The Presidency of the European Union, currently held by Slovenia, has urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to fulfill their obligations under the Algiers Agreements and according to the relevant Security Council Resolutions. The Security Council has called on Eritrea on several occasions to withdraw its troops from the demilitarized Temporary Security Zone and lift all restrictions on the operations of UNMEE. While these are clear violations of the Algiers Agreements, Eritrea has continued to ignore the demands of the Security Council and of the UN Secretary-General to restore the integrity of the TSZ and remove the restriction placed on UNMEE. In its statement at the end of last week, the European Union, one of the witnesses of the Algiers Agreements, also called upon Ethiopia and Eritrea to refrain from any threat or use of force and to resolve their differences by peaceful means. The EU statement came two days after a shooting incident in the border area near Tserona. UNMEE was unable to go to the scene due to restrictions imposed on it by Eritrea. It could only call upon both Eritrea and Ethiopia to "exercise maximum restraint and maintain their commitment to the Algiers Agreements". The European Union statement emphasized that two parties have primary responsibility to resolve their differences. It expressed readiness to assist both countries in the implementation of their respective obligations under international law. It welcomed the commitments made by the two parties with respect to demarcation and the normalization of relations. It is necessary to underline here that EU statement is fully in-line with what Ethiopia has been calling for and also is consistent with the position of the Security Council and the Secretary General of the UN on the matter.

The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) has announced that the 36 national and state political parties contesting the upcoming local elections, together with a number of by-elections, have submitted their election emblems, in line with the recently amended electoral law. Those that have not done so have been notified accordingly, said Dr. Merga Bekana, Chairman of the NEBE. The major opposition parties, including the Ethiopian Democratic Unity Party, the Union of Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF), and the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM), have confirmed their desire to participate in the elections. The NEBE has verified that the emblems of the parties are not similar and meet the requirements of the electoral law. The emblems have now been officially endorsed, and this has been made public. Registration of candidates will be conducted between January 10 and February 8, 2008. A total of 91 political parties have registered with the Board to contest elections in various parts of the country. Twenty parties will be participating in the elections in Addis Ababa. There are 13 vacant seats for the House of Peoples' Representatives in Addis Ababa. In addition, there will be voting for the 138 seats for the Addis Ababa City Administration Council, and, for the first time, for the sub-city administrative councils. In all, in Addis Ababa, some 156 candidates will be contesting for the House of Peoples' Representatives and 600 for the City Administrative Council.
 

A so called human rights group in Mogadishu, the Elman Peace and Human Rights Organization, claimed on Monday, that one and a half million people had been uprooted from their homes in Mogadishu during the last year. This is obviously an exaggeration. In fact the figure is much more inflated than the already exaggerated figures that have been given by some UN agencies. The real number of those who have fled from their homes, forced out by the effect of the terrorist activities of Al-Shabaab, is no more than 60,000-80,000. The organization also claimed that 6,500 civilians have been killed and 8,500 injured in the same period. These are also significantly higher figures than those given by other sources. Any civilian deaths, or injuries, are to be deplored and should be avoided as far as possible. Inevitably, there have been civilian casualties in the fighting in urban and populated areas. These figures have also been equally exaggerated. As far as the latest situation is concerned the evidence indicates that the number of incidents are falling sharply. With Burundian troops now starting to arrive and a Nigerian battalion expected to reach Mogadishu soon, it can be expected that the UN Security Council will renew AMISOM's mandate when it runs out on January 17^th. .
 

Ethiopia has signed six AU treaties and conventions during the week. The signings took place at a ceremony held at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa. The ratified instruments include the agreement to set up an African Rehabilitation Institute (ARI), the Convention for the establishment of the African Centre for Fertilizer Development, the Inter-African Convention establishing an African Technical Cooperation Programme, the Protocol to the OAU Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism, the African Youth Charter and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance. The Director-General for Africa in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sahlework Zewdie, who is also the Representative of Ethiopia to the AU and the Economic Commission of Africa together with the AU's Deputy Legal Counsel, Djemeba Diarra, signed the agreements. These instruments now have to be ratified by Ethiopia's House of People's Representatives before they are enforced and implemented.
 

The President and the Prime Minister of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government have been holding consultations on the final details of the composition of the new cabinet. The new government is expected to be much smaller than pervious Somali cabinet; the number of Minsters is not exceeding eighteen. It is expected that the composition of the cabinet will be announced shortly. It was after a consensus was reached on this matter that President Abdulahi Yusuf flew to Addis Ababa today for consultation with Ethiopian officials and also to be able to continue his medical checkup in London which was interrupted due to the urgent task the President had in Mogadishu in connection with the formation of the cabinet. The claim by some sources that his medical condition is worsening is groundless.
 

In a statement at the end of last week, a spokesman of the Ministry of Defence said the Ethiopian Defence Forces had defeated remnants of the ONLF disrupting peace and stability in some zones of the Somali Regional State. Colonel Tsegaye Gebretensae said the latest operation was against terrorists who had regrouped in the area of Danot. This followed a series of successful actions against the ONLF in Warder Zone, in which a large number of ONLF terrorists were killed or captured. The Colonel underlined the contribution of local people to the successful operations. It would be recalled that the ONLF has claimed to the French news agency, AFP, that the government was indulging in 'wishful thinking' when it said that the ONLF has been seriously weakened. Paradoxically it was saying at the same time that the government was "committing genocide", a clear indication that the terrorist group is  losing ground very fast.  The ONLF is obviously trying to get the attention of the international community. It would be recalled that the ONLF carried out a terrorist attack in Abole in April last year in which 74 Ethiopian and Chinese workers were butchered in cold blood. On the other hand, it is becoming obvious that the humanitarian situation in the area has continued to improve even though assistance is required. 
 

The city of Dire Dawa has started celebrating the 105^th anniversary of its foundation. The most prominent city along the Djibouti-Addis Ababa railway rapidly became a major commercial hub, particularly after the railway was completed. The railway started in 1897, reaching Dire Dawa in 1902 and Addis Ababa in 1917. The anniversary festival organizing committee, set up by the Provisional Administration of Dire Dawa, has completed its preparations. It is now awaiting the arrival of high-level dignitaries from across the country and from abroad to take part in the festival. Government ministers from neighboring countries and other senior officials, and members of the diplomatic corps, as well as the mayors of the cities of Mogadishu, Hargeisa and Garowe, among others, are expected to attend the occasion. The formal programme for the opening ceremony which will take place on the 5^th of January includes commemorative activities to demonstrate the historical and cultural values of the city.  
 

The major news that was given prominence by the Eritrean media this week was the visit of Donald Payne, a member of the House of Representatives of the United States. The Representative is widely known for his authorship of the House bill identified as HR-2003. This is a bill which is regarded by many as totally unfair and based on stories about Ethiopia which are unfounded. There would not be too many who would be surprised by the warm reception accorded to Mr. Payne and his delegation by the Eritrean authorities. Mr. Payne believes that Eritrea is more democratic than Ethiopia.