Expert: Eritrea is one of the world’s worst dictatorships
The recent riots on Järvafältet in Stockholm can be better understood by considering the history of a country characterized by war and authoritarian rule, according to Kjetil Tronvoll, an expert on Eritrea.
Eritrea is often referred to as a modern-day Sparta. Since gaining independence from Ethiopia in 1993, the country has been at war with all its neighboring countries, leading to a flow of people fleeing to avoid lengthy mandatory military service.
The country is an authoritarian one-party state where the opposition is persecuted and opposition politicians and journalists are imprisoned without trial.
”It is one of the world’s most totalitarian regimes, similar to North Korea. There is no freedom of expression, organization, or press. There is no possibility to express criticism. If you do, you end up in prison or get killed,” says Kjetil Tronvoll, a professor of peace and conflict studies at Oslo Nye Høyskole and an expert on Eritrea.
The latest conflict in which the country has been involved is in Tigray, northern Ethiopia, where a peace agreement was reached in November 2022.
The war and the forced military participation of many Eritreans have fueled dissatisfaction within the Eritrean diaspora in recent years, according to Tronvoll.
”It has increased frustration and hopelessness that the wars never end and that the president is using his population as slaves.”
The annual cultural festival at Järvafältet is organized by individuals who are said to support the Eritrean regime. On Thursday, over 50 people were injured, including eight seriously, and up to 140 people were detained. Three police officers were also injured.
The festival is not the only one to have been affected by violent protests. Similar events have occurred in several European countries recently. For example, in early June, 26 police officers were injured and over a hundred people were arrested during disturbances at a music festival in the city of Giessen, north of Frankfurt.
”Cultural festivals have increasingly become a battlefield for regime critics, where they express their dissatisfaction with the regime,” says Kjetil Tronvoll.
The Eritrean regime is known for its efforts to influence and exert control over its citizens who have left the country, using pressure, threats, and collection of a so-called diaspora tax.
However, in recent years, open criticism has increased as more people have left the country and the diaspora has become more divided, according to Tronvoll.
”They may not have any family left in Eritrea, who the regime can retaliate against. They have nothing to lose. Thus, the degree of mobilization against the regime and its loyalists increases.”
Eritrea is led by 77-year-old President Isaias Afwerki. There is no indication that the country is moving towards a more democratic direction, according to Kjetil Tronvoll.
”As long as the situation in Eritrea does not change, the protests will only continue and likely increase.”
