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May 22, 2009 |
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It might be noted that the Permanent Representative of Eritrea to the United Nations in a letter to the President of the UN Security Council on Tuesday, while routinely denying any Eritrean role in supplying weapons to elements in Somalia, again made clear that Eritrea despite the UN’s acceptance of it as the legitimate and internationally recognized Government of Somalia, did not regard the TFG as the government of Somalia, referring to it indeed as the product of “arbitrary and ill-advised formulas that have no basis in international law.” In their communiqué, the IGAD Council of Ministers also called on the UN Security Council to take immediate action to impose a no-fly zone on a number of specific airports, Kismayo, Baidoa, KM 50, Balidoogle, Waajid, Hudur, all airports in Gedo Region, Isaley and Johwar, to prevent arms and supplies reaching Al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam. These are the airports which have been regularly used to supply arms and ammunitions to the opposition. Following the evidence of foreign arms and fighters arriving by sea, the Council also asked the Security Council to impose a blockade on sea ports, particularly Kismayo and Merka, to prevent any further influx. The Ministers noted that there were international naval forces present in the region which could enforce such a blockade. The IGAD Ministers’ communiqué underlined the serious disappointment of IGAD with the most recent report of the UN Secretary-General on Somalia, which had suggested as one possible option the complete abandonment of Somalia by the international community. The communiqué emphasized that the UN Security Council cannot abrogate its obligation to deploy a UN Peace Keeping force in accordance with the UN Charter where this is required. In discussion, the ministers expressed their concern over why the Secretary General's report might suggest a total withdrawal even before any UN peacekeeping forces had been sent to Somalia. The IGAD Council of Ministers requested immediate implementation of the promised UN Trust Fund to provide support to AMISOM, and they called on all those who made pledges at Brussels last month to fast track the implementation of these matters and coordinate efforts and resources immediately. The ministers thanked Uganda and Burundi for the sacrifices they had made for AMISOM, welcoming the announcement of Sierra Leone that it will contribute a battalion of troops and the pledges made by Nigeria and Ghana, but underlined the need for deployment without delay. They also called on United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to effect payments to the Somalia Police Force without any further delay and set up job creation programs for Somalia youth. Another immediate need underlined by the ministers was for substantial provision of humanitarian assistance for the Somali people. [For the full version of the Communiqué of the 33rd Extraordinary Session of the IGAD Council of Ministers on the Security and Political Situation in Somalia, May 20th 2009, see www.mfa.gov.et/miscellaneous]. As we go to press, the AU Peace and Security Council, meeting late Friday, endorsed the IGAD Council of Ministers’ communique, and called on the UN Security Council to take the appropriate steps to reverse the current aggression against Somalia. Meanwhile in Somalia itself, the TFG of President Sheikh Sharif is still trying to talk to elements of the opposition in the interest of reconciliation. At the beginning of the week, the former warlord and ally of Sheikh Hassan Dahir ‘Aweys’, Sheikh Yusuf Indha ‘Adde’ again returned to the Government side with a significant force of militia and technicals. A Government offensive in the center of Mogadishu today made considerable progress in driving Al-Shabaab forces out of several districts. This followed the announcement yesterday, that Sheikh Muktar Robow, the spokesman of Al-Shabaab, had resigned from his position, following disagreements between his Digil/ Merifle clan and the Ayr clan of Sheikh ‘Aweys’ over authority in Lower Shebelle region. This week, the TFG Deputy Prime Minister, Sherif Hassan who was in Addis Ababa for the IGAD Council of Ministers meeting also held talks with Prime Minister Meles and Foreign Minister Seyoum. Sherif Hassan, accompanied by the TFG’s Minister of National Security, Omar Hashi, briefed the Ethiopian officials on the situation in Somalia. Ethiopia made it clear that it is prepared to support training and capacity building for Somalia’s security forces.
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The meeting of IGAD Council of Ministers in Addis Ababa this week made clear IGAD’s continued support for the TFG and its institutions. The Council session was unusually well attended. It was chaired by Ato Seyoum Mesfin, Foreign Minister of Ethiopia (Ethiopia is currently chair of the IGAD Council of Ministers), and the Foreign Ministers of Djibouti (Mr. Mahamoud Ali Youssouf), Kenya (Mr. Moses Wetangula) and Uganda (Mr. Sam Kutesa) were present, as well as Mr. Sherif Hassan, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Somalia, and Mr. Elsammani Elwasila, State Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Sudan. In addition, those present included Mr. Mahboub M. Maalim, the Executive Secretary of IGAD and Mr. Kipruto arap Kirwa, IGAD Facilitator for Somalia Peace and National Reconciliation as well as Dr. Jean Ping, Chairperson of the African Union Commission; Mr Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General to Somalia; Ambassador Raffaele de Lutio of Italy, Chair of IGAD Partners Forum; and Ambassador Ahmed Salah-Eldin Noah, Permanent Representative of the League of Arab States to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, AU and UNECA. All participated fully in the meeting. In addition to its communiqué calling for sanctions on those involved in aggression against the TFG, the Council also reiterated an earlier decision to take the necessary action to impose targeted sanctions including travel bans, freezing of assets among others, against all those in and outside Somalia who have become obstacles to the achievement of peace in Somalia. It called upon the AU and the UNSC to do the same. The Council which had an extensive briefing by the IGAD Facilitator for Somalia Peace and Reconciliation, urged the TFG to harness the efforts of Somali elders, business community, civil society, Somalia Diaspora and religious leaders to end the conflicts. The Facilitator presented a proposal on re-establishing effective government institutions, and the Council, after consideration, instructed the secretariat to revise the plan to take the current situation into consideration, and present it to the upcoming IGAD ordinary Council session for further discussion and decision. The Council also considered a report produced by ICPAT (IGAD Capacity Building Against Terrorism) on the impact of Piracy in the IGAD region. This report, which incorporates a number of issues, will be presented to the upcoming ordinary Council meeting for further discussion. IGAD’s commitment to regional peace and security is not confined to the political arena. It is being expanded to matters of economic integration. IGAD has already taken steps to create a framework for minimum integration. The Minimum Integration Plan that has been developed will be thoroughly discussed in the upcoming Council ordinary session. This follows the Heads of State and Government agreement on the revitalization of IGAD. The organization is now at a crossroads. It will soon be restructured and reorganized to implement the aspirations of its member states. Aims include a renewed focus on economic integration while maintaining IGAD’s critical role in promoting peace and security. It should be remembered that IGAD has played and continues to play a significant role in supporting the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between North and South Sudan. It has now appointed a Special Envoy to the Sudan. Peace and security are essential elements for economic development and for the encouragement of regional integration, and IGAD has been discussing a Peace and Security Strategy to address the root causes of conflict in the region more effectively. This will be submitted to the IGAD Council of Ministers shortly. It will give more attention to the work of the Conflict Early Warning and Response Mechanism (CEWARN) and will enhance the activities of IGAD’s Capacity-building Program Against Terrorism (ICPAT), allowing member states to address the issue of terrorism both as a group and individually. The re-organization, and revitalization of IGAD, and the concomitant creation of an IGAD Common Market, is a substantial task. It requires very considerable financial resources, and member states have the responsibility to increase their annual contributions, and at the very least pay their contributions, and arrears, in full. It is gratifying to note that some members in substantial arrears settled up last year; and that partners have also increased their support to IGAD. IGAD by holding this extraordinary meeting on Somalia has clearly shown its determination to assist the people of Somalia and their government. This meeting has now set the tone for the international community on the issue of Somalia. The meeting has reaffirmed that the region's peace and stability cannot be challenged by the unacceptable acts of one particular country, that of Eritrea apparently determined to continue with its policies of destabilization. The position taken by the members of IGAD demonstrate very clearly the extent to which IGAD has developed in handling political issues of the region with determination and the highest standards.
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In our view the Senator should not have been more alarmed by admittedly inaccurate press reports than by the known reality of al-Qaeda linked terrorists currently fighting to destroy the Somali government and take over Somalia. The concern of the Senator is understandable, but the clear and gathering danger of terrorist groups, including as we now know, both regional and international jihadists, overthrowing a UN-backed and internationally-recognized government in Somalia is surely of greater concern. On the other hand, compared to the analysis presented by Dr. Menkhaus, dwelling on the events of two and a half years ago, the Senator’s position is far more realistic, even though he has not apparently taken into account the proverbial elephant-in-the-room, Eritrea. It is now an established and, indeed, incontrovertible fact that Eritrea has been and is continuing to arm, train, finance and support Al-Shabaab, one of the very same terrorist groups about which the Senator expressed concern. Indeed, Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Mr. Johnnie Carson, in a statement at the same hearing, spelled out the destructive role Eritrea was playing in Somalia: "We have clear evidence that Eritrea is supporting these extremist elements, including credible reports that the Government of Eritrea continues to supply weapons and munitions to extremists and terrorist elements." He added: "we have publicly warned Eritrea to stop its illegal arming of terrorists immediately, as such support threatens the stability of Somalia and of the wider region..." As noted above, the IGAD Council of Ministers extraordinary meeting on Wednesday issued a communiqué specifically condemning Eritrea for its role in Somalia, its aggression, and for its encouragement of the overthrow of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia and for "attacks on AMISOM". It called for the United Nations Security Council "to impose sanctions on the government of Eritrea without further delay." In the light of this evidence, one would have been happier if Senator Feingold, as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations African Affairs Subcommittee, had raised the well-established and very serious issue of Eritrea's support of terrorist groups in Somalia and more widely in the region.
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In the meeting with the Prime Minister, the delegation discussed Sudan and the CPA, the Djibouti-Eritrea conflict, and the situation in Somalia. It was particularly concerned about Somalia and what the international community could do to help the desperate situation in that country. Prime Minister Meles said Ethiopia was worried about the deteriorating situation on the ground for three main reasons. The first was that although the current TFG had more acceptance and legitimacy in Mogadishu than previous bodies, it had not been able to capitalize on this or on the goodwill and political support of the international community to strengthen its legitimacy. This had created an opening for Al-Shabaab to challenge it. Secondly, Al-Shabaab was now testing the resolve and capability of the AMISOM forces. And thirdly, the significant increase in the inflow of foreign fighters and military equipment was fueling the conflict and further complicating the current state of Somalia. On Sudan, the Prime Minister underlined the need for the commitment of both parties (the North and the South) to the smooth implementation of the CPA, as well as for continued dialogue ahead of the 2011 referendum. In order for the CPA to have the chance of success, he said, the parties must work to identify problem areas and seek timely resolutions to them. On the ICC indictment, he noted that Ethiopia shared the AU position. He also made the point that while Darfur had regional dimensions and ramifications, there had been little attempt to factor regional issues into the equation. On the Djibouti-Eritrea conflict, the Prime Minister referred to the UN Security Council resolution which had issued an ultimatum to Eritrea to withdraw its forces from the disputed territory within a prescribed time. This ultimatum had not materialized, and the effect was to discredit the Security Council for failing to implement its own decisions. The Security Council, he said, should not issue an ultimatum unless it was prepared to carry it out. This could only further bolster the defiance of the Eritrean Government, though he felt that the belief of the Eritrean Government, that it was immune to pressure or sanctions, must be seen as an illusion. He reminded the delegation that Ethiopia had decided to intervene in Somalia to stop the Al-Shabaab extremists from assuming political power there, as this would have poised an existential threat to Ethiopia. The operation had been accomplished in a matter of weeks, as planned. The removal of Al-Shabaab by Ethiopian forces had sent a clear message to the extremists as well as to Eritrea itself.
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President Issayas finds little to welcome in the world or even in Eritrea. The words that most commonly appear are challenge, conspiracy, hostility, sacrifice, hard work and yet more hard work. The rewards are all far in the future; and Eritrea is always the target. “The United Nations, including the Security Council, has become an unjust and inequitable tool of a few nations” indulging in “illegal and unconstructive” positions, as well as baseless slanders against Eritrea over the supply of arms to Al-Shabaab and opponents of the Somali Government, although the Somali Prime Minister said only this week that the Somali Government had detailed evidence of arms flights arriving from Eritrea. President Issayas told Egyptian State TV this week that the problems in Somalia mainly emanate from the illegal actions of the UN Security Council itself. In a comprehensive attack on the Council, President Issayas claimed it had taken illegal and unconstructive positions, breaching the UN Charter and international law. This, he claimed, had caused the present vacuum in Somalia and become the source for piracy and other activities. He said a government “imposed” from outside had further aggravated the problem. In this context he told Kenyan TV that IGAD was a tool in the service of foreign agendas and was the source of the problem in Somalia. Eritrea, he said, expected nothing good from such an impotent organization and this was why it had suspended its membership. The African Union came in for similar strictures as doing nothing more useful than “talking about a vacuum”. He referred to the behaviour of its leaders as corrupt and despicable, and in this connection he had much to say about democracy and the media in Africa. According to President Issayas, (talking to SABC TV at the weekend) Africa needs “genuine” democracy. Surprisingly, in view of South Africa’s recent Presidential election, he specifically noted that the South African experience proved that one cannot speak of real democracy when holding elections in which there is no equitable distribution of resources and where the majority of the population lived below the poverty line. President Issayas’ version of democracy, which ignores elections or political parties, does not equate with other peoples’ views. He is against such “meaningless exercises or manifestations of ostentatious behaviour”. In fact, democracy is an ideal and a set of institutions of practices. As an ideal it involves the concept that members of a group should have the determining control over rules and policies, and that members of the group should treat each other as equals. In a modern state this ideal is realized through a framework of citizens' rights, institutions for representative and accountable government (in particular through a freely elected parliament), an active civil society and a number of mediatory elements of which the most obvious are political parties and an independent media. None of these are present in Eritrea and President Issayas specifically rejects most of these, even claiming, in defiance of Eritrea’s still unimplemented constitution that the people of Eritrea do not want either political parties or an independent media. It was in an interview with Al-Jazeera last year that the President actually put a time frame on elections. Eritrea would have, he said, to wait three or four decades before it held elections, and possibly longer. On the media, President Issayas claimed there was no free press any where in the world today. However the Eritrean people, he claimed, possessed media organs that served as forums for expressing their views and opinions as well as providing them with correct and objective information. Eritrea, of course, has had no independent media outlets since they were all closed down abruptly in 2001 and at least two dozen journalists detained and dozens more exiled. Few international bodies or countries have escaped President Issayas’ attacks: “conspiracies and hostilities weaved in the name of regional, international and non-governmental organizations,…under the pretext of free press or [humanitarian activities] or…charity are some of the instruments of neo-colonialism masterminded by intelligence agencies.” The US has been one of the President’s main targets. He said it has a strategy of domination through creating problems and crises with the aim of strengthening US influence throughout the region. He attacked the CIA for encouraging and sponsoring human trafficking and encouraging Eritrean youth to flee their country. Hundreds of Eritreans cross into Ethiopia and Sudan every months to avoid conscription and repression. President Issayas told Asharq Alawat newspaper that lying was the culture of the CIA and the “baseless” anti-Eritrean defamatory campaign currently including allegations of Israeli and Iranian bases in Eritrea was no more than a continuation of this historic activity. Uganda and Burundi are attacked for sending forces for AMISOM in Somalia. They are categorized as far from stable countries, experiencing civil unrest as well as internal opposition. These governments should, said President Issayas, concentrate on their own problems rather than meddle elsewhere. Indeed, the only viable solution for Somalia, said President Issayas was for outsiders to stop meddling in its affairs. He did not include Eritrea in this however. Eritrea’s support for the Somali people was, he said, a moral and legal obligation; and peace and stability could only be achieved by creating a conducive ground for the Somali people to resolve the issue themselves. Kenya was held responsible for the disappearance of three Eritrean journalists in Mogadishu and President Issayas added, ominously, that Eritrea would never overlook the issue. Last weekend it was the turn of long-time ally, the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement. President Issayas, claiming he had the right to criticize the organization, attacked it for failing to fulfill its commitments to the people of Sudan, for corruption and for failing to be definitive on unity or separation. Perhaps, most bizarrely, in one four hour interview with what claims to be an Ethiopian website though undoubtedly in the pay of the Eritrean Government, President Issayas even tried to portray himself as a defender of Ethiopian unity. The interview indeed appears designed to allow President Issayas to appear in this guise. The truth of the matter is that no other person has worked so tirelessly for the demise of Ethiopia as a country. This is by no means an exaggeration. President Issayas has never been supportive of Ethiopian unity as his current efforts at destabilization make all too clear. Ethiopian officials, of course, are privy to what President Issayas was telling many African leaders during the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia (1998-2000): there is no such thing as Ethiopia and what there is, is no more than a shadow of a country – a country that cannot be taken seriously as a state. In terms of historical background, we would remember what President Issayas told an American, Paul Henze, on 11th March 1991, before he entered Asmara:
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Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
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