Eritrea: Freedom House Rating (2014)

OVERVIEW: President Isaias Afwerki’s personal authority was publically challenged in 2013 for the first time in more than a decade when, on January 21, more than 100 soldiers occupied the Ministry of Information, took over the state-run television channel, Eri-TV, and demanded democratic reforms, including the…

Court Rules in Favour of Mirjam van Reisen

(bellaafrica.com, Reinhardt Jacobsen, Feb 10, 2016) A Court in Amsterdam struck down Meseret Bahlbi lawsuit against Mirjam van Reisen, Dutch professor and human rights advocate. The judge found that she was not guilty of libel and slander and that the youth party of the Eritrean government…

Awate: “Mistir Leyti”: Secret of The Night

(Awate.com, Tzigereda Haile, Feb 10, 2016)  During the struggle (Ghedli), the Tigrinya phrase for “password” was “misTir Leyti”: secret of the night. Usually, it was the name of a martyr, shared and circulated per whisper up to the tegadalay (combatant) serving in the frontline. Practiced throughout the whole…

Eritrea: Economic Studies

MAJOR MACRO ECONOMIC INDICATORS 2013  2014 2015 (f) 2016 (f) GDP growth (%) 1.3  1.7 1.3 2.4 Inflation (yearly average) (%) 13.0  12.2 10.1 13.4 Budget balance (% GDP)  -11.7  -12.7 -13.5 -11.1 Current account balance (% GDP)  -5.6  -7.7 -6.5 -7.5 Public debt (% GDP) 130.4…

Israel’s Unwanted African Migrants

 (BBC NEWS, Kathy Harcombe, 3 February 2016) For nearly a year Israel has been offering African migrants cash and the chance to go and live in what is supposed to be a safe haven in a third country – but the BBC has spoken to two…

New York Speakers

Awate.com: On the Wings of Malice and Idiocy

(Awate.com, Saleh Younis, Jan 6, 2016) Observing the government of Eritrea and its functionaries, one is always struck which one of their two wings is heavier: the malicious one or the stupid one? One can build a case for either one, and it is a running…

Authoritarianism in Eritrea and the Migrant Crisis

(Council On Foreign Relations, Zachary Laub, Online Writer/Editor November 11, 2015) Tens of thousands of Eritreans have arrived at Europe’s shores in recent years seeking asylum. They make up a significant share of the unprecedented stream of migrants and refugees making their way to the European Union,…