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Israel will begin deporting Eritreans from their homeland as soon as the end of mandatory indefinite military conscription, justice minister Ayelet Shaked said Tuesday.
Reuters reported earlier Tuesday that the latest group of recruits recruited into the Eritrean army had informed his relatives that their service would end in 18 months.
At a meeting of his Habayit Hayehudi party in Tel Aviv, Shaked said the government was closely monitoring the implementation of the peace agreement signed by Eritrea and the US. Ethiopia earlier this month, hoping that Eritrea would end compulsory conscription. duration.
"If, following this agreement, the conscription requirement is rescinded, Israel could return the infiltrators to Eritrea – and this is great news for the inhabitants of South Tel Aviv," Shaked said. reference to the largest concentration of African asylum seekers.
But sources involved in the question said that even though the Eritrean army announces the end of indefinite conscription of the army, it is still only an initial promise – far from the end of forced conscription in Eritrea.
They said that it is likely that Eritrea will be sufficiently peaceful two more years to allow Eritreans who fled the country to be returned there.
In 1995, two years after declaring its independence from Ethiopia, Eritrea instituted a mandatory 18-month military service for anyone between the ages of 18 and 50, with the goal of strengthening the State after 30 years of independence. This service was supposed to consist of six months of military training, followed by one year of work on development projects.
But the Eritrean government has maintained an unlimited military service for two years. The border war broke out with Ethiopia in 1998. The conflict continued despite the signing of a ceasefire agreement in 2000.
The rights group and Western governments claim that there is an indefinite military conscription, which forces Eritreans to flee the country, often leading them to make the perilous journey through the Sahara and the Mediterranean towards Europe.
Tens of thousands of people found themselves in Europe, making Eritreans one of the largest constituencies among refugees and migrants on the continent.
Parents of new recruits said that they had been informed of the new 18-month limit at a graduation ceremony for conscripts on July 13.
The peace agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea has given rise to warm relations, including reciprocal visits of country leaders, the opening of embbadies in their respective capitals and the restoration of the telephone service between the two countries.
"Last week, they were told that they would not serve beyond 18 months because the dynamics changed," told Reuters a member of a conscript's family who had just been recruited on condition of anonymity. Another person confirmed the announcement at the ceremony attended by President Isaias Afwerki.
Eritrean Minister of Information, Yemane Ghebremeskel, did not deny the information but said that there had been no official announcement, noting that it was "the first days" of the rapprochement with Ethiopia. "Political announcements of this importance are invariably made by our official outlets, and that has not been done yet," he told Reuters.
Earlier this month, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Eritrean leader signed a landmark agreement in the Eritrean capital of Asmara, declaring the end of their "state of war", the first day of the war. one of the longest military dead ends in Africa.
Neighbors have agreed to open embbadies, develop ports and resume flights – concrete steps that swept away two decades of hostility in a matter of weeks.
The Asmara government has long insisted that conscription is vital to national security, saying it feared the attack on Ethiopia.
The president said at the ceremony earlier this month that he had a "special meaning" because it was happening after Eritrea and Ethiopia had done so. the peace.
In Asmara, some people told Reuters that they were waiting for official announcements stating the end of their duty.
"I have been in service for 20 years and I am proud of the role I played," said one resident. "But I hope we will now be friends with our Ethiopian brothers, rather than enemies, and hope to continue my life."
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