Eritrea expels 3 more foreign charities

Diplomats say three charities 8212; Mercy Corps, Concern, and ACORD 8212; received a letter this week ordering them to stop work.

8216;8216;The ministry kindly officially informs you that the registration certificate is recalled and requests the termination of your activities as of 28/02/2006,8217;8217; said a letter to one of the charities. It was dated March 20 and came from the Ministry of Labour and Human Welfare.

The letter said the charity 8216;8216;had not met requirements8217;8217; for a permit to operate, but it did not specify further reasons.

Africa8217;s youngest country 8212; independent since 1993 after a three-decade secession war with Ethiopia 8212; is deeply suspicious of the international community and has repeatedly warned about the dangers of dependency.

The government of former rebel leader President Isaias Afwerki believes foreign powers have long favoured the Horn of Africa region8217;s big power Ethiopia.

Eritrean officials and personnel at the three charities could not be immediately reached for comment in Asmara.

Aid workers warn pockets of hunger exist throughout Eritrea, but food distributions are restricted by the government.

But the latest expulsions were more likely linked to tensions over the 1,000-km border with Ethiopia, diplomats and analysts said.

After 70,000 people were killed in a 1998-2000 border war, the two countries finally agreed to mark out their common border as ruled by an independent boundary commission.

Eritrea has repeatedly expressed its frustration that the international community has not done more to enforce the April 2002 ruling, which Ethiopia eventually rejected.

In October, the Red Sea state grounded all UN helicopter flights in its air space, increasing regional tensions. Later, it ordered all Western UN peacekeepers out.

This month, the boundary commission invited representatives from both countries to London, but the two governments have since issued lukewarm statements about the talks.

One analyst said the expulsion of the three charities was an effective way of keeping international attention focused on the border issue. 8216;8216;They8217;ve realised that a series of implementable, small threats is the most credible way to keep tensions high,8217;8217; he said.