Eritrea: Foreign Ministry Rejected the U.N. Findings as "Indecent Hyperbole"

New York (HAN) June 13, 2015 – Public Diplomacy and Regional Security News. By Louis Charbonneau. Eritrea  denied that it subjects its citizens to indefinite national service or kills people trying to flee the country, two of the most serious allegations among the findings of a year-long United Nations investigation.

The 484-page U.N. Commission of Inquiry report, published earlier this week, said the government of Eritrea may have committed crimes against humanity, including extrajudicial killings, widespread torture, sexual slavery and enforced labor.

The Eritrean Foreign Ministry later dismissed the U.N. findings as “indecent hyperbole,” but did not address specific allegations.

In a telephone interview with Reuters, Asmara’s U.N. Ambassador Girma Asmerom rejected the idea that people in the country’s national military and civil service could become virtual slaves.

National service is supposed to last 18 months, but the commission spoke to one witness who fled after 17 years. Witnesses reported people being executed for trying to avoid being drafted into service as recently as 2013, it said. Asmerom said such allegations were not true.

“There is no such thing as indefinite national service,” Asmerom said, adding that this specific allegation was one of several “lies” in the commission’s report.

But he acknowledged that citizens are conscripted to work in the national service.

“There is deployment,” he said, because of the “indefinite occupation” of Eritrean territory by Ethiopia. Asmerom added that people were paid an allowance and not forced to participate indefinitely.

A war between Ethiopia and Eritrea from 1998 to 2000 killed more than 70,000, analysts say.

Eritrea wants Ethiopia to pull its troops out from disputed territory before normalizing ties, citing a decision by a boundary commission at The Hague which awarded the village of Badme to Eritrea in 2002. Ethiopia says the row over border demarcation can only be resolved through a negotiated settlement.

Asmerom also denied that people trying to flee the country were shot dead.

“That is another lie,” he said. “There is a shoot-to-kill policy? Where did they get this?”

“When I read that, I normally laugh,” he added. “It is a sound bite. These kind of sound bites have been going on for the last 10 years because the goal is regime change.”

He also defended Asmara’s decision not to cooperate with the commission, saying it was biased and had found Eritrea guilty before looking at evidence. He noted that Eritrea had cooperated with “neutral” British and Dutch officials on national reports, but not the United Nations. Sources, UN, Eritrea Media and Reuters. 

Photo: Ambassador Girma Asmerom


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10 Responses to “Eritrea: Foreign Ministry Rejected the U.N. Findings as "Indecent Hyperbole"”

  1. I think the un inquiry is simply acting or acussing eritrea to distroy the country to use as puppet for Anerican agenda.howevert, the usa must understand that , eritrean ppl and the gvt of eritrea are hade hizbi and hade libe. .there is no way to penetrate the eritrean will of life.The un inquiry which is facilitated by usa, have no any right to ask or to justifyt the eritrean ppls and gvt.eritrean gvt ad a governing its nation and nationality, doesn’t need any o e to justify its wsy of life.

  2. I was wonder , this the so called un human right which is every time only serving the American intereste and focusing in distablizing nation, did they at least make ay human right violation in ethiopia, which huge I migrants more than 180 000 ethiopian trying to cross the red sea and died their all and another gross human right violation by the ethiopian regime , and American continue supporting the dictators instady supporting the real human right. So why is every time acussing eritrea for false and unfounded orchestrated agenda.
    I hope The Brics, governing world in peace plan will teared one day in short coming. Brics for world peace a
    nd nation development and implementation of eorld balance power. Brics for all.

  3. AmLas

    Regarding 2% tax, even Americans have to pay when working abroad

    UN needs to tell Ethiopia to abide by the rules it signed and leave occupied territories

    Reason people are leaving? Result of American lead sanctions

    In US , there 1 million black prisoners getting raped every day.

    In North Korea, there are no Muslims and Christian, no religion but eritrea has 4 major religions

    If you are Eritrean, you can visit Eri and leave without a problem in NK you can not

    can u get in and out of nk? no in eri yes
    can you make calls from nk? or to nk? in eri yes
    can you have region in NK ?
    can you dance in NK? in eri you can party all day long

    Eri does not want to bow down to one world order and IMF

    I am not a politician but this is my opinion from an honest observation

    Any questions regarding this?

  4. Amanuel From Eritrea

    Aguma Bayissa,

    There is gross and systematic human right violations in Eritrea.

    1. Indefinite national service is true. I know people who are in national service for over 15 years.
    2. Higher education is a joke. Unsecured little minded Issayas, deliberately destroyed Asmara University and replaced it with colleges guarded by military.
    3. Sex slavery is true. A lot of our sisters were put at the mercy of corrupt captains, colonels and generals.
    4. Extra judicial arrest and execution is true. It is happening at large scale. You can get arrested if a secret service agent don’t like the way you are looking at him. No one questions him. You don’t see a judge, no law.

    So forget about UN, USA for a second. Just focus on Eritrea. PDFJ complains about USA, UN to divert the focus.

    The truth is we all Eritreans know, PFDJ/Issayas are destroying our people and country. And they will stop at nothing to continue their dictatorship.

    1. ERITREAN SUPPORT ISAIAS AFWERKI FORLIFE

      THE ONLY JOKE HERE IS YOU. YOU SILLY RATS WILL CREATE LIES OUT YOUR ANAL, BECAUSE YOU CANNOT ACCEPT THE PROGRESS AND REAL TRANSFORMATION ON THE POSITIVE LEVEL ERITREA IS UNDERGOING. NO MATTER WHAT YOU SLAVES/PUPPETS SAY, IT IS INSIGNIFICANT AND THERE IS NOTHING YOU COONS CAN DO ABOUT IT. CONTINUE BEING THE INTERNET WARRIORS THAT YOU RATS ARE, BECAUSE THAT IS THE ONLY THING YOU CAN BE. IF YOU WANT CHANGE IN ERITREA, GRAB AN AK47 AND MEET THE GALLANT ERITREAN WARRIORS/SOLDIERS ON THE GROUND. YOU WILL NEVER DO SUCH A THING, BECAUSE IT IS SUICIDE. SO KEEP WHINING LIKE A LITTLE INFANT THAT YOU ARE.

  5. axmed

    The only solution in Eritrea is regime change. Isaias is a person who is suffering from Post traumatic syndrome disorder and on psychotropic medication to stabilize the symptoms of his condition suffered during the war of separation from Ethiopia. This man is suffering from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder for which he was treated in the 1990s in Israel. He is out of touch with the real world Union with Ethiopia is the only salvation for our country .

    1. ERITREAN SUPPORT ISAIAS AFWERKI FORLIFE

      WHY DON’T YOU PUSSY CATS COME AND DO THE REGIME CHANGE YOURSELF? GET EQUIPPED BY YOUR WHITE SLAVE MASTERS AND COME TO ERITREA, IT WILL BE YOUR FUNERAL. ETHIOPIA TRIED REGIME CHANGE IN 1998, BUT WHAT IT GOT WAS 123,000 OF THEIR TROOPS SLAUGHTERED AND TWO THIRDS OF THEIR ARMAMENT DESTROYED. YOU MUST HAVE AMNESIA. ETHIOPIA WAS FINANCED BY USA(OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES), ISRAEL GENERALS TRAINED YOUR TROOPS, RUSSIA PROVIDED SATELLITE IMAGES, SUDAN AND DJIBOUTI ALLOWED YOU TO USE THEIR LAND FOR INVASION, WESTERN MEDIA OUTLETS PROVIDED THE PROPAGANDA FOR YOU, ETC. ERITREA IS ON A LAUNCHING PAD ON ALL LEVELS, BE IT ECONOMIC, EDUCATION, MILITARY, ETC. DROP DEAD

  6. Fish M

    It is very laughable to blame the UN Human Rights office after the Eritrean Government refused the UN office personnel to go to Eritrea to do their investigation. A government which is confident enough with its human records can not refuse access for investigation unless it has some thing to hide. Since the government knows very well that after independence, it was very busy in building prisons than schools. It didn’t want to expose itself.
    So please do not blame the Un office, they just did their job.

    My thumps up for the UN-office for exposing the Eritrean regime ( the African- North Korean style regime)

  7. axmed

    Hamasen tyranny must end. Eritrea must be to all eritreans. Issayas must go. Unity with the New Ethiopia is the only way.

  8. axmed

    Alem we need a million like you . you are a beacon of light. Never stop telling the truth . Thank you.

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