Introduction:
Eritrea was awarded to Ethiopia in 1952
as part of a federation. Ethiopia's annexation of Eritrea as a province 10 years
later sparked a 30-year struggle for independence that ended in 1991 with
Eritrean rebels defeating governmental forces; independence was overwhelmingly
approved in a 1993 referendum. A two-and-a-half-year border war with Ethiopia
that erupted in 1998 ended under UN auspices in December 2000. Eritrea currently
hosts a UN peacekeeping operation that is monitoring a 25 km-wide Temporary
Security Zone on the border with Ethiopia. An international commission,
organized to resolve the border dispute, posted its findings in 2002. However,
both parties have been unable to reach agreement on implementing the decision.
In November 2006, the international commission informed Eritrea and Ethiopia
they had one year to demarcate the border or the border demarcation would be
based on coordinates.
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Geography
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Climate
ASMARA
15 28 N, 38 91 E, 7729 feet (2356 meters) above sea level.
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PEOPLE
Eritrea's population comprises nine ethnic groups, most of which speak Semitic
or Cushitic languages. The Tigrinya and Tigre make up four-fifths of the
population and speak different, but related and somewhat mutually intelligible,
Semitic languages. In general, most of the Christians live in the highlands,
while Muslims and adherents of traditional beliefs live in lowland regions.
Tigrinya and Arabic are the most frequently used languages for commercial and
official transactions. In urban areas, English is widely spoken and is the
language used for secondary and university education.
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HISTORY
Prior to Italian colonization in 1885, what is now Eritrea had been ruled by the
various local or international powers that successively dominated the Red Sea
region. In 1896, the Italians used Eritrea as a springboard for their disastrous
attempt to conquer Ethiopia. Eritrea was placed under British military
administration after the Italian surrender in World War II. In 1952, a UN
resolution federating Eritrea with Ethiopia went into effect. The resolution
ignored Eritrean pleas for independence but guaranteed Eritreans some democratic
rights and a measure of autonomy. Almost immediately after the federation went
into effect, however, these rights began to be abridged or violated.
In 1962, Emperor Haile Sellassie unilaterally dissolved the Eritrean parliament
and annexed the country, sparking the Eritrean fight for independence from
Ethiopia that continued after Haile Sellassie was ousted in a coup in 1974. The
new Ethiopian Government, called the Derg, was a Marxist military junta led by
Ethiopian strongman Mengistu Haile Miriam.
During the 1960s, the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) led the Eritrean
independence struggle. In 1970, some members of the group broke away to form the
Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF). By the late 1970s, the EPLF had
become the dominant armed Eritrean group fighting against the Ethiopian
Government, with Isaias Afwerki as its leader. The EPLF used material captured
from the Ethiopian Army to fight against the government.
By 1977, the EPLF was poised to drive the Ethiopians out of Eritrea. That same
year, however, a massive airlift of Soviet arms to Ethiopia enabled the
Ethiopian Army to regain the initiative and forced the EPLF to retreat to the
bush. Between 1978 and 1986, the Derg launched eight major offensives against
the independence movement--all of which failed. In 1988, the EPLF captured
Afabet, headquarters of the Ethiopian Army in northeastern Eritrea, prompting
the Ethiopian Army to withdraw from its garrisons in Eritrea's western lowlands.
EPLF fighters then moved into position around Keren, Eritrea's second-largest
city. Meanwhile, other dissident movements were making headway throughout
Ethiopia. At the end of the 1980s, the Soviet Union informed Mengistu that it
would not be renewing its defense and cooperation agreement. With the withdrawal
of Soviet support and supplies, the Ethiopian Army's morale plummeted, and the
EPLF--along with other Ethiopian rebel forces--advanced on Ethiopian positions.
The United States played a facilitative role in the peace talks in Washington
during the months leading up to the May 1991 fall of the Mengistu regime. In
mid-May, Mengistu resigned as head of the Ethiopian Government and went into
exile in Zimbabwe, leaving a caretaker government in Addis Ababa. Later that
month, the United States chaired talks in London to formalize the end of the
war. The four major combatant groups, including the EPLF, attended these talks.
Having defeated the Ethiopian forces in Eritrea, EPLF troops took control of
their homeland. In May 1991, the EPLF established the Provisional Government of
Eritrea (PGE) to administer Eritrean affairs until a referendum could be held on
independence and a permanent government established. EPLF leader Isaias became
the head of the PGE, and the EPLF Central Committee served as its legislative
body.
A high-level U.S. delegation was present in Addis Ababa for the July 1-5, 1991
conference that established a transitional government in Ethiopia. The EPLF
attended the July conference as an observer and held talks with the new
transitional government regarding Eritrea's relationship to Ethiopia. The
outcome of those talks was an agreement in which the Ethiopians recognized the
right of the Eritreans to hold a referendum on independence.
Although some EPLF cadres at one time espoused a Marxist ideology, Soviet
assistance for Mengistu limited the level of Eritrean interest in seeking Soviet
support. The fall of communist regimes in the former Soviet Union and the
Eastern Bloc convinced them it was a failed system. The EPLF (and later its
successor, the PFDJ) expressed its commitment to establishing a democratic form
of government and a free-market economy in Eritrea. The United States agreed to
provide assistance to both Ethiopia and Eritrea, conditional on continued
progress toward democracy and human rights.
On April 23-25, 1993, Eritreans voted overwhelmingly for independence from
Ethiopia in a UN-monitored free and fair referendum. The Eritrean authorities
declared Eritrea an independent state on April 27, and Eritrea officially
celebrated its independence on May 24, 1993.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Eritrea's Government faced formidable challenges following independence.
With no constitution, no judicial system, and an education system in shambles,
the Eritrean Government was required to build institutions of government from
scratch. Currently, the Government of Eritrea exercises strict control of
political, social, and economic systems, with nearly no civil liberties allowed.
On May 19, 1993, the PGE issued a proclamation regarding the reorganization of
the government. The government was reorganized, and after a national, freely
contested election, the Transitional National Assembly, which chose Isaias as
President of the PGE, was expanded to include both EPLF and non-EPLF members.
The EPLF established itself as a political party, the People's Front for
Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). The PGE declared that during a 4-year transition
period it would draft and ratify a constitution, draft a law on political
parties, draft a press law, and carry out elections for a constitutional
government.
In March 1994, the PGE created a constitutional commission charged with drafting
a constitution flexible enough to meet the current needs of a population
suffering from 30 years of civil war as well as those of the future, when
prospective stability and prosperity would change the political landscape.
Commission members traveled throughout the country and to Eritrean communities
abroad holding meetings to explain constitutional options to the people and to
solicit their input. A new constitution was ratified in 1997 but has not been
implemented, and general elections have not been held. The government had
announced that Transitional National Assembly elections would take place in
December 2001, but those were postponed and new elections have not been
rescheduled.
The present government structure includes legislative, executive, and judicial
bodies. The legislature, the Transitional National Assembly, comprises 75
members of the PFDJ and 75 additional popularly elected members. The
Transitional National Assembly is the highest legal power in the government
until the establishment of a democratic, constitutional government. The
legislature sets the internal and external policies of the government, regulates
implementation of those policies, approves the budget, and elects the president
of the country. The president nominates individuals to head the various
ministries, authorities, commissions, and offices, and the Transitional National
Assembly ratifies those nominations. The cabinet is the country's executive
branch. It is composed of 17 ministers and chaired by the president. It
implements policies, regulations, and laws and is accountable to the
Transitional National Assembly. The ministries are agriculture; defense;
education; energy and mines; finance; fisheries; foreign affairs; health;
information; labor and human welfare; land, water, and environment; local
governments; justice; public works; trade and industry; transportation and
communication; and tourism.
Nominally, the judiciary operates independently of both the legislative and
executive bodies, with a court system that extends from the village through to
the district, provincial, and national levels. However, in practice, the
independence of the judiciary is limited. In 2001, the president of the High
Court was detained after criticizing the government for judicial interference.
In September 2001, after several months in which a number of prominent PFDJ
party members had gone public with a series of grievances against the government
and in which they called for implementation of the constitution and the holding
of elections, the government instituted a crackdown. Eleven prominent
dissidents, members of what had come to be known as the Group of 15, were
arrested and held without charge in an unknown location. At the same time, the
government shut down the independent press and arrested its reporters and
editors, holding them incommunicado and without charge. In subsequent weeks, the
government arrested other individuals, including two Eritrean employees of the
U.S. Embassy. All of these individuals remain held without charge and none are
allowed visitors.
Principal Government Officials
President of the State of Eritrea and Chairman of the Executive Council of the
PFDJ--Isaias Afwerki
Director, Office of the President--Yemane Ghebremeskel
Minister of Defense--Sebhat Ephrem
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Osman Saleh
Minister of Finance--Berhane Abrehe
Minister of National Development--Dr. Woldai Futur
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ECONOMY
The Eritrean economy is largely based on agriculture, which employs 80% of the
population but currently may contribute as little as 12% to GDP. Agricultural
exports include cotton, fruits and vegetables, hides, and meat, but farmers are
largely dependent on rain-fed agriculture, and growth in this and other sectors
is hampered by lack of a dependable water supply. Worker remittances and other
private transfers from abroad currently contribute about 32% of GDP.
While in the past the Government of Eritrea stated that it was committed to a
market economy and privatization, the government and the ruling PFDJ party
maintain complete control of the economy. The government has imposed an
arbitrary and complex set of regulatory requirements that discourage investment
from both foreign and domestic sources, and it often reclaims successful private
enterprises and property.
After independence, Eritrea had established a growing and healthy economy. But
the 1998-2000 war with Ethiopia had a major negative impact on the economy and
discouraged investment. Eritrea lost many valuable economic assets in particular
during the last round of fighting in May-June 2000, when a significant portion
of its territory in the agriculturally important west and south was occupied by
Ethiopia. As a result of this last round of fighting, more than one million
Eritreans were displaced, though by 2007 nearly all have been resettled.
According to World Bank estimates, Eritreans also lost livestock worth some $225
million, and 55,000 homes worth $41 million were destroyed during the war.
Damage to public buildings, including hospitals, is estimated at $24 million.
Much of the transportation and communication infrastructure is outmoded and
deteriorating, although a large volume of intercity road-building activity is
currently underway. The government sought international assistance for various
development projects and mobilized young Eritreans serving in the national
service to repair crumbling roads and dams. However, in 2005, the government
asked the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to cease operations
in Eritrea.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), post-border war recovery was
impaired by four consecutive years of recurrent drought that have reduced the
already low domestic food production capacity. The government reports that
harvests have improved, but it provides no data to support these claims. Eritrea
currently suffers from large structural fiscal deficits caused by high levels of
spending on defense, which have resulted in the stock of debt rising to
unsustainable levels. Exports have collapsed due to strict controls on foreign
currencies and trade, as well as a closed border with Ethiopia, which was the
major trading partner for Eritrea prior to the war. In 2006, Eritrea normalized
relations with Sudan and is beginning to open the border to trade between the
two countries. Large and persistent transfers from Eritreans living abroad offer
significant support to the economy.
The port in Massawa has been rehabilitated and is being developed. In addition,
the government has begun on a limited basis to export fish and sea cucumbers
from the Red Sea to markets in Europe and Asia. A newly constructed airport in
Massawa capable of handling jets could facilitate the export of high-value
perishable seafood.
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