Letter to Djibouti Government on the Status of Eritrean Refugees and Prisoners of War

Letter to Djibouti Government on the Status of Eritrean Refugees and Prisoners of War

ICER has appealed to the Djibouti government through its representatives in the UN  regarding the Eritrean refugee-prisoners and the Prisoners of War kept in the Nagad prison. However, our appeal will be more effective if  persons or organization take it upon themselves to do likewise. There is no reason why the sisterly government of Djibouti will not listen to a genuine appeal by people of good will and humanitarian organizations. We invite each to take the challenge and intensify the struggle toward the liberation of the innocent victims in Djibouti.

International Commission on Eritrean Refugees
6o West 106 Street, 4C
New York, NY 10025-3878
E-Mail : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://ICEritreanRefugees.org
Executive office

Ministerial Delegation to the United Nations
Ambassador Roble Olhaye
Permanent Mission of Djibouti to the United Nations
866 UN Plaza, Suite 4011
New York, N. Y. 10017

Excellencies,

I present my compliments to you and your delegation and avail of this opportunity to petition your Government’s mercy and assistance to the Eritrean Refugees and Prisoners of War currently held in the Republic of Djibouti.

There are three categories of Eritreans in need of dire assistance in your esteemed country. The prisoners of war that were captured in the war of June 2008, Eritreans who sought asylum in Djibouti after deserting the Eritrean Defense Forces and Eritrean civilians who have been recognized as refugees and are currently under the care of UNHCR.

The mass exodus of Eritreans is a sad reality that has caused an influx of refugees to all of its neighboring countries. While, we are grateful for the cooperation of Djiboutian authorities who have assisted in transferring some asylum seekers to the care of UNHCR, we are aware that 334 Eritreans who have been identified as Army deserters are being kept in the Nagad Prison under harsh conditions. As your country has a firsthand experience of the Eritrean government’s belligerent and aggressive acts, you will fully sympathize as to how much more oppression the Eritrean population is subjected. All young and not so young, as the age limit is now raised to the mid-sixties, have to serve in the army for an endless national service. Since the start of the military aspect of the National Service in 1994, an estimated 550,000 men and women have been subjected to training and serving in the army.

As such, it is unlikely that one will find an Eritrean who has not taken part in the service of the army in one form or another. I would like to bring to your attention the plight of Eritreans in the Nagad Prison and the special concern we have as some who are suffering from communicable disease, including Tuberculosis, are kept together and seek your humanitarian assistance to get them released from the prison and transferred to UNHCR.

I also wish to request the mercy of your Government on the Prisoners of War captured during the border conflict. Unlike the rogue government in Eritrea which up to now refused to acknowledge neither the conflict of June 2008 nor the dead and the imprisoned members of the Djibouti armed forces per International norms, your government was gracious enough to provide account of the incident and report it to International Committee of the Red Cross. These prisoners of war are just like the many others drafted in to the army and are of no consequence to the Eritrean Government who has refused to acknowledge their existence. While I trust the Government of Djibouti to treat those prisoners of war in accordance with the Geneva Conventions, I beg that it goes one step further and release them and recognized them as part of the refugee population.

As we have done in the past, my organization is ready to assist in any manner. We have transferred refugees from neighboring countries to Ethiopia, whose government has generously set up refugee camps for them. Since the pressure such a large number of refugees bring to the local resources is considerable, we would appreciate it if your Government would consider accepting the request of any Eritrean refugees that may wish to be transferred to Ethiopia with the Government’s permission. In Ethiopia, the Eritrean refugees will be able to find assistance amongst their kin who are already in the camps and as many of the refugees are coming from the highlands of Eritrea, they share cultural and religious ties with the population around the refugee camps set up in Ethiopia.

I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to you my assurance of highest consideration and once again implore your Government to look into the dire situation of Eritrean refugees in Djibouti. The people of Eritrea will be forever grateful for the brotherly assistance given to it in these dark hours of its history.
Respectfully,

Mr. Yebio Woldemariam, Ph.D
President, International Commission on Eritrean Refugees

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