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Ethiopia: What Sanctions? A billion here and a billion there and pretty soon you are talking about real money, said a US congressman once. Ethiopia has violated the Algiers Agreement; you are the Guarantors; now impose sanctions, come the calls from the Eritrean government. And what have the guarantors been responding?
The European Union (EU) has allocated 3.8 bn birr for undertaking various development projects in Ethiopia over the next five years, reports Walta, adding that the fund, secured in accordance with the Cotonou Agreement, would be spent on food security, transport and economic development activities, among others. Wait, there is more. The EU has also granted 1.5 bn birr in aid to debt service and relief aid.
Thats the EU. How about the UN? A workshop on AIDs prevention on 30 October is being sponsored by UNDP, according to ENA website. (ENA, not the Eritrean National Alliance but the Ethiopian News Agency.) UNDP Is also helping with a UN Volunteer Scheme to provide training in governance (decentralization and service delivery), according to the ENA. Then there is also the Global Fund who, according to the ENA website, gave Ethiopia 23.4 million dollars in support of its prevention activities launched against tuberculosis (TB), malaria and HIV/AIDS.
How about Japan? Over a million birr for the construction of the National Polio Laboratory, based on an Ethio-Japanese agreement signed in 2001. The one million is on top of the 13 million donated so far, according to Walta. How about the Brits? British Overseas Development Cooperation minister said the British government has been extending support to Ethiopias poverty reduction and food security programmes, according to the ENA. How about Israel? Two leading Israeli ophthalmologists have arrived in Ethiopia today to conduct the assistance programme in Axum hospital in Tigray State. Why? Because of the unique friendship between the two countries
But surely, IGAD would come to the rescue of Eritrea, right? Well, not exactly. They decided that the current IGAD chairman and the current chairman of the African Union be engaged in the implementation of the Algiers Agreement.
It is within this background that Meles Zenawi could maintain his I-am-sitting-on-top-of-the-food-chain nonchalant attitude when IRIN caught up with him for an interview. What if Eritrea does not want to have a dialogue? If Eritrea does not want to talk, then either the stalemate will continue or possibly at some stage in the future it may decide to overcome the stalemate by force of arms, so if there is going to be a new conflict it will be initiated by Eritrea. The stalemate could continue for a month, a year, a decade, doesn't bother me. Hmmm. But this land is no longer disputed, it rightly belongs to Eritrea, now. What if Eritrea wanted to reclaim what is hers? Well, there is this minor inconvenience. As you know there is an Ethiopian army there [in Badme.] The only way it [taking possession] can be done is by removing the Ethiopian army and the Ethiopian administration. And if dialogue is rule out, the only way of doing that is by force of arms and if they do so they will have decided to intiate a conflict. It did not work last time around and it will not work this time.
Not exactly the voice of someone terrified of sanctionsWithin a day or two, the EEBC had indefinitely postponed demarcation scheduled for Octoberand said, call us when you are ready...
Djibouti Is Fed Up WithEverything
After its interview of Meles Zenawi, the IRIN reporters stopped by Djibouti to have a wide-ranging interview. President Ismail Omar Guelleh told them his country is fed up with the inability by Somali leaders to reach an accord to rebuild their war-torn nation. Guelleh accused Somali warlords of holding the country hostage and serving their own selfish interests. Djibouti was also very fed up with the illegal immigrants it had. That is why you expelled them, asked the interviewer. No, we didnt expel them. We invited them to leave and to return to their countries [mostly Somalia and Ethiopia] with all their possessions. That clarifies things...
The Americans are in Djibouti, and not in Eritrea which has a 1,200 km coastline, because, according to Guelleh, they [Americans] were not able to go there because the Ethiopians would not have been happy. Asked if he has benefited from having a US military base in Djibouti, Guelleh says, Well we didnt put out any advertisements! But undoubtedly we have benefited from this. Not like that shameful Girma Asmerom who begs for American presence every fifteen minutesjust kidding, Guelleh did NOT say that. He has no clue who Girma Asmerom is although we are sure Girma takes credit for putting Guelleh in power.
So what did you and Mr. Yamamoto talk about, asks the reporter. The issue was this problem between Ethiopia and Eritrea. He wanted to get a regional perspective. But this issue of Badme now seems insoluble. Guelleh says he has given it his best shot but they are both very tough people and up to those who give economic aid to find a solution.
So, what is his relationship like with Ethiopia, particularly since you dont see eye-to-eye on the Somali issue? We have agreed not to make it an issue between ourselves. We avoid discussing it because we have very different points of view, but we do not want to negatively influence our bilateral relations. Our temperaments are very different and we react differently to problems. Is that why you pulled your envoy from the Somali peace talks? Yes, but that is not an issue with Ethiopia---it is an issue with Kenya who thinks Djibouti is just a small country and that Ethiopia represents its interests And what are his views about the Somali leaders? There are 800 people in Nairobi gorging themselves at the expense of the international community while the people back home are dying of hunger. They couldnt care less about their people.It is very discouragingI really dont know what the solution is.
Incidentally, for anyone who is keeping track of Djiboutis we-are-in, no we-are-out positions on the mediation talks, you'll be happy to know that signaling a change of mind was Djibouts Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Abdi Farah, who turned up for a meeting of the facilitation committee held at a Nairobi hotel, according to the East African Standard web site.
Somalia: Blames Kenya, Ethiopia for derailing peace process
Dr. Abdilqasim Salad Hasan told delegates at the 10th summit of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Kampala: The Transitional National Government of Somalia would like to share with your excellencies the disappointing news that the Somali reconciliation conference going on for the past one year in Kenya has totally collapsed, according IRIN. And how did this happen?
IGAD has displayed neglectful behavior in allowing Ethiopia to have too strong a hand in setting the agenda for the talks, he explained. The rules of the conference were violated to the extent that the TNGs official delegates became a minority and were overshadowed by more than a dozen factions created and supported by Ethiopia.
We hear talks that these factions are called the Somali National Alliance, he said. No, actually, he didnt say that, but we just couldnt resist that line...
SUDAN: The new word is set back
After weeks of superlatives like breakthrough, things were bound to slowdown, and they have. Remember how Bush had dangled the carrot of lifting sanctions against Sudan, if they signed a peace treaty? They did. And hedangled some more. Because the actions and policies of the government of Sudan continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, the sanctions must continue in effect beyond November 3, 2003, explained Bush. Sudan characterized Bushs extension of the sanctions as illegal, unjust, and irresponsible. And thenNo, wait, that was another country describing the acts of another agency. What AlBashir actually said was, according to TV Omdurman, that Bushs decision was illogical, unrealistic. Since apartheid was dismantled in South Africa, Sudan is the only country in Africa which actually gets the attention of the American people (as opposed to American governments), according to Chege Mbitiru, a columnist for the Kenyan periodical, The Nation. He has a theory on how Bushs policy in Sudan was shaped by U.S. coalition of Christian groups and African-American legislators. He explains: They had a simplified but plausible version of the conflict. Muslim northerners were committing genocide against Christian and animist southerners. Those they didn't slaughter, they sold into slavery. Floated were images of horse-mounted and bearded Dervishes whirling sabres. Pictures of bombed churches, hospitals and schools didn't endear Khartoum. Neither did those of American politicians and clergy meandering through the ruins. Add Antonov's dropping bombs on emaciated mothers and pot-bellied children while collecting meagre relief food and Khartoum is full of ogres. Forgotten is that in war each side has good and bad guys. The peace process has begun to enter a dark tunnel, according to the Sudanese website Sudanile.com. (Isnt that a great name?) The talks in Abeche, Chad are not going too well. You know they are not going well when the negotiators use proximity talks. This is where people stay in the same hotel and a mediator shuttles back and forth between them because the two sides just cant bear the thought of looking at each other. But we digress Meanwhile, Jimmy Carter did more than congratulate Turabi for getting out of jail. He has actually invited him to speak at his center in Atlanta. In an interview with MENA, Turabi explained that the invitation by Jimmy Carter does not mean he is seeking rapproachment with the United States Omar Nur Al Daim, a Sudanese opposition figure and leader of the National Ummah Party, passed away last week. A government official said that Omar Nur Al Daim would never set foot in Sudanno, no, we are confusing that with another unfortunate country that shuns half its people. Actually, Sudanese president Omar Al Bashir as well as other senior government officials attended his burial, with a commemoration ceremony planned at the Imam Al Mahdi Dome Late breaking news: no more setback and we are back to breakthrough. According to Al-Anba, Talks between the government and the Darfur [western Sudan] [rebel] SLM/A [Sudan Liberation Movement/Army SLM/A] witnessed great progress yesterday, in the Chadian town of Abeche. In a statement to [Khartoum based newspaper ] Al-Anba, a reliable source said the Chadian mediator submitted a draft of the final agreement between the two parties. The source said the draft of the Chadian mediator was a big step forward to reaching a final agreement and it met the approval of both negotiating parties. The same source expected the agreement to be signed today by the head of intelligence, Maj Gen Dr Abd al-Karim Abdallah, on the government side, and by the SLM/A leader, Abdallah Abkar. The source specified that the most important feature of the final agreement would be the end of the SLM/A's armed violence within 45 days from the signing of the agreement. During this period, weapons will be collected and all SLM/A's vehicles handed over to the government. UGANDA: Idi Amin Jr Comes Home Taban Amin, Idi Amins son, returned back to Uganda. Taban Amin, an opposition figure, had at point taken over the Ugandan embassy in Kinshasa and was organizing a rebel group to attack the Musevini government. He was living in exile in the Sudan and the Republic of Congo. Upon arrival, he was immediately arrested because he would never set foot in Uganda sorry, sorry, again we are confusing Uganda for unfortunate Eritrea. Actually, Musevini promised to support Mr. Amin in any way possible. Amin reciprocated by proclaiming that there isnt much to gain by fighting, dividing and destroying the country. Meanwhile, by the standards of the region, people sitting next to each other is considered a victory and the African Union Chairman, Joachim Chissano, had much to celebrate at the opening summit of IGAD: I am happy that IGAD has made it possible for my brothers President Bashir and President Musevini to sit side by side in this room, Chissano said, IGAD has also made it possible for Meles Zenawi and the Interirm President of Somailia to sit by side. It has made it possible for the leaders of Eritrea and Ethiopia to sit by side. We are sure he did not mean Meles and Isaias ERITREA: Government Gives Political Amnesty Not to people, of course, but to Australian sheep. 50,000 Australian sheep which were rejected by Saudi Arabia and, subsequently, by 57 other nations and agencies that were approached (including the UNs WFP), were given sheep asylum in the State of Eritrea. A relieved Mark Vaile, Australias trade minister, was quoted by Radio Australia, Melbourne saying that he is grateful to Eritrean authorities for taking the animals which they say are in better condition than their own livestock. The Eritrean authorities are not content to say, "well, they are sick, but we will do you a favor." They not only have to insult the Eritrean people, but the Eritrean sheep as well: your sheep are sick, but ours are worse... Meanwhile, with all this going on, what did the Eritrean opposition radio have to say on 26 October? Please note that the Eritrean opposition radio station, Voice of the Eritrean People, was not traced on 9990 kHz at 1730 gmt on Sunday, 26 October reports BBC monitoring team. No doubt, they were very busy preparing the 12 th response to Dr. Habte which has become now an all-consuming obsession with Eritrea's once-great opposition organizationReports that they are thinking of changing their name to Dr. Habte Liberation Front (DHLF) are seriously exaggerated And Now You Are Up To Date on The Nations In The Hood |
