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HORN OF AFRICA
IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 40
2 - 8 June 2001


CONTENTS:

SOMALIA: New Somaliland constitution endorsed
SOMALIA: Tension rising in the south as forces are deployed
SOMALIA: TNG starts tax collection
SOMALIA: Somaliland releases detained politician on bail
ETHIOPIA: Police admit use of excessive force
ETHIOPIA: Court releases rights activists on bail
ETHIOPIA: World Bank moves to stabilise economy
ERITREA: Official says political differences must be resolved
SUDAN: SPLM/A claims "firm control" of Raga
SUDAN: Government in Nubah Mountains offensive
SUDAN: Government air raid obstructs WFP food drop
DJIBOUTI: Leader of failed coup attempt released

SOMALIA: New Somaliland constitution endorsed

The authorities in the self-declared independent state of Somaliland, in
northwestern Somalia, have announced that the final results of last week's
referendum showed that 97.09 percent of the voters supported the new
constitution, a senior official told IRIN. The new constitution contains a
clause which confirms Somaliland's independence. Somaliland declared
unilateral independence in May 1991, but has so far received no
international recognition.

Abdi Idris Du'ale, press secretary to President Muhammad Ibrahim Egal of
Somaliland, said the results were announced at a ceremony in the
Somaliland parliament, and would be officially endorsed by Somaliland's
Supreme Court at a later date.

Meanwhile, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) reported on Monday that a
yes vote in the referendum was highly unlikely to change foreign
attitudes. EIU said donors continued to hope for a reunited Somalia and
were "highly unlikely to give Somaliland international recognition", as
long as the Transitional National Government (TNG) in Mogadishu continued
to exist.
 
SOMALIA: Tension rising in the south as forces are deployed

Tension is rising in the Lower Shabelle Region, in southern Somalia, as
the TNG, and a faction opposed to it deploy forces in the region, sources
in Mogadishu told IRIN. The TNG confirmed to IRIN that it had deployed
forces in the area around Balidogle airport, 110 km northwest of
Mogadishu. The bulk of these forces are reported to be in Wanle Weyne
town, 90 km northwest of Mogadishu. "We have sent forces there for
defensive purposes," said Mahmud Muhammad Hayd, the TNG deputy defence
minister. According to Hayd, the TNG forces will not launch attacks
against anyone, but are there "to protect the area from enemy forces, both
foreign and domestic". Hayd said the Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA) "was
being used by a foreign country as an instrument of division". The TNG has
also set up defensive positions in other regions in the south in
anticipation of a push to capture some southern regions by "this
foreign-inspired so-called opposition", he said.

The RRA, which controls Bay and Bakol regions in southwestern Somalia, has
previously admitted attacking TNG positions in the Wanle Weyne area.  
Shaykh Adan Muhammad Nur, deputy chairman of the RRA, told IRIN that the
RRA carried out the attack on Wanle Weyne on 27 May, where at least 19
people were killed. He said the RRA would persevere with its fight until
"we remove the TNG and its supporters from all Digil and Mirifle lands".

SOMALIA: TNG starts tax collection

The TNG has started collecting taxes in the capital, Mogadishu, a senior
official told IRIN. The tax collection, the first by the TNG since it was
installed in October last year, began on 3 June at the main livestock
market in Mogadishu. "This is a pilot project to see how it will work,"
Abdirahman Dinari, the TNG director of information, said. The trial period
would last a month, and then "other markets and commodities will be
taxed", he added.

The process was started in the livestock market, because "livestock is the
most commonly traded commodity, and if it succeeds here it will succeed
elsewhere", Dinari said. As this was the first time in 11 years that taxes
were being collected in Mogadishu, people had to be sensitised to the idea
of paying taxes, and so the process "has to be started incrementally", he
said. The taxes are being collected by the Banadir (Mogadishu and
environs)  regional authority. Tax per goat or sheep is rated at 2,000
Somali shillings (US $0.11), per head of cattle 5,000 shillings (US $
0.28), and per camel 10,000 shillings (US $0.57).

SOMALIA: Somaliland releases detained politician on bail

The administration of Somaliland has released on bail a prominent
politician arrested last month. Sulayman Muhammad Adan, also known as
Sulayman Gaal, was released on Tuesday after spending two weeks in jail,
AFP reported on Wednesday. Sulayman Gaal was arrested on 22 May on arrival
at Hargeysa airport, and was reportedly accused by the authorities of
"undermining Somaliland" by holding a meeting in Djibouti with President
Ismael Omar Guelleh. Sulayman Gaal, who is well known throughout Somalia,
served as a minister in both the Siyad Barre regime and the Somaliland
administration. He was among the Somali National Movement (SNM) leaders
who declared the unilateral independence of Somaliland in May 1991, and
came second to President Muhammad Ibrahim Egal in the 1997 presidential
elections, political sources said.

ETHIOPIA: Police admit use of excessive force

The Ethiopian federal police have admitted that they used excessive force
in dealing with the April student protests in Addis Ababa, according to a
statement made by a police representative to Ethiopia's parliament, the
Council of People's Representative, the pro-government Walta Information
Centre (WIC) reported on 7 June. The police representative admitted that
"such mishaps had indeed occurred" despite "appropriate orientation"
instructions given to the officers prior to assignment. The police came
under internal and external criticism for using "excessive force" in
dealing with the students. A BBC journalist present at the time described
the behaviour of the police as " brutal" and "merciless".

The police representative, who was presenting to parliament a
two-and-half-year performance report on the police, said the absence of
rules and regulations to govern their activities and conduct had created
problems for the police force in carrying out their mission with a due
sense of responsibility, according to WIC. In their presentation, the
police denied that they had detained members of the opposition All Amhara
People's Organisation and the Ethiopian Democratic Party in connection
with the April unrest, said WIC.

ETHIOPIA: Court releases rights activists on bail

Two prominent human rights activists, Professor Mesfin Woldemariam, former
head of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO), and Dr Berhanu Nega,
head of the nongovernmental Ethiopian Economic Association, who were
charged with inciting university student protests in Addis Ababa in April,
have been released on bail by the Federal High Court, Ethiopian radio,
monitored by the BBC, reported on 5 June.

The two academics were arrested on 8 May, and subsequently remained in
detention. The Federal High Court said the charges filed against the two
"did not forbid them" from asking bail, the radio. The court set bail of
6,000 birr (US $711) for Woldemariam, and 10,000 birr (US $1,185) for
Nega, media sources reported.

ETHIOPIA: World Bank moves to stabilise economy

The World Bank has agreed to lend the Ethiopian government US $150 million
to help stabilise the economy. The World Bank said in a statement on
Tuesday that the loan would help the economy recover from the negative
impacts of the border conflict with Eritrea, drought, and a sharp decline
in trade.

The loan would further assist the progress towards the targets aimed at
stimulating economic growth to around 7 percent per annum and reducing
inflation to low single digits, the World Bank said. The loan will do this
by improving governance structures, strengthening public spending policy
and management, encouraging the private sector and improving export
competitiveness. There will also be a comprehensive reform of tax policies
and administration, and development of a monetary policy designed to
contain inflation. The statement added that following the signing of the
peace agreement with Eritrea in December 2000, the Ethiopian government
had resumed its economic and social reform efforts. The announcement
followed the cancellation, on 6 April, by the Paris Club of creditor
nations of a large part of Ethiopia's outstanding foreign debt. The group
of western countries said they would cancel or reschedule 67 percent of
the US $430 million debt Ethiopia was to pay them by 2004.

ERITREA: Official says political differences must be resolved

A senior Eritrean official has said that the leadership must quickly
resolve the current differences within the government, Eritrean newspapers
have reported. The head of political affairs of the ruling People's Front
for Democracy (PFDJ), Yemane Gebreab, was quoted as saying by 'Keste
Debena' that the current priorities of the government were to "resolve the
prevailing differences within the leaders" and to revitalise the country's
economy. Speaking in the capital, Asmara, to members of the Eritrean
diaspora who had returned to take part in independence celebrations, he
said that in the past the leadership had always resolved any disputes
"miraculously", and avoided any negative impact on ordinary Eritreans. He
was reported as saying that he expected the leadership would resolve "the
current minor problems promptly and in a similar way".

Yemane was also quoted as saying that the Eritrean government had begun
talks with the World Bank on how best to demobilise some 200,000 soldiers.  
He said the United States, Canada, and the European Union had also shown
an interest in taking part in the demobilisation process. The process
would be a gradual one, and the Eritrean people should not expect all the
soldiers to be demobilised at once, he added.

SUDAN: SPLM/A claims "firm control" of Raga

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) on Tuesday claimed
that SPLA forces under Commander Pieng Deng Kuol had established firm
control of the strategic garrison town of Raga, western Bahr al-Ghazal.  
Most of the 800 government soldiers who had been defending the town were
killed, wounded or taken as prisoners of war, SPLM/A spokesman Samson
Kwaje stated in a press release in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

Remnants of the army garrison had fled towards Boro on the border with
Darfur, while local militia formerly backing the government had joined the
SPLA in big numbers, he said. Raga was taken by the SPLA at 1030 local
time on 3 June as President Umar Hasan al-Bashir was on his way to Nairobi
for regional peace talks on Sudan under the auspices of the
Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), at which little was
achieved, Kwaje stated in his press release. The rebel movement appealed
to residents of Raga to return to the town, and warned the government
against escalating the war.

SUDAN: Government in Nubah Mountains offensive

The last fortnight had seen the biggest government offensive in the Nubah
Mountains since 1992, when the Islamist regime in Khartoum declared a
jihad, or holy war, the British 'Guardian' newspaper reported from Kawdah
(11.06N 30.31E) in the Nubah Mountains on Monday. More than 7,500
government and allied militia troops launched the offensive on 17 May,
closing all the airstrips that had been used to bring food and medical
supplies into the blockaded mountains, it said. Thousands of Nubah were
forced to flee the army advance, as soldiers destroyed almost 2,500 homes
and systematically burned food stores in an apparent effort to force the
Nubah people into government "peace villages", the report stated. On 26
May, the day after Khartoum announced it was halting aerial attacks on
rebel bases in the Nubah Mountains, it dropped eight bombs on the Limon
Hills, west of Kawdah, it added. The SPLA had halted the government attack
on 27 May, but expected another offensive, the 'Guardian' reported. It
quoted the NGO Justice Africa as saying that the government was trying to
seal off the area by taking all the airstrips, and that dozens of Nubah
civilians had been abducted during the offensive.

SUDAN: Government air raid obstructs WFP food drop

NAIROBI, 8 June (IRIN) - An Antonov bomber attack on Barurud in
northwestern Bahr al-Ghazal on Wednesday narrowly missed a World Food
Programme (WFP) aircraft about to make an emergency humanitarian food
drop, WFP officials confirmed to IRIN on Friday. The Antonov could only
have been a government of Sudan plane, according to informed sources. The
WFP Hercules was approaching its drop zone at about 0900 local time when
its crew spotted the bombs passing to the left of the aircraft - and
immediately aborted the drop, spokeswoman Brenda Barton told IRIN. An
unknown number of bombs fell very close to the drop site, where two WFP
staff were on the ground, and a security team went in later in the day to
investigate the situation and evacuate the agency's staff, she said. WFP
immediately informed the government, expressing its concern and its hope
that this was a one-off event. Any repetition of such a serious incident
had the potential to put the whole humanitarian operation in jeopardy,
Barton said.

WFP had successfully, and without incident, delivered 16 mt in Barurud on
Tuesday and 16 mt earlier on Wednesday, and was planning to put in another
16 mt when the second Wednesday drop had to be aborted, according to
Barton. The intention was to preposition a total of 82 mt of food for
people expected to be fleeing to Barurud from recent fighting between
government troops and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), she said.
After Wednesday's incident, WFP would be taking strict security measures
on travel into this area until the situation became clearer, Barton added.
[For full details see Irin separate report headlined: "SUDAN: Close call
for WFP in Bahr al-Ghazal bombing"]

DJIBOUTI: Leader of failed coup attempt released

The former chief of police, General Yacin Yabeh Galab, who was jailed for
involvement in the failed coup attempt of 7 December last year, was
released on bail on Wednesday, according to the Djibouti news agency,
quoting a government source. He was set free from the Gabode penitentiary
on the southern fringes of the city of Djibouti "so that he can receive
special medical treatment while his case is being handled by the judicial
authorities", the source explained. Yacin had been suffering from
diabetes, further complicated by bouts of severe mental breakdowns, ever
since he was put behind bars.

Yacin and 12 other policemen, including eight senior officers, were
formally charged with conspiracy and treason on 13 December 2000, soon
after a day of unprecedented disturbances, during which members of the
police force tried to take control of such public buildings as the
presidential palace and the Djibouti state radio and television stations
in the city of Djibouti. The sacking, before the coup attempt, of Yacin,
who had been in charge of the police since Djibouti gained independence in
June 1977, was believed to have been the motive behind the attempt.
Shortly after it was foiled by the Djibouti army, Yacin took refuge at a
French military barracks, from which he was handed over to the Djibouti
judicial authorities by the French embassy in Djibouti two days later.

Nairobi, 8 June 2001


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Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2001
 

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