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HORN OF AFRICA
IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 178
31 January - 6 February 2004


CONTENTS:

SUDAN: Amnesty condemns abuses in Darfur
SUDAN: Warring parties investigating western Upper Nile clashes
ETHIOPIA: Human Rights Watch accuses government of continuing abuses
ETHIOPIA: Free press association's new leaders vow to fight on
ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Lifting of partial border closure expected
ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Military coordination committee meets in Nairobi
ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: UN special envoy officially appointed
ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Landmines kill two in buffer zone
SOMALIA: Stay the course, Musyoka tells leaders
SOMALIA: UN staff member still held by abductors
SOMALIA: Orphanage closures render thousands of children homeless

ALSO SEE:

AFRICA: Focus on efforts to eliminate female genital mutilation at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=39287

SUDAN-CHAD: Darfur's invisible refugees living rough in eastern Chad at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=39284

ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Interview with UNMEE force commander Maj-Gen Robert
Gordon at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=39296


SUDAN: Amnesty condemns abuses in Darfur

The UK-based human rights watchdog Amnesty International (AI) has
expressed concern over "massive" civilian abuses in Darfur, western Sudan,
urging all parties to the conflict to respect their commitment under
international human rights and humanitarian law. In a report released on
Tuesday, AI blamed Sudanese authorities and a government-aligned militia
known as "Janjawid" for threatening the lives and property of hundreds of
thousands of civilians through indiscriminate bombings, killings, and
forced displacement, in an attempt to end the escalating conflict in the
region.

The report, entitled "Sudan-Darfur: Too many people killed for no reason",
accused the government forces of perpetrating indiscriminate arrests,
abductions and torture, including rape of women and girls. "As fighting
and displacement of civilians intensifies in Darfur, western Sudan,
Amnesty International is requesting all parties to the conflict to respect
international human rights and humanitarian law at all times," the
organisation said.

Over 600,000 Sudanese people have been displaced, of whom about 110,000
have fled to neighbouring Chad since February 2003, due to fighting
between the Sudanese government, militias, and the region's two rebel
groups, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and the Justice and Equality
Movement. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=39266]


SUDAN: Warring parties investigating western Upper Nile clashes

The Sudanese warring parties on Tuesday said they were investigating
circumstances leading to last week's fighting between their forces in the
oil-rich western Upper Nile region of southern Sudan. At least 50 people
were reportedly killed in renewed fighting between the Sudan People's
Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) and pro-government southern militias.

The fighting was yet another blow to the ongoing peace process, following
last week's unexpected suspension of talks in Kenya, at the insistence of
the government delegation, whose senior members sought to attend the
Islamic Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, observers said. Samson Kwaje, the SPLM/A
spokesman, told IRIN on Tuesday that the SPLM/A had reported the matter to
the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the regional body
facilitating the talks, for investigation.

There were conflicting reports on the nature of the fighting and the
casualty figures around the Upper Nile State capital, Malakal. Some
figures suggested that up to 41 pro-government soldiers died in the
skirmishes. Kwaje said he did not have details of the casualties on the
SPLM/A side. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=39273]


ETHIOPIA: Human Rights Watch accuses government of continuing abuses
 
An international advocacy group has criticised Ethiopia for its continuing
human rights abuses and condemned foreign donors for failing to help
prevent them. Human Rights Watch (HRW) says the government "continues to
deny" its citizens their basic human rights while the international
community takes no action. In its 2004 World Report, the New York-based
group said foreign donors who were pouring about US $1 billion into
Ethiopia each year were focused on other issues.

"Foreign donors have not played any role in correcting these abuses, and
have been diverted by famine, the possibility of a renewed
Ethiopia-Eritrea war arising from Ethiopia's refusal to honour an
arbitration decision on the location of its border with Eritrea, and
Ethiopia's cooperation in the US war on terrorism," the report stated.

But the government insists that improvements have been made, stressing
that democratic institutions were put in place until 12 years ago after
the overthrow of the former military regime. "We accept everything is not
perfect," the government spokesman, Zemedkun Tekle, told IRIN, "but we are
trying to make the improvements demanded of us. This report highlights the
problems and not the achievements we have made. It is expecting us to be
fully developed, but we are beginners in everything." [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=39253]


ETHIOPIA: Free press association's new leaders vow to fight on

The new leadership of the beleaguered Ethiopia Free Press Journalists’
Association (EFJA) on Wednesday vowed to boost freedom of expression and
to fight repression and harassment. Its vice-president, Getachew Simie,
also insisted that the newly elected leadership was free from government
interference. "We remain committed to press freedom and to safeguard the
free flow of information, [and to] advocate democratic governance and
respect for human rights," he told IRIN.

Getachew's election followed a call by the justice ministry on EFJA
members to oust the then existing leadership after banning it and the
organisation itself.

The move sparked consternation among international media watchdogs, who
expressed "growing alarm" over the government's attempts to "silence" the
EFJA. The International Federation of Journalists and Article 19 were
among 14 international organisations to condemn the move. "We believe that
the Ethiopian government is seeking to change the composition of one of
the only bodies that can rightfully claim to represent the independent
media in Ethiopia," they said in a letter sent to the Prime Minister Meles
Zenawi.

They argued that the move to establish a new EFJA leadership had been
inspired by growing criticism of a new draft press law being introduced in
the country. "Moreover, we believe that these acts are being carried out
to ensure not only that the independent media no longer has a distinctive
voice in Ethiopia but also to prevent internal criticism of the new
repressive press law that is being prepared for passage through the
Ethiopian legislature," the letter said. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=39283]


ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Lifting of partial border closure expected
 
Ethiopia is expected to lift a partial border ban imposed unexpectedly on
UN peacekeepers, the UN’s military commander said on Thursday. Maj-Gen
Robert Gordon said the Ethiopian military had pledged to reopen its
frontier with Eritrea after closing western and central border areas to
the UN force.

No official reason was given for the restrictions, which were imposed on
Tuesday. Gordon, who is in charge of 3,800 Blue Helmets, told reporters.
"I can report that in the last two days, UNMEE [UN Mission in Ethiopia and
Eritrea], specifically the force, had faced restrictions imposed by the
EAF [Ethiopian Armed Forces] on our movements across the southern boundary
of the temporary security zone."

"We have received no official notification of any change in policy by the
Ethiopian authorities regarding our movements, but I can say we are now in
discussions with them on this development," he told journalists at a
weekly press briefing by the UN force. "In certain crossing points over
the southern boundary of the temporary security zone we were not allowed
to cross," he added from the Eritrean capital, Asmara. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=39317]


ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Military coordination committee meets in Nairobi
 
Eritrean military leaders have rejected assertions by the UN that the
border with Ethiopia is "militarily stable", claiming instead that
Eritrean territory is being occupied. Eritrean Brig-Gen Abrahaley Kifle
said on Monday that he disagreed with the UN’s assessment that the
situation on the 1,000-km long border remained stable. He made the
statement at the UN-hosted Military Coordination Committee (MCC) talks
held between Ethiopia and Eritrea in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

In a statement released after the Nairobi meeting, the UN said Abrahaley's
assessment differed from that of Maj-Gen Gordon, who was quoted as saying
"that while the atmosphere in the border areas remained politically
tense", it was militarily "alert but defensive". UNMEE was "generally
happy with the cooperation from the Eritrean Defence Force and the
Ethiopian Armed Force, as well as the Eritrean militia and police" the
statement said.

Ethiopian Brig-Gen Yohanes Gebremeskel told the MCC during the meeting
that his country "wanted to avoid war at all costs" and supported efforts
to find a peaceful solution. He reiterated that Ethiopia was keen to find
a "lasting solution" to the border demarcation, which, if reached, would
benefit not only the two countries but the region as a whole. [Full story
at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=39261]


ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: UN special envoy officially appointed

Former Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy has been officially
appointed UN special envoy to help defuse the standoff between Ethiopia
and Eritrea. A statement released by Secretary-General Kofi Annan's
spokesman on 30 January said Axworthy would help to overcome the current
deadlock in their peace process.

"The Secretary-General has been very concerned about the lack of progress
in the implementation of the Algiers Agreement between Ethiopia and
Eritrea," it said. "In order to help move the process forward, the
Secretary-General offered his good offices to the two parties, and has
appointed Lloyd Axworthy, former foreign minister of Canada, as his
special envoy for Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Secretary-General hopes that,
in carrying out this important assignment, the Special Envoy will enjoy
the full cooperation of all parties concerned."

UN Security Council President Heraldo Muñoz "welcomed" the appointment and
called on both countries to cooperate with Axworthy in his role. [Full
story at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=39246]


ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Landmines kill two in buffer zone

Two men were killed and two others injured by landmines in the
demilitarised zone separating Ethiopia and Eritrea, UN peacekeepers said
on 30 January. They were killed in two separate incidents on 25 January,
the first such incident inside the 25-km temporary security zone between
the two countries.

Phil Lewis, the head of UNMEE's Mine Action Coordination Centre, said one
of the victims had wandered in the company of two friends into Eritrea’s
most heavily mined area. He was killed by a deadly POM-Z antipersonnel
landmine, which explodes at a low level, spraying shrapnel in all
directions. It is designed to kill and maim large numbers of people. His
friends were also wounded in the blast.

In the second incident, UNMEE said a 60-year-old man was killed near the
village of Kinto, west of Zela Ambesa in southern Eritrea, which was the
scene of heavy fighting during the war. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=39256]


SOMALIA: Stay the course, Musyoka tells leaders

Kenyan Foreign Minister Kalonzo Musyoka, who is also the chairman of the
IGAD ministerial facilitation committee for the Somali peace talks, has
called on Somali leaders to stay the course and guard against setbacks. He
urged the leaders "to stay on course by concerting and intensifying their
efforts towards realising the aspirations of the Somalis," according to a
press statement he issued on Wednesday.

In it, Musyoka noted that the agreement the Somali groups signed on 29
January, "represents a momentous achievement and a landmark breakthrough".
In this regard, he advised them "to refrain from any precipitative or
hostile propaganda, animosity and mutual suspicion that could trigger any
setback".

He said "any single interest or issues or by individual or groups" must
not be allowed to hold the final conclusion of the process hostage. "The
international community will not stand by and watch these efforts
undermined or derailed by any group or leader bent on promoting their
selfish and narrow interest," Musyoka warned. He reminded the Somali
leaders that the international community would impose a "targeted
sanctions regime" on those who tried to undermine the current agreement.
[Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=39292]

Earlier, the US and the EU expressed support for the peace agreement. In
its statement, issued on 31 January, the US State Department said "by
signing this agreement, the Somalis have demonstrated their ability to
overcome differences, increase their capacity to formulate workable
compromises and begin reaching out to former adversaries in the interest
of providing a way forward for the Somali people". It cautioned, however
that the agreement, albeit significant, "is just one critical step in what
will still be a long and difficult process". It urged Somalis to ensure
that the momentum was not lost.

In its statement, issued 30 January, the EU called on Somali leaders "to
ensure that the same spirit of positive cooperation prevails during the
third and final phase of the conference, and that a comprehensive and
all-inclusive solution is found to the long-lasting crisis in Somalia".  
[Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=39340]


SOMALIA: UN staff member still held by abductors

The UN staff member, Rolf Helmrich, who was abducted by militias in the
southern Lower Juba region last week, should be released immediately and
unconditionally, the UN has demanded.

Helmrich, a German national, was abducted at 11:30 GMT on 29 January at a
point about 45 km north of the regional capital, Kismayo. Sources in
Kismayo told IRIN the next day that the Juba Valley Alliance, the faction
which controls the area, had set up roadblocks "to limit the abductors'
ability to move around".

In a statement issued in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi on Monday, the UN
Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Somalia, Maxwell Gaylard,
condemned the actions of the militia group responsible for the abduction.
[Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=39248; also
see: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=39290]


SOMALIA: Orphanage closures render thousands of children homeless

About 3,000 Somali orphans are facing an uncertain future after the
orphanages caring for them closed last week, for lack of funds. They were
forced to cease operations because the Saudi-based Al-Haramayn aid agency,
which was funding them, was banned from working in Somalia after the US
government said it had links with terrorists.

The Islamic agency closed its offices in Somalia in May last year, but the
orphanages continued to take care of the children, "because the agency
left enough money to run them for six months", Dahir Ghelle, who worked in
one of the orphanages in Mogadishu, told IRIN on Thursday. "We had to
stretch the money to last us up to now," he said. There had been hope that
the agency would succeed in clearing its name and return, Abdullahi Haji
Abukar, who works with the children, told IRIN. "I think they [orphanages]
have come to the end of the road, unless some agency or individual
intervenes."

Al-Haramayn first came to Somalia in 1992, at the height of a famine. It
funded a total of eight orphanages nationwide, housing children between
the ages of six and 13 years. Five of the orphanages were in Mogadishu and
the rest in Marka in southern Somalia, and Burao and Hargeysa in the
self-declared republic of Somaliland, respectively. Most of the orphans
the agency cared for, had lost one or both parents in war. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=39311]


[This Item is Delivered to the "Africa-English" Service of the UN's IRIN
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Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2004


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