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See also: | Other events of 1993 Timeline of Eritrean history |
Events in the year 1993 in Eritrea .
"Eritrea" is an ancient name, associated in the past with its Greek form Erythraia, Ἐρυθραία, and its derived Latin form Erythræa. This name relates to that of the Red Sea, then called the Erythræan Sea, from the Greek for "red", ἐρυθρός, erythros. The Italians created the colony of Eritrea in the 19th century around Asmara, and named it with its current name. After World War II, Eritrea was annexed to Ethiopia. In 1991, the communist Ethiopian government was toppled by TPLF and Eritrean forces and earned their independence. Eritrea officially celebrated its 1st anniversary of independence on May 24, 1994.
The Politics of Eritrea and the Government of Eritrea takes place in a framework of a single-party presidential republican totalitarian dictatorship. The President officially serves as both head of state and head of government. The People's Front for Democracy and Justice is the only political party legally permitted to exist in Eritrea. The popularly elected National Assembly of 150 seats, formed in 1993 shortly after independence from Ethiopia, elected the current president, Isaias Afewerki. There have been no general elections since its official independence in 1993. The country is governed under the constitution of 1993. A new constitution was ratified in 1997, but has not been implemented. Since the National Assembly last met in January 2002, President Isaias Afwerki has exercised the powers of both the executive and legislative branches of government.
Isaias Afwerki is an Eritrean political leader and partisan who has been the president of Eritrea since shortly after he led the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) to victory in May 1991, ending the 30-year-old war for independence from Ethiopia.
Meles Zenawi Asres was an Ethiopian soldier and politician who served as President of Ethiopia from 1991 to 1995 and then Prime Minister of Ethiopia from 1995 until his death in 2012.
The People's Front for Democracy and Justice is the founding, ruling, and sole legal political party of the State of Eritrea. The successor to the left-wing nationalist Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), the PFDJ holds itself open to nationalists of any political affiliation. The leader of the PFDJ party and current President of Eritrea is Isaias Afwerki. It has been described as totalitarian.
The regions of Eritrea are the primary geographical divisions through which Eritrea is administered. Six in total, they include the Central, Anseba, Gash-Barka, Southern, Northern Red Sea and Southern Red Sea regions.
There have not been national elections in Eritrea since independence in 1993. In theory, elections choose representatives from the country's six regions for the National Assembly. Elections would also occur to elect representatives for the country's regional assemblies and other posts within the country's districts. However, local elections are regularly held, most recently in April 2014.
The Eritrean–Ethiopian War, also known as the Badme War, was a major armed conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea that took place from May 1998 to June 2000. The war has its origins in a territorial dispute between the two states. After Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia, relations were initially friendly. However, disagreements about where the newly created international border should be caused relations to deteriorate significantly, eventually leading to full scale war. According to a 2005 ruling by an international commission, Eritrea broke international law and triggered the war by invading Ethiopia. By 2000, Ethiopia held all of the disputed territory and had advanced into Eritrea. The war officially came to an end with the signing of the Algiers Agreement in 12 December 2000; however, the ensuing border conflict would continue on for nearly two decades.
The Eritrean War of Independence was a war for independence which Eritrean independence fighters waged against successive Ethiopian governments from 1 September 1961 to 24 May 1991.
Woldeab Woldemariam, also spelled Weldeab Weldemariam, was one of the original proponents of the Eritrean Independence movement and an uncompromising advocate of freedom considered by many Eritreans as fathers of Eritrea nationalism. He worked closely with Ibrahim Sultan Ali after the Federation with Ethiopia to secure Eritrean Independence.
The National Museum of Eritrea is a national museum in Asmara, Eritrea. Established in 1992 by Woldeab Woldemariam, it was originally located in the former Governor's Palace until 1997, when it was moved. The venue has since been relocated to the former Comboni Sisters School for Women.
The history of the Jews in Eritrea stretches back many centuries. Eritrea once had a substantial Jewish community, fueled by immigrants arriving for economic reasons and to escape persecution. The community thrived for several decades before mass emigration began during the Eritrean War of Independence with Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian–Eritrean Federation was a coalition between the former Italian colony of Eritrea and the Ethiopian Empire. It was established as a result of the renunciation of Italy’s rights and titles to territorial possessions in Africa, inclusive of all its established territories or colonies made effective by the Treaty of Peace with Italy of 1947. The fate of Eritrea was contingent on numerous political, social, and economic ideals of Eritreans that ranged from leftists favoring independence, conservatives favoring Ethiopian crown rule, and Eritreans who favored a political union of the two sides of the spectrum. In an attempt to provide Eritrea with ultimate autonomy under an Eritrean curated constitution and governmental elections, UN Resolution 390 (A) was devised to implement such welfare to the individuals it was to be imposed upon.
Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the south, Sudan in the west, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeastern and eastern parts of Eritrea have an extensive coastline along the Red Sea. The nation has a total area of approximately 117,600 km2 (45,406 sq mi), and includes the Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands.
Italian Eritrea was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy in the territory of present-day Eritrea. The first Italian establishment in the area was the purchase of Assab by the Rubattino Shipping Company in 1869, which came under government control in 1882. Occupation of Massawa in 1885 and the subsequent expansion of territory would gradually engulf the region and in 1889 borders with the Ethiopian Empire were defined in the Treaty of Wuchale. In 1890 the Colony of Eritrea was officially founded.
An independence referendum was held in Eritrea, at the time part of Ethiopia, between 23 and 25 April 1993. The result was 99.83% in favour, with a 98.5% turnout. Independence from Ethiopia was declared on 27 April.
Eritrea–Israel relations are foreign relations between Eritrea and Israel. Both countries established diplomatic relation in 1993 following Eritrean independence. Eritrea has an embassy in Ramat Gan and Israel has an embassy in Asmara. Israeli-Eritrean ties are complicated by Israel's close ties to Ethiopia, who have shared an unfriendly dyad with Eritrea for a long time. Nevertheless, their ties are generally considered as very close.
The Eritrean–Ethiopian border conflict was a violent standoff and a proxy conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia. It consisted of a series of incidents along the then-disputed border; including the Eritrean–Ethiopian War of 1998–2000 and the subsequent Second Afar insurgency. Ethiopia continued to move deeper into Eritrean territory, bringing under occupation the territories incorporated into its 1997 map and demanding that Eritreans living in these areas acquire Ethiopian nationality or leave. Then a fateful incident happened in the Badme area on 6 May 1998: Ethiopian forces attacked an Eritrean platoon on patrol, killing five officers of the Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF). The border conflict was a continuation of the Eritrean–Ethiopian War of 1998–2000. It included multiple clashes with numerous casualties, including the Battle of Tsorona in 2016. Ethiopia stated in 2018 that it would cede Badme to Eritrea. This led to the Eritrea–Ethiopia summit on 9 July 2018, where an agreement was signed which demarcated the border and agreed a resumption of diplomatic relations.
Relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia are historically adversarial. Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after the Eritrean War of Independence, after which relations were cordial. Since independence Eritrea's relationship with Ethiopia was entirely political, especially in the resuscitation and expansion of IGAD's scope. However, the 1998 Eritrean–Ethiopian War marked a turning point, and their relationship became increasingly hostile.
On 24 May 1993, Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia following a United Nations sponsored referendum, which gained 99.8% Eritrean support for independence. Isaias Afwerki became president and head of Eritrea, after fighting with his Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) against the authoritarian Derg government during the Ethiopian Civil War from 1974 to 1991. Eritrea became a one-party state and promised to schedule presidential elections in 2001, but was then delayed them indefinitely without precondition. Isaias became a totalitarian leader and was accused by many watchdogs of repression and purges of journalists, dissent and opposition groups like People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) officials, mass surveillance, arbitrary detention, lack of independent judiciary body and freedom of association, press and speech. In 2015, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea reported that there were "systemic, widespread and gross human rights violations carried out in a context of total lack of rule of law". The Freedom in the World ranked Eritrea "not free" state as of 2022, with total 3/100 score in both political rights and civil liberties.