Eritrean Community leaders in Italy held biannual meeting

PRESS RELEASE

Rome - The heads of various Eritrean organizations in Italy--National Union of Eritrean Women, PFDJ, YPFDJ, Eritrea Community in Italy and Media Comunità Eritrea.it--met on 16-17 July in Rome to assess their activities on the first half of 2016.

In the meeting that was held, in the presence of Ambassador Fessahazion Pietros, at Nakfa House representative from 15 Italian cities presented their reports. The representatives assessed that the first half of 2016 witnessed intensive engagement of the Eritrean Community in Italy in various fronts including sending more than 1000 testimonies to the COI, celebrating the Silver jubilee of Eritrea's Independence throughout Italy, gathering over 5,000 signatures of the petition against the COI Report, Martyrs' Day Memorial as well as departure from various parts of Italy 15 buses (over 1,000 citizens) to participate at Euro-wide peaceful demonstration against COI report. More than 10,000 Eritreans arrived by 80 buses from all over Europe.

The heads of the various community organizations, after assessing the opportunity and challenges of the first half, agreed on the activities of the second half including to hold Eritrean Festival in Rome on 1-2 October 2016. The two days festival will have various exhibitions, soccer tournaments, concerts with cultural troupes from Eritrea, seminars, theatre performances, children's activities, poems, general knowledge contests, books fair and merchandise sales, and of course lots of Eritrean cuisine.

After the meeting, all participants signed the following document:

Resolution of biannual meeting

We, the Eritrean Community leaders representing associations from 15 cities in Italy, met in Rome on 16-17 July 2016 to assess our activities in the first half of the year. At the end of a productive meeting, we have agreed on the following:

1. Aware that the past 25 years of efforts and sacrifice made by the people and Government of Eritrea to ensure the sovereignty, economic development and reconstruction. We Eritrean Community in Italy, aim to protect and sustain these values and will continue our struggle with all strength side by side with our People and our Government.

2. Our territories remains occupied by TPLF regime in violation of the International law. The Algiers Agreements and the subsequent EEBC decision shall be implemented and in this regard we call on the on guarantors of the Agreement including UN, EU, and the African Union to shoulder their responsibilities to prevent that TPLF continues its destabilizing action in the Horn of Africa. We will continue to struggle until we see our lands liberated.

3. We are convinced that the Eritrean Government, as previously the EPLF, has done a lot in order to give dignity and human rights to its citizens and we believe that the COI report does not reflect the reality but it is a mendacious story that hides other well-studied political motivations of harming Eritrea. Therefore we strongly condemn it and will fight against it for as long as it is needed for it to be won.

4. The continuation of the unjustified sanctions imposed on Eritrea are aimed at undermining its economy. We condemn their prolongation year after year wanted by the United States, and we demand their immediate annulation. Therefore we call upon the United Nations to take their responsibilities.

5. The TPLF has sporadically violated the sovereignty of Eritrea by military incursions. It has repeatedly declared its intention to attack Eritrea with another war thus threatening the stability of the whole Region. We urge the International Community to recall it for reasonableness.

6. We are grateful for the heroic acts to the EDF (Eritrean Defence Force) which protected the sovereignty of Eritrea by rejecting the military attacks of the TPLF and we want to show them our constant support at their side. So as we are close to those who are rebuilding Eritrea with his own strength.

Eternal memory and glory to our Martyrs
Awet n'Hafash

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