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HORN OF AFRICA
IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 124
18 - 24 January 2003


CONTENTS:

ETHIOPIA: No time to lose - WFP
ETHIOPIA: Shortage of supplementary food
ETHIOPIA: Journalists condemn draft press law
ETHIOPIA: Violence on the increase in remote Gambella region
ETHIOPIA: Rights groups accuse government of persecuting intellectuals,
  clergymen
ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Rights group says border ruling "favourable" to Eritrea
ERITREA: High-grade gold discovered
SOMALIA: Kenyan foreign minister, new mediator arrive in Eldoret
SOMALIA: New mediator promises more transparency at peace talks
SOMALIA: Aydid opposed to presidential system
SOMALIA: Humanitarian agencies unable to access Baidoa
DJIBOUTI: President on official visit to the US
SUDAN: Humanitarian access granted for Kassala State, Southern Blue Nile
SUDAN: Peace talks restart
HORN OF AFRICA: Appointment of UN special adviser extended


ETHIOPIA: No time to lose - WFP

The head of the UN's World Food Programme (WFP), James Morris, on Tuesday
warned there was no time to lose in sending food supplies to Ethiopia.
"The crisis barometer is inching out of the danger zone, but the needs are
so colossal, so urgent and so desperate, we must do everything humanly
possible to avoid a sudden slip downward," he said at the end of a
five-day visit to Ethiopia. "Even a brief interruption of food supplies
could spell death for the most vulnerable," he warned, according to a WFP
press release. WFP intends to cover about 40 percent of the country's food
aid needs, and still requires 350 mt of food aid, the statement said. Some
11 million people are at risk of food shortages in Ethiopia, along with
two-thirds of the population in neighbouring Eritrea. "If we are to help
break this chronic cycle of emergencies, we simply must make major
investments to help people withstand climatic shocks," Morris added.
"Comparatively, it takes so little money today to stimulate greatly
improved lives for people tomorrow." [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=31819 ]

ETHIOPIA: Shortage of supplementary food

Ethiopia is facing major shortages of high calorie blended food, which
often provides a lifeline for children weakened through hunger by
recurrent droughts. Both the WFP and the Emergencies Unit for Ethiopia
(EUE) have expressed concern about low levels of supplementary foods in
the country. Their warnings come after the Ethiopian government appealed
for cereals and supplementary foods for some 11 million people facing
severe food shortages in the country. "Supplementary food is an important
component of any emergency intervention," a WFP spokesman told IRIN on
Wednesday. "If you want to see the nutritional status of people improve,
you have to have supplementary food otherwise they will just stay living
on the edge." The government has estimated it needs some 124,000 mt of
blended food to tackle the emergency this year. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=31846 ]

ETHIOPIA: Journalists condemn draft press law

The Ethiopian Free Press Journalists' Association (EFJA) has condemned as
"draconian", draft press regulations newly released by the government. The
organisation says the law - which could come into force later this year -
exposes journalists to heavy fines and imprisonment "under the guise of a
code of ethics". "Members of the Ethiopia free press have undergone great
sufferings under the repressive press law and civil and criminal laws that
have been in force since the last 40 years," the EFJA said. It said that
journalists in Ethiopia should receive training to help improve the
fledgling private press. Instead, reporters were harassed, intimidated and
sometimes imprisoned, it said, adding that a newly-imposed value added tax
on newspapers had also hit the industry which is desperate for funds. The
new law has also been criticised by the International Federation of
Journalists. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=31870 ]

ETHIOPIA: Violence on the increase in remote Gambella region

Dozens of people have been killed amid spiralling ethic clashes between
rival groups in Ethiopia's western Gambella Region, on the border with
Sudan. Although the area has traditionally been witness to tribal
violence, the ferocity and scale of attacks are now causing serious
concern. Just two months ago, at least 40 people were killed in a refugee
camp. Now the EUE is urging action to try and break the ever-growing cycle
of violence. Much of the fighting has been between two ethic groups - the
Nuer who live close to the Ethio-Sudan border and are pastoralists - and
the Anyuaa, or Anuak, tribe. In a detailed study of the region, the EUE
blamed several factors for the increase in attacks which culminated in the
massacre at Fugnido refugee camp - one of three in the area. "These
include control over scarce natural resources such as water and grazing
land, the question of majority population in the region and what language
should be taught in school, and, a general feeling or apprehension among
Anyuaa that they are being dominated by the pastoralist Nuers who enter
Anyuaa territory in search of grazing land and water," the EUE said. [Full
story at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=31894 ]

ETHIOPIA: Rights groups accuse government of persecuting intellectuals,
clergymen

Ethiopia's federal police have beaten up clergymen and tortured religious
demonstrators, the country's human rights watchdog claimed on Thursday.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO) said the assaults occurred
after clashes between police and demonstrators at Addis Ababa's Lideta
Mariam Orthodox church on 26 December. The clashes were sparked by a
dispute between the Church of Lideta Mariam and the Addis Ababa Diocese.
Hundreds of religious demonstrators were arrested and taken to a police
training camp 30 km from the city, EHRCO claimed. It said the
demonstrators were forced to plunge fully clothed into a barrel of cold
water. According to the report, deacons from the church who were arrested
had their heads shaved and were forced to sleep in the open. Others were
forced to sleep on gravel and run barefoot on stone grounds or walk along
a road on their knees. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=31874 ]

Subsequently, on Friday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report in
which it accused the Ethiopian government of "intellectual repression". In
the report, entitled "Lessons in Repression: Violations of Academic
Freedom in Ethiopia", it said the government was muzzling educators and
students with a policy of harsh repression, which included extrajudicial
killings, arbitrary arrests, and widespread denials of freedom of opinion
and association, it said. "Ethiopia's security forces have targeted
students and teachers, because they are among the most politically active
elements of Ethiopian society," Saman Zia-Zarifi, the academic freedom
director for HRW, is quoted as saying. "Ethiopia is on the brink of
another famine, and it needs educated people to lead the country out of
this disaster." [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=31890 ]

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Rights group says border ruling "favourable" to Eritrea

The international advocacy group, Human Rights Watch (HRW), has said that
a crucial boundary ruling last year rejected many of Ethiopia's claims to
territory after its war with Eritrea. Both countries claimed to have been
awarded the symbolic village of Badme where their border war flared up in
1998, after a ruling issued by an international Boundary Commission in
April 2002. "The report [by the Boundary Commission] generally rejected
Ethiopia's claims including (without mentioning it by name) the claim to
the village of Badme where the war had started," HRW said in its 2003
World Report. But, according to diplomatic sources, Ethiopia is currently
preparing a comprehensive legal challenge to the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary
Commission (EEBC) ruling. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31896 ]

ERITREA: High-grade gold discovered

A Canadian mining company has announced the discovery of new high-grade
gold and base metals at Bisha, some 150 km west of the Eritrean capital
Asmara. Nevsun Resources Ltd, which owns 90 percent of the Bisha property,
said the discovery was made after an initial phase of exploration
drilling, totalling 804 metres in six holes. Prior work, carried out in
1998 and 1999, had defined a significant area of anomalous copper, lead
and zinc, as well as the gold. "Similar base metal deposits occur in
Eritrea at Dubarwa and Adi Nefas, located near the capital city of
Asmara," Nevsun said in a news release issued on Wednesday. It noted that
the Bisha exploration property covers 49 sq km and has "excellent port
facilities on the Red Sea". [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31872 ]

SOMALIA: Kenyan foreign minister, new mediator arrive in Eldoret

Kenyan Foreign Minister Kalonzo Musyoka and the newly appointed special
envoy to Somalia, Ambassador Bethwel Kiplagat, have met Somali delegates
gathered in the Kenyan town of Eldoret for peace talks. "The minister
wants to meet the delegates, get acquainted with the issues, and introduce
the new envoy," a Kenyan foreign ministry official told IRIN on Wednesday.
The minister was also expected to express the new government's commitment
to the Somali peace process, he added. The appointment of retired
Ambassador Kiplagat to replace Elijah Mwangale was officially announced
last week. The talks, which started on 15 October under the auspices of
the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, have been
stalled over wrangles about the number of participants and the allocation
of seats. Two weeks ago, some Somali leaders who met with Musyoka, accused
Mwangale of being dictatorial, and asked the Kenyan government to
intercede to save the talks from collapse. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=31847;

SOMALIA: New mediator promises more transparency at peace talks

New Kenyan mediator Bethwel Kiplagat on Thursday promised more
transparency and consultation to give fresh impetus to the Somali peace
talks. "The way I would work is through consensus, persuasion, humour, we
want to have fun but at the same time keep in mind that there are people
dying and we must not lose sight of that," Kiplagat told IRIN in an
exclusive interview. The peace talks started in Eldoret, Kenya, on 15
October under the auspices of the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on
Development (IGAD). The conference is piloted by the tehcnical committee
of IGAD, comprising Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti. As Kenya's new Special
Envoy for Somalia, Kiplagat now chairs the technical committee. Asked
about problems within the technical committee, Kiplagat said he would seek
to have the members work as a team, stressing everyone was committed to
bringing peace to Somalia. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31876 ]

SOMALIA: Aydid opposed to presidential system

Mogadishu-based faction leader Husayn Aydid has called on the Somali
delegates meeting in the Kenyan town of Eldoret not to set up a
presidential system of government. Aydid, who is the current chairman of
the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC) - a grouping of
southern factions opposed to the Transitional National Government (TNG) -
said there was so much mistrust between the various Somali groups that "it
would be next to impossible to settle on one individual" as president.
"No-one would agree to give so much power to one individual, because there
is no trust," he told IRIN on Wednesday. Aydid warned that "any president
elected by 300 people [the number of delegates in Eldoret] will not have
much legitimacy at home". He said in this respect that earlier peace
conferences should serve "as an example and warning". [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31845 ]

SOMALIA: Humanitarian agencies unable to access Baidoa

Ever since the outbreak of fighting in the southwestern town of Baidoa
last July, humanitarian agencies have been unable to access the town,
humanitarian sources told IRIN on Tuesday. The fighting that engulfed the
town - which had enjoyed relative peace and stability since it was
captured by the Rahanweyn Resistance Army in 1998 - was caused by a split
within the senior ranks of the RRA, which controls much of the Bay and
Bakol regions of southwestern Somalia. The split originated from a power
struggle between the RRA chairman, Hasan Muhammad Nur Shatigadud, and his
two deputies, Shaykh Adan Madobe and Muhammad Ibrahim Habsade. Baidoa
changed hands at least three time between July and December last year. In
recent days the situation has deteriorated, with the conflict taking on an
intra-clan fighting, a business source in Baidoa told IRIN on Tuesday. "In
the last two weeks at least 12 people were killed in and around Baidoa
because of their clan affiliations," he said. According to this source,
both sides seem to be gearing up for fresh confrontations. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31817 ]

DJIBOUTI: President on official visit to the US

Djibouti President Isma'il Omar Guelleh on 18 January left for a five-day
official visit to the US at the invitation of the US government, a
Djibouti official told IRIN on Monday. The official said Guelleh, who is
expected to meet his US counterpart George Bush on Tuesday, would discuss
"strengthening bilateral cooperation, the fight against terrorism,
regional stability, the Somali peace process and Djibouti government
efforts to reduce poverty". The strategically located, tiny Horn of Africa
nation has, since 11 September 2001, become an important base for Western
forces - including from the US and Germany - in the anti-terrorism
coalition. There are also troops from France, which already had a base in
its former colony. Guelleh's delegation includes Foreign Minister Ali Abdi
Farah, Minister of Presidential Affairs Osman Ahmed Moussa and Minister of
Justice Isma'il Ibrahim Houmed.

SUDAN: Humanitarian access granted for Kassala State, Southern Blue Nile

The UN has made separate bilateral agreements with the government of Sudan
and the country's main rebel group, the Sudan People's Liberation
Movement/Army, to allow it to provide humanitarian aid in Kassala State
and Southern Blue Nile. Martin Dawes, spokesman for the UN-led Operation
Lifeline Sudan (OLS), told IRIN on Wednesday that in a series of meetings
held from 17 to 19 January in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, the UN had been
invited to conduct interventions in both areas, which fell outside the
traditional mandate of OLS. The UN was currently putting together a plan
of action, which should allow aid to start arriving in about three weeks,
Dawes added. Firstly, a security assessment and a multi-agency needs
assessment had to be conducted. Describing the meetings as "very
positive", he said there was a "real desire to conduct business and
improve access arrangements in Sudan". [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=31852 ]

SUDAN: Peace talks restart

Peace talks between the government of Sudan and the SPLM/A, restarted on
Thursday in Nairobi, after a nine-week break. On Wednesday the mediation
team conducted separate consultations with the two delegations regarding
the proposed programme and agenda for the talks, the spokesman at the
Sudanese embassy in Nairobi, Muhammad Dirdiery, told IRIN. A statement
issued by the UN on Thursday welcomed the resumption of the peace talks
(known as the Machakos process) and the "considerable progress" made to
ensure access for UN agencies and aid organisations to war-affected
populations. "These are positive developments that demonstrate the
commitment by both parties to the humanitarian imperative," commented the
UN Secretary-General's Envoy to Sudan, Tom Vraalsen. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=31875 ]

HORN OF AFRICA: Appointment of UN special adviser extended

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, citing progress in peace talks on Somalia
and Sudan, has extended the appointment of his special adviser for the
Horn of Africa, Muhammad Sahnoun, until the end of the year. In a letter
to the president of the Security Council, Annan noted that Sahnoun had
been following developments in the Horn of Africa region, especially in
Somalia and Sudan, and providing assessments on the UN's role in efforts
to reach negotiated settlements of the conflicts in the two countries.
[Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=31871 ]


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