Ethiopia's Ethnic Cleansing policy through a Campaign of Mass Expulsions of Eritreans
http://Mediafilter.org/guest/Pages/July.16.1998.21.00.06
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http://Mediafilter.org/guest/Pages/July.16.1998.21.00.06
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Ethiopian Government Unleashes a Campaign of Mass Expulsions of Eritreans
The Ethiopian government has begun a second round of massive arrests of Eritrean residents in the country. In the past
three days alone, 1,400 Eritreans have been arrested in Addis Abeba. Another 420 people are reported to have been
detained and expelled from Tigray. There are ominous reports that Eritrean residents in smaller towns that are not
accessible to members of the international community are being subjected to more inhumane treatment. Families and
relatives have not been able to trace and know their whereabouts as telephone calls are not being returned.
The International Red Cross has requested access to those arrested in Addis Abeba. The Ethiopian government has
rejected this request claiming belatedly that "they are already on their way" to Eritrea.
Among the 1,400 arrested in Addis Abeba are families of the 1,500 businessmen and professionals expelled in the
past three weeks. The Ethiopian government is expelling them today despite an empty promise to give them time "to
mortgage their properties and leave." All along the expropriation of Eritrean property has been one of the motives
behind this mass expulsion.
The Ethiopian government is trying to justify its expulsion orders under the spurious pretext that "these are rank and file
members of the EPLF who have reorganized themselves in the past three weeks after the ringleaders were evicted."
Many of those expelled in the first round of expulsions are not even members of the EPLF in the first place as
confirmed by an OAU investigating team, UN agencies, the diplomatic community in Eritrea, as well as other
independent bodies.
On the other hand, many Eritreans residing in Addis Abeba have been card-carrying members of the EPLF since
1991, paying nominal membership fees of 3.00 Ethiopian birr (fifty US cents) per month. This is perfectly legal and
carried out with the permission and prior knowledge of the authorities in Addis Abeba. It is this lawful act which is now
being portrayed as "posing a threat to Ethiopia's security." Ethiopians residing in Eritrea have the same reciprocal
rights and they have organizations and branches supporting the TPLF and EPRDF in Asmara and all other Eritrean
towns where they live.
The expulsion of Eritreans by the Ethiopian government is being pursued with sinister objectives. The Ethiopian regime
has been carrying out an intensive hate campaign since the eruption of the border crisis with the sole aim of fomenting
hatred among both peoples. In a bid to justify these acts, the Ethiopian Prime Minister has stated on Ethiopian TV on
Thursday, July 9, 1998, "Any foreigner, whether Eritrean, Japanese, etc., lives in Ethiopia because of the goodwill of
the Ethiopian government. If the Ethiopian government says 'Go, because we don't like the colour of your eyes' they
have to leave ... the US government is throwing out Mexicans who slipped into the country simply because they are
unwanted!"
In the circumstances, the Government of Eritrea renews its calls to the international community to:
i) strongly condemn Ethiopia for these gross violations of basic human rights;
ii) ensure that those being expelled are not mistreated but enabled to return to their country in a dignified manner;
iii) guarantee that those expelled are able to retrieve their property.
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