Native name	''Hagere Ertra'' دولة إرتريا''Dawlat Iritrīya''
Conventional long name	State of Eritrea
Common name	Eritrea
Image coat	Coat of arms of Eritrea (or-argent-azur).svg
Symbol type	Emblem
National anthem	''Ertra, Ertra, Ertra''''Eritrea, Eritrea, Eritrea''
Official languages	Tigrinya, Arabic, English
Demonym	Eritrean
Ethnic groups	60% Tigrinya, 30% Tigre, 4% Afar, 3% Saho, 3% Kunama
Capital	Asmara
Largest city	capital
Government type	Provisional government |leader_title1 President
Leader name1	Isaias Afewerki
Sovereignty type	Independence
Sovereignty type	Independence
Established event1	From Italy
Established date1	November 1941
Established event2	From United Kingdom under UN Mandate
Established date2	1951
Established event3	from Ethiopia ''de facto''
Established date3	24 May 1991
Established event4	From Ethiopia ''de jure''
Established date4	24 May 1993
Area rank	100th
Area magnitude	1 E11
Area km2	117,600
Area sq mi	45,405
Percent water	0.14%
Population estimate	5,224,000
Population estimate rank	109th
Population estimate year	2009
Population census	5,291,370
Population census year	2008
Population density km2	43.1
Population density sq mi	111.7
Population density rank	165th
Gdp ppp	$3.625 billion
Gdp ppp year	2010
Gdp ppp per capita	$681
Gdp nominal	$2.117 billion
Gdp nominal year	2010
Gdp nominal per capita	$397
Hdi	0.472
Hdi rank	165th
Hdi year	2007
Hdi category	low
Currency	Nakfa
Currency code	ERN
Time zone	EAT
Utc offset	+3
Time zone dst	not observed
Utc offset dst	+3
Drives on	right
Cctld	.er
Calling code	291
Iso 3166-1 alpha2	ER
Iso 3166-1 alpha3	ERI
Iso 3166-1 numeric	232
Sport code	ERI
Vehicle code	ER
Footnote1	,.
Languages type	Other languages
Languages	Tigre, Saho, Bilen, Afar, Kunama, Nara, Hedareb,. }}

Eritrea ( or ; Ge'ez: , Arabic: إرتريا ''Iritrīyā''), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeast and east of the country has an extensive coastline on the Red Sea, directly across from Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands are part of Eritrea. Eritrea's size is approximately with an estimated population of 6 million.

Description and history

Together with northern Somalia, Djibouti, and the Red Sea coast of Sudan, Eritrea is considered the most likely location of the land known to the ancient Egyptians as ''Punt'' (or "Ta Netjeru", meaning "God's Land"), whose first mention dates to the 25th century BC. The ancient Puntites were a nation of people that had close relations with Pharaonic Egypt during the times of Pharaoh Sahure and Queen Hatshepsut. D'mt was a kingdom located in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia that existed during the 8th and 7th centuries BC. With its capital at Yeha, the kingdom developed irrigation schemes, used plows, grew millet, and made iron tools and weapons. After the fall of Dʿmt in the 5th century BC, the plateau came to be dominated by smaller successor kingdoms, until the rise of one of these polities, the Aksumite Kingdom during the first century, which was able to reunite the area.

The history of Eritrea is tied to its strategic position on the Red Sea littoral, with a coastline that extends more than 1,000 km. Many scientists believe that it is from this area that anatomically modern humans first expanded out of Africa. From across the seas came various invaders and colonizers, such as the South Arabians hailing from the present-day Yemen area, as well as the Ottoman Turks, the Portuguese from Goa (India), the Egyptians, the British and, in the 19th century, the Italians. Over the centuries, invaders also came from the neighboring countries in Africa, like Egypt and Sudan to the west and north, as well as Ethiopia to the south. However, present-day Eritrea was largely affected by the Italian colonisers of the 19th century.

In the period following the opening of the Suez canal in 1869, when European powers scrambled for territory in Africa and tried to establish coaling stations for their ships, Italy invaded Ethiopia and occupied Eritrea. On January 1, 1890, Eritrea officially became a colony of Italy. In 1936, it became a province of Italian East Africa (Africa Orientale Italiana), along with Ethiopia and Italian Somaliland. By 1941 Eritrea had about 760,000 inhabitants, including 70,000 Italians. Through the 1941 Battle of Keren, the British expelled the Italians and took over the administration of the country. The British continued to administer the territory under a UN Mandate until 1951, when Eritrea was federated with Ethiopia per UN Resolution 390A(V) under the prompting of the United States adopted in December 1950. The strategic importance of Eritrea, due to its Red Sea coastline and mineral resources, along with their shared history, was the main cause for the federation with Ethiopia, which in turn led to Eritrea's annexation as Ethiopia's 14th province in 1952. This was the culmination of a gradual process of takeover by the Ethiopian authorities, a process which included a 1959 edict establishing the compulsory teaching of Amharic, the main language of Ethiopia, in all Eritrean schools. The lack of regard for the Eritrean population led to the formation of an independence movement in the early 1960s (1961), which erupted into a 30-year war against successive Ethiopian governments that ended in 1991. Following a UN-supervised referendum in Eritrea (dubbed UNOVER) in which the Eritrean people overwhelmingly voted for independence, Eritrea declared its independence and gained international recognition in 1993.

The ''de facto'' predominant languages are Tigrinya and Arabic, both of which belong to the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family. English is used in the government's international communication and is the language of instruction in all formal education beyond the fifth grade.

Eritrea is a single-party state. Though its constitution, adopted in 1997, stipulates that the state is a presidential republic with a unicameral parliamentary democracy, it has yet to be implemented. In 1998 a border dispute with Ethiopia led to the Eritrean-Ethiopian War. The war resulted in the death of as many as 100,000 Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers, although specific casualty estimates are varied.

Politics and government

Eritrea is run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). Other political groups are not allowed to organize, although the unimplemented Constitution of 1997 provides for the existence of multi-party politics. The National Assembly has 150 seats, of which 75 are occupied by the PFDJ. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled; none have ever been held in the country.

Independent local sources of political information on Eritrean domestic politics are scarce; in September 2001 the government closed down all of the nation's privately owned print media, and outspoken critics of the government have been arrested and held without trial, according to various international observers, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. In 2004 the U.S. State Department declared Eritrea a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for its record of religious persecution.

Human rights

The human rights record of Eritrea is considered poor. Eritrea is a one-party state in which national legislative elections have been repeatedly postponed.

Media

In its 2010 Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders classified the media environment in Eritrea at 175 out of 175, the lowest possible rating, and below that of totalitarian North Korea at 174. According to the BBC, "Eritrea is the only African country to have no privately-owned news media", and Reporters Without Borders said of the public media, "[they] do nothing but relay the regime's belligerent and ultra-nationalist discourse. ... Not a single [foreign correspondent] now lives in Asmara." The state-owned news agency censors news about external events. Independent media has been banned since 2001.

National elections

Eritrean National elections were set for 2001 but was then decided that because 20% of Eritrea's land was under occupation, elections would be postponed until the resolution of the conflict with Ethiopia. However, local elections have continued in Eritrea. The most recent round of local government elections were held in May 2004. On further elections, the President's Chief of Staff, Yemane Gebremeskel said,

Regions and districts

Eritrea is divided into six regions (''zobas'') and subdivided into districts (''sub-zobas''). The geographical extent of the regions is based on their respective hydrological properties. This a dual intent on the part of the Eritrean government: to provide each administration with sufficient control over its agricultural capacity, and to eliminate historical intra-regional conflicts. The regions, followed by the sub-region, are:

! No.	Region ()	! Sub-region ()
! 1	Central Region, Eritrea>Central()	Berikh, Ghala-Nefhi, Semienawi Mibraq, Serejaka, Debubawi Mibraq, Semienawi Mi'erab, Debubawi Mi'erab, Asmara
! 2	Southern Region, Eritrea>Southern()	Adi Keyh, Adi Quala, Areza, Debarwa, Dekemhare, Mai Ayni, Mai Mne, Mendefera, Segeneiti, Senafe, Tserona
! 3	Gash-Barka Region, Eritrea>Gash-Barka()
! 4	Anseba Region, Eritrea>Anseba()
! 5	Northern Red Sea Region, Eritrea>Northern Red Sea()	Afabet, Dahlak Archipelago
! 6	Southern Red Sea()	Are'eta, Central Dankalia, Southern Dankalia, Assab

Foreign relations

Eritrea is a full member of the African Union (AU), the successor of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). However, it had withdrawn its representative to the AU in protest at the AU's alleged lack of leadership in facilitating the implementation of a binding border decision demarcating the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia. The Eritrean government has since January 2011 appointed an envoy, Tesfa-Alem Tekle, to the AU.

Relations with the West

Eritrea's relationship with the United States has a short yet complex history. Although the two nations have a close working relationship regarding the on-going war on terror, there has been a growing tension in other areas. Relations worsened in October 2008 when U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Jendayi Frazer, called the nation a 'state sponsor of terrorism' and stated that the U.S. government might add Eritrea to its list of rogue states, along with Iran and Sudan. The stated reason for this was the presence of Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, an exiled Somali Islamist leader, whom the U.S. suspects of having links to Al Qaeda, at a Somali opposition conference in Asmara.

Eritrea's relationship with Italy and the EU is still reasonably strong and does not seem to be as strained as is its relationship with the U.S. On 27 January 2009, the Dutch Ambassador, Yoka Brandt, Director General of International Development Cooperation, paid an official visit to the country for bilateral talks with President Isaias' government, which were held in Massawa.

During the week of August 2, 2009, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton claimed that Eritrea was supplying weapons to the Somali militant group al-Shabab. Although Eritrea denied this accusation in a public statement the following day, the United Nations, with the backing of the African Union, imposed sanctions and an arms embargo on Eritrea under Resolution 1907 for its alleged role in Somalia and refusal to withdraw troops from the border with Djibouti.

Relations with neighbouring countries

Eritrea's relations with its neighbours have been strained due to a series of wars and disputes. These include a break of diplomatic relations with the Sudan in 1994, for hosting network of terrorists in 1994, a war with Yemen over the Hanish Islands in 1996 (the conflict was settled through the verdict of the International Court of Arbitration in 1998), and a border conflict with Ethiopia from 1997–2000. An international border commission, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission had delimited and virtually demarcated the border, but Ethiopia has refused to implement it.

Eritrea's relations with the Sudan have normalised. Meanwhile, Eritrea has been recognised as a broker for peace between the separate factions of the Sudanese civil war: "It is known that Eritrea played a role in bringing about the peace agreement [between the Southern Sudanese and Government]." In addition, the Sudanese government and Eastern Front rebels requested Eritrea to mediate peace talks in 2006.

A dispute with Yemen over the Hanish Islands in 1996 resulted in a brief war. As part of an agreement to cease hostilities the two nations agreed to refer the issue to the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague in 1998. Yemen was granted full ownership of the larger islands while Eritrea was awarded the peripheral islands to the southwest of the larger islands. At the conclusion of the proceedings, both nations acquiesced to the decision. Since 1996, both governments have remained wary of one another but relations are relatively normal.

Relations with Ethiopia

The undemarcated border with Ethiopia is the primary external issue currently facing Eritrea. Eritrea's relations with Ethiopia turned from that of cautious mutual tolerance, following the 30-year war for Eritrean independence, to a deadly rivalry that led to the outbreak of hostilities from May 1998 to June 2000 which claimed approximately 70,000 casualties from both sides.

Disagreements following the war have resulted in stalemate punctuated by periods of elevated tension and renewed threats of war. The stalemate led the President of Eritrea to urge the UN to take action on Ethiopia with the Eleven Letters penned by the President to the United Nations Security Council. The situation is further escalated by the continued efforts of the Eritrean and Ethiopian leaders in supporting opposition in one another's countries. In 2011, Ethiopia accused Eritrea of planting bombs at an African Union summit in Addis Ababa, which was later supported by a UN report. Eritrea has denied the claims..

Amid fears of an emerging Islamic and nationalist Somalia, Ethiopia invaded Somalia with US assistance, putting in place the weak and locally unpopular UN/AU-backed Transitional Federal Government which, without Ethiopian support, had been unable to exercise any control beyond its base in Baidoa and along the Ethio-Somali border. The United States Central Intelligence Agency also conducted a covert program of funding and assisting a coalition of Somali warlords to replace the widely popular Islamic Courts Union government in Somalia.

On its part, Eritrea used to host members of the ousted Union of Islamic Courts and the Somali Free Parliament, including the current President of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, who was also the leader of the Union of Islamic Courts ousted by Ethiopia in 2007. The Eritrean government has been accused of sponsoring, arming and hosting numerous militant leaderships and separatist rebels in the Horn of Africa.

Geography

Eritrea is located in Northeast Africa and is bordered on the northeast and east by the Red Sea, on the south by Ethiopia, and on the northwest by Sudan. It lies between latitudes 12° and 18°N, and longitudes 36° and 44°E.

The country is virtually bisected by one of the world's longest mountain ranges, formed by the processes that formed the Great Rift Valley, with fertile lands to the west, descending to desert in the east. Eritrea, at the southern end of the Red Sea, is the home of the fork in the rift. The Dahlak Archipelago and its fishing grounds are situated off the sandy and arid coastline. The land to the south, in the highlands, is slightly drier and cooler.

The Afar Triangle or Danakil Depression of Eritrea is the probable location of a triple junction where three tectonic plates are pulling away from one another: the Arabian Plate, and the two parts of the African Plate (the Nubian and the Somali plate) splitting along the East African Rift Zone (USGS). The highest point of the country, Emba Soira, is located in the center of Eritrea, at above sea level.

The main cities of the country are the capital city of Asmara and the port town of Asseb in the southeast, as well as the towns of Massawa to the east, and Keren to the north.

Environment

Eritrea formerly supported a large population of elephants. The Ptolemaic kings of Egypt used the country as a source of war elephants in the third century BC . Between 1955 and 2001 there were no reported sightings of elephant herds, and they are thought to have fallen victim to the war of independence. In December 2001 a herd of about 30, including 10 juveniles, was observed in the vicinity of the Gash River. The elephants seemed to have formed a symbiotic relationship with olive baboons. It is estimated that there are around 100 elephants left in Eritrea, the most northerly of East Africa's elephants. The endangered Painted Hunting Dog (Lycaon pictus) was previously found in Eritrea, but is now deemed extirpated from the entire country.

In 2006, Eritrea announced it would become the first country in the world to turn its entire coast into an environmentally protected zone. The 1,347 km (837 mile) coastline, along with another 1,946 km (1,209-miles) of coast around its more than 350 islands, will come under governmental protection.

Economy

Like the economies of many other African nations, the economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture, with 80% of the population involved in farming and herding. Drought has often created trouble in the farming areas.

The Real GDP (2009 est.): $1.87 billion, and the annual growth rate (2009 est.): 3.6%.

The Eritrean-Ethiopian War severely hurt Eritrea's economy. GDP growth in 1999 fell to less than 1%, and GDP decreased by 8.2% in 2000. In May 2000, the war resulted in some $600 million in property damage and loss, including losses of $225 million in livestock and 55,000 homes. The war also prevented the planting of crops in Eritrea's most productive region, causing food production to drop by 62%.

Even during the war, Eritrea developed its transportation infrastructure by asphalting new roads, improving its ports, and repairing war-damaged roads and bridges as a part of the Warsay Yika'alo Program. The most significant of these projects was the building of a coastal highway of more than 500 km connecting Massawa with Asseb as well as the rehabilitation of the Eritrean Railway. The rail line now runs between the Port of Massawa and the capital Asmara.

Society

Demographics

Eritrean society is ethnically heterogeneous. An independent census has yet to be conducted, but the Tigrinya people make up about 60% and Tigre people make up about 30% of the population. These form the bulk of the country's predominantly Semitic-speaking population. The rest of the population is from Cushitic-speaking groups such as the Saho, Hedareb, Afar and Bilen.

There are also a number of Nilotic minorities who are represented in Eritrea by the Kunama and Nara. Each ethnicity speaks a different native tongue but, typically, many of the minorities speak more than one language.

In addition, there exist Italian Eritrean (concentrated in Asmara) and Ethiopian Tigrayan communities. Neither is generally given citizenship unless through marriage or, more rarely, by having it conferred upon them by the State.

The most recent addition to the nationalities of Eritrea is the Rashaida. The Rashaida came to Eritrea in the 19th century from the Arabian Coast.

Languages

Many languages are spoken in Eritrea today. There is no official language as such, as the Constitution establishes the "equality of all Eritrean languages" but Tigrinya and Arabic are the two predominant languages for official purposes. English and Italian are also widely understood.

Most of the languages spoken in Eritrea stem from the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. The Semitic languages in Eritrea are Tigre, Tigrinya, the newly-recognized Dahlik, and Arabic (spoken natively by the Rashaida Arabs).

The Cushitic languages in Eritrea include Afar, Beja, Blin and Saho.

Nilo-Saharan languages (Kunama and Nara) are also spoken as a mother tongue by the Kunama and Nara Nilotic ethnic minority groups.

Education

There are five levels of education in Eritrea: pre-primary, primary, middle, secondary, and post-secondary. There are nearly 238,000 students in the primary, middle, and secondary levels of education. There are approximately 824 schools in Eritrea and two universities (the University of Asmara and the Institute of Science and Technology) as well as several smaller colleges and technical schools.

One of the most important goals of Eritrea's education policy is to provide basic education in each of Eritrea's mother tongues, as well as to develop a self-motivated and conscientious population to fight poverty and disease. Furthermore it is tooled to produce a society that is equipped with the necessary skills to function in the modern economy.

The education system in Eritrea is also designed to promote private sector schooling, equal access for all groups (i.e., to prevent gender discrimination, ethnic discrimination, and class discrimination) and promote continuing education, both formally and informally.

Education in Eritrean include kindergartens for young children of both genders.

Barriers to education in Eritrea include traditional taboos, school fees (for registration and materials), and the opportunity costs of low-income households.

Religion

Eritrea has two dominant religions, Christianity and Islam. Various approximations have estimated that 50 to 62.5% are Christians (mostly followers of Orthodox Christianity and, to a lesser extent, Roman Catholicism) and 36.5 to 50% of the population is Sunni Muslim. The Christians consist primarily of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church, which is the local Oriental Orthodox church, while considerable groups of Roman Catholics (including Italian Eritreans), Protestants, and other denominations also exist. Most Muslims follow Sunni Islam.

Since May 2002, the Government of Eritrea has officially recognized the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church, Sunni Islam, Catholicism, and the Evangelical Lutheran church. All other faiths and denominations are required to undergo a registration process. Among other things, the Government's registration system requires religious groups to submit personal information on their membership to be allowed to worship. The few organizations that have met all of the registration requirements have still not received official recognition.

The Eritrean Government is against reformed or radical versions of its traditional religions the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church, Catholicism, Sunni Islam, and the Evangelical Lutheran church. Therefore, radical forms of Islam, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Bahá'í Faith, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and numerous other Protestant denominations are not registered and cannot worship freely. Three named men are known to have been imprisoned since 1994. Additionally, on June 28, 2009, police raided a private home where Jehovah's Witnesses were meeting. 23 were arrested including children as young as two years old. Some of the women and children were later released, however, two children who are now three and four years of age are still imprisoned with their mothers. None have been charged officially or given access to the judicial process. As of July 29, 2010, 52 Jehovah's Witnesses have been imprisoned in Eritrea for attending their religious meetings and engaging in religious activity.

In its 2006 religious freedom report, the U.S. State Department named Eritrea a "Country of Particular Concern" (CPC) for the third year in a row.

Health

Eritrea has achieved significant improvements in health care and is one of the few countries to be on target to meet its Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets in health, in particular child health. Life expectancy at birth has increased from 39.1 in 1960 to 59.5 years in 2008, maternal and child mortality rates have dropped dramatically and the health infrastructure has been expanded. Due to Eritrea's relative isolation, information and resources are extremely limited and according the World Health Organisation (WHO) found in 2008 average life expectancy to be slightly less than 63 years. Immunisation and child nutrition has been tackled by working closely with schools in a multi-sectoral approach; the number of children vaccinated against measles almost doubled in seven years, from 40.7% to 78.5% and the underweight prevalence among children decreased by 12% in 1995–2002 (severe underweight prevalence by 28%). The National Malaria Protection Unit of the Ministry of Health has registered tremendous improvements in reducing malarial mortality by as much as 85% and the number of cases by 92% between 1998 and 2006. The Eritrean government has banned female genital mutilation (FGM), saying the practice was painful and put women at risk of life-threatening health problems.

However, Eritrea still faces many challenges. Despite number of physicians increasing from only 0.2 in 1993 to 0.5 in 2004 per 1000 population, this is still very low. Malaria and Tubercolosis both are common in Eritrea. HIV prevalence among the 15–49 group exceeds 2%. The fertility rate is at about 5 births per woman. Maternal mortality dropped by more than half from 1995 to 2002, although the figure is still high. Similarly, between 1995 and 2002, the number of births attended by skilled health personnel has doubled but still is only 28.3%. A major cause of deaths of neonates is by severe infection. Per capita expenditure on health is low in Eritrea.

Culture

The Eritrean region has traditionally been a nexus for trade throughout the world. Because of this, the influence of diverse cultures can be seen throughout Eritrea. Today the most obvious influences in the capital, Asmara, are those of Italy. Throughout Asmara, there are small cafes serving beverages common in Italy. In Asmara, there is a clear merging of the Italian colonial influence with the traditional Tigrinya lifestyle. In the villages of Eritrea, these changes never took hold. In the cities, before the occupation and during the early years, the import of Bollywood films was commonplace, while Italian and American films were available in the cinemas as well. In the 1980s and since independence, however, American films have become the most common. Vying for market share are films by local producers, who have slowly come into their own. The global broadcast of Eri-TV has brought cultural images to the large Eritrean population in the Diaspora that visits the country every summer. Successful domestic films are produced by government and independent studios with revenue from ticket sales typically covering the production costs.

Traditional Eritrean dress is quite varied, with the women of most lowland ethnicities traditionally dressing in brightly colored clothes, while the Tigrinya traditionally dress in bright white costumes. Of the Muslim ethnicities, only the Arab or Rashaida tribeswomen maintain a tradition of covering their faces.

Football and cycling are the most popular sports in Eritrea. In recent years, Eritrean athletes have also seen increasing success in the international arena.

See also

References

Further reading

Ancient Ethiopia, David W. Phillipson (1998)

Cliffe, Lionel; Connell, Dan; Davidson, Basil (2005), ''Taking on the Superpowers: Collected Articles on the Eritrean Revolution (1976–1982)''. Red Sea Press, ISBN 1-56902-188-0

Cliffe, Lionel & Davidson, Basil (1988), ''The Long Struggle of Eritrea for Independence and Constructive Peace''. Spokesman Press, ISBN 0-85124-463-7

Connell, Dan (1997), ''Against All Odds: A Chronicle of the Eritrean Revolution With a New Afterword on the Postwar Transition''. Red Sea Press, ISBN 1-56902-046-9

Connell, Dan (2001), ''Rethinking Revolution: New Strategies for Democracy & Social Justice : The Experiences of Eritrea, South Africa, Palestine & Nicaragua''. Red Sea Press, ISBN 1-56902-145-7

Connell, Dan (2004), ''Conversations with Eritrean Political Prisoners''. Red Sea Press, ISBN 1-56902-235-6

Connell, Dan (2005), ''Building a New Nation: Collected Articles on the Eritrean Revolution (1983–2002)''. Red Sea Press, ISBN 1-56902-198-8

Daniel Kendie (2005), ''The Five Dimensions Of The Eritrean Conflict 1941 – 2004: Deciphering the Geo-Political Puzzle''. Signature Book Printing, ISBN 1-932433-47-3

Firebrace, James & Holand, Stuart (1985), ''Never Kneel Down: Drought, Development and Liberation in Eritrea''. Red Sea Press, ISBN 0-932415-00-8

Hatem Elliesie: ''Decentralisation of Higher Education in Eritrea'', Afrika Spectrum, Vol. 43 (2008) No. 1, p. 115–120.

Hogan, C. Michael (2009), ''Painted Hunting Dog: Lycaon pictus'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg

Jordan Gebre-Medhin (1989), ''Peasants and Nationalism in Eritrea''. Red Sea Press, ISBN 0-932415-38-5

Hill, Justin (2002), 'Ciao Asmara, A classic account of contemporary Africa'. Little, Brown, ISBN 978-0-349-11526-9

Iyob, Ruth (1997), ''The Eritrean Struggle for Independence : Domination, Resistance, Nationalism, 1941–1993''. Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-59591-6

Jacquin-Berdal, Dominique; Plaut, Martin (2004), ''Unfinished Business: Ethiopia and Eritrea at War''. Red Sea Press, ISBN 1-56902-217-8

Johns, Michael (1992), "Does Democracy Have a Chance", ''Congressional Record'', May 6 1992

Keneally, Thomas (1990), "To Asmara" ISBN 0-446-39171-9

Killion, Tom (1998), ''Historical Dictionary of Eritrea''. Scarecrow Press, ISBN 0-8108-3437-5

Mauri, Arnaldo (2004), "Eritrea's Early Stages oin Monetary and Banking Development", ''International Review of Economics'', Vol. LI, n. 4.

Mauri, Arnaldo (1998), "The First Monetary and Banking Experiences in Eritrea", ''African Review of Money, Finance and Banking'', n. 1–2.

Müller, Tanja R.: ''Bare life and the developmental State: the Militarization of Higher Education in Eritrea'', Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol. 46 (2008), No. 1, p. 1–21.

Wrong, Michela (2005), ''I Didn't Do It For You: how the world betrayed a small African Nation''. Harper Collins, ISBN 0-06-078092-4

Pateman, Roy (1998), ''Eritrea: Even the Stones Are Burning''. Red Sea Press, ISBN 1-56902-057-4

External links

; Government

UK government travel advice for Eritrea: Local laws and customs

Ministry of Information of Eritrea ''official government website''

HRCE - Human Rights Concern - Eritrea

; Other

Eritrea Activities by the Carter Center

Documentary on Womens liberation in Eritrea

Tigrinya online learning with numbers, alphabet and history [Eritrea and north Ethiopia (Tigray-Province)]

Ferrovia eritrea Eritrean Railway

Atlas of Eritrea

About Eritrea

Justin Hill's ''Ciao Asmara'' in The Globalist">Extract from Justin Hill's ''Ciao Asmara'' in The Globalist

; Magazine Special section about Eritrea from Espresso online magazine

History of Eritrea: First recordings – Munzinger – exploitation by colonialism and fight against colonialism (Italy, England, Ethiopia, Soviet Union, USA, Israel) – independence

Eritrea chat

Category:African countries Category:Arabic-speaking countries and territories Category:Countries bordering the Red Sea Category:Countries of the Indian Ocean Category:Horn of Africa Category:Least developed countries Category:Member states of the African Union Category:Member states of the United Nations Category:Single-party states Category:States and territories established in 1993

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name	Isaias Afewerkiኢሳይያስ ኣፈወርቂ
order	President of Eritrea
term start	24 May 1993
religion	Eritrean Orthodox
order2	Chairman of the National Assembly of Eritrea
term start2	24 May 1993
order3	Secretary-General of the Provisional Government of Eritrea
term start3	29 May 1991
term end3	24 May 1993
order4	Commander of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front
term start4	1970
term end4	1991
birth date	February 02, 1946
birth place	Asmara, Eritrea
party	People's Front for Democracy and Justice
spouse	Saba Haile

Isaias Afewerki () (b. in Asmara, on February 2, 1946) is the first and current President of Eritrea, attaining that status when he led the Eritrean People's Liberation Front to victory in May 1991, thus ending the 30-year old armed liberation struggle that the Eritrean people refer to as "Gedli".

Early life and rise to power

Afewerki joined the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) in 1966, and the following year he was sent to China to receive more advanced military training. Four years later he was appointed commander in the ELF army. However, citing irreconcilable ideological and tactical differences, he and a small group of combatants separated from the ELF and founded another front called the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF). Since survival at the heels of the ELF wasn't easy, the EPLF allied with other two groups that had splintered from the ELF earlier: the PLF1, led by Osman Saleh Sabbe, and another group known as OBEL. In 1976, the EPLF split from Sabbe's group after the latter signed a unity agreement with the ELF (the Khartoum Agreement). Isaias Afewerki served as a leader of the EPLF during the long Eritrean struggle for independence that was crowned with independence after 30 years of armed struggle.

In April 1993, a United Nations-supervised referendum on independence was held, and the following month Eritrea was declared independent. The EPLF renamed itself the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) on February 1994 as part of its preparation to usher itself as a political party in a democratic Eritrea. However, due to the fact that Eritrea finds itself on a war footing as a result of the unsettled border conflict with Ethiopia since 1998, the drafted Eritrean Constitution and its implementation are indefinitely put on hold. As such, the PFDJ still rules Eritrea. In 2001, a group made up of 15 top government officials, referred to as the G-15, issued an open letter criticising the Isaias Afewerki's government of "illegal and unconstitutional" practices and calling for the implementation of the drafted Eritrean constitution. However, their call was unsuccessful and of the G-15 group, eleven individuals remain detained in Eritrea and have yet to be charged.

After Independence

After Eritrean independence was achieved ''de facto'' in 1991 and ''de jure'' in 1993 after a referendum, Afewerki became the first head of state. During the first years of his administration in this new state government, the institutions of governance were structured and put in place. This included a top to bottom restructuring of the structures of governance by provision of an elected local judicial system to expanding the educational system to as many regions as possible. In November 1993 the President ordered the imprisonment of war-injured veterans for protesting about difficult living conditions in military barracks. The only independent human rights organization was shut down. In 1997 the President unilaterally ordered the closure of all international development agencies working in the country. Presidential elections, planned for 1997, never materialised and Eritrea remains a one-party state, with the ruling People's Front for Democracy and Justice the only party allowed to operate. In May 2008 Afewerki announced that elections would be postponed for "three or four decades" or longer because they "polarize society." Also in 1998 a border conflict with neighbouring Ethiopia spiralled into a full-blown war; Afwerki turned down several offers of a peaceful settlement. In September 2001 Afwerki ordered the arrest of eleven of the highest-ranking members of his administration, many of them his closest friends and colleagues who had fought alongside him for nearly four decades. They were arrested for 'suspected treason', punishable by death for calling for democratic reform.

All forms of media are currently controlled by the government. Eritrea is the only African country to have no privately-owned news media. In 2009, Reporters Without Borders ranked Eritrea at the very bottom of its country-by-country Press Freedom Index, lower than North Korea.

See also

Isaias Afewerki's Biography With Rare Photos of His early Childhood

Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-IV), 2008.

New Internationalist feature on Isaias Afewerki

Parade 2010- World's Worst Dictators

References

External links

Official website of the Ministry of Information of Eritrea

Official website of the Ministry of Education of Eritrea

Category:1946 births Category:Current national leaders Category:Living people Category:People from Asmara Category:Presidents of Eritrea Category:People's Front for Democracy and Justice politicians

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name	2Face Idibia
background	solo_singer
birth name	Innocent Ugah Idibia
alias	2 Face (2Baba or Tu_baba)
birth date	September 18, 1975
birth place	Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria
origin	Jos/Makurdi/Enugu Okpokwu Benue State, Nigeria
genre	R&B, Nigerian hip hop, gospel
occupation	Singer-songwriter Musician, Musician, record producer, executive producer,
years active	1996–present
label	Hypertek, Kennis Music
associated acts	Sound Sultan, Faze, Plantashun Boyz, BlackFace Ninja, Kehinde "Keke" Ogungbe, Dayo "D1" Adeneye
twitter id	@2faceidibia }}

Innocent Ugah Idibia (born in Jos, Plateau State) best known as Tuface Idibia is a Nigerian singer-songwriter, actor and record producer. He was a member of the defunct R&B/hip hop group Plantashun Boyz (other members are Faze and BlackFace Naija). TuFace is currently one of the most popular artistes on the African music scene.

Early life

2Face Idibia was born Innocent Ugah Idibia in Jos, Nigeria. He hails from Okpokwu local government area and from the Idoma ethnic group in the southern part of Benue State, in central Nigeria. He attended Mount Saint Gabriel's Secondary School in Makurdi, Benue State. He schooled briefly in the Institute of Management & Technology, IMT, Enugu, one of the country's foremost higher institute of learning where he did his preliminary National Diploma course in http://www.thenaijaish.com/2011/04/interview-2face-idibia-welcome-to.htmlBusiness Administration. Though, he did not finish but would hone his skills in music by performing in shows and parties organised by the IMT and some other schools like Enugu State University of Science & Technology, Enugu (ESUT) and [(University of Nigeria)] Enugu Campus (UNEC).

Career

His major breakthrough in the IMT was composing and singing the jingles in the famous radio show GB Fan Club in Enugu State Broadcasting Services (ESBS) in 1996. He then relocated to Lagos and joined up with his ex-IMT and ex-Mount Saint Gabriel's mate BlackFace to form Plantashun Boyz. He started calling himself "2Face" in 1996. "The name to me just refers to the outside and inside: when you first see me you see the outside but when you get to know me, you see the inside," he said in an interview with the BBC.

His award winning hit track "African Queen" was used as the sound track of the 2006 comedy film, Phat Girlz. This made him even more recognised internationally.

The Plantashun Boyz came together briefly in 2007 to record an album which they titled 'Plan B'.

He also released a promotion album in 2008 which has spawned a hit, "Enter the Place", which was written by Churks though one of his least successful hits ever, did well in some charts. The promo CD is said to have faced distribution and sales problems, going unnoticed in some areas of the country. It has led to the shift of the release date of the album from 2008 to 2009 instead of the proposed release date announced in 2007. Tuface recently released two lead off singles from the international version of his Unstoppable album and is the first Nigerian artist to have an appropriately priced international album. He is also reported to have recorded a single with Mary J. Blige

In 2010 with his Unstoppable Album(The Intl. Edition) he won 2 awards at the 2010 SMVA, He also won the Channel O Most Gifted Western African and the MTV African Music Awards (Best Male and Artist of the year) making him the most successful pop singer in Africa. He is the lead vocalist of the Sony All African 08 Project alongside 7 other stars across Africa recording their first singles with R.Kelly and Prince Lee titled "Hands Across the World". He was also known for his narrow escapes from death, he had close shave with death three times, at different locations and times, including gun shots.

Aside from running his own record label known as Hypertek after leaving Kennis Music, the artist has established the Tuface Idibia Foundation, which is into charity. In December 2010, the foundation collaborated with the Hands Project International for an Aids charity dinner. His show held at the expo center was the best of its kind, as it featured all the notable Nigerian artists, particularly 9ice, Dbanj and P-Square.

Scandals

Tuface is known for the many children which he fathered with multiple women ranging from Pero Adeniyi(a pair of twin boys and a girl) to Sumbo(two boys) to Annie Macaulay(a girl)

Discography

2004: ''Face 2 Face''

2006: ''Grass 2 Grace''

2008: ''The Unstoppable''

2010: The Unstoppable International Edition''

2011: The Most Incredible

Songs

African Queen

Fly 2Face Idibia

Go down there

Swallow your pride (feeling you)

Flex (Tuface & R. Kelly)

Enter the Place

See me so

True Love (Tuface Idibia)

If love is a crime

One love (2Face)

Ebe like say

U no holy pass

Thank U Lord

For Instance

Keep on rocking

Appreciate it (2Face)

Can't do without you

Jungle don mature

Implication (2Face Idibia)

Right here

Only me (Tuface Idibia)

Rain drops (2Face Idibia)

My love

Stylee

Nfana Ibaga (No Problem)

Be there remix

No shaking

Ole (thief)

Nfana Ibaga - no problem (remix)

Me ne me joley

Manenko

Ahomka wo mu

Songs lyrics

*Face 2 Face (2004)

*African Queen

*Nfana Ibaga

*Keep on rocking

*Right here

*Ole (thief)

*Thank U lord

*U no holy pass

*Nfana Ibaga (remix)

*Grass to Grace (2006)

*For instance

*My love (with VIP)

*Ebe like say

*No shaking

*One love

*If love is a crime

*True love

*See me so

Unstoppable (2008)

*Enter the place

*Flex featuring R. Kelly

*Swallow your pride

*Go down there

*Fly

*Appreciate it

*Jungle don mature

*Unstoppable 2 (2010)

*Implication (Olele)

*Only me

*Rain drops

*Be there remix

*Excuse me sister

Awards

WON

one Best African Act MOBO - London (MUSIC OF BLACK ORIGIN) 2007 AWARDS

CHANNEL “O music video AWARDS a) Best Male Video, b) Best African Video of the year, c) Best African Act.

Best African Act KORAall african AWARDS 2005

NIGERIAN ENTERTAINMENT AWARDS New York a) Africa Break Through Artist of the Year 2006 and b) Best Album of the Year 2007

Best Musical Artiste AFRO NOLLYWOOD AWARDS 2005,

Song of the Decade NIGERIAN MUSIC AWARDS 2007

African Song of The Year (Non Ghanaian) GHANA MUSIC AWARDS 2005,

Music of the Year EXCELLENCE RECOGNITION AWARDS 2004

Special Recognition Award HIP HOP WORLD AWARDS 2005

1st NIGERIA ENTERTAINMENT AWARDS 2004 a) Song of the year African Queen b) Best Album of the year c) Best Hip Hop and R&B Artiste

The Outstanding Musician of the Year 2005 BLACK HERITAGE AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

Musician of the Year 2004 CITY PEOPLE AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

Outstanding Contribution to the Entertainment Industry 2004 AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE

2Face Idibia Wins MOBO Award for Best African Act

Best Song Of The Year 2005 G.C.E INTERNATIONAL AWARDS,

Musician Of The Year 2006 THE FUTURE AWARDS,

A.M.E.N AWARDS 2004 a) Best Male Vocalist, b) Song of the Year c) Best New Act Male d) Best Video.

Best Male Vocalist 2002 AFFINITY AWARDS.

Song Of the decade 2007 African Queen THE NIGERIAN MUSIC AWARD

Best African Act 2007 MOBO (MUSIC OF BLACK ORIGIN AWARDS) UK

HIP HOP AWARDS a) Best R&B album b) Best R&B male

Best African Act Australian African Awards 2008

Best selling Nigerian Artist – World Music Awards 2008, Monaco, Spain

Youth Ambassador for peace- Universal Federation for World peace

Nigerian International Youth Award- National Youth council of Nigeria.

2Face Idibia has been named a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations' world food programme, joining other Nigerian icons like Wole Soyinka, John Fashanu etc. who are also working with the UN to fight different causes across the African continent.

First non-Liberian to become an honorary member of the Liberian music society in recognition for his outstanding contribution to the growth of music in Africa.

Best R&B: 2face Idibia MTV Africa Music Awards 2009

Artist of the Year – 2Face (Nigeria) MTV Africa Music Awards 2010

Best Male – 2Face Nigeria MTV Africa Music Awards 2010

New Champions For An Enduring Culture 2011 16th edition of the Annual THISDAYAwards presented by President Bill Clinton and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

World Music Awards 2008 world's best selling Nigerian artist

Best International Act: Africa (BET Awards 2011))

NOMINATED

BET AWARDS 2011 Best International Act (Africa) BET 2011 NOMINEES 2Face Idibia (Nigeria)

References

External links

official website

Iwantairplay.com

2face Idibia on Global Hit Music

http://www.gbedunation.com/profile/2Face

2face on Naijapals

Xclusive Xposé

Xclusive Interview

2Face Idibia lyrics, audio, video, information

2face arrived in Barbados, West Indies, September 13, 2007

Upcoming Live Concert in Dublin

Category:Living people Category:Nigerian male singers Category:Nigerian musicians Category:Nigerian singer-songwriters Category:1975 births Category:World Music Awards winners Category:People from Enugu

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