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Article: Everyone agreed? (Eritrea's declaration of independence)(includes related article)
- Article from:
- The Middle East
- Article date:
- June 1, 1993
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 IC Publications Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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GIVEN THE INEVITABLE result, Eritrea's referendum on independence held in April looked like a superfluous exercise. A total of 1,100,260 people voted in favour as against a minuscule 1,822 opposing sovereignty. Turn-out was reported to be 98.5% of registered voters. For once, claims of electoral near-unanimity are not unreasonable.
The victorious freedom fighters of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) entered the capital, Asmara, in May 1991 after a three-decade long liberation struggle with Ethiopia. The two-year delay by the Provisional Government of Eritrea (PGE) in declaring independence was designed to give the new regime in Addis Ababa time to digest ...