September 2001 crackdown: the G-15 and the journalists
In May 2001, 15 senior members of Eritrea’s ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) published an open letter criticizing President Isaias Afwerki’s style of rule as illegal and unconstitutional. They called for implementation of the 1997 Constitution, democratic dialogue, free and fair elections, and an independent press. They became known as the G-15.
On 18–19 September 2001, while international attention was focused on the 9/11 attacks, 11 of them who were inside Eritrea were arrested. They have never been formally charged or tried in open court. The government accused them of treason, abdication of responsibility during a time of national difficulty, and conspiracy. Supporters and human-rights groups describe their actions as a demand for political reform. Four others were abroad or recanted and were not detained.
The 11 detained G-15 politicians
- Petros Solomon (former Minister of Defence and Maritime Resources)
- Mahmoud Ahmed Sherifo (former Vice-President, Foreign Minister, and Local Government Minister)
- Haile Woldetensae (“Durue”; former Foreign Minister and Trade and Industry Minister)
- Ogbe Abraha (former Chief of Staff, Minister of Trade and Industry)
- Hamid Himid (former Foreign Ministry official and PFDJ executive)
- Saleh Idris Kekya (former Minister of Transport and Communications)
- Aster Fissehatsion (senior official, National Union of Eritrean Women)
- Beraki Gebreselassie (former Minister of Education/Information and Ambassador to Germany)
- Berhane Gebregziabeher (Major-General, National Reserve Force)
- Estifanos Seyoum (Brigadier-General, former Inland Revenue head)
- Germano Nati (regional administrator)
The four who were not arrested were Mesfin Hagos, Adhanom Gebremariam, Haile Menkerios (all abroad), and one member who withdrew support.
Around the same dates the government shut all independent newspapers and arrested leading journalists who had covered the G-15 letter and related debates. Commonly listed among those detained in September 2001 are:
- Dawit Isaak
- Seyoum Tsehaye
- Amanuel Asrat
- Fessehaye “Joshua” Yohannes
- Dawit Habtemichael
- Mattewos Habteab
- Medhanie Haile
- Said Abdelkader
- Yosuf Mohamed Ali
- Temesgen Gebreyesus
They have likewise been held incommunicado without trial. Reports over the years, based on defectors and unofficial sources, indicate that several of both the politicians and journalists have died in detention; the government has never confirmed names, locations, or status.
What followed
Since 2001 Eritrea has remained under one-party rule. National service, originally intended as limited, became open-ended, justified by the government as a response to the unresolved border conflict with Ethiopia. Large numbers of political critics, journalists, and ordinary citizens have been detained without due process. Hundreds of thousands of Eritreans have left the country. Economic controls—including restrictions on private construction and imports—have been tight. The 1997 Constitution has never been implemented.
All in all, a generation of Eritreans has grown up without the constitution their leaders once ratified, without independent media, and without regular competitive elections. The people who signed that 2001 letter and the journalists who reported it remain the most prominent symbols of that unfinished transition. Eritreans, like people everywhere, have a legitimate claim to a functioning constitution, basic political freedoms, and accountable government. Twenty-five years later those demands have not been met.