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 139
03 - 09 May 2003


CONTENTS:

ERITREA: Food supply situation "grim", FAO says
ERITREA: People free to express opinions, says gov't
ERITREA: Opposition claims "good entertainment", gov't says
ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: UN meeting Mbeki on peace process
ETHIOPIA: Fire again breaks out at refugee camp for Eritreans
ETHIOPIA: Warning of disaster as 40 die in southern floods
ETHIOPIA: Religion "new breeding ground for conflict"
ETHIOPIA: One of world's worst countries for mothers
SOMALIA: Second phase of peace talks to conclude next week
SOMALIA: Puntland peace talks underway
SOMALIA: UN team appointed to probe arms ban breaches


ALSO SEE:

HORN OF AFRICA: US moves counter-terrorism operation ashore at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33954

HORN OF AFRICA: IGAD to set up parliamentary union at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33932

ETHIOPIA: Interview with Orthodox church leader Abune Paulos on HIV/AIDS
at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33956

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Feature: Badme residents vow to fight at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33890




ERITREA: Food supply situation "grim", FAO says

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has warned that Eritrea
is one of the most needy countries in sub-Saharan Africa in terms of food
aid. In a report, it described the food supply situation in Eritrea as
"grim", mainly due to severe droughts in previous agricultural seasons.
The report also listed Ethiopia, Mauritania and Zimbabwe as desperately
needing food aid. "In Eritrea, food shortages are alarming as nearly
two-thirds of the country's population of 3.4 million people face severe
food shortages due to last year's drought," the FAO said. "Of these, an
estimated 1.4 million need emergency food assistance." It noted that the
Eritrean government appealed for 476,000 mt of emergency food assistance
last year and had repeatedly called for increased contributions from the
international community. In March, the FAO and World Food Programme (WFP)
jointly approved an emergency operation worth US $46.5 million to assist
about 900,000 people for a period of 10 months (May 2003 - February 2004).
"The food crisis could escalate if food aid is not rapidly forthcoming,"
the FAO report warned.  [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33955]

ERITREA: People free to express opinions, says gov't

International press watchdogs have drawn attention to the deteriorating
human rights situation in Eritrea in connection with World Press Freedom
Day on 3 May, although the Eritrean government insists that people are
free to express their opinions as they wish. The Committee to Protect
Journalists (CPJ) placed Eritrea on a list of the 10 worst places in the
world to be a journalist. It said the country had been Africa's "foremost
jailer of journalists since September 2001, when the government banned the
entire private press and detained independent reporters". It noted that 18
journalists were now in secret jails. "The ruling party has a firm grip on
the state media, whose employees face censorship and also practise
self-censorship," it said. "[President Isayas] Afewerki has been unfazed
by persistent international denunciation of his human rights record and
continues to dismiss foreign critics as enemies of Eritrea." Another
group, Article 19, also expressed concern about jailed journalists and
politicians in Eritrea. "We are deeply concerned that the whereabouts of
these detainees are unknown to their families and lawyers," it said in a
letter to South African President Thabo Mbeki, who is the current chairman
of the African Union. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33864]

ERITREA: Opposition claims "good entertainment", gov't says

The Eritrean government has dismissed claims by an opposition alliance
that it has a military wing aimed at toppling President Isayas Afewerki as
"good entertainment". Hiruy Tedla Bairu, the secretary-general of the
Eritrean National Alliance (ENA) - which is made up of 13 opposition
groups - said last week that a single military force had been set up which
would target "institutional centres" connected to the government, such as
the radio and television centres. But Eritrea's acting Information
Minister Ali Abdu Ahmed described the ENA - which is backed by Ethiopia,
Sudan and Yemen - as "lifeless and non-existent". "We don't bother to
respond to non-existent people," he told IRIN on Monday. "As far as we are
concerned, this is good entertainment." Hiruy said the ENA's decision to
set up an armed force had been reached in the Sudanese capital Khartoum,
and he claimed that military training for the force was underway inside
Eritrea. Ali Abdu again dismissed this claim as "entertainment". [Full
story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33863]

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: UN meeting Mbeki on peace process

The head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea is holding
key talks with South African President Thabo Mbeki on the peace process
between the two countries, the UN said on Thursday. Legwaila Joseph
Legwaila flew into South Africa on Wednesday to meet Mbeki, the current
chairman of the newly-formed African Union. The UN's Mission in Ethiopia
and Eritrea (UNMEE) has recently expressed concern over the three-year-old
peace process which is now at a critical stage. "The African Union has
been an integral part of the peace process from the very beginning," UNMEE
spokeswoman Gail Bindley Taylor Sainte told a press briefing. An
independent boundary commission set up by both countries has ruled that
the now symbolic town of Badme, where the two-year border conflict flared
up and which is currently administered by Ethiopia, belongs to Eritrea.
[Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33966]

ETHIOPIA: Fire again breaks out at refugee camp for Eritreans

For the second time in recent months, a fire has destroyed the homes of
thousands of Eritrean refuges in an Ethiopian camp close to the two
countries' common border. Humanitarian sources told IRIN that a third of
shelters at Wa'ala Nihibi camp near Shiraro in west Tigray were destroyed
in the blaze which occurred after flames from open fires caught the side
of one of the straw houses. "Everyone fought to try and stop the fire but
even so around a third of their homes were destroyed," said an eyewitness.
"They are now rebuilding their homes once again." "The sooner they can
move from the area to a better camp, then the better for everybody," added
the aid worker who works at the camp. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) is
planning to move the 5,400 refugees away from the border region in July.
The move follows increasing calls for the refugees, who fled Eritrea
during the two-year war with Ethiopia, to be moved from the border area
for their "protection and emotional safety". [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33989]

ETHIOPIA: Warning of disaster as 40 die in southern floods

The death toll in the severe floods that have hit southern Ethiopia has
now topped 40 - including five children, officials told IRIN on Thursday.
More than 95,000 people have been forced to flee their homes after the
Wabe Shebelle river burst its banks, flooding dozens of villages.
Crocodiles also attacked and killed four people during the flooding, said
Mines Minister Mohamoud Dirir Gheddi, who is also chairman of the ruling
Somali People's Democratic Party in the region. "Unless something is done
soon, this will turn into a disaster," Mohamoud told IRIN. "I believe that
the magnitude of the crisis means we have to airlift food, medical
equipment and personnel to help and in that case we need the international
community." He said the region desperately needs medical help to control
waterborne diseases. Blankets are also required for displaced families.
"You can expect malaria and cholera outbreaks unless something is done,"
he told IRIN. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33961]

ETHIOPIA: Religion "new breeding ground for conflict"

Religion is the new breeding ground for conflict in Ethiopia, a conference
in the capital Addis Ababa heard on Wednesday. Medhane Tadesse, a senior
Ethiopian academic, argued that the religious status quo in the country
was being "dramatically eroded, incubating violent confrontation." His
warning came at the end of a three-day conference on federalism, conflict
and peace building, hosted by the Ministry of Federal Affairs and the
German development agency, GTZ. "The religious equilibrium is collapsing
very quickly," said Medhane, a consultant on conflicts in the Horn of
Africa and author of two books on the Horn. He stated that the Ethiopian
Orthodox Church was "weak economically and organisationally" and was easy
prey for other religions. Medhane added that more radical religious
elements were now replacing the state, which was struggling to deal with
the country's "social and economic ills". [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33959]

ETHIOPIA: One of world's worst countries for mothers

Ethiopia is one of the worst countries in the world to be a mother,
according to a global study by the NGO, Save the Children. Only Niger and
Burkina Faso are ranked worse, according to the annual 'Mothers Index'
report released on Tuesday. In the United Kingdom, one in 5,000 mothers
will die in childbirth and only six out of 1,000 infants do not make it to
their first birthday.  But in Ethiopia one in nine mothers will die in
childbirth. Some 116 children out of 1,000 will die before they reach the
age of one. Eritrea is ranked 14th from bottom of 117 countries, where
fewer than five percent of women use modern contraceptives. The 43-page
report found a mother's level of education and access to family planning
services were most strongly linked to an infant's survival and well-being.
The index is based on six factors: risk of maternal mortality, women using
modern contraception, births attended by trained personnel, pregnant women
with anaemia, adult female literacy rate, and participation in national
government. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33934]

ETHIOPIA: Judiciary "failing to stop human rights abuses"

Ethiopia's judiciary is failing to prevent widespread human rights abuses,
a landmark conference on federalism, conflict and peace building heard on
Wednesday. Dr Getachew Assefa, a lecturer at Ethiopia's civil service
college, told the conference in Addis Abab that both the state and federal
judicial systems "leave a lot to be desired" in protecting the
constitution of the country. He said within the various regions of
Ethiopia, the situation was even worse with a catalogue of abuse and a
lack of funding or skilled manpower to protect human rights. "The state
justice system as a whole and particularly the state courts have
multi-faceted problems," he said. Ethiopia is undergoing widespread
judicial reform programme and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has declared
that judicial reform is the top priority for the country. The three-day
symposium, hosted by the Ministry of Federal Affairs and the German
development agency GTZ, heard that federalism plays a vital role in
ensuring that the country's fledgling democracy is maintained. [Full story
at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33930]

ETHIOPIA: Thousands affected by heavy flooding in south

Rescue workers were battling against severe floods in southern Ethiopia on
Tuesday which left 10 people dead and at least 80,000 stranded. Thousands
were forced from their homes after the main Wabe Shebelle river burst its
banks, flooding lowland areas of Somali Regional State. According to
humanitarian organisations, the flooding is some of the worst the region
has seen in recent memory. Emergency teams have rushed to the scene with
medical supplies, plastic shelters and cooking equipment to help the
stricken families, humanitarian organisations told IRIN. Abdulreshid
Dulene, the regional president, has also flown into the affected area in
an army helicopter to ensure vital medical equipment reaches those in
need. The towns of Kelafo and Mustahil have been hardest hit by the
flooding, following heavy rains in the Bale highlands.  The UN Children's
Fund (UNICEF) and the regional government are transporting emergency
medical kits, shelter material and jerry cans from nearby Gode town. "The
situation is very serious and worse than any year before," UNICEF
emergency head Marc Rubin told IRIN. "We are very concerned about the
humanitarian situation. They have no food, no clean water and the health
service has been destroyed, so we are talking about a serious situation."
[Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33904]

SOMALIA: Second phase of peace talks to conclude next week

The organisers of Somali peace talks in Kenya say a plenary session will
start next week to conclude the second phase of the conference. A
spokesman told IRIN that the recommendations of six technical committees
would be submitted to the plenary for discussion. However, wrangling
continued on Thursday over proposals contained in the reports, and
especially over the controversial issue of a federal charter. A
harmonisation committee is supposed to be pulling the various reports
together, although faction leaders have opposed this committee saying it
is made up of "outsiders". A Somali source told IRIN that the leaders'
objection is "another attempt to take control of the talks". "They
basically want everything to originate from them, before it is submitted
to the plenary for discussion," he said. Meanwhile, the issue of delegate
seats to the plenary continues to be controversial. Earlier this week,
conference organisers tried to evict 175 would-be delegates from the
conference site, saying donors would no longer pay their expenses. [Full
story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33987]

SOMALIA: Puntland peace talks underway

Talks are underway to end conflict in the self-declared autonomous region
of Puntland, northeastern Somalia, Puntland's acting information minister
told IRIN on Thursday. Abdishakur Mire Adan said the talks - being held in
the commercial capital Bosaso - between his ministration and "the armed
opposition" led by General Ade Muse Hirsi were "going very well". Ade
Muse, an ally of the rival claimant to the Puntland presidency, Jama Ali
Jama, arrived in Bosaso on Monday. This followed a three-month mediation
effort by Boqor Usman Aw Mahmud and Sultan Sa'id Sultan Abdisalam, both
elders from the disputed region of Sanaag, said Abdishakur. Controversy
over Puntland's leadership has been increasingly vocal since June 2001,
when Abdullahi Yusuf, whose presidential term ended then, claimed that the
region's parliament had extended his mandate. A number of Puntland
traditional elders meeting in the regional capital, Garowe, in July 2001
rejected his claim, and named Yusuf Haji Nur, Puntland's former chief
justice, as "acting president" until the election of a new administration.
The elders then convened a general congress in August and, on 14 November
2001, elected Jama Ali Jama as president for a three-year term in the hope
that this would end the leadership wrangle. Abdullahi Yusuf recaptured
Bosaso from Jama Ali Jama in May 2002. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33958]

SOMALIA: UN team appointed to probe arms ban breaches

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed a four-man panel of experts
to investigate violations of the arms embargo against Somalia. In a letter
to the President of the Security Council, he named Edward Howard Johns of
the United States, Mohamed Abdoulaye M'Backe of Senegal, Johan Peleman of
Belgium (also the group's chairman) and Pavanjeet Singh Sandhu of India.  
Last month, the 15-nation body adopted a resolution to re-establish the
panel of experts to look into breaches of the weapons ban covering access
to Somalia by land, air and sea. The UN says the decision to re-establish
the team, which will be based in Kenya, comes after the Council considered
the panel's latest report. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33869]


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 2003


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