According to Amnesty International, the arrests, deportations and confiscation of properties of Eritrean citizens, some of whom held Ethiopian nationality, began in June 1998 shortly after the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia broke out in May 1998 (Africa Policy Information Centre 2 Feb. 1999). Deportations were arbitrary, harsh, and split families (ibid., Country Reports 1999; Jane's Intelligence Review 1 Feb. 1999; IPS 5 Mar. 1999, NYT 14 Feb. 1999).

Amnesty International further states that the deportation of people with Ethiopian passports, or who were born or who spent their entire working life in Ethiopia,

has now developed into a systematic, country-wide operation to arrest and deport anyone of full or part Eritrean descent. Fifty-two thousand Eritreans have been arbitrarily deported from Ethiopia over the last seven months, 6,300 so far in January 1999...People of all ages, from babies to pensioners, are imprisoned in harsh conditions for several days before being forced to board buses under armed guard with only one piece of luggage each ... Families have been split up, the male head is usually deported first, and his wife, parents and children weeks or months later. The many Ethiopians married to Eritreans are forbidden to leave and forced to watch helplessly while their spouse and children are deported.

Deportees have had to abandon their homes, possessions, businesses and other property with no guarantee of ever recovering them. Individuals who have protested have been threatened or beaten. The deportees were arbitrarily stripped of their Ethiopian citizenship without any warning, legal process or right of appeal (ibid.).

A 6 March 1999 IPS report, quoting a survey conducted by Eritrean Citizens for Peace, a human rights group based in Asmara, corroborates this information. The CPE survey reportedly found that "than one-fifth of the deportees surveyed were Ethiopian citizenship holders." An Australian lawyer and current Yale Law School student reportedly said that "the Ethiopian government has not differentiated in any way between these two groups, nor has it allowed individuals wishing to prove their legal Ethiopian citizenship the opportunity to so so" (ibid.). Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1998 also corroborates this information adding that there was no due process "as there were no preliminary hearing to determine the merits of the deportation, no right to counsel was provided to detainees" nor did they have a right to protest (22 Mar. 1999).

At the centre of the conflict is the Badme region, reportedly a dry patch of land with no strategic or economic value (Jane's Intelligence Review, 1 Feb. 1999, The New York Times 14 Feb. 1999). Eritrea reportedly refuses to withdraw its forces from Badme claiming that it administered the area between 1961 and 1981, while Ethiopia also adamantly claims that it administered the area until May 1998 (ARB Oct. 1998, The New York Times 14 Feb. 1999); the borders between the two countries were never formally demarcated when Eritrea became independent from Ethiopia in 1993.

The war broke out between the two countries first in May 1998 but in June 1998, Eritrea and Ethiopia both reportedly agreed to an OAU-brokered cease fire. The OAU drafted a plan that called upon Eritrea to withdraw its troops from Badme and for Ethiopian administration to be restored while international observers decided where the border lay (NYT 14 Feb. 1999; AC 23 Oct. 1998, 6). Although Ethiopia accepted the plan, Eritrea reportedly rejected it and objected to Ethiopia's presence in the area. Renewed fighting then broke out in February 1999 (NYT 14 Feb. 1999).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Africa Confidential [London]. 23 October 1998. Vol. 39. No. 21. "Ethiopia/Eritrea: Moving Deadlines."

Africa Policy Information Center (Washington). 2 February 1999. "East Africa: Ethiopia/Eritrea Conflict" (Africa News/NEXIS)

Africa Research Bulletin [Oxford]. October 1998. Vol. 35. No. 10. "Eritrea-Ethiopia: Give OAU a Chance."

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1998. 1998. [Internet: http://www.state.gov/www/global/hu...ghts/1998_hrp_report/ethiopia.html

[Accessed 22 Mar. 1999]

Inter Press Service (IPS). 5 March 1999. Farhan Haw. "Rights-Eritrea: New Report on Mass Expulsions from Ethiopia." (NEXIS)

Jane's Intelligence Review [London]. 1 February 1999. Frank Smythe. "Eritrea Stakes Its Claim." (NEXIS)

The New York Times. 14 February 1999. Ian Fisher. "Behind Eritrea-Ethiopia War, a Knack for Stubborness." (NEXIS)