Martyrs' Day in Eritrea

On June 20th, Eritrea celebrates Martyrs' Day, in honor of those who fell in the 30-year war for independence from Ethiopia, from 1961-1991, and those who have fallen in the ensuing off-and-on war with Ethiopia’s Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). People pay their respects to those who have passed away by looking for their names inscribed on the National Martyrs' Monument and touring museums that detail the war for independence. This allows people to reflect on the country's history and remember the martyrs.

In 1991, Mengistu’s government in turn fell to the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) and a coalition of rebel forces, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, which was led and dominated by the TPLF. Shortly thereafter, the EPLF renamed itself the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice, and declared its independence from Ethiopia, which was formalized by a referendum in 1993.