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HORN OF AFRICA
IRIN Weekly Round-up 2
11 - 15 September



CONTENTS:

SUDAN: Court suspends ban on women in the workplace 
SUDAN: Sudanese opposition alliance convenes second congress in Eritrea
SUDAN: NGOs clarify position in Unity State 
SOMALIA: New Somali leader addresses the UN
SOMALIA: Faction leaders condemn police recruitment
DJIBOUTI: President urges support for interim Somali government 
ETHIOPIA: FEWS weather and agriculture outlook
ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Annan meets Ethiopian and Eritrean leaders
KENYA: Security tightened on border with Ethiopia


SUDAN: Court suspends ban on women in the workplace

In response to a petition by the Sudanese Women's Union, Sudan's
Constitutional Court last Saturday suspended a controversial decree by the
Khartoum state governor, banning women from working in some public places,
a move which angered women's and human rights groups, Reuters reported.
The court decreed that: "Women in the private and public sectors who were
prevented by the governor's decree from working should continue to work in
their places until a final decision is taken on the that case." 

SUDAN: Sudanese opposition alliance convenes second congress in Eritrea

Under the theme "stop the war and build a new Sudan", the opposition
National Sudanese Alliance (NDA) last week convened its second congress in
Massawa in eastern Eritrea with the participation of 350 delegates. 

In a report by Eritrean Radio, monitored by the British Broadcasting
Corporation (BBC) on 9 September, the chairman of the NDA, Muhammad Uthman
al-Mirghani, gave details of the NDA's activities and the problems it had
encountered over the past five years. He hailed the efforts which had been
made and continued to be made by the Eritrean people and their government
to bring about peace in the Sudan. In addition, he thanked Libya, Egypt
and Uganda. 

Addressing the meeting, John Garang, the leader of the Sudan People's
Liberation Movement (SPLM), called the NDA "the greatest achievement of
the Sudanese people in their struggle for a just peace and a qualified
unity".  In the speech, made available to IRIN, Garang spoke in depth on
the problems the country and his movement faced, saying: "Sudan must
evolve a commonality that gives effective expression to all its
diversities." 

Highly critical of the National Islamic Front (NIF), Garang said there
could never be a lasting peace, because "the NIF is based on a strange
philosophy of self-destruction, of some Sudanese communities being
mobilised to fight other Sudanese communities," he said, adding that "the
NIF is pulling the country apart, while the NDA is bringing the Sudanese
together". 

SUDAN: NGOs clarify position in Sudan's Unity state

In response to statements made by the Canadian-based Talisman Energy
Corporation concerning its relations with NGOs working in the oilfields of
Sudan's Unity State and in Khartoum, Gary Kenny, coordinator for the
Inter-Church on Africa, on behalf of the NGOs working in the area, issued
a clarification for what it termed "misleading public inferences that
these NGOs are working together with the company in Unity State".

The statement said, given the controversial nature of oil development in
Sudan, the NGOs wanted to clearly state that "in the provision of
humanitarian assistance to the vulnerable populations in Unity State,
there is no relationship between these NGOs and any of the companies
involved in the oil industry in Sudan." 

SOMALIA: New Somali leader addresses the UN

In a five-minute address before the UN Millennium Summit in New York, the
interim Somali president, Abdiqasim Salad Hasan, said that his primary
task was to unite a country deeply divided along clan lines. He said: "The
Somali people have spoken and their principal desire is to have a
government of unity," Reuters reported. "Somalia at peace with itself and
its neighbours will be a valuable member of the United Nations," he said. 

Meanwhile, Abdiqasim Salad, denied reports that during an interview with
Egypt's 'Al-Ahram' newspaper he advocated the use of force against
Somaliland and Puntland. Speaking on Toronto's 'Voice of Somalia' radio
last Sunday, he said: "Somalis have fought for 10 years.  We don't want a
repeat.  We shall pursue dialogue." 

SOMALIA: Faction leaders condemn police recruitment

In a move that has angered Mogadishu faction leaders, over 1,000 Somali
militiamen have been recruited into the new Somali national police force.

In a Monday report by Radio Banaadir in Mogadishu, monitored by the BBC,
the National Disarmament Committee appointed by the interim president,
Abdiqasim Salad Hasan, announced that those wishing to join the new police
force should contact the committee immediately. The report, however, said
that the militia recruitment exercise had sparked off criticism from
various Mogadishu faction leaders, who described the step taken as
dangerous.  One of the faction leaders said the militia recruitment could
lead to anxiety, while another said he would not allow the new police
force to operate in the areas he controlled, the report said. 

DJIBOUTI: President urges support for Somali interim government

On Tuesday Djibouti's president urged international support for the
fledgling government of Somalia. A UN report on 12 September said that
President Ismael Omar Guelleh, addressing the United Nations General
Assembly, had hailed the recent establishment of democracy in Somalia
following what he called "the longest period of state collapse in the
modern era".

Guelleh stressed that the international community should refuse to do
business with "destructive elements that made Somalia a byword for chaos
and violence", the report said.  He went on to underscore the need for
emergency international assistance to enable the Somali government to
function and to recreate the country's basic institutions, referring at
the same time to the need for donors and the UN to begin planning for
Somalia's long-term development.

ETHIOPIA: FEWS weather and agriculture oulook

A recent report by the Famine Early Warning System (FEWS) said that while
the western, southwestern, and northwestern regions of Ethiopia, which
normally produced a significant proportion of the national grain crop,
were expected to produce a harvest equal to or slightly larger than last
year's.  Harvests in crop-dependent areas in the eastern half of the
country, however, were expected to be smaller or possibly much smaller
than those of last year. Production last year was less than average, the
report said.  Given the recurrence of drought, poorly distributed rainfall
and depletion of the population's food security reserves in this part of
the country, the return of rains in August should not be optimistically
construed as representing a seasonal recovery.  Forecasters have predicted
that eastern and southeastern Ethiopia are likely to receive below average
rainfall between September and December 2000.

[ For more information on the Drought Monitoring Center for the Greater

ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Annan meets Ethiopian and Eritrean leaders

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan held separate meetings with Eritrean
President Isayas Afewerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi last
Friday.

Both leaders told Annan that the cessation of hostilities agreement
between Ethiopia and Eritrea had been holding since it was signed in June
this year and that the situation on the ground was calm, according to an
account of the meeting issued by the office of the UN Secretary-General's
spokesman. Both leaders had also asked for the UN mission to be deployed
swiftly.

According to the spokesman's office, the UN is planning to deploy 23
military observers in Asmara and an equal number in Addis Ababa this week
in conformity with the Security Council resolution authorising the
deployment of up to 100 military observers.  In the course of the
discussions, reference was also made to a proposal by the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights to include a human rights component in the
mission. A Canadian, Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Ryder-Burbridge was
reported by the Associated Press (AP) to have arrived in Asmara on 7
September to prepare for the arrival and deployment of the observers.
 
KENYA: Security tightened on border with Ethiopia

The Kenyan govenment has instituted tough security measures along the
Kenya-Ethiopia border in Dukana location of Marsabit District following
constant raids by Ethiopian nationals, which resulted in the death of five
people and the loss of thousands of head of livestock two weeks ago, local
media said.

A radio report by the Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation on 9 September,
monitored by the BBC, quoted Marsabit District Commissioner Josh Miyomi as
telling residents that the government would arm area police, while
continuing to pursue negotiations with the Ethiopian authorities to find
ways of ending the raids.

Nairobi 15 September 2000 16:00 gmt


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