Labor groups condemn arrest of Eritrean unionists
ASMARA, May 10 (AFP) — International labor groups have condemned the arrests of three union officials in Eritrea whom they say are being held incommunicado in violation of due process standards.
Four groups, led by the Brussels-based International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), said they had filed a complaint with the International Labor Organization (ILO) on Monday in Geneva to protest the arrests.
The complaint alleges that Asmara has committed “flagrant violations of ILO conventions concerning freedom of association, which Eritrea has ratified,” according to a statement seen here on Tuesday.
“The governments actions against the three also clearly contravene international standards on legal process,” it said, adding: “The ICFTU believes that the detentions are designed to stop the union representatives fulfilling their legitimate functions as trade union officials.”
AFP tried on Tuesday to contact several Eritrean officials for comment on the allegations but none were available to speak to the matter although Asmara regularly denounces reports on human rights violations as “baseless.”
ICFTU said two of the three trade union officials, Tewelde Ghebremedhin and Minase Andezion, had been held since March 30, and the third, Habtom Weldemicael, since April 9.
“They are being held incommunicado, with no access to lawyers, in violation of Eritrean law,” it said.
ICFTU, which represents 145 million workers in 233 unions in 154 countries and territories, said it had reported the arrests to the London-based human rights group Amnesty International.
Amnesty has in the past criticized Eritrea for the detention of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience of which it estimates there are several thousand.
ICFTU said the arrests of the unionist indicated that Asmara might be expanding a crackdown on dissent.
“The recent arrests of trade unionists suggest that the government is further widening the circle of repression,” it said in its letter of complaint to the ILO.