BY DUTCH-ERITREANS
On the 13th of March 2018, Dutch-Eritreans are demonstrating before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the House of Representatives in The Hague. This demonstration is an initiative of Dutch citizens of Eritrean descent. Continue reading Dutch-Eritreans: Talk With US, Not Just About US
BY MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
On Tuesday last week, the Dutch Foreign Ministry expelled Eritrea’s Charge d’Affaires to the country, Mr. Tekeste Ghebremedhin, invoking untenable explanations for its unacceptable act.
The letter that the Minister of Foreign Affairs sent to the Dutch Parliament on the case indeed illustrates the banality of the whole affair. Continue reading Dutch Action Against Eritrea’s Charge d’Affaires is Unwarranted and Unacceptable
BY RUETERS
The Dutch government has told the highest representative of Eritrea in the Netherlands to leave the country, minister of Foreign Affairs Halbe Zijlstra said on Wednesday.
Tekeste Ghebremedhin Zemuy has been declared persona non grata, Zijlstra wrote in a letter to parliament, as the government saw mounting evidence [not corroborated by the Dutch police] of Eritrea continuing to force tax payments from people who fled the country. Continue reading Netherlands Expels Eritrea’s Chargé d’Affaires
BY BILLION TEMESGHEN | ERITREA PROFILE
It is rare for any community in the diaspora to be spiritually linked to the homeland as much as the Eritrean diaspora. We try to understand why and how while talking to Professor Ghideon Abay.
Professor Ghideon is a highly regarded professor in the United States. Born and raised in Eritrea, the professor left in the late 1970s. A devoted Eritrean patriot, Professor Ghideon Abay is our guest for this edition. We analyze the strong bond Eritrean Diaspora keeps to its homeland: its meaning and importance. Continue reading Eritrean Diaspora: Home is Where the Heart Lies
BY HAILE HABTEGABER
The first obligation of good journalism is to the truth based on verifiable facts. Of course, the journalist may be biased due to own personal believes. But he/she cannot be allowed to get away with being dishonest with the facts.
And to demonstrate this obligation, he/she should lay down the verifiable facts for the interlocking public to make its own informed decision about the truth in terms of the context, interpretation, comment, criticism and debate. I concede, to be interested and take part in good faith for the furtherance of the lives people is legitimate. Continue reading The Wrongful Characterization of 2% Eritrean ‘Diaspora Tax’ by Media in the Netherlands
By Shabait,
Eritrea’s foreign Minister, Mr. Osman Saleh, held talks on August 23 in The Hague with the Netherlands counterpart, Mr. Bert Koenders, regarding the establishment of diplomatic relations and other topics.
In the meeting, Mr. Osman underlined that Eritrea believes and is working to develop constructive diplomatic engagement and mutual cooperation. Continue reading Eritrea and Netherlands Foreign Ministers Held Talks
By MINA,
This story may unnerve you… It’s the story of how Eritrea, a small, mostly unheard-of country in East Africa, and the United States, do the same awful thing.
Nearly every country in the world bases its tax system on residency rather than citizenship. If you’re an Italian citizen, and you leave Italy to live and work in Dubai, you don’t have to pay taxes on the income you earn abroad to the Italian government.
But Eritrea levies a 2% flat tax on its citizens who live abroad. If you’re an Eritrean citizen, you have to pay taxes to the Eritrean government, no matter where you live and work.
The media has condemned this as “extortion” and a “repressive” measure by an “authoritarian” government.
The UN has even weighed in. In Resolution 2023, the UN Security Council condemned Eritrea for “using extortion, threats of violence, fraud and other illicit means to collect taxes outside of Eritrea from its nationals.” Continue reading Taxes: Talk of Double Standard and Stunning Hypocrisy
By Thomas Aeschi (SVP / ZG),
For years, asylum seekers from Eritrea occupy the top spot in the Swiss asylum statistics. Nevertheless, no one seems to be interested in Eritrea at large: Neither federal councilors, parliamentary delegations, and even high-ranking officials who visited Eritrea in recent years.
Since it was announced that Swiss politician traveling these days for meetings with Eritrean government officials, foreign ambassadors, the ICRC and locals inside Eritrea, the excitement is great. As one of the travelers, what can I [understand] after a week with of many discussions with different interlocutors?
Surprisingly, there is a large consensus among the interlocutors to rule that the vast majority of Eritrean arrivals in Europe can be described as “economic migrants”. Continue reading Impressions of Swiss Politicians Visiting Eritrea
