Funding Terror Through Terror

"We take these allegations very seriously, and are currently working to determine if the Eritrean consulate is continuing to disregard Canadian law.
"We have clearly communicated to the Eritrean government our concerns both in Ottawa, and Eritrea. We expect the Eritrean government not to test our resolve. These actions, if true, will have repercussions."
Rick Roth, press secretary Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird

This official Eritrean government harassment through threats extended toward expatriate Eritreans who are now living in Canada, in a concerted effort to extract funding from reluctant supporters who have no wish to fund the Eritrean government's war efforts has echoes of what ethnic Sri Lankan Tamils experienced before the civil war in Sri Lanka that put the Tamil Tigers out of business so they could no longer threaten Tamils living in Canada, to similarly extort funding for their war effort.

This is by no means the first time that Canadian officials have been alerted to the work of a consular officer representing the interests of the government of Eritrea in sending out notices to Canadian Eritreans that they are expected to forward special 'taxes' on their income to their home country. Both Foreign Affairs and the RCMP are now investigating new reports of activities of the Consulate General of Eritrea imposing fees of up to $500 on Eritrean-Canadians for the country's national "defence" requirements.

Back in September of 2012 with this situation first surfaced Canada made it abundantly clear that Eritrea must cease such solicitations or it would be asked to recall its consul, Semere Ghebremariam O. Micael. Now, new evidence that has been gathered by an Eritrean-Canadian human rights group  indicates the practise has continued with a few minor alterations. Those who refuse to pay the institutionalized extortion have been subjected to threats, intimidation and coercion.

"They're thumbing their noses at the Canadian government. The government of Canada has given them a warning. They're still doing it. They should shut down the consulate", said the Eritrean-Canadian Human Rights Group of Canada, through its legal counsel.

These "disapora taxes" appear to be poverty-stricken Eritrea's only reliable source of income, since it has failed to develop a formal economy. Despite its financial disability as one of the world's least developed countries, however, Eritrea still manages to make it a priority to supply weapons, training and funding to armed groups such as al-Qaeda-linked Al Shabaab in Somalia, through their regional armed militias.

The Eritrean Foreign Ministry had responded to Canada's warning last September to cease and desist forthwith, claiming it had "complied in full". The change they instituted for the purpose of satisfying Canada's demands for cessation is that Eritrean-Canadians are informed they must render the payments through Germany's Deutsche Zentral Consossenshaft Bank to the Housing and Commerce Bank of Eritrea rather than, as previously, directly through the consulate.

One Eritrean-Canadian who planned to test whether his home country had respected Canada's insistence that it cease its extortion scheme called the consulate on May 16, using a false name, informing an official he required his college transcript from Eritrea and his brother needed paperwork renewed for their father's business enterprise. "I did call, just to see what they were doing", and for his trouble was informed he must pay 2% of income earned since arriving in Canada, along with a "defence force contribution".

The military fee came to $300 for a single person, and $500 for someone with family status. Copies of his income tax returns to be faxed to the Toronto based Eritrean consulate so staff there could calculate how much was owing. At which time, when the funding amount was established, he would be contacted to make arrangements to meet someone to arrange for a transference of said payment.

The diaspora taxes were mandatory, part of Eritrean law, according to Mr. Micael.