Eritrean Civic Movement-EGS Raises Awareness on Human Rights in Washington D.C after a 4 Days Peace March



Angry Eritrean youths jeered and booed Professor Gideon Abay in Oakland on Sunday in which he had nothing except praise for government policies in a country which has been described as a “giant prison” by human rights advocates and democratic nations worldwide.
The youngsters were infuriated by the professor’s description that Eritreans fleeing the country were merely lured by better standards of living in the West. Prof Gideon, who has served as mathematics professor in the US for 20 years, was responding to a question from the audience about why so many Eritreans were risking their precious lives crossing forbidding and forbidden African deserts and deadly high seas seeking protection and refuge in unknown lands.

Mr. Artaa is Central Committee member of the Eritrean People’s Party (EPP). He was speaking in connection with the recent merger between his party and the Eritrean Democratic Resistance Movement of Gash Setit (EDRMGS).


Make no mistake: history is on the side of these brave Africans, and not with those who use coups or change Constitutions to stay in power. Africa doesn't need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.
America will not seek to impose any system of government on any other nation - the essential truth of democracy is that each nation determines its own destiny. What we will do is increase assistance for responsible individuals and institutions, with a focus on supporting good governance - on parliaments, which check abuses of power and ensure that opposition voices are heard; on the rule of law, which ensures the equal administration of justice; on civic participation, so that young people get involved; and on concrete solutions to corruption like forensic accounting, automating services, strengthening hotlines, and protecting whistle-blowers to advance transparency and accountability.

Examining war begins with very general questions: What is war? How can it be defined? And what causes war? Moreover, what are the relationships between Eritrea and war?
Let’s look at the definition of war first: Cicero defines war broadly as "a contention by force"; others say that war is the continuation of politics by violent means … in other words, when politics fails then war ensues. And the Oxford Dictionary expands the definition to include "any active hostility or struggle between living beings; a conflict between opposing forces or principles."
Eritrea has lived under wartime conditions for decades. I think that sort of life has changed the predisposition of our people. I am sure that applies to our neighboring countries as well. Anyway, it seems our attitudes towards matters of war and peace is somewhat different, perhaps worrying. First of all, Eritrea has never known real peace except during the 1991-1998 time frame. Now, considering the absence of peace, that is to say, the extended exposure to decades of war, do you think that has given rise to a shift in the ways our people think of war? Well, hold the thought. We will come back to this subject, but first let’s listen to the News.





Articles published in Eritrea's now-banned private newspapers are at the center of a mock political trial being filmed as an educational documentary this week at Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. Inside a courtroom on the sprawling Tempe, Ariz., campus, a judge of the High Court of Eritrea presides dispassionately, international observers lean into translation headphones, and defense lawyers challenge prosecutors to detail the vague antistate charges against 11 political dissidents. It's a trial that the real defendants were never afforded when they jailed nearly eight years ago.

Reporter Michael Abraha got hold of Seyoum Tesfaye - chairman of the Eritrean Global Solidarity to discuss the outcome of the recent pro-democracy events in Washington D.C. Michael first asked him if expectations have been met.
"Our struggle to transition Eritrea to Constitutional Democratic State by now should have been a full-blown dynamic popular movement. The June 18-21 activities measured by our urgent national responsibility are still not enough. That said for an organization that is only 18 months old the effort was a daring undertaking. We wanted to challenge established standards by combining four major projects under one package. Not trying to do something would have been a total failure. Doing something and learning in the process was a golden opportunity we could not miss. Strictly judged by EGS’ cursory “evaluation” of the events we undertook we think we have fared well. We are not wasting time congratulating ourselves. We have launched a thorough evaluation internally to make sure we do not avoid facing our shortcomings. We are going to dissect the agenda, the time line, the tasks, actions, team work, skill, time management , process flow, publicity, dissemination of information, diversity, cost, subject matter etc. in order to learn from our experience and do better next time. We have come out of this experience more united and determined to strengthen and expand the civic society. "

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Despite Somalia's current challenges, the Eritrean people still need your support. However I am very confident that your country will continue to show strong leadership on this issue and others, and for that you have my praise and admiration along with that of Eritreans around the world. Your support for the Eritrean people, for the fundamental rights of the Persons with Albinism, and for others, will not be forgotten.
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A Conference under the theme “Time for Change: Saving Eritrea’s Future” was held in Washington D.C. during the period May 24-25, 2013.
This conference, organized by Eritreans who came from all over the United States and Canada, was attended by about 2000 Eritrean-Americans, Eritrean-Canadians, and friends of Eritrea. This conference was held on the sidelines of the Washington D.C. demonstration, which has been sufficiently covered but on which we would like to dwell briefly.
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GENEVA (5 June 2013) – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Eritrea, Sheila B. Keetharuth, today reiterated her call on the international community to keep monitoring the human rights situation in Eritrea and to protect and support those fleeing the country, in particular the increasing numbers of unaccompanied children.
“I urge the international community to keep Eritrea under close scrutiny until meaningful change is evident,” Ms. Keetharuth said during the presentation of her first report to the UN Human Rights Council. “It will be important to increase efforts to constructively engage with Eritrea and neighbouring countries to improve the situation of human rights in the country.”
Egyptian politicians are embarrassed after being caught suggesting hostile acts against Ethiopia to stop it from building a dam across the Blue Nile. ...
As the participants did not know that the meeting was being aired live by state TV, they spoke their minds unreservedly.
Their suggestions centred around military action as a decisive response to what one of them called a "declaration of war".
One of the politicians suggested sending special forces to destroy the dam; another thought of jet fighters to scare the Ethiopians; and a third called for Egypt to support rebel groups fighting the government in Addis Ababa.
Large crowd of mostly youth Eritreans gathered in Oakland, California on Sunday May 26 to Celebrate our country’s 22nd Independence Day. This gathering was exceptional in many ways. To begin with, the National Holiday was prepared by the effort and co-operation of different political organizations, civic societies and independent citizens namely, Eritrean Youth Solidarity for Change (EYSC), Eritrean National Council for Democratic Change (ENCDC), Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) and Eritreans with no political affiliation. Secondly, the hall was packed with participants of all ages with mostly young men and women.
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An undisclosed country has agreed to absorb the majority of Eritrean citizens who have illegally entered Israel, representatives of the state said Sunday.
The remarks came during a High Court discussion of a petition filed by human rights groups against Israel's infiltrator's law, which allows for the detention of illegal migrants without trial.
(Photo: Eritrean migrants protest Negeve detention facility)
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Religious persecution in Eritrea is at its “highest level ever and getting worse,” an Eritrean Christian leader, who cannot be named for security reasons, has told the Christian charity Open Doors International.
Thirty-seven Christian students from the College of Arts and Social Sciences in the town of Adi Kihe, and five men from the Church of the Living God in Asmara, were arrested last week, taking the total number of Christians known to have been arrested this year to 191.
(Photo: College of Arts, Adi-Keyih)
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A Stockholm court has charged two young Swedish nationals of Middle Eastern origin with extortion in connection with the kidnappings of Eritrean asylum seekers.
The two, aged 21 and 18, allegedly demanded money from families living in Sweden for the safe return of loved ones. The suspects, who were arrested in February, have been accused of trying to extort $33,000 (£22,000) in ransom demands.
A Canadian chartered bank being used in Eritrea's controversial tax collection scheme is being urged to get out of it, CBC world affairs correspondent Rick MacInnes-Rae reports today from Winnipeg.
The UN says Eritrea relies on threats and coercion to extract two per cent of the income from Eritrean citizens in Canada. In Winnipeg, the money is then funnelled to the East-African dictatorship via Toronto-Dominion Bank, documents obtained by CBC News show.
In Eritrea, thousands of Christians are being detained without charge or trial in truly inhumane conditions.Please join us in protest against these injustices and to pray for God's intervention.
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May 24, 2013 Today hundreds marched in Washington, DC to decry the acute mistreatment of Eritrean people and the country itself by the self-serving and self-perpetuating government. At the Eritrea embassy, the group found a counter-demonstration set up by supposed regime supporters, which had arranged things ahead of time, forcing the local police to set up a caged “neutral area” between the groups. The freedom-loving opposition side outnumbered the regime supporters by at least half again. The vehemence of the oppositionists surpassed the other group, whose voice was primarily loud music, and which did not have its usual covey of children along. Ironically, the regime supporters who were demonstrating against the oppositionists, were using the freedom of expression available here but not to any oppositionists back home.
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