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H.E
Ato Girma Woldegiorgis, President of the Federal Democratic Republic of
Ethiopia, has paid a three day official visit to Germany, 17-20 March
2008. During his visit the president held official talks on bilateral,
regional and international issues of common interest with Dr. Horst
Koehler, President of the Federal Republic of Germany and Dr. Angela
Merkel, Chancellor of Germany. The two sides expressed their satisfaction
over the excellent state of relations which have always been characterized
by mutual understanding and respect. Germany and Ethiopia established
diplomatic relations in 1905. President Girma briefed both the President
and the Chancellor about preparations for the forthcoming local elections
in Ethiopia, the current state of Ethiopia’s excellent economic growth
over the last few years and the situation in the Horn of Africa. On
bilateral issues the two sides gave particular emphasis to Ethiopia’s
Engineering Capacity Building program which is being carried out with the
help of Germany. The President also addressed a business forum organized
by the German -Africa Business Association. This was attended by a group
of Ethiopian businesspeople who traveled with the President to promote
their products and to seek for partnership opportunities with German
companies.
President Girma also visited the
city of Leipzig which has a city twinning agreement with Addis Ababa. On
arrival in Leipzig, President Girma was received by the Prime Minister of
the State of Saxonia and the Mayor of the City of Leipzig. He visited the
ethnological Museum of Leipzig city where there is a significant Ethiopian
collection, and the City Zoo. This contains a lions' enclosure which the
City of Leipzig plans to replicate in Addis Ababa. In his remarks during
the visit, President Girma thanked the people of Leipzig for their
friendship and underlined the importance of such twinning schemes in
encouraging people-to-people relationships. He said the Ethiopian government
will do whatever is necessary to facilitate such programs. While in Germany,
President Girma gave interviews to various media outlets, including Sud-Deutsch
Zeitung news paper, the Lo-Nan magazine and the Leipziger Volk Szeitung.
Meanwhile, an eight-person
delegation of the Parliamentary Friendship Group for Eastern Africa of the
German Bundestag are visiting Ethiopia this week. The aim of the visit is to
contribute to closer Ethio-German relations during the Millennium Year. The
group, which represents all political parties in the German Bundestag, will
meet with President Girma following his return from Germany as well as Prime
Minister Meles and various Parliamentary officials during their visit. They
will also be visiting projects of Ethio-German cooperation.
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The
first meeting of the Ethio-South Africa Joint Ministerial Commission took
place in Pretoria, South Africa, on Monday and Tuesday this week. The
Ethiopian delegation to the Joint Ministerial Commission meeting was led
by Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin, and for South Africa by Dr. Nkosazana
Dlamini Zuma, South African Minister of Foreign Affairs. The meeting
focused on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual concern
and three agreements were signed: an Agreement for the Promotion and
Protection of Investments; a Memorandum of Understanding regarding
Industrial and Technical Cooperation; and an Agreement on the
Establishment of a Joint Ministerial Commission. These will provide a real
basis for increased cooperation between Ethiopia and South Africa and to
increase investment and trade. The Agreement for the Promotion and
Protection of Investment will play a pivotal role in boosting investment
between the two countries. Similarly, the Memorandum of Understanding
regarding Industrial and Technical Cooperation will be instrumental in
encouraging economic cooperation in areas such as leather and leather
products, textile, meat and meat processing, horticulture, agriculture and
agro-processing, mining and energy, tourism, manufacturing and the
assembly of high tech products as well as transport and communications
infrastructure. Lastly, the Agreement on the Establishment of a Joint
Ministerial Commission will serve as an indispensable mechanism for
monitoring the implementation of the agreements and enhancing this
multifaceted cooperation. The next Joint Ministerial Commission meeting is
expected to take place in Ethiopia in 2010, though this will be preceded
by a meeting of officials in Addis Ababa next year to finalize
negotiations on all the draft agreements.
The two Foreign Ministers also held
bilateral talks. Minister Seyoum briefed Dr. Zuma on preparations for next
month’s local elections, and Ethiopia’s role in Somalia, and on the current
impasse over the Ethiopia Eritrea border. Minister Zuma urged both parties
to remain committed to the implementation of the Algiers Peace Agreement.
Both countries confirmed their commitment to strengthening of the African
Union, to the consolidation of the African Agenda and to the centrality of
NEPAD in Africa’s efforts to deal with poverty and underdevelopment. Foreign
Minister Seyoum also had an audience with President Mbeki at which Foreign
Minister Zuma was also present.
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Ethiopia’s State Minister
for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Tekeda Alemu, paid an official four day working
visit to Yemen this week at the invitation of the Yemen’s Foreign
Minister. During his visit, the State Minister had an audience with H.E.
the President of the Republic of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, as well
meetings with the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and other senior
officials. He presented a letter to the President of Yemen from Prime
Minister Meles Zenawi, and also delivered a message from Foreign Minister
Seyoum Mesfin to Dr. Abubakr Al-Qirbi, Foreign Minister of the Republic of
Yemen . During his visit, the State Minister held extensive discussions on
bilateral and regional issues of mutual concern and interest, among them
the current situation of Somalia, the situation between Ethiopia and
Eritrea, as well as the Sana'a Forum for Cooperation, Middle East issues
and other bilateral interests. During these meetings, there was agreement
on the need to strengthen the people-to-people relations and the private
sector involvement in business and in the economic relationship of both
countries. The State Minister was assured by Yemeni officials that the
Yemeni government had the highest regard for relations between the two
countries. There was agreement that contacts between the two sides should
be as frequent as possible. Before leaving Yemen, the State Minister gave
an interview to Yemen TV on the bilateral discussions he had had, and a
press conference to journalists on the overall situation of the
sub-region.
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On
Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, issued his latest Report on the
situation in Somalia (S/2008/178 14.3.2008). The Secretary-General
underlined that there was a window of opportunity in Somalia following the
appointment of Prime Minister Nur Hussein ‘Adde’, providing a renewed
chance to make further progress in reconciliation and successfully
complete the remainder of the transition period. He called it “a unique
opportunity for proactive engagement by the international community to
support domestic initiatives”. He welcomed the commitment of the Prime
Minister to effectively engage with all Somalis irrespective of political
affiliation. The Secretary-General characterized the security situation as
volatile, with the Union of Islamic Courts, and other anti-government
elements, continuing to target Ethiopian armed forces and the forces of
the TFG, police stations and Government authorities. He said there were
indications that international terrorists had sought safe havens in Hiraan
and Juba, and in recent weeks concerted attacks had involved the use of
field guns and mortars in heavily populated areas, reportedly leading to
considerable loss of life, property damage and massive displacement of
people. While not mentioning any country by name, Mr. Ban Ki-moon clearly
indicated Eritrea when he wrote of the complications for Somalia caused by
the proliferation of arms and of Somalia “as a stage for a proxy war among
neighbors”.
The Secretary-General said AMISOM’s
strength (as of 20.1.2008) stood at 2,613 and discussions for deployment of
pledged Ghanaian and Nigerian troops continued. Ten Nigerian officers
arrived in Mogadishu yesterday to assess conditions prior to the planned
Nigerian deployment. The Government of Sweden has pledged a hospital. The
Secretary-General noted that on February 20, he had received a request from
the Chairperson of the AU asking for the UN to provide a financial,
technical and logistical support package for AMISOM, totally some 885
million dollars. The UN Secretariat is reviewing the request to identify
possible responses.
During the period under review, the
UN sent two missions to Somalia, one headed by the Department of Political
Affairs, the other by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, both of
which the Secretary-General largely endorsed. The Department of Political
Affairs suggested a three track approach to attain peace and stability: a
political process leading to dialogue between the TFG and the opposition,
strengthening the emerging will for peace; an improved security presence,
while avoiding any security vacuum; and thirdly, effective delivery of
humanitarian and increased development activities. Preliminary activities in
all these three areas have already been launched by Prime Minister Nur
Hussein ‘Adde’, the TFG and Ethiopian forces, but any major progress will
depend upon real assistance from the international community. The
Secretary-General reiterated his call for implementation of the National
Reconciliation Congress, including the development of the road map to
establish a functional local administration, the constitutional process,
preparation for a national census and the elections of 2009, and
implementation of a National Security and Stabilization Plan.
The second mission was that by the
Department of Peacekeeping Operations to produce contingency plans for a
possible deployment of a UN peacekeeping mission. This identified four
scenarios identifying increased security and improvements in the political
process which the Secretary-General saw as potentially sequential. These
would allow the relocation of UN staff from Nairobi to Somalia; the
relocation of the UN Political Office for Somalia to Mogadishu; the
deployment of an impartial stabilization force, made up of a Coalition of
the Willing and AMISOM, and the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops after a
broad-based political agreement; and finally the installation of a UN force
after far-reaching political and security agreements had been reached. The
UN Secretariat is in the process of updating its contingency plans for a
possible integrated UN force peacekeeping operation to succeed AMISOM. The
report suggests any UN force would need to be between 15 and 21 infantry
battalions, that is up to 27,000 troops with a possible police component of
1,500. This is a far higher number than ever envisaged by the AU, and far
greater than the forces currently deployed by the Government, and by
Ethiopia.
The DPKO Mission incidentally noted
that hostilities in Mogadishu appeared generally to be confined to the five
districts of Yaqshid, Wardhigley, Hawl-Wadag, Hodan and Bondhere. In other
areas the mission visited, districts were “seen to be populated: stores were
open, transport was moving and the port was active”. The mission did not
make its own estimate of the numbers fleeing Mogadishu; the
Secretary-General appeared content to accept the inflated UN figures for the
numbers displaced from the city despite evidence to the contrary, and the
counting carried out by the UN and the TFG in
November.
In his own observations the
Secretary-General, endorsed the mission reports. He also called for further
support for AMISOM, which he commended, for a reliable and visible human
rights capacity, and expressed his concern over the lack of access and
operational problems that affected the distribution of humanitarian
assistance, noting that the number of checkpoints had increased in the last
quarter. He regretted the ongoing skirmishes between Somaliland and Puntland.
The Secretary-General reiterated his earlier recommendation to the Security
Council to strengthen the mandate of the UN’s Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS)
and give it the necessary resources to implement an integrated UN approach
to Somalia’s problems.
The same point was emphasized by the
Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Mr. Amadou
Ould-Abdallah who briefed the Security Council yesterday. He outlined his
efforts to continue his regular contacts with all parties, and referred to
the conference he had organized in January, of Somalis and international
business contacts to discuss how the private sector could help move from a
war-time to a peace-time economy. He is convening a larger follow-up summit
next week. It will be opened by Prime Minister Nur Hussein ‘Adde’. Mr.
Ould-Abdallah stressed the need for greater international engagement in
support of simultaneous action on the political and security fronts. AMISOM,
he said, was doing an excellent job, but he said a strong interim
multi-national presence should also be an option. He suggested a UN naval
task force to protect humanitarian supplies, deter people smuggling, reduce
piracy and support the arms embargo. Mr. Ould-Abdallah called for a greater
UN presence in the country, suggesting the UN Security Council should visit
the country later this year. This, he noted, would need acceleration of
security sector and police training. Ethiopia is currently planning to start
the training of 10,000 military and police for the TFG, to add to over two
thousand already in process, and several hundred others whose training has
been completed. Mr. Ould-Abdalah concluded by saying that Somalis themselves
had to change their approach, dropping their winner-takes-all attitude and
be prepared to compromise. He also underlined that any analysis of Somalia
must not be based upon the work of partisan and inaccurate news reports so
popular with computer users.
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Meanwhile, on Tuesday the US Secretary of State’s Office made public its
designation of al-Shabaab as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a
Specially Designated Global Terrorist Organization. US Secretary of State,
Condoleessa Rice, made the order three weeks ago and it covers al-Shabaab
under numerous various alias it has adopted for issuing communiqués in
Mogadishu including the Mujahideen Youth Movement and the Unity of Islamic
Youth. The effect of this is to prohibit any provision of any resources or
material support, and the blocking of all property and interests that al-Shabaab
have in the US or which might be under control of the US. The statement
said that designations of this kind were an important element in the fight
against terrorism and were an effective means of curtailing support for
terrorist activity. The statement gave some of the reasons why al-Shabaab
had been designated as a terrorist organization. These included the belief
that many of its senior leaders had trained and fought with al-Qaida in
Afghanistan; and that it had used intimidation and violence to try and
undermine the Government of Somalia. It noted al-Shabaab had threatened to
disrupt last year’s National Reconciliation Congress, and had claimed
responsibility for shooting Deputy District Administrators, as well as
targeting Ethiopian troops and government officials by bombings and
shooting. It said that al-Shabaab’s leader, Aden Hashi Ayro, had ordered
his fighters to attack AU troops in Mogadishu. It might have added that
al-Shabaab had been responsible for at least two or three hundred
assassinations of moderate politicians in Mogadishu both before and during
the establishment of the Islamic Courts in Mogadishu between June and the
end of December 2006. The US statement said that the designation of al-Shabaab
as a terrorist organization will raise awareness of its activities and
help undercut al-Shabaab’s ability to threaten targets in the region and
destabilize the Horn of Africa.
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Next
week, the United Nations Secretary General is expected to give the
Security Council a report on the future of UNMEE, offering options and
suggestions on the UN presence in the region. Eritrea effectively evicted
UNMEE last month through the restrictions imposed on the Mission,
including prohibition of fuel. It also prevented the temporary relocation
of the Mission to Ethiopia. The Secretary General was eventually forced to
withdraw the members of the Mission, sending them back to their own
countries, in order to ensure their security. Making a number of lame
excuses for its behavior, Eritrea attempted, unsuccessfully, to blame the
UN for the withdrawal. It also compounded its position by making a series
of grave but unjustified accusations against UNMEE personnel. Last week,
the Security Council firmly condemned Eritrea’s mistreatment of UNMEE, but
pulled back from its previous promises to take “appropriate measures”
against Eritrea. When it considers the Secretary-General’s suggestions
this week the Security Council will no longer have the excuse of concern
about the safety of UNMEE personnel to inhibit it from resolute action.
The central point is that Eritrea should not be allowed to dictate to the
Security Council, or manipulate consideration of the situation by its
illegal acts. The Secretary General has repeatedly made it clear in the
context of the temporary relocation of UNMEE that any suggestions about
the future cannot affect the continued validity of the Algiers Agreement
on Cessation of Hostilities. Similarly, the Security Council cannot afford
to let Eritrea get away with such humiliating treatment of a UN
peacekeeping force. It will, at the very least, create a highly dangerous
precedent for the future of peacekeeping and the authority of the Security
Council and of the UN, both rather obviously flouted by Eritrea on
numerous occasions.
Eritrea’s demolishment of the
Temporary Security Zone and its humiliating treatment of UNMEE also violate
obligations that Eritrea as well as Ethiopia assumed under the Algiers
Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities. Under the Agreement the two sides
agreed that punitive measures should be taken if either or both violated
these obligations. The two parties agreed that these are fundamental
obligations and constitute the foundation for the Algiers Agreements.
Accordingly, the Agreement allows for invoking Chapter VII of the UN Charter
and calls for the Security Council to take the necessary enforcement
measures.
Eritrean commentators frequently put
a whole series of inaccurate ulterior motives and claims into Ethiopia’s
mouth. One earlier this week, usually rather more objective, is the author
of “No War, No Peace, Just Proxy War Masks” (Awate.com 18.3.2008). He argues
that Ethiopia’s priorities for the peace were to acquire a return to the
status quo ante, the permanent removal of any threat from Eritrea and return
to the Ethiopian Eritrean relationship of the period 1991-1997. This is not
quite the case. Ethiopia, as it has repeatedly made clear, has been ready to
demarcate the boundary according to international norms through dialogue, to
make sure that the end of the process would not be the beginning of another
crisis. Ethiopia’s main objective is to bring closure and finality to the
dispute, to allow for the restoration of cross-border trade, movement of
people, mutual ties, all good neighborly links. This does not appear to be
the aim of Eritrea. Indeed, Eritrea appears firmly opposed to any
normalization of relations as it has repeatedly made clear in recent months.
It’s hardly necessary to underline the point for Eritreans, but the
Government of Eritrea hardly ever sees eye-to-eye with anyone. It’s not just
Ethiopia. It has firmly rejected all those who have tried to talk to it,
offered to mediate or proffered their good offices as most recently UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has done.
The author also claims that the
creation of the TSZ was an alternative to destroying or disarming Eritrea,
and Ethiopia somehow saw the TSZ as Ethiopian. This is hardly the case. The
TSZ’s importance lies entirely in the fact that it was meant to ensure the
separation of forces and thus secure a conducive environment for a lasting
settlement of the dispute between the two countries, including the
demarcation of the boundary. Incidentally, the author even alleges that
Ethiopia occupies Eritrean territory. In fact, as long as demarcation is not
completed, neither can be said to be occupying the territory of the other,
even though at the moment both sides are controlling what would otherwise be
each other’s territory. The author makes a number of similarly inaccurate
remarks even denigrating Ethiopia's record of UN peacekeeping missions as
far back as the Korean war, and more recently consistently since 1994 when
there were few ready to contribute to the stabilization of Rwanda after the
genocide there. There is a contrast to be drawn here with the activities of
Eritrea, which in Somalia have been the very antithesis of peacekeeping, as
have its well-authenticated support for terrorism in the region.
Whatever the situation in the past
may have been, today Ethiopia is ready to accept third party facilitation,
whether by the Secretary-General or anyone else he might suggest. Since
November 2004, Ethiopia has very clearly stated its full commitment to the
EEBC Decisions. By contrast, as the author of “No War, No Peace, Just Proxy
War Masks” very well knows, Eritrea has steadily been violating fundamental
obligations of the Algiers Agreement and thwarting all initiatives for
peaceful resolution of the conflict, including the latest effort at
mediation by the UN Secretary General over several years. Eritrea’s
belligerent behavior, and its illegal actions, are not merely grave
violations of a bilateral agreement but also of the United Nations Charter.
A failure to punish Eritrea sets a dangerous precedent for the Security
Council. It is no excuse to say that the Council rarely takes punitive
measures. Implications of inaction are far reaching, and will leave a
lasting imprint on international peacekeeping. Hence, the need to take
action before it is too late. The Council should consider Eritrean actions
as a clear rejection of peaceful resolution of all disputes with Ethiopia,
including demarcation of the border in the context of what amounts to
normalization of relations. Eritrea’s acts also amount to an obvious effort
to destabilize the region.
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On
Tuesday, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi made another of his regular reports
on his government’s performance to the House of People's Representatives.
On this occasion his account focused almost entirely on the steps being
taken, or planned, to tackle the current state of inflation, the rise in
the price of consumer goods including food which has surfaced as the
result of shocks in the global market and the growing discrepancy between
supply and demand following Ethiopia’s own continued growth rate of over
10% for the last five years. The Prime Minister noted that the high rates
of economic growth in Asia, particularly in China and India, and
elsewhere, have sharpened the competition for goods. Coupled with high oil
prices, and droughts in, for example, Australia, the result has been high
food prices across the world. Among the measures taken by the Government
to address these price rises have been subsidies of the grain market as
well as of edible oil by hundreds of millions of birr. Other measures now
taken to control growing inflation and assuage the impact of growing
prices particularly on the low income group in urban areas include
rescinding VAT and turnover taxes on food crops. The Prime Minister said
the gap between supply and demand would dwindle over time, but for the
moment the government would continue to subsidize wheat, edible oil and
other consumer goods to help support vulnerable groups. The Government, he
said, was also making a change in approach with regard to tackling illicit
trading, particularly hoarding which had been aggravating the rise in
prices. Tough measures were warranted to monitor unlawful practices by
fraudsters and avaricious business persons. The Government has now set up
a taskforce, drawn from relevant government bodies, to regulate unlawful
trading and bring violators before the court to be dealt with in
accordance with the law. Despite current problems, the Prime Minister
emphasized that the Ethiopian economy was sound and healthy, and was
projected to grow by 10.8 in 2008. Likening it to a muscular physique that
wouldn't easily succumb to any ailment, he said it could withstand any
transient cold. Responding to questions, the Prime Minster said the
average 10 percent economic growth, registered over the past few years,
had benefited Ethiopian farmers, the bulk of the population and the urban
areas. Economic gains accrued have trickled down well into the wider
community allowing reasonably fair distribution of resources. But, he
added, more has to be done to improve the income and livelihood of the low
income groups. He said the government had already implemented a
significant pay rise to civil servants to help them cope with the rising
cost of living. Efforts were also well underway to transform an over
cumbersome marketing system. Pledging to take all measures necessary to
overcome inflation, the Prime Minister also urged farmers to increase
productivity to ensure demands can be met.
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Last
week, army chiefs of staff and Ministers of Defense from countries
involved in the Eastern Africa Standby Brigade (EASBRIG) met in Kampala. A
two day army chiefs’ meeting was followed by a Council of Ministers
meeting. EASBRIG is one of the five regional forces of the African Standby
Force (ASF), being set up under Article 13 of the AU’s Protocol Relating
to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council (of 2002). These
are to have responsibilities with respect to the deployment of peace
support missions and interventions in accordance with the Constitutive Act
of the AU. The ASF will be composed of standby multidisciplinary
contingents ready for deployment at appropriate notice. The other elements
of the ASF are: the Southern African Development Community’s Standby
Brigade (SADCBRIG); the Central African Economic and Monetary Community
Standby Force (CSF); the Economic Community of West African States Standby
Force (ESF); and the Northern Africa Standby Brigade (NORTHBRIG). A
Memorandum of Understanding for EASBRIG’s establishment by the Member
States of the Eastern African Region was concluded in April 2005. EASBRIG
has its Brigade Headquarters and a Logistics Base in Addis Ababa
(Ethiopia) while its Planning Element (PLANELM) and the Coordinating
Mechanism (EASBRICOM) are located in Nairobi (Kenya). Until the creation
of EASBRICOM in January 2007, the establishment of EASBRIG was being
coordinated by IGAD (the regional Intergovernmental Authority on
Development). The countries from which EASBRIG will be drawn are Burundi,
Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius,
Rwanda, the Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, though not
all are participating. Eritrea, for example, refuses to have any
involvement.
Last week’s Chief of Staff’s meeting
was largely technical dealing with this year’s Command Post Exercise which
is already underway in member states, and with the development of the force
generation concept, which the Brigade Commander is expected to finalize in
the near future. The budget was proposed, and passed by the Council of
Ministers. There was animated discussion on a policy framework document
produced after last year’s Seychelles workshop suggesting the creation of an
East African Peace and Security Secretariat with a number of different
directorates to replace current structures. The Council of Ministers agreed
this needed further study. EASBRIG Member States including Ethiopia have
already committed the necessary troops and equipment for the realization of
its objectives; and EASBRIG now plans to have a fully operational and
multi-dimensional integrated brigade by 2010 to fulfill East Africa’s
requirements in the AU’s proposed African Standby Force. |