The government of Eritrea has stepped up pressure on parents of high school students. In a series of meetings held on from 10 to 12 June, in Asmara, parents were sternly warned of grave consequences in case they fail to hand over their children who would complete 11th grade this year. Any student who does not report for traveling to Sawa this summer will have both parents jailed.

The seminars held at the Municipality Hall and Capitol Cinema on Friday, 10 June were for PFDJ (People’s Front for Democracy and Justice) members, local administrators and other government officials.  They were presided over by senior PFDJ and Government cadres including Mr. Semere Russom and Mr. Ahferom Tewelde.

The meetings that were held on Saturday, 11 June and Sunday, 12 June, were organized for Asmara residents in all quarters of the city.

These warnings come against a background of increased evasion by students of the requirement to complete their high school education in Sawa. The practice to incarcerate parents for their alleged role in assisting their children either to avoid Sawa or leave the country is not new. Large numbers of parents in various parts of the country are already in jail on such grounds.

The residents were also briefed on what the government called “a major crisis” and “the beginning of the demise of Weyane,” a reference to the ruling party in Ethiopia, TPLF (Tigray’s People Liberation Front.)