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HORN OF AFRICA
IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 170
6 - 12 December 2003


CONTENTS:

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: UN confirms special envoy to be appointed
ETHIOPIA: Chinese premier's visit aims to boost trade ties
ETHIOPIA: Plea for more food aid
ETHIOPIA: Gov't under fire for closing free press body
ETHIOPIA: Dutch gov't funding to promote girls' education
ETHIOPIA: Tackling HIV/AIDS through music
SOMALIA: Senior police officer shot dead in Somaliland
SOMALIA: TNG faction rejects new appointments
SOMALIA: IGAD calls on leaders to attend retreat
SUDAN: Concern mounts as humanitarian access still blocked in Darfur



ALSO SEE: 

SUDAN: Feature - Death and destruction in Darfur at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=38353

ETHIOPIA: Interview with DPPC head Simon Mechale at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=38348

ETHIOPIA: Feature - Plummeting coffee prices lead to khat upsurge at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=38308


ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: UN confirms special envoy to be appointed

A special envoy is to be appointed to help “intensify” efforts to resolve
the stalled peace process between Ethiopia and Eritrea, the United Nations
said on Friday. George Somerwill, deputy spokesman for the UN Mission in
Eritrea and Ethiopia (UNMEE), said the envoy would add weight to ongoing
diplomatic moves to keep the three-year-old peace deal on track. “The
appointment of a special envoy is an intensification of the UN and
international community’s efforts to bring the Algiers [peace] Agreement
to a satisfactory conclusion,” he told IRIN. Somerwill declined to comment
on who may be appointed and when. Speculation, both in the Ethiopian media
and abroad, is mounting that former Canadian foreign minister Dr Lloyd
Axworthy will be appointed to the role. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=38385]

ETHIOPIA: Chinese premier's visit aims to boost trade ties

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao flies into one of the poorest nations on earth
on Sunday - marking the end of a four-nation tour that started with the
world's richest. He will will pay a two-day visit to Ethiopia which is
reeling from a crippling drought and where four out of every five people
live below the poverty line. Wen – on the first ever visit by a Chinese
premier since diplomatic relations were established in 1970 - will hold
talks with the Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. They are both are
expected to open a key two-day summit in Addis Ababa on Monday focusing on
further boosting growing ties between China and Africa. Analysts see the
event, a follow-up to the 2000 Beijing China-Africa forum, as an
opportunity for China to further woo the developing world and in
particular Africa. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=38387]

ETHIOPIA: Plea for more food aid

Seven million Ethiopians could go hungry next year without international
aid to make up a chronic food shortfall, the government warned on
Wednesday. Simon Mechale, head of the Ethiopian government’s emergency
arm, appealed for an estimated US $380 million in food and medical support
to help avert a catastrophe. A further two million people are at risk from
shortages and require “close monitoring”, he said at the launch of the
government’s 2004 humanitarian appeal. His call for support comes as the
impoverished nation emerges from one of its worst humanitarian crises
where 13 million people have been hit by food shortages. “The magnitude of
the disaster last year was enormous,” he told senior United Nations
officials, international charities and donors. “But despite a significant
increase in food production we still face many challenges this year,” said
Simon, who heads the Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission
(DPPC). [Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=38330]

ETHIOPIA: Gov't under fire for closing free press body

The Ethiopian government is facing mounting criticism over its
controversial decision to close the country’s free press association.
Seven international press freedom organisations have called on the
government to lift the indefinite suspension of the Ethiopian Free Press
Journalists’ Association (EFJA). “This is the first time in three years
that the government has called EFJA’s registration into question,” a
committee representing the press freedom associations said.  It expressed
concern that the closure could be a pretext to penalise the organisation
for criticising a controversial press law which is under review.
Organisations including the Inter American Press Association, the World
Association of Newspapers and World Press Freedom Committee all backed the
resolution. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=38325]

ETHIOPIA: Dutch gov't funding to promote girls' education

The Dutch government has donated US $3.4 million to promote girls’
education in Ethiopia under a programme launched by the UN Children's Fund
(UNICEF). Dutch Ambassador Rob Vermaas said it was critical to get more
girls into schools and provide them with a quality education. “The
government of the Netherlands is dedicated to closing the gender gap in
Ethiopia's schools and ensuring that all children have access to a good
quality education,” he said. Educational support is a central plank of the
Dutch government’s aid to Ethiopia. The money – donated to UNICEF for a
three-year programme - will be used to promote girls' education in five
regions where there are the widest gender gaps and the lowest levels of
girls' Some 80 percent of out-of-school children are concentrated in these
regions. enrolment in schools. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=38323]

ETHIOPIA: Tackling HIV/AIDS through music

Some of Ethiopia’s best-known musicians have released a song to fight
widespread stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV and
AIDS. The eight singers, who are among the country’s best-known vocalists,
have collaborated to produce the hit which is currently being broadcast on
radio and television. The song - called Compassion in Modernity - and
music video was composed by well-known Ethiopian poet Nebiy Mekonnen.
Musicians Gosaye Tesfye, Tadele Roba, Michael Belayneh, Haile Tadesse,
Tsednya Gebre Markos, Abdu Kiyar, Birhanu Tezera, and Abinet Agonfir all
joined forces to sing. “The singers feel that they have done nothing so
far against AIDS,” said Assafa Gosaye of Admass Advertising who produced
the song. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=38305]

SOMALIA: Senior police officer shot dead in Somaliland

A senior police officer was shot dead in Hargeysa, the capital of the
self-declared republic of Somaliland, on Tuesday, according to a local
journalist. He said the Hargeysa regional traffic police chief, Col Mahmud
Abdi Jama, was shot twice in front of his house by unknown gunmen who
followed him home. "He was rushed to a nearby hospital but died shortly
afterwards," the source added. An investigation into the killing is
underway, with many policemen visible on the streets of the city. The
police officer's killing follows the murder in October of two British
teachers Richard and Enid Eyeington, and Italian veteran aid worker, Dr
Annalena Tonelli. An official with Somaliland's information ministry said
the motive for the latest murder was not yet clear, neither who was behind
it nor whether it was linked to the previous murders.  [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=38324]

SOMALIA: TNG faction rejects new appointments

Divisions are growing within Somalia's Transitional National Government
(TNG) after one faction rejected the recent appointments of an assembly
speaker and prime minister by TNG leader Abdiqassim Salad Hassan. Hasan
Abshir Farah and Abdullah Deerow Isaaq were dismissed as prime minister
and speaker respectively in August. But they maintain that the TNG has no
authority to issue such instructions as its mandate expired that month. On
Monday, Abdiqassim named Muhammad Abdi Yusuf as prime minister and Mustafa
Gudow was appointed as speaker of the Transitional National Assembly
(TNA). In a joint press release, Abshir and Deerow said the appointments
were contrary to the transitional charter or interim constitution and
therefore "null and void". [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=38304]

SOMALIA: IGAD calls on leaders to attend retreat

Ministers from member states of the Inter-Governmental Authority on
Development (IGAD) have urged Somali leaders to attend a proposed retreat
to promote the peace process. During a meeting in Nairobi on Monday, the
ministers agreed to postpone the retreat - originally scheduled for 9
December - until 18 December "to allow further consultations", according
to an IGAD joint communiqué issued. The 10-day retreat will be launched in
Mombasa by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who is also the IGAD
chairman. Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and Mozambique President Joaquim
Chissano are expected to attend, the statement said. The ministers warned
Somali leaders that "any invited leader who does not attend the leaders'
retreat shall be deemed not to be interested in the reconciliation process
and will be treated as such". [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=38301]

SUDAN: Concern mounts as humanitarian access still blocked in Darfur

For over three weeks, humanitarian access has been blocked to key areas of
Darfur in western Sudan, where there are hundreds of thousands of
displaced people and a steadily worsening humanitarian situation. “Access
is certainly being denied and security is no doubt an important reason,”
UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan Mukesh Kapila told IRIN. “However,
because the clearance system for travel permits does not appear to have
adequate transparency we cannot tell whether a denial to travel is based
entirely on the grounds of security or whether there are other reasons for
denying access.” Areas held by the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A)
rebel group have not received medical aid for months and only limited food
supplies. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=38351]


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