Ethiopia Watch

Sudan's President Al Bashir addresses the mini-summit on the security situation in Somalia - ISSA rejects any Israeli role in Africa

2010-12-19T22:54:00.000-08:00

Sudan is keeping its diplomatic mission in Mogadishu despite the deteriorated security situation there.

The 1st Consultative Meeting held between the Council of Arab Peace and Security (PSC) and the Peace and Security Council of the African Union called for full Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories.

Further details below.

ISSA Rejects any Israeli Role in Africa - Al Bashir Addresses the Mini-Summit on the Security Situation in Somalia
Source: Sudan Vision Daily - www.sudanvisiondaily.com
Author: Al-Sammani Awadallah
Date: Monday, 20 December 2010

(Khartoum, Sudan) – President of the Republic, Field Marshal Omer Al Bashir will address at 12:00 noon today in the Friendship Hall the Mini-Summit on the Security Situation in Somalia.

The summit will discuss the situation in Somalia amid broad participation from African Security and Intelligence services.

Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Service Representative, Major General Hanafi Abdullah said in a press conference yesterday that the situation in Somalia will top the agendas of the summit, pointing our to the role played by Sudan in connection to the Somali issue and the financial and logistic support present to the government in Mogadishu.

He affirmed that Sudan is keeping its diplomatic mission in Mogadishu despite the deteriorated security situation there.

He said that the summit will discuss the proposed mechanism to upgrade the capability in Somalia and the current situation there. He pointed to the participation of the African Union and IGAD in this mini-summit to reach a united vision in supporting the AU Peace and Security Council to resolve the issue besides helping the African leaders in supporting stability in Somalia.

On his part, CISSA executive Secretary, Isaac Moyo said that Sudan is continuously supporting the CISSA and this meeting is evidence to the confidence of the CISSA in Sudan which is one of its founders.

He added that the CISSA held a workshop on the ICC through which the rejection voice of the African continent came out.

He disclosed that today's meeting is a unique chance to activate the data of the CISSA over Somalia to bridge any gaps, affirming that the African governments blessed the formation of the CISSA as a unique institution.

He said that the mini-summit will discuss on the sidelines of the meeting the situation in Sudan and the upcoming referendum.

Moyo affirmed that CISSA is an African entity working for the interest of the continent as a security mechanism to confront the security problems in the continent.

He confirmed that CISSA doesn't welcome any Israeli role in Africa and will unveil any Zionist plots.

- - -

The 1st Consultative Meeting held between the Council of Arab Peace and Security (PSC) and the Peace and Security Council of the African Union called for full Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories.

Arab and African PSCs Call for Israeli Withdrawal from All Occupied Arab Lands
Source: Ahlul Bayt News Agency - www.abna.ir
Date:

The 1st Consultative Meeting held between the Council of Arab Peace and Security (PSC) and the Peace and Security Council of the African Union called for full Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories.
The meeting was held at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo.

The councils issued a statement in which they urged the international community to recognize the State of Palestine within the borders of June 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital and reach a just and comprehensive solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The statement included several items that reflect the stances of the Arab and African countries concerning Sudan, Somalia and the Comoros, in order to achieve peace, stability, security and prevent external interference in those areas.

Ambassador Youssef Ahmed, Syria's Permanent Representative to the League of Arab States, stressed the importance of holding such meetings between the Arab and the African blocs to reach joint cooperation and coordination between them.

Ahmad stressed that these meetings should reflect clear and strong stances that reject the obstinate Israeli policies, which hinder the peace efforts and violate the international resolutions.

Ambassador Ahmad called for an effective Arab and African role to solve the crisis of Sudan and the Horn of Africa and achieve peace and stability in these areas.

The Council of Arab Peace and Security was established in 2006 during the Arab Summit in Khartoum. It aims at preventing, managing and solving crises.

The Council submits reports to the League's Council with its recommendations and suggestions on the measures necessary to maintain international peace and security, the outcome of negotiations, mediation and conciliation efforts conducted between disputing parties.

Understanding the Ethiopian hardliners

2010-12-09T23:20:00.000-08:00

On Sudan, Getachew urged the U.S. to engage Bashir and the Sudanese leadership. Sudan, more than Somalia, poses the greatest threat to regional security and stability, Getachew argued. The prospects for a civil war which destabilizes the region would be devastating. The only country that would benefit would be Eritrea.

Further details below.

US embassy cables Meles Security chief and Yamamoto
Source: www.abugidainfo.com
Date: Wednesday, 08 December 2010.
US embassy cables Meles Security chief and Yamamoto
Monday, 08 June 2009, 12:33

EU contributed over €600 million to Ethiopia - “Ethiopia’s Stalled Democracy: A Spotlight on the Ogaden”

2010-12-09T09:09:00.000-08:00

Mr. Marino Busdachin, UNPO General Secretary, stressed the need to discuss Ethiopia’s failed governance because “not enough people in the EU manifest enough interest in the Ethiopia issue.” A major conference was needed to bring new thinking to light – the EU contributed over €600 million to Ethiopia but was treated with contempt and its funds used not for, but against, democracy – this had to be stopped.

The plight of Ogaden women was presented by Mr. Abdullahi Mohamed and Ms. Abbey Augus of African Rights Monitor who cited cases of arrest, robbery, rape, and extrajudicial killings, that compounded critically low development indicators and a tolerance of underage marriage and female genital mutilation.

Full story below.

EU must end “business as usual” with Ethiopia
Source: Unrepresented Nations and People Organization
Reprinted by: africanpressorganization
Date: Thursday, 09 December 2010 (BRUSSELS, Kingdom of Belgium):

In a hearing convened on 7 December 2010 in the European Parliament, deputies, media and civil society heard that the European Union must uphold its values and support them with “concrete action” while the EU High Representative’s “softly worded” statements must be replaced by an assessment of the effectiveness of EU aid distribution and its impact on human rights and democratization, possibly leading to the consideration of identifying targeted sanctions.

Rare and moving testimony from an eyewitness to the severe and degrading human rights abuses being perpetrated in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia informed discussions in a cross-party hearing, entitled “Ethiopia’s Stalled Democracy: A Spotlight on the Ogaden” convened by Ms. Ana Gomes MEP in the European Parliament on 7 December 2010.

Opening the hearing, Vice-President of the European Parliament, Mr. László Tőkés MEP noted that the hearing represented an important step to understanding “Ethiopia’s complexity and the legitimacy of its peoples’ demands” emphasizing that “to look to the future we must understand the present.”

Ms. Ana Gomes MEP communicated her desire for a constructive dialogue – there was “a pressing need to assess where Ethiopian governance is heading” she noted and it was time the international community reacts ”against the domestic and international threat of Ethiopia’s repressive government.”

Mr. Marino Busdachin, UNPO General Secretary, stressed the need to discuss Ethiopia’s failed governance because “not enough people in the EU manifest enough interest in the Ethiopia issue.” A major conference was needed to bring new thinking to light – the EU contributed over €600 million to Ethiopia but was treated with contempt and its funds used not for, but against, democracy – this had to be stopped.

The plight of Ogaden women was presented by Mr. Abdullahi Mohamed and Ms. Abbey Augus of African Rights Monitor who cited cases of arrest, robbery, rape, and extrajudicial killings, that compounded critically low development indicators and a tolerance of underage marriage and female genital mutilation.

In a historical overview Dr. Barbara Lakeberg of the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights drew from personal experience in Iraq the case of Ethiopians that fleeing the country to escape repression and the limits to free expression that made independent assessments of the situation in Ogaden so difficult.

Professor Jans of Tilburg University emphasized the need to develop a respect of minorities that went not in the direction of tolerance but rather a deeper and more positive “intercultural reciprocity” that placed Ethiopians under a law applicable to all – similar to that enshrined in the South African constitution.

SOURCE

Unrepresented Nations and People Organization

[End of copy]

Yemen key transit hub for Hamas arms: leaked memos

2010-12-07T10:03:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON saw Yemen as a key transit point for arms flowing to the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and the Gaza Strip via Sudan, according to US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks on Tuesday.

"We understand a significant volume of arms shipments to Hamas make the short 24-hour transit across the Red Sea from Yemen to Sudan," a July 2009 memo from the US embassy in Saana said.

Full story below.

Yemen key transit hub for Hamas arms: leaked memos
Source: AFP - www.google.com/hostednews
By Paul Handley (AFP) – Tuesday, 07 December 2010:

(RIYADH) - Washington saw Yemen as a key transit point for arms flowing to the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and the Gaza Strip via Sudan, according to US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks on Tuesday.

"We understand a significant volume of arms shipments to Hamas make the short 24-hour transit across the Red Sea from Yemen to Sudan," a July 2009 memo from the US embassy in Saana said.

"These shipments usually transit in small groups of flagged and unflagged dhows" -- small wooden ships -- that hide by mixing with other similar vessels in busy harbours or in coastal mangroves, according to the document.

"The weapons are transported by boat across the Red Sea to landing points in Sudan ... Once landed, we assess that the goods are transported north by car through Sudan."

Weapons one group smuggled to Gaza included rockets, handguns, anti-armour rocket-propelled grenades, and anti-aircraft guns, the memo said.

It said the US was asking Sanaa for permission to conduct surveillance over Yemen's coastal sea using helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles to track the arms-smuggling dhows.

"In a recent case, sparse intelligence and a dhow's use of Yemeni territorial waters allowed a known shipment of arms probably bound for Gaza to transit undetected in international waters past a searching US warship," it said.

The same document said Yemen was a departure point for arms going to Somalia and other east African countries, and to Saudi Arabia as well.

Washington had information on a Yemen-based smugglers who were sending arms to African buyers, who possibly sold them on to Al-Qaeda-associated groups like Somalia's Al-Shabab rebels.

US embassy documents also spoke of the "robust black market" for weapons in Yemen.

One of the biggest worries for the US officials was the possibility that shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles could be obtained on the Yemen market.

In a cable from January 2010, US officials expressed concerns about Yemen's planned purchase of 30,000 assault rifles and ammunition from Bulgaria "given the unstable situation in Yemen and the potential for proliferation of small arms."

One month earlier, another memo spoke of worries that Yemen's defence ministry planned to buy a shipment of small arms and heavy artillery ammunition, sniper rifles, anti-aircraft guns and howitzers from a Serbian arms dealer Slobodan Tesic, who was on a UN travel ban list.

The embassy said it worried that the weapons could be diverted to the black market.

But a 2007 cable suggested Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh took a casual view toward the arms black market, and could benefit from it himself.

In the middle of a meeting with the White House's top counter-terrorism advisor, Frances Townsend, Saleh unexpectedly invited in known arms dealer Faris Manaa.

"If he does not behave properly, you can take him... back to Washington in Townsend's plane or to Guantanamo," Saleh joked with the Americans.

Ethiopia's ONLF rebels say killed 35 govt troops - Government says claim propaganda based on lies

2010-11-26T08:28:00.000-08:00

Region is eyed for potential oil and gas reserves
Government says claim propaganda based on lies

Ethiopia's ONLF rebels say killed 35 govt troops
Source: Reuters - uk.reuters.com
Author: Aaron Maasho
Date: Friday, 26 November 2010 1:14pm GMT

ADDIS ABABA, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Rebels in Ethiopia's Ogaden region said on Friday they had killed 35 government troops in three days of fighting, a charge dismissed by the government.

The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) wants autonomy for the ethnic Somali-dominated province, which is drawing interest from foreign firms who think its deserts might hold significant oil and gas deposits.

The group said in a statement that hundreds of civilians were tortured by government troops in November after they were displaced from their localities.

"A brigade has engaged the Ethiopian Army on multiple fronts around Degahbur from November 23 to 25. They lost 35 soldiers in the operation, with many wounded," the ONLF said.

"This operation was to disrupt the Ethiopian government's new strategy of evicting people from their habitat and confiscating their properties, then taking them to killing centres," the group said.

Government spokesman Shimelis Kemal dismissed the claim.

"What happened was that the army was conducting a mop-up operation to get rid of bandits. Six of their members were killed while two were captured," he told Reuters by phone.

Ethiopia says the Ogaden basin may contain gas reserves of 4 trillion cubic feet and major oil deposits.

The ONLF routinely claims victories over the army. The government has admitted to small skirmishes in the past year but Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said the ONLF had been defeated.

Ethiopia signed a peace deal in October with a faction of the ONLF, although another division of the group called the deal "irrelevant".

"They (ONLF) have been crushed. This is a splinter group that is limited to highway robberies and nothing more," Shimelis said. Addis Ababa says the ONLF are "terrorists" supported by regional rival Eritrea.

(Editing by David Clarke and Jan Harvey)

New Sudan war would cost Ethiopia, region

2010-11-26T05:59:00.000-08:00

New Sudan war would cost Kenya, region
Source: AFP / www.capitalfm.co.ke
Date: Thursday, 25 November 2010

(Khartoum, Sudan, Nov 25) - A return to civil war in the event that south Sudan votes for independence would cost the country, the region and international community more than 100 billion dollars, a study published on Thursday warned.

Aegis Trust, an NGO, and three research centres including the Institute for Security Studies, based in South Africa, drew up four post-referendum scenarios, ranging from peace to a resumption of full-scale war between north and south Sudan.

In the case of a 10-year conflict of medium intensity, the losses for Sudan would amount to at least 52.1 billion dollars (39 billion euros), on top of about 29 billion dollars for neighbouring Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, the study estimated.

The impact on the international community would top 30 billion dollars in terms of peacekeeping missions and humanitarian aid.

"This report demonstrates the high cost of conflict. It implies that domestic, regional and international parties should be asking: 'Are we doing enough to avoid a war that might cost over 100 billion dollars and ruin countless lives?'" said Matthew Bell of London-based Frontier Economics.

The study calculated Sudan's losses in case of war on the basis of an annual 2.2-percent decline in Gross Domestic Product.

It would cost Ethiopia and Kenya more than one billion dollars a year in terms of forecast growth, the researchers said, warning that war would also damage Egypt, Sudan's northern neighbour and the region's leading economy.

The impact could be even heavier in the event of full-scale war that would disrupt the oil production of Africa's largest country, which has reserves of more than six billion barrels.

Khartoum and the former southern rebels signed a peace deal in 2005 after more than two decades of war. A central element of that accord is an independence referendum for the south scheduled for January. Since July, the two sides have been negotiating on key post-vote issues.

Chief among those crucial to a peaceful transition in case of partition is the sharing of oil resources.

Oil revenues make up the Sudanese government's main source of foreign currency earnings, while southern Sudan depends on oil for as much as 98 percent of its budget.

Most of Sudan's reserves are concentrated in the south but can only be exported through a pipeline passing through the north on the way to Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

An oil-sharing formula would benefit both the north and south, whereas an interruption in production and exports would damage the whole country.

"Reaching some level of agreement before the referendum is important not only because both economies need uninterrupted revenue, but also to sustain the confidence of oil companies in their existing investments," the International Crisis Group said this week.

In case of peace and healthy ties between north and south Sudan as well improved security in Darfur, Sudan's growth would steady at an annual 6.2 percent for five years and even reach nine percent from 2016, the study said.

- - -

Report On The Cost Of A Possible Return To War In Sudan
Source: SRS (Sudan Radio Service) - www.sudanradio.org
Date: Thursday, 25 November 2010

(Nairobi, Kenya) – A report published by a coalition of European and African economic and political think-tanks on Thursday says a return to war in Sudan would cost Sudan, the region and the international community about 100 billion US dollars.

The report which comes amid fears that the referendum could trigger an escalation of violence attempts to analyze the economic cost of war to the region.

Mathew Bell an Associate Director of the London based, Frontier Economics spoke to SRS in Nairobi during the launch of the report.

[Mathew Bell]: “The report is an attempt to do with economic analysis of what the cost of war to Sudan and the region and the international community could be. It very explicitly sets aside the very real and important human costs of death and suffering that would result in war but to take a financial perspective as a way of adding to the debate around the cost of war. The headline itself looks like it would cost in excess of about a hundred billion dollars to the combination of Sudan the region and the international community should war break out. That figure breaks down into about 50 billion dollar cost to the Sudanese economy itself. About a 25 billion dollar cost to the regional economy including Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda. And about a 25 to 30 billion dollar cost to the international community in the form of peace keeping in the form of humanitarian intervention.”

Mathew Bell recognizes the difficulties in measuring the costs of potential future conflict in the report. He explains the different scenarios.

[Mathew Bell]: “Because of the uncertainties of what may happen because nobody can be sure about what the outcome is going to be, we have looked at different potential scenarios; we have tried to come up with a range of figures. And the 100 billion dollar that we have been quoting is towards the bottom end of that range. And the Low, medium and high conflict scenarios are different levels of conflict from a low level civil war situation, to a very serious situation to a very serious full blown civil war that might involve some of the regional players as well, or ways of how to characterize different points in the spectrum of costs. What we don’t comment on at all is what the likelihood of different scenarios would be. But we want to give a range of potential costs.”

According to the report the evidence suggests that the net impact of conflict would be significantly negative. Sudan would lose about 50 billion USD from its GDP, the neighboring countries would lose 25 billion USD of GDP and the international community would lose 30 billion USD in peacekeeping and humanitarian costs.

The report by the European and African economic and political think-tanks on the cost of war in Sudan was launched in Nairobi on Thursday.

South Sudan warns of violence over Jan. vote - Sudan NCP and SPLM to meet in Addis Ababa on resolution over Abyei

2010-10-02T05:44:00.000-07:00

AFTER reaching no agreement on resolving the controversy over the formation of a commission to conduct referendum in Abyei in New York, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the National Congress Party (NCP) agreed to meet again in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. A delegation of the SPLM will leave today [Friday, 01 Oct] for Addis Ababa to a meeting that is scheduled to take place tomorrow [Saturday, 02 Oct], Salva Kiir said yesterday [Thursday, 30 Sep].

In Washington, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters Friday that the U.S. special envoy for Sudan, Scott Gration, would participate Sunday in a meeting on Sudan in Ethiopia. Crowley said Clinton talked Friday about Sudan with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who "pledged to Secretary Clinton that he would likewise do everything he could to encourage the parties to reach an agreement on Abyei."

Clinton spoke Thursday with Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Mohammed Taha to encourage the ruling NCP, based in Sudan’s capital Khartoum, to come to “Addis Ababa on Sunday prepared to negotiate and to make sure that the negotiating team will have specific authority to reach agreement on Abyei,” Crowley said.

“We are very conscious of the fact that we have just about 100 days remaining, and Abyei is one of the central issues that has to be resolved before we can hope for a successful referenda early in 2011,” Crowley said.

Speaking before a crowd of about 1,000 people, Kiir appealed to the armies and people of Sudan to shun war, saying that he is not a coward but only those who have not been in war “still drill for it.” He said the south was willing to negotiate with the north.

Leaders from the north and south meet this weekend in Ethiopia in search for solutions surrounding the January votes. The north-south border must still be demarcated and agreements made over oil wealth, much of which is located in the south.

At Kiir’s arrival at the airport, traditional dancers performed on the runway and Kiir released white doves into the air. A white bull — a southern cultural emblem of prosperity — was slaughtered as Kiir’s plane landed.

Juba residents lined the streets to welcome Kiir, and one youth group wore T-shirts that saying: “The referendum is your golden chance for total independence.”

Read full story here below by AP, Bor Globe, SOSA News.

From: The Associated Press (AP) by Maggie Flick
Date: Friday 01 October 2010
Title: S Sudan president warns of violence over Jan. vote:

(JUBA, Sudan) — The president of Southern Sudan on Friday warned cheering crowds of a return to violence "on a massive scale" if the region's independence referendum — now 100 days away — is not held on time.

President Salva Kiir's return to this dusty, former war garrison town follows meetings at the U.N. last week that focused new attention on the region in the run-up to a Jan. 9 vote on independence.

Kiir predicted the south's vote will pass overwhelmingly. The border region of Abyei — where much of Sudan's oil is located — holds a similar vote the same day, in which voters will choose whether the region will join Sudan's north or a possible new country in the south.

"Delay or denial of the right of self-determination for the people of Southern Sudan and Abyei risks dangerous instability," Kiir said, according to prepared remarks. "There is without question a real risk of a return to violence on a massive scale if the referenda do not go ahead as scheduled."

Tensions between north and south are high over stalled preparations for both the southern referendum and the separate vote for Abyei. The Obama administration has labeled it "inevitable" the south will declare independence, but U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has also called the issue a "ticking time bomb."

In Washington, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters Friday that the U.S. special envoy for Sudan, Scott Gration, would participate Sunday in a meeting on Sudan in Ethiopia. Crowley said Clinton talked Friday about Sudan with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who "pledged to Secretary Clinton that he would likewise do everything he could to encourage the parties to reach an agreement on Abyei."

Gration also has plans to meet with Meles before Sunday's meeting.

Clinton also spoke Thursday with Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Mohammed Taha to encourage the ruling National Congress Party, based in Sudan's capital Khartoum, to come to "Addis Ababa on Sunday prepared to negotiate and to make sure that the negotiating team will have specific authority to reach agreement on Abyei," Crowley said.

"We are very conscious of the fact that we have just about 100 days remaining, and Abyei is one of the central issues that has to be resolved before we can hope for a successful referenda early in 2011," Crowley said.

Speaking before a crowd of about 1,000 people, Kiir appealed to the armies and people of Sudan to shun war, saying that he is not a coward but only those who have not been in war "still drill for it." He said the south was willing to negotiate with the north.

Leaders from the north and south meet this weekend in Ethiopia in search for solutions surrounding the January votes. The north-south border must still be demarcated and agreements made over oil wealth, much of which is located in the south.
At Kiir's arrival at the airport, traditional dancers performed on the runway and Kiir released white doves into the air. A white bull — a southern cultural emblem of prosperity — was slaughtered as Kiir's plane landed.

Juba residents lined the streets to welcome Kiir, and one youth group wore T-shirts that saying: "The referendum is your golden chance for total independence."

Sudan has been wracked by decades of war. A 2005 peace agreement ended the north-south conflict that killed 2 million people but by then the western Darfur region was at war. The referendum for the south's independence is part of the peace agreement.

- - -

From: Bor Globe.com by Mabior Philip, Staff Writer
Date: Friday 01 October 2010 at 6:05 pm
Title: Sudan NCP and SPLM to meet in Addis Ababa on resolution over Abyei controversy

(Juba, Sudan - Borglobe) - After reaching no agreement on resolving the controversy over the formation of a commission to conduct referendum in Abyei in New York, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and the National Congress Party agreed to meet again in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

A delegation of the SPLM will leave to day for Addis Ababa to a meeting that is scheduled to take place tomorrow, Salva Kiir said yesterday.

He said the National Congress Party must implement the CPA with faith and commitment, including the Abyei Protocol and a verdict issued last year by The Hague based permanent court of arbitration, delimiting Abyei boundaries.

In statements yesterday at Garang’s Mausoleum, Kiir said the Addis Ababa meeting must reach a resolution to avoid Abyei confrontation that owned by the nine Dinka Nogk Chiefdoms transferred to Southern Kordofan in1905, from remaining a flash point of bloody north-south conflict.

The SPLM and the NCP are stuck on the formation of the referendum commission for Abyei, triggering worries from the troubled natives of the area that the NCP might be plotting to derail the long-savored vote.

Borders between the north and south have not been demarcated thus far and the boundaries of the contested Abyei have not been marked on ground despite a court ruling issued last year.

- - -

From: SOSA News.com by R. Amoko
Date: Saturday 02 October 2010
Title: President Kiir warns of violence over Jan Poll

(Juba, S. Sudan) – The president of Southern Sudan on Friday warned cheering crowds of a return to violence “on a massive scale” if the region’s independence referendum now 100 days away is not held on time.

President Salva Kiir’s return to this dusty, former war garrison town follows meetings at the U.N. last week that focused new attention on the region in the run-up to a Jan. 9 vote on independence.

Kiir predicted the south’s vote will pass overwhelmingly. The border region of Abyei, where much of Sudan’s oil is located, holds a similar vote the same day, in which voters will choose whether the region will join Sudan’s north or a possible new country in the south.

“Delay or denial of the right of self-determination for the people of Southern Sudan and Abyei risks dangerous instability,” Kiir said, according to prepared remarks. “There is without question a real risk of a return to violence on a massive scale if the referenda do not go ahead as scheduled.”

Tensions between north and south are high over stalled preparations for both the southern referendum and the separate vote for Abyei. The Obama administration has labeled it “inevitable” the south will declare independence, but U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has also called the issue a “ticking time bomb.”

In Washington, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters Friday that the U.S. special envoy for Sudan, Scott Gration, would participate Sunday in a meeting on Sudan in Ethiopia. Crowley said Clinton talked Friday about Sudan with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who “pledged to Secretary Clinton that he would likewise do everything he could to encourage the parties to reach an agreement on Abyei.”

Gration also has plans to meet with Meles before Sunday’s meeting.

Clinton also spoke Thursday with Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Mohammed Taha to encourage the ruling National Congress Party, based in Sudan’s capital Khartoum, to come to “Addis Ababa on Sunday prepared to negotiate and to make sure that the negotiating team will have specific authority to reach agreement on Abyei,” Crowley said.

“We are very conscious of the fact that we have just about 100 days remaining, and Abyei is one of the central issues that has to be resolved before we can hope for a successful referenda early in 2011,” Crowley said.

Speaking before a crowd of about 1,000 people, Kiir appealed to the armies and people of Sudan to shun war, saying that he is not a coward but only those who have not been in war “still drill for it.” He said the south was willing to negotiate with the north.

Leaders from the north and south meet this weekend in Ethiopia in search for solutions surrounding the January votes. The north-south border must still be demarcated and agreements made over oil wealth, much of which is located in the south.

At Kiir’s arrival at the airport, traditional dancers performed on the runway and Kiir released white doves into the air. A white bull — a southern cultural emblem of prosperity — was slaughtered as Kiir’s plane landed.

Juba residents lined the streets to welcome Kiir, and one youth group wore T-shirts that saying: “The referendum is your golden chance for total independence.”

Sudan has been wracked by decades of war. A 2005 peace agreement ended the north-south conflict that killed 2 million people but by then the western Darfur region was at war. The referendum for the south’s independence is part of the peace agreement.

Band Aid and UNHCR link up again to help Somali and Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia

2010-09-18T10:27:00.000-07:00

Somali refugees at a water outlet in Ethiopia. Band Aid's donation will help provide fresh water for refugees in Aw-Barre camp. (UNHCR)

Band Aid and UNHCR link up again to help Somali and Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia
From UNHCR.org
Friday, 17 September 2010

LONDON, United Kingdom, September 17 (UNHCR) – The Band Aid Charitable Trust set up by rock music legends Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in 1985 has given £55,000 (US$86,000) to UNHCR to help Somali refugees in eastern Ethiopia.

The grant will be used to construct a gravity-fed pipeline to provide a regular supply of fresh water to refugees in the Aw-Barre camp, which hosts some 13,000 Somalis who have fled their conflict-torn country. Some 30,000 Ethiopians living nearby will also benefit from the project.

The provision of clean water will have benefits for public health and personal hygiene. It will also have a positive gender impact as women and girls will no longer have to run the risk of being attacked or raped while collecting water outside the camp. They will also now have more time to spend on education or income-generation activities.

Claire Palmer, a fund-raiser for UNHCR in London, welcomed the collaboration and noted that "this project marks the rekindling of a relationship between UNHCR and The Band Aid Charitable Trust that began in the mid-80s when Band Aid supported UNHCR with funds to provide emergency humanitarian aid for Sudanese and Somali refugees living in Ethiopia."

The Band Aid Charitable Trust was set up to handle and allocate funds raised by the song, "Do They Know It's Christmas?," which was performed by a superband brought together by Geldof of the Boomtown Rats and Ure from Ultravox.

Led by the two men, the group featured artists such as Phil Collins, Sir Paul McCartney, Boy George, Bono, Paul Weller, George Michael, Sting and David Bowie. It became a massive charts hit. New versions of the song were released in 1989 and 2004.

Famine and Foreigners: Ethiopia Since Live Aid (Peter Gill)

2010-07-10T17:36:00.000-07:00

Ethiopia Since Live Aid, Part III: On Africa, aid, and the West
From OUPblog - Thursday, July 8th, 2010:

Peter Gill is a journalist specialising in developing world affairs, and first travelled to Ethiopia in the 1960s. He has made films in and reported from Gaza, Lebanon, Afghanistan, South Africa, Uganda, and Sudan, as well as Ethiopia. He recently led BBC World Service Trust campaigns on leprosy and HIV/AIDS in India. His new book is Famine and Foreigners: Ethiopia Since Live Aid, which is the story of what has happened in the country since the famous music and television events 25 years ago.
This third and final part of our ‘Ethiopia Since Live Aid’ blog feature is an original post by Peter Gill, in which he discusses the West’s view of aid and Africa. If you missed it, on Tuesday we read an excerpt from the book, and yesterday we ran an exclusive Q&A with Peter.

This 2010 ‘Summer of Africa’ has been promoted as a moment of transformation – an acknowledgment that the continent may at last be on the move, that it may be beginning to cast off its image as global basket case, ceasing to be a ‘scar on the conscience of humanity,’ in the phrase of former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

It was 25 years ago in July that a great Ethiopian famine and the Live Aid concert which it inspired underlined the physical and moral enormity of mass death by starvation. These events defined popular outrage at the human cost of extreme poverty and began to build an extraordinary consensus around the merits of aid. A generation later, in the teeth of financial gales in the rich world, this consensus is under increasing scrutiny.

Of course aid works and it works at many levels. Charity is an essential characteristic of social relationships. It saves lives and it helps individuals, families, sometimes whole communities to improve their existence. What the big aid flows – from governments and charities – have not done is to change the face of poor societies, to overcome the disgrace of extreme poverty.

Now the western world may have missed its opportunity to fix the problem. It may no longer have the means. It is also far too preoccupied with addressing the processes of how best to deliver aid, and has failed to sort out whether it had the right strategy in the first place.

What went wrong, I believe, is that we kept seeing Africa in our own image – as we would like it to be, rather than as it was. The colonial period may have become history, but the colonial mindset of ‘we-know-best’ has surely persisted. We compounded the error by allowing our hearts to rule our heads in how we spend the aid money. We have been more troubled by the symptoms of poverty than to see where our help was most needed.

Our fortunate way of the life in the West – prosperity allied with liberal democratic forms of government – may be the envy and the aspiration of many in the poor world, but did that give us the right in the name of ‘good governance’ to insist that there are quick and easy steps to achieving it? In the decades after Europe’s helter-skelter decolonisation, was it realistic to ignore the lessons of our own tortured political evolution and demand swift democratic reform as a condition of aid?

Our rich world sensibilities have, rightly, been offended by deaths from preventable diseases and we have, again rightly, poured money into ever more ambitious health initiatives. But we have made little corresponding effort to help African women plan their families by plugging the huge gap in contraceptive needs. Aid expenditure on family planning has actually fallen in the past decade and for 2010 the United Nations is projecting a paltry $414 million in Sub Saharan Africa compared with $16 billion for HIV/AIDS, 40 times as much.

As in so much, Ethiopia is the iconic example. At the time of the great famine in 1984-5, the population stood at 40 million. It is now 80 million and the demographers say it will double again within the next 25 to 30 years. This increase is barely sustainable.In recent years the Ethiopian government has made big efforts to bring modern contraceptive techniques to rural areas, but there has been no corresponding leadership from the West and that in turn has discouraged the Ethiopians from making population into the political priority it will have to be.

The West has been similarly negligent in the field of agriculture development. In a continent where up to three quarters of people are dependent on agriculture for survival, we have poured billions into getting children into rural primary schools, but have made little provision for the fact that too many of them come to school hungry, too many drop out within a year and that there are too few jobs beyond the land if they do finish school. In the 20 years after the Ethiopian famine aid to African agriculture collapsed by almost two thirds, from $3 billion to $1.2 billion.

A generation on from Live Aid there is now an alternative model of development emerging from the East. The Chinese have raised several hundred million of their own people out of poverty and are beginning to offer the lessons to Africa. There is less of an accent on charity and welfare, more attention paid to trade investment, technical inputs and, most of all, to infrastructure projects, including the roads to get an agricultural economy moving forward.

In the West the Chinese are commonly criticised for exploiting Africa’s natural resources and mocked for disregarding human rights in the name of ‘non-interference.’ But if we are truly interested in eliminating extreme poverty it is surely sensible to pose the question whether the West or the East is likely to have the better answer. Man of course does not live by bread alone, but it is an essential start. [end of copy]

Hat tip: Sudan news from The New York Times

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New York Times Correspondent Facing Arrest over Child Soldier Interviews Flees Somalia

2010-07-05T10:37:00.000-07:00

New York Times Correspondent Facing Arrest over Child Soldier Interviews Flees Somalia / Even in Times of Crisis, Government Has Duty to Uphold Journalists’ Rights, Says IPI
Source: International Press Institute (IPI)
MOGADISHU, Somalia - July 5, 2010 via APO:

Mohammed Ibrahim, New York Times correspondent and Programme Coordinator at the National Union of Somali Journalists. File photo

A Somali correspondent for the New York Times, Mohammed Ibrahim, told IPI by phone on Thursday that he had fled the country following death threats and attempted arrest by government security forces.

On 15 June, the New York Times ran an article headlined “Children Carry Guns for a U.S. Ally, Somalia,” under the byline of the newspaper’s East Africa bureau chief, Jeffrey Gettleman. The piece included information from interviews conducted by Mohammed Ibrahim with child soldiers.

The Somali government has since denied that its army employs child soldiers.

In a later New York Times article, foreign backers of Somalia expressed concern over the allegations.

In response, the Somali government began hunting down anyone involved in the child soldier piece, said Omar Faruk Osman, who heads the National Union of Somali Journalists – for which Ibrahim also works.

Members of the Somali security services began contacting Ibrahim shortly after the story ran, he told IPI. He received an email from the director of communications at Villa Somalia, the presidential palace, asking him to appear for a meeting with security chiefs. The communications director assured Ibrahim that he would not be harmed.

“It was like a trick,” Ibrahim said. He never showed up.

On 24 June, the government held a press conference during which it again denied that it used child soldiers, Ibrahim told IPI. According to Ibrahim, the government had detained the child soldiers interviewed for the piece, and forced them to recant their story.

On the same day, security officers attempted to arrest Ibrahim while he was eating lunch in a restaurant. According to Ibrahim, he was set up by an acquaintance from the government-run Radio Mogadishu who has ties to Somali intelligence. Thanks to a tip from another source, he was able to leave the restaurant before security personnel arrived. Ibrahim reportedly later spoke to witnesses who said that over twenty police officers arrived to arrest him, some of whom were spotted with Mohammed’s name written on their palms.

On 26 June, Ibrahim said, he spotted police officers looking for him in the Trebiano area of Mogadishu, where he had gone to purchase a plane ticket.

“The guys were the same guys who attacked me at the restaurant on 24 June…. and I immediately noticed that they were in search of me and left the area immediately,” Ibrahim said in an emailed statement. He left the area immediately. Ibrahim said he realized then that he could not leave the country through the airport – which is controlled by the Somali government.

Ibrahim travelled by bus for three days to reach Nairobi. Now, he is afraid that he will not be able to return, for fear of reprisals by security officers, including arrest and brutal interrogation.

“It was horrible,” he said. “They are angry and these security forces might kill you.”

Others involved in reporting the story were also threatened, according to New York Times East Africa Bureau Chief Jeffrey Gettleman. “Somalia’s transitional government was outraged by our story on its use of child soldiers and has threatened all the local people who helped us report it, including Mohamed; another translator; and even the owner and staff of the hotel where we stayed when we reported that story,” he wrote in an email to IPI.

“I tried to tell government officials Mohamed had done nothing wrong and that there was a large body of evidence about this issue – the UN recently issued a report listing the Somali government as one of the most flagrant users of child soldiers in the world,” Gettleman wrote.

IPI Press Freedom Manager Anthony Mills said: “The International Press Institute is gravely concerned at the allegations that Somali government security services threatened, and were seeking to arrest, Mohammed Ibrahim because they were angered by the interviews he conducted with alleged child soldiers in the Somali army. We urge the Somali government to respect the right of journalists to report on anything that is in the public interest, without fear of arrest and physical harm.”

Meanwhile, despite the fact that Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed has announced the launch of an investigation into the possible existence of underage soldiers in the Somali army, other officials continue to deny the allegations. Government spokesperson Abdi Kadir Walayo contended that the story was fabricated, in an interview with Voice of America, published on 29 June.

The Somali government, currently locked in a violent conflict with Islamist insurgent groups in southern and central Somalia, is backed by the United Nations and is an ally of the United States in its war against terrorism.

Ethiopia-Sudan relations strengthening: Ambassador

2010-06-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

Ethio-Sudan relations strengthening: Ambassador
Report by WaltaInfo.com - Wednesday, 09 June 2010:

Addis Ababa, June 9 (WIC) – Ambassador responsible for bilateral and regional relations at the Sudan Embassy in Ethiopia, Mohammed Yousif Hassan, said the socio-economic ties between Sudan and Ethiopia is improving from time to time.

In an exclusive interview he held with WIC, Hassen said in addition to the existing people-to-people ties, the socio-economic relations between the two sisterly countries are improving all the time following the construction of a road that linked them.

He said the two countries are registering impressive achievements in promoting legal trade, transportation and communication links through peaceful means.

A Sudanese cultural troupe recently staged performance in various towns of Ethiopia including Metema, Bahir Dar, Gondar and Addis Ababa traveling in land transport, he indicated.

The cultural shows will play a key role to further strengthen the people-to-people ties between the two countries, he said, adding an Ethiopian cultural troupe will also travel to Khartoum, Sudan soon.

He added the two countries relations in the tourism and investment sectors have shown a remarkable progress owing to the trade fairs and bazaars as well as investment forums held in both countries.

He said the bilateral trade volume between the two countries is also growing. According to him, Sudan supplies oil, gas and various industrial products to Ethiopia, while Ethiopia exports sesame and other oil seeds to Sudan.

He said Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s presence at the swearing-in ceremony of Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir indicates the strength of relations between the two nations.

According to Hassen, the peaceful and free elections held with a high turnout in the two countries would contribute a lot for the prevalence of peace and security in the Horn of Africa.

This report can be found online at: http://www.waltainfo.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21924&Itemid=134

Al-Qaeda trained foreigners help fuel Somalia uprising

2010-06-09T00:37:00.000-07:00

Al-Qaida trained foreigners help fuel Somalia uprising
Report by Sudarsan Raghavan, The Washington Post
Dated Wednesday, 09 June 2010:

Foreign fighters trained in Afghanistan are gaining influence inside Somalia's al-Shabab militia, fueling a radical Islamist insurgency with ties to Osama bin Laden, according to Somali intelligence officials, former al-Shabab fighters and analysts.

The foreigners, who include Pakistanis and Arabs, are inspiring the Somali militants to import al-Qaida's ideology and brutal tactics from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. A significant number of Americans are also being drawn to the Somali conflict. Two New Jersey men were arrested Sunday in New York City and charged with planning to travel to Somalia to join al-Shabab.

In April, suicide bombers drove a white truck filled with explosives into an African Union peacekeepers base, mirroring recent bombings in Baghdad or Kabul. Within hours, a grainy photo emerged on local websites of a young, gap-toothed man clutching a sign in Arabic over the words "Distributed by al-Shabab." It declared the operation revenge for the U.S.-aided killings of Abu Ayyub al Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the top leaders of the insurgent group al-Qaida in Iraq.

"The foreign jihadists were once in the shadows," said Rashid Abdi, a Somalia analyst in Nairobi with the International Crisis Group, a conflict research organization. "Now, there is no doubt they have taken control of the movement."

Foreigners are increasingly foot soldiers in Somalia as well.

The two New Jersey suspects, Mohamed Mahmood Alessa, 20, and Carlos Eduardo Almonte, 24, appeared Monday in U.S. District Court in Newark on charges of conspiring to kill, maim and kidnap people outside the United States.

In September, a Somali American from Seattle drove a truck bomb into an African Union base in Mogadishu, killing 21 peacekeepers. In December, a Dane of Somali descent blew himself up at a hotel in the capital, killing 24 people, including three government ministers.

In February, al-Shabab formally declared ties to al-Qaida. The militia has received praise from bin Laden and radical Yemeni American cleric Anwar al-Aulaqi, who has been linked to the suspect in last year's shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, and the suspect in an attempted attack aboard a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day. Mr. Aulaqi has been cited as an inspiration by the Pakistani American held in last month's attempted bombing in Times Square.

Al-Shabab's main rival, Hezb-i-Islam, also has proclaimed bin Laden welcome. "We are both fighting the Christian invaders in Somalia," said group spokesman Mohamed Osman Aruz, referring to the West and to Somalia's mostly Christian neighbors who back the government.

The rise of the foreign fighters suggests a growing internationalization of the conflict, part of a trend emerging from Yemen to Mali, where al-Qaida's regional affiliates are showing increasing ambitions nearly a decade after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Today, U.S. officials consider the vast, ungoverned lands of the Arabian Peninsula and Africa the second-biggest terrorism threat after Afghanistan and Pakistan. As the United States focuses its military muscle in those regions, there is concern that more al-Qaeda-linked fighters could migrate to this part of the world.

"The lesson of the last 10 to 15 years of counterterrorism is that, as pressure goes on the network in one place, it moves elsewhere," former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said during a recent visit to Cameroon's capital, Yaounde.

Somalia is where the United States and the West are quietly engaged in the most ambitious effort outside the theaters of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq to halt the spread of radical Islam and al-Qaida's influence. The United States and its allies are providing weapons, training, intelligence and logistical support to the fragile government.

They are also funding the African Union peacekeeping force that protects -- many say props up -- the government. Yet al-Shabab, or "The Youth" in Arabic, now controls large patches of south and central Somalia. The government, divided by political infighting, controls less than five square miles in Mogadishu.

In the capital, al-Qaida-inspired tactics have altered the landscape. Hotels are tucked behind steel gates. Peacekeepers use high-tech gadgets to frisk visitors for explosive belts. Ordinary Somalis avoid empty, parked cars.

The foreign fighters in Somalia number 300 to 1,200, according to Somali and U.S. intelligence estimates. Most are from neighboring countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, Yemen and Sudan. But they include Afghans, Pakistanis and Arabs, say former al-Shabab fighters.

At least 20 Somali Americans have joined the militia, including a top field commander, Omar Hammami, an Alabama native whose nom de guerre is Abu Mansoor al-Ameriki. He has starred in propaganda videos to attract more foreign fighters.

[ Credit: This report can be found reprinted online at Post-Gazette:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10160/1064187-82.stm ]

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In Africa, 50th anniversary of independence is an occasion to celebrate, lament

2010-05-22T10:52:00.000-07:00

Note, the following report says Ethiopia receives nearly a billion dollars a year in U.S. assistance, and Rwanda receives hundreds of millions in U.S. aid each year. And, former U.N. secretary general Kofi Annan noted that:

"South Korea and Sudan had the same per-capita income in the 1960s; South Korea is today one of the world's wealthiest countries and is "a respected member" of the international community."

Also, in the past two years, there have been military coups in Niger, Madagascar and Guinea. Sudan's first multi-party elections in more than two decades were marred by vote rigging, intimidation and boycotts.

And last week, Burundi ordered a Human Rights Watch researcher to leave the country. The group had documented official inaction over political violence in the run-up to its first presidential elections after nearly 16 years of civil war next month.

Ivory Coast, once a model of stability, crumbled into civil war in 2002 and remains tense and divided.

In Africa, 50th anniversary of independence is an occasion to celebrate, lament
Report from The Washington Post
By Sudarsan Raghavan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, May 22, 2010; 10:26 AM

YAOUNDE, CAMEROON -- Former U.N. secretary general Kofi Annan stepped up to the podium to speak about rule of law and human rights, Africa's hopes and obstacles.

Behind him, seated in a row of red velvet chairs, were the leaders of Cameroon, Gabon, the Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Chad and the Republic of Congo. All had gained power through military coups, civil wars, inheritance or manipulated elections.

"It wasn't a group of the continent's biggest democrats," remarked Richard Moncrieff, West Africa project director for the International Crisis Group.

Over the past week, hundreds of dignitaries arrived in this Central African capital to celebrate 50 years of independence from colonial rule for Cameroon and 16 other African nations. But casting a shadow over the occasion was a sober acknowledgment that the actions of many of Africa's leaders were hurting the continent's image and potential, as well as tarnishing its successes.

Ahead of national elections Sunday, Ethiopia -- a close U.S. ally -- has jailed political rivals and journalists, denied food aid to opposition supporters, and even killed opposition leaders, according to human rights activists and diplomats.

Ethiopia, which receives nearly a billion dollars a year in U.S. assistance, has denied the allegations. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, once viewed as a new breed of reformist African leader, is expected to extend his 19-year rule.

"There are still too many instances of corruption, of elite capture of resources, of growing inequality in work and opportunity, abuse of electoral processes and selective adherence to the rule of law," said Annan, who is from the African country of Ghana.

The leaders behind him nodded.

U.S. and Western officials also once hailed Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Ugandan leader Yoweri Museveni as Africa's greatest hopes. But they, too, are accused of using repression to suppress dissent and extend their rule. Rwanda goes to the polls in August, but reports of a state crackdown on opposition parties and independent journalists are already surfacing.

"There is a very serious problem of winner-takes-all politics," Moncrieff said. "That means the stakes of presidential power are so high that people are willing to use violence to get it or abuse the rule of law to keep it."

Africa vs. Asia

Many Africans lament their continent's slow progress in comparison to Asia. Africa is rich in oil, gas and minerals. Yet several Asian countries, which also gained independence from colonial rulers a half-century ago, are among the world's most advanced.

Annan noted that South Korea and Sudan had the same per-capita income in the 1960s. South Korea is today one of the world's wealthiest countries and is "a respected member" of the international community, Annan said. Despite its oil wealth, Sudan is one of the poorest countries, and its president has been indicted by a war crimes tribunal.

"If Africa is put on the right track, it could be a major player," said Mohamed ElBaradei, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, who is from Egypt.

In the past two years, there have been military coups in Niger, Madagascar and Guinea. Sudan's first multi-party elections in more than two decades were marred by vote rigging, intimidation and boycotts.

Last week, Burundi ordered a Human Rights Watch researcher to leave the country. The group had documented official inaction over political violence in the run-up to its first presidential elections after nearly 16 years of civil war next month.

Rwanda, which receives hundreds of millions in U.S. aid each year, also recently ordered a Human Rights Watch monitor to leave the country, accusing the organization of publishing "propaganda" against the government.

There have been successes. Civil wars have declined since the 1990s. There are strong democracies, such as Ghana and South Africa. Nigeria has so far smoothly managed a political transition after the death of President Umar Yar'Adua this month.

The continent has one of the highest rates of cellphone growth. Investment from Asian nations such as China is booming, fueling relatively strong economic growth rates. The region is starting to bounce back from the global financial crisis.

Still, even the strongest and most stable African economies can quickly disintegrate. Ivory Coast, once a model of stability, crumbled into civil war in 2002 and remains tense and divided.

Kenya's 2007 election violence spurred investors to pull out or postpone investments for months. "It affected the whole region," said Valentine Rugwabiza, assistant director general of the World Trade Organization.

Calculated repression

Demonstrations erupted after Ethiopia's 2005 elections, when opposition groups charged that the government had cheated them out of parliamentary seats. Ethiopian security forces suppressed the protests, killing dozens and arresting thousands. This time, the state repression appears to be a calculated strategy to erase any serious political threat and to prevent a repeat of violence, said human rights activists and diplomats.

The State Department's most recent human rights report concludes that Ethiopian "security forces committed arbitrary and politically motivated killings," and that "there were reports of politically motivated disappearances." It noted "numerous credible reports" of unlawful detention of opposition candidates and their supporters, as well as security officials who "tortured, beat, and mistreated detainees."

A recent Human Rights Watch report accused the government of politicizing the distribution of humanitarian assistance, much of it from the United States. They accused officials of withholding food aid, fertilizer and seeds from opposition supporters, in a nation where many people survive on such help.

In a telephone interview, Ethiopian Communications Minister Bereket Simon denounced both reports as "baseless."

"We are implementing democracy based on the Ethiopian context. We are not taking any prescription from any master," he said. "This is a free and fair election. You will see how Ethiopians will give their approval for this government."

In Yaounde, none of the dignitaries who discussed Africa's future on panels or in speeches mentioned Meles. But the names of Tanzania's first president, Julius Nyerere, and South Africa's Nelson Mandela were still uttered with pride, as models to emulate.

As he concluded his speech, Annan described Africa as "a sleeping giant about to be awoken." He spoke of the potential markets, the rapid spread of modern technology. He said the continent's opportunities "are real, but also under threat."

He implored leaders to respect human rights, rule of law, to be more transparent. He urged those at the helm of oil-rich nations to use their wealth to help their people. He urged leaders to address the rights of women.

"It is strong leadership and good governance that will make difference both at home and the global stage," Annan said.

Behind him, his host, President Paul Biya of Cameroon, nodded.

Biya has been in power for 28 years and wields tight control over the government and the economy. The watchdog group Transparency International describes Cameroon as among the world's most corrupt countries. There is no real political opposition. Authority and wealth is derived from loyalty to Biya.

His portrait is everywhere, including a mega-size one that hangs in the sports arena. His supporters wear shirts emblazoned with his face and burst into song in front of him. Banners on the street proclaim him "a wise man at the service of Africa."

NYT Blogrunner - Headlines from Around the Web

2010-05-13T03:27:00.000-07:00

Photo credit: EPA/Stephen Morrison
Source: The New York Times

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CTV Interview: Mo Ibrahim's search for good governance

2010-05-10T01:14:00.000-07:00

Photo: Mo Ibrahim (Source: moibrahimfoundation.org)

Mo Ibrahim's search for good governance
From CTV News (undated report) by Gordon Pitts:

Ask Mo Ibrahim how he rose to become the billionaire superstar of African business, and he will talk about luck.

Born in strife-riven Sudan, he insists he was lucky to get an education, and to be an expert in mobile communication just as the cellphone revolution was about to sweep the world. And lucky to sell his African mobile phone company, Celtel International, in 2005 to a Kuwaiti firm for $3.4-billion (U.S.), making him one of the great success stories of today’s Africa.

For Mr. Ibrahim, 64, moving a continent from episodic luck to permanent opportunity is the role of governments, whose performance on behalf of citizens is wildly mixed in Africa. He has made the pursuit of good governance the mission of his London-based Mo Ibrahim Foundation, and the driving purpose of his post-business life.

By governance, he means government’s ability to deliver a basket of public goods to its people, things like education, health services, rule of law and gender rights. Some countries, like Mauritius, do it quite well; others like Somalia and Zimbabwe are appallingly bad.

Mr. Ibrahim’s four-year-old foundation (The Mo Ibrahim foundation) posts a score card of all 53 countries in Africa (called the Ibrahim Index), from top to bottom. But his greater purpose is to spark a conversation. “We are trying to have a debate about what exactly our governments are doing,” Mr. Ibrahim says.

Are you a role model for young Africans?

Many African people are smarter than me – kids who could have been better. I have no claim for genius.

You have to work hard and make the right decisions, but if you don’t have the opportunity, you don’t make it. So I owe something to my friends, family, my people. If I can go back and help, I must do that. That is a duty.

Is the idea of good governance progressing in African states?

We see slow improvement.

Why is it happening?

The end of the Cold War was essential for Africa. The superpowers used to have client states, to which they’d say: “It doesn’t matter if you are a dictator or not, as long as you are in my camp – in the scramble for resources or votes in the UN or whatever.” It made for bad company. I think the Cold War was worse for Africa than colonialism.

Now, we are starting to notice the rise of the civil society in Africa. And new technology: There are 450 million mobile phones in Africa now, out of 950 million people, so it has really enabled people to communicate with each other.

And what about cellphone banking?

That is happening in Africa more than anywhere else. You will see a lot of wonderful applications where Africa is leap-frogging, not because we are necessarily smarter but because we need that. Retail banking in Africa is very weak. You can’t go to a village and get money from an ATM or visit a branch of the bank. So people have to use the Internet.

Do you agree with those who say aid is the problem, not the solution?

In most part, it is a silly discussion. Whenever there is disaster or famine somewhere, we cannot stand by and watch. On HIV, malaria, Darfur, or Somalia, we need to help our brothers and sisters. So there is not much discussion about humanitarian aid.

And we must really focus on developmental aid. We need to deliver better aid and untied aid. Actually, we need to deliver aid to end aid. Nobody in Africa loves to be a beggar, or a recipient of aid. Everywhere I go in Africa, people say ‘when are we going to stand up on our feet?’

Africa as a continent is rich, but Africans as a people are poor. The answer is governance. We really need to get our act together to improve the quality of life of our people. Developmental aid will speed up this process.

What about just borrowing more capital from banks?

That is just a fantasy. Unfortunately, our malfunctioning banking system doesn’t deal with Africa. They think Africa is too risky. You cannot rely on Goldman Sachs or whoever to really help – those guys just love subprime mortgages and all the other crap.

We should also support projects that help economic integration. Africa is disconnected. Internal African trade is about 8 per cent of the trade total. In Africa, we have 53 little countries and we are intentionally determined not to communicate and trade and move goods between each other. It’s stupid.

How do you feel about the rising wave of Chinese investment in Africa?

We welcome the Chinese, we welcome the Indians, we welcome anyone who would like to trade with us. Chinese demand for our raw materials helps increase prices that have been stagnant for almost 50 years. But the Chinese need to learn from the mistakes committed in the past by the West.

Let us trade honestly and with transparency. To say ‘we don’t care what kind of government is there, we are not interfering’ – that is a little bit dodgy. If you are supporting a repressive regime, that is a political act; you cannot claim it is just trade.

When we had the military coup in Guinea last year, the African Union stood firm, and ostracized the junta. Then we had the massacre in the stadium of peacefully demonstrating people. The soldiers raped women. The same week we hear that a lifeline of $7-billion has been extended by China to the regime. What is that? Are we throwing a lifeline to a criminal regime?

So when you throw money to a regime, you can’t be considered neutral?

That is the point. I say to our Chinese friends, please be friends to us, the people, because we are there, we will be there all the time. Dictators come and go. The West learned that lesson. They supported Mobutu, Idi Amin, these other guys, for whatever short-term reasons. But we have learned this expediency doesn’t work in the long term.

Are Canadians doing enough in Africa?

They can afford to do more, although in general Canada has been a positive force. I noticed you are now declaring 20 countries as your priority [aid] countries and you have only eight sub-Saharan countries on the list. I hope you pay more attention to sub-Saharan Africa. Tell your friends: ‘Hi guys, we are here; please don’t forget us.’

How do you convince people Africa is a place to invest?

People are too shy about Africa. All you see is 10 seconds in any news bulletin. After they talk about Darfur and [Zimbabwe President Robert] Mugabe, time is up. People have the impression Africa is troublesome, all about dictatorships and bad rule, but what they see is the bad examples. Of 53 countries, there are at least 29 or 30 democracies, and we have a good work force.

Around Christmas, what you see on TV ads for Oxfam and Save the Children is famines, terrible conditions, and that creates an impression. They think we are all sick or weak, but actually we have very healthy people. Just watch the Olympics – we run faster, we jump higher, we are excellent footballers. We are good people and we can be a good place to invest. According to World Bank reports, the highest returns on investment in the last few years were always in Africa.

But what do you do about corruption?

International business carries as much or more blame. We built mobile networks in 15 countries and we did not pay bribes whatsoever. We said no one can write a cheque of more than $30,000 without going to the board. Why can’t companies do that? It is not enough for boards to say ‘we uphold values.’ You need decisions that in reality help people out there. That raises issues of corporate governance in the West. While we are fighting for governance in public institutions, we equally need to fight for good corporate governance too.

What else do you do in your foundation?

We give a prize for African leadership, the largest prize in the world. We need to celebrate success in leadership.

What do you want people to do with the prize?

What we want is to honour African leaders who come forward, do the right thing, take their country forward and leave on time. Believe me, to be a leader of an African country is a tough job.

If somebody comes and really deals with this trouble, takes half a million out of poverty and creates jobs, rules justly and equally, isn’t that wonderful? This person needs to be honoured and we need to create role models in Africa – we had [Nelson] Mandela but that is not enough. We need to produce many Mandelas.

Read a complete biography of Mo Ibrahim on his website

EU deployed its election observers mission across Ethiopia

2010-04-29T01:48:00.000-07:00

EU deployed its election observers mission across Ethiopia
From Sudan Tribune - Thursday 29 April 2010 by Tesfa-Alem Tekle:

April 28, 2010 (ADDIS ABABA) — The European Union on Tuesday dispatched a first group of its election monitors throughout Ethiopia, ahead of next month’s national election.

A first phase of 90 observers unit on Tuesday left the capital, Addis Ababa, to the different regions of the country.

With a budget of eight million Euros, the EU will deploy a total of 150 monitors in Ethiopia, with 60 more observers to land in the horn of Africa’s country one week before polls open on May 23 elections. The bloc’s mission said.

The deployment comes after the Ethiopian government signed a memorandum of understanding with EU this week.

"They will observe all phases of the election from the opening of polling stations to voting, closing ad counting," said the statement.

"Their findings will be part of the overall evaluation and assessment of the process by the European Union Election Observation Mission."

Earlier this month, the head of the EU monitoring team said it will remain impartial after the bloc was accused of bias by Addis Ababa in the 2005 polls The EU observers will asses the electoral campaign, voting day, compilation of results and post-election activity, including complaints and appeals procedures.

"They will also evaluate the general political electoral context, the work of the election administration, media environment and role of civil society, the human rights situation as relates to elections, and the participation of women and minorities," the EU observer mission further said.

Ethiopia’s biggest opposition coalition, The Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity Forum (Forum) last week said that it does not consider the African Union and European Union Election Observers neutral.

"We know how the AU and EU observed previous elections in Ethiopia. This time, too, we don’t expect any impartial observation from them," Beyene Petros, chairman of Forum, told Ethiopian Reporter.

Beyene added that his party had no idea as to what exactly the election observers were doing in Ethiopia and that the observers have not made any attempts to talk to any of his party members, according to Reporter.

Around 32 million Ethiopians will go to polls to cast their votes for the May 23 national polls, country’s fourth elections since the fall down of Communist regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991. (ST)

White honey grows scarce as bees abandon Ethiopia's parched peaks

2010-04-19T09:22:00.000-07:00

Ethiopia is Africa's biggest honey producer and the world's fourth biggest beeswax exporter.

Such is Ethiopians' love of honey that apitherapy clinics offer treatments for many ailments. The national drink is tej – honey mead.

White honey grows scarce as bees abandon Ethiopia's parched peaks
From The Observer
By Alex Duval Smith in Ethiopia
Sunday, 18 April 2010:

Drought forces bees into valleys in search of flowers, meaning they produce yellow honey

The truffle of the apiary world – rare white honey from Ethiopia's highest peaks – is in danger of disappearing, according to beekeepers in the Tigray region. "No rain for the flowers,'' said Ashenaf Abera as he stood on his rocky, parched slope in the northern Ethiopian region whose famine inspired Bob Geldof to stage Live Aid in 1985. "The bees need high-altitude flowers for the white honey. When they cannot find them, they go to other plants and produce yellow honey.''

Abera is paid £65 a month to mind 270 hives for the Asira Metira monastery, one of a dozen religious centres in an area whose 4th-century rock churches are among the wonders of the world. "We know about bees,'' said honey seller Sheikh Mohamed Ahamedin. He grips a large screwdriver with both hands to ladle a dollop of thick and lumpy white honey out of a plastic bucket. It is snow-white and tastes sweet and more waxy than yellow honey.

"The price is the highest it has ever been this year, because of scarcity,'' said Ahamedin who sells white honey for £7.75 per kilo. Last year he charged £4.50. Ethiopia is Africa's biggest honey producer and the world's fourth biggest beeswax exporter. After coffee, gold and cowhide, bee products are major contributors to the economy, especially through exports to Italy, where white honey is considered a delicacy. Bees' products are the only export item produced by Tigray's impoverished 4.6 million people, whose region is said to be one of the worst-hit in the world by climate change.

Such is Ethiopians' love of honey that apitherapy clinics offer treatments for many ailments. The national drink is tej – honey mead.

Beekeepers are increasingly scrapping traditional mud hives for square box-like hives from Europe which produce a higher yield. "The bees will not make white honey in the modern hives, but at least with them we can obtain a decent yield of yellow honey,'' he said.

The region's bee population is also in decline, with climate change and deforestation to blame. Tigray was a wealthy, lush region 150 years ago when its king, Johannes IV, brought a carpenter from Italy to fashion his imposing throne from local juniper wood. But wars with Italy, Egypt, Sudan and neighbouring Eritrea led to deforestation. '"Without the trees, the rainwater – which seems to be declining – does not run off the limestone in a useful way. That is why we end up with a landscape of rocks and little else,'' said local water expert Leul Fisseha.

Eritrean refugees have new camp in Ethiopia

2010-04-18T11:02:00.000-07:00

Eritrean refugees have new camp in Ethiopia
From Sudan Tribune, Sunday, 18 April 2010:

April 17, 2010 (ADDIS ABABA) – Ethiopian authorities said this week they opened a new camp in the northern part of the country to meet the growing number of Eritrean refugees who arrive each month.

The new center located in Adi Harush in Tigray is the fourth to be established in the region since 2004.

The first batch of 356 people arrived on Thursday at the camp 80 per cent of this group is composed mainly of young people between 21 and 34, said a statement released by the Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA).

According to the ARRA, up to 2,000 mostly young men and women are now crossing the border each month to "avoid excessive repression, gross human rights violations and forced conscription into the army."

Rights groups accuse Eritrea of turning into a "giant prison" where detentions, torture and prolonged military conscription have become rife since a 2001. But Asmara rejects these accusations saying they are immigrants for economic reasons.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) plans this year to resettle some 3100 Eritrean refugees to a number of western countries.

Nearly all Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia refuse home-return for safety reasons and the UN agency believes that resettlement to a third country is the appropriate option.

Since 2006, a total of 5,850 Eritrean refugees screened from different camps are resettled to different western countries. (ST)

Copy of 2 Forum messages

18 April 03:12, by visitor
We don’t want them in the West. Our countries are becoming hell-holes of tribal and religious fighting and endless neediness. A Sudanese man (Dinka) I met who had gone back to Sudan said to me "Europeans have built up their countries by themselves. We need to do the same." I agree. We can’t survive in the West if we have thousands and thousands of refugees turning up every year, costing us a fortune. The Eritrean people should stay in their countries and fight for freedom. They wanted independence; they got it. Now the UN says their problem is our problem? We can’t go on like this! Especially as they are bring too much Islam to Christian countries, and demanding that WE change to suit them.

18 April 05:07, by miss JOOK
You are absolutely right Visitor, am sudanese Dinka myself and i salute the southern who stayed and fought for their freedom. Eritreans wanted their freedom so they have it now. what else do they want?

Sudanese in Ethiopia voting for country’s presidency seat

2010-04-12T16:22:00.000-07:00

Photo: Sudanese woman waits outside a polling station in Omdurman, west of Khartoum April 12, 2010. Sudan's elections commission on Monday announced a two-day extension to voting until April 15, after many voters experienced delays across Africa's largest country in the first open elections in 24 years. (Yahoo)

Sudanese in Ethiopia voting for country’s presidency seat
From Sudan Tribune, by Tesfa Alem Tekle, Tuesday 13 April 2010:

April 12, 2010 (ADDIS ABABA) - Hundreds of Sudanese residing in Ethiopia are smoothly casting their votes in the presence of election observers here in Addis Abab since yesterday.

Voting in Addis Ababa began early on Sunday with Sudanese Ambassador to Ethiopia, Moheieddin Salim Ahmed, casting the first vote.

A according to the Sudanese embassy, there were nearly one thousand eligible Sudanese in Ethiopia however most didn’t register.

Ambassador Moheieddin affirmed that the process being going on smoothly pointing out that the number of registered voter amount to more than 230. He added that the voting process is taking place in the presence of observers.

Nevertheless, Sudanese refugees in Ethiopian refugee camps, one of the largest in neighboring countries, will not participate.

"We have talked to the UNHCR and they said the refugees cannot vote. We are convinced with their explanation," the Ambassador told reporters.

The voting here is underway with observers from Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the African Union (AU) and the Arab League.

Voting in Sudan’s first multi-party elections in 24 years is underway for a second day amid reports of confusion and delay in many regions.

The presidential, parliamentary and state polls are part of the comprehensive peace agreement that ended Sudan’s north-south civil war.

For many in Southern Sudan, these elections are a prelude to the referendum next January on self-determination.

Sudanese residing outside the country participate only in the presidential vote. They have no representatives in the national parliament.

The Electoral Commission of Sudan, voting to the presidential elections is underway in 21 countries, including in nine Arab countries, five European and four African states, in addition to the United States, Canada and Malaysia. Voters abroad are said to amount about 0.8 percent of the total Sudanese who are entitled to vote estimated at nearly 16 million.

SPLM's Kiir visits Maiwut County near Ethiopian border

2010-04-09T14:04:00.000-07:00

SPLM's Kiir visits Maiwut County near Ethiopian border
From Sudan Tribune by James Gatdet Dak Friday 9 April 2010:

April 8, 2010 (JUBA) – Salva Kiir Mayardit, the Southern Sudan presidential candidate for the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) visited Maiwut County of Upper Nile state, on Wednesday, during his last days of campaign as the polling day is only 72 hours away.

Kiir urged the population of Gaajaak-Nuer inhabiting the County to vote for SPLM, which he said was born in their area in 1983, as he was referring to Itang where the SPLM/A was formed and historical Bilpam, which was the SPLM/A GHQrs and territory of Gaajaak-Nuer.

Bilpam, which is on the Ethiopian side of the border, is currently inhabited by the Ethiopian Gaajaak-Nuer under the administration of Gambella region in Ethiopia.

According to Biel Thich, one of the President's campaign team in Upper Nile state, over five thousand people gathered in the town to listen to the President.

Kiir promised the County citizens that his re-elected administration would construct a road connecting the state capital, Malakal to Pagak, a Payam headquarters under Maiwut County and less than one (1) kilometer away from the Ethiopian border.

The President was accompanied by the Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar Teny and members of Campaign Management Team (CMT) chaired by Dr. Samson Kwaje.

Kiir also talked about other activities related to development, especially the education of females, and opening of healthcare centers. (ST)

EU to observe Ethiopian election

2010-04-03T06:06:00.000-07:00

EU to observe Ethiopian election
From Sudan Tribune, Saturday, 03 April 2010:

April 1, 2010 (ADDIS ABABA) — After been mulling whether to observe polls in Ethiopia, the European Union has hinted sending a team of observers to monitor Ethiopia’s election.

The decision was announced by the European Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs, to African and European parliamentarians meeting in Tenerife on Monday.

The Union’s decision comes after an EU exploratory mission concluded assessment of the electoral environment in the country. The European Union is expected to send an official letter to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi any time now to notify its decision.

Ethiopia last polls, in 2005, drew a record number of voters, with 90% of the electorate turning out to cast their vote however the election was deemed by the European Union election observer team which alleged irregularities and the whole election process lacking international standards for fair and free election.

The EU monitor team claims then created deep divisions between the Ethiopian government and the EU.

Over 29 million Ethiopians will go to polls to cast their vote in May, the first parliamentary elections in Ethiopia since 2005, when the post-election period was marred by controversy and bloodshed

The horn of Africa’s country has drawn up a code of conduct for international election observers so irresponsible comments or possible bias won’t lead to violence.

Recently, The Carter center announced that it will not be sending an observer mission to monitor Ethiopia’s national election.

The decision comes after the Ethiopian government postponed carter center’s request of sending an exploratory team in December to February.

Carter center argued that the arrival of its exploratory team in February will be too late to study whether to accept or reject the invitation.

Despite growing accusations of harassment by some opposition groups, Ethiopian officials have repeatedly gave their words to conduct fair, free, democratic, peaceful and credible elections. (ST)

Ethiopia admits jamming VOA radio broadcasts in Amharic

2010-03-19T02:30:00.000-07:00

Ethiopia's Prime Minister said Ethiopia had been testing jamming equipment.

Ethiopia admits jamming VOA radio broadcasts in Amharic
From BBC News Online at 08:32 GMT, Friday, 19 March 2010:

Ethiopia has admitted it is jamming the Voice of America's (VOA) broadcasts in Amharic, accusing the radio station of engaging in "destabilising propaganda".

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Ethiopia had been testing jamming equipment, although there had been no formal decision to bloc the US station.

The Amharic Service has experienced interference since late February.

Mr Meles also compared the VOA's transmissions to broadcasts in Rwanda in the mid-1990s that incited genocide.

'Unfortunate' comments

"We have for some time now been trying to beef up our capacity to deal with this, including... jamming," Mr Meles said on Thursday.

In a statement, VOA director Danforth Austin said that any comparison of VOA programming to Rwandan broadcasts inciting genocide in the 1990s was "incorrect and unfortunate".

"The VOA deplores jamming as a form of media censorship wherever it may occur," he said, adding that the station's Amharic Service was required by law to provide accurate and objective information.

The VOA and other foreign media organisations say broadcasts in Amharic - the country's most widely spoken language - have been jammed around elections in the past.

The next polls in Ethiopia are in May and human rights groups say there has been a crackdown on the press.

The last elections saw opposition accusations of widespread rigging.

Thousands of opposition supporters were arrested after protests and some western countries reduced aid to Ethiopia.

Separately, Mr Meles again denied claims in a recent BBC report that he had ordered the diversion of food aid money to buy arms to fight the government in the 1980s.

"We did not need to [do it]. We were not short of ammunition or arms. That was never our problem. Our main problem was that we were operating in an environmentally very fragile area unable to feed itself," he said.

Click on labels here below to view related reports.

When feeding the hungry is political

2010-03-18T10:13:00.000-07:00

Food aid for Africa
When feeding the hungry is political
A United Nations agency under attack
Mar 18th 2010 (NAIROBI)
From The Economist print edition

THE World Food Programme (WFP), created by the United Nations in 1962 to save lives, has since grown into the behemoth of the aid business, envied and disliked in almost equal measure by many of its smaller peers. It says it feeds 90m people a year in 73 countries. Yet some query whether it always fulfils the high ideals of its humanitarian mandate.

The WFP has had to get used to fierce criticism, particularly of its operations in Africa. The main complaint is that food aid creates a dependency culture among the poor. The WFP employs large numbers of press officers in its headquarters in Rome and elsewhere to jump to its defence. Even so, a recent scandal over its work in Somalia has pricked it. An internal UN report accuses the WFP of abjectly failing to get food to starving Somalis. The report says that systematic collusion between local WFP staffers, Islamist militants and food transporters has led to the diversion of up to half of the food it ships to Somalia, with some of it going to jihadists. The WFP has hotly denied the allegations of corruption, but it has ceased working with three transport contractors who are alleged to have been involved in arms trading.

The truth is hard to tell. Visiting Somalia is dangerous. The WFP’s operation there is run from Nairobi, capital of neighbouring Kenya. It has to contend with pirates at sea and armed groups on land. A spat with the militant Shabab group, now allied to al-Qaeda, means WFP is no longer supplying food to 1m of the 3m Somalis who need it.

The danger for the WFP is that the row over its work in Somalia will impede its massive operations in Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, Congo and beyond by prompting calls for extra scrutiny there too. Sudan alone accounted for $635m of WFP’s $2.2 billion spent in sub-Saharan Africa in 2008. Diplomats there have long suspected that food aid has been siphoned off by officials in south Sudan and by armed groups in Sudan’s western region, Darfur.

The whole business of food aid to Africa has come under additional scrutiny recently after a BBC report alleged that up to 95% of the cash provided to buy food for rebel-controlled areas during Ethiopia’s horrendous famine in 1984-85 was in fact used to buy weapons. The WFP says it had little involvement in that episode: it was feeding government-held areas. International charities have denied the story. Bob Geldof, a musician and anti-poverty campaigner, worries that the claim will be exploited by those who want to cut aid.

But the rebels in question, who hail from Tigray, a northern province, have run Ethiopia since 1991. And the country’s prime minister, Meles Zenawi, a rebel leader in 1984, faces charges that he is using food aid now to buy support before elections due on May 23rd. Human-rights investigators, including those of the American government, say they have documented the withholding of food and other benefits from opposition supporters. The Ethiopian government denies it, and says that the BBC allegations come from a political opponent of Mr Zenawi.

The WFP says it will welcome any investigation into its activities in Somalia. “The integrity of our organisation is paramount,” insists Josette Sheeran, a former State Department official now heading the outfit. About $2 billion of its $5 billion global budget is provided by America, most of it in sacks of surplus American food. But the WFP—and Somalia’s Shabab rebels—would prefer the American government to give cash, as the Europeans do, which can then be used to buy local food, rewarding farmers who produce surpluses. George Bush’s administration agreed but could not persuade Congress to concur.

Quite apart from the allegations over its role in Somalia, the WFP is failing to meet its target for donations this year. So school meals and other programmes will be cut. America is unlikely to be as generous with cash as it is in kind. Europe’s contribution of $1 billion may be slashed too. This year’s WFP budget of $2.6 billion for sub-Saharan Africa is $1.1 billion short. And the outlook for Africa’s own production is grim. Its food output will fall by a fifth over the next four decades, reckons the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington. Climate change, it says, will make food even scarcer in semi-arid countries such as Sudan. The question of how to feed the starving will not go away.

Voice of America news broadcasts jammed in Ethiopia

2010-03-14T08:41:00.000-07:00

Voice of America news broadcasts jammed in Ethiopia
From Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, 05 March 2010 /via APO:

Voice of America (VOA) reported today that its transmissions to Ethiopia are being electronic jammed. The Ethiopian government denied responsibility.

VOA cited “international shortwave radio monitors” and complaints from listeners in Ethiopia since February 22 about static the U.S. government-funded station’s daily, hour-long shortwave broadcast from Washington in Amharic—the country’s main official language. CPJ independently collected widespread local accounts of interference exclusively on the Amharic service.

VOA’s half-hour broadcasts in the other two local languages, Afan Oromo and Tigrigna, were broadcasting normally, the sources said. David Borgida, a VOA spokesman told Bloomberg News the station had not identified the source of the interference.

“The Ethiopian government has long had a hostile relationship with VOA and that is why we view their denial of responsibility with some skepticism,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Tom Rhodes. “We note that the Ethiopian government has neither offered to investigate nor fix the problem.”

In media interviews today, government spokesman Shimelis Kemal denied any government involvement. “This is absolutely a sham,” he told CPJ, adding that “the Ethiopian government does not support the policy of restricting foreign broadcasting services in the country. Such practices are prohibited in our constitution.”

Kemal was the government prosecutor who charged 21 journalists, including five Washington-based VOA journalists, with anti-state crimes over their coverage of the aftermath of disputed elections in May 2005. Under his leadership, the Ethiopian Broadcasting Authority, the governmental authority responsible for issuing print and broadcast licenses, in 2009 ordered private station Radio Sheger to drop VOA newscasts and briefly revoked the accreditations of two VOA stringers, according to CPJ research.

Kemal told CPJ the allegations were part of a “smear campaign” by “opposition Web sites in the diaspora” ahead of general elections in May.

VOA is one of a handful of foreign-based independent stations, including Deutsche Welle and Addis Dimts Radio, a station operated by the banned opposition movement Ginbot 7, that have reported ongoing or recurring interference of their broadcasts, according to CPJ research. Also in 2009, Meleskachew Amaha, a VOA stringer, was thrown into prison for three weeks on false tax charges that were later dismissed.

Geldof Slams BBC Over Ethiopia Weapons Claims

2010-03-06T10:10:00.000-08:00

Geldof Slams BBC Over Ethiopia Weapons Claims
From Sky News.com at 5:05pm UK, Saturday March 06, 2010
Julia Reid, Sky News Online

Bob Geldof and the Band Aid trust are set to make an official complaint to the BBC over its claims that millions of pounds in donated aid for Ethiopia was spent on weapons.

The complaint will be made jointly with agencies including Christian Aid, and will denounce the "false and dangerously misleading impression" created by the BBC World Service's Africa editor, Martin Plaut.

His report claimed that 95% of the aid which went to Ethiopia's northern province of Tigray during the famine of 1985 was diverted for military use by rebel forces.

Paul Brannen, Head of Advocacy and Influence at Christian Aid, confirmed that the charity would be signing up to the complaint to BBC Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons.

"This affair is a good example of the old adage that a lie can be halfway around the world while the truth is still getting its boots on," he said.

"In these days of rapid and international communications it is more important than ever that the BBC independently verifies every single fact that it intends to broadcast."

Oxfam says it will decide next week whether to sign up to the letter.

But campaigns and policy director Phil Bloomer said: "The British public, who in good faith donated money to help distressed, starving people, need to know that these allegations are preposterous.

"Aid distribution during this conflict held risks but it is indisputable that aid and the efforts of the humanitarian agencies saved many thousands of lives in Ethiopia.

Geldof, who raised $144m for Africa in the Live Aid concert in 1985, will also report the BBC to Ofcom.

Millions of pounds have been donated in aid to Ethiopia

"This story has gone around the world on the internet and created a totally false impression of what actually happened," he said.

"At the time of Live Aid we had journalists crawling all over everything we did trying to find something wrong - and they couldn't.

"And now, on the strength of one disgruntled soldier, the BBC has undermined the faith of ordinary people across the world in the effectiveness of giving to people in their hour of need.

"It is a disgrace."

The Independent newspaper claims a draft of the complaint to the BBC speaks of "disgracefully poor reporting" by the BBC and reliance on "dubious sources and rumour".

"There is not in fact a shred of credible evidence that this happened," it reads.

"There is overwhelming evidence that tens of thousands and even millions were saved by these efforts, which were in fact spurred by reporting by the BBC."

Mr Plaut's story was broadcast on the World Service, Radio 4 and via the BBC website.

It relies on accounts by two former senior Tigrean rebels, one of whom, Aregawi Berhe, was expelled from the guerilla movement in the summer of 1985.

Geldof said Berhe had a political axe to grind and could not have witnessed the alleged transactions.

There are fears that the BBC's report could undermine public generosity towards charity appeals for Haiti and Chile in the wake of the recent disasters.

A BBC spokesman says the corporation stands by the story and the documentary did not say that most famine relief money was used to buy weapons.

Coup attempt underway in Niger

2010-02-18T09:33:00.001-08:00

See reports at Niger Watch, Thursday, 18 February 2010.

Desert trip in Yemen: Madventures road trip to the Empty Quarter / Rub' al Khali desert - Old City of Sana'a & Khat session

2010-02-11T14:39:00.000-08:00

Here are two fascinating and amusing must-see video reports on Yemen.

Hat tip: Yam-Yam Yemeni blog Wednesday, 03 February 2010:
Some European chap on a trip to Yemen

Desert trip in Yemen - Madventures road trip to the Empty Quarter / Rub' al Khali desert

Posted to YouTube by dailypalnet on 03 September 2009 - info:

Madventures road trip to the Empty Quarter / Rub' al Khali desert
Category: Travel & Events
Tags: Madventures III Yemen Al-Siyah Al-Haima tribe Ramadan Eid ul-Fitr khat qat gat chaad farmer economics village party food Wadi Daw'an oasis Shibam Empty Quarter Rub' al Khali desert expedition road trip terrorist trek wasteland camp camel riding checkpoint Sharif bedouin country nomads sharia islam prayer song guns rifles Al-Qaeda Al-Qaida weapons blasters
(3,754 views and 12 comments, as at 12 February 2010)

This is a video response to
Old City of Sana'a & Khat session (Madventures III)

Posted to YouTube by OpenEyeVisuals on 27 April 2009 - info:
Clip from Yemen episode.
© Gimmeyawallet productions
Official chan: http://www.youtube.com/MadventuresEN

Get the dvd for full episodes and better quality.
http://www.superpirate.com/store/inde...
Category: Travel & Events
Tags: madventures III babel yemen sana'a old city market felix arabia atmosphere khat session qat qaat kat gat gathering party islam prayer muezzin mosque minaret arabian peninsula middle east southwest asia kamal sanaa travel culture english
(8,603 views and 21 comments, as at 12 February 2010)

Al-Qaeda in Yemen call for jihad

2010-02-08T16:58:00.001-08:00

Said al-Shihri, the deputy chief of al-Qaeda's wing in the Yemen, has called for Muslims in the region to wage holy war against Christians and Jews.

Photo: A Yemen soldier stands atop a hill overlooking the capital Sanna (AFP/Getty Images)

Al-Qaeda in Yemen call for jihad
From The Daily Telegraph
Published: 6:59PM GMT Monday 08 February 2010

In an audio message posted on the internet Said al-Shihri, a former inmate of the US prison in Guantánamo Bay, urged followers "to attack the interests of America and the Crusaders."

He continued: "We advise you, our people in the peninsula, to prepare and carry your weapons and to defend your religion and yourselves and to join your mujahideen brothers."

The message is the first time that al-Shihri has surfaced since a December 24 air strike by Yemeni forces that targeted him and other al-Qaeda figures.

Yemeni authorities initially claimed that he had been killed, but this was later denied by al-Qaeda.

Yemen is in the throes of a major crackdown on the global militant network's regional offshoot, which grabbed the world's attention when it claimed a failed bomb attack on US-bound plane in December.

Al-Shihri congratulated Nigerian radical Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab for his "blessed" attempt to blow up the Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas.

The authenticity of the statement could not be independently confirmed but it was posted on a website commonly used for militant messages.

Saudi Arabia has long feared al-Qaeda will take advantage of the Yemen's lawless regions to build a solid base of operations there from which it can threaten the whole peninsula. The offshoot al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula was formed a year ago, when Yemen and Saudi militant groups merged.

UK gov't job vacancy: A2 Statistics Adviser based within World Bank Nairobi Country Office, Kenya

2010-02-06T10:43:00.000-08:00

Seen on twitter:

RT with correct link #DFIDjobs New vacancy: Statistics Adviser, Kenya. Apply now: http://ow.ly/12ExI Closing date: 27 Feb
6:29 AM Feb 5th from HootSuite
dfid_uk

Based within the World Bank Nairobi Country Office, you will support the KNBS reform process, the design/implementation of the next KNBS strategic plan, and lead the sector's donor co-ordination. The closing date for applications is 27 February 2010. LAST UPDATED: 28 JAN 2010. Click here for specific vacancy information [PDF - 88 KB] and apply online.

African leaders urged to tackle al-Qaeda threat

2010-02-02T16:47:00.000-08:00

African leaders urged to tackle al-Qaeda threat
AFP report by Helen Vesperini, Feb 02 2010 06:54 via Mail & Guardian:

(ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA) - Senegal's president urged African leaders on Monday to join forces in the fight against al-Qaeda's North African branch, saying the network's campaign was taking on "new and disturbing" forms.

Abdoulaye Wade's appeal came as African Union heads of state gathered to tackle the continent's crises and conflicts at the bloc's 14th summit.

"We must organise a round table with neighbouring countries to resolve the issue" of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the veteran Wade said in an interview on the sidelines of the summit in the Ethiopian capital.

"This desert terrorism is taking new and very disturbing forms ... But countries like Senegal, or Mali, can do nothing on their own. It is an international problem. Western powers will have to intervene too," he said.

The Senagalese leader also raised the alarm over arms trafficking in the African Sahel region, saying "Western powers should also get involved", without elaborating.

The North African branch of Osama bin Laden's terror network has threatened to execute a French hostage kidnapped in Mali in November. The group is also holding five other European hostages in the region.

Wade also said he hoped the military junta in Senegal's neighbour Guinea "will respect their pledge not to participate in elections" this year, insisting an accord brokered by Burkina Faso "is just a beginning and we must remain vigilant".

He was speaking as African Union leaders tackled rising tensions in oil-rich, secessionist southern Sudan and other African troublespots on the penultimate day of their summit.

Libyan leader Moammar Gadaffi, who on the opening day had to relinquish the 53-state body's presidency to Malawi, warned Sudan could become "another Somalia".

Tension has been escalating in Sudan in the run-up to a 2011 referendum in which the south is widely expected to choose independence from Khartoum, only six years after signing a peace deal.

Many observers fear that a secession in oil-rich Sudan -- Africa's largest country, bordering nine others -- could further destabilise one of the continent's most volatile regions.

"If the South has a right to separate itself then there'll be danger for the South," Gadaffi told a press conference Sunday, arguing that secession could leave a weakened South vulnerable to outsiders who "covet" its oil resources.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who attended the first day of the summit, also put special emphasis on the fate of Sudan.

"The UN has a big responsibility with the AU to maintain peace in Sudan and make unity attractive ... This year will be crucially important for Sudan with the election in three months and the referendum in a year," he said on Sunday.

"In the AU we believe that till the last minute we should work with all the Sudanese stakeholders to be sure we promote peace in the country," AU Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra, told journalists.

He said the AU respected the will of the Sudanese people but: "Nevertheless, we are making sure that unity is attractive."

But for Bona Malwal, a member of the Sudanese delegation and ambassador to the AU, south Sudan is already on a path towards secession.

"It is already too late. We have asked this help for a long time. But now the people of the south have made up their mind. They are in favour of independence. Time is running out," he said.

"The international community can still be involved to help the two parties to handle the aftermath of the referendum in a peaceful manner," he said.

"The Khartoum government will never stop the decision of the people of the South."

The African leaders were also to discuss the conflict in Somalia, where the bloc's embattled peacekeeping force came under fresh Islamist militia attacks late on Sunday, claiming the lives of 12 civilians. - AFP

Ethiopia & Eritrea - Land disputes at the root of African wars

2010-01-30T14:50:00.000-08:00

Land disputes at the root of African wars

A selection of the African continent's fights over land that have turned into violent, conflict, or threaten to.

From The Christian Science Monitor
By Jina Moore Correspondent, 30 January 2010

Land battles that sparked African conflicts

Western Sudan (Darfur) In the 1970s, the government eliminated the country's native administration – a quasi-government and colonial holdover of traditional elders – and rejected traditional land rights, depriving Darfur's pastoralists of access to grazing lands. When famine exacerbated disputes about land in the 1980s, violence broke out. Land grievances were never resolved, and in 2003, a rebel movement made up in part of disenfranchised former landholders revolted against the Sudanese government, which retaliated by arming bands of camel herders known as janjaweed to repress the rebellion – and promising them hefty tracts of the land, emptied in the course of the violence the militia unleashed.

The Democratic Republic of Congo Often called Africa's most deadly conflict, violence in parts of the northeast started over grazing cows in1999, when Hema herders evicted Lendu farmers after purchasing their land. Eviction grievances led both tribes to pick up weapons. As violence spread, the value of other mineral-rich lands contributed to the chaos in which 5 million people have died.

Ethiopia and Eritrea A 1998 dispute over the dusty border town of Badme turned into all-out war, with 80,000 deaths in two years. The town became the flash point of an older argument over the border between the two countries. Both sides saw Badme as a symbol of their real economic concern: power over the port of Assab, the Red Sea trade gateway. Despite international court rulings, the countries consider the border dispute unresolved – and their presidents often rally support by threatening to resume the fight.

Kenya Many indigenous tribes lost rights to traditional lands when the British privatized land holdings. When Joseph Kenyatta, the first postcolonial president, sought land redistribution, he gave the most fertile to his Kikuyu tribe. In a later backlash, many Kikuyu were pushed off their pastures. This created ethnic land grievances that have inspired violence during Kenya's elections since the 1990s, most recently after President Mwai Kabaki, a Kikuyu, was accused of stuffing ballot boxes in 2007.

Rwanda The 1994 genocide may have been catalyzed as much by land scarcity as by ethnic tension. Africa's most densely populated country found itself nearly without enough land to make farmers trust that they and their children could support themselves. Though the slaughter of minority Tutsis was also ethnically motivated, land fears played no small part in the violence.

Zimbabwe Land grievances helped fuel the 12-year war that led to independence in 1979. But recent violence stems from land reform efforts. In the name of economic fairness, President Robert Mugabe seized white farms and turned them over to blacks, primarily government officials who knew little about farming. As a result, agricultural production plummeted, food became scarce, and inflation spiked. Mugabe held power in a 2008 election only with violent intimidation of Zimbabweans.

Combustible land disputes that could erupt in conflict

Burundi The past decade brought the return of more than a half-million refugees who'd fled violence that began with independence in 1963. Many found their homes occupied – and because laws give ownership to anyone who has peacefully occupied land for at least 30 years, many refugees lost their homes and livelihoods. Experts fear the grievance could spark renewed conflict.

South Africa At the 1994 transition to democracy, the government planned to redistribute 30 percent of white-owned farms to blacks within 20 years. Transfers are behind schedule, and more than half have failed. After an outbreak of racial violence last year, observers fear the status quo – with expectations so high, progress so slow, and livelihoods at stake – is combustible.

Southern Sudan The 2005 peace agreement that ended a 20-year fight for the south didn't resolve tensions between the nation's two land systems. Private property reform implemented in the north was rejected in the south, which continues to use traditional rules. Danger of a potential clash between parallel systems is amplified by what's at stake: The south is oil-rich.

Uganda After 20 years of violence in the north, peace is bringing people home – and disputes are erupting over who owns property. Eighty percent of Ugandans have property claims based on the traditional land system, but a generation of conflict has weakened the traditional authority, of elders to resolve disputes or enforce land rules. As the government steps in to fill the power vacuum, experts fear a backlash.

Zambia White farmers forced off land in neighboring countries, found fertile soils here, and were initially welcomed by the government (five years ago). The tone changed as some immigrant farmers agitated locals by putting down roots on traditional lands. New arrivals, especially those fleeing Zimbabwe, are closely scrutinized. Observers fear deepening tensions.

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Al Qaeda is benefiting from civil unrest and economic woes in Yemen, says Fawaz Gerges

2010-01-22T03:24:00.000-08:00

Editor's note: The following article by Fawaz A. Gerges (pictured here below), reprinted at the website of The London School of Economics (page last updated on 08 January 2010), first appeared as a Special on CNN.com January 07, 2010 -- Updated 1548 GMT (2348 HKT).

Fawaz Gerges, who has done extensive field research in Yemen, is a professor of Middle Eastern politics and international relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science, London University. Among his books is "The Far Enemy: Why Jihad Went Global." Click here for his website.

Click here for Google map of Yemen.

Al Qaeda has bounced back in Yemen

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Al Qaeda is benefiting from civil unrest and economic woes in Yemen, says Fawaz Gerges
He says sending more aid, focusing on counterterrorism won't be a successful policy
He says Arab nations should take the lead, with U.S., Britain helping in the background
Gerges: It's crucial to tackle Yemen's social and political crisis

January 07, 2010 (CNN) - In his weekly address, President Obama said that the Christmas Day airline bomber acted under orders from an al Qaeda branch in Yemen, which 'trained him, equipped him with those explosives and directed him to attack that plane headed for America.'

Vowing to hold accountable all those involved in the attempted act of terrorism on Christmas, Obama sent a letter to his Yemeni counterpart, Ali Abdullah Saleh, delivered by Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, in which he pledged to double the $70 million in counterterrorism aid to the poverty-stricken country in 2009, a figure that does not include covert programs run by U.S. special forces and the CIA.

With the increase in security assistance, Yemen now tops Pakistan, which receives about $112 million, a clear indication of the growing threat of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (known as AQAP Yemen-based) in U.S. eyes.

American strategy is driven by assumptions that do not fully recognize the complexity and gravity of the situation in Yemen. The first premise is that with increased U.S. security assistance, the Yemen government will take the fight to al Qaeda and uproot it. Secondly, U.S. officials assume that confronting al Qaeda requires mainly counterterrorism measures.

What is alarming about the resurgence of this al Qaeda branch is its linkage to Yemen's deepening social and political crises and failing state institutions. In the last three years, against all odds, the al Qaeda branch has revived the central organization's declining fortune in the Arabian Peninsula and emerged as a potentially potent force.

AQAP numbers between 100 and 300 core operatives -- as many as those in Pakistan, though they are younger and lack the operational skills and sophistication of their Pakistani cohorts. Most are rookies with little combat experience, unlike the previous Afghanistan generation.

The structure and composition of the Yemen branch appears to have changed because of the merger with militant elements from Saudi Arabia last January, forming AQAP and revitalizing the jihadist network there. Some fighters had returned from war zones in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan and have supplied military training and ideological motivation and leadership.

In 2007 I interviewed several hardened Yemeni and Saudi returnees from Iraq who made it clear that they would target America and Britain if U.S. and U.K. troops do not withdraw from Muslim lands. These hard-liners were neither bluffing nor making empty threats.

There are also some signs of cross-fertilization between AQAP and Somalia's al-Shabab, an al Qaeda like-minded group fighting for control of the war-torn country facilitated by the flow of thousands of Somali refugees to Yemen.

That is not the whole story, however. The recent revival of al Qaeda in Yemen is a product of a structural socioeconomic crisis and political divisions and fault lines that have pushed the country to the brink of all-out war. Al Qaeda is a parasite feeding on lawlessness, social and political instability, and abject poverty and despair.

Today Yemen is a fragile state with failing institutions and a collapsed economy. Forty percent of the country's 23 million people are unemployed. More than a third of the population is undernourished and almost 50 percent live in absolute poverty.

Yemen, the poorest Arab country, has one of the highest fertility rates. A huge youth explosion (60 percent of the population is under the age of 20) faces a grim future -- and radicalization.

With every visit to this stunningly beautiful country, I observe a deteriorating security situation and declining social conditions. It is now common to see many women of all ages clad in black from head to toe begging on the streets of major cities, an alarming sign of social breakdown in an ultraconservative Muslim society where women do not appear in public.

The sound of Soviet-made fighter jets often shatters the peace of the early hours of the morning. The jets are on their way to bomb Houthi (Shia) rebels in the Sada'adah province and the Harf Sufian district of Amran province, a mini-civil war in the north that has raged on and off for four years and has claimed more than a thousand lives, most of whom are civilians.

A secessionist movement in the south has gained momentum, with a sizable segment of southern public opinion demanding a divorce from the forced union imposed by the north in the early 1990s. What the al Qaeda branch has tried to do is to submerge and embed itself in these raging local conflicts and to position itself as the spearhead of opposition and resistance to the Saleh regime.

For example, al Qaeda has allied itself with tribes in the separatist south in the fight against the central government, a radical move because many separatists are socialist and not religiously inclined.

Ironically, in 1994 President Saleh relied greatly on jihadists and Islamists to subdue the socialist south and unify Yemen. From his base in Sudan, Osama bin Laden, whose father was born in Yemen, exhorted his men to fight the "Godless Marxists" in the south, who they massacred.

The al Qaeda-Yemen connection goes back to the foundation of the jihadist organization. Yemen has always had powerful Islamist and jihadist movements. In the 1980s, thousands of Yemenis joined the Afghan jihad against occupying Soviet forces and most returned home emboldened and militarized. Unlike their Middle Eastern counterparts, Yemeni returnees were welcomed by the Saleh regime.

In the early 1990s when bin Laden set up al Qaeda in Sudan and then in Afghanistan, he heavily and personally recruited Yemenis whom he trusted. Bin Laden, a Saudi, has often said he has a soft spot in his heart for Yemen because of its people's religiosity and tribal code of honor and hospitality and harsh, mountainous landscape. The Saudi-Yemeni contingent was the largest within the bin Laden organization, as well as in the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.

Many of his bodyguards, personal secretaries, drivers and cooks were Yemenis. AQAP chief Nasir al-Wuhayshi (reportedly killed by a U.S.-directed airstrike on December 24), once served as bin Laden's personal secretary. Bin Laden entrusted the protection and transportation of his wives and children to his Yemeni men, a fact that speaks volumes about his mindset.

U.S. officials appear to overestimate the capacity of the Yemen government to meet the multiple challenges and threats to its authority and integrity. Its security forces are spread thin. Four years after the outbreak of the Houthi rebellion, the state has failed to resolve it.

More importantly, the government can no longer deliver the social goods and patronage, historically solid underpinnings of the Saleh rule. The country has been badly affected by falling oil revenues (Yemen is the smallest oil producer in the Middle East), pervasive corruption, and the international financial downturn. After more than three decades in power, President Saleh's ability to co-opt adversaries and maintain friends has shrunk considerably, plunging Yemen into an uncertain future.

On its own, counterterrorism will most likely fail in expelling al Qaeda from Yemen's tribal areas and might trigger a backlash against the Saleh regime and its Western patrons.

Of all Middle Easterners, Yemenis voice strong anti-American foreign policy sentiments and take pride in sacrificing blood and treasure in defense of Arab and Muslim causes. Any U.S. policy course that neglects the local context will help al Qaeda sell its narrative to a receptive audience.

What Yemen desperately needs is a political and economic vision that tackles deteriorating security and social conditions and empowers state and society, not just the Saleh regime. This vision cannot be made in the USA.

Yemen's neighbors, particularly Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, along with the League of Arab States, should take the lead in finding solutions to Yemen's political and tribal divisions and providing the means to prevent Yemen from becoming a failed state. More than any other country, Saudi Arabia has more to lose by the breakdown of its next-door neighbor.

The United States and Great Britain should provide leadership and assistance in shepherding the reconstruction process through and ensuring that inclusive governance, transparency, and accountability are adhered to.

A good start is British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's call for a high-level international meeting this month to discuss ways of combating al Qaeda influence in Yemen. But the most effective means to combat al Qaeda is to to tackle Yemen's structural social and political crisis and to fully involve Yemen's Arab neighbors in the talks.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Fawaz A. Gerges.

Fawaz Gerges is a professor of Middle Eastern politics and international relations who has done extensive research in Yemen.

World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick to visit Ethiopia during Africa tour

2010-01-22T02:20:00.000-08:00

World Bank President to Visit Ethiopia During Africa Tour
From Abesha Bunna Bet online, Thursday, January 21, 2010:

(Ethiopia News) - World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick on Saturday January 30, arrives in Ethiopia at the start of a four-day visit, the last leg of his eight-day, three-nation Africa visit to help focus the attention of African governments, development partners and private investors on seizing the opportunity for renewed momentum in economic growth and overcoming poverty.

Although hit by the global food, fuel and financial crises, African governments have persisted in strengthening their economic policies as they pursue development, or rebuild after conflict.

Ahead of the trip, Zoellick noted that many sub-Saharan African countries had enjoyed a decade or more of solid growth before the crisis and it was important to preserve and expand on these gains by drawing investment to high growth areas.

“I am visiting Africa to learn about how its people have coped with the global economic crisis and to see how the World Bank Group can work with them to improve prospects for economic growth and expanded opportunity. Much of Africa has a solid record of economic growth, including in some of Africa’s fragile states, and it has the potential to be another pole of growth for the world economy,” Zoellick said.

Zoellick said that a combination of policy and institutional reforms and external resources are urgently needed to help build capacity, generate economic opportunities in fragile states, and lay the foundation for stability and overcoming poverty. He also called for policies and investments that would expand Africa’s share of global and intra-African trade by fostering regional integration and building crucial infrastructure in energy, transport and irrigation needed to promote agriculture, manufacturing and industrialization on the continent and for helping countries adapt to climate change.

At a working breakfast forum on the sidelines of the AU summit, which Zoellick is hosting jointly with African Development Bank President Donald Kaberuka, several African leaders will discuss the transformative impact that information and communications technologies (ICTs) can have on the continent.

“The skeptics wondered whether Africa was ready for a revolution in telecommunications. But African entrepreneurs, with the help of supportive government policies, changed the facts on the ground,” said Zoellick.

Acknowledging that private sector participation will continue to be key to take Africa to the next level of high-speed connectivity and to create jobs, the forum is expected to urge African leaders to further lift barriers to private sector investment in the sector. It is also expected to encourage African leaders and the private sector to take advantage of ICTs to advance agriculture, education and health sectors, and to similarly realize the considerable promise of other sectors.

During his trip, Zoellick will visit energy, agriculture and fishery projects that have benefited from World Bank support. He will hold working sessions with representatives of other donor agencies; discuss ways of boosting World Bank support to governmental and civil society organizations promoting peace, transparency, accountability, and good governance.

In Ethiopia, Zoellick will meet with African Heads of State attending the African Union summit, including the Prime Minister of Ethiopia Meles Zenawi. He will hold discussions with African leaders on climate change; visit a shoe-making factory owned by an Ethiopian female entrepreneur, and staffed by under-privileged Ethiopians who craft shoes retailed globally. He will also visit the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange which has helped the country transit rapidly from rudimentary methods of marketing agricultural products to the kind of sophisticated platforms offered by globally-accessible modern electronic facilities.

The World Bank has been helping to fight poverty and improve the living standards for the people of Ethiopia since 1945. This country is one of the largest beneficiaries of the World Bank’s concessional lending program, the International Development Association (IDA).

The World Bank’s strategy for the period FY 2008-FY 2011 aims to help sustain the ‘dual take-off’ of growth and basic services by supporting the implementation of key elements of the governments’ poverty reduction strategy framework.

The Bank’s lending and non-lending activities aim to support Ethiopia in sustaining high levels of investments in key areas (both physical and human capital as well as institutional capacity building), while addressing priority policy issues to maximize the impact of such spending.

Currently, the Banks’ portfolio consists of 32 active projects worth around US$ 3.6 billion of which around US$ 2.1 billion is provided as credit and the remaining US$ 1.5 billion is provided as grant.

These projects support among others, initiatives across a number of areas including Governance and Public Sector Development, Private Sector Development, Agriculture and Rural Development, Protection of Basic Services (PBS), Health and HIV/AIDS, Transport, Education, and Water Sector Development Programs.

After eight years of absence, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has re-established its role in helping growth become more private sector-led. It now has staff in Addis Ababa and is more actively engaged in key sectors. Multilateral International Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is exploring new opportunities to support investment in Ethiopia.

President Zoellick will be accompanied by the Bank’s Vice President for the Africa Region, Obiageli Ezekwesili, the Director for Strategy and Operations for the Region, Colin Bruce, the IFC Vice President for Africa, Thierry Tanoh, and the Country Director for Ethiopia and Sudan, Kenichi Ohashi.

Pass this on: Missing Persons Registry - Haitian Earthquake January 2010

2010-01-14T06:10:00.000-08:00

Copy of message today on Twitter from Ushahidi's Erik Hersman:

Pass this on. Missing persons registry for #haiti is http://www.haitianquake.com
about 4 hours ago from twhirl
ushahidi

Further reading

Patrick Meier's report at Ushahidi's blog, 13 January 2010: Our Efforts in Response to Haiti’s Earthquake - We’ve launched Haiti.Ushahidi.com

Ethan Zuckerman's blog post at My Heart's in Accra, 13 January 2010: Following the Haitian earthquake online

London based Tullow Oil to prospect oil in Ethiopia

2010-01-07T07:18:00.000-08:00

From Sudan Tribune, Thursday 7 January 2010:
British oil firm to prospect oil in Ethiopia

January 6, 2010 (LONDON) — The London based Tullow Oil, is expected to prospect oil in Ethiopia after a deal signed with the US SouthWest Energy which holds acreage in the Horn of Africa country.

According to the HIS International Oil Letter, a weekly news letter on oil industry, Tullow will explore oil in Ogaden basin in blocks 9a, 9, and 13. SouthWest Energy’s blocks cover a total area of approximately 29,000 sq. km in the north-east part of the Ogaden Basin.

The Ethiopian government believes that the Ogaden basin, which covers 350,000 sq km (135,100 sq miles), contains gas reserves of some 4 trillion cubic feet. Officials point to neighboring countries such as Sudan and Yemen as evidence there could be major oil deposits under Ethiopia’s deserts.

The Ethiopian government downplays threats by an active rebel group in the region and stresses there would be five basins out of the troubled region.

The rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) attacked an oil field in April 2007 where the separatist group killed 74 people, including nine Chinese employees of Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau, part of Sinopec, China’s biggest refiner and petrochemicals producer.

Upper Nile, South Sudan: Anyuak refugees hope one good turn deserves another

2009-12-15T09:59:00.000-08:00

From SRS - Sudan Radio Service, 15 December 2009:
Anyuak Refugees Hope One Good Turn Deserves Another

(Renk) – Nearly 300 Ethiopian refugees from the Anyuak ethnic group are hoping to settle permanently in Renk county in Upper Nile state.

Speaking on behalf of the refugees, Otak Ochoka Obala told SRS that they have been searching for a place to live in southern Sudan since 2003.

Obala described how they left their home in Ethiopia.

[Otak Ochoka Obala]: “I left Ethiopia in 2003, when the Ethiopian leader Meles Zenawi ordered the killing of the Anyuak. Forty people were killed. In 2003, we went to Sudan, to Pochalla and continued to Pibor where we were unable to get a place to settle and then we came to Malakal. But in Malakal we couldn’t get medical assistance, there was no food and the food which was there was always delayed. So there was no adequate assistance given to us as refugees. We then decided to go to Kosti but the authorities in Kosti sent us back to Renk. Now we have spent three months here in Renk with no assistance from the local authorities. Fortunately, the UNHCR has begun to supply us with food.”

Obala said they had never received any humanitarian assistance from the government and international organisations.

[Otak Ochoka Obala]: “From Gambella we trekked to Pibor and during that period no-one offered any assistance. There were a lot of problems during our journey, we received no medical assistance. But we remember very well the Sudanese refugees we hosted during the war in Sudan, they were given a lot of assistance. For example there were thousands of refugees in our homeland in Gambella, in Itang, Pinyido, and Dima refugee camps, they were comfortable. But now we have been moving for the last 7 years in Sudan and we can’t even get a place to live as refugees. Yesterday, on 13th December, we marked the 7th anniversary of the Anyuak massacre in Gambella.”

Obala said there were 96 men, 57 women and 121 children among the Anyuak refugees.

Sir Bob Geldof for the first time in 25 years pays a 3-day visit in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region

2009-11-27T10:50:00.000-08:00

From Sudan Tribune, by Tesfa-alem Tekle, Friday 27 November 2009:
Band Aid founder, Geldof back in Ethiopia

November 26, 2009 (MEKELLE) — Since his landmark visit 25 years ago for famine relief efforts, Irish rock star and activist, Bob Geldof for the first time pays a 3-day visit in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, one among worst-stricken region by the 1984’s devastating famine.

Yesterday, Sir Bob Geldof - Joined by Country’s UNICEF director, government officials and key humanitarian players, paid a visit in one of the then most affected village, Korom, where he was greeted by dozens of famine survivors, women, children and residents waving placards emblazoned: "No more deaths from hunger."

"It’s a miracle to come back after 25 years to this beautiful place and see you all in healthy shape" Geldof said to the crowd.

"What happened here deeply affected every human being outside of Ethiopia," he said adding "Nobody who was here 25 years ago doubted that you could rebuild your lives in the way you have now."

Geldof made a speech at a hospital site (under construction) funded by his Band Aid group, and other donors. Up on completion, the hospital is said to provide healthcare services to quarter a million people.

Few weeks ago, the Ethiopian government called for Nearly 160,000 tonnes of emergency food aid to feed 6.2 million of its 80 million people. The appeal was made on the 25th anniversary of the 1984 famine that killed an estimated one million people.

Following Ethiopia government’s appeal, a number of international Medias have related and compared the current drought situation with 1984’s disaster. But Ethiopian officials have reacted to the recent reports saying as incorrect and irresponsible reports.

In recent interview, Ethiopia’s state minister for agriculture and rural development told Sudan Tribune that the situation in Ethiopia was drought and not famine as stated in some media reports.

"There is definitely no famine in Ethiopia" Mitku Kassa, state agriculture and rural development minister said during the interview.

"What we are having is only the cause for famine, drought, and we have taken the current situation under control," the minister stressed.

However, Geldof’s visit is believed to be a witness to reveal the current humanitarian situation on ground and investigate the unfolding crises and challenges the horn of Africa’s country is facing to food-support itself and bring a long term development.

Following an Emergency aid call from Ethiopia, the international aid agency, Oxfam has called for a radical shake-up of aid system to break up the cycle of hunger in Ethiopia.

Oxfam argued that constant food flow from the West is failing to help starving Africans cope with ever-more frequent droughts and Called for a radical shake-up in the way the world tackled food crises

"No longer should we be chasing each drought with food; we should be acting before the next drought comes”. Oxfam statement said in October.

Instead, donors should support programs including weather early warning systems, improved roads, food and medicine stockpiles, cheaper than responding under the stress of urgent appeals, and irrigation schemes.

Sending such food aid "does save lives", Oxfam said. But it is a "knee-jerk reaction" and "the dominance of this approach fails to offer long-term solutions which would break these cyclical and chronic crises".

"Donors need to shift their approach, and help to give communities the tools to tackle disasters before they strike," said Penny Lawrence, Oxfam’s international director.

Geldof is widely recognized for his activism, especially in anti-poverty efforts concerning Africa

In 1984; he founded the charity super group Band Aid to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia.

In total more than 150 million pounds were raised then, largest international appeal until the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. (ST)

Signing of MoU between African Union (AU) and the government of Germany

2009-11-18T16:39:00.001-08:00

Signing of MoU between African Union (AU) and the government of Germany

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, November 18, 2009/APO

Invitation to a press conference for the Signing of MoU between African Union (AU) and the government of Germany

Where: AU headquarters, Media Center

When: Wednesday, 18 November 2009 at 3:30pm

Why: The AU will hold a meeting and signs an agreement with the Federal Republic of Germany on areas of development cooperation.

Who: The press conference will be addressed by the Deputy Chairperson of the AUC and the Deputy Director General for Economic Cooperation and development of the Government of Federal republic of Germany.

All media representatives are invited to attend the signing event and take part on the press conference.

SOURCE: African Union Commission (AUC)

Crossposted on Sudan Watch

IFJ deplores upsurge of attacks against journalists and media houses in Somalia

2009-11-16T09:05:00.000-08:00

Radio Warsan and Jubba Radio in Baidoa are closed since 21 October 2009. Currently the compound of Radio Warsan is being occupied by the Al-Shabaab armed men.

From IFJ (MOGADISHU, Somalia) November 16, 2009/(APO):
IFJ deplores upsurge of attacks against journalists and media houses in Somalia

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned the upsurge of attacks against journalists and news media organisations in Somalia.

The IFJ condemns the grave press freedom violations that have been committed by Al-Shabaab extremist group in Kismayo, Baidoa, Bardhere and Mogadishu.

According to the IFJ’s Somalia affiliate, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), Al-Shabaab says there have been a number of oppressive edicts that the extremist group wants the media to implement. Radio Warsan and Jubba Radio in Baidoa are closed since 21 October 2009. Currently the compound of Radio Warsan is being occupied by the Al-Shabaab armed men.

The IFJ says these edicts are unacceptable and restrict the work of the media in Somalia. “We fully back the position of NUSOJ. These interventions are intolerable and have the effect of intimidating independent journalism,” said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary.

Six journalists in Kismayo were forced to flee their town after they received from Shabaab threats ranging from arrest to expulsion working independently and reporting what is going in Kismayu.

A number of media houses in Mogadishu and Bardhere have been intimidated by Shabaab. There have been statements from politicians and diplomats saying the media in Somalia was “influenced” and is thus “compromised” by Shabaab.

“Our Somali colleagues and their media houses are doing everything they can to operate in line with their profession in the face of deadly violence,” said White. “We will give them full support against this deplorable intimidation.”

For more information contact the IFJ at +221 33 867 95 87
The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 123 countries worldwide
http://africa.ifj.org/en/articles/ifj-deplores-upsurge-of-attacks-against-journalists-and-media-houses-in-somalia

SOURCE : International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)

Mo Ibrahim's mobile revolution - 'Africa must think big to thrive'

2009-11-16T02:47:00.000-08:00

From BBC News 20:14 GMT, Sunday, 15 November 2009:
'Africa must think big to thrive'

Mo Ibrahim was speaking at a two-day forum in Dar es Salaam

Many African states are too small to continue to exist independently, Sudan-born magnate Mo Ibrahim has told a conference in Tanzania.

Mr Ibrahim said the idea that 53 small African countries thought they could compete with China, India, Europe and the US was a "fallacy".

Trade within Africa accounts for just 4-5% of the continent's international trade, something that is "not viable".

The tycoon said Africa "needs scale" to compete with the big economic players.

"We need scale and we need that now - not tomorrow, the next year or the year after."

The BBC's Peter Greste in Nairobi says Mr Ibrahim was referring to economic integration rather than political unification.

Mo Ibrahim's mobile revolution

Speaking to an audience that included Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, Mr Ibrahim said Africans were poor, hungry and going without.

"Something is drastically wrong. I think we have the right to ask our leaders: are they really serious?" he said.

Mr Ibrahim surprised African leaders last month when the $5m (£2.9m) Ibrahim prize for good governance was withheld.

The prize is given to a democratically elected leader from sub-Saharan Africa who has served their term and left office.

South Africa's Thabo Mbeki and Ghana's John Kufuor had been among the favourites.

MO IBRAHIM

Sudan-born mobile phone entrepreneur

Moved to UK in 1974 to study

By 1983, director of BT Cellnet

Founded Mobile Systems International, which he sold to Marconi in 2000

Then set up Celtel, used by 25m Africans

2007: Started African leadership prize

2008: Named UK's most influential black person

Mo Ibrahim's mobile revolution

Ethiopia rebels Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) 'capture towns'

2009-11-15T01:29:00.000-08:00

Note, the reports could not be verified and Ethiopia has in the past dismissed rebel accounts of military gains.

From BBC News at 10:29 GMT, Saturday, 14 November 2009:
Ethiopia rebels 'capture towns'

Ethnic-Somali rebels in the south-east of Ethiopia say they have launched an offensive against government forces and captured several towns.

The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) said it began attacking on several fronts on Tuesday.

The separatists said a "significant number" of Ethiopian troops had been killed and their equipment captured.

The reports could not be verified and Ethiopia has in the past dismissed rebel accounts of military gains.

"The operation involved thousands of ONLF troops and resulted in two days of heavy fighting," an ONLF statement said.

The group added that its forces had been "warmly welcomed" in the towns it claimed to have captured - Obolka, Hamaro, Higlaaley, Yucub, Galadiid, Boodhaano and Gunogabo.

The ONLF, formed in 1984, is fighting for the independence of ethnic Somalis in the oil-rich Ogaden region.

It says the Somali-speaking population has been marginalised by Addis Ababa.

Fighting has escalated over the past two years following an ONLF attack on a Chinese-run oil exploration field.

More than 70 people died in the attack, including Ethiopian guards and Chinese workers.

Addis Ababa calls the rebels "terrorists" and has cut off all access to the region.

However, watchdogs have accused the Ethiopian government of human rights violations.

Ethiopia inaugurates Africa’s first ever biggest power dam

2009-11-14T22:45:00.000-08:00

From Sudan Tribune, Sunday 15 November 2009:
Ethiopia inaugurates Africa’s first ever biggest power dam

November 14, 2009 (TEKEZE) — Ethiopia today officially inaugurated Tekeze hydropower plant, whose 44 meter concrete Arch dam is biggest of its kind in African continent.

The new power plant which went functional as of today was inaugurated in the presence of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, other senior government officials, Ambassadors and invited guests.

In the inaugural ceremony, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zemawi said that the new power plant will contribute a major role to the ongoing efforts to speed up development in the country.

He added that his government will put its utmost efforts to speed up the completion of other hydropower projects under construction to alleviate power shortage.

The premier extended his condolences to families of the 47 workers including two Chinese, who died in different accidents during the six-year long construction period of the power project.

Tekeze hydro power plant is expected to ease the sever power shortage that hit the nation. It has a potential of generating 300 MW. Country’s power demand currently stands at 1600 MW.

Ethiopia’s electric and power corporation (EEPCO) on June 2002 signed an agreement with Chinese National Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Corporation for the construction.

The power project was entirely funded by the federal democratic government of Ethiopia.

The total project construction has cost the horn of African’s nation nearly 4 Billion Birr (about 360 million Dollars).

Land lock Ethiopia is a country with mainly high mountainous landscape which provides a vast hydroelectric potential up to an estimated 40, 000 MW.

After the current prime Minster Meles Zenawi led government came to power in 1991, it has made its top priority that of overcoming the environmental, financial and technical obstacles necessary for the implementation of several major hydroelectric developments.

Last week Ethiopia electric and Power Corporation announced that 3 among the 5 hydro power projects now under construction will go operational this year.

When Ethiopia’s hydro power projects go into completion, nation will begin power export to neighboring countries of Sudan, Djibouti and Kenya. (ST)

Ethiopia discovers Gold deposit worth $ Billions

2009-11-14T22:37:00.000-08:00

From Sudan Tribune, Saturday, 14 November 2009:
Ethiopia discovers Gold deposit worth $ Billions

November 13, 2009 (ADDIS ABABA) – Ethiopia’s ministry of mines and energy this week announced that it has discovered more than 40 tonns of gold deposit in two sites in the western parts of the country.

According to Ethiopia news agency, A British firm has found 23 tons of gold deposit at a local area known as Tulu-Kapi, some 450 Km west of the capital near the border to Sudan. While a Saudi company discovered 18 tonns of gold deposit at Lege-Dembi locality.

When extraction is began from the new mine sites, Ethiopia’s annual income from the sector is said to jump to 1.7 Billion US dollar a year from what it is now, only USD105 Million.

However this will cost Ethiopia 200 million dollars to extract and process it within a period of 5 to 10 years.

Currently there are some 44 companies engaged in gold exploration. Statistics by the national bank indicates that the nation has earned 450.5 million dollars from exports of some 48 tons of gold over the past 10 years.

Studies indicate that Ethiopia’s mineral resources still remain unexploited. Geological surveys indicate that there is an estimated 500 tonns of gold deposit across the horn of Africa’s nation. (ST)

NEW PUBLICATION: Peace and Security Council Report - November 2009

2009-11-14T03:06:00.000-08:00

Here is a copy of an email received

From: Security Council Report
Subject: Peace & Security Council Report
12 November 2009

Readers of Security Council Report may be interested to know of the recent launch in Addis Ababa of a similar publication designed to provide monthly information about the work of the AU Peace and Security Council. It is called the "Peace and Security Council Report" (To access the November 2009 edition you can click here).

Peace and Security Council Report is produced and published by the Addis Ababa office of the Institute for Security Studies of South Africa. Security Council Report has assisted ISS with the development of this concept and it is pleased that ISS has taken SCR's Monthly Forecast as a model. We are pleased to have been able to help.

You are able to subscribe to regularly receive the Peace and Securty Council Report by clicking here.

Further details may be obtained from the programme directly at:
Peace and Security Council Report Programme
Institute for Security Studies
PO Box 2329
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Tel: +251-11-372-11-54
Fax: +251-11-372-59-54

_______________________________________________

Security Council Report
One Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza
885 Second Avenue at 48th Street, 31st Floor
New York NY 10017

Tel: 212.759.9429 • Fax: 212.759.4038

contact@securitycouncilreport.org
www.securitycouncilreport.org

Cross-posted to Congo Watch and Uganda Watch and Sudan Watch and Kenya Watch.

IMPORTANT NEWS: Some Sudanese living abroad may vote in elections - Ten arrested for impersonating registration officials in Rumbek, Southern Sudan

2009-11-13T00:39:00.000-08:00

Report by Sudan Radio Service, Thursday, November 12, 2009:
Some Sudanese Living Abroad May Vote in Elections

(Nairobi) - Sudanese living in Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and Malaysia will now be able to register for the elections scheduled for 2010.

The National Election Commission had earlier exempted some countries from participating in the voter registration exercise which started on November 1.

The Sudanese Ambassador to Kenya, Majok Guandong, told Sudan Radio Service in Nairobi on Thursday that he had received a circular from the NEC instructing him to start the voter registration. exercise in Kenya.

[Majok Guandong]: “Yes it is true, the news came yesterday morning (Wednesday) that the NEC has allowed us to establish voter registration centers in Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and Malaysia. So since yesterday we have been informing the Sudanese who are residing here, starting from tomorrow (Friday). The registration process will start at the Embassy and the GOSS liaison office. This is good news, because it is a constitutional right for the Sudanese to vote in the elections.”

Majok Guandong said that the registration period will be extended to compensate for the late start. He emphasized that the exercise will take 30 days, as required by NEC.

[Guandong]: “If we start tomorrow (Friday), we will be counting the days we have missed since the official start day, because it should be 30 days as scheduled. Secondly, all the documents are available at the Sudanese Embassy, and all Sudanese have the right. Since 1997, more than 5000 Sudanese have managed to get official documents, the passport, identity cards etc. The process is still on. So they have the right, if they need any official documents, there is no problem at all.”

Earlier, the deputy chairman of the NEC, Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, told Sudan Radio Service that NEC was only concentrating on the countries with large Sudanese populations.

The countrywide voter registration exercise is scheduled to finish at the end of November.

- - -

Report by Sudan Radio Service, Thursday, November 12, 2009:
Ten Arrested for Impersonating Registration Officials in Rumbek

(Rumbek) - Ten people posing as registration officers have been arrested in Rumbek, Lakes state.

The 10 are under police custody as investigations are going on. They are being held for registering voters, collecting people’s identification and convincing people not to register at the official registration centers set up by the state High Elections Commission.

Our correspondent in Rumbek, Mageng Wade, sent this report.

[Mageng Wade]: “These people said that they were being sent and given money by the NCP to come and register people locally in order to prevent them from registering for the elections next year. So that is the agenda behind the registration of people in their houses.”

Rumbek Central county commissioner Abraham Akol Bol also spoke to Sudan Radio Service.

[Abraham Akol] “They have been arrested by the police and they are now under police investigation and we have not yet received information from the police whether this group belongs to a political party. They were trying to register people and were telling them not to go to the registration centers because they had already been registered. They also took ID cards from the citizens, those who tried to register but the culprits were found by police and they are now under investigation.”

The deputy governor of Lakes state, David Ngok, said that the people are trying to sabotage both the voter registration exercise and the elections.

[David Ngok]: “If there are some people who are trying to sabotage the voter registration process then they are also sabotaging the elections. We will not tolerate this as the government because this is government policy and it’s part of the CPA and the constitution so we will not allow them to do it.”

The deputy governor of Lakes state, David Ngok, spoke to Sudan Radio Service on Thursday

Click on 'Election' label (here below at Sudan Watch) to read news report Nov. 10, 2009, entitled "SSDF to sue NEC for denying Sudanese in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia a chance to register as voters in the general elections"

Cross-posted to Sudan Watch and Kenya Watch and Uganda Watch and Egypt Watch and Congo Watch.
- - -

UPDATE: From Sudan Tribune by Ngor Arol Garang, Friday, Nov. 13, 2009:
National election board accepts additional countries for Sudanese Diasporas

November 12, 2009 (MALAKAL) — The National Election Commission (NEC) of Sudan today confirmed acceptance of additional countries to the previous list for registration and voting to enable Sudanese abroad to participate in the upcoming elections next year.

Following the publication of a list of countries comprised mostly the Golf countries where the members of the Sudanese Diaspora are from northern Sudan, the SPLM asked to take in consideration African countries where Southerners reside massively.

The initial list includes Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Sultanate of Oman, Bahrain, the UK, Belgium (for all Western Europe) and Washington, New York, Los Angles for the USA.

"We have allocated more registration and voting centers in Africa and Asia, said Abel Alier, NEC chairman at Malakal airport as he was en route to Khartoum after inspecting southern states voter registration centers.

Countries newly agreed upon for inclusion by the two parties in Africa includes Uganda, Kenya, and South Africa as well as and Malaysia, he said adding discussions are underway to add other neighboring countries.

Therefore, as commission, "we request Sudanese people residing in those countries to immediately establish contacts with the Sudanese embassies and other designated offices for registration," he emphasized.

Asked why being selective with countries hosting number of Sudanese people abroad to participate in the ongoing voter registration, he said, national election commission gets approval of countries to be included in the registration process from the presidency.

"The Presidency is the highest authority which decides on issues pertaining to country affairs such as voter registration," he commented expressing wishes all Sudanese people abroad open registration centers.

However, he was quick to say the Commission tries its best to ensure inclusion of more centers so that every Sudanese participates in the upcoming elections.

He said constitution allows participation of legally registered citizens to elect their leaders in the upcoming April 2010 elections.

"If you are not registered, it will be hard to vote for the person one sees as leader," he said adding voter registration remains opened to the last day of November 2009.

Alier also requested local authorities to give logistical supports to voter registration teams. He also acknowledged assistance being rendered by United Nation Mission in Sudan in transportation of voter registration materials and teams in where government supports is required.

"UNMIS is greatly supporting registration process in water zones and areas without good roads mostly in the southern part of the country and transitional areas," he stressed.

Meme: Joe Trippi's Eleven-Eleven 1111Campaign - America's and Britain's Veterans have given so much. Now, you can give back.

2009-11-10T14:11:00.001-08:00

Joe Trippi, one of America's greatest bloggers, has launched Eleven Eleven Campaign. The objective of the Eleven Eleven Campaign is simple: to get 11 million Americans to donate $11 to support America’s Veterans. Here is a copy of Joe's latest tweet on Twitter:

Tomorrow is Veterans Day, and now is our moment to encourage our friends, family members and colleagues to join us... http://bit.ly/9Iu9s
33 minutes ago from Facebook
1111Campaign
Eleven Eleven

Hey Joe! Britain's Veterans have given so much too!

Stand with 11 million Brits and Give £11 to Support Britain’s Vets!

Take Action Today
Click here to support Britain's Veterans
November 11, 2009

SSDF to sue NEC for denying Sudanese in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia a chance to register as voters in the general elections

2009-11-10T08:05:00.000-08:00

From Sudan Radio Service, Tuesday, 10 November 2009:
SSDF to Sue NEC over Foreign Voters

(Khartoum) - The South Sudan Democratic Front Party says it will mobilize other political parties in southern Sudan to sue the National Elections Commission for denying Sudanese in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia a chance to register as voters in the general elections.

In an interview with Sudan Radio Service in Khartoum on Monday, the Chairman of SSDF Party, David de Chand, said it is against the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the National Elections Act to deny Sudanese living abroad a chance to exercise their rights to vote.

[David de Chand]: “Nowhere it is mentioned in the CPA that those in Nairobi, Kenya or Uganda and Ethiopia should not be allowed to vote. I think the right to vote is a democratic right guaranteed to every citizen by the constitution and it is an unalienable right to all people. We the political party leaders would also go to the NEC to challenge such a statement and they will have to prove to us beyond reasonable doubt. If not, we can file a case before the Constitutional Court to challenge such a statement. Why should southern Sudanese refugees in Kenya, Uganda and in Ethiopia be denied their legitimate right to be registered?”

De Chand said that if the National Elections Commission fears that non-Sudanese may register to vote as southern Sudanese, it should allow the United Nations to undertake the exercise abroad.

He urged southern Sudanese to register to vote in the elections next year because it is a step towards the possibility of self-determination offered by the 2011 referendum.

Cross-posted to Sudan Watch and Uganda Watch and Kenya Watch

US Secretary of State Clinton Remarks With Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin Before Their Meeting

2009-11-06T10:00:00.000-08:00

Source: US Department of State
WASHINGTON, November 6, 2009/APO
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Treaty Room

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I’m very pleased to welcome the minister here. Ethiopia is a country with which we have very long ties, and have, in recent years, developed a very close working relationship on a number of important issues. And I’m looking forward to speaking both with the minister and his colleagues, who are here on a very important delegation to the United States.

FOREIGN MINISTER MESFIN: Well, Excellency, I’m very pleased to be here in Washington. Relations between Ethiopia and the United States are traditional and understanding. And I’m also confident and with full trust that my visit this time would be extremely fruitful in touching base on issues that are of crucial importance both to the United States and Africa and in Ethiopia.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you, sir.

FOREIGN MINISTER MESFIN: Thank you. Thank you so much.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you very much.

FOCA: China, Africa hold summit to reinforce bilateral trade

2009-11-06T02:46:00.000-08:00

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao can expect a warm welcome from Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak and finance and foreign ministers from 50 countries when the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCA) starts in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh on Sunday.

Ever-eager for raw materials and markets to sell its products, China has said the new meeting will lay down a “road map” to further boost cooperation between 2010 and 2012.

Direct Chinese investment in Africa leapt from $491 million in 2003 to $7.8 billion in 2008. Trade between the two has increased tenfold since the start of the decade.

Last year, China-Africa trade reached $106.8 billion - a rise of 45 percent in one year and on a par with with the United States, which estimated its two-way trade with sub-Saharan Africa at $104 billion for 2008.

Chinese imports from Africa last year were worth $56 billion, dominated by oil ($39 billion) and raw materials.

Its $56 billion of exports in 2008 consisted mainly of machinery, electrical goods, cars, motorbikes and bicycles.

FOCAC is held every three years and this will be the fourth since it started in 2000.

Source: AFP report via Saudi GazetteFriday 06 November 2009. Copy:
China, Africa hold summit to reinforce bilateral trade

CAIRO - Leaders from China and Africa start a three day summit on Sunday that will again throw the spotlight on Beijing’s strategic sweep for energy, minerals and political influence in the continent.

China has over the past decade paid for dams, power stations, football stadiums across Africa and scooped up copper, oil and other fuel for its breakneck economic expansion from Algeria to Zimbabwe.

It has invested billions of dollars while raising eyebrows in the United States and its allies by pursuing the hunt for oil and other resources in Sudan, Somalia and other nations that the West has shunned.

Many African leaders praise China however for not preaching about rights and corruption. So despite neo-colonialist qualms, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao can expect a warm welcome from Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak and finance and foreign ministers from 50 countries when the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation starts in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh on Sunday.

FOCAC is held every three years and this will be the fourth since it started in 2000.

Ever-eager for raw materials and markets to sell its products, China has said the new meeting will lay down a “road map” to further boost cooperation between 2010 and 2012.

Direct Chinese investment in Africa leapt from $491 million in 2003 to $7.8 billion in 2008. Trade between the two has increased tenfold since the start of the decade.

Last year, China-Africa trade reached $106.8 billion - a rise of 45 percent in one year and on a par with with the United States, which estimated its two-way trade with sub-Saharan Africa at $104 billion for 2008.

Chinese imports from Africa last year were worth $56 billion, dominated by oil ($39 billion) and raw materials.

Its $56 billion of exports in 2008 consisted mainly of machinery, electrical goods, cars, motorbikes and bicycles.

Some in the West have accuse China of worsening repression and human rights abuses in Africa by supporting countries such as Sudan and Zimbabwe.

US intelligence director Dennis Blair told a Congress committee in March that US agencies are keeping close tabs on China’s expanding influence in Africa, especially in oil-producing countries like Nigeria.

Cross-posted to:
China Tibet Watch
Congo Watch
Egypt Watch
Kenya Watch
Niger Watch
Sudan Watch
Uganda Watch
Africa Oil Watch

AGI: Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative

2009-11-06T01:07:00.000-08:00

From The Office of Tony Blair
November 05, 2009
Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative to create development through good governance becomes charity

The Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative has become a registered UK charity after creating a unique 'hands-on' approach to development and poverty eradication over the past eighteen months.

The Charity Commission approved the application from this relatively new organisation, which is underpinned by the belief that good governance and sustainable development are key to poverty eradication in the long term.

Tony Blair, founder of the Africa Governance Initiative (AGI), said:

"I'm extremely proud of our excellent project teams who are working in partnership with the governments of Rwanda and Sierra Leone to reduce poverty and develop new opportunities for growth.

"It is a privilege to work with leaders as talented and as committed to their people as President Koroma and President Kagame who represent a new generation of leaders in Africa with a commitment to building a new future for their people.

"The developed world needs to keep up its commitment to Africa expressed at the 2005 G8 Summit in Gleneagles. But lasting change in Africa will only come in the end from African solutions. By building the capacity to create sustainable long-term development through good governance and providing high level advice, we have already started to help deliver that change.

"And it won't stop here. Whilst developing our work in Sierra Leone and Rwanda, we want to launch new projects with other countries, sharing our knowledge, experience and expertise. We want more countries to develop sustainably, paving the way to a prosperous future.

"This work has reinforced my optimism about Africa's future, as well as my conviction that governance and growth are the key ingredients to effectively reduce poverty across the continent."

Commenting on Tony Blair and the work of the Africa Governance Initiative, Ernest Koroma, President of Sierra Leone, said:

"Mr. Blair has demonstrated an enduring commitment to Sierra Leone and its people. The work comes at a critical stage in Sierra Leone's development. I believe together we have an opportunity to ensure that Sierra Leone puts in place the policies, people and institutions to achieve real and lasting change."

Commenting on the work of AGI, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda said:

"What I would like people to know is that the type of partnership we have with Tony Blair is totally different from the type of consultancy people are used to. We work in very strong partnerships whereby not only gaps are filled where they exist, but there's also the notion of transfer of skills, mentoring, actually doing things that are measurable such that over a period of time, we will be able to know what kind of impact was made."

Cross-posted to:
China Tibet Watch
Congo Watch
Egypt Watch
Kenya Watch
Niger Watch
Sudan Watch
Uganda Watch
Africa Oil Watch

Ethiopia, Sudan joint expo Afri Print

2009-11-04T13:37:00.000-08:00

From Sudan Tribune, November Wed 04, 2009:
Ethiopia, Sudan joint expo opens tomorrow
By Tesfa-alem Tekle, November Tue 03, 2009

(ADDIS ABABA) - An expo jointly organized by the Sudanese, expo team services Co. Ltd. and Ethiopia’s Prana promotion will be launched tomorrow for two days.

A joint statement gave by the Ethiopian culture and Tourism state minister and Sudanese embassy said that over 25 Ethiopian, Sudanese and Egyptian printing organizations will take part at the expo named as Afri Print.

The Expo which comprises printing, packaging and advertising is organized based on past agreement signed between Sudan and Ethiopia to enhance culture, tourism, trade and investment.

The expo is said to have an important role to enhance international business trade investment and markets among national and international companies in printing publishing paper production.

It will further contribute to the development and upgrading of the printing industry by transferring best experiences, introducing new technologies, enhancing foreign investment and building the capacity of local entrepreneurs.

The expo, first of its kind in Africa, is believed to pave a way for publishers and printing organizations in the sector, to engage in a direct cooperation.

The fast growing Multi-lateral Cooperation between Ethiopia and Sudan is benefiting the two neighboring people on various areas. Currently both countries have signed-agreements on culture, trade, investment, security and road projects, among others.

Ethiopia :

Ethiopia on brink of famine again as Midge Ure returns 25 years after Band Aid

2009-11-04T00:52:00.000-08:00

Midge Ure returns to the Ethiopian villages he helped save 25 years ago with Band Aid only to find malnutrition is once again killing children.

From The Daily Telegraph
By Nick Meo in Ayub
Published: 31 Oct 2009
Ehiopia on brink of famine again as Midge Ure returns 25 years after Band Aid

Twenty-five years ago, the farmers of Ayub village were reduced to living skeletons with bloated stomachs, certain of death. When emergency food rations turned up - seemingly by miracle - they fell on them without ever being sure how they reached the remote mountain hamlets. What most assumed was the mercy of God was in fact the work of a softly-spoken Scottish pop star, a man who had never set foot in Ethiopia, but who helped organise one of the most remarkable acts of charity in British history.

This week Midge Ure, the lead singer of Ultravox and the producer and songwriter for Band Aid, returned to Ethiopia to visit the villages which had been swept by terrible famine in 1984. What he saw did not please him.

The crops were again withered - and once more, local children are dying because of drought and malnutrition.

"It is desperately sad to see hungry children in Ethiopia again," Ure, 56, told The Sunday Telegraph, as he toured an infant feeding centre where, in the past few weeks, four under-fives have died of diarrhoea and other hunger-related diseases.

Other babies were already painfully thin, and being fed on a vitamin-enhanced, sweet-tasting peanut paste called plumpy nut, which, it is hoped, will save their lives.

"Ethiopia has come a long way," he said. "At least children here have been caught in time and the images aren't like 1984, with mass deaths. But the fear is, if these people don't get more help, that's what we could see here again."

His trip, to mark 25 years since Band Aid, was planned months ago to show how life had got better in villages which were a once a byword for terrible poverty. Clinics and schools have been built, and a rudimentary system of modest welfare payments has been set up to give a modicum of security to the poorest, who always perish first in a famine.

But Ethiopia's rural population still depends on rain to grow crops, and now they have gone three years of drought in a row, just as they did during the early 1980s. As a result, villagers who survived 1984 and prayed it would never happen again are once more at famine's edge.

Back then, those with the strength to do so in Ayub village dragged themselves ten miles to a place called Korum, where they found an isolated feeding station.

Thousands were saved there - but for many of those already in the latter stages of starvation, it was too late. They died in droves. The horrific scenes of filth and death were recorded for a television broadcast by the BBC journalist Michael Buerk that shocked Britain and inspired an extraordinary relief effort.

"The bodies of my neighbours lay in their huts, with their families either dead, or too weak to bury them," said Shashe Fentau, 45, with a shudder of horror at the memory. We only survived then because of food aid.

"Now we have eaten all our stores and we are selling our cattle. It feels like the same thing is happening again. We are very scared. We have little to eat. In our village we know that hunger doesn't kill you quickly. It is slow to take effect."

Mrs Fentau, a mother of five, did not recognise the foreigner who turned up in her village last week with aid workers from Save the Children UK, asking questions about life and death in Ethiopia's highlands. She had no idea that Ure may well have saved her life a quarter of a century ago.

It was after watching the harrowing BBC broadcast that he and ex-Boomtown Rat Bob Geldof galvanised a group of pop stars to form Band Aid and produced the single "Do They Know it's Christmas?", which raised millions in famine relief donations.

The food they bought was sent to villages like Ayub, much of it hurled out of the backs of aircraft - the only way of getting it to mountain communities, which at that time had no proper roads.

Unlike 1984-85, when a million died, there are good roads now, while the Soviet-backed military regime has been replaced by a government which shows rather more interest in its peoples' survival. Yet Ethiopia remains the fifth poorest nation in the world, according to last year's World Bank GDP figures, and is once again at risk of mass starvation.

Ure arrived last week just as Ethiopia's government issued an urgent appeal for donors to feed 6.2 million hungry farmers and their families. The World Food Programme estimates that 125,000 metric tonnes of grain are needed, at a cost of £54 million, to fill the gaping hole in the nation's food supplies.

Aid groups fear the real number at risk may be more than double that - putting more than one in ten of Ethiopia's 80 million people at risk - because another 7.2 million depend on a government welfare scheme that is only intended to tide peasant farmers over for a hungry spell before the harvest. This year, the crops lie withered in the fields in much of the country, including Ayub village.

Dressed in a baseball cap and casual shirt, Ure looked more like an aid worker than the flamboyant rock star whose hit Vienna re-defined the New Romantic sound of the early 1980s. He visited without an entourage or PR executives, flew the 8-hour journey from London in economy class and stayed in a run-down hotel in the highlands with no hot water that cost £13 a night. He brought with him his 14-year-old daughter, Kitty, so she could see what life was like in an African village.

"I first came here in 1985 on a transport plane and stayed for 12 hours," he said. "I swore I would never return. I went to a feeding centre outside Addis Ababa for children who were supposed to be on the mend. Three babies had died that morning.
"It was full of skeletal children with extended bellies. It was horrifying - just too much to handle for a 29-year-old pop star."

But on this trip, he spent his time speaking to farmers, experts and officials, discussing crop yields, deforestation, rainfall patterns, and rural demography with a knowledge well beyond that of the average celebrity doing their bit for charity. One other star, who visited Africa on a private jet to promote a disease prevention campaign recently, was unaware that malaria was transferred to humans by mosquitoes.

Ayub village is typical of the Ethiopian highlands, with thatched, round mud-huts ringed by cactus and thorn hedges to keep out herds of long-horned oxen. The animals wander dirt tracks, kept in order by small boys with sticks who take them out to graze.

Groups of smiling schoolgirls with braided hair and patched clothes walk past on their way to the local school building - a sign of progress. Despite its tragic past, the region has become a tourist attraction, with backpackers drawn by its beautiful mountain landscapes.

Ayub took years to recover from the disaster of 1984; since then the population has doubled, as it has nationally. But that has forced farmers to divide their land into ever-smaller plots for their sons, and to cut down the surrounding forests for fuel, destroying a source of forage they had relied on at times of hardship.

The landscape is still surprisingly green; yet most farmers suffer real hardship because the rains did not fall at the right time for their crops.

"When the rains don't come, hope is lost," said Teshome Laile, a 48-year-old health expert with Save the Children.

"The government does care about the people, unlike the old regime, but they don't have enough resources, and the problem is big. Agriculture is not modernised, farmers are dependant on rainfall. So if rain doesn't fall, farmers are in trouble."

Mrs Fentau, a survivor of 1984, gestured at a sickly, thin crop of maize next to her hut, which had not received enough water to produce anything edible.

Ure admitted that the feeling of achievement he felt at visiting villages kept alive by Band Aid in the 1980s was tempered by the fear he could see in the eyes of farmers now.

"I think there is a good chance that a lot of people we have met survived years ago thanks to food paid for by Band Aid," he said. "They are alive because people in Britain simply bought a record.

"But these lands are still desperately poor. What could really change things here is long-term development, if money could be raised for that. Saving lives is newsworthy. Long-term development is boring."

Band Aid has raised £150 million since the record was released, and it still generates money every Christmas. Ure admits that it wasn't his finest song – the singer Morrissey, a critic of Band Aid who claimed the project was self-righteous, once described listening to it as "torture". Ure is more combative, however, over the claim that pop stars use charity work to promote their own careers.

"I do this kind of thing because I think it is important to try to help," he said. "You don't sell any more records by doing this, there is no ulterior motive. The charities ask celebrities to make these trips because they work in attracting public attention."

He added: "It did its job and has a place in many people's hearts. The money raised was a drop in the ocean really, but it still saved a lot of starving people. We made charity cool for a whole new audience – before Band Aid, giving had been a worthy thing, confined to do-gooders and Blue Peter."

Today, though, he is doubtful that its success can ever be repeated, partly because he believes rock stars no longer have the following or influence that they had in the early 1980s.

"I performed at the Live 8 concert in Edinburgh four years ago and the attitude was very different. People came for a concert, not for a cause."

"In 1984 there was something real and honest and genuine about what happened. People in Britain didn't want to see people in Africa starving to death. They wanted to help - and thanks to them there are thousands of people in Ethiopian villages who are alive today."

* Save the Children has launched an appeal to raise £20 million to feed hungry people affected by drought in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya. To donate, go to www.savethechildren.org.uk or call 0207 0126400.

Al-Shabab: Somali group with Al-Qaeda ties threatens Israel, Ethiopia, Ghana, Sudan, Uganda and Kenya

2009-11-02T11:22:00.000-08:00

A militant Islamic group associated with al Qaeda has threatened to attack Israel, far from its normal base of operations in Somalia. CNN writes that Al-Shabab, which is fighting to control the east African country, accused Israel of “starting to destroy” the Al Aqsa mosque, where standoffs have recently been taking place between Israeli police and Palestinians.

The mosque is part of the complex that Jews called the Temple Mount and Muslims call Haram al-Sharif. The group also threatened other African nations on Friday, including Ethiopia, Ghana, Sudan, Uganda and Kenya.

Source: Afrik.com Monday 2 November 2009 - Somalia: Somali group with Al-Qaeda ties threatens Israel, Ethiopia, Ghana, Sudan, Uganda and Kenya
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(AFP photo) This still image provided by SITE, an organization which monitors Islamist websites, from a video entitled 'At Your Service Osama' released 20 Sep 2009, shows Abu Mansur al-Amriki (R) teaching mujahedeen small unit tactics

Source: Voice of America report by Alisha Ryu (Nairobi) 27 October 2009 - Uganda Tightens Security Following Al-Shabab Threat

Scientists unearth oldest human remains in Ethiopia

2009-10-05T11:50:00.000-07:00

From Sudan Tribune, Saturday, 3 October 2009, by Tesfa-alem Tekle:
Scientists unearth oldest human remains in Ethiopia

October 2, 2009 (ADDIS ABABA) — A group of scientists have found a 4.4 million years old human ancestor in Ethiopia’s remote Afar area.

The uncovered remnant of a female, named "Ardi" is said to be the closest founding to the ’missing link’ common ancestor of humans and chimps, thought to have lived five to seven million years ago.

The discovery of the skeleton has allowed scientists to retrace the first evolutionary steps of our ancestors, after they split away from those of modern chimpanzees.

The fossil reveals our earliest predecessor to have been a stocky, stooping creature, covered in hair, with a protruding face, long arms and a grasping big toe.

Ardi lived a million years before the famous Lucy, the previous earliest skeleton of a hominid who was also found in Ethiopia’s Afar region, and was of the more human-like genus Australopithecus.

The first fossilized and crushed bones of Ardi were found in 1992 in the Great Rift Valley in northeastern Ethiopia of Afar region.But it has taken an international team of 47 scientists 17 years to piece together the skeleton which comprises 125 pieces. Ardi has a relatively small skull, suggesting a comparable level of intellect to modern chimps. Scientists said that, the angle of her head relative to her spine shows that she would have been able to walk upright in a stooped posture.

However they said she retains the "grasping" big toe of our more primitive ancestors, as well as long arms and big hands, which point to her being an able climber. Unlike chimpanzees and orangutans, though, she would not have been able to swing through the trees.

Dr. Berhane Asfaw, a researcher from the Rift Valley Research Service in Ethiopia, said that the latest finding is a landmark for the studies on human evolution.

According to the scientists, Ardi was a female, bigger in physical to Lucy, and weighed about 50 kilograms and stood about 120 centimeters tall.

The research, in the form of 11 detailed papers and more general summaries, is expected to be published today-in the Science journal’s 2 October, 2009, special issue.

Why is Africa poor? Africa is not poor, it is poorly managed

2009-08-24T03:57:00.001-07:00

Quote of the Day
"Africa is not poor, it is poorly managed." - President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, 2009.

The following report also tells us that Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf says she underestimated the problem of graft.

From BBC News, Monday, 24 August 2009:
Why is the African continent poor?
By Mark Doyle, BBC world affairs correspondent

The desolate, dusty town of Pibor on South Sudan's border with Ethiopia has no running water, no electricity and little but mud huts for the population to live in.

You would be hard put to find a poorer place anywhere on earth.

I went there as part of a journey across Africa to ask the question "Why is Africa poor?" for a BBC radio documentary series.

I was asked to investigate why it is that every single African country - with the exceptions of oil-rich Gabon and Algeria - is classified by the United Nations as having a "low" broadly defined Human Development Index - in other words an appalling standard of living for most of the people.

In Pibor, the answer to why the place is poor seems fairly obvious.

The people - most of whom are from the Murle ethnic group - are crippled by tribal conflicts related to disputes over cattle, the traditional store of wealth in South Sudan.

The Murle have recently had fights with the Lol Nuer group to the north of Pibor and with ethnic Bor Dinkas to the west.

In a spate of fighting with the Lol Nuer earlier this year several hundred people, many of them women and children, were killed in deliberate attacks on villages.

There has been a rash of similar clashes across South Sudan in the past year (although most were on a smaller scale than the fights between the Lol Nuer and the Murle).

And so the answer to why South Sudan is poor is surely a no-brainer: War makes you destitute.

Why is there so much war?

And yet South Sudan is potentially rich.

"It's bigger than Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi combined," the South Sudan Regional Co-operation Minister Barnaba Benjamin, enthused.

"Tremendous land! Very fertile, enormous rainfall, tremendous agricultural resources. Minerals! We have oil and many other minerals - go name it!"

The paradox of rich resources and poor people hints at another layer of explanation about why Africa is poor.

It is not just that there is war. The question should, perhaps be: "Why is there so much war?"

And the headline question is in fact misleading; Africans as a people may be poor, but Africa as a place is fantastically rich - in minerals, land, labour and sunshine.

That is why outsiders have been coming here for hundreds of years - to invade, occupy, convert, plunder and trade.

But the resources of South Sudan, for example, have never been properly developed.

During colonial rule South Sudan was used as little more than a reservoir of labour and raw materials.

Then independence was followed by 50 years of on-off war between the south and north - with northerners in Khartoum continuing the British tactic of divide and rule among the southern groups.

Some southerners believe this is still happening today.

Corruption

On my journey across the poorest, sub-Saharan swathe of the continent - that took in Liberia and Nigeria in the west, Sudan in the centre, and Kenya in the east - people explored the impact that both non-Africans and Africans had had on why Africa is poor.

Almost every African I met, who was not actually in government, blamed corrupt African leaders for their plight.

"The gap between the rich and the poor in Africa is still growing," said a fisherman on the shores of Lake Victoria.

"Our leaders, they just want to keep on being rich. And they don't want to pay taxes."

Even President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia came close to this when she told me she had underestimated the level of corruption in her country when she took office.

"Maybe I should have sacked the whole government when I came to power," she said.

"Africa is not poor," President Johnson-Sirleaf added, "it is poorly managed."

This theme was echoed by an architect in Kenya and a senior government official in Nigeria.

Both pointed out that the informal sector of most African economies is huge and almost completely unharnessed.

Marketplaces, and a million little lean-to repair shops and small-scale factories are what most urban Africans rely upon for a living.

But such is their distrust of government officials that most businesspeople in the informal sector avoid all contact with the authorities.

Kenyan architect and town planner Mumo Museva took me to the bustling Eastleigh area of Nairobi, where traders have created a booming economy despite the place being almost completely abandoned by the government.

Eastleigh is a filthy part of the city where rubbish lies uncollected, the potholes in the roads are the size of swimming pools, and the drains have collapsed.

But one indication of the success of the traders, Mr Museva said, was the high per-square-foot rents there.

"You'll be surprised to note that Eastleigh is the most expensive real estate in Nairobi."

He added that if Eastleigh traders trusted the government they might pay some taxes in return for decent services, so creating a "virtuous circle".

"It would lift people out of poverty," he said.

"Remember, poverty is related to quality of life, and the quality of life here is appalling, despite the huge amount of wealth flowing through these areas."

Then the young Kenyan architect echoed the Liberian president, some 5,000km (3,000 miles) away on the other side of the continent.

"Africa is not poor," he also said.

"Africa is just poorly managed."

See blog: Why is Africa poor? Have Your Say

Prendergast's ENOUGH Project: Poker players Ante Up for Africa charity - Sudan, Uganda, Congo, Chad, and Somalia

2009-08-15T06:30:00.000-07:00

Posted to YouTube by ENOUGH - Ante Up for Africa, June 25, 2008:

ENOUGH is the project to end genocide and crimes against humanity. Focusing on the crises in Sudan, Uganda, Congo, Chad, and Somalia, ENOUGH uses a 3Ps crisis response strategy: promoting peace, protecting civilians, and punishing the perpetrators.

This year ENOUGH again joined the benefit poker tournament Ante Up for Africa, hosted by Don Cheadle and Annie Duke.

To learn what you can do to join the fight against genocide, go to ENOUGH.

© Center for American Progress
Category: Nonprofits & Activism
Tags: Cheadle Prendergast genocide Sudan Khartoum Uganda Somalia ICC advocacy Gayle Smith Africa war ENOUGH Ante Up Poker charity benefit Hollywood

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From usaplayers.com Thursday, 13 August 2009 by Bruce:
Full Tilt Poker's "Ante up for Africa" Charity Tournament

As part of Full Tilt Poker's FTOPS XIII online poker series, they are holding a special charity poker tournament known as "Ante up for Africa". The tournament will be held at 3 p.m. on August 15th [2009], and it will raise money for the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. The tournament will be hosted by actor and avid poker player Don Cheadle. The buy in for the tournament will be $100+20. The twenty dollar tournament fee will be donated to the charity. This charity tournament will be part of the FTOPS VIII online poker championships, which will feature more than $16 million in prize money over various tournaments. The last of the tournaments is known as the main event, and it will be held on August 16th with a massive guaranteed prize pool of $2.5 million.

Back in 2007, Cheadle co founded an Ante up for Africa Poker Tournament with Norman Epstein and Annie Duke. At the recent 2009 World Series of Poker, the third annual Ante up for Africa charity tournament was held. The tournament attracted some of the top celebrities from both poker and entertainment. Some of the stars in attendance were actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, and they were joined by poker pros Erick Seidel and Jennifer Harmon. The tournament had a $5,000 entry fee, and the players were asked to donate 50% of their winnings to the charity. When the tournament was complete, over $600,000 was raised. Since the Ante up for Africa charity was formed a few years back, over $2 million dollars has been raised. The funds have been distributed to organizations such as "Not on Our Watch", "Enough Project", and "International Rescue Committee". The upcoming online charity tournament will help raise even more money for such a good cause.

The FTOPS XIII charity tournament will take place on a Saturday afternoon giving most players the opportunity to play and help raise money for a good cause. Even though the tournament is designed to raise money for the Ante up for Africa charity, there is plenty of money to be won as well. The tournament will have a $100,000 guaranteed prize pool, with the winner guaranteed to walk away with at least $22,500. Players can take that their shot at winning some serious cash, while raising money for a great organization. Along with the chance to play with many well known poker professionals, players who play in the tournament will also get to play alongside celebrities such as Matt Damon. This will be another opportunity for poker players to help raise money for the ongoing crisis in Darfur.

To discuss this and other Poker articles like it drop by our brand new forum at: www.usaplayers.com

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From PokerNews.com Wednesday, 12 August 2009 by Elaine Chaivarlis:
2009 WSOP Ante Up for Africa Recap

ESPN’s third week of 2009 WSOP coverage aired last night with the Ante Up for Africa event. Dozens of celebrities and poker pros showed up for this event. This was the first time that Ante Up for Africa was aired on television.

The event had a $5,000 buy-in and attracted 137 players. The total prize pool generated for the event was $665,820. It was suggested that players donate 50% of their winnings to the charity.

Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Sarah Silverman, Montel Williams, Nelly, Cedric the Entertainer, Herschel Walker, and Charles Barkley were among the notable celebrities at the event. Several poker pros played the event as well, including Annie Duke, Jennifer Harman, Howard Lederer, Mike Matusow, Peter Eastgate, and Dennis Phillips.

Let’s face it, there weren’t a lot of stellar players, or plays in this event, as the event was created more as a fun way to raise money and awareness for the Darfur region.

Charles Barkley and Herschel Walker were two celebrities that might be able to benefit a little from the PokerNews strategy section. They both made this event entertaining to watch with their interesting plays. In one hand, where he rivered trip queens, Walker doesn't even know what the minimum bet is, but was happy with the face time he got from his hollywooding. Charles Barkley got it all in post flop when he flopped a flush draw with his . He never got there and was eliminated.

Mike McDermott (or Matt Damon, whatever you like to call him) ended up at the feature table sitting next to Erik Seidel. This is significant, only in that because of the movie Rounders, Erik Seidel's second place finish to Johnny Chan in the 1988 WSOP has been seen millions of times. So maybe Seidel had it out for Damon a little. Damon, like every other celebrity in this event, didn't make it to the final table. Wonder what happened to all those tells he used to pick up on.

The final table was, not surprisingly, packed with poker pros. Jennifer Harman, Matt Kay, John Hennigan, Phil Gordon, Chris Ferguson, Erik Seidel, Rafe Furst, Adam Richardson, and Alex Bolotin all made the final table of the Ante Up for Africa event. Five of the players at the table, Harman, Hennigan, Ferguson, Seidel, and Furst hold a combined 18 WSOP bracelets.

With the super fast structure, the final table saw its players drop rather quickly with Adam Richardson all but out the door at one point when he was all in and went runner runner clubs to stay alive. Richardson ended up going heads up against the eventual winner, Alex Bolotin, who won $176,449 for his first place finish.

There have been numerous opinions about whether or not there should have been more events from the 2009 WSOP aired on television. We're sure the minds over at ESPN had a reason for the lack of other coverage. We're not sure, however, if this will be the trend next year. What we can say is, in regards to this event, people watch what their favorite celebrities are doing, and if their favorite celebrity is playing poker, then they’re watching them play poker, bringing a more mainstream audience to the game, and that much we like. No matter what the broadcast schedule is next year, we definitely hope this event will be in the mix.

Be sure to tune into ESPN every Tuesday night for continuing coverage of the WSOP, and don't forget to follow us on Twitter.

Good luck to all.

ENOUGH was conceived in 2006 by a small group of concerned policymakers and activists who wanted to transform their frustration about inaction into pragmatic solutions and hope. Co-founded by Africa experts Gayle Smith and John Prendergast, ENOUGH launched in early 2007 as a project of the Center for American Progress. John Norris is Enough’s Executive Director. Read more about ENOUGH at http://www.enoughproject.org/about.

CECAFA U-17 football tournament: Ethiopia v Zanzibar (Juba, S. Sudan, 2.30pm on 19 Aug 2009)

2009-08-12T00:16:00.000-07:00

From Pana via Afrique en ligne, Wednesday, 12 August 2009:
Fixtures of Cecafa youth football tournament in Sudan

(Kenya) - Below are the fixtures for this month's Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa) championships taking place in Sudan.

The regional event, known as the Cecafa U-17 tournament, is slated for 19-31 August in three Sudanese cities - Khartoum, Juba and Medani. It is being sponsored by Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir to the tune of US$ 700,000.

Aug. 19 - Ethiopia v Zanzibar (Juba 2.30pm); Kenya v Uganda (Juba 4.30pm).

Aug. 20 - Somalia v Nigeria (Khartoum 5.30pm); Sudan v Tanzania (Khartoum 9.30pm )

Aug. 21 - Zanzibar v Kenya (Juba 2.30pm); Uganda v Ethiopia (Juba 4.30pm).

Aug. 22 - Nigeria v Tanzania (Khartoum 5.30pm); Somalia v Sudan (Khartoum 9.30pm ),

Aug. 22 - Eritrea v Rwanda (Medani 5.30pm); Egypt v Burundi (Medani 9.30pm).

Aug. 23 - Kenya v Ethiopia (Juba 2.30pm); Zanzibar v Uganda (Juba 4.30pm).

Aug. 24 - Tanzania v Somalia (Khartoum 5.30pm); Sudan v Nigeria (Khartoum 9.30pm ).

Aug. 24 - Rwanda v Burundi (Medani 5.30pm); Eritrea v Egypt (Medani 9.30pm).

Aug. 25 - Rest Day.

Aug. 26 & 27 - Quarter finals

Aug. 28 & 29 - Semi finals (Khartoum).

Aug. 30 - Rest Day.

Aug. 31 - Third place play offs/Finals (Khartoum).

Cross posted from Sudan Watch on Wednesday 12 August 2009: Fixtures of CECAFA U-17 football tournament in Sudan 19-31 Aug 2009

Click on labels here below for related reports and updates.

Microfinancing: Launch of new Mobile Money Transfer Directory will focus on Sub-Sahara Africa

2009-08-06T11:29:00.000-07:00

A new Mobile Money Transfer Directory at http://creditsms.org launches in 2 wks focus on Sub-Saharan Africa (by @CreditSMS)

Source: White African Erik Hersman via Twitter 04 Aug. 2009
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Snippets from CreditSMS website:

In December 2009, CreditSMS will launch several pilots throughout Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Additional pilot requests have been submitted for Kenya, Sudan, and Sierra Leone. Uganda and DRC have 87% and 66% rural populations respectively, constituting a nascent market of as many as 76 million potential clients and consumers. By enabling MFIs [microfinance institutions] to reach and meet the demands of this market, CreditSMS will facilitate a form of 'bubble up' development whereby the income of microloan recipients will increase and the price of newly-available goods and services will trend toward market equilibrium. All pilot results will be made free and accessible via CreditSMS.org as they become available.
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The Beginning...
By Ben Lyon
Published: July 14, 2009

Formal banks were hesitant to give "the bottom billion" loans because they didn't have collateral. Today, microfinance institutions (MFIs) fill that void by providing collateral-free loans to micro-entrepreneurs. In order to compete with traditional moneylenders, however, those MFIs had to charge exorbitant interest rates, mostly to absorb the high transport cost of making weekly visits to rural areas to collect loan repayments. With teledensity penetration and mobile commerce growing faster by the day, one has to wonder: why are loan officers still making the trip? Read More...
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Increasing revenue and impact through technology
By Ben Lyon
Published: July 22, 2009
[article written for Project Diaspora]

Aaron Ewedafe wakes up every morning at least one hour before the sun rises. Donning his satchel full of client records and repayment schedules, he hails the nearest okada driver and races into the surrounding countryside to begin a long day of loan group meetings. The trip from headquarters in Oshogbo to the village of Ojudo and back can take all day. Aaron rarely makes it home before nightfall. Altogether, Aaron spends 112 hours and 5,000 naira a week to manage 350 microloan recipients. His profit is negligible. Read More...
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The 'Phone as Cow' Model
By Ben Lyon
Published: August 1, 2009

Mobile phones are quickly becoming the hottest topic in development. Everyday, waves of new innovations are rolled out to connect 'bottom of the pyramid' (BOP) entrepreneurs to markets and information. But many advocates and implementers seem to neglect a fundamental question: What good are mobile innovations if BOP entrepreneurs can't afford handsets? According to Iqbal Quadir of Grameenphone, the answer is to issue the handset as the first microloan. Read More...

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Follow Credit SMS on Twitter

Check out Mobile Money Africa - Africa's leading online resource for mobile financial inclusion: mobilemoneyafrica.com

Somalia hires PwC to monitor aid

2009-07-09T08:32:00.000-07:00

From FT.com
Somalia hires PwC to monitor aid
By Barney Jopson in Nairobi
Published: July 8 2009

PwC, the world's biggest accountancy firm, is making a move into the world's worst failed state. Somalia's interim government has asked PwC to bring bookkeeping discipline to a country where lawlessness has reigned for nearly two decades.

At the demand of international donors, the besieged government has asked PwC to set up money tracking systems to ensure that aid sent to Somalia, including $67m (€48m, £41m) pledged in April, is spent as intended and not stolen by corrupt officials.

Somalia is in the latest phase of an 18-year civil war as Islamist insurgents, including some allegedly linked to al-Qaeda, seek to topple the western-backed government. Shoot outs, mortar attacks and suicide bombings have become so intense that aid agencies and the United Nations no longer base foreign staff in the country.

Abdulrahman Adan Ibrahim, Somalia's first deputy prime minister, said his government's efforts to tackle the Islamists and piracy had been constrained by the slow delivery of funds from donors nervous about their money going astray in the absence of a formal banking system.

"We want to be different from other African countries. We want to show the world that the money given to us will be going to where they want it, to be used in a transparent way," he said.

PwC has undertaken similar work monitoring donor payments in Afghanistan and Sudan. It declined to discuss details of the Somalia project, citing client confidentiality and security issues.

Abdusalam Omer, a senior adviser at Somalia's finance ministry, said PwC would set up and act as the trustee of an account in Mogadishu, the capital, for donor funds, most of which are intended for security, health and education.

He said the mechanism to be set up by PwC should speed up the arrival of the $67m pledged by donors, including the US and the European Union, to strengthen security forces. It was part of a broader $213m package that included funds for a 4,300-strong African Union peacekeeping force. A little less than half has been disbursed, partly because the alternative disbursement mechanisms - via a UN trust fund or the central bank of Djibouti - are considered by some donors as too slow or too leaky.

Mr Omer said he expected PwC to send staff to Mogadishu from Nairobi, capital of neighbouring Kenya. But it is likely that the only people on the project to be based permanently in Somalia will be local agents who deliver small cash payments and record them in electronic ledgers.

The process will begin with PwC informing the relevant ministries when funds arrive. It will verify that their spending plans match donor objectives, release funds and ensure they get into the hands of intended recipients.

"If the money is for salaries it will be transferred to the Somali employees and PwC will get receipts and signatures to show they got it," Mr Omer said. The money flows will be recorded in a new computer system and reports sent back to donors every 15 days. "The bottom line has to add up," he said.

PwC is not being paid a retainer but will receive a commission of between 2 per cent and 4 per cent on all funds that reach their intended destination, Mr Omer said.

In common with most accountancy firms, PwC is renowned for its extreme aversion to litigation risk in developed markets. In Somalia it will face physical risk. Many non-Somali diplomats and aid workers who go to the country restrict their visits to a day or two and travel in armoured vehicles with Somali guards carrying machineguns.

"We need to make people confident the money will not be used to buy a house in the UK," said Ahmedou Ould Abdullah, UN envoy to Somalia, alluding to the UK connections of many senior Somali officials.

Somalia has not had an effective central government since 1991. The interim administration controls only a few blocks of the capital, which are defended by AU peacekeepers. Islamist insurgents -surround it led by a group called al-Shabaab, which the US says has ties to al-Qaeda.

The US has admitted to supporting the interim government by supplying it with 40 tonnes of arms and munitions in the past two months.

UK Aid: £9bn to help 20 war-torn countries

2009-07-06T10:18:00.000-07:00

From www.publicservice.co.uk, Monday, July 06, 2009:
£9bn to help 20 war-torn countries

A new poverty action plan to help the world's poorest people cope with the economic crisis has been announced by [UK] International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander.

Launching the White Paper Building our Common Future, Alexander said there was a fundamental shift in the way the UK delivers development aid, refocusing resources on to fragile countries and for the first time treating security and justice as a basic service alongside health, education, water and sanitation. Fifty per cent of new bilateral funding will be committed to fragile countries, he said, with £120m being spent by 2014 on training police officers, setting up law courts and protecting women from violence. There would also be a sharper focus on creating jobs in five of the most vulnerable countries – Yemen, Nepal, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Afghanistan.

The White Paper underlined the UK's commitment to spending 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income on international development, equating to around £9bn per year by 2013, while also cutting maternal mortality rates with the aim of potentially saving the lives of six million mothers and babies by 2015, helping eight million more children in Africa go to school, doubling funding to £1bn for African infrastructure including transport, energy and trade in the region, tripling of funding to support developing countries recover stolen assets, and giving more to the Central Emergency Response Fund for humanitarian aid at the UN.

Alexander said: "We have made great strides over the past decade in tackling global poverty but there is much still to do. The economic downturn has had a devastating effect on the developing world, while millions live surrounded by conflict and violence. And we must face up to the havoc climate change could cause in the poorest countries. "

He added: "We will take action to save lives, put children in school and give mothers access to much-needed healthcare. But we will also support economic growth and tackle climate change – for many developing countries not a future threat but a current reality."

The changes will be backed by new branding under the name of 'UK Aid' to make people more aware of what efforts the government is making to aid international development.

Somalia president accuses Eritrea of arming Islamists

2009-05-28T02:54:00.000-07:00

From Sudan Tribune, Thursday 28 May 2009:
Somalia president accuses Eritrea of arming Islamists

May 27, 2009 (MOGADISHU) — Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed on Wednesday accused for the first time Eritrea of arming Islamists fighting to throw out his government.

Yesterday the insurgents launched mortar shells on his palace.

"We know for sure that the majority of the weapons in the hands of the insurgents are coming from Eritrea," he told reporters from his residence which is heavily protected by the African peacekeepers.

"Eritrea is very much involved here... We know that Eritrean officers come here and bring money in cash."

The Eritrean officials rejected these accusations saying their country has been falsely accused of supplying arms to the Somali militants.

However, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, an insurgent leader who returned to Mogadishu recently from Asmara where he was established, admitted last week that Eritrea supported them in their fight to topple the Somali government.

The Africa Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) on Friday May 22 called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to sanction Eritrea for supporting Somali Islamist insurgents.

The Security Council also in a statement on May 15 expressed its concern about reports that Eritrea has supplied arms to those opposing the government of Somalia.

Somali journalists shocked as fourth journalist dies

2009-05-27T02:57:00.000-07:00

Report from The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) - via APO:
Somali journalists shocked as fourth journalist dies

MOGADISHU, Somalia, 26 May 2009 - The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) is today shocked by the death of veteran journalist Nur Muse Hussein (Nur Inji) who died today from injuries he sustained from a targeted shooting in Beledweyne city of Hiran region in Central Somalia on 20 April 2009.

Nur Muse Hussein, 56, was wounded while he was trying to cover fighting in Beledweyn between militias loyal to Hiran Regional Administration and Hisbul Islam, an Islamic movement that operates in southern central regions of Somalia.

According to fellow journalists and his widow, Nur Muse Hussein who was with three other journalists when wounded by one of the fighters after they identified themselves as journalists, a Pedestrian walking behind the journalists reportedly died on the spot for the bullets that came through Nur’s leg, who worked for Radio Voice of Holy Quran in Mogadishu as their correspondent in Central regions. Bullets fractured his right leg. Nur Muse Hussein was in serious condition since the attack but his condition deteriorated in the last week, according to his widow.

“Nur Muse Hussein paid greatly for his dedication to journalistic profession. Today is another unforgettable and sad day for Somali journalists community,” Omar Faruk Osman, NUSOJ Secretary General. “Nur is the fourth journalist that became victim in this year for the crimes committed by the gun carrying men in Somalia. The death of Nur Muse Hussein highlights the unacceptable, continuing and deliberate violence against journalists in Somalia”.

Nur Muse Hussein left 5 children and a widow.

Abdirisak Warsameh Mohamed, nicknamed Gadao, of Radio Shabelle was shot dead on the morning of 22 May 2009 by forces fighting in the neighbourhoods near Bakara Market in Mogadishu. He was killed as he was crossing the road near Wardhigley police station, according to the director of Radio Shabelle, Mukhtar Mohamed Hirabe.

Three men with pistols assassinated the well-respected Said Tahlil Ahmed, director of HornAfrik Radio in Mogadishu, on 4 February 2009 at around 2:45 p.m. (local time).

On 1 January, Hassan Mayow Hassan, a reporter for Radio Shabelle, was gunned down by a member of a pro-government militia in Afgoye, 30 kilometers south of Mogadishu. He is the first journalist killed in 2009 in the world.

Eritrea behind attack on Somalia: AU

2009-05-24T09:56:00.000-07:00

FIGHTING FOR ISLAM: At least 45 people were killed and 182 injured in heavy fighting in Mogadishu on Friday. The African Union accuses Eritrea of supporting Islamist militants.

From The Guardian, London (via Tapei Times)
Eritrea behind attack on Somalia: AU
Monday, May 25, 2009

The African Union (AU) is calling on the UN to impose immediate sanctions on Eritrea for supporting Islamist insurgents attempting to overthrow the Somali government. The demand follows heavy fighting between two formerly allied Islamist factions in Mogadishu, as the UN-backed government forces have tried to push the hardline al-Shabab group out of its positions in the city.

Heavy fighting on Friday in the capital killed at least 45 people and wounded 182, the highest day’s death toll in more than two weeks of intense battles.

The fighting saw government troops — bolstered by the recent defection of a prominent warlord to their side — attack al-Shabab positions in police stations and the area of the Bakara market, also a rebel stronghold.

Justifying the new offensive, Somali Defense Minister Mohamed Abdi Gandi. said government forces had retaken control of insurgent strongholds: “We started the fighting and we intend to defend the Somali people … we were forced to fight as there was no alternative.”

Al-Shabab is led by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, a former ally of Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, who was elected earlier this year, becoming the country’s 15th president in 18 years of conflict.

“We are not fighting for positions, but for Islam,” Aweys said, describing the country’s president as a “Westerner.”

“It is agreed within Islam that Christians and those they support are the same — so war is incumbent upon us, like prayer,” he said.

Although Eritrea has denied arming al-Shabab, Aweys — who returned from exile there in April to lead the fight against the new government — said in an interview on Friday that the struggle was supported by Eritrea and also confirmed that foreign fighters had joined the insurgents.

“It [the UN Security Council] should impose sanctions against all those foreign actors, both within and outside the region, especially Eritrea, providing support to the armed groups,” the 53-member AU said in a statement late on Friday.

The statement echoed demands made on Thursday by the east African regional bloc the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, made up of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda.

Eritrea suspended its membership of the bloc in 2007.

“[We want] the imposition of a no-fly zone and blockade of sea ports to prevent the entry of foreign elements into Somalia, as well as flights and shipments carrying weapons and ammunitions to armed groups inside Somalia,” the statement said.

Aweys and Ahmed ruled Mogadishu and most of southern Somalia in late 2006 as leaders of the Islamic Courts Union, before Ethiopian troops drove them from power.

The two Islamists — Aweys was always considered the more hardline — went into exile in Eritrea and formed the opposition Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia, which aimed to oust the western-backed government. But Ahmed joined a UN-hosted peace process in Djibouti last year and was elected president in January. Parliament has since voted to introduce Shariah law throughout the country.

Neighboring states and Western security forces fear that Somalia, which has been mired in civil war for 18 years, could become a haven for militants linked to al-Qaeda.

AU calls on UN to sanction Eritrea over support of Somali Islamists - Sudan Air resumes flights to Eritrea after 13 years

2009-05-24T03:11:00.000-07:00

The return of Sudan Air to Asmara, Eritrea is the latest step in the process of normalization between the two countries who had tense relations in the past.

In 2002, Eritrea and Sudan withdrew their ambassadors and closed the border, after trading accusations of supporting respective opposition groups.

Source: Sudan Tribune report from Khartoum dated Sunday, 24 May 2009 - Sudan Air resumes flights to Eritrea after 13 years

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African Union calls on UN to sanction Eritrea over support of Somali Islamists
From Sudan Tribune Sunday, 24 May 2009:

May 23, 2009 (ADDIS ABABA) — The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AUPSC) called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to sanction Eritrea for supporting Somali Islamist insurgents.

In a statement released after the end of its 190th meeting in the Ethiopian capital on Friday the AUPSC urged the UNSC to impose sanctions on "all those foreign actors, both within and outside the region, especially Eritrea, which are providing support to the armed groups engaged in destabilizing activities in Somalia."

The Council appealed to establish a no fly zone and blockade of sea ports, to prevent the entry of foreign elements into Somalia, as well as weapons and ammunitions to the Islamist insurgency.

The AU peace and security council appeal comes in line with the IGAD request to the UN against Eritrea. In an extraordinary meeting dedicated to the security and political situation in Somalia on Thursday May 20 held in the Ethiopian capital the regional body appealed to impose sanction without delay on Eritrea saying Asmara called for the overthrow of the Somali government and attacks on African peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

Eritrea recalled its ambassador to the African Union following the statement. Asmara however denied reports that it had suspended its membership at the African Union.

Somali government accused Eritrea of supporting Al Shebab insurgents with planeloads of AK-47 assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons.

The Security Council also in a statement on May 15 expressed its concern about reports that Eritrea has supplied arms to those opposing the government of Somalia.

The Eritrean ambassador at the UN rejected these accusations saying his country has been falsely accused of supplying arms to the Somali militants.

"I wish to put on record my government’s strong opposition to, and categorical rejection of, the unsubstantiated accusations leveled against my country," Eritrean Ambassador Araya Desta wrote in a letter to the U.N. Security Council, on Wednesday May 20.

However, an insurgent leader who returned to Mogadishu recently from Asmara where he was established, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, admitted in an interview with Reuters yesterday that Eritrea supported them in their fight to topple the Somali government.

"Eritrea supports us and Ethiopia is our enemy — we once helped both countries but Ethiopia did not reward us," Aweys, said.

Some 45 people were killed in Mogadishu as result of the heavy fighting between the government troops and the insurgents who control important parts of the capital.

Today the Islamists militant also renewed attacks on the position of the African peacekeepers in Mogadishu. There are 4300 peacekeepers from Burundi and Uganda in the capital to protect key government sites. (ST)

AU says Eritrea backing rebels in Somalia

2009-05-23T05:49:00.000-07:00

* AU says Eritrea backing rebels in Somalia

* Calls for sanctions, no-fly zone, sea blockade

* Eritrea denies accusations

From Reuters by Barry Malone, Saturday, 23 May 2009:
African Union calls for Eritrea sanctions

ADDIS ABABA, May 23 (Reuters) - The African Union called on the United Nations late on Friday to impose immediate sanctions on Eritrea for supporting Islamist insurgents attempting to overthrow Somalia's government.

But Eritrean Ambassador Araya Desta said in a letter to the U.N. Security Council: "I wish to put on record my government's strong opposition to, and categorical rejection of, the unsubstantiated accusations levelled against my country."

Fighting in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Friday killed at least 45 people, the highest daily death toll in more than two weeks of intense battles, after government forces launched a dawn offensive on the Islamist militants. [ID:nLM978588]

"(The U.N. Security Council should) impose sanctions against all those foreign actors, both within and outside the region, especially Eritrea, providing support to the armed groups," the 53-member African Union (AU) said in a statement.

The statement echoed demands made on Thursday by the east African regional bloc, the Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD). IGAD is made up of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda.

Eritrea suspended its membership of IGAD in 2007.

President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed's U.N.-backed administration is the 15th attempt in 18 years to set up central rule in Somalia. Neighbouring states and Western security forces fear the nation could become a haven for al Qaeda-linked militants unless the hardline Islamists are defeated.

Somalia's transitional government has said the insurgents had been joined by foreign fighters and were receiving arms from Eritrea.

The AU reiterated IGAD's request that the United Nations enforce a no-fly zone on Somalia and block its sea ports to prevent foreign fighters and arms from entering.

"(We want) the imposition of a no-fly zone and blockade of sea ports to prevent the entry of foreign elements into Somalia, as well as flights and shipments carrying weapons and ammunitions to armed groups inside Somalia," the statement said.

In an interview with Reuters on Friday, influential insurgent leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys said Eritrea supported the rebel struggle. He said a few Arab fighters had joined the rebels in the name of Islam.

Aweys returned to Somalia in April from exile in Eritrea. (Editing by David Clarke)

Sudan appreciates Ethiopia’s stance to ICC decision

2009-04-08T01:37:00.000-07:00

From Sudan Tribune Wednesday 8 April 2009 by Tesfa-alem Tekle:
Sudan appreciates Ethiopia’s stance to ICC decision

April 7, 2009 (ADDIS ABABA) – Speaker of the Sudanese National Assembly on Monday appreciated Ethiopia for her strong opposition against the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s arrest warrant decision for Sudan’s head of state, President Omer Hassan Al-Bashir.

Speaker Ahmed Ibrahim El-Tahir who is in the Ethiopian capital to attend the 120th Inter-Parliamentary Union’s Assembly (IPU) has hold discussions with his Ethiopian counterpart, Teshome Toga.

On March 4, the ICC issued an arrest warrant against Al-Bashir on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes. Ethiopia is one of the first countries which swiftly voiced her opposition against last month’s ICC decision against Sudanese president.

The government of Ethiopia earlier last month condemned the arrest warrant issued by ICC saying it is against the interest of Sudan and Africa. It also said that the move undermines peace efforts.

"Though the Sudanese issue is not the agenda of the 120th IPU assembly we want to clearly demonstrate our country’s prevailing issue to IPU member nations" Ahmed Ibrahin EL-Tahir said.

"We will keep on trying to change the negative impacts of the arrest warrant" the Sudanese speaker added.

Conferring with his Sudanese counterpart, Ethiopia’ house speaker, Teshome Toga reaffirmed that his country, Ethiopia, would never accept decision made by ICC.

Beshir, 65, who is expected to visit Ethiopia in the upcoming days, is the first sitting president to face ICC arrest warrant since the world’s first independent and permanent tribunal on war crimes (ICC) began its work in 2002.

Somalia: Al-Qaeda's Next Battleground?

2009-03-23T11:06:00.000-07:00

Somalia: Al-Qaeda's Next Battleground
23/03/2009
From Asharq Al-Awsat, London

Al-Qaeda's appeal to the Somali people to stage an Islamic uprising fell on deaf ears; however, the militant, violent nature of the appeal stirs up aversion among ordinary people, who hope that the new Somali leader will be able to end the 18-year long anarchy.

According to analysts, Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden's appeal, which he addressed to the Somali people last week to topple President Sharif Sheikh Ahmad, was an attempt to raise the morale of fighters who sympathize with Al-Qaeda, but who are increasingly losing popularity, not a realistic political action plan.

Fundamentalist Islamists in London told Asharq Al-Awsat that Al-Qaeda wants to return to Africa through Somalia. They noted that, in addition to Yemen, Iraq, and Afghanistan, Somalia is a vital new base for Al-Qaeda. In a telephone call to Asharq Al-Awsat, Dr Hani Al-Sibai, director of the Al-Maqrizi Studies Center in London, said that "since the early 1990s, Al-Qaeda has not given up Somalia where it fought battles." He said that before Bin Laden made his latest speech in which he urged the Somali people to depose and kill Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad, an audiotape had been posted in a website by Abu-Yahya al-Libi, one of the Al-Qaeda leaders. He added that while in Sudan at the beginning of 1990s, Al-Qaeda was greatly interested in Somalia. He noted that Abu-Ubaydah al-Banshiri (Ali Amin al-Rashidi), brother-in-law of Abdul-Hamid Abdul-Salam, who took part in the assassination of President Anwar al-Sadat, (traveled to Sudan). Al-Banshiri was viewed in armed fundamentalist groups as the chief of staff of the Al-Qaeda army. He was the first military officer of Al-Qaeda to travel to the heart of Africa in an exploratory mission. He drowned in Lake Victoria as he was training a number of the Al-Qaeda organization members in carrying out the bombing of the two US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

Al-Sibai said that Al-Qaeda has been interested in the Horn of Africa region since the 1990s, noting that the region witnessed the first actual attack by Al-Qaeda soon after the declaration of its founding in 1998 under the name "The International Front for Fighting Jews and Crusaders." The first operation this organization carried out was the suicidal attack on the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. Al-Sibai noted that in its literature, Al-Qaeda regards Somalia as a source of pride because its tribal society is suitable for Al-Qaeda activities.

Al-Sibai revealed that 10 to 20 of the Somali Mujahidin Youth Movement (MYM) were in Afghanistan with Osama Bin Laden prior to the 9/11 attacks, and that they founded the first nucleus of the MYM although this group did not have a structural link with Al-Qaeda.

In a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat, Dr Kamal al-Hilbawi, former official spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood in the West, said: "We want to know the form of government that Bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri want in Somalia. They are neither satisfied with HAMAS, nor the Muslim Brotherhood organization, or the moderate leader, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad; there is something wrong that must be addressed." He added that Bin Laden believes he can rule the world from his hide-out. Al-Bilhari, who is the founder of the Islamic League, and of the British Islamic Council in Britain, said although these people call for jihad, they have no vision. He said that he personally wonders whether Somalia should be left in the hand of secularists after the withdrawal of the Ethiopian forces.

Asharq Al-Awsat had earlier published parts of Al-Qaeda's secret correspondence that was posted on websites, which belong in one way or another to the US Department of Defense (Pentagon). One of these was a message from Salih Abdul-Wahid to Abu-Hafs, (Muhammad Atif), the official in charge of military affairs in Bin Laden's organization, who was killed in a US air raid on Qandahar in November2001. In that message, dated December 1993, he spoke of the Mujahidin's strategy in Somalia and of his meeting with Sheikh Abdullah Sahl and Sheikh Hassan Tahir, two of the leaders of the Islamic Union. He said that "during the meeting, we discussed these issues: The need to strike at US forces in Somalia to turn the country into another Vietnam-like quagmire, and to strike at the UN forces in general.

According to experts, while Bin Laden's local allies in Somalia pose a real military threat, most of the Somali people seem to be more convinced of the former teacher, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad, 42, and of his ability to achieve stability in the country, than they are of the war message preached by Al-Qaeda organization. Rashid Abdi, expert in Somali affairs in the International Group for Addressing Crises, said: "There is no possibility of a rebellion erupting in Somalia. The (Bin Laden's appeal) primarily aims at raising the morale among the MYM." He added: "Bin Laden's appeal shows that Al-Qaeda has designs in Somalia, but, politically speaking, most of the country sides with Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad." He said that the MYM is a strong group of Islamic fighters who are sympathetic to Al-Qaeda. They are in control of large parts of the country and they, along with movements that embrace the same ideology, are staging a rebellion against the government. He added that against this military threat, there is a deep feeling among ordinary Somalis that Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad, a moderate Islamic leader who won the elections during talks hosted by the UN in Djibouti in January, provides the best opportunity in years to build a new future in the country.

Analysts believe that Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad has a real chance of settling the worst disputes among the 10 million people of Somalia in view of his Islamic roots and the feeling in the West that he must be given an opportunity to achieve stability in the Horn of Africa region.

Abdi Samatar, a researcher in Somali affairs and professor of geography and international studies at the University of Minnesota, said: "Bin Laden can say whatever he wants, but this will not change the political scene as far as the YMY is concerned." He added: "The will of the people is to say no to war; this attitude represents a major obstacle for Bin Laden. The main enemy of the MYM up to January was the Ethiopian occupation forces, which were sent to Somalia with tacit US approval in 2006 to crush presumed activities by Al-Qaeda.

The presence of Ethiopian forces in Somalia triggered national sentiments among Somalis to prove their patriotism, sentiments that many Somalis understood. Analysts however believe that the complete withdrawal of the Ethiopian forces eliminated a key political reason for support for the MYM, which seems to be striving to remain a coherent force in the absence of the Ethiopian military presence. The new Somali leader faces numerous major dangers, primarily an assassination attempt by the MYM, which continues to receive funds from foreign sources and which tightly keeps its secrets, something that is not easy in a gossipy society where people exchange information quickly and competently.

Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad so far does not have a considerable military force, for the government forces and the African Union peace-keeping force of 3,500-strong control only some parts of Mogadishu. He also faces many challenges, notably stopping acts of violence and piracy, establishing relations with the new US Administration, rebuilding roads and ports, and curbing militiamen leaders and greedy businessmen who have interest in weakening the government's authority.

The wide-range changes that occurred in the political scene in Somalia over the past six months mean that the possibilities have improved for handling these tasks and ending the anarchy that was fed by tribal propensities over the past18 years. The major development in the country has been Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad's assumption of power. This encourages confidence because he led the Islamic Courts which defeated leaders of the strong militias in Mogadishu, and achieved a measure of stability in the capital and in most of the southern parts of Somalia in2006.

However, Sheikh Sharif Ahmad's success did not last long. The West accused the Islamic Courts of having links to terrorist groups. And Ethiopia dispatched forces to overthrow the Islamic Courts from power, prompting Sheikh Sharif Ahmad to flee the country and establish a group opposed to Ethiopia. He has now returned from exile and is seeking to consolidate his power on the ground and to communicate with the Islamists fighters who were part of the Islamic Courts he led. His moderate Islamic roots may be useful to him in his mission and in his effort to persuade some Arab countries to provide funds to his administration. He said that he backed implementation of Islamic Shariaa in Somalia, a statement that might dilute opposition to him among the Islamic groups even though his view of the Shariaa is unlike the more militant view preferred by the Taliban rebels in Afghanistan.

The Ethiopian forces have withdrawn from Somalia, ending an occupation that was seen in Washington as part of the war on terror, but locally was regarded as a flagrant violation of Somalia's sovereignty. According to some analysts, apprehensions about Ethiopia's role in Somalia continue to exist, and while Ethiopia has long been accused of preferring to see a weak Somali government to be able to dominate it, Ethiopia maintains that the opposite is true.

Facing collapse, Somali rulers plead for Ethiopia to stay

2008-12-02T01:35:00.000-08:00

December 01, 2008 (ADDIS ABABA) report from Sudan Tribune:

FACING COLLAPSE, SOMALI RULERS PLEAD FOR ETHIOPIA TO STAY

The Somali Transitional Federal Government has expressed fears that the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops in the current conditions with no alternative military force, like a UN peacekeeping mission, could have terrible consequences.

The spokesman for the Presidency of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG) Hasan Muhammad Mahmud, alias Xubsireed, said in a statement that the planned withdrawal of Ethiopian troops within this month of December saddens the TFG.

If Ethiopian troops withdraw from Somalia before the full deployment of the 8,000 troops earlier promised by the African Union, the country will slide back to the civil war between Somalis and Islamist groups whose capability has increased, said the spokesman for the Somali presidency.

He added that Ethiopia will also be at risk since it shares a border with Somalia. "We would like to ask Ethiopia to reconsider its decision to withdraw its troops from Somalia," he said.

Deputy Speaker of Parliament Osman Elmi Boqore raised similar fears with Voice of America News, saying that after the Ethiopian withdrawal, the TFG may cease to exist.

The spokesman for the Somali presidency, speaking to Dayniile news, said the president is attending matters that are important to the nation in Garowe, the capital of Puntland, which is also the stronghold of the Harti sub-clan of the Darood, the clan affiliation of TFG President Abdullahi Yusuf.

The spokesman said the Puntland administration is part of the TFG and the president is in the region to reconcile presidential candidates who are vying for the leadership of the region with the current president, Adde Muse. The conflict between the Puntland leader and the presidential candidates is mainly about the way elections are to be conducted.

"The president will come back to Mogadishu as soon as his visit to Puntland is over," said the spokesman for the Somali presidency. Some reports previously indicated that the president will not be coming back to Mogadishu due to security reasons after the Ethiopian government made the decision to withdraw its troops from the country.

A coalition of Islamists and other forces now controls much of Somalia aside from parts of Mogadishu and Baidoa, the parliamentary seat, and Puntland and Somaliland in the north.

The Islamic Courts Union had briefly brought control and influence over most of Somalia in 2006 before they were toppled by a U.S.-backed Ethiopian invasion at the end of that year. Insurgents affiliated with the Islamists subsequently fought the Ethiopian-backed TFG across Somalia and in urban combat that displaced millions of civilians.

Senior UN officials have called the situation in Somalia the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophe. (ST)

Since Sep 13, Eritrean govt has interfered with delivery of U.S. Embassy’s diplomatic pouches - Washington warns against travel to Somalia and Eritrea

2008-11-20T03:08:00.000-08:00

Thursday 20 November 2008 AFP report via Sudan Tribune - Washington warns against travel to Somalia and Eritrea:

November 19, 2008 (WASHINGTON) — The State Department issued yesterday a warning against travel to Somalia and Eritrea, following attacks in Somalia’s Puntland and Somaliland regions, and after the Eritrean government interfered with the delivery of U.S. diplomatic pouches.

"Kidnapping, murder, illegal roadblocks, banditry, and other violent incidents and threats to U.S. citizens and other foreigners can occur in many regions" in Somalia, the State Department said in a statement.

Five suicide car bombs ripped through key targets Oct. 29 in northern Somalia, including U.N. offices and a presidential palace, killing 19 people and the five bombers.

Noting that the U.S. has no diplomatic presence in the country, the statement said "U.S. citizens also are urged to use extreme caution when sailing near the coast of Somalia." A number of attacks and seizures by pirates have occurred in the waters off the Horn of Africa, "highlighting the continuing danger of maritime travel near the Horn of Africa," the State Department said.

In addition to unrest between rival political factions and clans in Somalia, the statement issued Saturday mentioned violent attacks in Mogadishu, border disputes in Somaliland, as well as kidnappings and attacks against international relief workers.

The State Department also warned against travel to Eritrea, noting that "since September 13, the government of Eritrea has repeatedly, and in violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, interfered with the unfettered delivery of the U.S. Embassy’s diplomatic pouches."

"Until this matter is resolved, the consular section of the U.S. Embassy has no choice but to suspend all non-emergency services." The U.S. Embassy in Asmara has been unable to receive "critical" materials and supplies such as U.S. passports, the statement said.

The State Department also noted heightened tensions along the country’s borders with Ethiopia and Djibouti and escalating tensions between Eritrea and Ethiopia.

Pirates tow Saudi oil-tanker to Somali port with US Navy in pursuit - Islamist terrorists on brink of taking Mogadisu where govt is on its last legs

2008-11-17T11:59:00.000-08:00

Excerpt from today's Snowmail by Jon Snow, Channel 4 News, UK:

INDIAN OCEAN ANARCHY

Now they've captured an oil-tanker. The Somali pirates who've been hijacking ships and ransoming them for millions have claimed their biggest prize so far.

This ship is apparently Saudi, though the foreign office has confirmed that a couple of Brits are on board. Reports are pretty hazy. At one point, it looked like the ship had been freed, but the latest report suggest it's being towed to a Somali port.

We report on the maritime anarchy that now prevails off the east coast of Africa, matched by the anarchy in Somalia itself where Islamist rebels are on the brink of taking control of Mogadishu, and the government is on its last legs.

Visit Channel 4 News website for today's 7pm news report.
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Excerpt from today's Newsnight email by Jeremy Paxman, BBC2, UK:

PIRATES

Somali pirates have hijacked a giant Saudi owned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean which was travelling towards the US. The vessel is now heading towards the Somali coast, with the US navy in pursuit. The vessel can hold up to two million barrels of oil - more than one quarter of Saudi Arabia's daily exports - worth over $100 million. What can the US military do about it? We'll have the very latest.

Visit BBC website for today's Newsnight report.

Security Alert: US Embassy in Ethiopia issues terror alert warning US citizens against taking part in the Great Ethiopian Run 23 Nov 2008

2008-11-17T08:20:00.000-08:00

November 14, 2008 report from Anyuak Media US Embassy in Ethiopia issues terror warning:

November 13, 2008 (NAIROBI, Kenya) - The U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia has warned American citizens against taking part in the Great Ethiopian Run because of the threat of terrorism.

Photo: Great Ethiopian Run 2007 (ENA/AM)

Friday's message says embassy staff and their families should not to take part in the 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) race set for Nov. 23. The message followed an unspecified terror warning from the Ethiopian government about the race featuring tens of thousands of runners from Ethiopia and around the world. The race is led by distance great Haile Gebrselassie.

The message did not say if the event was named as a specific target but reminded U.S. citizens of deadly bombings this year in the capital, Addis Ababa.

Ethiopia is fighting insurgent groups and supporting the U.N.-backed government in Somalia.

- - -

THE EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES
Warden Message
November 14, 2008
Security Alert – Great Ethiopian Run

The U.S. Embassy is issuing this warden message to inform American citizens that in light of the Government of Ethiopia’s warning of an unspecified terrorist threat concern in Ethiopia, as detailed in a Warden Message dated November 6, the Embassy has ordered all Embassy American staff and their family members not to take part in the Great Ethiopian Run, scheduled for November 23 in Addis Ababa. Private American citizens are likewise advised to avoid the event. This precautionary measure is in keeping with the Embassy’s advice that Americans avoid public gatherings and public places.

The Embassy takes this opportunity to reiterate its advice to American citizens to avoid public gatherings and public places, including hotels, and that they avoid using public transportation and transportation hubs. The Embassy further reminds Americans there have been targeted bombings in various parts of Addis Ababa over the past year that resulted in serious injuries and/or deaths.

Americans are reminded to review their personal safety and security posture and to remain vigilant especially at public events and venues. Americans are advised to beware of unattended baggage or packages left in any location, including in minibuses and taxis.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs internet website at http://travel.state.gov/, where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. Up-to-date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada, or, for callers outside the U.S. and Canada, a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8 AM to 8 PM Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. Federal Holidays.)

The U.S. Embassy is located at Entoto Avenue, P.O. Box 1014, in Addis Ababa; telephone: 251-11-124-2424; emergency after-hours telephone: 251-11-124-2400; consular fax: 251-11-124-2435; web site: http://ethiopia.usembassy.gov/.

- - -

Ethiopia Issues Terror Warning

November 06, 2008 Voice of America report by Peter Heinlein, Addis Ababa - Ethiopia Issues Terror Warning

The U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa has issued a heightened security alert a day after Ethiopia's government warned of an imminent terrorist attack. VOA's Peter Heinlein in the Ethiopian capital reports the alert coincides with a government roundup of ethnic Oromos, including several prominent citizens, on suspicion of collaborating with terrorists.

An e-mail sent by the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia advises Americans in the country to avoid public gatherings and public places. The message specifically mentions hotels as places to avoid.

The message was sent less than 24 hours after Ethiopia's Anti-Terrorism Task Force warned of an imminent terrorist attack and urged citizens to be vigilant.

Police recently rounded up about two dozen members of Ethiopia's largest ethnic community, the Oromos, and charged them with aiding terrorists. Among those arrested were the top managers of two of Addis Ababa's finest hotels, as well as the leader of one of the largest Oromo political parties.

Witnesses say those detained were told during a courtroom proceeding that they were suspected of collecting money and sending it to known members of the Oromo Liberation Front, an armed insurgent group.

Bereket Simon, senior adviser to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi was quoted earlier as saying the leader of the Oromo Federal Democratic Movement, Bakele Jirata, had been working 'hand in glove' with terrorists.

In an e-mail sent to VOA this week, the OLF said its fighters had killed 31 Ethiopian soldiers in a clash October 31 in eastern Oromia region. The message told of two other similar clashes earlier in the month. Government spokesman Zemedkun Tekle dismissed the OLF message, calling it fabricated, and an attempt by the rebels to get attention.

Police were out in force in Addis Ababa after the security alert.

Security was especially tight around the city's best hotels, but diplomats and political observers cautioned not to read too much into the timing of the terrorist warning and the arrest of prominent Oromos.

They note other violent insurgent groups also operate in Ethiopia, including the Ogaden National Liberation Front, which is blamed for several suicide bombings last week in the Somaliland and Puntland regions of neighboring Somalia.

The ONLF is also blamed for a deadly attack on a Chinese-run oil exploration site in Ethiopia's Ogaden region last year.

The leader of Ethiopia's largest Oromo party, Merara Gudina, tells VOA he does not understand why the crackdown is occurring.

"Really I could not make heads nor tails of it except that the government is sometimes routinely harassing Oromos and political activists, [and] all of us on the legal platform especially during the elections. These things are routine," he said.

Merera, who heads the Oromo National Congress, and the leader of the Oromo Federal Democratic Movement parliamentary bloc both vehemently deny any involvement with the OLF insurgency.

Oromos are Ethiopia's largest ethnic community, making up as much as 35 to 40 percent of the country's estimated 80 million people

Ethiopia's capital has been the scene of several terrorist attacks this year. In May, a bomb blew up in a taxi van in front of the Hilton Hotel, killing six people, including a man with dual U.S. and Israeli citizenship. A coordinated series of gas station bombings killed three people in April, and a blast in a public hall last month killed four and injured more than 20 others.

- - -

See Ethiopia Watch Friday, November 14, 2008: Ethiopian authorities warning of terrorist attacks - Ethiopia arrested individuals it said had links to OLF leaders in Eritrea - November 7, 2008 (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopia on Friday said that an extremist group leader who is responsible for a number of terror attacks is killed by local people in the Western Oromia region of Wollega Zone.

In Ethiopia, the Government said that 4.6 million people faced starvation, but aid agencies claimed that the true figure was closer to 10 million

2008-11-15T19:02:00.000-08:00

August 18, 2008 (The Times) by Tim Albone in Fendi Ajersai and Jack Malvern
Food price rises push 14m to the brink of starvation:

Rapidly rising global food costs have contributed to the worst hunger crisis in East Africa for eight years, with at least 14 million people at risk of malnutrition, aid agencies said yesterday.

In Ethiopia, the worst-affected country in the region, the Government said that 4.6 million people faced starvation, but aid agencies claimed that the true figure was closer to 10 million.

Drought has worsened food shortages, and Oxfam said that the number of acute malnutrition cases had reached its highest level since the droughts of 2000, when mortality rates peaked at more than six people per 10,000 per day. The official definition of a famine is more than four deaths per 10,000 per day.

Ethiopian farmers said that the crisis was caused by the absence of the Belg rains, which were due in February and March. “It’s really hard. People are eating whatever they can find,” said Gemeda Worena, 38, the tribal head of Fendi Ajersai, a village in southern Ethiopia where six children died in one week this month. “We hadn’t had rain for the last eight months. We had to buy water to save our lives, but now we have nothing.”

Mr Worena said that the price of maize had risen fourfold in the past year, a severe blow for villagers with what little money they had saved.

Surprisingly, when The Times visited the region, the fields were alive with maize and most afternoons a warm rain fell. “Here the problem is acute,” said Jean de Cambry, the emergency co-ordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières in southern Ethiopia. “It is very surprising and very strange, because everything is so green. But food stocks at household level are empty or close to empty.”

The United Nations World Food Programme is providing emergency food assistance to 3.2 million people in Ethiopia and 900,000 people in northern Kenya, where poor rains and political violence have disrupted food production.

The programme is also feeding 707,000 people in the Karamoja region of northeastern Uganda, where erratic rainfall has prevented 90 per cent of the population from planting for the current growing season, and aims to give help to 115,000 people in Djibouti, just under a quarter of the tiny country’s population.

The UN says that 2.6 million people in Somalia are in need of food assistance as a result of drought, conflict, hyperinflation, and high food and fuel prices. The World Food Programme believes that the figure will rise to 3.5 million in December.

Chris Leather, a food security expert for Oxfam, said: “We haven’t seen such high rates of acute malnutrition, of above 20 per cent, in as many places as we’re seeing right now, since 2000.” He said that 3 per cent of those found to have acute malnutrition had a high risk of dying if there was no intervention.

In Fendi Ajersai, the haunting wails of women paying their respects to the dead have become more frequent in recent months. When The Times visited this month villagers were mourning the latest victim of the famine, Tariky Gamedo, a football-loving, 13-year-old boy.

“He was my brother,” cried Basha Dekeo, 25, as her father tried to hold her flailing arms, “He is gone.”

Mr Worena said: “We have lost six kids this week.”

Despite the recent rainfalls and the apparent lushness of the countryside, the future does not look much better. Next month the harvest takes place, but many expect it to be smaller than is needed. Planting has been done largely by hand because so much livestock died before the rains arrived. The animals that survived are so skinny that when they can work the pace is pitifully slow.

Accurate numbers of how many people have died of hunger are impossible to find, with the Ethiopian Government seemingly determined to cover up the true extent of the problem.

Access to areas affected by famine is strictly controlled, with journalists needing permits. At one feeding centre, government officials refused The Times permission to photograph or film it.

At a feeding centre run by Médecins Sans Frontières in the town of Senbeta Shalla, the severity of the problem was clear to see. More than a thousand people queued for food and medical aid, and many had stick-thin limbs and swollen bellies, their desperation clear to see.

“The rains failed, everybody lost their crops,” Gamtou Defso, 70, a farmer, said. “We are just eating anything we find on the ground. I am hungry and I feel really sick . . . We don’t have any food to eat.”

Mieke Staanssens, the field co-ordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières, said: “They don’t even have the energy to cry.”

The hunger crisis

8 out of 10 workers in Ethiopia are involved in agricultural activities

15 droughts in Ethiopia since 1965

50% of Ethiopia’s total goods and services are made up of agriculture

1 million people starved to death in the 1984-85 famine

Source: The International Food Policy Research Institute, The Red Cross,countrystudies.us

Have your say - Copy of Comments

Every year, if not every day, the USA sends extraordinary amounts of aid to Africa. People forget that President Bush has given more aid than any leader in history. What the world needs to ask is WHY Africa's leaders STOP the flow of this aid to their starving people. THIS is where the story lies..
Kim, NY, USA

I support World Vision, it gets most money to the starving families. I support my church who has missionaries all over the world who also meet physical as well as spiritual needs.
Tina, Brighton, US

It makes no difference if you support Oxfam or Satan the devil, or God. No money on earth can save these people from themselves. They are their own worse enimies, the sectarian violence, while they fight no one grows food, so people starve to death. People have kids they can't feed.
Daphne Kenward, Cambridge, UK

Please tell us, the readers of your tragic article, what practical things we can do to help. Supporting Oxfam is obviously a great way to help but would it be possible to send a few planes loaded with food to help a few people?
Pam Lee, Brize Norton, U.K.

Welcome to globalisation- Food produced in these countries are sold to the highest bidder, usually a foreign buyer, which puts the prices beyond the Locals. Similarly, Tourist hotels pay double the price for seafood so much so that some locals have not eaten prawns although they live by by the sea!
Lakshman Dalpadado, Kotugoda, Sri Lanka

How can every every citizen of the world have access to food & water at all times?
This is the way the Elite's of the world need it, they need to be poorer starving people, they need there slaves still!
They tell the rich how much they can keep out the wages and leave the poor to starve!
Andrew, Hartlepool, England, GB

Well said all. How much does it cost to keep a person from starving to death? How much do we spend on booze, ipods, phones etc...
James, Stockport, UK,

In the light of Africa's experience, encouraging UK reliance on home grown produce is clear and dangerous nonesense.We need to ensure that world trade in food flourishes so we can buy it from where it is available and indeed cheapest.
Peter, London, England

Whenever we complain about the rising price of groceries, fuel etc we should remind ourselves what it really means to lack the bare essentials. We in the UK could do without Sky, eating out, drinking alchohol, holidays abroad etc. We should stop complaining and count our blessings..........
sophie smith, london, uk

Josh, London - hear hear. I keep saying exactly the same thing myself. To see the millions wasted on the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, for example - a spectacle bearing no relation to the sports that follow it - seems too me unthinkable in the face of such a gap between rich and poor.
Eleanor, Yorkshire,

Wow, it's like human compassion never existed when reading these comments.
Howard, Manchester,

Liberals and enviro-wackos decided that it would be a good thing for the environment if we burned corn-based ethanol in our cars instead of gasoline. So thanks to this stupid idea we are now growing corn to burn instead of growing it to eat. We should go back to growing corn to feed people.
Patrick C., Irvine, USA

To the extent the United States and Europe have contributed to this with biofuel subsidies and bans on genetically modified crops, we have committed a terrible crime.
Dennis Duggan, Charlotte, NC, USA

Have we become so de-sensitized to such horror that we can now shrug it off with "What else is new?" Take a reality check. How ever bad the governments of these countries are, surely the people should not be made to suffer to teach them a lesson?
Lee, Manchester, England

Just wait for Bob Geldof to appear before he returns home to his multimillion pound home each evening. If he really cared he would give all his money away.
Paul Davis, York, uk

instead of wasting money on yet another extravagant, pointless olympics - why doesnt britain do something useful with the money it will squander on 2012 and give it to the starving children of the world. that will be a much more useful and rewarding thing to do with the money,
josh, london,

I live in Nairobi and the short rains last October were very poor as well as the long rains from March to May..La Nina affected the entire region from 1999 to 2000, its the same again for the last year. We in Nairobi are currently experiencing Water Rationing! Its not just climate change..
ravi, nairobi, kenya

When I was at school in the 60s we raised money for famine relief. Nothing seems to have changed. Perhaps we should not be trying to live on land that cannot produce enough food to feed the population. In the natural world animals would move to where there is food or die.
Diana, Hull, England

Although there is clearly an element of higher cost in food production and delivery due to oil prices , the huge increases seem to suggest that suppliers are making a fortune out of the increased demand. Surely, essentials such as food and energy should have some sort of world price control
C.Wood, Camberley, UK

Does anyone realise that in Britain people scavenge for discarded food outside supermarkets. This is the extent that our welfare state has deteriorated to. This is the state that our governments economic policies have reduced our economy to. And it's happening right here in Britain now!
colin, wolverhampton, UK

Suffer the little Children..............................What would Christ think ? What does Christ think ?
ian payne, walsall,

The reason of all this mess is simply socialism, protectionism, and the prevalent elite attitudes that they know best what's in the people's interests instead of letting people choose for themselves. Stop all subsidies, open borders and reach free trade!!! That's the only way to feed the world!
Amir Weitmann, Jerusalem,

Much global food price inflation is a direct result of excessive money supply growth in the west. It may help if the Red Cross were to invite central bankers to tour the affected areas, for a first hand look at their achievements...
Pat, Coramandel, New Zealand

This is not a politically correct game, as we have millions in the UK including children living below the poverty line, who suffer hunger and coldness as part of normal life. All this talk about giving £billions to Africa whilst our own go hungry shows gross irresponsibility of goverment.
tanz, brighton, uk

Be honest. As much as it hurts to see the plight of Africa, the upteen trillions of pounds, dollars, francs & marks in aid have made no difference. Britain & Europe once shouldered the White Man's Burden, but were not wanted. Now, aid only benefits dictators & keeps the poor from revolting.
Bob Evans, Anaheim, California

We need to do something to help these starving people. Provide more food and better way for utilizing water and water resources.
Naleen Lal, Northern California,

When it was called Rhodesia, they were able to feed much of sub-Saharan Africa. Now, the country can't feed itself.
Jim, Memphis, USA

Every bank should have an OXFAM charity box where you can donate money for the starving of the world...so simple, so needed...Also, buy a stranger's meal for them - we do that in Florida - now and again.
anna, fl, usa,

So, what else is new?
Sam Young, Paris, France

East Africa is in the grip of a drought-induced food disaster, with 15 million people facing severe food shortages

2008-11-15T15:04:00.000-08:00

July 30, 2008 (Times Online) report - Ethiopian food crisis: a family's struggle:

East Africa is in the grip of a drought-induced food disaster, with 15 million people facing severe food shortages. Mark Lang, from the Christian relief agency Tearfund, has just returned from Ethiopia

If you’ve never met someone facing severe hunger, let me introduce you to Demisse Mada.

Demisse is a three-year-old boy living in a highland village in southern Ethiopia. Actually the word living doesn’t seem right because it’s not life that he’s experiencing but an existence and a harrowing one at that.

Lack of food has left Demisse devoid of the normal signs of life you might expect to find in a three-year-old.

He does not play, run around or laugh. In fact he barely moves at all. Hunger has deprived his tiny frame of energy.

Most of the time we are with his family he stands rooted to the spot, looking ahead, his face a study of seriousness beyond his years.

His belly is bloated, most likely caused by intestinal worms, and his legs are desperately thin. Press three of your fingers together and they will be wider than one of Demisse’s legs.

A member of our team, who has seen many malnourished children in the course of his worldwide work, assesses that Demisse is showing the symptoms of marasmus – or acute wasting.

He classifies the boy as severely malnourished which is about as bad as it gets in hunger terms.

One of the most striking legacies of the malnutrition is that Demisse doesn’t smile. Not once in the several hours we are with his family. It’s not right but then again nor is the situation that he and his family face.

Right now this little boy and tens of thousands of young children like him are enduring a food disaster that is affecting large tracts of Ethiopia.

Tearfund has been working with church partners over the last few months to respond to this crisis, helping to feed 15,000 people, but it is becoming clear that the scale of the response needs to be stepped up to match the growing need for help.

Short season rains due earlier this year failed to fall in sufficient quantity, if at all, or at the right time, resulting in an extended drought.

Photo: Lack of food has left Demisse devoid of the normal signs of life you might expect to find in a three-year-old (Mark Lang)

Photo: Demisse's grandmother Malaka, with some of the family's seven children (Mark Lang)

Have your say - Copy of comments

How interesting!
Ethiopia is waging a cool war in Somalia, has border issues with Eritrea with countless soldiers marauding around and, surprise!, it cannot feed its very own people.. And we (Europe) are pouring money to .. feed the bottomless pockets of its leaders? Talk about donor's fatigue..
Daniele Pierangeli, Roma, Italy

Ethiopia is awash with young children. Officially, 43% of the population is under 14. There's no correlation between the country being able to feed itself and its rate of procreation. So temporary food aid is no solution. Aid MUST be in the form of birth control education and farming technology.
P Williams, London,

In 2005 Ethiopa spent 296 million dollars on military expenditure. Every penny we give in aid props up this vile situation. I, for one, will never give another penny to Africa, unless it is for an African-initiated grassroots scheme like the Under Tree Schools in southern Sudan.
SarahN., London, UK

The population doubles in this country every few years. No aid in the past would have produced better results that trying to stick a plaster on it. The only aid I support is no aid and birth control.
Frederick, London, UK

Ethiopian authorities warning of terrorist attacks - Ethiopia arrested individuals it said had links to OLF leaders in Eritrea

2008-11-14T04:35:00.000-08:00

November 8, 2008 Sudan Tribune report by Tesfa-alem Tekle - Ethiopia says "terror" group ring leader killed :

November 7, 2008 (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopia on Friday said that an extremist group leader who is responsible for a number of terror attacks is killed by local people in the Western Oromia region of Wollega Zone.

Police said that, Legesse Wegi, leader of “Kawerji”, a previously unknown self-styled extremist group was killed by local people after he attempt to escape from a military operation launched to clear "anti peace" elements in the region.

Police sources also said that the deceased who also served as OLF Central Committee Member and OLF military commander is the mastermind behind twin attacks occurred in April at two privately-owned National Oil Companies and also in a taxi minibus that left scores dead.

Wegi is also told to have been responsible for 12 foiled bomb plots during the Ethiopian millennium celebration in the capital.

During the past few days Ethiopia has arrested a number of individuals it said had links to OLF leaders in Eritrea, were mobilizing finance and dispatching illegal weapons and also recruiting members for their opposition activities.

Earlier this week Ethiopian authorities warned of imminent terrorist attacks and urged the public to remain alert and to work hand in glove with security forces.

China proposed to Ethiopia an agriculture technology center, construction of hydropower stations and an oriental industrial zone to attract investment

2008-11-14T04:27:00.000-08:00

November 13, 2008 Sudan Tribune report - China proposes to Ethiopia to develop close ties:

November 12, 2008 (ADDIS ABABA) – China proposed to Ethiopia to enhance bilateral relations through expanding joint cooperation and coordinate their positions on world affairs to safeguard their interests.

The offer was made during a visit by the speaker of the Chinese parliament Wu Bangguo to the country from November 8 to 10, the official Xinhua reported.

Wu, chairman of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC), called on in his meeting with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi that the ruling parties, legislature and governments of the two nations to step up exchange and cooperation.

Wu also proposed the two nations to focus on three key projects that he believed would be vital to foster the bilateral cooperation, referring to an agriculture technology demonstration center, an all-packed economic and trade project including the construction of hydropower stations and the establishment of an oriental industrial zone to attract investment from Chinese companies.

"China encourage its companies to expand investment in Ethiopia and will adopt open policies on technology transfer and as well as training program for the Ethiopian personnel," Wu told Meles.

Echoing on Wu’s proposal, Meles said the Ethiopia-China cooperation has become an important drive for the country’s development. The cooperation with China is of vital importance to push forward Ethiopia’s development and the Ethiopian government highly values it, Meles noted.

He said the Ethiopia would make its efforts to further implement the projects between the two sides and consolidate the cooperation in fields such as agriculture, infrastructure and human resource.

- - -

November 9, 2008 Sudan Tribune report - Chinese speaker visits Ethiopia:

November 8, 2008 (ADDIS ABABA) – A Chinese delegation led by the speaker of the Chinese parliament, the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress, Wu Bangguo arrived here on Saturday in a working visit to Ethiopia.

Chinese top legislator Wu, who is invited by Degefi Bula the speaker of the Ethiopian House of Peoples Representatives, said in press statement released after his arrival hailed the rapid growth of the bilateral relations between the two countries. He also underscored that the bilateral cooperation between the two nations have yielded remarkable achievements in fields such as economy and trade, culture, public health and tourism.

"We have witnessed the best ever relations and I hope my visit would help promote traditional friendship and cement cooperation with mutual benefit in an effort to bring the China-Ethiopia all-round and cooperative partnership to a higher level," Wu said in the written statement.

In addition to Degefi, Wu is scheduled to meet with Ethiopian President Girma Wolde Giorgis, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, Speaker of Council of People’s Representatives Teshome Toga to exchange views on bilateral relations and other regional and international issues of common concern.

The Chinese official also will visit the African Union (AU) headquarters in Ethiopia’s capital. It is the first visit to the AU headquarters by a Chinese top legislator.

Related reports at Sudan Tribune

- China proposes to Ethiopia to develop close ties
- Ethiopia, Djibouti sign customs transit agreement
- Ethiopia’s Tigray region pardons over 2000 prisoners