§ Mr. Peter Freemanasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what provision was made for the employment and sustenance of the former bandits who surrendered arms under the Amnesty Proclamation issued by the British Administration of Eritrea; how many men surrendered under this proclamation; and how many arrests and executions for banditry have since occurred.
§ Mr. NuttingAs regards those bandits who actually gave up arms which they held at the time of surrender, those who surrendered firearms or other weapons, and who were able to return immediately to their homes, were given small cash grants to enable them to do so. Any who were unable or unwilling, from fear of revenge, to go back to their villages and tribes, or who, for security reasons, were not allowed to do so, were under the general scheme for resettlement of surrendered shifta, given temporary employment until they could be re-absorbed into the community. Such employment took the form of special agricultural and public works projects, such as maintenance of rural roads and irrigation, irrigation, and for such work the former bandits were paid by the British Administration at the local rate for unskilled labour.
The number of men who surrendered under the Amnesty Proclamation was 1,498. The number subsequently arrested is 261, and the number of executions for banditry is 41.