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HORN OF AFRICA
IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 125
25 - 31 January 2003


CONTENTS:

ETHIOPIA: US writes off debt
ETHIOPIA: Government urges speedy civil service reform
ETHIOPIA: Government defends press law
ETHIOPIA: Zebra conservation linked to food security
ERITREA: Committee formed to coordinate drought response
ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Rights group focuses on plight of thousands expelled
  during war
ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: UN urges building "mutual confidence"
SOMALIA: Renewed clashes in Baidoa
SOMALIA: Puntland administration lifts ban on BBC reporters
SOMALIA: Conditions attached to faction leader's release
SOMALIA: Fighting breaks out at peace conference
SUDAN: European Commission announces E20 million worth of aid
SUDAN: Peace talks resume after brief interlude
SUDAN: Heavy fighting in western Upper Nile

ETHIOPIA: US writes off debt

The US has written off almost US $30 million in debt for drought-stricken
Ethiopia, which is strapped with a massive US $6 billion debt burden. US
ambassador Aurelia Brazeal signed the deal which wipes out all the debt
owed to the US up to March 2004, including arrears and servicing. The deal
comes after Nestle - the world's largest coffee company - agreed to forgo
US $6 million it said it was owed by Ethiopia. "Along with several other
donor countries, the US government is providing 100 percent debt
forgiveness," a US embassy statement said. "The United States is pleased
to reach this agreement and looks forward to continued positive relations
with the Government of Ethiopia in this, the 100th year of
Ethiopian-American relations." [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31977]

ETHIOPIA: Government urges speedy civil service reform

A radical re-shaping of the civil service within Ethiopia will ensure
transparency and speed up democracy, the government said on Wednesday. In
a statement released by the Ministry of Information, it urged the
continuation of the much-welcomed civil service reform programme. However,
the statement said that some government departments were failing to meet
the required standards of the scheme, which was launched last September by
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. "Ensuring the civil service reform programme
is an important task that demands change of attitude," said the statement.
"It needs the conviction of the leadership and employees that they are
public servants and are duty bound to exercise transparency and
accountability in exercising their duty." The government sees the reforms
as a key tool in improving democracy and accountability in Ethiopia - a
move that has been widely welcomed by the international community. [Full
story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31986]

ETHIOPIA: Government defends press law

The Ethiopian government has hit back at claims that it is trying to push
through draconian press laws aimed at restricting the country's fledgling
media. It said in a strongly worded statement that the private press often
abuses its position and the new draft law will create "strong,
responsible" media. The comments come after widespread criticism among
international journalists' organisations and the Ethiopian Free Press
Journalists' Association. They claim that the new law - which could come
into force later this year - would restrict freedom of expression and
prevent journalists from doing their work. The row also comes as the New
York based human rights group, Human Rights Watch, has accused the
Ethiopian government of harassing academics and students who are critical
of its policies. But the statement, issued by the ministry of information,
dismissed the claims as "irresponsible". [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31925]

ETHIOPIA: Zebra conservation linked to food security

A British conservationist, fighting to save a rare breed of zebra from
extinction, has stressed that its future is intertwined with Ethiopia's
food aid dependency. Dr Stuart Williams is battling to save an estimated
500 Grevy's zebras which live in the mountainous areas of southern
Ethiopia. "I have little doubt that the decline in numbers in the wild
will continue," said Williams, whose base is the Wildlife Conservation
Research Unit at Oxford University in Britain. "In Ethiopia, I would be
pleasantly surprised if there still were Grevy's zebras in, say, 15 years'
time," he told IRIN on Monday. Williams said that lessons could be learnt
from the zebra - which is a third bigger than ordinary zebras - because it
manages to survive droughts while domestic animals die. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31926]

ERITREA: Committee formed to coordinate drought response

Eritrea has announced the formation of a coordination committee for all
organisations involved in combating the drought in the country. A
government proclamation said the Committee for Coordination and Follow-up
applied to all governmental and non-governmental organisations involved in
drought operations, and would be led by the Minister of Labour and Human
Welfare.  "The Proclamation further underlines that all governmental and
non-governmental organisations participating in fighting the threat of
drought in Eritrea are obliged to cooperate with this Committee," the
ruling party's Shaebia website said. Some two thirds of the country's
population are at risk of severe food shortages. Labour and Human Welfare
Minister Askalu Menkerios, speaking in Geneva on Wednesday, appealed for
more food aid. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32009]

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Rights group focuses on plight of thousands expelled
during war

The New York based advocacy group, Human Rights Watch (HRW), has called
for nearly 100,000 citizens expelled by both Eritrea and Ethiopia during
their 1998-2000 border war to be allowed to return home and to have their
citizenship restored. A report by HRW says that the plight of citizens of
both countries who were uprooted and deprived of their residence and
nationality during the war has yet to be resolved. HRW says some 75,000
ethnic Eritreans were living in Ethiopia when the war broke out in 1998.
The Ethiopian government summarily deported tens of thousands of them to
Eritrea. Their Ethiopian citizenship was revoked and their identity
documents were marked "Expelled-Never to Return". [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32007]

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: UN urges building "mutual confidence"

The UN's Force Commander in Ethiopia and Eritrea has called for "building
mutual confidence" between the two sides. Major General Robert Gordon said
that by forging a close partnership both sides could overcome what he
described as "local problems", according to a statement from the UN
Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE). Military leaders from both
Ethiopia and Eritrea met in Nairobi on Wednesday under the auspices of the
Military Coordination Commission (MCC), chaired by the Force Commander.
Under the terms of the peace deal signed by both countries in December
2000, the MCC provides a forum for military leaders to thrash out details
surrounding the peace process. Ethiopia's military team was led by
Brigadier-General Yohannes Gebremeskel and Eritrea's military delegation
was led by Brigadier-General Abrahaley Kifle. The report says that during
the expulsions many ethnic Eritreans were detained under harsh conditions
and some were tortured. People were also forced to leave behind their
families, and many lost all their property. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32013]

SOMALIA: Renewed clashes in Baidoa

Fighting resumed in the southern town of Baidoa on Wednesday when forces
loyal to the Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA) chairman, Hasan Muhammad Nur
Shatigadud, attacked troops loyal to the RRA faction of Shaykh Aden Madobe
and Muhammad Ibrahim Habsade, his former deputies. The Madobe/Habsade
forces are currently in control of Baidoa, a local source told IRIN on
Thursday. Shatigadud forces had attacked a checkpoint southwest of the
town manned by Madobe/Habsade forces, and the fighting had spread from
there to an area near a football stadium, said the source. "At least six
people were killed and many others wounded," he said. "Most of the dead
were militia, but many civilians were also wounded." [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32011]

SOMALIA: Puntland administration lifts ban on BBC reporters

The authorities in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland,
northeastern Somalia, have lifted the ban on two BBC reporters, according
to a senior official in the region's commercial capital, Bosaso.
Abdishakur Mire Adan, the Puntland deputy information minister, told IRIN
that the region's internal affairs minister, Ahmad Abdi Habsade, had made
the announcement in a letter addressed to the BBC. The reporters, Ahmad
Muhammad Kismayo and Muhammad Khalif Gir, were banned from reporting from
the region last year after being accused by the authorities of "not being
objective in their reporting of events in the region". "These two
gentlemen have been banned, because they have not been and are not
objective in their reporting of events in the region," a Puntland official
told IRIN at the time. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31978]

SOMALIA: Conditions attached to faction leader's release

A civil society member attending the Eldoret peace talks has said he will
withdraw charges against a faction leader, whose supporters kicked him and
attacked him with a lead pipe, if certain conditions are met. Prof
Muhammad Abdi 'Gandhi' told IRIN he had been approached by some faction
leaders, who asked him to drop the charges against Mawlid Ma'ane, who was
arrested for instigating the attack. He said the leaders had to meet three
conditions in writing before he would consider dropping the charges.
Firstly, they had to apologise for the attack; secondly, they had to
promise that such an incident would never happen again; thirdly, "they
have to acknowledge that civil society groups have the independent right
to participate in the conference without consent from the factions". [Full
story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31980]

SOMALIA: Fighting breaks out at peace conference

A fist fight erupted at the Somali peace conference in Eldoret, Kenya,
when civil society delegates were barred from a meeting of the leaders'
committee, a source close to the talks told IRIN on Tuesday. It was
sparked when the civil society members of the leaders' committee showed up
for a meeting of the committee and were denied entry. According to the
source, an argument ensued between Id Badal, a civil society member, and
Mawlid Ma'ane, the leader of the Somali African Muki Organisation faction,
and this "led to a fight between the two". The fight was broken up by
security personnel at the Sirikwa Hotel, where the meeting was taking
place. Later in the day, a group of men followed a prominent member of the
civil society, Prof Muhammad Abdi 'Ghandi', to Eldoret town and "beat him
up pretty badly", said the source. Police were called in and arrested
Mawlid Ma'ane and four of his supporters. "They spent the night in jail,"
the source added. Ghandi was reportedly targeted because "he is seen as an
important leader of the civil society groups". [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=31951]

SUDAN: European Commission announces E20 million worth of aid

The European Commission has announced E20 million worth of aid (US
$21,646,000) for its implementing partners in Sudan in 2003. "This new
Global Plan is a concrete expression of our commitment to help bring
relief to people who have suffered enormously and are in desperate need of
aid," said Poul Nielson, the European Commissioner in charge of
Development and Humanitarian Aid in a press release issued on Tuesday. The
EC Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) had planned a response to the
humanitarian crisis in Sudan, covering 18 months from January 2003, the
statement said. Regardless of political developments in Sudan, ECHO would
continue to cover the whole of the country according to needs, and in
respect of internationally recognised humanitarian principles, the EC
said. [Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31990]

SUDAN: Peace talks resume after brief interlude

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) resumed peace talks
on Tuesday with the government of Sudan following a protest walk-out the
day before. UN-led Operation Lifeline Sudan spokesman, Martin Dawes, told
IRIN that the talks restarted in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, although the
full SPLM/A delegation was not present. On Monday, the SPLM/A issued a
statement accusing the government of capturing the towns of Ler and
Dablual in western Upper Nile the same day, and engaging in "aerial and
artillery bombardment of surrounding villages... Consequently, the
SPLM/SPLA delegation to the peace talks in Karen, Nairobi, has today
requested the mediators that the talks be put on hold for one day to allow
the delegation to consult and wait for the outcome of the SPLM/SPLA
Leadership Council Meeting," the statement said. The government denied the
allegations, stating that the town had been under its control since 1996.
Humanitarian sources confirmed to IRIN that the government had had a
limited presence close to the airstrip in Ler for some time. [Full story
at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31953]

SUDAN: Heavy fighting in Western Upper Nile

Heavy fighting tool place on Sunday between Sudanese government forces and
the country's main rebel group, the Sudan People's Liberation Army, in
Western Upper Nile (Wahdah State). "Intense fighting" had taken place
between ground troops from both sides, south of the garrison town of Ler
for about one hour (around midday) on Sunday, Arjan Hehenkamp, Head of
Mision of MSF-Holland told IRIN on Monday. As a result, MSF-Holland had
been forced to evacuate five staff members from projects in Thonyor and
Dablual, located about 20-25 km (two hours' walk) from where the fighting
was taking place. Around Dablual, MSF staff had seen internally displaced
people who had fled fighting north of Ler on 24 January, Hehenkamp added.
[Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31929]


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