The young nation of Eritrea is often referred to as the North Korea of Africa.
The country has jailed thousands of political prisoners, eliminated the independent press and forces much of the population into indefinite military service. Border guards sometimes ‘shoot to kill’ Eritreans fleeing the country.
But since a July peace agreement, with longtime adversary Ethiopia, Eritreans are waiting to see if new contacts with the outside world will open up a closed state.
On this edition of Global Journalist, a look at Eritrea's moment of opportunity.
Joining the program:
- Arnaud Froger, head of Africa desk, Reporters Without Borders
- Salem Solomon, multimedia reporter, VOA News
- Andebrhan Welde Giorgis, former governor of Eritrea's central bank, former Eritrean ambassador to the European Union
- Daniel Mekonnen, president, Eritrean Law Society
Producers: Edom Kassaye, Yanqi Xu
Visual editor: Maggie Duncan