e courts; also have
military and special courts

Political parties and leaders:

People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ [ISAIAS Afworki]
(the only party recognized by the government); note - a National
Assembly committee drafted a law on political parties in January
2001, but the full National Assembly has yet to debate or vote on it

Political pressure groups and leaders:

Eritrean Democratic Party (EDP) [HAGOS, Mesfin]; Eritrean Islamic
Jihad or EIJ (includes Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement or EIJM also
known as the Abu Sihel Movement); Eritrean Islamic Salvation or EIS
(also known as the Arafa Movement); Eritrean Liberation Front or ELF
[ABDULLAH Muhammed]; Eritrean National Alliance or ENA (a coalition
including EIJ, EIS, ELF, and a number of ELF factions) [HERUY Tedla
Biru]; Eritrean Public Forum or EPF [ARADOM Iyob]

International organization participation:

ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt
(signatory), IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (observer), ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, LAS (observer), MIGA,
NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador GHIRMAI Ghebremariam
chancery: 1708 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 319-1991
FAX: [1] (202) 319-1304
consulate(s) general: Oakland (California)

Diplomatic representation from the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Ronald MCMULLEN
embassy: 179 Ala Street, Asmara
mailing address: P. O. Box 211, Asmara
telephone: [291] (1) 120004
FAX: [291] (1) 127584

Flag description:

red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) dividing the flag
into two right triangles; the upper triangle is green, the lower one
is blue; a gold wreath encircling a gold olive branch is centered on
the hoist side of the red triangle

Economy
Eritrea

Economy - overview:

Since independence from Ethiopia in 1993, Eritrea has faced the
economic problems of a small, desperately poor country, accentuated
by the recent implementation of restrictive economic policies.
Eritrea has a command economy under the control of the sole
political party, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice
(PFDJ). Like the economies of many African nations, the economy is
largely based on subsistence agriculture, with 80% of the population
involved in farming and herding. The Ethiopian-Eritrea w