Switzerland terminates aid to Eritrea over asylum seekers standoff

SWITZERLAND - The government of Switzerland has stopped development aid to Eritrea over a standoff involving asylum seekers, some of who have refused to return to their country after failing to meet the minimum requirements for settlement in the European nation.

Eritrea, Switzerland claims, refused to take the asylum seekers based on various bilateral agreements, leading to frustrations in terms of logistical planning. Hundreds of Eritreans seek asylum in friendly European countries yearly.

According to an external evaluation, too little progress had been made in the area of migration, a spokesperson for the Swiss foreign ministry told Swiss public broadcaster SRF, adding that the non-committal attitude erodes trust between Bern and Asmara.

However, relations between Switzerland and Eritrea have improved, said Michael Steiner, spokesperson for the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). Through the relations, the two countries have strengthened vocational training.

Sadly, no major progress had been made in the area of migration, he added. Switzerland is working on being able to return rejected asylum seekers to their home country. Eritrea is not prepared to accept them, he noted.

According to the SRF report, the aid is to be discontinued at the end of May. The decision was made independently of the federal government’s cost-cutting measures, according to the radio report.

Eritrea is one of the countries in Africa where freedoms of speech, press, and associations are grossly suppressed, with the regime detaining critics and dissidents. Political rights are also limited in the Horn of Africa nation.

Since 1993, Eritrea has been under the rule of Isaias Afwerki, one of the divisive figures within the continent and there are no guarantees that he's living soon. Asylum seekers from the country have doubled over the years due to misrule.

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