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Eritrea

Country in East Africa, bounded north by Sudan, south by Ethiopia, southeast by Djibouti, and east by the Red Sea.

Government

At independence in 1993, a transitional government was established for a four-year period (pending the drafting of a permanent constitution). It consists of a single-chamber national assembly, comprising 75 nominees of the ruling People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) (formerly the Eritrean People's Liberation Front) and 75 elected members; 11 seats are reserved for women. The assembly elects the president, who presides over the executive authority, the state council, which has 17 appointed members. The constitution provides for multiparty elections, but these have been repeatedly postponed because of internal disorder.

In 1995 a new regional structure was announced, based on six administrative regions.

History

Formerly an Italian colony, Eritrea was a British protectorate 1941–52, when it was federated with Ethiopia. In 1962 it was annexed by Ethiopia and given the status of an autonomous region. Secessionist movements emerged, notably the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), which in 1970 broke away from the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) and began an armed struggle. In 1990 the EPLF captured the strategic port of Massawa, making the continued deployment of Ethiopian troops in the region untenable. On the fall of the military regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991, the EPLF declared Eritrea a separate sovereign state. Ethiopia acknowledged Eritrea's right to secede and a provisional government was set up under Issaias Afwerki.

Independence

A regional referendum overwhelmingly backed independence in April 1993, and in May Ethiopia recognized Eritrea as an independent state; international recognition followed. In June 1993 Issaias Afwerki was elected president and Eritrea's independence was formally declared. In the same month United Nations membership was granted. The EPLF was renamed the People's Front for Democracy and Justice in March 1994.

Conflict with Ethiopia

In May 1998 violence erupted in a border dispute with Ethiopia, around the so-called Badme triangle. Although a moratorium on air strikes was reached in June, unrest continued and in February 1999 ferocious fighting broke out again, soon escalating into a full-scale war 1999–2000 between the two countries. This war claimed around 100,000 lives, wrecked an already weak economy, led to large population displacement, and left a legacy of land mines.

At an Organization of African Unity (OAU; later African Union) meeting in Algiers in July 1999, Ethiopia and Eritrea agreed to a plan to end their border war. Mediation between the two countries was led by Algeria. The 42 OAU leaders also vowed to isolate any government that seized power by force. In September 1999, however, Ethiopia rejected the plan and in May 2000 heavy fighting resumed along the border with Eritrea. The war diverted vital resources from drought relief in the region and sparked the threat of UN sanctions and a warning from the EU that food aid could be stopped.

In May 2000 Ethiopian troops forced Eritrean troops back to the line they occupied when the border dispute erupted in May 1998. This led to as many as 500,000 Eritrean civilians losing their homes and a refugee exodus of around 100,000 into Sudan, as well as continuing disruption to food aid. After a two-week invasion, Ethiopia withdrew its army from western Eritrea, although fighting continued in other areas. Both sides accepted a peace plan backed by the OAU, the USA, and the UN, and signed a peace agreement in December 2000, in Algiers, Algeria. Around 42,000 UN troops were sent to keep the peace along the former front line and in 2006 over 4,000 remained.

In September 2001, the Eritrean government launched a clampdown on political reformists, students, and journalists. The country's private presses were shut down, and 11 former government officials were arrested after criticizing President Afwerki.

In 2003, Ethiopia rejected the decision of the independent UN-associated Eritrean-Ethiopian Boundary Commission on the country's final border.

Eritrea

Opera by Pietro Cavalli (libretto by G Faustini), first performed at the Teatro San Apollinare, Venice, Italy, in 1652. An edition by Jane Glover was conducted by her at the Wexford Festival in Ireland in 1975. The story tells how, disguised as her dead brother, the captured Eritrea falls for an Egyptian prince.

1952 1993 Abboud, Ibrahim Adwa Afwerki, Issaias Asmara Assab Dahlak Archipelago Dahlak Islands Ethiopia

Glover, Jane Haile Selassie, Ras Tafari Italy Massawa May 24 Meles Zenawi political events September 11 Thesiger, Wilfred Patrick More results