Over the weekend, in a scene that is becoming increasingly familiar in the Diaspora, Eritreans in Melbourne, Australia organized festivals and rallies in support and against the government of Eritrea.  

The organizers of the festival invited Mr. Abdella Jabber, the ruling party�s head of organization affairs to conduct a seminar.  According to a source, the festival was �poorly attended� and admission fee was reduced from $150 to $40. 

The organizers of the demonstration, who billed their rally as �a call for solidarity with the oppressed Eritrean people� invited Ambassador Mohammed Nur Ahmed, Eritrea�s former envoy to China, now residing in Australia, after he was granted political asylum by the Australian government.   The demonstrators organized convoys of cars and beat drums and percussions outside the �festival�, interrupting Mr. Abdella Jabber�s seminar.   

Police were called to the event after provocations but there were no violence.   The organizers of the festival informed Australian police that the demonstrators were members of jihad organizations and that they were lobbying to free terrorists.