President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
1401 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20230
October 5, 2021
Re: Executive Order on Imposing Sanctions on Certain Persons With Respect to the Humanitarian and Human Rights Crisis in Ethiopia
Dear Mr. President: On behalf of a group of grassroots organizations of Eritreans for democratic change and rule of law in Eritrea, we applaud your Executive Order establishing sanctions related to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. Similar crimes and abuses have also been systematically carried out for years against the Eritrean people in Eritrea by the dictatorial regime of President Isaias Afwerki. We thus whole heartedly support the action you and your government have taken against the serious crimes and abuses not only in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia but also Eritrea as well. The Horn of Africa has been destabilized by a few ruthless dictators, chief among them Isaias Afwerki, the President of the State of Eritrea. We hope the US will broaden its sanctions on the Eritrean regime to help the Eritrean people bring about badly needed democratic change in the country.
We, representatives of the four Eritrean organizations listed below, support and applaud the Executive Order in its entirety for the following reasons:
It can curb the crimes being committed against civilians in Eritrea and the Tigray region and other parts of Ethiopia;
It contributes to curb impunity in the future not only in Eritrea and Ethiopia but also in the whole region;
Such action would also contribute to bring peace and stability in the Horn of Africa.
We would also like to bring to your attention that we will be mobilizing our members within the European Union (EU) countries to encourage the EU as an institution, and EU member states individually, to follow the footsteps of the United States to take similar action to that of the US and hold the dangerous regimes in the Horn accountable for the serious human rights crimes and abuses they have committed and continue to commit in Eritrea and Tigray Region of Ethiopia.
Mr. President:
As you well know, Eritrea is ruled by a ruthless and highly authoritarian regime under the total control of President Isaias Afwerki. The People‘s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) headed by President Isaias is the sole political party. There have been no elections in the country since Eritrea‘s independence in 1993, and Eritrea is still a country that has no constitution. Commonly referred to as the North Korea of Africa, Isaias‘ regime continues to commit gross human rights violations including arbitrary and extra-judicial killings and torture, sudden disappearances, indefinite detention of political prisoners and other citizens in harsh life-threatening conditions without due process, forced labor, indefinite national service, and severe restrictions on freedom of press, freedom of movement, peaceful assembly, and religion. These are established facts well documented by the US Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices, the UN Human Right Commission as well as various human rights organizations.
Currently, President Isaias Afeworki of Eritrea and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia are involved in a genocidal war against the people of Tigray. By all accounts, this war, which has been orchestrated by President Isaias Afwerki, has already created a humanitarian crisis in Tigray, which has spilled over to the rest of Ethiopia and has the potential to destabilize not only Ethiopia but also the whole horn of Africa.
We believe your Executive Order is the right action in the right direction, but we strongly believe more effort is needed to bring about a lasting solution in the region. We thus humbly urge your good office to:
Demand and ensure mechanisms for independent investigation on the war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed against the peoples of Tigray, Eritrea and other areas in Ethiopia by the Eritrean despotic regime, the Ethiopian government and all other armed forces in the area;
Intensify the pressure on all sides involved in this conflict to come to the table and solve their political problems peacefully;
Recognize the border delimited by the Eritrea-Ethiopia border commission, a legal international instrument and process brokered by the United States and Algeria, so no excuse exists for President Isaias to drag Eritrean youth into war in Ethiopia;
Take the initiative of democratization in the Horn of Africa in general and Eritrea in particular in order to bring about a lasting solution to the root cause of cyclical conflicts in the region.
We trust that you will seriously consider our humble request.
Your Excellency, please accept our highest consideration.
Respectfully,
1. Awet Tsehaye, for the Global Yiakl Movement, www.eriyiakl.com
2. Dr. Habteab Feseha, for the Eritrean Research Institute for Policy & Strategy (ERIPS), www.erips.org
3. Habte Hagos, for the Eritrea Focus, www.eritrea-focus.org
4. Sengal Woldetensae, for the Sinit Eritrawyan, [email protected]
This is a great move by some great Eritreans. Eritreans and Tigrians are the same people and the only two who have common languages and other cultural attachments. The genocide on the Tigrians will definitely decrease the values of the Eritreans in the geopolitical perspective. Instead of being 15 million people of the same and rare culture it will be only few that will remain live. I am not convinced many and confused eritreans who support their own sick and psychopathic leader Isaias Afework understand the profound connection between the two nationalities. Isaias has been twisting their mind to an extent that they choose to adore and live in slavery.
Eritreans, like people all over the world, have linguistic and cultural similarity with their neighbors: Sudan, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia (across the Red Sea) & Djibouti.
This call for democratic change in Eritrea is for Eritreans and not to benefit some crazy expansionists and childish dreamers.
I wholeheartedly support.i
The content of the appeal is perfect. It is well written and addresses the Eritrean ordeal as well as the Horn of Africa in general. It puts the dictator in Eritrea on the spot as one of the main cause of the instability and mayhem in the region. I have one recommendation regarding such kind of appeals in future. Please try to involve the wider opposition entities in a manner that can portray broader and unified Eritrean resistance. I am sure there would have been many organizations that could have joined in this effort.
Thanks
Dawit Gebremeskel
GOD bless you Ahwatna Eritreans - perhaps soon we’ll see peace in Tigray, Eritrea & throughout Ethiopia.
We too pray that US President Biden will indeed follow thru accordingly and lasting peace will finally prevail in the horn of Africa, for the sake of our posterity; the children whose young lives have been uprooted with violence, torture & murder courtesy of Isaias Afeworki & after 27 years of peace & prosperity, destroyed in less than 3 years by Abiy Ahmed.
May GOD bless all who stand against tyranny & give the ultimate sacrifice of their life for their country & their people.
IGHZABIHYER m’sakhum khweynu selam y’habkum!
Thank you all for this very articulated stand and request to the President.
We all are behind you!
Name of Democracy Libya
The Name of Democracy Iraq
Name of Democracy Afghanistan
Name of Democracy Syria
Name of Democracy Yemene
Those country no more to call
Them country million’s of
Died and displaced call democracy so you like to see your own people my god
You are not eritrean opposition
God bless eritrean people you
are ander god.
It’s the quiet time to take action and strong sanctions against an Eritrean dictator & unelected government which participate as main actor in the Tigray genocide.
I like to take this opportunity to thank the individuals/groups initiated this Nobel plea on behalf of Eritrean people petition. The people in Eritrea suffered a lot; a country producing one of the highest number of refugee/capital. Smile