U N I T E D   N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa

Tel: +254 2 622147
Fax: +254 2 622129
e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org


HORN OF AFRICA
IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 84
06 - 12 April 2002


CONTENTS:

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Sides urged to implement border ruling
ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: "New chapter" in relations
ETHIOPIA: Government warns opposition against "playing with fire"
ETHIOPIA: Death sentence for Al-Ittihad "terrorists"
ETHIOPIA: Government urged to ease media restrictions
ETHIOPIA: Two NGOs closed for "threatening national security"
ETHIOPIA: Authorities claim successes against Oromo rebels
ERITREA: Illiterate women given chance at learning
SOMALIA: First women's teacher training college opens
SOMALIA: Terms for reconciliation talks established
SOMALIA: Prime minister in hospital
SUDAN: UN protests against humanitarian flight denials



ALSO SEE:

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Interview with Martin Pratt, expert on border disputes
at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=27200


ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Sides urged to implement border ruling

Ahead of a crucial border ruling on Saturday, the United Nations and the
Organisation of African Unity (OAU) have called on Ethiopia and Eritrea to
implement the decisions to be announced by an independent Boundary
Commission. In a joint statement on Thursday, UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan and his OAU counterpart, Amara Essy, appealed for peace "in the
event that delimitation results in the transfer of territory". "We salute
the parties' continued and consistent reaffirmation that they will accept
the decision of the Boundary Commission as 'final and binding' as called
for in the Algiers Peace Agreement," the statement said. "We take this as
a clear manifestation of their desire for a final settlement and yearning
for lasting peace."

But, the statement noted, the decision would mark only the first step on
the road to resolving the conflict. After the delimitation process, the
process of physically demarcating the border will take place. "In the
event that delimitation results in the transfer of territory, it is our
fervent hope that any movement of population and civil administration will
be carried out in an orderly and peaceful fashion, assisted by and in
cooperation with UNMEE," the two leaders stressed.

They also emphasised the need for international assistance to help
Ethiopia and Eritrea overcome their humanitarian difficulties. "We appeal
to donor countries to extend maximum political and financial support to
the two countries in their efforts towards socioeconomic reconstruction
and development," they said. "The successful conclusion of the peace
process on the basis of a legal settlement of the conflict will set an
example for the rest of the African continent, and indeed the whole
international community," they concluded.

The decision will be announced in a closed session of the Boundary
Commission. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=27237]

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: "New chapter" in relations

On the eve of the border ruling, the head of the UN peacekeeping mission
in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) referred to a "new chapter" in relations
between the two countries. Legwaila Joseph Legwaila, who is the Special
Representative of the UN Secretary-General, told IRIN that the impending
announcement by the Commission was a chance for peace for both countries.
"I am an African, and these are two African countries which have shed a
lot of blood in the war that ended in 2000," he said in the Eritrean
capital, Asmara. "Therefore I will be the happiest man on earth if the
decision is announced and we go forward to help them demarcate the border
and thereafter live in peace as neighbours."

"The decision is the start of a new chapter for Ethiopia and Eritrea and
to tell you the truth, in advance of the announcement of the decision, I
wish them the best," he added. "It is a decision that is the whole raison
d'etre for the peace process," said Legwaila, who was appointed to head
UNMEE in September 2000. "The peace process is supposed to culminate in
the normalisation of the boundary between Eritrea and Ethiopia and the
normalisation... is the opening of a new chapter for peaceful relations
between the two countries," he said. "That's why the decision is very
important."

Legwaila said the ruling was also crucial for UNMEE. "What it means for
UNMEE is that the two parties have succeeded in resolving their dispute,
that is if there is no problem with the decision," he stated. "It would
mean that UNMEE has been able to help the two parties solve their border
problem, at least so far as delimitation is concerned because the border
still has to be demarcated." He also said UNMEE would maintain a strong
presence for many months to come while the physical demarcation of the
border was carried out. "UNMEE's role is not drawing to an end," he told
IRIN. "Our mandate only terminates with the planting of the last pillar on
the border." [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=27216]

ETHIOPIA: Government warns opposition against "playing with fire"

The Ethiopian government has again rejected calls by opposition parties to
reclaim the Eritrean port of Assab, accusing them of "playing with fire".
In a strongly-worded statement, issued on Monday, the information ministry
said any attempt to take Assab would "undoubtedly jeopardise peace and
stability" in the region. The statement is the latest in a series of
verbal clashes between the government and opposition groups in the run-up
to the border ruling by the independent Boundary Commission on Saturday.

The information ministry's statement said the issue of Assab had been
decided by the 1993 referendum in which Eritreans voted overwhelmingly for
independence. To include Assab as part of Ethiopia would have "more of a
devastating effect than to use it peacefully", the statement added. "Such
a move cannot bring about peaceful and sustainable use of the port." [Full
report at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=27171

ETHIOPIA: Death sentence for Al-Ittihad "terrorists"

Five members of the radical Somali Al-Ittihad al-Islami group were on
Thursday sentenced to death for committing "terrorist acts" in Ethiopia.
The men face death by hanging after being convicted of killing 27 people
in attacks, according to the sentence handed down by Ethiopia's Federal
High Court in Addis Ababa.

Al-Ittihad was placed on the US list of terrorist groups after the 11
September events, in the belief that it had links to Osama bin Laden's
Al-Qaeda terror network. Ethiopia has been waging a war against Al-Ittihad
al-Islami - meaning Islamic Union - since the mid-1990s in the southeast
of the country. Analysts say that Al-Ittihad is now very weak, having lost
much of its formal structure, and has a mostly domestic agenda.

A statement from the court said the five were "sentenced to death by
hanging for perpetrating terrorist acts in various parts of Ethiopia". The
men have the right to appeal, but if the convictions are upheld, the
executions would be carried out in public, the statement said. The court
said that in addition to killing the 27 people, the convicts had wounded
16 others in their terror campaign, and caused thousands of dollars' worth
of damage. They were found guilty of trying to overthrow the government
and operating terror-training camps. The five were named as Muhammad
Mahmud Farah, Muhammad Hasan Mahmud, Ibrahim Husayn Nalaye, Muhammed Ilmi
Liban and Muhammad Ahmad Abdullahi. The court also sentenced five other
members of the group to prison terms ranging from five to 25 years'
"rigorous imprisonment". [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=27240]

ETHIOPIA: Government urged to ease media restrictions

The Paris-based media watchdog, Reporters sans frontieres (RSF), has
called on the Ethiopian government to ease its "harsh restrictions" on the
media. The call follows the recent jailing of three journalists, just
weeks after Ethiopia's prisons were declared free of journalists. The last
imprisoned journalist was released early last month, in a move hailed by
human rights organisations.

But in a statement issued on Tuesday, RSF said the three journalists
should be freed immediately, the 1992 press law should be abolished and
the criminal code amended to ease the "harsh restrictions" on the media.
The new arrests showed that press freedom should "never be taken for
granted and that great vigilance is required," RSF Secretary-General
Robert Ménard said in a letter to Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

Lubaba Said, former editor of the newspaper Tarik, was jailed for a year
by the federal high court on 3 April for "inventing news likely to
demoralise the army and make people anxious". On 20 March, Melese Shine,
editor of the newspaper Ethiop, was jailedfor publishing an interview with
a colonel in the former imperial army now in exile in Sudan, and also for
writing a profile of the prime minister based on statements by former
aides. Melese was accused of "libelling the head of government" and
"interviewing a bandit claiming to be leader of an illegal organisation".
The third journalist, Gizaw Taye Wordofa, editor of the weekly Lamrot, was
arrested on 15 March for publishing "immoral and indecent material".

ETHIOPIA: Two NGOs closed for "threatening national security"

Two NGOs have been closed down after being accused of threatening the
national security of Ethiopia. Officials of the local organisations -
which operate in Ethiopia's Somali region - told IRIN on Wednesday they
had been barred from operating by the justice ministry. The two, the
Ogaden Welfare Society (OWS) and the Guardian, have been given 30 days to
appeal. Mahmud Abdi Ahmad, head of the OWS, said the state police raided
its offices in the town of Jijiga and shut it down. "We have been accused
of being a threat to national security," he told IRIN.

Mahmud said the ministry had issued them with a letter. "It said there was
an investigation going on and that it found two NGOs being involved in
business that was a threat to national security," he said. "It said that
was outside the mandate of the NGOs and so it took back our registration."
The letter did not detail how the organisations posed a threat to national
security, he added. OWS employs more than 300 people who are feeding up to
1,000 children a week. It also looks after 12,000 internally displaced
people in Gunagadao, southeastern Ethiopia. Mahmud said in total of
500,000 people benefited from their work, which is carried out in one of
the harshest environments in Ethiopia. "No-one is prepared to take over
our operation here," he added.

Yewendwefen Haile, head of finance and administration at the Guardian NGO,
said they too had had their registration withdrawn by the ministry.
Guardian, which provides 6,000 people with food in Gode - an area hard hit
by the 2000 famine - said it had already appealed. Its chairman, Dr Korfa
Garane, who is a member of the House of People's Representatives, is also
lobbying on their behalf. Yewendwefen said his organisation faced the same
accusations as OWF. "We are going to do something about this," he told
IRIN. "The ministry of justice has been misled by someone, and because of
that it has cancelled our registration." [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=27199]

ETHIOPIA: Authorities claim successes against Oromo rebels

At least 100 members of the rebel Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) have been
killed or captured in the latest skirmishes with regional police and
militia, according to officials of Oromiya State in southwestern Ethiopia.
The Oromiya State Council on Thursday claimed it had destroyed a cell of
the OLF, which had been trying to "infiltrate schools". Spokesman Suleiman
Dedefo said members of the OLF were trying to stir up trouble in the
region. He told IRIN the battle with the OLF was "far from over", and the
regional authorities would not give up the hunt.

The government claims the protests were orchestrated by the OLF, but the
OLF - which is fighting for self-determination in Oromiya - says the
"student resistance against the Ethiopian oppression clearly demonstrates
the level the Oromo struggle has reached". [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=27220]

Earlier, on Tuesday, a leading human rights organisation expressed concern
over "hundreds" of students arrested during rioting in southern Ethiopia.
Amnesty International believes the students may have been "tortured" or
"ill-treated" after they were detained by security forces. The
organisation - which campaigns on behalf of prisoners of conscience - said
they should either be charged or immediately released. Hundreds of
students started rioting after holding demonstrations demanding aid for
farmers, hard-hit by plummeting coffee prices, in Oromiya State.

"A number of school students in Ethiopia have been shot dead and hundreds
arrested since March 25th 2002 as police used live ammunition to disperse
anti-government demonstrations in southern Ethiopia, which are still
continuing," Amnesty International said. It also called on the public to
lobby Ethiopian government officials to demand the early release of the
students. The rioting began in Ambo, which is 80 km from the capital Addis
Ababa, before spreading to the towns of Gimbi, Shambu and Nekemte.
Regional officials say two students were killed in Shambu by an
unidentified gunman "firing in self-defence".

The OLF says at least 10 students were killed and accuses the Ethiopian
government of "making a futile attempt to discolour the true political
picture in Oromiya". "The student resistance against the Ethiopian
oppression clearly demonstrates the level the Oromo struggle has reached,"
it said in a statement. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=27169]

ERITREA: Illiterate women given chance at learning

An innovative scheme to help illiterate women learn to read and write has
been launched in two regions of Eritrea. The Food for Training programme
offers 19.5 kg of basic foods each month to women, and some men, who
attend two hours of literacy lessons each day. The food parcel -
containing oil, cereals, salt and pulses - is intended to compensate the
women for the time they spend in the classroom, hours which would
otherwise be spent preparing food for their families. The programme, which
is being piloted during April and May in the Ansaba and Red Sea regions,
is run by the National Union of Eritrean Women and the World Food
Programme (WFP). The ministry of education has contributed 236 teachers as
well as school classrooms in 75 towns and villages.

More than 5,000 women have signed up for the lessons so far. A WFP
spokesman said the programme was proving especially popular among teenage
girls, aged between 14 and 16, some of whom have never been to school.
Food for Training is part of an ongoing attempt by the government to
change traditional attitudes, still dominant in many rural areas, that
women should stay and work in the home, rather than seek an education, or
a job. Approximately 80 percent of Eritrea's population is thought to be
illiterate and, according to recent figures, up to 20 percent fewer girls
than boys attend school. In an attempt to redress the balance, the
Eritrean government and WFP are also providing girls who attend primary
school with 50 percent more food than boys.

If the pilot programmes prove successful, organisers hope to extend Food
for Training to other regions from September and eventually to enrol
50,000 women. There are also plans to offer food to women who attend
vocational training courses, in which they are taught crafts, such as
basket weaving, which might eventually help them to earn a living. [Full
report at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=27167]

SOMALIA: First women's teacher training college opens

The first all-women's teacher training college in Somalia officially
opened in the capital, Mogadishu, on Tuesday. The college - which will be
funded jointly a Dutch NGO, NOVIB, and a local Somali education group, the
Formal Private Education Network (FPEN) - would be known as the Banaadir
Teacher Training Institute, the chairman of the FPEN, Ahmad Abdullahi,
told IRIN. The college, which would train 105 women, actually started
classes in February, but was officially opened on Tuesday by the minister
of education of the Transitional National Government (TNG), Ahmad said. It
was the first time since the start of the civil war, 11 years ago, that
such an institution had come into operation, a Somali source told IRIN.

Safiyah Husayn, the principal of the college, told IRIN that the
establishment would only take on women students because "there are very
few female teachers in the country". "We have a major shortage of
teachers, and this particularly applies to women. You go to any school in
Mogadishu today and you will lucky to find any woman teacher," she said.
Safiyah said the college had planned an initial intake of 80 students, but
was overwhelmed by the number of applicants who met its criteria. "We did
not expect this kind of response, so we were forced to take 105 students
instead of 80," she said, adding that "they seem hungry for education".

The students will undergo a six-month period of intensive English-language
training, before starting their two-year course, she said. Safiyah said
she was optimistic that the vast majority of the trainees would graduate.
The college's language of instruction will be English. Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=27198]

SOMALIA: Terms for reconciliation talks established

A technical committee, meeting to prepare for Somali reconciliation talks,
ended its deliberations last Friday by establishing the terms of reference
for the conference. Sources close to the meeting, held in the Kenyan
capital Nairobi from 3-5 April, told IRIN the terms of reference included
agreement on cessation of hostilities, recognising steps made so far in
national reconciliation, discussing the concerns of the neighbouring
states, and abiding by the outcome of the conference.

The Somali national reconciliation conference is due to be held later this
month, but the sources said this was in doubt as more time was needed to
prepare. They pointed out that the technical committee's report had to be
approved by the Council of Ministers of the regional grouping,
Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which is organising
the conference scheduled to be held in Nairobi. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=27144]

SOMALIA: Prime minister in hospital

The prime minister of the TNG of Somalia, Hasan Abshir Farah, has been
hospitalised in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a senior official from his
office told IRIN on Tuesday. Abshir, who suffers from diabetes, was flown
to the UAE on 4 April, and was "taken to the hospital direct from the
airport", Ahmad Ise Awad, the chief of staff in the prime minister's
office, said. According to Awad, Abshir is undergoing treatment for
complications arising from diabetes.

"His sugar levels were way above what is considered normal," he said.
Doctors at the Al-Mafraq Hospital in Abu Dhabi, to which Abshir was
admitted, had brought down his sugar levels to "medically acceptable
levels", he said. His condition had now improved to the point at which
"doctors were able to perform laser eye surgery on him yesterday
[Monday]", Awad told IRIN. "He is recovering very well, and we expect him
to be out of the hospital very soon," he said.

Abshir was appointed to the premiership in November last year, after his
predecessor, Ali Khalif Galayr, was voted out of office by the
Transitional National Assembly in a vote of no confidence.

In another development the prime minister's younger brother, Husayn Abshir
Farah, died in Australia on Monday, Awad told IRIN. "Husayn had been in
ill health for the last couple of months and passed away yesterday."

SUDAN: UN protests against humanitarian flight denials

The United Nations system on 5 April condemned a decision by the Sudanese
government to deny humanitarian flight access to 43 locations in southern
Sudan. In a statement, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Kenzo Oshima urged
the Khartoum government to rescind its decision and "immediately grant
access to all the denied locations, to enable international agencies to
continue delivery of life-saving supplies to the people of Sudan".

Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS), the umbrella operation for UN and NGOs
operating in Sudan, submits a routine request at the start of each month
to the government of Sudan and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation
Movement/Army for humanitarian flight access to a number of locations in
southern Sudan. On average, Sudanese government authorities denied OLS
access to 25 locations in southern Sudan each month, which represented
about 10 percent of the requests, the UN said. At the start of April,
however, 43 locations, including the strategic town of Rumbek, Lakes
region, were listed as being denied both flight access and general
humanitarian access, according to relief officials.

Negotiations between UN representatives and government officials had
resulted in the removal of Rumbek from the list of denied locations, and
in the lifting of the restrictions on general humanitarian access, leaving
42 locations still "flight denied", sources told IRIN on Monday. This is
the second consecutive month that Khartoum has increased the number of
denied locations to almost 20 percent of requests for access, the UN said.
The imposition of humanitarian flight denials in April could affect the
delivery of humanitarian assistance to about 1.7 million people, according
to the statement released by the Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=27153]


IRIN-CEA
Tel: +254 2 622147
Fax: +254 2 622129
Email: IRIN@ocha.unon.org

[This Item is Delivered to the "Africa-English" Service of the UN's IRIN
humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views
of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or to
change your keywords, contact e-mail: IRIN@ocha.unon.org or Web:
http://www.irinnews.org . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this
item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by commercial
sites requires written IRIN permission.]

Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2002


[This item is delivered in the "africa-english" service of the UN's IRIN
humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views
of the United Nations. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this
item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by commercial
sites requires written IRIN permission.]

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


distributed by
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Center for International Disaster Information
Volunteers in Technical Assistance
                                          web: www.cidi.org
                                     listserv: www.cidi.org/listsub.htm
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Horn of Africa                   www.cidi.org/humanitarian/irin/hafrica