Wounded at an asylum seeker demonstration in Tel Aviv (Photo: Yotam Ronen)
The violent clashes that took place on Saturday in Tel Aviv between supporters of the Eritrean regime and their opponents are a continuation of similar scenes that have taken place in various places around the world in recent weeks, including in Germany, Canada, the United States and Sweden.
The anti-regime unrest among Eritrean refugees came around their country's Independence Day, which took place yesterday, and was marked by festivals organized by the country's embassies in various places. In the eyes of opponents of the regime, these are not festive events but displays of power by the regime designed to intimidate its critics.
Eritrean asylum seekers demonstrate in Tel Aviv, September 2, 2023 (Photo: official website, police spokesperson's office)
Eritrea, one of the most closed and repressive countries in the world, marks September 1 as Revolution Day, when the Ethiopian War of Independence broke out on the same date in 1961. It ended 30 years later, and since then the Horn of Africa country has been ruled by dictator Isaias Afwerki. His regime is subject to U.S. and European sanctions for serious human rights abuses, including conscription into the military with no known release date.
Afewerki does not hold elections, and the country — known as the "North Korea of Africa" — restricts the exit of its citizens from its borders. Despite this, hundreds of thousands managed to escape, many of them trying to reach Western countries and others settling in Israel after crossing the border through Egypt.
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Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed hugs Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki at a summit in the capital Asmara, July 2018 (Photo: Reuters)
Eritrea's government has spoken out strongly against its fleeing citizens, accusing the West of trying to weaken the country by "depleting its population." Last month, Information Minister Yamana Gebremeskel claimed that the attacks on festivals were part of this strategy.
"Complicity in attempts to disrupt decades-old Eritrean festivals by foreign thugs reflects an abject failure of the scum asylum seekers," he said in a statement posted on social media. He later criticized the "distorted description" of the community's "happy events."
Last month, about 52,22 protesters stormed an Eritrean festival in Stockholm, setting fires and using rocks and sticks as weapons, leaving at least <> people injured. Police said they arrested more than <> people. That same month, the City of Toronto cancelled similar events due to acts of violence.
In July, <> police officers were injured in clashes at a festival in the German city of Giessen as they tried to make their way between smoke bombs and bottles thrown by protesters. Dozens of people were arrested.
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