I am a "Pente" as they call us, that used to support the Eritrean government's actions against Jehovah's Witnesses. However when the government started persecuting us I had second thoughts and now I realize that I was totally wrong in not speaking out in support of free worship. As the old adage goes "if they come for them in the morning they will come for us in the evening". Two years ago I posted an apology to all Jehovah's Witnesses for my stand against them. I hope they will forgive me.-- janet tesfai, boulder, colorado u.s., BBC World Service website 

The authorities in Eritrea have repeatedly demonstrated that they will stop at nothing to maintain their grip on power, even if this means reducing Eritrea to a state-in-name only. In some aspects, their crackdown against the “non-sanctioned” minority religions is not new; it is a continuation of their 1994 crackdown against the Jehovah’s Witnesses http://www.awate.com/artman/publish/article_1454.shtml and against “fundamentalist Muslims,” which was received by indifference and, as Janet Tesfai admits, even encouragement from the Eritrean people.  But this attack against a religious group is different in one key aspect: this is the first time that the authorities are placing the leadership of the major religions and denominations (Islam, Tewahdo, Catholic and Kenisha) in a position of endorsing their persecution of religious minorities.  This is a dangerous precedent that should be rejected by the faithful and, indeed, by all Eritreans regardless of whether the religious leaders actually wrote the statement or, as we believe, they were coerced into lending their name to a document authored by the PFDJ.  

The goverenment’s treatment of “minority religions,” and its response to the criticism of the treatment, has all the hallmarks that have now come to symbolize PFDJ: stonewalling, deception, cruelty, corruption and political obtuseness.

Stonewalling  

The PFDJ’s first response to any crisis is to stonewall: to pretend that the problem does not exist.  This stonewalling takes a variety of faux-virtuous names including “sqta” (quietude), “teEgsti” (patience) but the purpose is the same: to wear out and dispirit the questioners into giving up. It understands that most people cannot sustain their outrage or anger at injustice and will come to accept it as their fate.

One way to stonewall is to pretend that you have no knowledge of a brewing crisis. In 1992-93, the University of Asmara was going through a massive upheaval with its faculty largely because Isaias Afwerki was uninterested in having an independent academic institution and wanted loyal enforcers of his orders.  When asked about this, Isaias Afwerki, who happens to be Chancellor of the University, feigned ignorance and said he will look into it.  When the disabled combatants had a mutinee and got an audience with him, he, who happens to be the Commander-in-chief, feigned ignorance about the issues they raised. When the indpendent Eritrean journalists, in the only press conference they ever had, asked him about “mdskal,” he, who happens to have perfected this communist invention of making a “non-person” of an individual, responded that he knows nothing about it. So, it was not surprising that when Eritrean university students in South Africa asked him about the crisis of the “minority religions”, he, who happens to directly supervise the Director of Religious Affairs, feigned ignorance.

In addition to the “it is not my department” stonewalling, there is the equally confusing PFDJ practice of having official and unofficial spokespersons addressing an issue that has nothing to do with their job title.  It is not the Justice Minister who addresses issues of justice; it is the Secretary of the Party; it is not the Foreign Minister who speaks to issues of international relations, but the Advisor to the President.  Thus, the Director of Religious Affairs (within the Ministry-without-minister of Local Government), to whom the issue of religious affairs should be addressed, has said nothing on the matter.

Deception 

Once the PFDJ has exhausted the path of stonewalling, its first impulse in addressing any crisis is to play it down and claim that whatever the crisis is, it is not new and it is not a big deal.  Ethiopia’s ability to penetrate deep into Eritrea is “not new”, the international community’s response is “not new,” the post-war crisis within PFDJ was “not new,” the inflation is not new, the absence of oil is not new.

Every draconian measure the authorities take can always be explained by some law—actually, a proclamation—that had been authored years earlier but had never been used. In 2003, when they decided to, without notice, require exit visas and inconvenienced thousands of visitors, they explained that there was nothing new. Similarly, their insistence that religious institutions register was explained as nothing new, and an un-implemented and long-forgotten Proclamation from 1995 was re-introduced to justify, after the fact, the closure of the “minority churches.”

A copy of Proclamation 73/1995, which we have translated to English, follows this editorial (see annex for the original in Tigrigna.)  Once the authorities pass beyond the stonewalling phase and the “not new” phase, then they embark on issuing a series of contradictory explanations for their persecution of the day.

In the case of the persecution of the practioners of the minority religions, all of the following contradictory explanations have been offered:

·         The minority religions failed to comply with the Directive;

·         The minority religions have complied, but their application is being processed;

Their most recent explanation, verbalized through the majority religion leaders, is that the minority religions have failed to register whereas the majority religions have.  We ask our readers to look at the document and ask if the claim passes minimum tests of credibility and fairness:

(a) The form requires the religious establishments to provide a report of their membership “by gender, by age, by educational level, by skill, by families, by village; town; sub zone and zone.” How are the religious institutions expected to provide information that the government authorities, with all their resources, have not been able to do for the last 13 years that they have been in power: provide a census of Eritrea?

(b) The US State Department reports that this form was not required of the majority religions but the statement that was issued in the name of the majority religions and denominations states that they have. Looking at the detail required in the form, which claim is more credible?

(c) If the persecuted minority religions have failed to provide information because they believe that the document will be used as an arrest warrant to round up their flock, what assurances have the authorities given them to get their co-operation?

(d) If the minority religions have filled out the form and submitted it as directed, how long will they have to wait in a “pending” status?

To escape from these kinds of questions, Isaias Afwerki has perfected another technique, which is to rotate the Faces of PFDJ.  This ensures that there will be no continuity and each Face can claim to be new to the job and unencumbered by previous assurances or promises. In 2001, when the president of the student union, Semere Kesete, was arrested, and Amnesty International asked for an explanation, the then-face of PFDJ, Yemane Gebremeskel, claimed that “Eritrean law allows - like most legal systems - remand up to 28 days. So, he is being held in custody in accordance with the law.”  Once the 28 days had come and gone (Semere was in jail for over a year, before he escaped to Ethiopia), Yemane Gebremeskel could not be asked a follow-up question because he had given the Mask of PFDJ to someone else. The latest Mask of PFDJ, Ali Abdu, has explained that the arrest of the journalists (originally explained by Yemane Geberemskel as failure to comply with national service; then revised by Isaias himself as due to spying) has been for three years and “three years is not a long time.” 

After stonewalling and deception, the loop is complete once again because the next phase is “stonewalling.”  When the authorities arrested Reverand Haile Naizgi, Dr. Kiflu Geberemeskel and Pastor Tesfatsion Hagos, all from “minority religions”, one sent word to his family that they shouldn’t “expect my release anytime soon” because he understands their stonewalling.  The next phase: cruelty.

Cruelty & Corruption

Out of Ivory Coast, Liberia, Somalia, and Haiti, frightening stories were told of authorities terrorizing their own citizens: cutting limbs, burning people alive, shooting on sight.  But there was a simple, if horrific, explanation for all these atrocities: the authorities, who were kids, were reported to be on drugs. There is simply no explanation for the psychological and physical cruelty the PFDJ inflicts on its own citizens, other than its crass ambitions to retain undisputed power, which is the worst kind of corruption.

In this regard, the cruelty the authorities are inflicting on the “minority religions” is a continuation of their practice against Eritreans of all background, as chronicled by Amnesty International’s “You Have No Right To Ask”, as well as various first-hand testimonials provided by Eritreans who escaped its abuse.  What probably makes their case different is that entire families, including children as young as 6 and men as old as 90, are being arrested by the authorities.

If you are tempted to dismiss the human rights record of the Eritrean authorities as an exaggeration, consider the following testimony provided by one of the members of the “minority religions” who was held in a shipping container: “it’s like being stuck in an oven in the daytime; and then overnight it becomes a refrigerator.”  This sadistic treatment does not even spare men in their 90’s!

Political Obtuseness

Although statistics are hard to come by, the number of “evangelicals” is estimated to be around 20,000 and that of the Jehovah’s Witnesses around 1,500.  In a nation of nearly 4 million people, they account for about half of 1%.  Those who dismiss allegations of abuse and consider it a distortion and exaggeration cite the small size of the minorities to excuse the behavior of the authorities. But this is wrong. First, it is morally wrong and the size of the persecuted, or their political influence, should not have any impact on their right to live free of torture and persecution.  Even if one does not think that this does not rise to the level of persecution should consider the issue in terms of percentage: almost 500 adherents of minority religions are reported to be in jail which accounts for 1 out of 5!

But even those who espouse a relativist approach to morality and are not swayed by appeals to doing the right thing and use "demarcation" for every explanation should consider the political cost of this persecution. The evangelical movement is a potent political force, particularly in the United States. At a time when it is appealing to the United States for a variety of legal and economical reliefs, is it in the interest of Eritrea to antagonize one of the most influential and powerful political force?  Some may argue that the Eritrean authorities willingness to antagonize the United States is further evidence that the PFDJ will do the right thing irrespective of what the world thinks of its actions and embellishes its independent nature. But if that were the case, why would they take the trouble to have the religious leaders draft a response to the State Department report? A more plausible explanation is that the PFDJ, once again, miscalculated badly and it is the Eritrean people, that will once again, bear the cost of its miscalculation.

Speaking of politics, we do acknowledge the concerns of those who say that the religious stability of Eritrea was maintained for centuries because each religion and denomination had its own sphere and any new factor that is introduced (relatively new religions, uneven proselytizing resources, cultural zeitgeist, for example) is likely to impact this balance. But this balancing act of safeguarding the people’s right to freely worship their God (or not worship) and the need for established religions to feel protected from the influences of popular culture or other religions is something that is best left to individuals and organizations who have the wisdom and the experience, and their freely-elected representatives in a people’s assembly.  The PFDJ, an autocratic, Godless, arrogant, cruel and inhumane organization, is the least equipped to deal with maintaining this balance and its heavy-handed approach should be condemned and rejected. It is wrong, it is dangerous and those who are indifferent to the persecution of the religious minorities should remember: "if they come for them in the morning they will come for us in the evening."

awateteam@awate.com

State of Eritrea
Ministry of Local Government
department of Religious Affairs
Religious Advisory Form

Introduction: Based on Proclamation 73/1995, the office of religious affairs is preparing this inquiry to compile a general notice and study.¹

1. What will be filled out in this inquiry
Formal Name of the religion
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

 Name of the followers of the faith

2.  Address of the main office/administration
Zone __________________          sub-zone _________________
Neighborhood __________
Street _________________  Zip ____________Home Number ___________
P.O.Box ____________________          Fax __________________________
Tel ____________________  E-mail ___________________________

3. Distinguishing features of the religious faith in brief
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

4. World-wide (economical) ² ecumenical origin of the faith
Place/Nation   _________________________________________________
Year _________________________________________________________

Short explanation___________________________________
4.1  Was established (proselytized) in Eritrea in:     Year_______________
Short explanation _______________________________________________     ______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

5.  Number of adherents of faith: 
    Estimated number of adherents____________________

6.  Source of Income:  
    6.1 From within the nation: ___________________________
    6.2 From overseas

    Short Explanation: ____________________________              ___________________________________________
                            ___________________________________________

7. Existing Capital
7.1  Money (Cash) _________________________________
7.2  Property (estimated cash value) _______________________
7.3  Sum __________________________________________________

II. Information that is to be provided in a table format 

1. Record of individuals who provide religious service
2. Record of permanent religious staff
3. Record of the number and address of places of worship; associations; field work; offices; service-providers and institutions
4. Record of liquid and non-liquid assets of the religion
5. Record of overseas partners; associations
6. Record of foreigners who are here to work or provide service
7. Record of services and projects provided (service related, charitable, donation)
8. Record of periodic publications and notices issued

 III. Information that is to be provided in narrative

1. Official name of the religion
2. The Faith It Follows
3. Doctrine

        3.1 Distinguishing features of the religion 

4. Brief background of the religion:

• Its origins, worldwide

• Circumstances regarding its establishment in Eritrea (When, how…)

• Its development in Eritrea and its current status

5. Number of the followers of the religion and how they are organized

• 5.1    Organization and outreach of the religion
  5.2    Number of the followers of the religion
  
• By gender
• By age
• By educational level
• By skill
• By families
• By village; town; sub zone; zone

6. Explain, briefly, rights and duties of the followers of the faith

7. Prospectus

1. In religion
   
   Explain religious program.  Days of Prayer and worship, particularly as it relates to youth; Present weekly program as an example. 

2. Social services provided to the society (projects related to education, health, etc.)

8. Capital

8.1    Property and financial capacity, as well as background relating to how it was acquired and developed;
8.2    A budget providing elucidation on its revenues and expenses;
8.3    Source of revenue

• From within the nation

• From overseas

9. Relationship of the religion with associations/faiths (ecumenical)

With those found within the nation
With those that are overseas

10. Problems it has been encountering

From the people
From the government
From partners
Internal problems
Suggestions on how to solve these problems

11. Religion in Eritrea

        Explain your plans and practices on how to co-exist with and respect other religions 

12. That which will be presented as an attachment:

• Constitution and organizational chart

• A CV accompanied by a brief biography of the senior leaders of the church and the mosque along with two pictures of the leadership and their religious title

• A financial compilation of the year 2002 (annual) prepared by a licensed audit or:

• A book that will serve as an introductory reference to your doctrine
  ________________________________________________

To be filled by Concerned Office:

Date Report filed on: _____________________________

Registry #: _____________________________________

¹ The sequencing of  proclamations is #/Year.  This was the 73rd proclamation and it was announced in 1995.
^2. The strikethrough appears in the original proclamation and is reproduced here faithfully .

awateteam@awate.com