AllAfrica
January 24, 2013
The Eritrean capital, Asmara, saw an uprising on 21 January that was
both unexpected and short-lived. Around 100 soldiers staged a mutiny and
stormed the information ministry. The army responded by surrounding the
building with tanks. After a 12-hour interruption, the state broadcast
media resumed their normal programming, the mutineers withdrew and
officials went home.
What really happened that day at the information ministry? Some
information began to filter out the next day, and more has emerged since
then. But it has not been easy to follow events as they happened. And
establishing what this incident means and what it may bode for the
future is even harder.
Eritrea is one of the world's most closed countries and has one of
the last totalitarian dictatorships. The mystery surrounding the events
of 21 January and the chorus of denials and contradictory comments on
social networks are the logical consequence of a situation in which
privately-owned media have been banned since 2001 and no foreign press
correspondents have been permitted since 2010.
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