EU´s Unconditional Aid to Eritrea – ´Govt. will misuse aid´

Photo: Dan Connell

Dan Connell, author of many books on Eritrea, says the egregious extent of human rights violations in Eritrea are so extreme and sustained over such a lengthy period that all "development" aid ought to be withheld until there is a measurable change on the ground.

Dan, who is Writer and Lecturer at Simmons College in Boston, stresses that at a minimum no such aid should be given until the hundreds of political prisoners are released or, if charged with a specific crime, put on trial in a court of law,

He says the Constitution should be fully implemented and that the ban on opposition political parties should be lifted, including that on those among exiles such as the various offshoots of the ELF, and that a schedule for internationally supervised elections ought to be adopted.

Dan, meanwhile, emphasizes that humanitarian aid should not be halted, as it is not right or just to punish the people for the sins of the regime. He adds that no such aid should be delivered to the government without on-the-ground accountability and monitoring, as history has demonstrated that this government will misuse such aid for its own political purposes if not watched carefully and closely.

Among the books Dan has written include the acclaimed "Against All Odds" which is a firsthand account of Eritrea's 30-year battle for independence from Ethiopia.

Tesfaledet Meharena – Editor and Publisher of Asmarino.com, says on his part that EU´s regional considerations of peace and stability and the temptation to do the opposite of what the US does, coupled by a weakened, reactive Eritrean opposition were among factors which have led EU to go ahead with their aid plan for Eritrea. Tesfaledet adds that geopolitical issues matter more than humanitarian issues.

Looking at the dichotomy of EU´s approach to Eritrea and Zimbabwe, Tesfaledet says the EU cannot ignore the plight of the white farmers in Zimbabwe whereas in Eritrea there is no such issue.

Tesfaledet calls for a more direct and proactive approach by the opposition in dealing with the Eritrean crises.

Saleh Johar (Gadi) – Writer and Publisher of the news journal, Awate.com believes Europe´s policy is mainly based on preventing potential conflicts which might result in refugee influx. He says the EU cannot be blamed on this aspect because when oppressors declare war on their people, there would be famine, poverty, bloodshed, etc and what we do best is go to the West to ask them to quell the infighting, send us food aid for a famine we created ourselves and flood their borders fleeing from turmoil we created on our own.

But, Saleh holds that Europe has a role in what is happening in Eritrea. "They have appeased the dictator for too long and they still seem to prefer to continue doing that.

The opposition does not have a clout or leverage, and that is why its voices are not resonating, Saleh argues. Unfortunately, if there is bloodshed, the EU would begin to listen, he says. Saleh warns that EU´ policy, even if unintentionally, is encouraging violence that might come as a result of desperation.

Saleh adds the EU is telling us to continue to suffer under our oppressors while it just soft-talks to him even if history tells us that the Eritrean leader would not heed to any advice.

He criticizes the EU for being indecisive, unable to see the double-standards in play. "I really do not know what standards they use," asks Saleh.

Saleh underscored that the campaign for justice and democracy being waged in connection with the aid controversy was worth fighting for. "Persistence should be the guiding principle of an activist."

Amanuel Eyasu, Editor and Publisher of ´Asena´, says he cannot understand why the EU is granting this aid. If they are trying to justify it with so called ´engagement", that they have lost it completely, Amanuel argues. He says it is impossible to engage a regime that does not respect human and democratic rights and the dignity of its own people

Amanuel says the EU is contradicting its own lofty principles by supplying huge amounts of money to a government which is actively engaged in executing a ´shoot to kill´ policy against 15 year-old Eritrean children.

He points out that the Eritrean regime is illegitimate government, which has discarded the nation´s constitution indefinitely. The President has imprisoned his own cabinet ministers and generals as well as parliamentarians for having progressive views that promote democratic reform and implementation of the constitution, says Amanuel,