Foreign powers to blame for refugee exodus

Published May 25, 2016

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Asmara - Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki has claimed the exodus of youth to Europe is a deliberate policy fomented by foreign powers to weaken the country, in a speech released on Wednesday.

The hardline regime is accused of jailing thousands of political prisoners while refugees from the repressive Red Sea state have in recent years made up one of the largest contingents of people risking the dangerous journey to seek a new life in Europe.

But the 70-year-old ex-rebel Marxist leader said in a speech on Tuesday to mark 25 years of independence that the 5 000 Eritreans who risk their lives to flee the country every month according to the UN were leaving because they were encouraged to do so.

“The greatest historical threat to Eritrea's arch-enemies being the Eritrean people, 'human trafficking' was employed to disperse and weaken Eritrea's human capital,” Isaias said, in the speech released by the Ministry of Information.

“This policy was given paramount priority under the rubric of 'granting asylum status' to Eritreans. The campaign was formalised with the official blessing of the US president.”

Eritrea split from Ethiopia in 1991 after a three-decade independence war, which saw Eritrean rebels battling far better-equipped Ethiopian troops which were backed first by Washington and then by the Soviet Union.

Victory in May 1991 was followed by an independence referendum two years later.

He also blamed the woes of the isolated Horn of Africa nation on deliberate policies to undermine its economy, and said the past quarter century had been “sadly a narrative of incisive hostility against the sovereignty and independence” of Eritrea.

“Economic sabotage is further resorted to on a constant basis, with the aim of creating poverty and starvation to instigate crisis in the country,” Isaias said, criticising the nations that block Asmara's demands that its expatriates pay a two percent income tax via its embassies.

The expatriate taxes that are collected, along with gold, copper and zinc mines, are one of its few sources of foreign income.

With an annual per capita gross national income of $480, Eritrea is one of the world's poorest nations, according to the World Bank.

“Various subterfuges are also conducted by Washington to paralyse and destroy the mining industry and discourage foreign investment and development assistance,” he added.

Eritrea's media is ranked below North Korea as worst in the world for press freedom by Reporters Without Borders.

But Isaias said the problem Eritrea faced was the “psychological campaigns and media demonization” of the country, with “suffocating measures to prevent objective media portrayal of the reality in Eritrea”.

Isaias led the rebel army to victory and has remained in power without an election ever since.

Speaking in front of a military parade in the national sports stadium, he made no mention of stepping down from power or of elections.

He ended the speech by shouting “victory to the masses!”

AFP

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