Petros Solomon
{{Short description|Eritrean politician (born 1951)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Petros Solomon
| image = Petros_Sol.jpg
| order = 1st Minister of Defence of Eritrea
| term_start = 1993
| term_end = 1994
| successor = Mesfin Hagos
| order2 = Minister of Foreign Affairs of Eritrea
| term_start2 = 1994
| term_end2 = 1997
| predecessor2 = Mahmoud Ahmed Sherifo
| successor2 = Haile Woldense
| order3 = 2nd Minister of Marine Resources of Eritrea
| term_start3 = 1997
| term_end3 = 2001
| predecessor3 = Saleh Meki
| successor3 = Ahmed Haj Ali
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1951|5|5}}
| birth_place = Asmara, British Military Administration in Eritrea
| spouse = Aster Yohannes
| party = PFDJ
}}
Petros Solomon ({{langx|ti|ጴጥሮስ ሰሎሞን}}; born 5 May 1951{{Cite web | title=x.com | url=https://twitter.com/vanessatsehaye/status/1654583027064881153} | access-date=2024-12-26 | website=twitter.com}}) is an Eritrean politician. He was an Eritrean People's Liberation Front commander and played a key role during the Eritrean War of Independence, following independence he served in several positions in the Cabinet, including Minister of Defense and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
He has been imprisoned in an undisclosed location since September 2001 for opposing the rule of President Isaias Afewerki. Amnesty International has named him a prisoner of conscience.
Early life
Solomon was born in a recognized family in Asmara. He completed his early education in Asmara and Addis Ababa. He was attending the Haile Selassie University in 1972, when he joined EPLF. He is married to Aster Yohannes, who joined the front in 1972. The pair have four children, Simon, the twins Zerai and Hanna, and Meaza. The pair fought in the independence struggle with Ethiopia, in which the EPLF gained de facto independence for Eritrea in 1991.{{cite news|title=Eritrean Tsedal Yohannes fights to free her family from indefinite sentence without trial|url=http://en.rfi.fr/middle-east/20130402-extraordinary-eritreans-Tsedal-Yohannes-fight-to-free-her-family-from-an-indefinite-sentence-without-trial|publisher=The World and all its voices|accessdate=26 November 2016|first=Rizwan|last=Syed}}
The Eritrean War of Independence
Petros Solomon was a member of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF). From 1972 until the end of the Eritrean War of Independence in 1991, he served as Chief Strategist and the head of Military Intelligence (Brigade 72) of the EPLF. He also served as a member of the executive committee (Politburo) of EPLF from 1977 to 1994. During the War of Independence, he is credited with having single-handedly organized the EPLF's intelligence section. He is also credited with having been the commander of the Nakfa, Kerkebet and Zara fronts during the Red Star Campaign in the early 1980s. He also, along with Ogbe Abraha, led the battle to liberate the town of Barentu in 1987. In 1990, he commanded the EPLF army that captured Massawa during Operation Fenkil, which destroyed the backbone of the Ethiopian army in Eritrea. In its June 16, 1991 publication, The New York Times stated that after the fall of Asmara, "Petros Solomon, was running the city until the arrival of Isaias Afewerki".{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/16/world/eritreans-fresh-from-victory-must-now-govern.html |title=Eritreans, Fresh From Victory, Must Now Govern |work=The New York Times |first=Jane |last=Perlez |date=16 June 1991 |accessdate=26 November 2016 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161126194943/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/16/world/eritreans-fresh-from-victory-must-now-govern.html |archivedate=26 November 2016 }}
After Eritrean Independence
Following independence, Petros Solomon served in various cabinet positions. He served as the first Minister of Defense of Eritrea. In mid-February 1997, he was moved from the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs to that of Minister of Marine Resources.[http://www.africa.upenn.edu/eue_web/hoa0497.htm "President quietly shuffles cabinet"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081017085428/http://www.africa.upenn.edu/eue_web/hoa0497.htm |date=2008-10-17 }}, Indian Ocean Newsletter, 29 March 1997 (Horn of Africa Monthly Review, 21 February–28 April 1997).
During his time as a Minister of Marine Resources, "he independently conceived of a biosaline agriculture as a way of building the economy of the country and gave enthusiastic support to Manzanar Project".{{cite web |url=http://www.af-info.or.jp/eng/honor/2005lec-e.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020110318/http://www.af-info.or.jp/eng/honor/2005lec-e.pdf |archivedate=October 20, 2007 |title=2005 Blue Planet Prize Commemorative Lectures |publisher=The Asian Glass Foundation}}
=Arrest=
In September 2001 he was detained indefinitely along with other politicians who were known as the G-15, a group which opposes the rule of Eritrean president Isaias Afewerki. Solomon along with 15 other ministers were arrested by the ruling front and detained in unknown location ever since. The ministers were criticizing the border war of the then president, Isaias and signed an open letter. He was fired along with other opposing members and was detained on 18 September 2001. He has not been seen or heard from since.{{cite book|title=Historical Dictionary of Eritrea|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SYsgpIc3mrsC&q=Aster+Yohannes&pg=PA421|page=421|first1=Dan |last1=Connell|first2= Tom |last2=Killion|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810875050|year=2010}} He was considered a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.{{cite news|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/eritrea-prisoners-conscience-held-decade-must-be-released-2011-09-15|title=Eritrea: Prisoners of conscience held for a decade must be released|date=15 September 2011|accessdate=26 December 2011|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111203234143/http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/eritrea-prisoners-conscience-held-decade-must-be-released-2011-09-15|archivedate=3 December 2011|url-status=live|publisher=Amnesty International}}
Dan Connell made an observation that, "It was inevitable he would clash with Isaias Afewerki".Conversations With Eritrean Political Prisoners, By Dan Connell, {{ISBN|1-56902-235-6}} After Petros's detention many of his former subordinates who publicly opposed his arrest were themselves arrested as a result, including Kidane Wedi Qeshi who used to be Communications Operator for Petros Solomon, Mehari (last name unknown) who was Chauffeur for Petros Solomon, Tesfai "Gomorra" Gebreab who was a close friend of Petros Solomon. Tsedal Yohannes, the sister of Petros Solomon's wife, has been fighting against the Eritrean government about the status of her sister and her husband ever since from London.
Personal life
His wife Aster Yohannes, who was also a freedom fighter and member of EPLF, was detained by security personnel at Asmara International Airport in the capital Asmara on December 11, 2003, when she returned after a three-year period of study at the University of Phoenix to unite with her children. She is imprisoned at Carshel in Asmara Eritrea. All four of Solomon's children live in exile.
References
{{reflist|20em}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20081120150832/http://www.awate.com/portal/content/view/2635/6/ Awate.com]
- [http://www.friendsofaster.org/ Friends of Aster] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917211646/http://friendsofaster.org/ |date=2017-09-17 }}
- [https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AFR64/008/2002 Amnesty International report]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Solomon, Petros}}
Category:Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Eritrea
Category:Eritrean People's Liberation Front members
Category:Eritrean prisoners and detainees
Category:Foreign ministers of Eritrea
Category:Defense ministers of Eritrea
Category:People's Front for Democracy and Justice politicians