Africanews.com: Eritreans free to return home voluntarily – Foreign Minister – 30 August
- Africanews reports on the words of the Eritrean Foreign Minister, Osman Saleh, who said on Thursday that ‘all nationals abroad are free to return home in the wake of peace with neighbouring Ethiopia.’
- He reiterated the position of the government that Eritrea was a cause of illegal immigration to Europe. Eritrea has been among the highest migrant contributing nations along with Somalia, Sudan and Nigeria.
- The Eritrean regime has long been accused by rights groups of governing the country with a tight grip trampling upon dissenting voices – political, religious or press freedom. The government justified the action by citing its “no peace-no war” situation with Ethiopia.
InfoMigrants: African migrant numbers rise, but not all are considered refugees – 30 August
- InfoMigrants reports on Angela Merkel’s visit to Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria and updates on the migratory situation across Europe.
- Figures from the Federal Office for Migration (FOM) show that the main African nationalities applying for asylum are Eritreans and Somalis. In the past six months, 3,931 Eritrean nationals and 3,374 Somalis sought asylum in Germany.
- InfoMigrants reiterates that Eritrea has an autocratic president, and that there is no political opposition, no separation of powers, and no free press. Critics of the regime are often detained without trial.
The Times of Israel: Minister’s photo burned at Tel Aviv protest against asylum seekers – 31 August
- The Times of Israel reports on demonstrations against Eritrean immigrants in Israel wreaking havoc in the city. The newspaper lays emphasis on the violent character of the demonstrations, quoting a Hebrew-language sign held up by a protester which reads “Not a refugee, not desperate, just a squatter and infiltrator.”
- Some 300 people took part in the protest, expressing anger at what they claimed was the government’s inability to remove tens of thousands of asylum seekers from the impoverished neighbourhoods.
- The Times of Israel recalls that in recent years, the estimated 35,000 African migrants have been detained, threatened with deportation, and faced hostility from lawmakers and residents. Since last year, they face another burden as a de facto 20 percent salary cut has driven them further into poverty.
Twitter: Eritrea’s Minister of Information, Yemane G. Meskel, tweeted about the visit of an Eritrean delegation to Russia – 30 August
- “Eritrea’s Delegation met with Russian Foreign Minister in Sochi today. Foreign Minister Lavrov stated that Russia-Eritrea bilateral ties are on track and set to flourish. He further stated that Russia is ready and working to expand trade and investment ties with Eritrea.”
- Tweeted with photos of the visit, including with Foreign Minister Lavrov.
Africanews.com: Antique, quiet, touristic: Ethiopian journalist hails Eritrean capital Asmara – 31 August– 31 August
- Africanews interviewed the Ethiopian journalist Samson Berhane about his first impressions of Asmara.
- Samson Berhane reconnected with his Eritrean dad after 21 years of forced separation due to a diplomatic spat, and enjoyed discovering the Eritrean capital, which has been designated as a United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organization by UNESCO, World Heritage site in 2017.
- Samson Berhane said that “… with regards to the features of the two cities, both have a unique feature. But I believe Asmara has more potential for tourism as it is a city where you see the legacy of Italy and other modern European architectures.”
- Africanews states that at the moment, Asmara has become somewhat of a diplomacy hub. After the peace deal with Ethiopia and resumption of flights between the two nations, the capital has hosted Somali president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmaajo and South Sudanese president Salva Kiir.
- Since July, the capital has attracted increasing amounts of visitors and remains in the media spotlight.
