Eritrea: Not Forgotten

"Against the persecution of a tyrant, the godly have no remedy but prayer." - John Calvin

We know that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective, so when God's people pray, we know that He hears us. We need to be praying on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Eritrea. Eritrea is a country where it is possible to totally disappear. You can be arrested and literally removed from all that you know. You can be held without a trial for years and denied access to your family. No one might know your exact where abouts and you can be completely cut off from the rest of the world. It is estimated that there are over 1,800 prisoners of conscious in Eritrea (atleast 90% of these prisoners are believed to be Christians and are being held for refusing to recant their faith). Let's not forget this month to remember the forgotten prisoners of Eritrea. We know of a few names, but there are many more that we don't know. Lets pray that God would grant them the strength to endure whatever comes and that they would faithfully shine His light in their dark land.



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Eritrea

Basic Info: Eritrea is slightly larger than Pennsylvania and has a population of 5,647,168 (July 2009 est.). About 80% of the population is agricultural and 50% of the population is below the poverty line. Eritrea suffers from frequent droughts, and they cannot provide enough food for themselves (2/3 receive food aide). Economic progress is hindered by the number of people in the army rather than in the workforce. However, Eritrea does have a strategic position along the world’s busiest shipping lanes. Due to the border war with Ethiopia, there are about 32,000 refugees and internally displaced persons within the country. The two countries are also separated by a security zone that is patrolled by UN forces. Most Christian groups live in the highlands, while Muslims and those with traditional beliefs generally live in the lowland regions.

Religion: Muslim 47.97%, Christian 47.43%, non-Religious 4%, and Traditional ethnic 0.6% Eritrea has two dominant religions, Christianity and Islam. Muslims predominantly follow Sunni Islam. The Christians consist primarily of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church, which is the local Oriental Orthodox church, but small groups of Roman Catholics, Protestants, and other denominations also exist. Since May 2002, the government of Eritrea has officially recognized the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church, Sunni Islam, Catholicism, and the Evangelical Lutheran church. All other faiths and denominations are required to undergo a registration process that is so rigid that it is virtually impossible to be recognized. Among other things, the government's registration system requires religious groups to submit personal information on their membership to be allowed to worship. The few organizations that have met all of the registration requirements have still not received official recognition. In 2004, the U.S. State Department declared Eritrea a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for its alleged record of religious persecution.

Politics: It is listed as a transitional/provisional government. This was to be a temporary measure after independence was declared from Ethiopia in 1993. The provisional government would hold power until elections could be held or a permanent government could be established. However, since their independence, Eritrea has continued to face strained relations with their neighbors, a lack of stability and political problems. Perhaps the most hostility comes from Ethiopia, who are still in conflict with Eritrea over border disputes. The National Assembly of 150 seats (of which 75 were occupied by handpicked EPLF guerilla members while the rest went to local candidates who were more or less sympathetic of the regime), formed in 1993 shortly after independence, "elected" the current president, Isaias Afewerki. No time frame was announced for the presidency. National elections have been periodically scheduled and canceled. The People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ is the only government recognized party. Independent local sources of political information on Eritrean domestic politics are scarce. In September 2001, the government closed down all of the nation's privately owned media (making Eritrea the only African country to have no privately owned news media) because they were “endangering national security”. Outspoken critics of the government have been arrested and held without trial, according to various international observers. In 2005, Eritrea was described as one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists. The government monitors all mail, e-mail, and telephone calls without warrants and it is believed that there are government informers throughout the country.

Laws: Many faiths, including numerous Protestant denominations, are not registered and cannot worship freely. They have effectively been banned, and measures have been taken against their adherents. Many have been incarcerated for months or even years. None have been charged officially or given access to the judicial process. In its 2006 religious freedom report, the U.S. State Department for the third year in a row named Eritrea a "Country of Particular Concern," designating it one of the worst violators of religious freedom in the world. The police are so poorly paid that corruption is a major problem. They regularly arrest people without warrants and they do not inform them of the charges against them. More often than not, the charges are even changed during the interrogation process. They seize residences and businesses of religious organizations and use them to house families of senior military or government officials. Tortures include prolonged sun exposure (up to 120 degrees F), holding in underground cells or shipping containers with little or no ventilation in extreme temperatures (often so packed that they all cannot lie down at the same time), and neglect of medical care that contribute to widespread diseases among the prisoners.

World Status: Eritrea is hosting members of the ousted Union of Islamic Courts (Western media often refer to the group as the Somali Islamists) and the Somali Free Parliament. The Eritrean government has been accused of sponsoring, arming and hosting numerous militant leaderships and separatist rebels in the horn of Africa. According to the United States, the Isaias's government is "sponsoring and supporting the rebel groups" who are "also attacking civilians and are a part of the problem in Darfur." Thus, even though the Eritrean government bringing these same rebels to the table is positive, the US claims that the Eritrean government is doing this "by effectively destabilizing Sudan, because they're paying for rebels who are part of the process of destabilizing that country." The United States is considering labeling Eritrea a state sponsor of terrorism which carries sanctions with it.

Prisoners: To learn more about them go to www.prisoneralert.com and click on Eritrea.

Haile Nayzgi Arrested May 2004 Kidane Weldou Arrested March 2005
Dr. Kiflu Gebremeskel Arrested May 2004 Evangelist Ambaye Arrested May 2005


Material taken from Wikipedia article "Eritrea", Voice of the Martyrs Canada, CIA World Fact Book, US State Department, BBC News Eritrea Country Profile

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