More than 180 writers, including Nobel laureates Olga Tokarczuk and JM Coetzee, have signed a letter to Eritrean president Isaias Afwerki demanding proof of life for 12 writers arrested in 2001. The letter, organised by PEN International and dated 18 September, marks 25 years since a government crackdown on the independent press.
"Within days, Eritrea's free press and the nation's independent voices were systematically crushed," the letter opens. It lists 12 writers who have been held incommunicado since 2001, including poet Amanuel Asrat and playwright and journalist Dawit Isaak.
"The families of these writers, the Eritrean people and the global literary community have been met with a painful and unlawful silence," the statement continues. "To withhold all information regarding their health, location, and survival is a violation of international law and an act of cruelty."
Along with Asrat and Isaak, the other writers named in the letter are Dawit Habtemichael, Fessehaye "Joshua" Yohannes, Mattewos Habteab, Medhanie Haile, Sahle "Wedi-ltay" Tsegazeab, Said Abdelkadir, Said Idris "Abu Are", Seyoum Tsehaye, Temesgen Ghebreyesus and Yousif Mohammed Ali. Six of the writers were profiled in the Guardian in 2015.
The letter, signed by 188 writers in total, calls for "immediate, verified proof of life for all arbitrarily detained Eritrean writers and critics". Other signatories include Andrei Kurkov, Anthony Doerr, Chloe Aridjis, Lauren Groff, Lemn Sissay, Maaza Mengiste, Madeleine Thien, Margaret Busby, Max Porter, Philippe Sands, Preti Taneja, Tice Cin and Viv Groskop.
"Mr President, Eritrea's future must be built with its brightest minds, not based on their suppression," the letter adds. "No writer or journalist should be disappeared for peacefully expressing their views."
Eritrea operates as a repressive dictatorship under Afwerki, with no national elections held since independence in 1993. "We remain in solidarity with our missing colleagues, and we will not cease our efforts until they are free," the letter concludes. Earlier this year, PEN International launched a petition, open to the public, which also calls for proof of life.
"Twenty-five years is an unbearable length of time for any family to live without knowing whether a loved one is alive," said Burhan Sönmez, president of PEN International. "These writers have not disappeared from our memory. We will continue to speak their names, and we will continue to demand the truth about what happened to them."
Source: www.theguardian.com