were formed into a Transitional National Assembly to
serve as the country's legislative body until country-wide elections
to a National Assembly are held in 1998; only 75 members will be
elected to the National Assembly-the other 75 will be members of the
Central Committee of the PFDJ

Judicial branch: Judiciary the Supreme Court; 10 provincial courts; 29
district courts

Political parties and leaders: People's Front for Democracy and
Justice or PFDJ, the only party recognized by the government [ISAIAS
Afworki, PETROS Solomon]

Political pressure groups and leaders: Eritrean Islamic Jihad or EIJ;
Eritrean Liberation Front or ELF [ABDULLAH Muhammed]; Eritrean
Liberation Front-United Organization or ELF-UO [Mohammed Said NAWUD];
Eritrean Liberation Front-Revolutionary Council or ELF-RC [Ahmed
NASSER]

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO,
IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat
(nonsignatory user), ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Semere RUSSOM
chancery: 1708 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 319-1991
FAX: [1] (202) 319-1304

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador-designate William CLARK
embassy: Franklin D. Roosevelt 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

@Eritrea:Economy

Economy-overview: With independence from Ethiopia on 27 April 1993,
Eritrea faced the bitter economic problems of a small, desperately
poor African country. The economy is largely based on subsistence
agriculture, with over 70% of the population involved in farming and
herding. The small industrial sector consists mainly of light
industries with outmoded technologies. Domestic output (GDP) is
substantially augmented by worker remittances from abroad. Government
revenues come from custom duties and taxes on income and sales. Road
construction is a top domestic priority. Eritrea has inherited the
entire coastline of Ethiopia and has long-term prospects for revenues
from the development of offshore o