Utafiti: Journal of African Perspectives

 

Call for Papers: Utafiti is inviting you to submit your manuscript – any topic in the humanities - for consideration in the next issues.

 

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Eritrea’s political system was not reformed in spite of major changes in its foreign relations, and the country remained an autocracy led by President Isaias Afewerki and a small number of political advisers. In a surprising move, Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, declared in June his readiness to accept an international border verdict and to end the conflict with Eritrea. In July, a peace-and-friendship agreement was signed in Asmara, followed by a similar agreement in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in September. Border crossings also opened in September, and Eritreans were free to leave their country for the first time in two decades. However, the open-ended national service programme was not reformed, and thousands left the country to join their relatives in the diaspora once the border was opened. Ethiopian traders sold consumer goods in the country, which led to an improvement in the supply of basic consumer goods; however, local traders were disadvantaged because their access to cash was severely limited by the government. The human rights situation, as well as the economic situation, did not improve, and no reforms were envisaged. eu funds granted under the eleventh edf remained virtually untouched. In the absence of a road map regulating relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia, and without border demarcation, many Eritreans feared for the sovereignty of their country.