the situation in Eritrea, those viewpoints and statements must be considered.

Hours later, Nevsun Resources Ltd., a mining company that has been working in Eritrea for sev-eral years, released a statement.

Cliff Davis, CEO of Nevsun stated that the human rights al-legations within the COI report were “sensational and unbeliev-able…[and] made without visiting either the mine or the country.”

Davis also made reference to a human rights impact assessment report on the Bisha mine which stands in stark contrast to the COI report.

The report was published by two independent investigators, including Lloyd Lipsett, a dis-tinguished international human rights lawyer, after trips to Eritrea and the Bisha mine.

Additionally, Davis revealed that despite attempts by Nevsun to engage with the COI, the com-mission “chose not to engage with the Company to verify any basic facts or allegations or to report on the Company’s independent human rights assessment.” As a result, “this brings into serious question the methodology, pro-cess and collation of information” within the COI report.

Ultimately, the show on Al-Jazeera and the revelations by Nevsun underscore the consider-able problems with the COI re-port’s data and methods of collec-tion.

Without including information and views from Nevsun or the broader Diaspora, Keetharuth and the COI fail to meet their mandate requirements, that is to “ensure the participation of all relevant stake-holders.” Consequently, the COI report is considerably flawed.

Doubts Emerge Over UN Eritrea Human Rights Report

Nevsun Resources Ltd. (TSX: NSU) (NYSE MKT: NSU) (Nev-sun or the Company) is pleased to provide an update on its human rights record in response to recent media speculation.

Human rights record highlights

• Nevsun commissioned an independent human rights im-pact assessment (HRIA) in 2013

• HRIA carried out by rep-utable international human rights lawyer

• Assessment was com-pleted with cooperation of the State of Eritrea

• Stakeholder engagement included over 150 local residents and a wide range of other external stakeholders

• Published in April 2014 the HRIA report, which recom-mendations are being adopted at Bisha

• Follow-up independent audit underway in 2015

The independent HRIA which

Nevsun’s Update on Human Rights

was completed in April 2014 can be found on the Company’s web-site.

In addition, the Company will shortly receive the results of a fol-low-up audit on its human rights programs at the Bisha Mine. This report will also be posted on the Company’s website.

The Company and its part-ner ENAMCO are committed to transparency and their ongoing commitments with respect to hu-man rights.

Cliff Davis, CEO of Nevsun commented, “A recent United Na-tions Commission report included some sensational and unbeliev-able human rights allegations with respect to the Bisha Mine, which allegations were made without visiting either the mine or the country.

Despite attempts by Nevsun to engage with the Commission, it chose not to engage with the

Company to verify any basic facts or allegations or to report on the Company’s independent human rights assessment.

This brings into serious ques-tion the methodology, process and collation of information in their report.

Nevsun remains firmly commit-ted to compliance with Eritrean national law and the continuation of international standards and practices with respect to human rights.

We also remain committed to dialogue with the Commission, other UN agencies and stakehold-er groups.”

For more information on the Company’s commitment to human rights please visit our website:

http://www.nevsun.com/re-sponsibility/human-rights

4Eritrea Profile, Saturday June 20th, 2015

The Commission of Inqui-1. ry and Special Rapporteur (SR) ap-pointed as special mandate-holders to assess the human rights situation in Eritrea have released two parallel reports. As well-meaning as their initial mandates may appear be-fore members of the Human Rights Council (HRC), it appears that the record and evidence regarding both special mandate-holders reveal that they were extra-procedurally appointed, overstepped the terms of their mandates in their inves-tigation of Eritrea and published reports that do not represent an ob-jective analysis of the human rights situation in Eritrea.

The Commission report 2. and the process of its compilation, bereft of neutrality and impartiali-ty, represents numerous substantive and procedural shortcomings that defy, in both letter and spirit, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the guiding principles the HRC. The premises forwarded in the 484-page report of the Com-mission, in particular, is filled with bias, errors, unsubstantiated and il-logical claims, misrepresentations and evidentiary weaknesses that are used to reach final and extraor-dinary conclusions.

Issues of Methodology

Evidence from the pro-3. cess of forwarding the resolutions for the special mandate-holders vi-olates the guiding principles of the HRC. The main architects of the resolution establishing the Com-mission, one influential HRC mem-ber state in particular, hand-twisted three African countries to cospon-sor the draft resolutions against Er-itrea. Notably, they failed to make it an official African Group posi-tion because the Group’s standing position does not support country-specific mandates. Drafts were in-tentionally kept secret until the 11th

hour in order to deny informed and objective decisions by delegates. In the end, Eritrea was unlawfully subjected to duplicate mandates.

The failure of the Com-4. mission was also manifested in the methods of work section as expressed in paragraph 6 of the report. The resolution establishing this mandate failed to adequately specify the temporal scope of the Commission, which theoreti-cally can span any time period in Eritrean history. The Commission determined the period of investiga-tion for itself as a continuation of the ongoing violation of the guid-ing resolutions. This is a grave substantive oversight in which the Commission overstepped its au-thority to determine the temporal scope.

The Commission lowered 5. its standard of proof to the never-seen-before, exceptional and un-precedented, “reasonable grounds to believe. Using such language highlights, once again, the inqui-sitional nature of the Commission. The justification for using this lowered standard is that the Com-mission was not allowed into Eri-trea and that there was a “lack of cooperation” by the Eritrean State. It goes on to state that their chosen standard of proof was “consistent with the practice of other United Nations fact-finding bodies, espe-cially those which have not been granted access to the territory where the alleged violations have occurred.” No other Commissions are explicitly cited because this is not, in fact, true. Justifying the Commission’s violations of HRC procedures based on the violations of past Commissions is not accept-able by any honest observer. Given that the Commission was extra-procedurally appointed, Eritrea reserves the right to deny entry to the Commission and its ensuing fishing expedition into Eritrea. Eri-trea is essentially left with a choice of accepting the lesser of two evils: to undergo a fishing expedition or to submit to an exceptionally low standard of evidence. Eritrea chooses to make no such choice.

The report selectively 6. cites dubious sources using ques-tionable methodologies. There is little credibility to this report as it relies on claims emanating from self-described “human rights activ-ists” with openly declared regime-change agenda, challenging the very sovereignty of the Eritrean state. Additionally, the majority of the claims made in the report come from 550 anonymous individuals who are comprised of refugees, whose pending asylum cases are of-ten contingent upon hyperbolic ac-counts of persecution from repres-sion. This represents an obvious and stark conflict of interest. The sample of 550 individuals is not representative of the vast majority of Eritreans abroad and inside the country. Notably, the Commission also rejected the requests of more than the 200 Eritrean community organizations wishing to discuss the issue with the SR and the Com-mission.

Moreover, the heavy re-7. liance on refugee testimonies and information from countries with a belligerent stance on Eritrea such as Ethiopia and Djibouti is also a continued violation of guiding principles of the HRC.

The methods of fielding 8. testimonies represent both “selec-tion” and “sampling” bias, which are perhaps the most fundamental

flaws of any survey-based research of this sort. The Commission and SR did not field testimony from one open source in which all will-ing participants could add their in-put and then be randomly sampled, as would be the case with strong investigative studies. Addition-ally, there were no indications of “blinding” to protect against po-tential bias of the Commission. Lastly, there was no third party to overlook the ethical basis and cred-ibility of work by the Commission and SR such as an Institutional Re-view Board. For this reason, there is no way to ascertain that solicita-tion of testimonies was done in an ethical manner free of bias. Since the final conclusions of the report are principally based on testimo-nies acquired from these flawed methodologies, those final conclu-sions come into question.

The Commission deliber-9. ately excluded the voice of mining companies that were targeted by the report. Human rights groups and Corporate Social Responsibil-ity groups investigating the work of local mining companies vis-a-vis human rights were also ig-nored and excluded from the final report despite multiple attempts to reach out. The press release of one mining company indicated that “despite attempts by Nevsun to engage with the Commission, it chose not to engage with the Company to verify any basic facts or allegations or to report on the Company’s independent human rights assessment. This brings into serious question the methodology, process and collation of informa-tion in their report.”

“Crimes Against Humanity”

Based on numerous un-10. substantiated claims of crimes that have presumably been committed by the Eritrean government, the Commission concluded that there were human rights violations that were “systematic, widespread, and gross.” In order to support such an extraordinary conclusion the Com-mission would have had to prove the veracity of the alleged crimes and that these were State sanc-tioned or allowed to take place without the State taking measures to prevent them or to punish those responsible. On the contrary, the Government of Eritrea, despite its limited resources and its relatively short history, has taken numerous measure to combat crimes that take place within its jurisdiction.

The Commission also 11. concludes, “some of these viola-tions may constitute crimes against humanity.” Since there is no evi-dentiary support for the claim of

“systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations”, then it follows that there equally no sup-port for the final conclusion of “crimes against humanity” being committed by the Government of Eritrea.

“General Lack of Rule of Law”

Contrary to the false 12. claims made by the Commission that there is a “general lack of rule of law in the country”, Eritrea is governed by the rule of law. The Government has enacted and im-plemented 176 Proclamations and more than 120 Legal Notices since independence twenty-four years ago. The recent revision of the Transitional codes and the enacting of new Civil and Penal Codes that are in consonance with universally accepted standards and norms is another attestation of the Govern-ment’s continuous commitment to strengthen the rule of law. The en-forcement of the rule of law is in fact vividly reflected in the social cohesion and harmony, peace and stability, dignified life, enjoyment of fundamental rights, and active and responsible participation of citizens that prevail in the country.

Furthermore, Eritrea has 13. signed and ratified numerous Inter-national Conventions and Instru-ments. These have been incorpo-rated in its domestic laws and are diligently observed. The claim that there is no rule of law is thus grossly at variance with the pre-vailing reality and only peddled for political ends.

“Controlled Surveillance System”

The Commission of In-14. quiry alludes to the government’s use of “a pervasive spying and surveillance system” to target its citizens at home and abroad in or-der to create a “general climate of fear”. The Commission then cites the “coupon system originally cre-ated to allow accesses to subsidize goods” as a principal instrument of government surveillance inside the country. This is patently false. The Government subsidizes education – which is free from kindergarten to University – and health services. Food subsidy, for certain essential commodities, is part and parcel of this approach and it is essentially geared to provide safety-net to low-income segments of the population from market shocks. Due to finan-cial constraints, the coupon system exists in a handful of urban areas only. So its outreach is extremely limited even if it were to be used for the spurious objectives that the Commission insinuates. Similarly, Eritrea’s diplomatic presence in

few capitals – most of which are have skeletal and even only one-diplomat staff – can hardly be used to spy on the almost one million strong Eritreans abroad. These ac-cusations are thus groundless and further illustrate the politically mo-tivated nature of the report.

Sexual Violence Against Women

The Commission’s report 15. claims that “violence against wom-en is to such a degree it also con-stitutes sexual slavery and torture.” Such a remarkable claim requires ample evidence in its support. However, in its Methods of Work section, the Commission admits to “significant difficulties in the investigation and documentation” of such claims. It further admits that its sample, which is not rep-resentative of the larger Eritrean community, may have led it to “only partially capture the extent” of challenges faced by Eritrean women refugees. Furthermore, it must be noted that Eritrea’s Penal Code contains explicit provisions for severe punishment against rape and/or sexual violence. Eritrean women had played an unparalleled role in the liberation struggle and gender equality constitutes a fun-damental pillar in Independent Eri-trea’s political, social and econom-ic dynamics and development. In brief, there is no space for sexual slavery and widespread, systemic, violence against women.

Travesty of International Law

and Sovereign Rights

The Commission and the 16. SR as supposed independent ex-perts have failed to recognize the interdependence between peace and security, economic, social and cultural rights in addition to civil and political rights. The 1941 Uni-versal Declaration of Human Rights states, “that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interrelated, interdependent and mutually rein-forcing and that all human rights must be treated in a fair and equal manner on the same footing and with the same emphasis.” How-ever, in spite of the equality among rights, the Office of the High Com-missioner for Human Rights still holds that “no social phenomenon is as comprehensive in its assault on human rights as poverty.” How-ever, the Commission takes it upon itself to downplay the role of pov-erty, stating that the “dire economic situation in a country cannot be an excuse.”

The Commission fails 17.

Commission of Inquiry Report: Devoid of Credibility and Substance

continued on page 5

Eritrea Profile, Saturday June 20th, 2015 5

Meron Abraha

June 20, Eritrea’s Martyrs’ Day, is a day of deep significance to Eri-treans worldwide. June 20 is a day when we remind ourselves of the promises we made to our martyrs in safeguarding our sovereignty, build-ing a prosperous country and, most of all, looking after the families they left behind. Tens of thousands of Eritreans died giving their life for its independence and territorial in-tegrity, leaving a memory of a noble cause in the hearts of their fellow compatriots.

Over 85,000 martyrs in a small population of less than five million is simply huge, implying that virtually every family has lost a close relative for Eritrea’s freedom. No wonder the sacrifice is deeply felt! What is truly wondrous, however, is the sense of responsibility and rededication Eri-treans show every year on June 20 to remain truthful to the pledge of their fallen heroes and heroines and the liberating vision that guided Eri-trea’s bitter thirty years long struggle for independence and the shorter but just as significant war in defense of the country’s sovereignty. To honor these valiant souls, Eritreans all over the world hold various commemo-rative events. In Asmara, prayer services are conducted at St. Mi-chael’s Church and Al-Khulafae Al-Rashideen Mosque. In the evening, street lights are put out and candle lanterns are lit.

A distinct feature of Martyrs’ Day commemorations is the candlelight vigil. People from all walks of life go out into the streets holding can-dles and wax tapers, and congregate in a gathering at the Bahti Mesk-erem Square, where a number of artistic works are displayed during the course of the ceremony. Others stay at home and light candles with portraits of martyrs and certificates of patriotism. No nation, perhaps, has penned more poems and songs in honor of its martyrs than Eritrea. The artists vary greatly: some are veteran fighters, others are young generation artists. But their message is profound and consistent – respect and gratitude for Eritrea’s tens of thousands of martyrs, strong com-mitment to support and look after their families and a quiet determina-tion to build a nation worthy of their sacrifices. They all call on the fallen heroes to ‘Rest in Peace.’

A septuagenarian father, who lived abroad before coming home for good in 2003, has two of his five children who fell for the glory of the nation and one is serving in the na-tional service. Not very long ago, we

were talking about the significance of Martyrs’ Day and he said:

“Every family in this country has sacrificed at least one for the cause of freedom, and each year as June 20 comes, the nation gathers to honor and remember its heroes. But is re-membering enough? When I think of my sons and thousands like them who fell for the good of their people, I ask myself whether we are living up to their trust. Their pledge was building a free and prosperous coun-try. Are we trying to do that?”

He further said that we should be transparent in our actions and do ev-erything in our power to move our development forward, and that we need to harmonize our efforts for the good of our people. “If each one of us contributes just a small part, our combined efforts can bring about miracles. So I would like to stress on the point that Martyrs’ Day should not be a day of sadness, instead it has to be a day when we resolve to speed up the momentum gathered in nation building and bring the mis-sion that our martyrs entrusted us to its completion,” he recommended.

Last Thursday, I ventured into a good friend of mine who had just been to a Martyrs’ Day commemo-rative event at the Eritreo-German hall. She told me that she had wit-nessed a rather astonish episode during the event. According to her, well-known singer Tesfay (Fihira) was performing one of his songs pertaining to the auspicious day and abruptly cut the song short and talk-ed about how Martyrs’ Day should not be a day of sadness and solem-nity, but rather one of rejoicing and celebration. In saying so, he started performing a different song with a vibrant guayla tune.

In his song Fihira stressed that we should not be weeping but rather celebrate what our Martyrs have done for us with jubilation as long as we step up our efforts in bringing their dream of a free and prosperous Eritrea to reality.

The late legendary Eritrean sing-er, Yemane (Baria) had also admon-ished against bitter sadness:

May you find strength parents of heroes

Don’t mourn bitterly, for your conscience not to wear out

Let our enemy shrivel, instead of you

On the contrary, be honored and proud

It’s because of your childrenThat light is abound, peace is

abound…

In the Eritrean society, where the dead are mourned with grave so-lemnity, it is common to observe Martyrs’ Day with an equally sol-emn commemoration. Families and friends go to the Patriots’ Cemetery to visit the graves and converse with their loved heroes and heroines. Mothers shed tears of pride, love and longing. Children chant songs promising they will carry on the legacy entrusted to the. So on and so on.

Yakob Abrehaley, who runs his

family’s business in Asmara, is the youngest of a family of four. Meaza, the first-born of the family, and her younger brother, Abesari, both died during the armed struggle. Esau, Ya-kob’s twin brother, was killed dur-ing Ethiopia’s war of aggression in 2000. Now, Yakob looks after his ageing parents. He said that every year on Martyrs’ Day he goes to the Patriots’ Cemetery and “talk to Esau and assure him that the national sov-ereignty he fell for is still intact and that I’m ready to carry on his legacy if situations require it.” Yakob said that he named his firstborn Esau. “I wanted him to know that his name represents someone dear to my heart, because that’s what mar-tyrs are to Eritreans: always in their heart,” Yakob said.

All the above attest to the particu-larly strong attachment Eritrea has for its finest men and women who gave their lives for its independence; and hence the constant reminder that they should rest in peace:

With our blood and voicesWe have made independence a

realityRest in peace martyrs!

Rejoice EritreaYour flag is hoisted high

Our enemies have been overcomeAnd reigning is us, your owners

Rest in peace, Martyrs!

The Essence of Martyrs’ Day to adequately recognize that sov-ereign Eritrean territories remain under Ethiopian occupation in defiance of international law. The Occupation is a violation of the 2000 Algiers Agreement, the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, and the Geneva Convention IV. In March 2012, Ethiopia initi-ated unprovoked attacks on Eri-trea without previous and explicit warning, violating Article 1 of the 1907 Hague Convention (III) rela-tive to the Opening of Hostilities. Also, Eritrea is under the regime of unjust UN sanctions, hampering economic investment and develop-ment. These externally imposed factors must be taken into serious consideration when analyzing the human rights situation in Eritrea.

“National Service as Forced

Labor”

The Commission claims 18. that “national service is based on conditions and measures that are not proportionate, reasonable or necessary in the interest of national defense.” It is not within the Com-mission’s expertise or mandate to determine this on behalf of the Eri-trean people and government. The Commission is effectively denying the Eritrean people the right to de-fend themselves in an existential crisis against a foe 15 to 20 times their total population size.

Furthermore, the Com-19. mission has failed to refer to in-dependently carried out research including those made by the Home Office of the United Kingdom, the fact-finding mission of the Danish Immigration Service, and a delega-tion from the Norwegian Ministry of Justice. Observations published by these foreign delegations that have actually visited Eritrea, un-like the Commission, demonstrate the huge discord between the Com-mission’s conclusions regarding national service and the realities on the ground.

As far as the extended na-20. ture of national service in Eritrea, the Commission yet again ignores the fact that by law national ser-vice is only required for eighteen months. However, due to Ethio-pia’s refusal to abide by a final and binding ruling and the international community’s continued indiffer-ence to this deliberate flaunting of international law by Ethiopia, the Government of Eritrea had been left with no other choice but to rely on its population to defend its inde-pendence and sovereignty. Despite continued challenges, the Eritrean Government is making concerted efforts to provide the requisite edu-cational and job opportunities for

those who fulfill their national ser-vice obligations.

Expanded Engagement and Co-

operation on Human Rights

Despite twenty-four 21. years of hostilities and challenges to Eritrea’s sovereignty, develop-ment and political progress, the nation has achieved steady gains in almost all sectors. Eritrea has worked closely and transparently with all concerned international partners and stakeholders within the framework of the Universal Pe-riodic Review to develop Eritrea’s human rights system. Eritrea has also worked closely with the local UN Country Team and is now one of very few countries in the world on track to meet most of the Mil-lennium Development Goals.

Conclusion

In its conclusion, the 22. Commission reiterates the outra-geous allegations based on specu-lation, hearsay and unsubstantiated claims made throughout the report. The advanced unedited version, in particular, states unequivocally “that systematic, widespread and gross human rights violation have been and are being committed by the Government of Eritrea” and “that the violations in the areas of extrajudicial executions, torture (including sexual torture), national service and forced labour may con-stitute crimes against humanity.”A report of this nature and magnitude would seemingly require much more than the rushed lifespan of the investigation and compiling of the report.

Furthermore, the Com-23. mission’s recommendation to the international community “to assist Eritrea and Ethiopia to solve the border issue through diplomatic means”is a violation of the 2000 Algiers Agreement that obligates both countries to accept the “final and binding” borderdelimitation decision of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Border Commission (EEBC).Any calls for additional dialogue or re-visions to the EEBC decision by Ethiopia or the international com-munity is a violation of Article 4.2 of the Algiers Agreement that clearly stipulates that “the Com-mission shall not have the power to make decisions ex aequo et bono”

Ministry of Foreign AffairsAsmara

19 June 2015

COI: Devoid of...

Continued from page 4

Eritrea Profile, Saturday June 20th, 2015 6

June 20, Eritrean Martyrs’ Day, is a day of great significance to Eritreans worldwide. It is an occa-sion where nationals reiterate their commitment to honor the fallen he-roes. Parallel with this the Eritrean Government has been working in augmenting the martyrs’ trust funds on the basis of a monthly benefit scheme. On this special oc-casion Eritrea Profile conducted an interview with Mr. Mihreteab Fessehaye, Director General of the Human Welfare in the Ministry of MLHW.

What is the impact 20th June Eri-trea’s Martyr’s day has?

As we all know very well, 84.000

heroes and heroines of Eritrea, paid their lives to ensure our National independence and subsequent pres-ervation of our country’s sov-ereignty. Our martyrs are from a broad spectrum of livelihood, ages, sex, ethnic, backgrounds across the country. They were all in their active and productive ages and took on the responsibility of offering hope for the survival of their people. This colossal and unprecedented human sacrifice laid the foundation for the vigilance and self - reliance of the general public which is playing a critical role in the reconstruction and development of our country.

Our martyrs are remembered in all our daily prayers. And indeed it has become the norm to open and close all our meetings, gatherings and Na-tional holydays with a minute of si-lence of their remembrance.

That is why June 20 is commemo-rated by all Eritreans inside and out-

side the country. It is an occasion to solemnly remember the pledges we made to support their children, wives and parents. Most of all, dur-ing this day we renew our promises and commitments to build a pros-perous country where social justice prevails.

Moreover, although this is al-most a daily routine in the Eritrean families, it is an important occasion whereby the history of the sacrifice paid and success achieved must be retold and narrated to children and youth of the present generation born after the independence. This will ensure the nourishment of our hard won independence.

Therefore, it has become part of our tradition and culture to think about our martyrs in connection to the progress and commitment we make in the reconstruction of the country and the support we extend to the families of martyrs. 20th June 1982 was selected to be the official day to commemorate our martyrs mainly because; June 20th 1982 marked the end of the Six offensive in our victory but also marking the offensive in which the highest num-ber of martyrdom.

Tell us briefly about the assis-tance extended by the government to families of martyrs.

The policy and principles of the people and the Government of the State of Eritrea emphasizes the deep commitment it upholds to the mar-tyrs’ families in order to revive and sustain their livelihoods. This is, of course, in harmony with the long lived tradition and culture of the Eri-trean people to provide assistance to

the needy and disadvantaged mem-bers of their community. Hence to realize the fulfillment of this noble culture and tradition of cooperation, the Government promulgated proc-lamation NO 48-1994, in which it is asserted that support of various kind will be extended to the families and dependents of our martyrs.

This proclamation, in effect, le-gally entitled the beneficiaries to claim for support. In 1994, the then new Government of the state of Eri-trea gave 10,000 Nakfa to each of the martyrs’ beneficiaries. It was a period when it had limited resource at its disposal.

Although, the number of depen-dents of the survivors of martyr sub-stantially increased after the border conflict with Ethiopia which lasted from 1998 to 200, he government despite its limited resources contin-ued its support to the target benefi-ciaries.

This unflinching commitment on the part of the government was backed by proclamation NO. 137/2003 that ensures the allocation of safety net provision of a grant fund of Nakfa 500 a month for a martyr’s dependents –children, wid-ows, spouses and surviving biologi-cal parents.

Although the ministry of labor and human welfare is entrusted with the overall responsibility of ensuring the implementation of the scheme, it is the National Insurance Corporation of Eritrea that disburses the monthly payments provided for in the procla-mation. Starting 2004 to may 2010, the actual amount thus disbursed amounted to 2 billion Nakfa.

In addition to the above, the or-phans of martyrs have been provid-ed with long-term support to enable them to carry on their lives more smoothly. As part of this provision, volunteer extended families are giv-en income generating support to host orphans of martyrs and to take care of their education, health and daily subsistence. In short, the long term goal of all the above initiative is to enable the disadvantaged martyr’s families to attain sustainable and self-reliant economic livelihood.

How do you access the effective-ness of t monetary, moral and other support being extended by Eri-trean citizens residing inside and abroad?

In Eritrea, it is a long standing noble tradition for individuals and communal social problems to be, first and foremost, taken care of by the networks of the family, com-munity and the general public. It is, indeed, a daunting task to quantify and recount all the monetary and non-monetary support given by members of community. Needless to say that it plays a critical role in the empowerment of families of fallen heroes - empowerment to enhance their ability to be productive and re-sponsible citizens.

Such support takes many forms including tilling farm land, assist during harvest time, in kind sup-port in the form of grain and other farm products, labor support for the renovation of dwelling, etc. it is also a common practice for local traders and shop-keepers to give support in form of cash.

Eritreans in the Diaspora have been playing a proactive role in the implementation of this scheme. Sup-port from Eritreans living aboard usually takes the form of sponsor-ing members of the families of mar-tyrs. Periodic cash grant is given to families of fallen heroes. When such support is given in lump-sum (two years grant) it is quite often the case that it could generate substantial in-come when the beneficiaries invest it in petty trade or other appropriate income generating schemes.

In addition to the financial sup-

port, many Eritreans residing abroad have established personal contact with the families of martyrs’ whom they meet they come to their home-land. Besides, they have extended their additional moral and financial support to encourage martyr’s in their endeavor to be self sustaining.

Such physical meetings between beneficiaries and benefactors have resulted, among other things, in (i) extending their support to families of martyrs to life-long: (ii) oth-ers increased their sponsorship to more than one family: (iii) still oth-ers rendered support to children of martyrs in king (school materials, clothes, and expenses to cover spe-cial events)

Do you have any message in connection with June 20th, martyrs day?

It is appropriate, at this juncture to reiterate that people and Govern-ment of Eritrea are fully indebted to our martyrs’, who bestowed their precious lives in the realization of the independence and sovereignty of our country.

But equally for their eternal re-membrance for as all to remain vigilant and preserve this preciously attained independence and sover-eignty: the values thus inculcated in the minds of all Eritreans have up-lifted their self-respect and esteem-self- respect including of course that families of the martyrs.

Last but not least, I would like to seize this opportunity to express my deep sincere gratitude for the support extended to the families of martyrs’ by all fellow citizens resid-ing inside and outside the country. Moreover, I call upon all Eritreans to continue and strengthen their sup-port to the survivors of fallen heroes and heroines. After all, it is by ac-tively participating in such holy en-deavors that we can all contribute to all livelihoods in the families of martyrs and hence contribute our share in the continuous preservation of our independence.

“GoE emphasizes its deep commitment to Martyrs’ families…”

Martyrs Trust Fund, a social safety net that works

ERITREA in Mainstream MediaEritrea Profile, Saturday June 20th, 2015 7

The Commission of Inquiry and the Mainstream Media

Sophia Tesfamariam

When the politically mo-tivated Commission of In-quiry on Eritrea (COIE) issued its Report through the mainstream media as op-posed to presenting it to the UN Human Rights Council, the body which authorized its mandate and to whom the COIE purports to report to, it was clear that the media was going to play the lead role in the propagation of the unsubstantiated report and its overly biased contents without due verification of facts.

The activities of the Spe-cial Rapporteur and her part-ners belie her professed neutrality and the COIE’s quest for the truth about Eritrea. The COIE’s methodology will be ad-dressed in future sittings; it is the use of the media to disseminate the Report’s findings that will be the focus here.

During the Press Conference held on 8 June, Sheila Keetharuth, the Special Rapporteur, said: “We de-cided to make the report publicly available today -- a fortnight before its formal presentation to the Hu-man Rights Council – in part to af-ford member States time to famil-iarize themselves with its contents before the Council discussions…We also know there is considerable media interest in the report. So I am here as a member of the com-mission to brief you and take any questions you may have…I assume most of you have had a chance to look at the advance information we sent you and have some questions. Before I take your questions, how-ever, I would like to go over some of our conclusions and recommen-dations…”

The self-inflating media appear-ances in various outlets by Sheila Keetharuth, the COIE and those who contributed to the reports compilations were at best sensa-tion-seeking, and at worse, fear-mongering.

This author does not know if this is normal practice in such proceedings, but it would seem to be quite prejudi-cial to the people of Eritrea and its leadership who are woefully disadvantaged by having one side not only

present its case to the public through the media before the Human Rights Council has had a chance to receive it formally and sanction it as a credible and legitimate repre-sentation of the facts on Eri-trea, but also to subject all stakeholders to a diversionary tac-tic designed to create moral panic and reinforce stereotypes about Eritrea and its leadership.

Various “Christian” sites also joined the mainstream media in this unprovoked, vituperative attack of the people and Government of Eri-trea. Through their websites they added to the exaggerations and dis-tortion of facts as a way to entice their readers and funders. None was as extreme as Stoyan Zaimov of the Christian Post. In his June 15 article, Zaimov writes that an Eri-trean named Yohan: “…had been “tied up like an animal” and forced to eat “trash mixed with dirty rain water,” while bound outside and exposed to torrential rains, a burn-ing desert sun at day and bitter cold nights…”

The Sinai is said to be so in-hospitable that if a man was left behind he might die in the burning desert sun during the day and bitter cold at night. I do not think any-one has ever heard of Eritrea be-ing described that way. Obviously Zaimov knows nothing about Eri-trean culture because had he known a thing or two, he would not have written such a ridiculous piece, as it would be easily debunked. As for torrential rains in Eritrea, one would wish they would come.

The disconnect between the reality on the ground in Eritrea, the one that was corroborated by various UN agencies in Eritrea, visiting lawmakers from various European nations, the Eritrean Diaspora and the thousands of tourists that visit Eritrea annually, and the unsub-stantiated reality created in the minds of Eritrea’s sworn enemies and their surrogates and propagated by an orchestrated “media blitz”, has triggered an avalanche of re-sponses through social media and the ire of Eritreans everywhere.

The release of the biased and in-sulting COIE report and the delib-erately confusing and distorted re-porting that followed has incensed the Eritrean people everywhere, and the Diaspora in particular.

The media frenzy has aroused na-tionalist passions within the close knit community.The exaggerated and hostile headlines are accumu-lating and the intentions are quite apparent and transparent.

Although there was nothing that had happened in Eritrea that would warrant a “news wave”, it was obvious, even to the most cynical observer that the media appear-ances, patronizing statements and the many articles produced in the various blogs by non-descript in-dividuals and groups were the in-gredients necessary to create the impression that the human rights situation in Eritrea had suddenly deteriorated into a crisis… and that it demanded the world’s attention. The carefully crafted narratives which include phrases such as “a shoot to kill policy”, “ruled by fear not the law”, “crimes against hu-manity”, “gross and widespread vi-olations”, etc, are meant to trigger an emotional response. They are not new and have been used before. As a matter of fact Amnesty Inter-national has used them in previous

campaigns. North Korea, Israel and even the United States had all been accused of having a “shoot to kill” policy. By using similar terminolo-gy, the COIE and its informants be-lieved the accusations would stick.

The COIE wrongly believed it would get away with it all. It un-derestimated the Eritrean peoples’ resolve. It chose to listen to the out-rageous claims filed by self-serving individuals and groups instead of listening to all voices. It sought evi-dence to fit its predetermined con-clusions about the State of Eritrea and its people instead of searching for the truth and it subordinated the rights of the Eritrean people to the whims of Eritrea’s enemies.

The people of Eritrea are now em-broiled in a moral fight with the COIE. They will not take this sit-ting down. Thousands of Eritreans from Europe and even some from the United States and other parts of the world will be demonstrating on June 22 to protest the COIE’s or-chestrated campaigns against the State of Eritrea and its people us-ing human rights as a pretext, and they will remind all of Ethiopia’s

15-year long occupation of sover-eign Eritrean territories, a violation of the human rights of the Eritrean people and their right to live in peace within their internationally recognized borders.

They will protest Ethiopia’s vio-lation of international law and the Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Com-mission’s delimitation and demar-cation rulings, a violation of the African Union and United Nation’s Charters, which call for respect for the sovereignty and territorial in-tegrity of member states.

The media hype will soon die down, if it hasn’t already and once the dust settles, questions on the integrity of the COIE report, and the credibility of the COIE itself will come under greater scrutiny. Those who relied on the media, the COIE, and its in-formants for information on Eritrea will soon discover that they have been taken for a ride. For those seeking to adjust their policies for Eritrea, a word of caution-wait for the facts before making rush con-clusions lest you find out too late, that your policies were developed on quicksand….

8Eritrea Profile, Saturday June 20th, 2015

Nation in Memory of Supreme Tribute