100 12 Stockholm                                                         2008-05-28

Subject: Forced deportations of Eritrean asylum seekers

Dear Parliament Members,

We, at Eritreans for Democracy and Human Rights (EDHR) formerly known as Association of Eritrean Asylum Seekers in Sweden (AEASS) called for this peacefull demonstration today inorder to express our deep concerns over forced deportations of Eritrean asylum seekers and to remind the concerned Swedish authorities of Sweden’s obligations under international laws which forbid sending people to places where they may be at risk of gross human rights abuses.

Eritrea is a nation under siege, a country described as one of the most unfree nation on the planet. Basic elements of statehood such as constitution, rule of law, acountability, freedom of expression, freedom of belief etc, which people take for granted are inexistent in the country. As a result arbitrary detention, torture, death in detention, disappearances, forced labour and other forms of serious human rights violations have become features characterising daily life in the country since September 2001 when the regime violently cracked down the reform movement of G-15 and banned the free press. Ever since these violent and illegal actions the political and human rights situation in the country has kept deteriorating year after year making Eritrea today among countries described as failed states, states threatening regional and international security and above all a country grossly abusing its own nation. Annual reports issued Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, US State Departement, UK Home Affairs and others confirm this sad story.