| Press Statement Richard Boucher, Spokesman Washington, DC October 17, 2002 Eritrea: One Year Anniversary of Detention of Foreign Service National EmployeesSince October 11, 2001, the government of Eritrea has held without charge two Eritrean employees of the U.S. Embassy in Asmara, Eritrea: Alli Alamin and Kiflom Ghebremichael. The Government of Eritrea should either release the two employees of the U.S. Embassy in Asmara or grant them due process and an opportunity to defend themselves in a fair and open trial. In addition, we wish to note that last fall, the government of Eritrea also arrested and began holding incommunicado and without charge eleven prominent Eritreans who had called for greater democracy in Eritrea. Since last fall, the Eritrean government has shut down the independent media, detained journalists, and implemented new restrictions on freedom of religion. The Government has not implemented the constitution ratified in 1997 and postponed National Assembly elections that had been scheduled for December 2001. The United States calls upon the government of Eritrea to respect the fundamental human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including freedom of the press, freedom of association, and freedom of religion, and to return to the basic values of democracy and human rights, as it has repeatedly committed itself to do. |
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