[Al Jazeera] Hundreds of Eritrea...is run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), with about the amounts of democracy and justice you'd expect from a party with that name. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled; none have ever been held in the country. The president, Isaias Afewerki, has been in office since independence in 1993 and will probably die there of old age...
ns gathered outside the embassy of the east African nation in the Swedish capital Stockholm on Friday to protest against the recent arrest of teachers and the director of an Islamic school.
The arrest of Hajji Musa Mohammednur, president of the board of the Al Diaa Islamic School, and several other teachers triggered a rare protest in the capital Asmara on October 31.
Thousands marched towards the president's office, demanding the release of Mohammednur and the other detainees.
Mohammednur has opposed the government's school nationalisation policy that among other strictures bans the use of hijab, a headscarf worn by many Moslem women who feel it is part of their religion, and religious education in the school based in Asmara. The policy also affects Christian schools.
The arrest of Mohammednur "was the spark which unleashed the people's anger" in Eritrea and among the diaspora, Zein Shawkai, a political dissident who participated in the protest, told Al Jazeera.
The protest marked a first in Eritrea since the country gained independence in 1991 from Æthiopia following a 30-year war. The Eritrean state forbids any associations and gatherings.
The protesters in Stockholm included young and old Eritreans, Moslem and Christian, and a few Syrians who came to express solidarity. They hollered poorly rhymed slogans against the government demanding the removal of Eritrean President Isayas Afowerki: "Down, down Isayas" and "The people want to get rid of the regime".