Eritrea is one of the newest and most promising nations in Africa -- and containts
remnants of some of its oldest civilizations. One of the earliest known references
to Eritrea is from Aeschylus (Fragment 67) in which he refers to the "Mare Erythreum"
(Red Sea) as "the lake that is the jewel of Ethiopia." Eritrea recently fought
and won one of the longest wars in the world. After thirty years of bitter strugle,
Eritrea achieve total independence and the right to self-determination. The
Eritrean people acheived their goals in 1991 in a stunning defeat of the occupying
Ethiopian forces which also helped liberate Ethiopia from the Soviet-backed
Dergue (Menguistu Hailemariam) regime.
Early History
Between 1000 and 400 BC, a semitic group of people known as the Sabeans crossed
the Red Sea into the region known as present Eritrea, and intermingled with
the Hamitic inhabitants who had migrated from the northern Sudan. The region
was then controlled by various foreign invaders such as the Axumite kingdom,
the Funji Sultans of Sudan, the Egyptians, the Portugese and the Turks. Each
of these foreign occupiers had a distinct impact on the development of present
day Eritrea as a nation and in the formation of an Eritrean identity.
Colonisation; ITALY
None, however, was quite as significant as the Italian colonial period from
1880 - 1941. This was the era during which Eritrea emerged as a distinct society
and territory. In the late 1880's Italy purchased the port of Assab from a commercial
company that was administering it. Encouraged by the British, who were then
attempting to contain France's colonial asspirations in the Horn, Italy proceeded
to colonize the region. Italy moved to transform Eritrea, with its access to
sea and agricultural potential, into a permanent colony. The king of Italy issued
a decree that formally established Eritrea on 1 January 1890. Eritrea was defined
as a Nation State, and a colony of Italy. Italian immigration began at the turn
of the century. At the twilight of of the Italian colonial era (late 1930s)
about 70,000 Italians had settled in Eritrea. Italian agricultural policy for
Eritrea was designed to primarily benefit the settlement population and to sustain
Italian exports to Europe and East Africa. The development of a market- based
economy required that the Italians upgrade Eritrea's infrastructure. The extensive
communications and transportation facilities that were established were among
the best in Africa during this era. The Italians built railway lines between
Asmara and Keren and Agordat. The port of Massawa was linked by rail to the
interior. All-weather roads were constructed through the mountains of Eritrea
and the lowlands. Two modern airports were built. An export-based industrial
sector was created and Eritrea forged new links with the international economy.
National Identity and, gradually, a national consciousness developed during
this era. People from diverse economic, ethnic and religious backgrounds were
structurally linked within the colonial borders. Their experiences differed
sharply from those of their neighbors in Ethiopia. Ethiopia remained dominated
by a feudal economic system managed by imperial rule. By the 1940s, Eritrea
had evolved a substantial working class as well as a distinct urban- based intelligentsia.
Neverthless Italian colonial rule was not benign. The Italian administration
reflected the views and aspirations of a fascist government. Eritrea's people
were seen as little more than a source of cheap labour to fuel the aims of Rome.
Eritreans played only subsidiary roles in their country's economic and political
development.
Colonialism; GREAT BRITAIN
With the defeat of Italy in 1941, the great powers (France, Soviet Union, UK
and the US) decided that Great Britain would then govern Eritrea as a protectorate.
The British Military Administration (BMA) ruled Eritrea as "Occupied Enemy Territory."
The Eritrean people viewed the British as a welcome respite from Italian fascist
rule. Nonethless, Eritrean society was by then experiencing the first stirrings
of the desire for self determination. Peasant resistance had increased during
the final years of Italian governance. The economic hardships suffered because
of the dominance of foreign agendas began to make Eritreans conscious of the
need to chart their own economic future. Until this period, Ethiopian involvement
in Eritrea was quite limited. From the turn of the century through the onset
of British military rule, Eritrea and Ethiopia moved on separate economic and
political tracks. Eritrea developed a colonial-based market economy while Ethiopia
maintained feudalism. By the 1940's, however, Ethiopian designs on Eritrea clearly
emerged. The newly-reinstated Emperor of Ethiopia began his effort to gain influence
and control over Eritrea. Ethiopia employed three primary tactics to acheive
its goal of increasing influence and domination. These were interference in
the religious affairs of Eritrea, manipulation of political parties and organizations,
and terrorism. The British responce to Ethiopia's increasingly interventionist
stance was largely ineffectual. They were unable to counter the growing disruption
generated from Addis Ababa.
UN Decides Eritrea's Fate
The end of World War II resulted in UN oversight of Eritrea. By this time the
BMA was finding it difficult to govern Eritrea. Ethiopia was staking a claim
through intervention and diplomatic efforts. The US, which had maintained a
presence in British-administered Eritrea, was showing increasing interest in
obtaining a strategic presence on the Red Sea coast. The discussions that were
to define Eritrea's future for the coming forty years began in April 1949 in
New York. Various proposals - partition, annexation and independence - were
debated. According to the British, 75 percent of the population suported Independence.
On 2 December 1950, the UN passed a resolution that formally federated Eritrea
to Ethiopia. In September 1952, the agreement was put into practice and Ethiopians
replaced the British. The international decision regarding the fate of Eritrea
had little to do with the aspirations of the Eritrean people themselves.
Liberation Struggle: 1961-1991
Although there was organized resistance throughout the British Military Administration
and federation with Ethiopia, the first act of armed resistance by Eritreans
against Ethiopian rule was September 1, 1961. The event became a pretext for
total annexation by Ethiopia on November 14, 1962. Scattered resistance groups
formed links with pro-independence movements outside the country, and the first
organized military front, the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) was formed. By
1965 the ELF had about 1,000 fighters in the field.
In an effort to deal with the cultural and geographic challenges of waging a
national campaign for liberation, the ELF established semi-autonomous zones.
This led eventually to "balkanization" of the resistance movement into Muslim
and Christian factions, with some key defections over to the Ethiopian side.
Following a concerted attack on the ELF by the Ethiopians, there were calls
for unity within the liberation movement, matched by more defections and splinter
movements. During this same period (late 1960s and early 1970s) Emperor Haile
Selassie was also losing his grip on internal affairs throughout Ethiopia. Large
numbers of Christian highlanders joined the ELF, and a second military force,
the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) was formed. By 1976 the ELF and
EPLF had a combined force of 20,000, and were making signficant advances in
controlling the rural and less-populated regions of the country.
The EPLF quickly became the more powerful of the two forces, and was more effective
when meeting Ethiopian troops. In 1980, angered by an attack in which the ELF
left their flanks exposed, the EPLF drove their rivals from the field, and faced
the enemy alone for the remainder of the war.
Despite increased Soviet support for the Dergue (Menguistu Hailemariam) regime,
amounting to more than $16 billion, the EPLF succeeded in meeting its better-equipped
enemy head-on in a series of eight offenses, where the odds favored the Ethiopians
by 10:1 in most cases. Using a strategy of strategic retreats and lightning
counter-attacks, the EPLF was able to re-capture 90% of Eritreans from a demoralized
Ethiopian army by 1990.
The infrastructure created for support of EPLF troops and their civilian charges
was just as significant in bringing about eventual liberation as was the military
skill and bravery of the outnumbered soldiers. The EPLF established networks
of underground hospitals, factories, schools, and libraries for the benefit
of the people in liberated zones. Literacy and public health campaigns significantly
improved the daily lives of peasant farmers, despite the war being fought on
all sides. The EPLF insituted innovative civil administration, legal and social
codes that transformed the traditional and colonial structures that preceded
them. Marriage, property and inheritance customs were re-vamped to provide equality
for historically oppressed Eritrean women. More than 30% of the EPLF's combatants
were women, and their contribution was too significant for the society to willingly
turn its back, and return to the old ways.
The Birth of a Nation
The 24th of May 1993, brought in the dawn of a new era for the Eritrean people.
Having won the right to define their own future, they voted for Independence
in a referendum held from the 23rd-25th of April 1993. On the 27th of April
1993, the Independent Eritrean Referendum Commission, the United Nations Observer
Mission for the Eritrean Referendum (UNOVER), the OAU, the Arab League, the
Non - Aligned Movement, the National Citizens Monitoring Group and numerous
individual observers were unanimous in their conclusion, that the referendum
had been unequivocally free and fair. In the words of the then Provisional Government
of Eritrea (PGE) Secretary General; Issaias Afwerki; the referendum was " a
delightful and sacrosanct historical conclusion to the choice of the Eritrean
people. And although it has been decided that formal independence will be declared
on 24 May 1993, Eritrea is a soverign country as of today." (27 April 1993).
The Independence of Eritrea and its territorial sovereignity was immediately
recognised by the world.
ERITREA: CHARACTERISTICS
The people The people of Eritrea, are known as Eritreans. They are a resilient
group of people who thrive on hope and a deep tradition of comradeship among
each other. The fact that most of the population spent many years in Diaspora
or on the war front, has helped in establishing a deep bond between them that
trancends mere ethnic or religious divisions.
POPULATION: 3,467,087 (July 1993 est.)
GROWTH RATE: 3.46% (1993 est.)
ETHNIC GROUPS: Bilen, Nara, Afar, Tigre, Kunama, Hadareb, Saho, Rashaida, Tigrinya
RELIGIONS: Christianity, Islam, Animist
Geography Today; Eritrea occupies a strategic position along the worlds busiest
shipping lanes and the Middl East oil fields, and is also an oasis of stability
in the volaitaile regions of the Horn of Africa. Eritrea retained its entire
coast line along the Red Sea, upon its independence on 27 April 1993; leaving
Ethiopia landlocked.
LOCATION: Horn of Africa; bordered to the North and West by Sudan; South by
Ethiopia; South-East by Djibouti and to the North -East by the Red Sea.
AREA SIZE: Total land area is 121,320 km sq. Eritrea is slightly larger than
either England or Pennsylvania.
LAND BOUNDARIES: Total 1,630 km. Boundaries with neighbouring countries is 113
km with Djibouti; 912 km with Ethiopia and 605 km with the Sudan.
COAST LINE: Coast line by the Red Sea is 1,151 km; together with the Dahlack
Archipelagos is 2,234 km.
MARITIME CLAIMS: Teritorial claims on the Red Sea; 12 nautical miles.
DATELINE: A POLITICAL HISTORY
1889- Eritrea defined as a Nation State/ colonised by Italy.
1941- World War II/ Italy defeated in Africa/ Eritrea is now governed by the
British.
1952- Eritrea federated as an autonomous state with Ethiopia.
1961- The beginning of the Independence war by the ELF (the Eritrean Liberation
Front).
1962- Ethiopia annexes Eritrea as it's 14th province.
1970- EPLF (Eritrean People's Liberation Front) formed.
1976-8 Liberation movements take control over most of the towns and countryside.
1991- Eritrea liberated from Ethiopia by the EPLF. Transitional govt. set up
with Secretary - General of the EPLF, Issaias Afwerki as leader.
1993- UN sponsored referendum for Independence of Eritrea held on APRIL 23rd
- 25th. 99% of the votes cast are pro Independence. On April 27th Eritrea becomes
an Independent and recognised nation. MAY 24 is proclaimed National Day in Eritrea.