Independence Day is the most important National Holiday in Eritrea. It is observed on May 24 every year. On this day in 1991, Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) forces moved into Asmara, re-instating independence, following severe 30 years of battle against the Ethiopian army regime. Eritrea Independence Day is a public holiday and is work free.
18th Anniversary of Eritrea Independence Day (2009)
The 18th anniversary of Independence Day began with a few minutes of silence to respect the martyrs. Subsequently, vibrant march pasts of the Navy, Army, Air, and Police Forces took place. A whisk by of three MiG-29 fighter jets of the Eritrean Air Force and three helicopters was a pleasure to watch.
The NHCC President delivered a speech. This was followed by nationalistic songs, melodies, plays, traditional programs, and performances by 3,300 primary, junior, and high school students, brandishing flags and multicolored placards for 45 minutes, and the display of the national animal of Eritrea, the camel.
The observations concluded with the playing of the national anthem of the country with the national flag on the backdrop created by the red, green, yellow, and blue placards of hundreds of school kids on the reverse grandstand of the Asmara Stadium.
2011
As part of the arrangement to observe the 20th Anniversary of Independence, a torch of independence scheduled to arrive at all places of the Southern territory has kicked off from the town of Serha.
The parade, in which spiritual leaders, the young generation, and army personnel are participating, has been treated with hearty reception by the residents of the Senafe sub-zone.
The torch will travel across all areas of the Southern territory during the upcoming days.
Eritrea Independence Day Celebrations
Eritrea Independence Day is observed throughout the country. However, the most wonderful spot to be is in Asmara, the national capital. In this city, the 1991 triumph is observed with cultural programs in Bahti Meskerem and Cinema Odeon spanning one week, carnival on the principal avenues of Asmara, community banquets, and live music programs on Harnet Avenue, and a lively observation at the Asmara Stadium on May 24.
Background The strategic significance of Eritrea because of its shoreline with the Red Sea and natural resources, together with their common past, was the primary reason for the confederacy with Ethiopia. This confederacy sequentially resulted in Eritrea’s takeover as the 14th province of Ethiopia in 1952. It marked the end of a slow method of occupation by the Ethiopian Government, a procedure that incorporated a 1959 decree, laying down the mandatory education of Amharic, the principal Ethiopian language, in every school in Eritrea. The absence of respect for the people of the country triggered the development of a liberation campaign in 1961, which broke out as a 30-year battle against consecutive Ethiopian authorities. The fierce battle stopped in 1991. After an UN-monitored legislature (named UNCOVER) where the Eritrean population tremendously yearned for freedom, the country announced its independence and achieved global recognition in 1993. It was formally acknowledged and given membership in the United Nations in 1993
The sacrifices made by campaigners and students in the 1940s and 1950s and by the entire populace of Eritrea after the uprising in 1961 are huge.
Eritrean Independence was achieved after a 30-year battle against an immeasurable price. The expression “independence” thus has a quite special implication while it is used in the Eritrean perspective.