• TFG in control of the city of Mogadishu
• Eritrea, 'mortal danger' to the Horn
• Prime Minister Gedi's visit to Washington
• Climate change and conflict
• Lucy to be on display in Houston

• On Thursday, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said notwithstanding sporadic terrorist acts, the TFG is in control of the whole Mogadishu making it impossible for terrorists or non-government militia to control any part of the city. This was possible, as the Prime Minister pointed out, following "a successful operation mounted in a highly organized joint campaign to rout the terrorists in Mogadishu." In an annual report to the House of Peoples' Representatives, Prime Minister Meles told parliamentarians that the Ethiopian defence force had no option but to slow down the final phase of its withdrawal as the remnants of the terrorists in Mogadishu and its environs started regrouping under the lead coordinating role of the Eritrean government. Allowing escalation of attacks by the dismantled terrorists could have led to the reversal of the process of stabilization of Somalia. But, he said, together with the troops of the TFG and the citizens of Mogadishu, it was possible to break the back of the terrorists that have made the city their hideout. The Ethiopian parliament had endorsed Ethiopia’s action to safeguard national sovereignty. What is critical now for realizing durable peace in Somalia is for the transitional government "to ensure the holding of national reconciliation among the Somalis by making sure that grievances over insufficient representation are addressed and the political base of the TFG is thus broadened." Prime Minister Meles is confident that the right condition will be created before too long for the complete withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from Somalia.

The Prime Minister also told parliament that Ethiopia is implementing an integrated and comprehensive strategy devised to ward off the chaos the Eritrean government wants to unleash against the country. Committed to fight archfoe, poverty, the government of Ethiopia is keen to resolving all differences amicably and through dialogue. Government has earmarked an annual budget of 43.9 billion birr, the bulk of which will go for expenditures in agriculture, health, road construction and education. A significant rise of about 24 percent was made in federal spending to keep the momentum of the rate of economic growth which at the moment stands at about 10 percent, among the highest by African standards. Ethiopia, in spite of the flaws in the EEBC's decision, has declared repeatedly and unequivocally its acceptance of the Commission's verdict. Eritrea, against established common international practice during border demarcations, has shunned dialogue, and that was a stumbling block to moving on to the actual demarcation. It is to be recalled that Foreign Minister Seyoum had urged the UNSC to invoke Chapter VII of the UN Charter and impose sanctions on Eritrea as provided for in the Agreement of Cessation of Hostilities.

Prime Minister Meles said the Defense Forces have the capacity to deter aggression and to repel if it occurred. At present, Eritrea's strategy focused mainly on spreading chaos in Ethiopia by organizing, arming and deploying Ethiopian opposition forces, its Trojan Horses. Meles urged the Ethiopian people to rein in anti-peace and destructive forces conniving to disrupt public celebrations of the Ethiopian Millennium.

• In the meantime, we have fresh news from Accra where the Eleventh Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the AU is underway. The meeting will end today to be followed by the Summit on Monday, July 2, 2007.

At the meeting of the Executive Council yesterday, there was a heated exchange between the Ambassador of the TFG to Ethiopia and the New Eritrean Foreign Minister. The Somali Ambassador told the Council that Eritrea has become a major source of instability in our sub-region and a place where terrorists which have as their major aim causing mayhem in Somalia have found refuge. In response, the Eritrean Minister accused Ethiopia for being the reason for the problem in Somalia. He also alleged that Eritrea is also a victim of Ethiopia in that its own territory is occupied by Ethiopia. As the exchange continued for some time without let up, the Chair was forced to admonish the Eritrean Minister, who asked for the floor time and again, to speak less about Somalia, and more about Eritrea.

The Ethiopian Foreign Minister who was forced to take the floor by the gratuitous Eritrean accusation spoke at length to inform the Council how much Eritrea has become a mortal danger to the Horn of Africa sub-region. The Minister prefaced his intervention with an apology to his colleagues saying that he would have preferred not to take the floor on Ethio-Eritrea matter while the major topic of the Accra gathering is the greater unity of Africa. He informed the Council how Eritrea has been attempting to derail the process of recovery and stabilization in Somalia.

With respect to the problem between Ethiopia and Eritrea, Minister Seyoum, responding to the earlier assertion made by the Eritean Foreign Minister about how Ethiopia has been the reason for the failure to demarcate the border, said that the major problem now in fact is that Eritrea has demolished the Algiers Agreement. Therefore, he said, the urgent matter now is to find ways and means of restoring the Algiers Agreement, securing the integrity of the Temporary Security Zone and allowing UNMEE to exercise its mandate. Minister Seyoum told his colleagues in the Council that he has told the President of the Security Council as much in a letter that he sent to him recently.

Minister Seyoum also reminded the Council about the mandate that the AU has under the Algiers Agreement. He also drew the attention of the Council to how Eritrea has been the cause of the crisis between the two countries. He referred to the verdict handed down by an international tribunal, the Ethiopia Eritrea Claims Commission, calling Eritrea the aggressor. The Award by the Claims Commission which was given on December 19, 2005 and which the Minister brought to the attention of the Council reads as follows:

[T]he Commission holds that Eritrea violated Article 2, paragraph 4, of the Charter of the United Nations by resorting to armed force to attack and occupy Badme, then under peaceful administration by Ethiopia, as well as other territory in the Tahtay Adiabo and Laelay Adiabo Weredas of Ethiopia, in an attack that began on May 12, 1998, and is liable to compensate Ethiopia, for the damages caused by the violation of international law.

The Council got the message.

• Prime Minister Meles said it is not proper to discuss matters with respect to rumors about on going discussions to release opposition leaders that are under detention. He emphasized this is a matter being handled by the court and nothing would be allowed to interfere in the court proceedings. He admitted that some interested parties have talked to him about the fate of the detainees who are now awaiting sentencing. He also said, it is possible that some others might have been talking to the detainees. He emphasized that the law of the land has provisions for pardon.

• Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi urged the US to move urgently to help deploy more international peacekeeping troops to Somalia. Gedi said logistical and financial constraints are hampering speedy deployment of peacekeeping contingents from African Union countries. He is visiting Washington to press for more support for his government, which he described as being targeted by al-Qaeda. Prime Minister Gedi said his administration has proof of al-Qaeda's involvement in the violence in Mogadishu. The TFG has made headways in combating terrorism and hopes to tackle the security challenge "with support from the international community". Prime Minister Gedi told the Security Council Thursday, his country is at a 'critical crossroads'. The world body, he said, is obliged to send peacekeepers to foster peace in Somalia. Britain's UN ambassador Jones-Parry said the Council expects more political progress referring to the national reconciliation conference scheduled for mid-July.

Insurgents are weak, Gedi said, and 80 percent of the fighters bear arms only to earn a living. Dismissing criticism against his administration, the Prime Minister said the door was open to all Somalis except known terrorists to partake in the National Reconciliation Congress (NRC) slated for mid-July. On Tuesday, the US urged the TFG to reach out as broadly as possible to clans and other factions. Gedi met and held talks with officials at the White House, Congress and the State Department. The NRC aims to kick-start a peace process that could lead to the establishment of broad-based government in Somalia. Ali Mahdi, the Chairman of the National Governance and Reconciliation Committee announced in the course of the week that some members of the ousted Union of Islamic Courts would attend the meeting. Ibrahim Hassan Adao, who was in charge of foreign affairs, was sent an invitation letter, he said. This shows a good will gesture on the part of the government which is determined to bring on board all Somalis regardless of their orientation as long as they are presented by their clan. It should be noted that the invitation by Mr. Ali Mhadi was not seen with good will by Mr. Ado.

Sheikh Aden Madobe, Somalia's parliamentary speaker said last week before leaving for Cairo that the conference organizing Commission chairman has assured him that final preparations with regard to logistics, security and infrastructure are well underway. Madobe was expected to confer with Arab League representatives seeking to boost diplomatic ties between his country and the Arab world. The congress is being awaited with great expectation and hopes are high that it will mark a turning point in the history of this Horn of Africa country. Tens of thousands of Somalis have returned after remnants of extremist insurgents were flushed out from hideouts in few of Mogadishu's districts. Humanitarian situation is gradually improving notwithstanding the fact that sporadic terrorist acts continue to take place.

• Sheikh Dahir Aweys of the routed Union of Islamic Courts, now in hiding, is still sabre-rattling and declaring war in the face of the approaching NRC saying that it made no difference to the Islamists whether they would attack and kill the Ethiopian troops or the Ugandans. He told the Arabic TV, Aljazeera that he and his followers were determined "to overthrow the western backed secular government and turn Somalia into an Islamic State." There are informed speculations that he might have been given protection by parties which otherwise should not be involved in the kind of business Aweys has been engaged in.

• Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni paid over the weekend a two-day official visit to Ethiopia during which he had an opportunity to take part in a tri-lateral two-day consultation between him, Prime Minister Meles and Alpha Oumer Konare. High on the agenda was Somalia, where Uganda in early March deployed about 1500 troops as the vanguard of the yet to be fully deployed 8,000 African Union Soldiers. Next month, about 1000 Burundian soldiers are scheduled to join AMISOM.

• A UN report has blamed climate change and environmental degradation for the Darfur conflict. Freak weather threatens to trigger a succession of new wars across Africa unless more is done to contain the damage, concludes a study by the UN Environment Programme. Failing rains and creeping desertification lies at the heart of the conflict. UN Secretary General Ban Ki Mon says "Amid the diverse social and political causes, the Darfur conflict began as an ecological crisis, arising, at least in part, from climate change." On Monday, France hosted an international meeting which promised to support peacekeeping efforts and a political process to stop violence in Western Sudan. French Foreign Minister backed an UN-AU mediation initiative that seeks to bring on board all parties to the dispute to begin talks around August. Prime Minister Meles said the Darfur conflict could only be resolved by the Sudanese people through peaceful, political dialogue. Sudan has said it would accept the deployment of a joint UN and AU force.

• A ship from Eritrea, DenDen, which was caught in the middle of the see, near Mangalore has sunk when efforts failed to pull the ship to the shore. Out of the total 24 persons in the ship two have died and fourteen others were rescued. Three are said to be in a serious condition. The vessel was supposed to be carrying furnace oil and was on its way to Dubai. No sooner had it left the shore than a snag was reported. The Ghanaian captain of the ship declined technical help saying they could mange but the ship submerged in the see after a storm on June 23. Why the captain declined offers for help remains a mystery.

• The Us State Department gave final approval on Wednesday for one of the world's most famous fossils - the 3.2 million-year-old Lucy skeleton unearthed in Ethiopia in 1974 - to tour the US on exhibit for the first time. National Natural History Museum Spokesman Randoll Kremer said, "This is one of the most important specimens relating to human origins in the world." Lucy goes on display at the Houston Museum of National Science on August 31 through April 20, 2008. The fossilized remains were discovered in 1974 in the Afar state of northeastern Ethiopia.