After incidents last weekend: outbreaks of violence between Eritreans in Europe are on the rise According to the SRG’s election barometer, the Greens are rising again – but another party is falling

The number of outbreaks of violence between Eritreans in Europe is increasing. On Saturday there was a massive brawl in Opfikon ZH between two groups from Eritrea, in which twelve people were injured. There were also riots in Norway and Israel.

During the brawl in Glatt Park in Opfikon, a group of supporters of Eritrean dictator Isaias Afewerki ran into a group of opposition figures, Okbaan Tesfamariam said when asked by the Keystone-SDA news agency. The Eritrean is a media spokesperson for the Eritrean Media Association Switzerland and an activist.

He was there during the clashes in Opfikon to observe and de-escalate the situation, he said. The supporters of the Eritrean regime tried to hold an illegal meeting and the opposition tried to prevent it.

The dispute started in Oberuzwil SG. Originally a festival was supposed to take place there, where supporters of dictator Afewerkis wanted to meet. Due to the threat of violence, the organizers canceled the festival at short notice. Apparently many participants later moved to Opfikon. According to Tesfamariam, these festivals are propaganda events organized by the Eritrean dictator.

There have been similar Eritrean cultural festivals in the past, including in Switzerland. Recently, however, protests against it have increased. Such a festival should also have taken place this weekend in Rüfenacht in the Bernese suburb of Worb. However, for security reasons, it was canceled in advance.

The conflict has been smoldering for decades

“The situation is not new,” Tesfamaria said. The conflict between opponents of the regime and those loyal to the regime has been simmering for decades. After a bloody war of independence, the country seceded from Ethiopia in 1993 without recognizing Ethiopia’s independence. Moments later, Afewerki took power and transformed the country into one of the most brutal dictatorships on the continent, according to Amnesty International.

The conflict between Afewerki supporters and opposition members is also evident in the diaspora, Tesfamariam explains. Tens of thousands of Eritreans live in Switzerland. Some of them then took refuge from the civil war over the independence of Eritreans. Some of them still support the Eritrean government. Others have fled dictatorship or the harsh lifelong military service and forced labor system in recent years.

Propaganda tour through Europe

Tesfamariam said there has been an increase in violence recently due to the increasing number of propaganda trips. The riots between Eritreans in recent days were related to Eritrean festivals. “These festivals are propaganda events of the Eritrean dictatorship,” Tesfamariam said.

The dictatorship collects money on such occasions in the name of the War of Independence. Many Eritreans in exile would feel pressured by this.

Opponents of the festivals demand that such cultural festivals be banned. Here’s what happened in the Netherlands: The country banned the event this summer. Authorities feared calls for violence and expressed security concerns.

At the Eritrean embassy in Geneva and at the consulate in Wettingen AG, no one was available for comment until Sunday afternoon. (sda)