l        In an interview on Aljazeera TV on Monday, President IsiasAfwerki claimed the problems and instability of the Horn of Africa were the consequence of foreign interference, and largely the responsibility of the US. Somalis, he said, had proved they are against external forces, and they did not need foreign assistance. He made no mention of Eritrea's supporting role for the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) last year, or its continued support for opposition to the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG). Last year the Eritrean government provided significant quantities of arms and fighters for the UIC in Mogadishu and for armed opposition movements in Ethiopia. The Eritrean delegation to the recent IGAD ministers' meeting, denied accusations that Eritrea was still backing extremists in Somalia, but even after the defeat of the UIC in December Eritrea continued its support and is now offering assistance to any opponents of President Abdullahi Yusuf and the TFG.

l        President Isias' remarks came just before the end of a week-long meeting of Somali opposition leaders (April 10-17) hosted by the Eritrean government in Asmara. Those attending included Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, the former Speaker of the Parliament, finally sacked in January by Parliament several weeks after he left the TFG for the UIC; and Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the former chairman of the UIC executive council, who resigned on December 27 as the UIC fled from Mogadishu.

l        The most recent arrival has been Hussein Mohamed Farah Aideed, apparently upset by being moved from the position of Deputy Prime Minister (Politics and Security) to the ministry of housing in the TFG in February. An enthusiastic supporter of Ethiopian assistance for the TFG until very recently, Hussein Aideed even called a few weeks ago, quite unrealistically, for the removal of borders between Ethiopia and Somalia. He is now demanding for Ethiopian troops to leave Somalia immediately. He has, of course, been allied with Eritrea before, in 1999, during the Eritrean-Ethiopian war when Eritrea sent hundreds of OLF fighters and weaponry to help Hussein, then an important warlord, in return for his agreement to facilitate OLF efforts to infiltrate into southern Ethiopia.

l        In a communiqué issued on Wednesday, the Somali opposition leaders expressed their gratitude to President Isias for his positive role in finding peaceful solutions for Somalia. The communiqué condemned Ethiopia's "occupation" of Somalia, and specifically the fighting of March 29 - April 1, accusing Ethiopian troops of war crimes, killing over 1000 and injuring more than 4,000 civilians, and of extensive property damage.

l        In fact, the fighting came when TFG and Ethiopian forces extended security into three areas of Mogadishu. The last two months of extremist activity, including assassinations of government officials and supporters and the widespread, random mortar and shelling attacks on houses and offices, causing numerous civilian casualties, all originated in these districts. Attacks were also made on the headquarters of the AMISOM force and its planes.

l        The communiqué condemned the US and criticized the stance of Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda at the recent IGAD Council of Ministers' meeting, but not that of Sudan or Djibouti despite their full support for the deployment of AMISOM. It called for Ethiopia to withdraw its troops immediately or face an all-out war. Ethiopian forces were of course invited into Somalia by the legitimate government of Somalia, the TFG, to help resist the attacks of the UIC. Two thirds of the Ethiopians troops left after the defeat of the UIC last December. The remainder, whose presence in Mogadishu was actually requested by Haiwye clan elders and civil society groups at the end of December, will leave as soon as the rest of the planned 8,000 strong AMISOM peace-keeping force is deployed.

l        Sheikh Sharif, despite the refusal of the UIC to negotiate in good faith with the TFG last year, claimed negotiations would be possible once foreign forces left. Referring to the TFG's proposed National Reconciliation Conference, now postponed until mid July, Hussein Aideed said reconciliation could only begin when any external occupation ends. The Eritrean government has associated itself with this position, and on a recent visit to Eritrea President Museveni of Uganda was told by President Isias that there would be "serious" consequences if Ugandan troops remained in Somalia.

l        The BBC has reported on a campaign to 'Free the Ethiopian Captives' that has been launched in Addis Ababa by colleagues and friends to press for the release of the nine Ethiopians, together with five Europeans, taken hostage seven weeks ago in the north of the Afar regional state. The hostages were seized by a group organized by, and operating out of Eritrea, one of several such groups set up by President Isias as part of a deliberate policy to encourage destabilization of Eritrea's neighbors.  The Europeans were released two weeks later after negotiations with Afar elders, but the Ethiopians are still being held. Thousands of signatures have already been collected, and the organizers plan to approach the AU and the UN to build up international support. There has been no firm news of the hostages' condition since the release of the five Europeans, or of exactly where they are held, except that it is somewhere in Eritrea. The government has called on the international community to put pressure on Eritrea to effect their release.

l        The Minister of Culture and Tourism, Ambassador Mohamoud Dirir, this week called for the western media to represent Ethiopia objectively, and produce balanced and accurate reports. Speaking to European journalists in Ethiopia to report on the Millennium celebrations, he said reports often tended to be one-sided and to magnify negative elements. It was important that reports should display the reality on the ground, to redress the "media-distorted image" of Ethiopia, and provide the international community with accurate information about positive developments.