Habtom Yohannes

shall be accepting the Oxfam Novib/PEN Award on behalf of the Eritrean poet and songwriter Amanuel Asrat. Habton Yohannes is a Dutch journalist, writer and lecturer of Eritrean origin. In addition to working in radio and television, he writes for Dutch and foreign newspapers. He is also an activist for peace and human rights. He keeps on putting the violation of human rights in Eritrea on the agenda of the Dutch parliament, the European parliament, the African Union and the United Nations. He frequently gives lectures about the situation. During the border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea (1998 – 2000) he called, via the IKON radio, for Eritreans and Ethiopians to join in protest against the war. He interrupted his work to write a ‘letter of piece’ addressed to the late prime minister of Ethiopia, Mr. Meles Zenawi and the president of Eritrea, Mr. Isaias Afwerki. The letter was signed by archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nigerian president Olesegun Obsanjo, former minister of defense of the United States, Robert MacNamara and more than 30 other international personalities and laureates.