Focus op de dramatische situatie in Eritrea
1 december is sinds jaren een internationale actiedag voor de Gevangenen voor de Vrede. De WRI vraagt speciale aandacht voor mensen die wegens hun consequente vredeshouding in de gevangenis zijn beland. Zowel dienstweigeraars tegen verplichte militaire dienst als vredesactivisten die met geweldloze middelen protesteren tegen oorlogsvoorbereidingen komen hiervoor in aanmerking. De WRI roept iedereen op om kaartjes te sturen naar de gevangenen voor vrede. Dit jaar staat het Oost-Afrikaanse Eritrea speciaal in de kijker. De situatie van de mensenrechten gaat er al jaren dramatisch achteruit. Een vrije pers bestaat niet meer. Iedereen die zich tegen het autoritaire regime van president Afewerki verzet, krijgt te maken met brutale repressie. Vooral jongeren die weigeren de langdurige legerdienst te vervullen en de militaire indoctrinatie te ondergaan, krijgen het bijzonder hard te verduren. Er zijn vele gevallen bekend van gevangenen die de harde omstandigheden in de strafkampen in de woestijn niet hebben overleefd. Voor vele vredelievende mensen zit er dan ook maar één mogelijk op: naar het buitenland gaan en vandaar aandacht vragen voor het lot van de Eritrese vredesgevangenen. In Duitsland hebben Abraham Gebreyesus Mehreteab en Yohannes Kidane een vereniging opgericht om Eritrese dienstweigeraars te ondersteunen.
Prisoners for Peace Day Appeal 2005 Dear member and supporter of War Resisters\' International, Welcome to our Prisoners for Peace Day appeal, this year with a focus on the situation in Eritrea. The special edition of \'The Broken Rifle\' (no.68)includes background information on Eritrea. Eritrea is one of the few countries with an extensive conscription system for men and women. In fact, military training is an integral part of the education system, with the last school year being \"served\" at the military training camp. In addition, military service doesn\'t end - all those recruited in the last few years are still serving, unless they deserted and are presently in hiding or fled the country. \"Arbitrary detention, torture, deployment at the front line, forced labour - all without any hearing - have been common ways to punish deserters and objectors. ... Furthermore, relatives of deserters are threatened to push their children to send them to their units\", said Abraham Gebreyesus Mehreteab from the Eritrean Antimilitarism Initiative in a statement to the United Nations\' Human Rights Commission in Geneva in April this year. Only a few months later, Amnesty International reported the arrest of hundreds of relatives of deserters and draft evaders. \"Those arrested were the fathers, mothers or other relatives of men or women over the age of 18 who have either failed to report for national service since 1994, failed to attend the compulsory final school year at Sawa military training camp, abandoned their army unit, or left the country illegally\", wrote Amnesty International in an urgent action on 28 July 2005. War Resisters\' International is working with the Eritrean Antimilitarism Initiative and other groups to support conscientious objectors in Eritrea. As part of this work, we produced an English language version of a documentation on conscientious objection and desertion in Eritrea (available on our website), and asked Abraham Gebreyesus Mehreteab to address the United Nations\' Human Rights Commission on WRI\'s behalf. The focus on Eritrea for this years\' Prisoners for Peace Day is another step in this ongoing effort to highlight the situation in Eritrea. We ask you to support our efforts to support Eritrean objectors and deserters. Take some time on 1 December - Prisoners for Peace Day - to write letters to prisoners (see the list in the special edition of The Broken Rifle). Ask for extra copies of the Broken Rifle for distribution among your friends, or in your local peace group. And - for us to be able to continue our work - give generously to support WRI\'s work in support of Eritrean objectors and deserters, and for Prisoners for Peace. Thank you. Andreas Speck * Achtergrondinformatie over Eritrea kunt u vinden op: Website WRI * De volledige lijst van de \'Gevangenen voor de Vrede 2005\' kunt u vinden in \'The Broken Rifle\' no.68: Website WRI
1 december is sinds jaren een internationale actiedag voor de Gevangenen voor de Vrede. De WRI vraagt speciale aandacht voor mensen die wegens hun consequente vredeshouding in de gevangenis zijn beland. Zowel dienstweigeraars tegen verplichte militaire dienst als vredesactivisten die met geweldloze middelen protesteren tegen oorlogsvoorbereidingen komen hiervoor in aanmerking. De WRI roept iedereen op om kaartjes te sturen naar de gevangenen voor vrede. Dit jaar staat het Oost-Afrikaanse Eritrea speciaal in de kijker. De situatie van de mensenrechten gaat er al jaren dramatisch achteruit. Een vrije pers bestaat niet meer. Iedereen die zich tegen het autoritaire regime van president Afewerki verzet, krijgt te maken met brutale repressie. Vooral jongeren die weigeren de langdurige legerdienst te vervullen en de militaire indoctrinatie te ondergaan, krijgen het bijzonder hard te verduren. Er zijn vele gevallen bekend van gevangenen die de harde omstandigheden in de strafkampen in de woestijn niet hebben overleefd. Voor vele vredelievende mensen zit er dan ook maar één mogelijk op: naar het buitenland gaan en vandaar aandacht vragen voor het lot van de Eritrese vredesgevangenen. In Duitsland hebben Abraham Gebreyesus Mehreteab en Yohannes Kidane een vereniging opgericht om Eritrese dienstweigeraars te ondersteunen.
Prisoners for Peace Day Appeal 2005 Dear member and supporter of War Resisters\' International, Welcome to our Prisoners for Peace Day appeal, this year with a focus on the situation in Eritrea. The special edition of \'The Broken Rifle\' (no.68)includes background information on Eritrea. Eritrea is one of the few countries with an extensive conscription system for men and women. In fact, military training is an integral part of the education system, with the last school year being \"served\" at the military training camp. In addition, military service doesn\'t end - all those recruited in the last few years are still serving, unless they deserted and are presently in hiding or fled the country. \"Arbitrary detention, torture, deployment at the front line, forced labour - all without any hearing - have been common ways to punish deserters and objectors. ... Furthermore, relatives of deserters are threatened to push their children to send them to their units\", said Abraham Gebreyesus Mehreteab from the Eritrean Antimilitarism Initiative in a statement to the United Nations\' Human Rights Commission in Geneva in April this year. Only a few months later, Amnesty International reported the arrest of hundreds of relatives of deserters and draft evaders. \"Those arrested were the fathers, mothers or other relatives of men or women over the age of 18 who have either failed to report for national service since 1994, failed to attend the compulsory final school year at Sawa military training camp, abandoned their army unit, or left the country illegally\", wrote Amnesty International in an urgent action on 28 July 2005. War Resisters\' International is working with the Eritrean Antimilitarism Initiative and other groups to support conscientious objectors in Eritrea. As part of this work, we produced an English language version of a documentation on conscientious objection and desertion in Eritrea (available on our website), and asked Abraham Gebreyesus Mehreteab to address the United Nations\' Human Rights Commission on WRI\'s behalf. The focus on Eritrea for this years\' Prisoners for Peace Day is another step in this ongoing effort to highlight the situation in Eritrea. We ask you to support our efforts to support Eritrean objectors and deserters. Take some time on 1 December - Prisoners for Peace Day - to write letters to prisoners (see the list in the special edition of The Broken Rifle). Ask for extra copies of the Broken Rifle for distribution among your friends, or in your local peace group. And - for us to be able to continue our work - give generously to support WRI\'s work in support of Eritrean objectors and deserters, and for Prisoners for Peace. Thank you. Andreas Speck * Achtergrondinformatie over Eritrea kunt u vinden op: Website WRI * De volledige lijst van de \'Gevangenen voor de Vrede 2005\' kunt u vinden in \'The Broken Rifle\' no.68: Website WRI