H.E. Isaias Afwerki
President
Office of the President
P.O. Box 257
Asmara
State of Eritrea
Your Excellency:
We write to protest your country@quot;s part in the continuing worldwide abuse of press freedom.
On this day, World Press Freedom Day, there are — to the best of our knowledge — 193 journalists imprisoned in the jails of 29 countries, most of them solely for having done their jobs. Eritrea is one of the 29, and we are informed that you are holding fully 29 journalists in prison.
All of them were arrested in the days following the shutdown of all eight independent newspapers in Eritrea on September 18, 2001 — a measure ostensibly taken to safeguard national unity, but more likely meant to end criticism of your government@quot;s treatment of students and political dissidents.
Journalists imprisoned include : Temesgen Gebreyesus (Keste Debena); Mattewos Habteab (Meqaleh); Dawit Habtemichael (Meqaleh); Medhanie Haile (Keste Debena); Fessahaye Yohannes (Setit); Said Abdulkadir (Admas); Amanuel Asrat (Zemen); Dawit Isaac (Setit); Hamid Mohammed Said, Eritrean State Television (ETV); Saleh Aljezeeri (Eritrean State Radio); Saadia Ahmed, ETV; Simret Seyoum (Setit); Zemenfes Haile (Tsigenay); Ghebrehiwet Keleta (Tsigenay); Selamyinghes Beyene (Meqaleh); Binyam Haile (Haddas Eritrea); Yosef Mohamed Ali (Tsigenay); Seyoum Tsehaye (ETV); Fessehaye Ezra (Hadas Eritrea); Akhilu Solomon (Voice of America) and Fitzum Wedi Ade (Hadas Eritrea).
There are eight additional journalists who are missing after their arrests and presumed to be either imprisoned or forcibly conscripted. They are: Paolos Zaid, Akhader Ahmedin, Omer Akla, Meles Nigusse, Yebio Ghebremedhin, Muluberhan Habtegebrial, Amanual Ghebremaskel and Daniel Habte.
Your Excellency, the two confirmed prisoners should be released both on principle and as a matter of expediency. The principle is simple, as stated in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “”Everyone,? according to the Declaration, ?has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”” U.N. members recognize that this right is sometimes inconvenient and troublesome. Yet, it is crucial to uphold, and for practical reasons as well as principle: A nation that stifles freedom of thought and expression forfeits the good opinion of the world and isolates itself. This may prompt political or economic sanctions, with loss of diplomatic influence and domestic prosperity; at the least, it relegates a country to the company of North Korea, Cuba, or Zimbabwe. And in long or short order, a repressive regime will be overturned.
The Overseas Press Club of America, an independent organization that has defended press freedom around the world for 65 years, urges you to re-think your policy, to welcome free expression of ideas and opinions, to release Tewodros Kassa and Meles Shine, and at the least, issue an official accounting of the case against Asheber Bekele, with assurances that the full measure of protection allowed by law is being provided to the defendant.
The courtesy of a reply would be appreciated.
Respectfully yours,
Bill Collins
Larry Martz
Freedom of the Press Committee