Move at U.N. to sanction Eritrea over Somalia links

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A draft U.N. Security Council resolution calls for an arms embargo against Eritrea and travel bans and asset freezes for members of its government and military for aiding Islamist insurgents in Somalia.

The resolution, obtained by Reuters on Thursday, was drafted by temporary Security Council member Uganda and has been circulated to other members of the 15-nation panel, U.N. diplomats said.

The United States and other council members accuse Eritrea of supplying al Shabaab rebels with money and weapons as they fight to topple the fragile U.N.-backed transitional government of Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, the official leader of the virtually lawless Horn of Africa nation.

The fighting in Somalia has killed nearly 19,000 civilians since the start of 2007 and driven 1.5 million from their homes.

Among the measures called for in the draft is a ban on all sales to Asmara of "weapons and ammunition, military vehicles and equipment, paramilitary equipment, and spare parts."

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Doors close on Eritrean community

The Eritrean Social Club—which since 1985 had been located just east of Broadway in a University-owned building on 125th Street—was evicted in July for nonpayment of rent after a final extension from a June eviction date. Now, while leaders continue to look for new sites, they have found nothing suitable, and the club is “not operating,” said club secretary Berhe Kifle, who also works in the finance and administration department of the Permanent Mission of Eritrea to the United Nations.

“Especially in that area, it is very, very expensive,” Kifle said, adding that the club had considered locations in the Bronx, but members rejected these locations because they were not easily accessible by subway or bus.

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SAUDI TRYING TO STOP ERITREAN WEAPON SMUGGLING TO YEMEN

Saudi Arabia is trying to stop weapons reaching Al-Houthi rebels in Northern Yemen by imposing a naval blockade at both its eastern and western shores.

Naval forces were stationed November 12 near the northern Yemeni coast in support of the Yemeni government’s attempts to put down the insurrection.

The Saudi navy extended its blockade to prevent a second smuggling route across the Red Sea from Yemen’s western neighbor Eritrea.

Horn of Africa Project Director with the International Crisis Group, EJ Hogendoorn, told The Media Line, the blockade did not come as a surprise “given Eritrea and Yemen’s strained relationship.”

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Call for smart sanctions against Eritrea regime

EU parliamentarian Ana Gomes has called for "Smart Sanctions that hurt the people in power and not the people of Eritrea".

Ambassador Gomes was speaking in Brussels where EU and US officials and experts have gathered to discuss alternative approaches in dealing with the intransigent Eritrea regime.

She told delegates that the EU should work to address the Eritrea-Ethiopia border issue in coordination with the US and UN Security Council.

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President of Eritrea dismisses allegations

ASMARA, Eritrea -- In this lonely corner of the world, the first sign of distress is the luggage. When one of the few international flights that are still operating here touched down one recent afternoon, the returning passengers emerged from baggage claim as if from a big shopping trip. Old metal trolleys squealed under the weight of mundane items: tires, a laptop computer, tubs of detergent and duffel bags crammed so tightly with food that tin cans bulged through the fabric.

The needs are acute in Eritrea, a narrow shard of sand and rock along the Red Sea that's presided over by one of Africa's most secretive regimes. As its quixotic experiment in economic self-reliance falters, the Ohio-sized country of 5 million has slipped into its deepest political isolation in its 16 years of independence.

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Eritrea is Focus of Brussels Meeting

International experts and politicians are in Brussels for a two-day meeting on ways to harmonize European and American policy on Eritrea and other parts of the Horn of Africa.

The meeting is sponsored by Europe External Policy Advisors, a Brussels-based research group. It is being held amid mounting international concern about Eritrea's human-rights policy and allegations the Eritrean government supports Islamist insurgents in neighboring Somalia.

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Eritrea: rights report blasts torture state

A new report by the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights details "extensive and systematic" rights violations faced by thousands of political prisoners in Eritrea. The report charges that between 10,000 and 30,000 people are held in a country of about five million. Prisoners are held in shipping containers, or in bunkers deep underground. Torture is routine, with victims sometimes hung from their wrists and feet from trees in the sun or the rain.

The president of the Oslo Center, Kjell Magne Bondevik, calls for the appointment of a UN fact finding commission in order to chart the human rights violations in that country. "The human rights violations on the Horn of Africa have been overlooked year after year, and the Western countries' focus has been directed to other issues, such as stability and security," he said. "It is time now to direct the focus to the oppression of a forgotten people."

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African immigrants and refugees in Europe, Part 2

With few options for housing, a group of Eritreans we met recently took over an office building in Colitana. After the completion of the building, engineers found that the water below the foundation made it unsafe for occupancy and the owners abandoned it. A group of Italian activists known as “Movement Action” who are fighting for the rights of the homeless to have shelter informed the refugees of its availability.

It is one of the most coveted living spaces because it has solid walls, access to water and even heating. About 200 individuals live there. Of these, we were told that less than 10 percent are women and there are no children. There is no security in these quarters because police can move the refugees out at any time. There is also the constant fear of having their space invaded by gangs and outsiders, which makes the women in particular highly vulnerable.

The site we visited is in Ponte Mammolo located near the center of the city of Rome. The space, originally an open “garden” area with one little shed, was discovered by chance and inhabited by an Eritrean individual. Soon others came seeking shelter from the cold. As the community grew, they started constructing structures with cinder blocks and sheetrock, using tin roofs to keep out the rain. Shabby to look at and structurally unsound, the makeshift housing is a welcomed haven from the open streets. (See the video tour of Ponte Mammolo below.)

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African immigrants and refugees in Europe, Part 1

He recounted that the deaths begin to happen the longer they are at sea. But that most die, ironically, at the moment of sighting a rescue ship, when panic sets in as each individual competes to be first to go up the ladder to safety. It is a fight to the death as people get pushed aside, some falling into the sea, others remaining on the boat when the rescue ship departs, having filled its quota. Those who have not been picked up know this is their last chance. With no food or water, it is a matter of hours before they would die in the sea.

Before embarking on their voyage across the Mediterranean, almost all of the young Eritrean men left their country by making their way to neighboring Sudan. From there, they embarked on the perilous journey across the Sahara Desert. Another 20-year-old Eritrean man recalled memories of sand as far as he could see, of thirst beyond belief, of the daily fear and uncertainty about living another day, of the people who died along the way and were buried in the sand, nothing to mark their graves, just a mound of sand. Each mound in the otherwise flat desert was an indicator of someone who did not make it. He wondered if that would be his fate.

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Helping Refugees Find a New Life

"If you're going to sponsor a family, it means you're willing to guide them, provide transportation, help set up their apartments," says Duhamel.

Duhamel attends Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Harrisonburg, which is where she learned about the opportunity to help. Several people from the church are involved helping the refugees.

"We were assuming we were going to get an Iraqi family, perhaps an Afghan family. And instead we found out on June 18 that our family was coming from Eritrea," says Duhamel.

Eritrea sits north of Ethiopia. The two countries have fought off and on for decades. Even when the countries aren't fighting, there's still tension.

Selam Gebregziabher has lived in both places. She's on a journey with her sister, Helen.

"They had to flee their own country and find refuge within Ethiopia, which was the enemy because their country has had such a dictatorial government that forces people into national service. So, it's like forced military training even for young girls," says Duhamel.

Selam says, "[Eritrea] was not safe, especially for women, children. They were abused there physically, psychologically. In general

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