·Medicins Sans
Frontieres NOT refused access to the Somali Regional State
·Foreign
Minister Seyoum at the Non-Aligned Meeting in Teheran
·Prime
Minister Meles meets a Congressional delegation and the Chinese Minister
of Agriculture.
Mogadishu
Reconciliation Congress resolutions – what next
New
International Health Partnership agreement signed in London
The Ethiopian-Eritrean Boundary
Commission has been holding a meeting with the two parties in The Hague
on September 6 and 7. Previous efforts to move the process have all
failed due to Eritrea’s intransigence. There is, however, one
qualitative difference this time. In recent months, Eritrea has not
simply confined itself to impeding progress on demarcation by severely
restricting the activities of the UN Mission to Eritrea and Ethiopia
(UNMEE), or by continuing its threats to use force against Ethiopia. As
the Secretary General’s report of 18 July 2007 made clear, Eritrea has
effectively demolished the Temporary Security Zone. It has deployed its
troops and heavy military equipment in the Zone, in flagrant violations
of international law, of the Algiers Agreements, and of numerous
resolutions of the Security Council. Eritrea has also intensified its
arming and training of terrorist elements with the intention of creating
havoc in the entire region, not just Ethiopia. It is in these grave
circumstances that the EEBC chose to hold the meeting in The Hague.
It is fitting to recall at this
time what the Witnesses to the Algiers Agreement, in their meeting of
February 22, 2006, said: they “...urge(d) the parties to permit UNMEE to
perform its duties without any restrictions and call(ed) on the parties to
ensure the free movement of UNMEE personnel in the performance of their
responsibilities . . . In particular, the Witnesses note that demarcation
of the border cannot proceed unless UNMEE is allowed full freedom of
movement throughout its area of operations” . The Witnesses also
emphasized the need for technical discussions with the support of a
neutral facilitator to assist with the process of demarcation.
On Tuesday this week, the
international NGO Medicins San Frontieres (MSF), Doctors Without
Borders, alleged it had been prevented from working in the Somali
Regional State. In a press conference in Nairobi, it claimed it had been
denied access to the region which faced a “humanitarian crisis”. As MSF
knows perfectly well, this is not true, as was made quite clear to MSF
officials in Addis Ababa earlier in the week. MSF chose to go ahead with
its press conference despite this. In fact, the agency has never been
refused access to the region, as was again made clear in a meeting in
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today between MFA officials and an MSF
delegation from its headquarters in Holland.
Certainly the security situation
in some districts of the Somali Regional State did deteriorate following
the terrorist massacre at Adole in April, when the Ogaden National
Liberation Front (ONLF) slaughtered 74 Ethiopian and Chinese workers. The
ONLF, after receiving arms from Eritrea through the Islamic Courts in
Somalia last year, carried out a number of other operations including
grenade attacks on public gatherings in Jigjiga and Deghabhur, as well as
continuing to burn villages and assassinate clan elders opposed to it.
Government counter-terrorist operations have been largely successful.
Following the MSF claims, the
Somali Regional State government issued a statement pointing out that MSF
claims were inaccurate and distorted, and damaging to regional
development. The statement said that MSF allegations were in violation of
its code of ethical conduct and a breach of its claimed neutrality,
amounting to propaganda for armed groups intent upon turning the region
into a zone of conflict. Indeed, MFS statements appeared to be part of a
deliberate smear campaign. The claims made by MSF mirror the allegations
of the New York Times’ journalist, Jeffery Gettleman, whose reports on the
Somali Regional State from Nairobi and most recently from Sudan, have
provided the ONLF with a completely uncritical platform for its
propaganda, ignoring, inter alia, its terrorist activities or its links
with Eritrea.
The regional government statement
pointed out that MSF was in violation of agreements signed with the
regional government and with the DPPA. NGOs work with government
permission; they cannot give orders nor make demands as MSF appears to
want to do. The UN assessment mission began work last weekend. Mr.
Sarassoro, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Co-ordinator has made it clear
he hopes the mission will provide a clearer picture of the humanitarian
situation in the Region and support the delivery of assistance where
necessary. The mission completed its work on Thursday and will present its
findings to the government next week. Both the Somali Regional State
government and the Federal government have made it clear that anyone may
visit the region.
There are, of course,
humanitarian needs in the Somali Regional State at the moment. This is why
the WFP and other agencies, including the Federal Disaster Prevention and
Preparedness Agency have been providing food distribution to areas in
need. People have also been targeted by ONLF armed groups and in some
cases forced to abandon their villages. The ‘Gu’ rains have been below
average and food prices have risen. The Famine Early Warning System,
reporting at the end of August, said that the decline in income, however,
in most livelihood zones, had not reached a level where emergency
intervention was necessary.
The Non-Aligned Movement’s
ministerial meeting on “Human Rights and Cultural Diversity” was held
this week in Teheran. In his speech, Foreign Minister Seyoum, noted the
subject was both vital and timely. Human rights and cultural diversity
was, he said, a matter of survival for the Non-Aligned Movement; it was
about defending “our being and dignity”. Basic values, Minister Seyoum
said, have been systematically undermined. The Non-Aligned movement
must, collectively, defend the principles of mutual respect, tolerance
and peaceful co-existence. The world may be globalized but it is also
composed of societies with diverse identities; the recognition of human
rights and cultural diversity is a universal obligation. Minister Seyoum
noted that the theme had a very particular meaning for Ethiopia as on
September 12 it was ushering in its Third Millennium. He said this had
been endorsed by the AU and the UN, and he added” I would like to seize
this opportunity to invite you all to join in the celebration of this
unique historic event.”
The Non-Aligned Movement’s
ministerial meeting adopted the Teheran Declaration and a program of
action. The Declaration affirmed the importance of preserving and
developing cultural heritage, of respecting cultural diversity as a core
value, recognizing national and regional peculiarities, and called on the
international community to guarantee the right of all to access a culture
of their own. The Declaration expressed solidarity against new forms of
colonialism and uni-culturalism, urged the international community to
promote the fair treatment of migrants, reiterated that all human rights
were equal, encouraged the use of education as a tool for tolerance,
stressed the need for developing communication technologies, and
recognized the importance of the media and the necessity to develop a
universal strategy to promote its responsibilities. The Declaration called
on all scholars and academic institutions to intensify the dialogue on
human rights and cultural diversity and decided to establish a Non-Aligned
Movement Centre for Human Rights and Cultural Diversity, in Teheran.
While in Iran, Foreign Minister
Seyoum met his Iranian counter-part, Manouchehr Mottaki, who told Minister
Seyoum that Iran was ready to discuss possible purchases of oil by
Ethiopia, and was ready to co-operate in the fields of agriculture and
industry. Foreign Minister Mottaki said Iran had the capacity to assist in
the construction of power plants as well as dams and building
construction. Minister Seyoum welcomed the expansion of economic
co-operation between Ethiopia and Iran, and called on Iran to increase its
investment in Ethiopia’s agricultural sector.
Last Friday, Prime Minister
Meles assured a visiting US Congress delegation of Ethiopia's commitment
to foster peace and stability in Africa and the surrounding region in
collaboration with all those that supported peace. During talks with US
Congressional delegation leader, Sheila Jackson Lee, Prime Minister
Meles emphasized Ethiopia's interest in further consolidating its
friendly ties with the US and working closely with it on East African
regional issues. For her part, Mrs. Lee appreciated Ethiopia's
outstanding contribution to sustainable peace in Somalia and the Darfur
region of Sudan. The support Ethiopia had provided for the successful
National Reconciliation Congress in Somalia, she said, had won the
country real recognition for its efforts. She noted that the Ethiopian
peace-keeping forces deployed to Burundi and Liberia were a testimony to
Ethiopia's support for conflict prevention in the region. On the agenda
of the talks between Prime Minister Meles and Congresswoman Lee were
investment and agricultural technological transfer.
Prime Minister Meles told
Chinese Agricultural Minister, Sun Zhengcai, this week that Ethiopia has
significantly benefited from its multi-faceted cooperation with China.
Ethiopia and China, he said, had forged co operation in numerous fields,
including trade, construction and investment. Conferring with Mr. Sun
Zhengcai, Prime Minister Meles said his government was keenly interested
to scale up existing cooperation with China and to promote the
China-Africa Cooperation Forum which aims to strengthen economic and
trade relations between China and Africa. Minister Sun Zhengcai
described as excellent the two countries’ cooperation in agriculture,
which he said reinforced strong ties in a number of other sectors.
Economic and cultural links, he said, were currently gaining momentum.
Ethiopia and China have also agreed to establish an agricultural
research institute in Ethiopia. The Minister said Ethiopia and China
were working closely on South-South cooperation, and he particularly
appreciated the active role Prime Minister Meles was playing in
promoting the China-Africa Forum.
Following the successful
conclusion of the National Reconciliation Congress in Mogadishu,
Somalia’s Parliament will now discuss the Congress’ resolutions before
adopting them. The resolutions will then go to the President for
implementation. President Abdullahi Yusuf has already said the
government will accept the resolutions of the Congress and implement
them in full. In the meantime, the Parliament has summoned the Chief of
Police, the Head of the National Security Agency and the Mayor of
Mogadishu to explain their efforts to end insurgency and crime in the
city. Police commander, General Abdi Hassan Awale Qeybiid said on
Wednesday that the restructuring of the police force was now complete.
Training was continuing in several centers and a riot police unit was
being formed. General Abdi said the police had taken over all necessary
police institutions, though he admitted that the force was only
operating at forty percent of needed capacity. Even so, he said, there
is no place in Mogadishu that is not under police control.
Meanwhile, Kenya has re-opened its
embassy in Mogadishu. The formal opening ceremony on Thursday last week
was attended by President Abdullahi Yusuf. It is the fourth African
country to open an embassy in Mogadishu, after Libya, Sudan, and Ethiopia.
The Kenyan foreign ministry said that the re-opening of the embassy would
strengthen relations between the two countries. Kenya’s Assistant Foreign
Minister, Kembi Getura, reaffirmed Kenya’s commitment to the full
restoration of peace and stability in Somalia. He noted that Kenya had
played a major role in the peace process, and called on nations of good
will to give their unconditional support to Somalia.
On Wednesday, the World Bank said
Somalia’s economy had continued to be propped up by livestock exports and
remittances. The World Bank manager for Somalia said the recent conflicts
had not had any negative impact. Neither imports nor exports had been
affected by the removal of the Islamic Courts or the subsequent terrorist
insurgency. Indeed, exports to the Middle East rose by 20% last year to
US$ 299 million; and imports increased from US$ 626 million to over US$790
million. Remittance flows from overseas, according to the World Bank, have
remained constant, amounting to between US$800 million and US$1 billion
annually.
A new International Health
Partnership to build national health systems in some of the world’s
poorer countries was formally launched on Wednesday in London. The IHP
includes the World Health Authority, the World Bank, the European
Commission, the African Development Bank, different UN organizations,
the Bill Gates Foundation, and various donor governments, the UK’s
Department for International Development, Norway, Germany, France, Italy
and Canada. The meeting in London was attended by the Ministers of
Health of the seven “first wave” countries to benefit: Burundi,
Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Zambia, Cambodia and Nepal. All are
committed to increase public spending for heath care and to ensure that
this will reach the poorest people. Donor partners will agree to work
toward providing longer-term and more predictable funding, which will
allow for better planning, and provide funds for health worker salaries,
building and maintaining clinics and hospitals and training for new
doctors and nurses. Better co-ordination brings results. Ethiopia’s
national program to provide universal primary health care has been
backed by a number of donors: and over 17,000 new salaried female Health
Extension Workers, based in health posts close to their communities, now
provide preventive services and basic health care. Launching the IHP,
UK’s Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, said “today we come together - donor
governments, health agencies and developing countries – with the
certainty we have the knowledge and the power to save millions of lives
through our efforts.” The aim of the IHP is to simplify health
assistance, making it easier and cheaper to deal with, as well as focus
on building sustainable health systems concentrating on the provision of
doctors and nurses and providing basic services. Following the signing
of the global level agreement, individual agreements will be developed
for the separate countries. Ethiopia’s Minister of Health, Teodros
Adhanom, who attended the signing in London, said he expected the IHP
would allow Ethiopia to use a higher proportion of currently available
aid. He emphasized that it would provide for major changes in the ways
of working by donors and international agencies. It would also mean
better health results, and eventually that more money would be available
for health care in Ethiopia.
Ethiopian Millennium is approaching fast and a number of Heads of State
and dignitaries would be arriving in Addis Ababa to celebrate the New
Year on 12 September, which is also the start of the year 2000. Home to
diverse and colorful cultures, festivities celebrating the rich
traditions of Ethiopians will be at the center of the Millennium
celebrations. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to seize this
opportunity to express to its esteemed readers a Happy Ethiopian New
Year and a Brand New Millennium.