JOINT STATEMENT

Joint Statement

In rejection of the land grabbing in the Tikreret area for the benefit of the Orthodox Church investment projects.

We, the undersigned Eritrean political and civil society organizations, express our categorical rejection of the continuous and systematic policies adopted by the Eritrean regime since it came to power in 1991. These policies are characterized by the continued forcible land grabbing of citizens, culminating recently in empowering the Orthodox Church to grab vast fertile agricultural lands at the Tikreret area in the Barka region, where there are no church followers among the indigenous population.

The Eritrean regime exercises systematic discrimination by granting broad privileges to the Orthodox Church, including expanding church construction in Muslim areas where no Orthodox followers live. At the same time, it prevents indigenous residents from exercising their basic rights—such as owning land or building and renovating mosques and cultural facilities. This double standard is a blatant violation of justice and equality, as outlined in international human rights charters. It is not just a discriminatory or sectarian policy that threatens the unity of Eritrean society. Rather, it is part of a long-term plan to displace indigenous populations by suppressing their cultural and religious identity and forcing demographic changes. These actions amount to a crime against core components of the Eritrean people.

Accordingly, we declare the following:

1. We reject the regime’s land grabbing under any pretext (religious or investment-related).
2. We actively oppose all criminal actions carried out by the regime, aiming to end its repressive and arbitrary practices.
3. We affirm that unity of all components of the Eritrean people, with its religious and cultural diversity, can only be achieved based on real justice, equality, and the restitution of rights-away from exclusion and discrimination policies.
4. We call on all Eritrean components and their political and civil actors to confront these serious violations.
5. We urge the leaders of the Orthodox Church, its followers, and all those benefiting from the regime’s practices and laws not to be drawn into its deceptive policies that threaten the unity of Eritrea’s social fabric
6. We appeal to international and human rights organizations to assume their legal and moral responsibilities. We demand them to hold the Eritrean regime accountable for these unjust practices by putting pressure on the regime to immediately stop these violations; and open an independent transparent investigation about it.

We call on the international community and friendly nations to support the Eritrean people’s struggle for the desired democratic change in Eritrea.

We affirm that all consequences resulting from the regime’s laws and practices, particularly concerning land ownership laws, are null and void.

Glory to the martyrs

 

No.	Organization	Name and title of signatory
1	Eritrean Liberation Front	Hussein Khalifa, Executive Office Head
2	Eritrean Liberation Front	Mahmoud AlMadai, Executive Committee Head
3	Eritrean People’s Congress	Abu Al-Abbas, Head of the Congress
4	Eritrean Islamic Congress	Abdallah Hamid Hailes, Head of the Congress
5	Eritrean Federal Democratic Movement	Saleh Sabah, Executive Office Head
6	Eritrean National Party (Hiwar)	Issa Sayed Hayoti, Party Leader
7	Eritrean National Values Front	Ibrahim Gabeel, Secretary General
8	Eritrean National Accord Party	Mohammed Ali Shieb, Executive Office Head
9	Eritrean Lowland League	Hamid Izaz, Executive Administration Head
10	Eritrean Lowland League	Adam Musallam, Executive Body Head
11	Eritrean National Dialogue Forum	Mohammed Ishaq, Chairman of the Board
12	Awna Media Platform	Abdulwahab Jemie Haj, Director
13	Farajat Media Platform	Abdu Osman Kentebai, Director
14	Adoulis Media Platform	Jamal Hummed, Director
15	Al-Nahda Electronic Magazine	Mohammed Ali Sheye, Director

1

15^th of July 2025