Eritrea in 2005

Eritrea in 2005

Area: 121,144 sq km (46,774 sq mi)
Population (2005 est.): 4,670,000
Capital: Asmara
Head of state and government: President Isaias Afwerki

Despite extreme poverty exacerbated by drought, shortfalls in international relief funding, and a weak economy, Eritrea spent its energy in 2005 threatening to renew war with its large neighbour Ethiopia over a five-year border dispute. The shaky peace agreement signed between the two countries in December 2000, following two years of warfare that claimed 70,000 lives, tottered on the brink of collapse. The biggest obstacle to peace remained the small town of Badme, which Ethiopia continued to hold despite pressure from the UN Security Council and an earlier ruling by a border commission that placed it in Eritrean territory. The escalating tensions forced the UN Security Council to extend the mandate of UN troops keeping peace between Eritrea and Ethiopia, even as the two countries increased their own military presence at the tense border.

Eritrean Foreign Minister Ali Said Abdella died of a heart attack in August, before the UN Security Council convened. He was a former military commander in the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front, which later became the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (Eritrea’s ruling party under the leadership of Pres. Isaias Afwerki).

Eritreans continued to suffer from dire shortages of food and basic necessities throughout the year, which prompted aid agencies to make further appeals for food aid and funding. Though rains increased in the March–May rainy season, giving a boost to agricultural production, Eritrea was expected to meet only 45% of its food needs for the year. The food situation was worsened, however, by what should have been a positive development—the return and resettlement of 19,000 Eritreans displaced by war and previous droughts.

Afwerki’s government marked another year of repressive rule with the arbitrary arrest and detention of political opponents and journalists. Despite pleas from Western governments, humanitarian groups, and press organizations, Afwerki’s government refused to release the 15 journalists who had been imprisoned since 2001.

On the economic front, Eritrea stayed on the list of the world’s poorest nations, with a per capita GDP of about $130. The country’s balance of trade remained terribly skewed, with nearly $426 million in imports, compared with $16 million in exports. Military spending accounted for about 20% of the nation’s GDP.

Patrick L. Thimangu