US, China, Norway, 'Ethiopia', Somalia and the Horn of Africa
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis, September 23, 2007
Following recent mid-term developments, one can easily draw the conclusion that the US policy in the Horn of Africa region has faced a serious blow. American legislators and diplomats have already perceived the extent of the threat, but for the time being there is no sign of US policy shifting; yet, this becomes an urgent matter, if the area has not yet been abandoned by the US and the European colonials to the chaos of the expanding Islamists, and the afro-emerging Chinese superpower.
Impediments and Setbacks for the US in Africa
In the beginning, one could enumerate US mistakes in the Islamic Terrorism containment; later, one may have supposed that the US may have wished an increased Chinese presence in Africa, as a means of weakening the impenetrable control France and Britain have fortified over two colonial centuries in Africa. Others have surmised that the State Department has viewed Africa like another Afghanistan, considering possible to use some of the African Islamists against China in the perspective of 2010 – 2015. Nothing is more irrelevant than thoughts like that.
The US faces many setbacks in Africa, a continent where America has always been outlandish. First, the British – French colonial impact persists; the new irrelevant French President plan for a Euro-Mediterranean bogus-alliance and bogus-cooperation is another European colonial device to keep the US far from Northern Africa, and to detach a sizeable part of the Black Continent in order to extract its resources, enslave its populations, and spread further discord throughout Africa. Turkey alone buried the ominous project, but America should remember it always in its African considerations.
Second, the Spectrum of Intolerant Islamic Terror expands from the Horn of Africa to Western Sahara. Exasperated, impoverished, and destitute nations, mercilessly exploited within bogus-realms that have been formed out of colonial borders, find in Islamism the hope that they never encountered in anything else; one cannot keep starving nations oppressed and tyrannized by their invaders for more than 100 years and assume that they will not react en masse. And what does it matter whether the hope promised by the Islamists will supposedly be materialized in the Hereafter? A hope is a hope; who else gave them one? Meles Zenawi, the Tigray gangster of fake ‘Ethiopia’? Omar al Bashir, the Pan-Arabist murderer of Khartoum? Or the Moroccan origin Abdelaziz Bouteflika, ludicrous French puppet and bogus-president of Algeria?
Third, the rise of China in Africa is a real fact that few studied well, and even fewer reckoned its consequences. Few people have realized that China pursues in Africa a long-term target project only one aspect of which is the extraction of natural resources through the cooperation with unpopular, criminal and outrageous dictators. Few have been perspicacious enough to see that China in Africa is not following a European or American colonial model presence but worked out a new Chinese pattern of colonialism that involves extraction of resources, commercial - economic control, political support to dictators (particularly those of sizeable countries), and – last but not least – covered military presence.
All the Chinese workers who work in Chinese fields, factories and plants can easily form and man a Chinese army on African soil – perfectly equipped, as not a single African dictator thought possible to check their installations, cargos and ammunitions. China can deliver in Africa a big surprise at a moment of global crisis that will be detrimental for European and American interests in the Black continent.
Norway: a Brilliant Paradigm for US African Policy
America has a tiny but very courageous ally, a small but brave and historical nation that preferred self-reliance to the European Union amoral mayhem, namely Norway. The small, 4.5 million people nation that draws from the illustrious Vikings who landed in America 500 years before Cristobal Colon placed its position in international fora and hotspots on the basis of Moral Standards and Principles evolving around Humanism, Respect for the Other, Freedom of Expression and Religion, Equality, Equity, and Democracy. This is the reason, Norway was never constrained to silence, and Norwegian diplomats always deployed considerable efforts in dispute resolution, humanitarian aid, and oppressed nations’ support.
The ongoing crisis between Norway and the totalitarian realm of ‘Ethiopia’ that pursues multi-condemned practices of Genocide in Ogaden should be carefully studied by the US administration. In fact, the ‘Ethiopian’ tyrannical government expelled six Norwegian diplomats accusing them of supporting Eritrea. In an interview with the Norwegian Aftenposten, the tyrannical government’s ‘foreign minister’ Seyoum Mesfin said: "Norway tries to build a peace-keeping image, but cannot do so at the expense of the peace on the Horn of Africa." The Tigray tribal pseudo-minister went on accusing Norway of supporting "terrorist groups" in Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan!
Yet, it is known allover the world that ‘Ethiopian’ – not Norwegian – soldiers are being accused of extrajudicial killings in Ogaden, Tigray thugs – the very relatives of gangster Seyoum Mesfin – rape Ogadeni women in the streets, kick inhabitants out their houses, imprison large numbers of Ogadeni youth, and expropriate Ogadeni families from their belongings as they inhumanly consider them as accomplices of the Ogaden National Liberation Front.
"At the expense of the peace on the Horn of Africa"; who speaks? Seyoum Mesfin, the most appalling butcher of the Horn of Africa, the most unrepresentative Foreign Minister in world, the guy who gets the support only of the Monophysitic Tigrays of Abyssinia, less than 8% of the entire country’s population!
Seyoum Mesfin’s peace is the Peace in the Morgue.
Top threat to destabilizing the Horn of Africa is Seyoum Mesfin’s government itself.
Replying to these charges, Norwegian Parliamentary Secretary Mr. Raymond Johansen described them as "False allegations." Norway cut aid to Ethiopia after her diplomats were expelled. Mr. Johnasen’s brief comment is absolutely true. Ethiopia and Eritrea may have entered an unfinished war, but it has become clear that this war served the interests of the two unpopular governments. It would rather be erroneous to conclude that both countries have been engaged in a long-running battle over a border dispute. The accusations about a false war that helps only perpetuate two dictators’ presence atop the technical entities named ‘Ethiopia’ and Eritrea are very frequent and truly abundant these last days (‘Eritrea – OLF Relationship and Its Impact on Oromo Struggle’ /
http://www.oromoindex.com/News/oromo-eritrea-olf.html).
"The soldiers in Eritrea are financed in full by Norway. By supporting those who destroy peace processes in our neighbouring countries, Norway undermines the Ethiopian government’s peace work," Mesfin claimed. He added that Norwegian money sponsors weapons for terrorist groups in Somalia and Sudan, and that Norwegian authorities operate out of sight of local governments. Parliamentary Secretary Raymond Johansen in the Norwegian Foreign Ministry denied the Ethiopian Minister’s allegations. "Nothing he says is correct," Johansen said. Johansen said that the Norwegian authorities had always been open and honest about their intentions, and that they wanted nothing but peace and reconciliation on the Horn of Africa.
In the light of the Eritrean President Issaias Afeworki’s recent statement in favour of the ‘unity’ of ‘Ethiopia’, one can understand that allegations like this, coming from the mouth of the Tigray chieftain who impersonates a ‘minister of foreign affairs’, are ….. quite an indictment!
Yet, at this very moment, a reconsideration of the US approach to the Horn of Africa would be very propitious, as it becomes clear that the deterioration in the relations between Norway and the ‘Ethiopian’ tyranny would be repeated in case the US pursued a Moral Standards and Principles attitude towards the murderous thugs and criminals around Meles Zenawi.
This reveals precisely the importance of the US choice between amoral support to, and relationship with, African tribal dictators and US African policy based on Moral Standards and Principles.
China: the Best Ally for African Tyrants
By opting for the latter, the US opens Pandora’s Box, as China replicates, and there is no way to prevent China from doing so; but as China does so, Africa’s tribal dictators have immediately a more trustworthy interlocutor than the American diplomats. There is no need here to expand, as it goes without saying that nothing brings together an American diplomat who excels in Political Theory and Democratic Doctrine, and a tribal Tigray criminal who illegally pretends to represent a country whereby his ethno-religious group is rejected by more than 92% of the entire population.
American diplomats, politicians, congressmen, senators, administrators, academia and businessmen are viewed very suspiciously by the Tigray gangsters who know very well that more than 92% of their country’s population resent them, and that the Tigray control over the entire Abyssinia, falsely re-baptized ‘Ethiopia’, bears no trace of legitimacy. American Democracy and Humanism are a direct threat to the ruthless Tigray rulers.
Contrarily, an ‘Ethiopian’ and a Chinese diplomats have many things in common; as much as Abyssinia tyrannizes Ogaden, so much China oppresses Tibet. As much as ‘Addis Ababa’ terrorizes Oromia, Sidama Land, Afar Land, the Shekachos, the Kaffas, and the Gambellas, so much Beijing prosecutes Eastern Turkistan, Inner Mongolia, other parts of the vast and cruelly undemocratic Chinese Imperium, and all the other oppressed peoples of China.
China’s targets in Somalia seem to have been truly underestimated by the State Department. Chinese thirst for Somalia’s rich Oil resources may soon herald a shift in Tigray Tyrant Zenawi’s foreign policy; this sort of tyrants are able to develop instinctive survival thoughts and short-term survival considerations.
- "If America starts speaking about Human Rights in 2007 ‘Ethiopia’, we will strike a strategic alliance with China" seems to think this trash of criminal Zenawi.
If this comes to happen, it will be a long-term disaster for the US. This is the reason a US reconsideration of the American Horn of Africa policy has become an urgent matter. And the Chinese are there! In Somalia!
China's Rise In Force throughout Horn of Africa Region
Last July, the Transitional President of Somalia (in the Somali South) Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, a miserable ‘Ethiopian’ puppet and most loathsome figure among today’s Somalis, was allowed to negotiate a contract with the Chinese state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), the same firm that one year earlier had been forced to back off a takeover of Unocal under pressure from a broad bipartisan group in the U.S. Congress, as well as the smaller China International Oil and Gas (CIOG) Group.
It is noteworthy to remember that in November 2006, when the Transitional Federal Government of that unrepresentative bogus-president was besieged at Baidoa by the Islamists, he had traveled to CNOOC headquarters in China to ratify the deal with the Oil group’s chairman and chief executive officer, Fu Chengyu. And last June, when special envoys from the US did their best to support the ‘national conference’, Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government "energy minister" Abdullahi Yusuf Mohamad was in Nairobi, Kenya, joyfully chatting with Chen Zhuobiao, Head of CNOOC operations in Africa in order to put the final touches on the deal’s technical details.
The most critical point in the Chinese – unrepresentative Somali deal is precisely the location of the targeted oil field, which does not lie in Southern Somalia where the US idiotically try to support the loathsome ‘Ethiopian’ Transitional Federal Government of 'Somalia'. The oilfield is located in the Mudug region of the semi-autonomous northwestern region of Puntland, which was considered as the traditional fief of Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed’s Darod clan.
In the 1980s, a number of Western firms, including Conoco-Phillips (then two separate enterprises), Chevron, British Petroleum, Royal Dutch Shell, and Italy’s Eni S.p.a., held exploration concessions in Somalia and, according to some estimates, invested more than $150 million in onshore geological studies before they were forced to shut down operations with the collapse of the state.
Now, Range Resources Ltd. has concluded from data collected by earlier firms as well as field studies that it has managed to conduct in recent years thanks to its close ties with Puntland’s rulers that the potential yield may be as high as 10 billion barrels, thus making the Mudug field alone worth more than $700 billion.
The deal gives the Chinese firms 49 percent of the profits with the rest supposed to go to the Transitional Federal Government. In addition, the Transitional Federal Government will receive a bonus of $50 million for any wells which yield more than 200,000 barrels a day for seventy-five consecutive days.
It has also been reported that a deal was in the works to sell a 49 percent stake in the nascent Somali 'state' petroleum firm that would be vested with the 51 percent share of the Chinese deal to Indonesia’s state-owned PT Medco Energi Internasional Tbk and Kuwait Energy Company (also known as Zahra Oil and Gas KSCC), a privately-held enterprise.
Although the venture may now look somewhat risky for the Chinese firms because of Somalia’s Civil War, one should rather estimate the result in case the deal meets success at the end. Questions may vary in this case from the possibility of another President in Puntland, and the longevity of the Transitional Federal Government in the Somali South, to the possible relationship between Puntland and Somalia’s unrepresentative Transitional Federal Government.
If the former allows the latter to materialize the illegal - due to the lack of representativity of the Transitional Federal Government - Oil exploitation, Puntland will be deprived of its most significant resources, kept out of its exploitation, and above all, dtripped of any and every sense of legitimacy.
An intensification of the Transitional Federal Government's cruel and totalitarian practices has been noted recently; a few days ago, the popular Shabelle radio station in Mogadishu reported that it was shut down for several hours when the local police commander in the Holwadag quarter arrested nine staff members (all were eventually released). On the same day, two Transitional Federal Government soldiers and two civilians were killed in fighting in the same neighborhood.
On the next day, the director of the independent radio station - Horn Africa’s second FM station - Capital Voice, Mahad Ahmed Elmi, was shot dead by unknown assailants. It becomes therefore clear that the attitude displayed by the Transitional Federal Government will drive the outright majority of the Mogadishu inhabitants into the embrace of the Islamists. The South will soon be lost for the Transitional Federal Government and their master, the 'Ethiopian' tyrant Zenawi, who may both have anticipated a collapse in the Somali South, and a parallel rise in the North-East through the eradication of the unrecognized structures of Puntland.
With China controlling the rich resources of Puntland, and the Islamists rising again in power in the Somali South, America will be left with empty hands; then, tyrant Zenawi will officialize its alliance with the Chinese dictators who have understood perfectly well that arms transfers as a means of policy can serve a wide array of Chinese foreign and even domestic policy purposes, including improving relations with totalitarian African countries, as it undermines what little leverage Western governments and international organizations have with this sort of recalcitrant regimes.
If all this happens, we will truly be unable to calculate who lost more, the Somalis or the Americans. It will very ironical to see China prevailing in the Horn of Africa area, after all the US money spent, intelligence deployed, and diplomacy effort carried out.
How could the US outmaneuver China's Horn of Africa Plans?
Parallel developments in Asmara offer the US an incredible possibility for a successful shift of policy. A week ago, Somali opposition figures named Sheikh Sharif Ahmed as Chairman of a Liberation Alliance, declaring war on 'Ethiopian' tyrnat Zenawi's tribal troops, and urging the exit of Ugandan peacekeepers from the Horn of Africa nation.
America should study the event carefully; a dictator's advice would not help in this regard. American diplomats, congressmen, and administrators must feel comfortable with the rightful Somali pledge for National Independence; in the same way America became independent, Somali leaders and true representatives of the Somali people vow to achieve Independence and Unity with the illegally occupied by Abyssinia Ogaden.
There is nothing wrong in it.
Hundreds of delegates meeting in Eritrea's capital chose Sheikh Sharif Ahmed to steer the new opposition grouping. It's a new beginning in which the ominous Islamist Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys is absent. The Somalis are certainly Muslim, but in their outright majority they are traditional African tolerant and multicultural Muslims harboring no extremist feelings. And certainly America understands that there is nothing wrong with the Islamic faith.
The US administration should not be partially predisposed against those struggling for National Independence and Freedom of Faith. Nothing guarantees that Sheikh Sharif Ahmed did not learn his lesson from the time he participated in the Islamist Government of Somalia, the Islamic Courts of Justice. 2008 will not be a repetition of 2006.
The use of political language was this time far more elaborate, and not extremist at all. "Resistance to the occupation is a legitimate and sacred right. It is a national duty as well as a religious obligation for all citizens," read a final communique from the week-long conference of opposition delegates in Asmara. In the communique, it was also said that the new opposition movement would be called the "Alliance For The Re-Liberation Of Somalia" or ARS, a small modification of the previously-announced "Alliance For The Liberation Of Somalia." The change of name means a lot, and it should be well perceived in Washington.
Including a wide range of figures from Islamists to former government members, ex-parliamentarians and members of the Somali diaspora, the delegates surprised some observers with their resolution to kick the tyrannical 'Ethiopian' invader away. They have threatened immediate military action against Meles Zenawi's tyranny.
It was also stated that ARS will not enter into any talks with the so-called Transitional Federal Government before a complete withdrawal of the Ethiopian occupation army. With respect to the African Union (AU) peacekeeping force in Somalia, consisting of 1,600 Ugandan soldiers, the Communique stated the following: "The ARS demands the withdrawal of Ugandan troops from our country since their presence is illegal and has become at present part of the occupation force" (
http://www.ijaraonline.com/a2230.html).
Organisers said the Islamists would get about 40% of seats in the alliance's 191-member central committee, former MPs about 25% and members of the Diaspora about 16%. A former Somali parliament speaker was elected head of the central committee.
The movement criticized America for an immoral alliance with tyrannical 'Ethiopia', but did not attack the US foreign policy in its totality, and did not portray America negatively. In Europe one can find far stronger Anti-Americanism than in the ARS Communique. The following was stated explicitly: "The ARS calls upon the U.S. administration to reverse its anti-Somalia policy. The Somali people are devoted Muslims, but not terrorists. The ARS is not a terrorist organisation Chairman Ahmed is widely seen as a moderate".
Sheikh Sharif Ahmed represents for America the best chance to return in force and stay influential for long in the area; the reasons and the related prospects we will analyze in a forthcoming article.
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=38286
Somalis hope Afro-Arab force can help peacekeepers
23 Sep 2007, By Aweys Yusuf and Abdi Sheikh
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalis in Mogadishu have broadly welcomed calls for an Arab-African peacekeeping force to replace Ethiopians troops supporting their interim government, which is being battered by an insurgency.
Ethiopian artillery, tanks and war planes helped fighters loyal to the fragile administration rout rival Islamists from the capital in a brief conflict over the New Year.
But the continued presence of soldiers from a Christian-led neighbour that many Somalis view as an enemy has raised tensions among many residents of Muslim Somalia who are weary of war.
"It is good to bring an Arab-African peacekeeping force if it will take us out of our living hell," Mogadishu resident Farah Osman told Reuters. "I hope the situation will improve, although Somalis are difficult to deal with."
Mother-of-six Fatuma Abdirahman agreed: "We welcome forces from all over the world to put out the fire in our country."
Earlier this year, the African Union agreed to send 8,000 peacekeepers to replace the Ethiopians, whose presence has inflamed the rebellion in the capital since January. So far, however, only about 1,600 Ugandan troops have arrived.
The call for a new Arab-African force under the aegis of the United Nations came in a visit to Saudi Arabia a week ago by Prime Minister Mohamed Gedi and President Adbullahi Yusuf.
Disgruntled members of Mogadishu's dominant clan, the Hawiye, have also been accused by government officials of joining the Islamist-led insurgency. A top clan official said they would be happy with any plan that saw the Ethiopians leave.
HIDDEN INTERESTS?
"Ethiopians have hidden interests in Somalia," a Hawiye clan chairman, Mohamed Hassan Had, told Reuters. "We shall get peace if Ethiopian troops withdraw and legal forces come."
Boosting the insurgents last week, Somali opposition figures including Islamist leaders formed a new opposition alliance in Eritrea that vowed to wage war on Ethiopian troops in Somalia.
A spokesman for the alliance, Zakariya Mahamud Abdi, said any new peacekeepers should not just replace the Ethiopians.
"They should not come as an aiding force to Yusuf," he said. "We don't have any problem with Arab-African forces, but they must come in a legal way with the consensus of the Somali people ... If they come to support tyranny and dictatorship then it is an occupation force."
But with African nations so far failing to send troops to get the AU force up to strength, many observers wonder where the push to find more soldiers for Somalia will come from.
Without reinforcements, the Ugandans who have been in Mogadishu since March have largely been restricted to guarding the air and sea ports and Villa Somalia presidential palace.
The new U.N. special envoy for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, told Reuters on Saturday that it was vital the outside world follow through on its promises to help.
"It is very important for us in the U.N. and international community to be consistent, both in our words and our actions," he said. "This is crucial ... It has been adopted by the Security Council and we must help and assist this population."
http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnBAN330468.html
Somaliland official says al Qaeda suspects arrested
Sat Sep 22, 2007. By Hussein Ali Noor
HARGEISA, Somalia (Reuters) - Ethiopian troops arrested six men believed to be members of al Qaeda during a cross-border operation in the breakaway republic of Somaliland, a senior Somaliland official said on Saturday.
There was no immediate word from Addis Ababa, which has sent thousands of soldiers to support an interim government in neighbouring Somalia threatened by Islamist-led insurgents.
The chairman of Somaliland's central region of Togdheer, Abdi Hussein Dere, told reporters Ethiopian forces entered the town of Buholde on Friday and occupied the main police station before arresting six Somalis in four vehicles.
"The cars were on their way to Mogadishu," Dere told a news conference. "After their arrest, I think Ethiopian informers told the troops the arrested men belonged to al Qaeda."
Somalia's interim administration often accuses foreign jihadists of working with local insurgents in the capital to carry out roadside bombings and assassinations that have targeted the government and its Ethiopian military allies.
In June, the U.S. military launched air strikes on the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, which borders Somaliland.
U.S. officials declined to comment on a CNN report that they were targeting a suspect in the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed 240 people.
The United States also launched air strikes in southern Somalia in January aimed at three top al Qaeda suspects but killed the suspects' allies instead, U.S. officials have said.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKL2252822820070922
U.S. to influence Eritrea seems to be limited
Dr.Abdullahi Mohamed
Djibouti (HAN) September 21, 2007 -Since the United States tacitly supported an Ethiopian invasion of Somalia that ousted the Islamic Courts Union controlling much of the country, Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government has struggled in its stabilization efforts.
Ambassador John M. Yates, U.S. special envoy to Somalia, says there has been “some momentum” since the close of a six-week reconciliation conference in August, and that the “first priority will be the drafting of a constitution.” Yates notes, however, that the security situation in Mogadishu remains “fairly dismal,” and there is a “lack of confidence in the Transitional Federal Government in its capacity to carry forward.” He says the Eritrea provides support to insurgents in Somalia, but the U.S. ability to influence Eritrea “seems to be limited.”
As the U.S. special envoy to Somalia you’ve kept a pretty low profile. Can you discuss what your focus has been since you took this role, and some of the different challenges that you’ve faced thus far?
I’ve been running within the embassy in Nairobi, the Somali unit. We’re now up to about five Americans and two Foreign Service Nationals, and my main focus has been on dealing with the [Transitional] Federal Government, with all the different stripes of Somali leaders, and with the international community. I’ve been traveling quite a bit, especially to Addis Ababa. You should understand that the ambassador to Kenya, Michael Ranneberger, is also officially responsible for the conduct of foreign relations with Somalia, so he is also very much involved. We work very closely together, of course with the assistant secretary, [Jendayi] Frazer.
And have you been traveling to Somalia?
No, so far we are not because of the security concerns. Except one time in the time that I’ve been here, I flew in with Assistant Secretary Frazer to meet with the prime minister and speak with parliament.
The Transitional Federal Government recently concluded this big reconciliation conference that lasted through most of July and August. Can you tell me, from your perspective, what actually came out of this conference, given that it did leave out one of the major clans in Mogadishu, the Hawiye clan?
[The Transitional Federal Government] did issue a report on the reconciliations and the recommendations of the National Reconciliation Congress, which came out about a week and a half ago. It has a number of good items, we think, both on social reconciliation and the political way forward to transition in 2009.
In addition to issuing this publicly, the president, the prime minister, the chairman of the reconciliation process and the speaker and more than two hundred elders from the conference are in Saudi Arabia now with an invitation for a ceremonial signing.
It is true that important elements did stay outside of the congress. They were all invited, including members of the [Islamic Courts Union] who were not on the international terrorist list and who renounce terrorism. They were invited and they chose not to come. They had a big meeting in a rump congress in Asmara [the capital of Eritrea] last Friday, on the fourteenth, pretending they were the opposition. There are people in Asmara who we and the Somalis hope will eventually come back to the reconciliation process that was begun, which is by no means over, in Mogadishu.
We had a breakdown of government in the early nineties, then the total deterioration of law and order, and then effectively warlords and clan-based administration in local areas. The real issue now is having a government that can deliver services to the people.
One of the things it does say in the National Reconciliation document is that the congress is in effect still seized with the issue of reconciliation and they invite other people to come back and associate themselves with it. There has been some momentum on that score.
Can you speak a little more specifically about that momentum? Are you yourself working to encourage that and, if so, in what way?
Immediately after the congress there were some meetings amongst a segment of the business community in Djibouti that hadn’t participated, and several members of them did go back. We ourselves have been especially speaking with former members of parliament, including the speaker. I spoke personally with him myself in Dubai and we have been trying to encourage him to come back.
The actual implementation of the congress resolutions is really still to get started. Now that it’s been ceremonially signed, the process will be for it to be turned over to the Transitional Federal Government. Some things might require parliamentary action, we’re hoping very quickly. This is one of the things the International Contact Group talked about in Rome last Monday, the importance of road-mapping timetables, especially on the political parts that would lead them to 2009.
It’s been a number of years that Somalia has existed without a central government, so it would be ambitious to expect overnight improvement in the country. What do you see as realistic goals in terms of political or economic development and can you identify some benchmarks that you’d like to see met in the next year?
Amongst the things that are referred to in the final recommendations of the Reconciliation Congress are the things that are mandated by the Transitional Federal Charter that was adopted here in Nairobi in 2004 for a five-year transition period. They include writing a new constitution and having a referendum on the constitution, permitting the setup of a multi-party system, creating electoral laws, creating an electoral commission and holding elections by 2009. We consider the first priority will be the drafting of a constitution.
And what are some of the conflicts, the primary issues, in drafting of a constitution between the different clans in Somalia?
The Ethiopian troops are still an issue, especially with the people in Asmara [the Islamic Courts Union members]. It seems to be really a question of confidence and capability in some regards of the Transitional Federal Government, more than the critical issues of the constitution. I’m not going to talk about the economy because there are so many things that could be done to help the economy, the most important of which would be a cessation of hostilities.
It’s quite amazing, in some regards, the amount of business that does go on in Somalia. In some ways their technology, their Internet capacity, is more sophisticated and better than Kenya’s. There are an awful lot of bad things too: the breakdown of infrastructure, and what I found in talking to people outside of the process—and these are not necessarily the Courts although earlier on we did talk to some of them, too—is their lack of confidence in the Transitional Federal Government in its capacity to carry forward.
In the resolution from the congress there is also a recommendation about increasing the capacity of the government. One of the perceived drawbacks is that ministers could only be appointed from within the parliament. And of course everybody knows there are thousands of talented Somalis in Somalia and in the diaspora who might be able to serve in a technocratic position in helping the competence of the government. The real issue amongst people who have stayed and kept the process at arms length, or even been somewhat opposed to it, has been the competence of the government.
One of our objectives is certainly fighting terrorism. Part of that is to help establish a stable state in Somalia that they could help monitor on their own. For Somalia to ever have a real capacity to prevent itself from being used as a terrorist agent, it has to have a working government, which we’re trying very hard to work for.
Have you seen some evolution in this feeling of confidence in the Transitional Federal government?
Honestly I couldn’t say that confidence is on a deep up-slope. There is some evidence and, frequently, the evidence is brought about by the international community insisting on lifting roadblocks and things like that. But, in fact, if you talk about things like taxation or the delivery of medical services to the people, the big issue is one of security.
We had a breakdown of government in the early nineties, then the total deterioration of law and order, and then effectively warlords and clan-based administration in local areas. The real issue now is having a government that can deliver services to the people.
Who is responsible for the violence in Mogadishu, and is the Transitional Federal Government addressing it in any way?
The 1,800 Ugandans that you mentioned are really in a static position. The main part of the division of security or cracking down in Somalia is done by the Transitional Federal Government forces, which tend to be ill-trained and somewhat ill-disciplined, and by the Ethiopians. A lot of the violence is caused by remnants of the courts of the Shabbabs [a radical element of the Islamic Courts Union]. In fact, several of the more radical speeches in Asmara condoned violence to throw out the Ethiopians. Some of them go as far as to say throw out the Ugandans. It’s pretty easy for a rebel to lob a mortar shell somewhere and then unfortunately, especially the Transitional Federal Government, overreacts in the retaliation. The situation has not improved to the degree that one would want.
In fact, it is quite an achievement on its own that for forty-five days the National Reconciliation Congress could go on, and there were no direct attacks against the congress venue. The capability is there, but day-to-day security for most people who live in Mogadishu is fairly dismal.
There’s obviously a lot of tension between Ethiopia and Eritrea and some analysts say this is really contributing to some of the problems in Somalia. What role do you see Eritrea playing in what’s going on in Somalia, and how is that affecting U.S. efforts to help stabilize the country?
There’s no doubt that the Eritreans make very strong statements about the Ethiopians, the United States, about EGAD [Economic Growth and Agriculture Development], Uganda, Kenya, about their attitude. There is credible evidence they are helping the supply of insurgent forces in Somalia. You may have seen recent statements by Assistant Secretary Frazer about the possibility of putting Eritrea on the state sponsors of terrorism list, which is based on solid evidence that they are supporting [the insurgents in Somalia]. We hear reports of both money and weapons being provided to the opposition forces in Somalia.
Since Assistant Secretary Frazer made that announcement, has there been any shift in behavior from the Eritreans?
On the contrary, the statements seem to be even more bellicose. But the Eritrea-Ethiopia situation is acidic at best, and our own ability to have influence with Asmara, although that’s not my beat, seems to be limited. I wouldn’t say the threat of being added to the list of state-sponsored terrorism had any damaging effect on the Eritrean behavior.
Earlier this year the United States launched air strikes on Somalia, claiming to be targeting Al-Qaeda affiliates. What is your feeling now as to what extent Somalia is being used as a terrorist haven?
We certainly think there is a likelihood that it is a safe haven for terrorists, including some who were responsible for the bombing of the embassy in Nairobi. I think the probability of terrorists being in Somalia does exist.
So one aim of U.S. policy is to limit the spread of terrorism in the Horn of Africa and another is to stabilize Somalia. In the past year, these air strikes sent a certain message, which media in the Horn of Africa responded to somewhat negatively. The mission to help stabilize Somalia sends a completely different message. Do you think the terrorism message overshadows the stabilization one?
It depends on who’s reporting on it. One of our objectives is certainly fighting terrorism. Part of that is to help establish a stable state in Somalia that they could help monitor on their own. For Somalia to ever have a real capacity to prevent itself from being used as a terrorist agent, it has to have a working government, which we’re trying very hard to work for.
http://www.geeskaafrika.com/eritrea_21sep07.htm
Fighting makes Somalis fear more than ever-UN envoy
NAIROBI, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Somalis in the capital Mogadishu are more scared than ever of being targeted by the country's warring parties, who are recruiting children to fight in the conflict, a U.N. envoy said on Friday.
Ethiopian soldiers are helping to bolster Somalia's transitional government -- the 14th attempt to reimpose central rule in 16 years -- against insurgents fighting what they see as an occupation by a longstanding rival.
"I think people are afraid in Mogadishu now more than any time before," said Ghanim Alnajjar, the U.N.-appointed independent human rights expert on Somalia. "They're afraid of being killed, of being arrested by anybody, by so-called insurgents, by TFG (transitional federal government), by Ethiopian forces," he told a news conference in Nairobi after a brief trip to Somalia.
Alnajjar, a Kuwaiti academic, also said there were instances of indiscriminate shooting at civilians. "And both parties using children in conflict -- that is also happening. I think all parties have to pay attention to international humanitarian law," he said without elaborating.
Alnajjar, who met President Abdullahi Yusuf and Prime Minister Ali Mohamd Gedi, said he was initially prevented from entering Somalia. He was told the refusal came from the Ethiopians, but said that was only a rumour.
Alnajjar said the government promised to investigate reports its troops had surrounded the independent media house Shabelle on Tuesday, opening fire on the building and wounding one guard. "I got an answer which was mixed but I hope that it will be translated into action to stop these attacks," Alnajjar said.
"This is creating a situation of fear where people are afraid to express themselves freely. The prime minister promised to do his best and investigate the latest incident on Shabelle and I hope that he'll resolve this."
He said he had received reports of torture and secret prisons, but needed to verify such claims by some civilians who blame the allied Somali-Ethiopian troops.
"I don't make any charges but I have to verify that."
He praised Ugandan peacekeepers, the vanguard of an 8,000-strong African Union mission, for doing a "remarkable job".
"They are well-disciplined. They are at least showing something different to what people anticipated," he said.
Since arriving in March, the contingent of 1,600 Ugandans have won over some Somalis -- who are suspicious of foreigners -- by giving out water and drugs, destroying munitions and treating civilians free at their medical facilities.
US pushes for strict adherence to Somali peace road map
Nairobi, Kenya - The US Thursday urged the rival Somali factions to unite in the search for peace and implement the country's new peace road map, which envisages its first post-war democratic elections in 2009.
"We hope that both parliament and the TFG would cooperate to implement the recommendations reached during the congress. These are implementable recommendations," US Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger told journalists here.
The Somali rivals agreed to hold talks in August, aimed at resolving the various political setbacks to unity, but the talks were largely skipped by powerful political groups, including insurgents working to destabilise the government.
The US envoy urged the TFG to press on with talks with the rebel Islamic militants and their financiers to improve the chances of lasting peace in the nation.
The Somali peace congress, which is the first of its kind to be held in Somalia, was hailed as a Somali-driven process that offers the people of Somalia an opportunity to participate, own and support the final outcome of the reconciliation process.
The congress, aimed at ending the latest bout of violence in Mogadishu and paving the way for stability in a country dogged by 16 years of civil war, ended 30 Aug.
The U.S. envoy said the recently-concluded national reconciliation congress was successful and called on both parliament and the interim government to co-operate in implementation of the resolutions reached during the 45-day negotiations.
Ranneberger said among key resolutions, delegates to the congress called on the government to change a rule that limits cabinet positions to members of parliament and to hold the general elections in 2009.
The U.S. envoy said the TFG should reach out to the Islamists who did not take part in the recently-concluded reconciliation congress to chart the Horn of Africa's democratic future.
"The congress achieved concrete results and the international community will help accelerate the process by pressing for faster implementation of the recommendations," the U.S. envoy said.
Nairobi - 20/09/2007
http://www.afriquenligne.fr/news/daily-news/us-pushes-for-strict-adherence-to-somali-peace-road-map-200709209041/
US plans Eritrea sanctions over Somali insurgents
Nairobi, Kenya - The US may designate Eritrea a state sponsor of terrorism for its backing for insurgents fighting the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG), a US envoy hinted here Thursday.
U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger told a news conference that Washington was considering placing Eritrea on its terror list, and had embarked on the process of gathering information which may see Asmara included in the list of state terrorism sponsors.
If Eritrea gets on the list, the US will impose sanctions on Asmara, including a ban on arms-related sales, prohibitions on some U.S. aid and U.S. opposition to international lending to Eritrea.
Eritrea broke ranks with the seven-member Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in April this year over what it saw as Ethiopia's continued military presence in Somalia and demanded an immediate withdrawal of the Ethiopian troops.
Asmara has retained a hard line stance on almost every security issue under discussion among the IGAD states, including Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan and Somalia.
Speaking during the news conference, called to update journalists on the developments in Somalia, the US envoy took issues with Eritrea's harbouring of 'elements hostile' to the TFG, including hard-line Islamist movement blamed for the constant attacks there.
Eritrea has recently tried to assemble a group of Islamist insurgents hostile to the TFG for peace talks in Asmara, in what the US sees as an open backing of the insurgents.
Ranneberger said the U.S. viewed the presence of exiled Somali Islamist leaders in Asmara as further evidence that Eritrea gave refuge to terrorists.
"We are considering putting Eritrea in the list of state sponsors of terrorism. There is a process behind that and the Assistant Secretary (of State in charge of Africa Jendayi Frazer) said very clearly that there is a process to be followed before listing," Ranneberger said.
"But that Eritrea is actually supporting these guys (Islamists) and giving them loyal base is extremely disturbing," he said.
Early this month, Frazer said Washington was gathering further intelligence which could lead to Asmara being named as a state sponsor of terrorism, to be followed by sanctions.
Some 400 Somali dissidents, including members of the Diaspora, Islamists, civil society groups and ex-lawmakers, have flocked to Asmara in recent weeks to form a new opposition movement dedicated to getting Ethiopian troops out of Somalia.
The fledgling transitional government, backed by troops from Eritrea's arch rival Ethiopia, is fighting an Islamist insurgency in a conflict that has killed hundreds of people since December.
The U.S. envoy also dismissed the outcome of the Asmara meeting by Somalia opposition groups, saying it was a one-side affair aimed at removing Ethiopian troops in Somalia.
He hailed Washington's "successful collaboration" with governments of Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia in tracking down al-Qaeda cells in East Africa.
"The action that we have taken have severely disrupted the al-Qaeda East Africa network that has for many many years have a strong calendar work in East Africa, not just in Kenya but also in Somalia and Horn of Africa's coast," Ranneberger said.
http://www.afriquenligne.fr/news/daily-news/us-plans-eritrea-sanctions-over-somali-insurgents-200709209042/
Ethiopia:what’s really going on in the Ogaden??(Blog)
09/20/2007
Radio seems like the only way I can get real info about whats going on here in Ethiopia. It’s a shame because a person living in Ethiopia has to listen to a person living 5,000 miles away in Europe to hear about what’s going on in Ethiopia. It’s embarrassing. The other sad thing is most independent online media sources covering Ethiopia only talk about development and the econnomy; never about politics! News should include politics and actual events like what acidents happen etc, not just about development! Well I would like to thank Jimatimes for at least being an independent online voice covering everything INCLUDING politics as well. But, it doesn’t realy matter for most people in Ethiopia because internet connection is so bad here that online media is almost worthless. Anyway Ogaden, or Kilil 5 as they call it, seems like in a big mess. The new UN report saying a humanitarian disaster will happen soon is saddening. No body is reporting it but many parts of Ethiopia is already suffering massive floods everywhere. crops and infrastructure is being affected especially in low land areas. Maybe we shouldn’t compare our misery to the misery in Ogaden.
But a UN investigation team having to spend 2 weeks to find out a humanitarian problem really exists in Ogaden, (or any part of Ethiopia) is the funniest thing I heard this week! It is like needing an investigation team to check if eating too much food really makes people fat or not. Of course it does. There are many common sense facts in our world, one of them is Ethiopia belongs in the Stone Age. (By the way the tourism sector infrastructure in Ethiopia is bad but more and more tourists are flocking to the deeply underdeveloped southern Ethiopia, despite the excessive advertisement to go northern Ethiopia, because tourists CAN ACTUALLY GO BACK 2000 years back in time! Time travel, it can’t get better than this!!) I am a big Hollywood movie fan (addict?) and hope to learn movie making because I can probably get the National Geografic Channel out of business! It is really a big experience for tourists down here.
Anyway, the NEW situation in Ogaden is more political than humanitarian for me. The ONLF rebels are really annoying the government with their ability to get international sympathy despite the killings at the Chinese oil place a few months ago. In my opinion, the ONLF rebels just don’t have enough diplomatic muscle to have a victory here. Maybe I will be proved wrong. The other probblem is other Somalae clans don’t really support them. There have been some clashes with the Oromia border towns as well. This might be one of the reasons why OLF has been quiet, not that I think OLF is powerful enough to do as much as ONLF. (But it has been unusually quiet) The ethiopian government has effectively closed rebel bases in northern kenya, eastern sudan and now in Somalia. But Somalia is the least stable of them all, thus ONLF has more traction than OLF. Anyway I think all this chaos will help the UIC militias a lot. The focus being inside Ethiopia itself doesn’t help Somali-TFG. Also all this is giving morale to potential ONLF recruits.
Its all about morale. Personally I believe only in peaceful struggle but if I put myself in the shoes of ONLF I would not see the benefits of peaceful struggle. I mean, peaceful struggle is a good thing when you are trying to create democracy and justice inside a country, but armed struggle is a MUST if you completely don’t want to be part of that country. Ethiopia for the ONLF supporters is like what Italy was for the Ethiopians. You just have to kick it out of your land. For many Ogadenis, the Ethiopian Orthodox millenium celebration was a day of mourning. (even worse since 95% of ogadenis are Muslims) Can you imagine the Jews celebrating hitler's birthday?? Just telling it like it is.
http://jimmatimes.com/article.cfm?articleID=17096
Somali opposition alliance begins fight against Ethiopia
ASMARA (AFP) — Somalia's new Islamist-dominated opposition alliance said Thursday its forces have launched a bid to oust Ethiopian troops from their country.
"The alliance is undertaking every effort to get rid of Ethiopia," said spokesman Zakariya Mahamud Abdi. "We plan to spread the resistance in Mogadishu, and we have already sent people inside Somalia. This is our job."
The Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS) was formed last week in the Eritrean capital Asmara, vowing to drive Ethiopia out of Somalia and nominating Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed as its chairman.
Ethiopian troops helped Somalia's embattled transitional government forces last year and ousted the Islamic Courts Union, which briefly took control of large parts of the country.
Since being defeated by Ethiopia's vastly superior military machine, the insurgents have reverted to guerrilla tactics, launching daily hit-and-run attacks on government targets in Mogadishu.
The new organisation's 191-member central committee was to continue to meet in Asmara, discussing strategy, a charter and appointment of leaders.
Observers say there are disagreements over filling remaining leadership positions, with dominant Islamists, exiled lawmakers and diaspora representatives all jockeying for key posts.
However, Abdi said the negotiations would soon be solved.
"The consultation process is still ongoing on how to go forward, but we hope it will be decided in the next few days", Abdi told AFP.
Islamist and other opposition leaders formed the alliance in Eritrea after boycotting a government-sponsored reconciliation meeting that ended last month.
The US ambassador in Kenya, Michael Ranneberger, argued Thursday that the Asmara group was isolated and added he had no plans to seek a meeting with its leader.
"What was evident is the isolation of the people in Asmara and their inability to draw together a broad-based or inclusive group," he said of the week-long opposition congress in the Eritrean capital.
"We are also seing indications that some of the parliamentarians who went to Asmara now want to get back in the (reconciliation) process," he added.
Ranneberger, a key US official on Somalia policy, told reporters in Nairobi he had already met Sheikh Sharif twice and had been "very disappointed" in what he said was the Islamist leader's unwillingness to cooperate.
The ambassador praised what he described as the "meaty results" of the six-week reconciliation congress that ended last month in Mogadishu.
He also took heart in Saudi Arabia's endorsement of the reconciliation process, said Washington was willing to fund further meetings and warned against a premature departure of Ethiopian troops.
Speaking at the same press conference, US special envoy to Somalia John Yates said the presence of Arab peacekeepers in Somalia would be "quite acceptable".
Somali transitional government leaders in the Saudi city of Jeddah last week signed a reconciliation accord -- including recomendations by the Mogadishu talks -- reviving an idea for an Arab-African force under the aegis of the United Nations to eventually replace Ethiopan troops.
Some 1,600 Ugandan troops are currently deployed in Mogadishu as part of an African Union peacekeeping force that was initially supposed to number 8,000 soldiers but has been slow to materialise.
It has struggled to restore order in the capital Mogadishu.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hIcARdyjMUukX3jKVh3Mje2M-wag
Eritrea: Victim of blinkered US alliance with Ethiopia?
Simon Tisdall, guardian.co.uk, 20 September 2007
Is the tiny state of Eritrea a state sponsor of terror or a victim of a blinkered US alliance with Ethiopia?
Eritrea looks set to be designated the world's newest "rogue state" as the list of Bush administration grievances against the tiny Horn of Africa country lengthens. But growing US pressure may succeed only in fuelling and conflating barely contained regional conflicts, including Somalia's civil war, separatist strife in the Ogaden and the long-running Eritrea-Ethiopia border dispute.
Jendayi Frazer, the US assistant secretary of state for Africa, complained during a visit to Addis Ababa this month that Eritrea's capital, Asmara, was becoming a safe haven for Islamist terrorists from across east Africa. Ms Frazer took particular exception to a recent conference there of Somali opposition groups including Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, the leader of the Somali Council of Islamic Courts movement that was forced from power last winter by invading Ethiopian troops.
"The fact is, Eritrea is providing sanctuary to terrorists," Ms Frazer said. "Aweys is designated by the US and UN security council for his association with al-Qaida. He's attending the conference in Asmara that's supported by the government, so the linkage is quite significant."
US displeasure also arises from its conviction, backed by a UN report in July, that Eritrea is arming Islamist insurgents fighting the transitional federal administration (TFG) in Mogadishu, promoted by the US and Britain as Somalia's sole legitimate government. Washington also suspects Eritrea and Islamist groups of assisting separatists in pro-western Ethiopia's Somali state, in the eastern Ogaden region bordering Somalia.
"We're worried by a whole range of Eritrean behaviours," a US diplomatic source said. "We're worried they could use their influence with the rebel groups to undermine the Darfur talks due in Tripoli next month. We're concerned about their troop deployments on the [Ethiopian] border and the collapse of the Hague talks [on resolving the demarcation dispute]."
Resulting bilateral tensions had led to restrictions on the movement of US embassy officials in Asmara and the closure of Eritrea's consulate in Oakland, California, an important conduit for remittances from Eritrean nationals working in the US, the source said.
Ms Frazer warned on September 9 that the US was considering adding Eritrea to its list of countries that sponsor international terrorism, thereby automatically triggering sanctions. A decision is expected soon unless the Asmara government changes tack.
Concerns about the deteriorating situation in Somalia and eastern Ethiopia are not confined to Washington. Western attempts to bolster African Union and Gulf Arab political and financial support for Mogadishu's transitional government have failed to stop a significant regrouping of opposition forces or to secure the 8,000-strong peacekeeping force promised earlier this year. Ethiopia's unpopular military presence has meanwhile continued amid daily violence.
"Somalia's national reconciliation conference, sponsored by the TFG and which ended on August 30, failed to produce substantive and enforceable agreements," an analysis by the independent Power & Interest News Report concluded. At the same time, the Asmara opposition conference had agreed only on "the single aim of removing Ethiopian occupying forces". In other respects, pro- and anti-government forces remained internally divided and mutually antagonistic, it said.
A UN report on the Ogaden published this week warns meanwhile that "humanitarian conditions within the conflict areas have deteriorated substantially over the past several months." The UN pointed to medical and food shortages arising from the Ethiopian army's recent operations against Ogaden National Liberation Front separatists. The Ethiopian government said "prompt" remedial action would be taken.
Given this unstable context, Eritrea's claim that it is being made a scapegoat for complex regional problems does not appear wholly unreasonable. From Asmara's perspective, it is the victim of Washington's blinkered "war on terror" alliance with Ethiopia, the old enemy from which it broke away in 1993 and fought a subsequent war. Even some US officials privately admit that counter-terrorism objectives may be distorting Washington's outlook.
"It's ridiculous. We have fought terrorists long before September 11," Eritrea's information minister, Ali Abdu, said in response to the American claims. "We don't live on their handouts ... They always say might is right but we say right is might."
Eritrea says it wants good relations with the US but will not be pushed around. For a country of 5 million confronting a giant neighbour of 80 million, plus the world's sole superpower, such bravado is either famous last words - or the harbinger of even bigger problems for the US in the Horn of Africa.
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http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/simon_tisdall/2007/09/hornets_nest_in_the_horn.html
U.S. ambassador says Somali opposition group has limited support in Somalia
By TOM MALITI - 20.09.2007. (live-PR.com) -
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - The U.S. ambassador to Kenya said Thursday that a new Somali opposition group has limited support in Somalia and that some members were already trying to enter talks with the government.
Michael Ranneberger, whose mandate includes Somalia, said the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia failed to draw a broad base of support since it was formed earlier this month in the Eritrean capital, Asmara.
«What was most evident of that was the isolation of that group,» Ranneberger said.
Somalia has been without an effective central government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on each other. A radical Islamic group with alleged links to al-Qaida ruled much of southern Somalia for six months last year before being ousted by Ethiopian troops who support the government.
The leaders of that group, called the Council of Islamic Courts, are now leading the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia.
The chaotic country in the Horn of Africa has long been a concern for the United States, which fears it could become a breeding ground for al-Qaida. On Thursday, the terror group's deputy leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, touted al-Qaida's activities in various areas, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and North Africa.
Somalia's government, which was formed in 2004 with the support of the United Nations, held its own conference over the summer to discuss how to combat extremism and enact good governance. Ranneberger said some members of the opposition alliance are now trying to join the government's conference, but he didn't elaborate.
Ranneberger noted that Saudi Arabia «endorsed» the government's National Reconciliation Conference this weekend when King Abdullah oversaw the signing of the administration's reconciliation agreement in Jiddah.
«What the Saudis have done is signal Arab support of the national reconciliation conference,» because Saudi Arabia is the current chair of the Arab League, Ranneberger said.
Last year, a U.N. panel, charged with monitoring the 1992 arms embargo on Somalia, said in a report at least 10 countries including Ethiopia, Eritrea, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Syria had provided weapons, money and training to armed groups in Somalia. All those countries have denied the allegations.
The involvement of Eritrea and Ethiopia is divisive in Somalia. Eritrea fought a bloody war for independence from Ethiopia that ended in 1993 and another war over a border dispute from 1998-2000. Tensions between the two remain high, and they may see Somalia as a proxy battleground.
The violence and political unrest in Somalia are plunging an already desperate country into ever more precarious conditions. On Thursday, at least six people were killed and more than 17 wounded in fighting between rival clans some 670 kilometers (416 miles) south of the Somali capital, a doctor and clan leader said.
US winning war on terror in lawless Somalia - envoy
Sep 20, 2007
The United States, along with Kenya and Ethiopia, have "severely disrupted" terrorist activities in anarchic Somalia since operations began there at the New Year, the American ambassador to Kenya said Thursday.
Nine months after it sent fighter jets to bombard parts of the Horn of Africa country and backed an Ethiopian assault on the capital and elsewhere, the US said it was pleased with progress in Somalia.
"Terrorists can no longer feel safe thinking Somalia is a safe haven. We have severely disrupted al-Qaeda's East Africa network," said Michael Ranneberger, Washington's envoy to the mission in Kenya, which also covers Somalia.
The US backed the Somali transitional government, supported by Ethiopia, in ousting the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) which ruled much of Somalia for the last half of 2006 and is believed to have ties to al-Qaeda.
Meanwhile, Ranneberger said that a recently concluded, 45-day reconciliation conference seen as the last best chance to unite Somalia's warring parties had seen positive results.
He said steps were taken to begin redrafting the transitional charter to allow for appointed ministers, which he said would open the door to power sharing in the bitterly divided, clan-based society.
The conference, which was criticized for excluding key opposition members who are based in Eritrea and have vowed to wage war on the Ethiopian troops, also paved the way for elections in 2009.
As for the opposition, which has said it would not participate in any reconciliation process until Ethiopia pulls out, Ranneberger said members were slowly beginning to trickle back and have expressed interest in joining.
Ranneberger said insecurity in the capital Mogadishu which has killed over a thousand people since January was not a "downward spiral", despite the ongoing bloodletting.
"Extremists are attempting to launch a full-scale insurgency that would destroy Somalia. But that is not the case now. The national reconciliation conference is drawing in more Somalis and insurgents are increasingly marginalized," he said.
Somalia descended into anarchy after the 1991 toppling of dictator Mohammed Siad Barre by warlords who carved the country up into fiefdoms.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/230763/US_winning_war_on_terror_in_lawless_Somalia_envoy
UN: UN REPORTS WORSENING HUMANITARIAN CONDITIONS IN ETHIOPIA'S SOMALIA
REGION:
UNITED NATIONS - / www.MaximsNews.com@ U.N./ - 19 September 2007 – The humanitarian situation in Ethiopia’s Somali regional state – one of the country’s poorest areas and home to some 4.5 million people – has deteriorated substantially over the past several months due to ongoing security operations, according to a United Nations assessment team that recently visited the region.
Fighting between the Ethiopian National Defence Forces and the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) has led to the doubling of food prices, inadequate access to clean drinking water and shortages of drugs and other medical supplies, according to a press release from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The team observed that household food reserves are nearly exhausted among the communities it visited and food aid operations in the areas affected by fighting have been “seriously delayed.” In addition, Government restrictions on commercial and livestock trade have aggravated an already fragile food security and livelihood situation.
“Given the clear suffering of the families in these zones, and the probable deterioration in their lot, I hope that the Government of Ethiopia and the ONLF will do everything in their power to ensure immediate, safe and full access for humanitarian organizations into the region,” UN Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes said.
In its report, the team urged that emergency food aid be provided immediately for some 600,000 people for three months. It also called for the creation of conditions to allow a substantial increase in commercial food deliveries throughout the region as well as increased livestock trade. Drugs for health facilities and support to establish mobile health teams were also needed.
The team recommended that reports of a “worrying human rights and protection situation for the civilian population” be investigated and action taken to protect civilians, including women and children.
The report has been shared with the Ethiopian authorities and the UN stands ready to assist the Government in increasing the delivery of humanitarian assistance and in following up on the team’s recommendations.
The inter-agency team included staff from OCHA, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP), World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Department of Safety and Security and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
http://www.maximsnews.com/107mnunseptember19decliningsituationethiopiassomaliregion.htm
UN calls for probe into alleged eastern Ethiopia rights abuses
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — A United Nations panel on Wednesday recommended an independent probe into alleged human rights violations in Ethiopia's Ogaden region, where the army has cracked down on rebels.
A UN fact-finding mission travelled to Ogaden in late August to probe allegations that the military had committed rights abuses in its clampdown on Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) insurgents.
"The mission received reports and direct accounts of serious violations of human rights, including substantive protection concerns for the civilian population," the panel said in a report.
"It is the mission's view that these reported human rights concerns require independent investigation," it recommended, warning that humanitarian conditions in the conflict zone have "deteriorated substantially."
A UN official expressed hope in working with Addis Ababa to address the problem.
"We received alarming reports. We have heard enough to justify such an investigation," said the official.
In a statement, the rebels welcomed the call for a probe and pledged to cooperate.
"Such an investigation must be under the auspices of the United Nations and, unlike the recent fact-finding mission, must not be limited to routes approved by the current regime," the ONLF said in an e-mailed statement.
"This future independent investigative mission must also seek the views of the ONLF and not just the regime in order to be truly independent," it said.
The ONLF renewed a warning that another "African genocide" was unfolding in the region, where it said thousands of displaced civilians had fled to neighbouring Somalia without essential supplies over the past four months.
The Ethiopian army has flatly rejected the claims, and instead said its campaign is not targeting civilians, but the rebels whom it accuses of carrying out "terrorist" activities.
The UN panel called for urgent aid supplies and protection of civilians in the region.
"Humanitarian conditions within the conflict areas have deteriorated substantially (...) the price of food has nearly doubled.
"Government restrictions of commercial and livestock trade aimed at preventing contraband activity have markedly aggravated an already fragile food security and livelihood situation," the report said.
"Emergency food aid should be provided immediately for approximately 600,000 people for three months," said the report, explaining the crackdown has delayed aid operations.
"For now, the government and all other parties involved in military operations should take appropriate and urgent actions to protect civilian populations in the region," it added.
Addis Ababa has already expelled Doctors Without Borders and the International Committee for the Red Cross from Ogaden for allegedly meddling in politics.
A spokesman for Ethiopia's foreign ministry, Wahide Beleye, told AFP: "The main point is that the report is confirming what the government is thinking especially about the humanitarian situation in this region. If there are other details we will release them tomorrow."
The Ethiopian army launched a crackdown on the region, which is about the same size as Britain and has a population of about four million, following an attack by the ONLF rebel group against a Chinese oil venture in April that left 77 people dead.
Predominantly barren, the Ogaden has long been extremely poor, but in recent years the discovery of gas and oil has brought both hopes of wealth and new causes of conflict.
Ethiopian authorities have accused archrival Eritrea of supporting the Ogaden separatists. The Eritreans have denied the accusation.
Formed in 1984, the ONLF is fighting for the independence of ethnic Somalis in Ogaden, who they say have been marginalised by Addis Ababa.
Situation in Somalia deteriorating, but National Reconciliation Conference offers hope
By Eddie Song
Over the past few months, the situation in Somalia has taken a turn for the worse. 16 years after the ousting of the dictator, Siad Barre, the war-battered and impoverished nation has still not seen the establishment of a permanent government apparatus. Indeed, the recent effort by the Ethiopia-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to establish a government is no less than the 14th attempt to do so. Since December, violence has escalated throughout the country, especially in Mogadishu, as the prospect of a national reconciliation conference looms in the yet undetermined future. Unfortunately, a confluence of factors has made peace during these times an unlikely proposition for the near future.
In the December of 2006, Ethiopia-backed forces successfully brought down the rule of the Union of Islamic Courts, which held power for much of 2006. The TFG has taken power in its place, but violent struggles have continued in the capital city of Mogadishu. President Abdullahi Yusuf, who has been the president of the TFG since 2004, believes that it is necessary to rid the country of the Islamist insurgents in order to attain peace. As a result of the increased spat of violence in the past few months, more than 340,000 residents have fled while most of the injured do not have access to adequate healthcare. [1] After visiting Somalia for himself, US Africa Envoy Jendayi Frazer declared that the situation in Somalia represented a “worse displacement crisis than Sudan’s Darfur region.” [2]
In large part due to a deep-seated national distrust of Ethiopia, which many consider Somalia’s “traditional enemy”, the Somalis are suspicious of Ethiopia’s involvement in bringing down the Union of Islamic Courts and, as a result, do not support the Ethiopia-backed TFG. Anti-TFG groups believe that the TFG is made up of warlords who are selfishly using the help of Somalia’s “traditional enemy” in order to consolidate their power. [3] The suspicion over Ethiopia’s true intents and the TFG’s role in carrying out these intents is shared by many Somalis. According to a researcher in Mogadishu who refers to herself as Safia, life is harsh in Somalia. “The situation has been made worse by Ethiopian interference. Prices are rocketing, unemployment is rising and chaos prevails. Everyone believes Ethiopia is only after its own interests in Somalia. I don't see any popular support for the new government”, she says. [4]
The general distrust of Ethiopia as it continues its fight against Islamist insurgents will continue to be a large obstacle to the TFG’s gaining credibility among the people it is trying to govern, which makes it all the more important for peacekeeping troops from the UN and the African Union (AU) to help. The AU has said that it will commit forces numbering 8,000, but only 1,700 forces from Uganda have arrived so far. According to US envoy to Africa, Jendayi Frazer, full UN peacekeeping forces will arrive in several months. Until then, the Ethiopian forces must remain, as premature withdrawal would result in, in the words of AU chairman, Alpha Oumar Konare, “catastrophe.” [5]
However, there are voices that see the Ethiopia-backed TFG as the only solution to Somalia. Somalia’s ambassador to Ethiopia, Abdikarin Farah, believes that Somalis should embrace the TFG as an opportunity to gain peace “for the first time in many years,” and to see the “return of a functioning government that has the support of the international community.” [6] Says Omar Alihashi, the publisher of Hiiraan Online: “Why oppose the TFG when there is no alternative?” [7]
Despite garnering little support from among the Somali people, the international community has been supportive of the TFG. The European Union’s General Affairs and External Relations Council has called on the TFG “to engage in an inclusive, meaningful and consensual dialogue involving all sections of Somali society.” Moreover, “the Council expects the Transitional Federal Institutions to convene the National Reconciliation Congress as soon as possible," and it pledges its support, “provided that the TFG [Transitional Federal Government] will ensure an all inclusive and transparent process.” [8]
As of yet, there has not been a date set for such a national reconciliation conference to take place.
While the recent escalation of fighting between Ethiopian and Islamist forces and the increase in chaos are troubling, the IIJD hopes that the Somali people will be able to put its support behind the TFG as it endeavors to hold a national reconciliation conference. The constant infighting between the Somali factions must be stopped and transparent, fair, and peaceful dialogue must take place. The IIJD further hopes that the European Union and the African Union will continue to send peacekeeping forces, but it is as important that the EU and the AU be active mediators in the reconciliation process. Somalia deserves an end to its 16 years of violence.
http://www.iijd.org/051807Somalia.html