ON THE RIGHTS OF THE PRISONERS OF WAR

The fate of the Prisoners of War in the hands of the governments in Addis Abeba and Asmara had justifiably provoked the concern of many quarters and attempts had been made to visit these prisoners. SOCEPP on its part renews its demand to both governments to allow a SOCEPP delegation to visit the POWs and to report to their families on their conditions.

It is encouraging to note that the EPRDF government has allowed the Red Cross to visit the Eritrean POWs in its hands. However, the reports indicate that the Red Cross was able to visit a few hundred of these POWs. Are these all the POWs? The question is posed since the EPRDF had claimed that it had captured tens of thousands of Eritrean soldiers: what has happened to the other POWs and where are they? Ethiopia is a signatory of the Geneva Convention and is duty bound to respect its engagements. On the other hand, it is sad to note that the Eritrean government has refused access to the POWs and neither the Red Cross nor any other group has been able to visit them. This is deplorable as access to the POWs must be accorded as a matter of right and this is why SOCEPP calls on the Eritrean government to immediately give access to the Red Cross, SOCEPP or other interested human rights groups so that they can visit the POWs and report on their conditions. The use of the POWs for propaganda purposes (since the POWs have been interviewed by journalists) must be stopped specially in light of the inability of the Red Cross to visit these same prisoners.