2013 Eritrean Army mutiny

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2013 Eritrean Army mutiny
Date21 January 2013
Location
Result Coup d'état attempt failed; demands rejected
Belligerents
Eritrean Army rebels

Eritrean Government
Eritrean Defence Forces

Commanders and leaders
Isaias Afwerki
Ahmed Umer Kakay

The 2013 Eritrean Army mutiny was mounted on 21 January 2013, when around 100 to 200 soldiers of the Eritrean Army in the capital city, Asmara, seized the headquarters of the state broadcaster, EriTV, and allegedly broadcast a message demanding reforms and the release of political prisoners. [1] [2] The mutiny was the first major incident of resistance to the rule of Isaias Afwerki since the purging of a group of fifteen ministers who demanded political reform in 2001. Details about the mutiny remain murky, with several (but not all) government officials denying it even took place, while opposition sources claimed it had been an abortive coup attempt. [3]

Contents

Background

Map of Eritrea. Un-eritrea.png
Map of Eritrea.

At the time of the mutiny, Eritrea had been ruled by Isaias Afwerki for two decades since its independence in 1993 from Ethiopia, following a 30-year war for independence. Initially allied with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and his Tigray People's Liberation Front, whom Isaias' Eritrean People's Liberation Front had helped overthrow the communist regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam, border disputes caused relations between the two nations to rapidly turn sour, and in May 1998, Eritrea invaded Ethiopia. [4] The resultant conflict killed between 70,000 and 100,000 on both sides, and left Eritrea with over a third of its territory occupied and over 650,000 people displaced. [5] Although Eritrea was awarded most of the disputed territory by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, Ethiopia still occupied most of the disputed land until the outbreak of the Tigray War in November 2020.

The war caused a severe curtailment of political freedoms and rights in Eritrea, with the constitution's implementation being delayed indefinitely and most young people being forced into the Eritrean national service. [6] Presidential and parliamentary elections were postponed and have never been held since independence. The People's Front for Democracy and Justice, nominally a transitional authority, is the sole legal political organisation, making Eritrea Africa's last remaining official one-party state and the only non-communist one-party state in the world (most African nations were at one point single party states, while all its neighbours, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Djibouti have dominant-party systems). [7]

Religious activity has been strictly monitored and suppressed, with evangelicals in particular facing imprisonment and torture. [8] Even the patriarch of the majority Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Abune Antonios, was in 2007 forcibly removed and placed under house arrest. [9] [10] The level of repression has prompted many to call it "the North Korea of Africa" – Eritrea, which has no private media, has been ranked last in Reporters Without Borders' Press Freedom Index since 2007, below North Korea. [11]

The mutiny

Early on January 21, the soldiers surrounded the headquarters of the state broadcaster, EriTV, known as "Forto", which sits atop a small hill overlooking Asmara. [12] The soldiers stormed the building and gathered all the employees into a room, and forced the director of EriTV, Asmelash Abraha, to read a prepared statement demanding the restoration of the constitution, the release of political prisoners, and the freeing of captured refugees. [12] Only after Asemlash had read two sentences, the feed was cut off and the building surrounded by loyal soldiers, who also took up defensive positions around the presidential palace and airport, with the city remaining mainly calm. [12] The soldiers were purportedly led by Col. Saleh Osman, a hero of the Eritrean War of Independence. [12]

At 10pm, the broadcast resumed, and the station's employees were released. The soldiers were said to have withdrawn from the headquarters complex. [12] There seems to be speculation about some successful negotiations of exchange prisoners due to the absence of clarification of how events unfolded (towards the end) from both sides involved.

Reaction

Iranian media outlet, Press TV, interviewed Tesfa-Michael Gerahtu, Eritrean Ambassador to the United Kingdom, who claimed that the attempt had been fabricated, and that there had been no unrest whatsoever. There is also controversy in the name of the kind of action led by these rebel militaries. The Permanent Representative to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Ambassador Girma Asmerom claimed that "As is the case all over the world an armed crazy, stupid and terrorist individual or group can take stupid actions... Such isolated incidents which frequently occur in the West are considered terrorist acts. I don't understand why in Africa they are considered coups d'état. It is the highest form of double standard and hypocrisy," thus implying that there had been unrest.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Eritrea</span>

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. But earlier Eritrea was called Mdre Bahri. 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 annexed to Ethiopia. Following the communist Ethiopian government's defeat in 1991 by the coalition created by armed groups notably the EPLF, Eritrea declared its independence. Eritrea officially celebrated its 1st anniversary of independence on May 24, 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreign relations of Eritrea</span>

The foreign relations of Eritrea are the policies of the Eritrean government by which it administers its external relations with other nations. Since its independence, Eritrea's foreign relations have been dominated by conflict and confrontation, both in the regional and international arenas. It has maintained often troubled, and usually violent, relations with its neighbors, including brief armed conflicts with Yemen and Djibouti and a destructive war with its bigger-neighbour, Ethiopia. At present, Eritrea has very tense relations with neighboring Ethiopia and Djibouti. Relations in the international arena also have been strained since the last decade, particularly with major powers. What appeared cordial relations with the US in the 1990s turned acrimonious following the border war with Ethiopia, 1998-2000. Although the two nations have a close working relationship regarding the ongoing war on terror, there has been a growing tension in other areas. Ties with international organizations such as the United Nations, the African Union, and the European Union have also been complicated in part because of Eritrea's outrage at their reluctance to force Ethiopia to accept a boundary commission ruling issued in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaias Afwerki</span> President of Eritrea since 1993

Isaias Afwerki is an Eritrean politician and partisan who has been the first and only president of Eritrea since 1993. In addition to being president, Isaias has been the chairman of Eritrea's sole legal political party, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eritrean People's Liberation Front</span> Far-left paramilitary group of Eritrea (1973–1994)

The Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), colloquially known as Shabia, was an armed Marxist–Leninist organization that fought for the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia. It emerged in 1973 as a far-left to left-wing nationalist group that split from the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF). After achieving Eritrean independence in 1991, it transformed into the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), which serves as Eritrea's sole legal political party.

Filipos Woldeyohannes is an Eritrean general who has served as Chief of Staff of the Eritrean Defence Forces since March 2014. He was appointed after his predecessor died in early March 2014.

The Eritrean Army is the main branch of the Eritrean Defence Forces and is one of the largest armies in Africa. The main role of the army in Eritrea is defense from external aggressors, border security, and developing national cohesion. Historically, the predecessor of the Eritrean Army, the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), played a major role in establishing and defending the country's independence from Ethiopia in 1991 during the Eritrean War of Independence. Since then, the army has continued to be involved in low-level border conflicts with Ethiopia and several other neighbors, including Djibouti and Yemen, with the most notable one being the Ethiopian-Eritrean War from 1998 until 2000, which ended in a partial Ethiopian military victory and Eritrean boundary line victory. It is widely regarded as one of the largest and more capable armies in Africa, despite the country having a smaller population than most of its neighbors with around 250,000 to 300,000 personnel due to mandatory national service. Conscription became open ended since the war with Ethiopia and no demobilization has taken place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eritrea–United States relations</span> Bilateral relations

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eritrea</span> Country in the Horn of Africa

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eritrea–Israel relations</span> Bilateral relations

Eritrea–Israel relations are foreign relations between Eritrea and Israel. Both countries established diplomatic relations in 1993 following Eritrean independence. Eritrea has an embassy in Ramat Gan and Israel had an embassy in Asmara, that was closed in 2022. Their ties were considered as very close, but after 2020 relations worsened. Both Eritrea and Israel have shared access to the Red Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eritrea–Sudan relations</span> Bilateral relations

Eritrea–Sudan relations have historically been tense, but have normalized in recent years.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Eritrea–Ethiopia summit</span> Bilateral summit of Ethiopia and Eritrea in 2018

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The Tripartite Agreement, officially the Joint Declaration on Comprehensive Cooperation Between Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea, is a cooperation agreement signed by the leaders of Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia on 5 September 2018. Designed to "promote regional peace and security" in the Horn of Africa, the agreement was signed in Asmara by Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed, Somali president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed (Farmaajo) and Eritrean president Isaias Afwerki. The tripartite meeting was followed by tripartite meetings in November 2018 and January 2020.

Events in the year 2013 in Eritrea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eritrean involvement in the Tigray war</span> Eritrea in the Tigray War

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eritrea–Sudan border</span> International border

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Anti-Eritrean sentiment is a broad opposition, bias, discrimination and hatred against Eritrea, its government and people. Anti-Eritrean attitude is prevalent amongst Tigrayan elites, who were crucial parts for downfall of the Derg regime in 1991. The 1998 border war exacerbated their relations as both parties accused each other for the territorial claims. Eritrean involvement in the Tigray War further aggravated anti-Eritrean feelings amongst Tigrayans.

References

  1. "Eritrea mutiny over as government, opposition say 'all calm'". Al-Ahram . AFP. 2013-01-22. Archived from the original on 2021-03-21. Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  2. Tekle, Tesfa-Alem (10 February 2013). "Eritrea's president breaks silence over army mutiny incident". Sudan Tribune . Archived from the original on 2013-10-11. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  3. Straziuso, Jason (22 January 2013). "A day after unrest reported in Eritrea, calm returns. Ambassador denied coup attempt". AP. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  4. "International commission: Eritrea triggered the border war with Ethiopia". BBC News. 2005-12-21. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  5. Eritrean, Ethiopian exchange of POWs begins CNN, 23 December 2000
  6. William Davison, Bealfan T. Hayle. "Eritrea Mutiny Shows Growing Military Discontent With Isaias". Bloomberg. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  7. Hennig, Rainer Chr. (3 June 2013). "Eritrea "celebrates" 20 years of terror". Afrol News. Archived from the original on 2013-10-14. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  8. "Eritrea says not aware of mass arrest of Christians", Reuters, Jeremy Clarke, December 10, 2009, Retrieved June 11, 2011.
  9. "Orthodox patriarch of Eritrea sacked". 1 February 2006. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 5 February 2007.
  10. Plaut, Martin (28 June 2007). "Christians protest over Eritrea". BBC News. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
  11. "Press Freedom Index 2013" Archived 2013-02-15 at the Wayback Machine , Reporters Without Borders, 30 January 2013
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 "What Really Happened at Asmara's Ministry of (Dis)information ?". Reporters without Borders.