Eritrean government recognises Adventist church but denies religious persecution

The Head of the Eritrean government delegation at the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva announced on April 5 that Eritrea had granted official recognition to the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

According to the human rights NGO Release Eritrea, Dr Amare Tekel, the head of the Ertirean delegation, stated that the registration process had been completed and that the church would be operational once bureaucratic processes have been finalised.

The announcement followed strong lobbying by the United Nations Liaison Director of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Dr Jonathan Gallagher. The move ends the church’s three year wait for registration and makes it the fourth Christian denomination to receive official sanction in Eritrea.

The activities of the Adventist church have been suspended since 2002, when the Eritrean government ordered the closure of all churches not belonging to the Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Evangelical Lutheran denominations. Although the government has said that churches can apply for official recognition, the requirements for registration are both stringent and intrusive, and the majority of churches that have been able to meet them are still awaiting accreditation.

In his comment on the registration of the Adventist church, the Director of Release Eritrea, Dr Berhane Asmelash, said: “Naturally I am delighted that the Government has now indicated its willingness to recognise and register minority faiths in Eritrea. However, I am concerned about the very notion that churches which have had recognition previously are required to re-register – a requirement that does not seem to be applicable to the four main religious groups enjoying recognition”.

Since 2002, members of unofficial churches have faced harassment, mistreatment and indefinite detention at the hands of the Eritrean government. There are currently thought to be at least 400 Christians imprisoned for their faith. At least 240 have been arrested since the beginning of this year. Most remain in custody.

Members of permitted churches have also experienced difficulties. Three Orthodox priests from the Medhanie Alem church in Asmara have been detained without charge since November 2004. More recently Demoz Afwerki, vice manager of the Housing and Commerce Bank of Eritrea, an active member of the Lutheran church and a member of the Executive Committee of Gideons International in Eritrea, was reported to have been detained at the Wengel Mermera investigation centre on March 18 this year.

On April 5 a government spokesman dismissed as “groundless” reports from CSW and other human rights NGOs of an increase in the persecution of Christians since the beginning of the year.

In an interview with Agence France Presse, Yemane Gebremeskel, Director of the Office of the President, insisted that “one cannot question the credentials of the country on religious rights and religious tolerance”.

He went on to assert that those arrested “are maybe held for five hours and then let off with a warning”.

Stuart Windsor, CSW’s National Director, said: “We are encouraged that the Adventist church has now gained official recognition from the Eritrean government, but this freedom to operate is not extended to several other Eritrean Christian groups. The government’s refusal to admit it has a problem with religious freedom when hundreds of Christians are in prison simply for practising their faith shows there is still a long way to go.”