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The “talks” between the Transitional Federal Government
of Somalia and the opposition Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia
(ARS) have continued in Djibouti this week. At the beginning of the week
the United Nations Security Council arrived in Djibouti to reaffirm the
Council’s commitment to a comprehensive and lasting settlement through
the Transitional Federal Charter, to welcome the efforts of the President
and Prime Minister to advance the political process, and to express the
Council’s determination to assist Somali efforts to encourage dialogue
and contribute to the creation of a more stable security environment.
The Council mission was headed by the current President of the Security
Council, Ambassador John Sawyers of the UK, and by South African Ambassador
Kumalo who said the mission represented the opportunity for a new chapter
in Somali history. The Council members met separately with President Abdullahi
Yusuf, with representatives of the ARS and of Somali civil society. While
President Abdullahi returned to Mogadishu after his meeting with the Council,
Prime Minister Nur Hussein ‘Adde’ arrived in Djibouti on Wednesday
to try to talk to the ARS on the side lines of the meeting. It appears
that Prime Minister Nur ‘Adde’ met with Sharif Hassan last
night and is expected to meet others today.
President Abdullahi Yusuf told the Council he was “willing to do
whatever it takes” to bring about peace and security in Somalia.
He spoke of the need to implement the TFG’s National Stabilization
Plan which needed the lifting of the arms embargo. This, he said, would
allow the rebuilding of the TFG’s security organs. President Abdullahi
noted that the presence of Ethiopian troops was the result of a bilateral
agreement between the two governments and had the approval of the Somali
Parliament. Their eventual withdrawal was contingent upon a UN deployment.
President Abdullahi said a concrete and holistic approach to Somalia’s
problems was needed and the international community, and the UN, should
refocus their energies on the road map to rebuild TFG capacity. He said
the TFG was determined to hold free and fair elections next year.
Non-State Actors and Civil Society also addressed the Council, drawing
attention to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Somalia. The Civil Society
group noted that at the beginning of March this year there was a willingness
on all sides to commit to political dialogue. All sides accepted the transitional
framework as the way forward and agreed in principle that no military
solution was possible. The group therefore called upon the TFG and their
armed opposition to agree to a comprehensive and long-term cessation of
hostilities and a road map for the creation of a democratic Somalia. International
support was critically necessary for any process. Both sides should close
their ranks.
The Council was briefed by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative
for Somalia, Mr. Ould-Abdullah, on the talks which have yet to result
in any formal face to face meetings. They are currently taking place as
a workshop rather than in the form of any dialogue or negotiations as
the ARS is insisting on the precondition of the withdrawal of Ethiopian
forces from Somalia before talking to the TFG. The ARS delegation has
been criticized for misunderstanding the meeting with the Security Council.
This was not to give the ARS the legitimacy to impose preconditions on
the conduct of the process but to encourage all sides to talk and solve
Somalia’s problems peacefully. Now the ARS are being told by all
parties that they should negotiate in good faith. Civil Society groups
asked the Security Council to take action against all those who create
obstacles to the current process; some members told the ARS it would be
held accountable if it derailed the talks.
In his statement to the Council, Sheikh Sharif, the chairman of the opposition
Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia, engaged in a diatribe against
Ethiopia. The UN Security Council was not amused. He appears to have been
making a calculated attempt to convey a message to those in Asmara that
he had not succumbed to the blandishments of their adversaries, including
the UN. In fact, despite Sheikh Sharif’s remarks on Monday, the
current split in the ARS was formalized this week as the group remaining
in Asmara now claims to have held an election and deposed Sheikh Sharif,
appointing former spokesman and one time information minister of the TFG,
Zacharia Haji Aden, as chairman. This move follows the denunciation of
the Djibouti talks by Sheikh Hassan Dahir ‘Aweys’. Of the
15 man executive committee of the ARS, four followed Sheikh Aweys’,
the remainder went to Djibouti with Sheikh Sharif. They are unlikely to
return to Eritrea, despite the substantial financial inducements currently
being offered through the Eritrean conduit. How far Zacharia Haji Aden,
widely regarded as rude and irresponsible, will be able to establish his
position is unclear. The ARS is perceived by some to be representative
of Hawiye dissatisfaction with the TFG. The choice of Zacharia Haji Aden
is surprising as he is from the Lelkasse, a small Darod sub-clan centered
on Goldogob, close to the Somali border with Ethiopia. It is unlikely
to provide much support for a splinter group of the ARS in Asmara.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council on Monday passed a resolution
allowing those states co-operating with the TFG in Somalia to enter Somalia’s
territorial waters and “use all necessary means” to repress
acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea. The provision, to last for the
next six months, comes in the wake of a spate of pirate attacks off Somalia,
four in May alone. President Abdullahi told the Security Council meeting
in Djibouti that the issue of piracy was beyond the present means and
capacity of the TFG to deal with.
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Ambassador Negash Kebret, Deputy Head of the Ethiopian Mission
to the United Nations has responded to a letter from the Chairman of the
UN Security Council Committee on Somalia, South African Ambassador Dumisani
Kumalo. Following the publication of the latest Report of the UN Monitoring
Group on Somalia, Ambassador Kumalo wrote to the Ethiopian Mission in
New York asking for Ethiopia’s response to suggestions that the
presence of Ethiopian troops in Somalia might be in breach of the UN embargo
on delivery of arms and military equipment to Somalia. In his reply, Ambassador
Negash said he failed to understand why Ambassador Kumalo should be raising
this issue now as both the UN Security Council, and the UN Committee on
Somalia, had previously made it clear that Ethiopia’s presence in
Somalia could not be seen in this light. The presence of Ethiopian troops
in Somalia had been arranged by bilateral agreement between Somalia and
Ethiopia and with the approval of the Transitional Federal Parliament.
Ambassador Negash drew attention to the Security Council resolutions authorizing
IGAD and AU states to establish a protection and training mission for
the Transitional Federal Government in Somalia, and to supply weapons,
military equipment, technical training and assistance for that force.
Ethiopia’s role in Somalia at the behest of the Somali Government,
he pointed out, had been just that. Ambassador Negash emphasized that
the Security Council had consistently endorsed co-operation between the
UN and regional organizations as important for the maintenance of peace
and security. It had welcomed the creation and deployment of AMISON, the
AU Mission to Somalia. And in its Declaration on Somalia, the AU Summit
in January last year noted that Ethiopia’s intervention had “created
unprecedented opportunity for lasting peace in the country.” Ambassador
Negash recalled that one of the most significant activities of Ethiopian
troops for well over a year had been taking “appropriate steps to
ensure the safety and security of AMISOM and humanitarian personnel”,
as requested by Security Council resolutions both this year and last year.
Ambassador Negash added that the one single incident of a reported sale
of weapons and ammunition mentioned by the Monitoring Group would of course
be investigated once the necessary evidence had been received. Ambassador
Negash concluded by saying that Ethiopia was disappointed that Ambassador
Kumalo’s presentation of the report to the UN Security Council had
apparently made no reference to those responsible for the major violations
listed in the report or to the major source of regional instability. Ambassador
Negash regretted Ethiopia’s relationship with the Committee on Somalia
appeared to have deteriorated into something adversarial under Ambassador
Kumalo’s chairmanship. It was not something of Ethiopia’s
making and Ethiopia hoped this was no more than a misunderstanding. [A
complete version of the letter to Ambassador Kumalo can be found on
www.mfa.gov.et]
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The Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development
(TICAD IV) was held from 28 - 30 May in Yokohama. Over 40 African Heads
of State and Governments, international and regional organizations, representatives
of the private sector and others participated in the conference. Prime
Minister Meles Zenawi led the Ethiopian delegation. The Conference was
preceded by a Ministerial meeting on 27 May 2008 aimed at finalizing the
two TICAD IV documents, the Yokohama Declaration and the Yokohama Action
Plan, both adopted by the Heads of State and Government.
The Yokohama Declaration is a demonstration of broader political commitment
by the Government of Japan, TICAD Co-organizers (World Bank, UN, UNDP)
and participating African Countries among others to work together on priority
areas of cooperation. These include issues of boosting economic growth,
ensuring human security including achieving the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) and consolidation of peace and good governance as well as
addressing environmental issues and climate change. The Yokohama Action
Plan lays out goals to be achieved and specific measures to be implemented
through the TICAD process during the next five years to further the three
TICAD priorities mentioned above.
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s speech to the Conference was on the
topic of Asia- Africa partnership. He noted that TICAD had been one of
the first international forums to bring Africa and its partners together.
He mentioned that the global situation had changed fundamentally since
the first TICAD Conference and that this fourth Conference therefore needed
to take stock of these changes to realize a new and strategic partnership
between the two continents. While the center of gravity of global economic
dynamism had shifted to Asia, African economies were also now growing
at the fastest rate in more than a generation. “Africa”, he
said, “seeks partnership with Asia to promote common prosperity
on a long term basis including the technological advancement and industrialization
of our continent". Africa wanted partnership to promote a more inclusive
and fairer globalization which would serve the interests of both continents.
Prime Minister Meles welcomed Japan’s support for NEPAD, the AU’s
program of development and continental integration, as well as the strategic
partnership implied by a revitalized TICAD.
Apart from TICAD, there two other major forums during the week organized
by Japan’s International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and by Japan’s
External Trade Organization (JETRO). JICA’s Symposium was entitled
"Revisiting the Role of Public and Private Sectors in Accelerating
the Growth of Africa - An Opportunity for Mutual Learning between Africa
and Asia". Prime Minister Meles, the President of Tanzania and the
former President of Mozambique were the invited speakers from Africa.
JETRO’s forum was entitled "New Trend of Business in Africa:
Towards Accelerating Economic Growth". The two invited African speakers
were Prime Minister Meles and President Mbeki who was unable to be present.
Prime Minister Meles noted that Ethiopia had been drawing on the experiences
of Asia to implement its economic strategies, and its growth of the last
five years was similar to the export-led economic development registered
by some Asian countries. Ethiopia he noted had learnt valuable lessons
on the importance of expanding infrastructure, and strengthening the participation
of investors and the public. During his stay in Yokohama, Prime Minister
Meles also held discussions with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda,
Japan-Ethiopia Parliamentary League and the Ethiopian Association of Japan,
members of the business community and leaders of various international
organizations on issues of mutual concern.
During the Conference, the Government of Japan, which is the center of
the TICAD process, unveiled various initiatives for the support of African
growth and development. Towards boosting economic growth, Prime Minister
Yasuo Fukada of Japan announced that Japan will proactively and flexibly
provide up to $4 billion of soft loans to Africa to assist in the development
of infrastructure. In order to encourage Japanese companies to invest
in Africa, Japan plans to create a Facility for African Investment within
the Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) to finance businesses
in African countries and guarantee financing. In the area of agriculture,
the Government of Japan announced an emergency food assistance package
equivalent to $100 million, a significant portion of which will be targeted
to assist African countries tackle the recent sharp rise in food prices.
The Japanese Prime Minister announced specific initiatives aimed at helping
African countries achieve the MDGs. In the area of education, these included
the construction of 1,000 primary schools and the training of 100,000
teachers in Maths and Science. In health, Japan will contribute $560 million
to the Global Fund to Fight AIDs, Tuberculosis and Malaria and will also
train 100,000 African health workers. Sixty percent of the Global Fund's
total assistance goes to Sub-Saharan Africa. In order to bring about these
measures, Japan pledged to double its ODA to Africa by 2012; it will also
double its grant aid and technical co-operation for Africa over the next
five years as well as “act in good faith” to address issues
of debt relief in co-ordination with the international community.
In the area of the environment and climate change, Japan has designed
a mechanism called the "Cool Earth Partnership" to engage in
assistance to developing countries to enhance environment protection,
which is also going to be one of the major themes for discussion at next
months G8 summit at Hokkaido. This partnership will involve assistance
amounting to a total of $10 billion to be disbursed globally over five
years beginning this year. The Japanese Prime Minister noted that some
African countries had already launched policy consultations with Japan
and he hoped this partnership would be expanded across the entire continent
to formulate a post-2012 framework to protect Africa from the negative
effect of climate change. Prime Minister Fukuda stressed that ownership
and partnership, key words in the TICAD process, had become established
as a symbol of African development. Together with the countries of Africa,
Japan was determined to make the 21st century a “century of African
growth”.
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Prime Minister Meles Zenawi met with the representatives of the
NGO community in Ethiopia for the second time on Wednesday. This was a
follow-up to his meeting with the same group on May 24th. Underlining
the point that the Government considers NGOs and civil societies as major
development partners, the Prime Minister underscored their importance
as essential in the generation of innovative ideas. They operate in those
areas where the government is unable to go because of its shortage of
resources, both financial and human. Additionally, NGOs have their own
capacity to generate resources, externally and internally, applying traditional
and non-traditional mechanisms. He referred to such NGOs as essential
to the country and praised their contribution. The Prime Minister emphasized
that the legislation would not be any hindrance to developmental NGOs
and would have no effect on their activities. However, he highlighted
the importance of the legislation in ensuring transparency and accountability
in NGO operations. The Prime Minister underlined that only indigenous
NGOs can take part in political activities. International NGOs, registered
as foreign aid organizations, and local NGOs whose major source of funding
was external would not be allowed to participate in internal political
affairs. The Government believed that the idea of limiting local NGO financing
from external sources to less than ten percent of their total budget was
valid; and that the one year allowed for reorganization of financial arrangements
was sufficient. The Prime Minister made it clear that although certain
points were not open to discussion, notably the prohibition of foreign
aid organizations from participation in political activity, there was
still sufficient time to make amendments wherever merited in other areas
before the draft law went to parliament. He assured the meeting that any
ambiguities of language would be addressed, and he did not rule out the
option of further discussions.
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The 12th Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Inter-Governmental
Authority on Development takes place here in Addis Ababa at the end of
next week, on June 14. It will be preceded by the 27th Council of Ministers
Meeting on June 11, and this is preceded by the three day meeting of experts
which starts tomorrow. The experts will be discussing the IGAD Secretariat’s
annual report for 2007, and the planned activities for 2008, dealing with
regional integration, peace and security and other aspects of regional
development. IGAD is made up of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia,
Sudan and Uganda, though Eritrea withdrew from participation in April
2007 in disagreement with IGAD policy towards Somalia. IGAD is one of
the eight Regional Economic Co-operative bodies (RECs) intended to serve
as the main building blocks of African integration under the Abuja treaty.
Ethiopia will be assuming the chairmanship of IGAD for the coming year
at this summit. It attaches great importance to IGAD as an instrument
to encourage both regional integration and regional peace.
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The Ethiopian Road Authority has been given a 2008 Good Practice
Award by the World Bank’s Independent Evaluation Group. The award
came for the implementation of Ethiopia’s Road Sector Development
Program Support Project. Presented at a ceremony at the World Bank on
Tuesday, it recognized the Road Sector Development Program's strong performance
in design and implementation, as well as the efficient utilization of
resources, monitoring and evaluation, and the contribution to a positive
development outcome. Ethiopia’s Ambassador to the United States,
Dr. Samuel Assefa said the award demonstrated the importance of encouraging
World Bank support to sectors that significantly contributed to sustained
and people-centered economic development. The award-winning project was
designed to support the Governments Road Sector Development Program (1997-2007),
now extended to 2010. This program was prepared with extensive coordination
between the Government and development partners, and designed as a multi-donor
supported program. Phase 1 of the program was launched in September 1997.
Phase 3, for the years 2007-2010, is currently under implementation. The
Bank's total support for the whole program amounts to around $1.1 billion.
Based on the Government’s five year Poverty Alleviation and Sustainable
Development Plan (PASDEP), the Road Sector Project will bring total road
lengths throughout the country to 48,990 km by 2009-2010. With a hundred
and ten percent of the targets for 2006-2007 met, the Road Authority is
on course to meet the project benchmarks in full. The classified network
of Federal and Regional Roads had a length of 26,550 km in 1997. It reached
42,429km at the end of last year, more than fifty percent of the roads
meeting the qualification of good road condition. Phase 3 will provide
a major road network expansion, targeting in all the rehabilitation, upgrading
and new construction of 5,994 km of federal roads; and 5,730 km of regional
roads. The contribution of the road program to poverty reduction and employment
generation has also been impressive. The Ethiopian Roads Authority, in
consultation with all development partners, designed strong monitoring
and evaluation indicators, to evaluate the outcome of the Road Sector
Development Program, and to help decision makers and other stakeholders
come up with appropriate strategies and interventions. It participated
in an initiative under the Sub Saharan Africa Transport Policy Program
to develop best practices within the Africa region by establishing appropriate
transport sector performance indicators. These indicators, endorsed by
the United Nations, have also been agreed by the African Ministers of
Transport and Infrastructure as a method of measuring progress in achieving
the Millennium Development Goals.
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