Christian Groups Call for Religious Freedom in Eritrea amid London Protest

A protest calling for religious freedom in Eritrea will take place on 9th June 2005 outside the Eritrean Embassy in London.

The initiative is supported by Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Release Eritrea! and Christian Concern for Freedom of Conscience (CCFC) and aims to highlight the Eritrean government's decisions regarding religious freedom.

According to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom report, in May 2002, the Eritrea government ordered mandatory registration of religious groups and commenced closing places of worship for organisations waiting for registration.

Each religious group subjected to the government's requirements for registration had to provide detailed financial and membership information and background on the group's presence in Eritrea.

The only exceptions from these strict requirements and registrations are the Eritrean Orthodox Church, Sunni Islam, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Lutheran-affiliated Evangelical Church of Eritrea.

Since the new legislation, Christians not belonging to the 3 main Christian denominations have faced alleged persecutions and have reportedly been imprisoned during New Year Celebrations, weddings and other social functions throughout the year.

"The persecution of Christians in Eritrea has worsened considerably as a result of the government's decision to ban all but three Christian denominations," said Chief Executive of CWS, Mervyn Thomas.

"People are often kept in appalling conditions for months and even years simply for calling themselves Christians. It is CSW’s privilege to stand with the Eritrean church to call for urgent improvements to religious freedom in that country."

It is believed that in April 2005 approximately 900 Christians were in detention, and even though the government released some of the Christians, still another 400 Christians are thought to still be in jail.

The atmosphere in Eritrea is not affectioned to the work of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), since the nation's government has taken recent steps to regulate the work of NGOs. New legislation is in force from 1st June 2005, according to News24.com.

The new legislation requires NGOs to pay taxes on imported materials and have operating capital. For local NGOs it is US$1 million, for international it doubles to US$2 million.

Among the 58 NGOs in Eritrea, 20 are international. The director of one of them said, "Most of the international NGOs will have difficulties with the clause requiring US$2 millions operating capital" and expressed worries that the government will soon have the laws to ban undesirable NGOs.