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HORN OF AFRICA
IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 188
12 - 18 July 2003


CONTENTS:

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: UN tells sides to normalise ties
ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Asmara says it can exist without Ethiopia
ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Addis dismisses possibility of renewed hostilities
ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Remains of Ethiopian soldiers to repatriated this month
ETHIOPIA: Ethiopia gripped by famine, experts say 
ETHIOPIA: Government ready to distribute HIV/AIDS drugs
ETHIOPIA: Child prostitution on the rise, report says
DJIBOUTI: Amnesty calls for release of opposition 
SOMALIA: Amnesty urges "central role" for human rights activists
SOMALIA: UN calls for lasting peace
SOMALIA: Faction leader rejects "flawed" agreement
SUDAN: Time for sides to prove commitment to peace - US envoy
SUDAN: Peace process still on track, sides say
SUDAN: Amnesty urges human rights component in peace process



ALSO SEE:

SOMALIA: Feature - Women slowly making political inroads at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35364


ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: UN tells sides to normalise ties

The UN Security Council has called on Ethiopia and Eritrea to normalise
relations and cooperate fully with the upcoming demarcation of their
common border. In a statement, read by Council President Ambassador
Inocencio Arias of Spain, the 15-member body expressed concern over delays
in the demarcation process. "Delays would be contrary to the wish of both
parties to achieve lasting peace and stability as manifested in the
Algiers agreement," it said. The Algiers peace accord of December 2000
officially ended a bitter two-year border war between the countries and
provided for an independent ruling on the border which both sides accepted
as "final and binding". But Ethiopia is unhappy with aspects of the ruling
by an independent Boundary Commission, and the starting date for
demarcation has been repeatedly postponed. The statement called upon the
two countries "to pursue any matters that might arise in connection with
the implementation of the Boundary Commission delimitation decision".
[Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35474]

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Asmara says it can exist without Ethiopia

Eritrea has dismissed Ethiopia's assertion that relations cannot be
normalised unless there is a "regime change" in Asmara as "tantamount to
declaring aggression". Earlier this week, a widely-circulated draft
Ethiopian foreign policy document stated that while Addis Ababa would not
renew hostilities with its neighbour, the current government in Asmara was
an "obstacle" to improved ties. Eritrea's acting Information Minister Ali
Abdu Ahmed told IRIN on Thursday that Ethiopia's leaders were practising
"out of this world psychology". "The Ethiopian leaders would be doing
themselves, and definitely the region, a very big favour if they would
only stick to the administration of their people and country," he said.
"Anything that has to do with Eritrea should never become an issue on the
Ethiopian leaders' agenda." He said only Eritrea had the mandate to decide
on its own affairs. "Talk of regime change is tantamount to declaring
aggression," he stated. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35452]

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Addis dismisses possibility of renewed hostilities

Ethiopia is launching a strategy of peaceful containment of Eritrea,
according to a national foreign policy document being drawn up by the
prime minister's office. The widely-circulated draft document, entitled
'Ethiopia's Policy and Strategy on Foreign Affairs and National Security',
stresses the need for deepening democracy and economic development. These
are described as the "lynchpin" of Ethiopia's foreign policy. Regarding
relations with Eritrea, the document dismisses any renewed hostilities
unless provoked by its neighbour. It describes the current government in
Eritrea as an "obstacle" to improved ties between the countries, but notes
that any regime change should be left to the Eritrean people. "The problem
is created by the group in power," states the report. Official sources
told IRIN that discussions are still taking place on whether Ethiopia will
normalise relations after both "regime change and policy change" in
Eritrea, or if normalisation can occur with either "regime change or
policy change." [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35415]

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Remains of Ethiopian soldiers to repatriated this month

The remains of 164 soldiers slain during the bloody Ethiopia-Eritrea
border war will be repatriated before the end of the month, the UN said on
Thursday. The bodies - all of whom are believed to be Ethiopian troops -
will be returned home so that they can be given proper burials. "Both
Ethiopia and Eritrea are fully supportive of the repatriation because this
is the decent and humane thing to do," said Major General Robert Gordon,
Force Commander of the UN peacekeeping Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea
(UNMEE). "Every one of them represents some mother's son and it is time
they returned home and are laid to rest with honour," he told a
video-linked news briefing in Asmara and Addis Ababa. Soldiers whose
remains cannot be initially identified will be kept in marked graves so
that if new information comes to light, their families can then be
informed. The operation, which is coordinated by UNMEE, comes two and a
half years after both countries signed a peace deal. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35446]

ETHIOPIA: Ethiopia gripped by famine, experts say

World-renowned disaster experts on Friday declared the devastating crisis
that is crippling Ethiopia a famine. The team, funded by the US Agency for
International Development (USAID), asserted that the magnitude of the
crisis would ensure the emergency continued into next year. "You have a
widespread livelihood crisis leading to emergency levels of malnutrition,
morbidity, mortality, with alarming implications for destitution," said
expert Sue Lautze, of the acclaimed Feinstein International Famine Centre,
based in the US. "That for us is a famine," she stated. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35477]

ETHIOPIA: Government ready to distribute HIV/AIDS drugs

Ethiopia is on the brink of distributing the country's first ever
anti-retroviral drugs for treating HIV/AIDS - but only to people who can
afford them. The life-saving drugs - which have been imported from India -
will sell for around US $40 per person per month, according to the
government's anti-AIDS task force on Tuesday. Negatu Mereke, who heads the
HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office (HAPCO), told a news conference
that the drugs would be distributed "in a very short period of time." Some
300 healthcare workers have been trained to deliver the anti-retroviral
drugs, which have now been imported, and sites identified for
distribution. Dr Yigeremu Abebe, an executive board member of HAPCO, said
that Ethiopia couldn't afford to distribute the orally-taken drugs for
free to people infected with the virus. "The government cannot buy drugs
because it is not affordable from the treasury," he explained. The
country's annual health budget is around US $120 million a year. "This is
a low-income country and as you know the majority of the population cannot
afford these," Dr Yigeremu added. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35394]

ETHIOPIA: Child prostitution on the rise, report says

Child prostitution in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa is "increasing at
an alarming rate," according to a study by Save the Children-Denmark
(SCD). The NGO revealed that the lure of work brought many child
prostitutes - some as young as 13 - to the city. The report, compiled with
government officials and a local child rights organisation, urged
immediate action to tackle the magnitude of the problem. "Intervention is
clearly needed as a matter of national urgency," it said. SCD said the
lack of a national policy and little action were major hurdles to be
overcome if the surge was to be halted. It also criticised the "public
disapproval and private encouragement" of prostitution, calling for the
stigma to be challenged. Although the researchers say it is difficult to
estimate the numbers of child prostitutes in the city, the booming number
of traffickers is evidence of the rapid increase. The children often
blamed lack of work, family deaths, poor education or unwanted pregnancy
for driving them towards prostitution. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35392]

DJIBOUTI: Amnesty calls for release of opposition leader

The human rights group, Amnesty International, has called for the
unconditional release of a leading opposition figure and a journalist. In
a statement, it said Daher Ahmed Farah, president of the opposition
Movement for Democratic Renewal and Development (Mouvement pour le
renouveau democratique et le developpement - MRD) and director of the
party's paper 'Le Renouveau djiboutien', was jailed on 9 July on charges
of libel against the army chief of staff and an army women's folklore
group. "Public officials who consider themselves defamed have the right of
reply and if that is insufficient they can legitimately resort to legal
actions to defend their reputation," Amnesty said. "But this should not
involve, as it has done in Daher Ahmed Farah's case, detention by the
police, arbitrary refusal of bail, state prosecution and prison
sentences." Djibouti's foreign ministry spokesman Siad Dualleh told IRIN
that the case was still before the courts. "We should allow for due
process to take its course, before any comments," he said. Amnesty pointed
out that the Djibouti constitution guarantees freedom of the press, and
the country ratified the international Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, which protects freedom of expression, last year. {Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35417]

SOMALIA: Amnesty urges "central role" for human rights activists

The rights group Amnesty International (AI) has called for human rights
defenders to be given a central role in the ongoing peace process in
Somalia. "Civil society in Somalia, and particularly human rights
defenders with a track record of activism, must be supported and
empowered, and given a strong participatory role in the transitional
period," it said in a statement issued on Thursday. "Faction leaders must
be pressed to affirm and demonstrate commitment to human rights," it
added. It said human rights activists in Somalia and Somaliland "voice the
concern of Somalis and in particular victims of human rights abuses and
their families", adding that by defending others, they themselves risked
becoming targets. Somali human rights activists from different parts of
the country met in February 2003 at an Amnesty International workshop,
held in Hargaysa, the capital of Somaliland. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35447]

SOMALIA: UN calls for lasting peace

The UN Security Council has called on Somali parties taking part in peace
talks in Kenya to "sincerely pursue" efforts aimed at achieving peace and
reconciliation. In a statement to the press following closed-door
consultations on Wednesday, the current Council president, Ambassador
Inocencio Arias of Spain, said members reiterated their firm support for
the Somali peace process. "[They] encouraged the parties to pursue
sincerely their efforts aimed at achieving lasting peace and
reconciliation, and expressed the hope that the conference would come to a
successful conclusion in the near future," he said. The Council was
discussing Secretary-General Kofi Annan's latest report on the situation
in the country since February, which was presented by Haile Menkarios,
director of the Africa 1 division in the UN Department of Political
Affairs. Council members called on all states and other actors "to comply
scrupulously" with the UN arms embargo and to cooperate with the UN panel
of experts looking into the issue. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35444]

SOMALIA: Faction leader rejects "flawed" agreement

Mogadishu-based faction leader Muse Sudi Yalahow rejected a peace
agreement signed earlier this month by delegates to the peace talks in
Nairobi, saying it was "flawed". "We are for peace but this agreement was
signed by people who have no weight or influence on the ground," he told
IRIN on Wednesday. "Most of those who signed cannot make any difference to
peace or war on the ground," he added. "What is needed is a peace deal
agreed to by all those who can contribute to the peace process." The 5
July accord was termed as "historic" by the Inter-Governmental Authority
on Development (IGAD) which is mediating the talks. The signatories
included delegates from the Transitional National Government, the
opposition Somali Restoration and Reconciliation Council, some faction
leaders of the G-8, and members of civil society. They agreed to establish
a federal parliament which would appoint a new president, who in turn
would appoint a prime minister. On Tuesday, thousands of Yalahow
supporters marched through the streets of Mogadishu to condemn the
agreement, describing it as "a plot to divide Somalia", according to Awil
Hashi, a Mogadishu resident. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35416]

SUDAN: Time for sides to prove commitment to peace - US envoy

The Sudanese government and rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army
(SPLM/A) can resolve their differences within a matter of weeks if both
sides are genuinely interested in peace, former US senator John Danforth
told reporters in Nairobi on Friday. "It's not enough to make verbal
statements," said Danforth, the US peace envoy to Sudan. "If each side
truly and in good faith seeks peace and if each side negotiates in good
faith then these remaining issues can be resolved in a very short period
of time. By a short period of time I mean weeks, not months."  [Full story
at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35479]

SUDAN: Peace process still on track, sides say

Sudan's warring parties say the peace process is still on track despite a
number of setbacks which arose during the last round of talks held at the
weekend. The talks aimed at ending the country's 20-year civil war ended
Saturday after the government delegation raised objections to proposals
contained in a draft peace agreement, citing "imbalances". The draft is a
working document, presented to the sides by the negotiators, which is
expected to lead to a final peace accord in August. After "careful
examination" of the proposals, a government statement said it had
concluded that the document was "far removed" from the text and spirit of
the July 2002 Machakos Protocol, which is considered the basic cornerstone
of the peace process. Sudan's deputy ambassador to Kenya Muhammad Ahmad
Dirdeiry told IRIN the draft had "taken sides" with the rebel Sudan
People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). [full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35387]

SUDAN: Amnesty urges human rights component in peace process

The human rights group Amnesty International has called for a human rights
component in the ongoing Sudanese peace process if lasting and sustainable
peace is to be achieved throughout the country. "Unless human rights for
all become a full component of a forthcoming agreement crucial for the
future of Sudan, peace will not be sustainable," the organisation said in
a new report released on Wednesday. The report entitled "Sudan: Empty
Promises? Human Rights Violations in Government Controlled Areas", said
people in government-controlled areas "continued to suffer violations of
their human rights, rooted in the same issues of discrimination and
injustice that fuelled the war in the south". "The government of Sudan has
made many gestures hinting at greater openness and promotion of human
rights in areas it controls. But too often positive rhetoric has not been
converted into concrete action in favour of human rights," Amnesty said.  
[Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35423]


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