In its ‘A Week in the Horn’ report, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) raised issues on the Sana’a Cooperation Forum, Korea-Africa Forum, the hopeful signs in Mogadishu and the need for  change of policy in Eritrea.

Sana’a Cooperation Forum’s solidarity with Yemen

The Sana’a Cooperation Forum has expressed its sympathy and full solidarity with the Government and people of the Republic of Yemen over its problems with the Al-Houthi rebels in the Malahidh area near Yemen’s border with Saudi Arabia. The members of the Sana’a Forum are Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. A delegation of the Foreign Ministers of Ethiopia (Mr. Seyoum Mesfin), Somalia (Mr. Ali Ahmed Jama), and Djibouti (Mr. Mohamud Yusuf, who is also Minister of International Cooperation), and Mr. Mustafa Osman, Advisor to the President of Sudan, representing the member countries of the Forum and its leaders delivered a message of support and solidarity to President Ali Abdellah Saleh. The delegation called for the avoidance of any foreign intervention that did not serve the interests of the Government and people of the Republic of Yemen. Lack of peace and stability in Yemen directly affects the neighboring countries, including the members of the Sana’a Cooperation Forum. Foreign Minister Seyoum, who led the delegation, also carried a message from Prime Minister Meles, in his capacity as Chairman of IGAD, to President Ali Abdellah Saleh, underlining IGAD’s concern and its support for peace and security in Yemen which he said was vital for the whole region. The ministerial delegation expressed their interest in the maintenance of security and stability in Yemen and emphasized their governments' firm position on Yemen’s unity and territorial integrity, rejecting any acts of violence carried out with the help of external forces. The ministers made it clear they objected to the involvement of any outside forces in the internal affairs of the Republic of Yemen and expressed their understanding that such acts had a negative effect on the Government’s peace efforts. Specifically citing the Eritrean government which has been accused of sending arms to the Al-Houthi, the ministers called upon all those concerned to urgently stop any such activities. Two weeks ago, the Saudi Arabian Government implemented a naval blockade off the North Yemen coast aimed to stop arms being smuggled to the Al-Houthi rebels from across the Red Sea. Yemen says that its navy intercepted an arms shipment in the Red Sea at the end of October. There are claims that some countries which have warships in the area on anti-piracy patrols is also using a longer route to send arms to the Al-Houthi rebels, starting from the Eritrean port of Assab and sending the arms via the Gulf of Aden to Yemen’s southern coast, and then overland to the Saada mountains where the Al-Houthi are based.

In reply to the delegation, President Ali Abdellah Saleh welcomed the message of sympathy and solidarity from his colleagues in the Sana’a Cooperation Forum member states. He briefed the ministerial delegation on the causes of the conflict, on current prevailing developments and in particular the situation in both North and South of Yemen. He detailed the Government’s Five Point Peace Policy initiative for reconciliation, and explained how this had turned out to be an error as the rebels had mistakenly taken the policy as an illustration of government weaknesses. President Ali Abdellah Saleh detailed the implications of foreign involvement in Yemen’s domestic affairs and the role of regional countries. In conclusion he underlined the importance of enhancing cooperation, partnership and solidarity among the member countries of the Sana’a Forum as the basis for security and stability in the Horn of Africa and the southern Red Sea region. In the spirit of the Sana’a Cooperation Forum, the ministers in joint press releases affirmed their countries' support to the Republic of Yemen and to its security, stability and unity. They made it clear Yemen's security and stability were inseparable from their own and from that of the region. They expressed their confidence in the ability of President Ali Abdellah Saleh to overcome the challenges presently facing the Republic of Yemen, and reiterated their rejection of any intervention in Yemen's internal affairs by external forces.

The Second Korea-Africa Forum meets in Seoul

The second Korea-Africa Forum was held from 23 to 25 November, in Seoul, Korea with the Ministerial meeting preceded by a meeting of senior officials. The meeting was attended by fifteen African countries, representing the African Union, NEPAD and the eight Regional Economic Communities of Africa. Ethiopia was one of the countries participating and the Ethiopian delegation was led by Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin who co-chaired the Forum, representing Africa, with Mr. Yu Myung-Hwan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade for the Republic of Korea. Mr. Chung Woonchan, Prime Minister of Korea, Mr. Abdoulaye Wade, President of the Republic of Senegal, Mr. Yu Myung-Hwan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Korea, and Dr. Jean Ping Chairperson of the AU Commission addressed the Forum at its opening ceremony, underlining the importance of the Korea-Africa partnership. In his opening address, Minister Seyoum said that Africa could learn a lot from Korea's enormous strides in dealing with poverty and improving the living standards of its citizens. He further expressed his hope that this rejuvenated partnership of the two sides would serve the interests of the people of Africa and Korea. He emphasized that "Korea's advanced technology, efficient and affective management expertise and extensive experience in fostering human resource development [could] create tremendous synergies when combined with the huge human and natural resources of Africa".

The meeting discussed ways to achieve economic development while protecting the environment through, among others, increasing trade and promoting Korean investment in Africa. It also discussed infrastructure and sustainable natural resource development; information and communication technology; human resources development; agricultural and rural development as well as green growth partnership and the sharing of Korea's development experience. At the end of its meeting the Forum adopted the Seoul Declaration and the Framework for Korea-Africa Development Cooperation as well as the Korea-Africa Green Growth Initiative. In the Seoul Declaration, Korea committed itself to double development assistance to Africa between 2008 and 2012 - last year it provided US$ 107 million to Africa in ODA. As part of the Declaration, the two parties reaffirmed their support for an expanded United Nations role in a more globalized world and their backing for international efforts to counter terrorism. Korea pledged to increase the number of trainees from Africa to 5,000 and Korean volunteers to Africa to more than 1,000 by 2012.

Under the Korea-Africa Green Growth Initiative 2009-2012, the two sides agreed to expand bilateral and multilateral dialogue to strengthen their partnership for low-carbon, environmentally friendly growth. The two parties agreed to cooperate in exploring clean development projects and share more adaptable policies and technologies for climate change. The Forum discussed the need to strengthen cooperation to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In his keynote address on the issue of climate change, Minister Seyoum indicated that significant economic progress has been made in many African countries in recent years. Some, including Ethiopia, had even achieved double-digit economic growth. But, he said, the impact of climate change had already started threatening these advances. Africa's development aspirations were therefore at stake unless urgent steps were taken to address the problem of climate change. Ato Seyoum highlighted Korea's impressive environmentally friendly and sustainable economic development to overcome the myriad challenges of poverty. He emphasized that the Korea-Africa Green Growth Initiative could be considered as a continuation of Korea's unique development paradigm from which Africa could draw lessons. He said the Copenhagen summit was an opportunity for Africa to secure benefits from stepped-up action on climate change, action that would contribute to both poverty eradication and sustainable development. Minster Seyoum called on the international community to ensure that the rise in global temperature does not go beyond the 2 degree centigrade mark and that global emissions peak by 2020 at the latest. This, he underlined, was necessary to deal with the negative impacts of global warming on Africa's development. As a follow-up mechanism, the two sides agreed to hold the forum every three years so that it could function as the comprehensive channel of cooperation between the two sides – the first Forum was held in 2006. The two sides plan to hold an expert-level meeting next year and a senior official-level meeting in the second year to review the progress of cooperation projects. The meeting agreed to hold the third Korea-Africa Forum in 2012 in a venue to be decided after consultation. After the formal meetings the ministers and delegates traveled to the Gyeongsangbuk-do province where they paid visits to industrial and cultural sites including a visit to the museum of the "Seamaul Undong Movement", a rural development program which contributed to Korea's economic growth, to the SAMSUNG electronic company and the Youngdo Velvet Textile Company.

On the sidelines of the Forum, Minister Seyoum held talks with Mr. Yu Myung-hwan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Korea and with Mr. Kim Yang, Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. In discussions with his counterpart, Ato Seyoum explained Ethiopia’s on-going socio-economic transformation. He called upon the Korean government to engage in a meaningful partnership in carrying out various projects in Ethiopia and invited the Korean private sector to participate in the various attractive investment opportunities currently available to them. Mr. Yu expressed his country's readiness to assist, and said Korea would increase its ODA assistance to Ethiopia by up to US$ 20 million in the next few years. In the meeting with the Patriots and Veterans Affairs Minister, the two ministers discussed the historic bond created between the two countries as a result of Ethiopia's participation in the Korean War under the auspices of the UN. Ato Seyoum also held discussions with senior representatives of the Keangnam Enterprise Ltd. and with Daewoo on investment opportunities and partnership schemes in Ethiopia.

In general, the Forum provided a unique opportunity for Africa and Korea to exchange views and experiences on issues of mutual interest and explore further ways of strengthening economic cooperation and sharing in many areas in which Korea has a comparative advantage. It also offered a great opportunity to create a more dynamic synergy between economic growth and environmental issues with the adoption of the paradigm of “green growth”.

Ethiopia’s Human Rights Reports presented to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights

Ethiopia presented its Human Rights Reports under the African Charter of Human and Peoples’ Rights during the 46th Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The session was held November 11-25, in Banjul, the Gambia where the Commission has its headquarters. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights was established by the Charter of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in 1981 within the African Union to promote human and peoples’ rights and ensure their protection. The Commission consists of eleven members drawn from African personalities of high competence, integrity and reputation in matters of human and peoples’ rights from a list of persons nominated by the State Parties to the Charter. Ethiopia became a State Party to the Charter in 1998. State Parties have the obligation under Article 62 of the Charter to submit a report every two years on legislative and other measures taken in respect to giving effect to the rights and freedoms recognized and guaranteed by the Charter. The dialogue that takes place between the Commission and the State on the implementation of the provision of the Charter during presentation of State Reports is constructive and not investigative in nature. The combined report Ethiopia submitted to the Commission constitutes the initial and periodic reports that have been due since 2000. The report followed the Guidelines and Supplementary Guidelines for National Periodic Reports under the African Charter and describes the various legislative and other measures taken by Ethiopia towards the realization of the fundamental human and peoples’ rights and freedoms incorporated in the Charter.

Ethiopia’s State Report was considered on the 13th of November. After an introductory statement of its executive summary by Ambassador Fisseha Yimer, Special Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Commissioners forwarded more than 80 general and specific questions covering the judiciary, the rights of women, health care, education, prisons, freedom of press, freedom of expression, elections, human rights defenders, pastoralists and the status of regional treaties. The Ethiopian delegation, which included Ethiopia’s ambassador to Senegal, Ambassador Hassen Abdulkadir, presented its reply the next day. In a concluding statement, the Commissioner in Charge of the human rights situation in Ethiopia, Mrs. Atoke Dupi, observed that the report was quite comprehensive and adhered to the reporting guidelines of the Commission. She congratulated the Government of Ethiopia for complying with its reporting obligations under the Charter. The Commissioner acknowledged the possible challenges to the promotion and protection of human rights in Ethiopia. She commended the initiative to establish a Human Rights Center in the Ministry of Justice. She also praised the practice of Ethiopia in incorporating the international treaties to which it is party into its legal system.

On the whole the report was well received by the Commissioners. The Commissioners praised the format, the detailed treatment of each issue in the report and the seriousness with which the report was prepared. Among the questions raised was the extent of consultations with civil society in the preparation of the report. As the response noted, formal invitations were sent to a number of organizations with a particular interest in human rights to obtain the views of stake holders, several of which accepted and participated in the preparation of the report. In view of the length of the report and the number of questions raised by the Commissioners, the delegation promised to submit written replies to those questions requiring facts and figures. The delegation was encouraged by the treatment given to the report by the Commission especially since this was the first report produced since Ethiopia became a party to the Charter. We look forward to the concluding observations by the Commission which will be forwarded to the Government following its full consideration of the report. Botswana and the Republic of Congo also presented their State Reports during the same session of the Commission.

Puntland shocked by statement from a US Congressional office

On Friday last week, the office of Congressman Donald Payne, Chairman of the US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, issued a press statement sharply attacking the Government and President of Puntland for what the statement called abusive and dictatorial behavior. The statement referred to the arrest of five men in October by the Puntland authorities and said one had been handed over to Ethiopia and another killed in prison. It claimed this wasn’t the first time the Puntland authorities had “harassed, tortured, killed and handed over” people from the Ogaden region. The statement said Congressman Payne had discussed the handing over of Ogadenis to Ethiopian authorities with President Abdirahman Mohamed Mohamud “Farole” when he had invited him to testify to his Sub-committee on Somalia in June this year. It also said the Congressman had contacted President Abdirahman on two occasions to urge him to release the five arrested in October. Nothing, however, had been done, and the statement complained that the Puntland authorities were now issuing threats against ‘non-Puntland’ individuals. The press statement concluded by demanding that those responsible for the killing of the prisoner, and for the intimidation of Ogadenis, be held accountable, including any senior officials who might have authorized such measures. The statement threatened that “any failure to act quickly on this matter will have serious consequences”, though it does not specify what action is proposed if the Puntland Government ignored these warnings.

Whoever was responsible for the statement, which was issued without any stamp, it cannot be helpful to security in the sub-region. It appears designed to try and inflame feelings. In fact, Ethiopia and Puntland have good relations which support peace and security and promote human rights in the region. Not surprisingly, the Government of Puntland has strongly rejected the statement describing is as “misrepresentation”, and “focused on threats and baseless accusations” without any basis whatever. Puntland Good Governance and State Minister, Mohammed Farah Isse Gashan, suggested that the statement must be the work of other people using the Congressman’s office. The Minister pointed out that the meeting between the President of Puntland and Congressman Payne in mid November in Nairobi had ended without any misunderstanding. Puntland, the Minister stressed, was not a dictatorial regime and its leaders were democratically elected; it was now moving towards the formation of political parties. He emphasized that Puntland had a duty to protect its security and noted that “anyone found to be in violation of the law will be arrested and charged.” The Minister said Ethiopia and Puntland had agreements on cooperation over security but he dismissed reports that Puntland had handed over people to Ethiopia. He said that it was true the authorities in Puntland had arrested a number of people from the Somali region of Ethiopia, but they were currently held in prison in Bosasso and would soon be brought to court and charged. One, he said, had died of natural causes.

It might be noted that this press statement from Congressman Payne’s office comes at a time when Puntland has been making efforts to secure assistance from the US and European countries to deal with its major current concerns - the menace of piracy and of Al-Shabaab terrorist activity. A number of attacks by pirates have originated from Puntland harbors, and the Puntland authorities have been looking for assistance in taking action against these pirates and in assisting the international community in helping to end the scourge of piracy. In recent weeks, Puntland has been hit by a number of terrorist assassinations and bombings which have intensified the Government’s concerns over the threat of Al-Shabaab activity in Puntland. Al-Shabaab recently accused the authorities in Puntland of being “un-Islamic” and of suppressing the population of Puntland. A spokesman for Al-Shabaab in Kismayo claimed the Puntland Government did not implement Shari’a law. The comments followed the assassination of two senior Puntland officials two weeks ago, a lawmaker and a judge, and a bomb explosion in Galkayo. The judge had presided over trials of people suspected of involvement in piracy and of membership of Al-Shabaab. Al-Shabaab was accused of responsibility for these terrorist actions, though an Al-Shabaab spokesman attributed them to what he called the growing insecurity in the Puntland due to the lack of Islamic rule: “Any place where there is no Islamic rule, you will see insecurity”, he threatened. Puntland doesn’t need any additional threats.

Hopeful signs in Mogadishu?

The African Development Bank has given a two million dollar grant to the TFG to support its financial sector. The resumption of formal links between the Somali Government and the ADB is encouraging. Finance Minister Hassan Cheikh Issak said Somalia has been an active member of the ADB in the past, and it was exciting to be back in business. The TFG also appears to be gaining revenues from the operations of the port of Mogadishu, one of the areas guarded by AMISOM troops. This week, Hizbul Islam’s chairman, Sheikh Hassan Dahir ‘Aweys’, said Hizbul Islam was re-opening El Man port to the north of Mogadishu in an apparent attempt to divert traffic away from Mogadishu port. Sheikh ‘Aweys’ called on all Somalis to use El Man rather than Mogadishu port which he said was providing revenues for the Government and was therefore providing for the “continuation of civil war in Somalia”.

At the beginning of the week, President Sheikh Sharif attended the graduation ceremony of 900 TFG police trainees at AMISOM headquarters. The trainees are expected to be deployed in Mogadishu shortly. The occasion appears to have spurred Al-Shabaab on to try and disrupt the ceremony as it launched attacks against TFG and AMISOM forces. AMISOM has also been in action when Hizbul Islam attacked its forces and Government troops. Despite these clashes, the overall trend of violence has been down, with increasing numbers of people showing their weariness with the continued attacks launched by extremists. Indications are that local support for Al-Shabaab in Mogadishu has dropped significantly. It remains particularly important that the international community should provide consistent and meaningful support to the TFG, and continue the training of security forces as urgently as possible. Some progress has been made, and another 350 Somali troops finished their training by French forces in Djibouti last week, but the sense of urgency still appears to be lacking. The European Union has announced that it is planning to send a 100 strong training unit to Uganda to train Somali government forces. The mission is likely to be led by Spain which will take over the EU Presidency in January, and France, Britain, Slovenia, Hungary and Greece may also contribute. The aim is to train 2000 Somali soldiers, complementing other training missions and bringing the number of trained Somali troops to 6000. The training, however, is unlikely to start for some months. 

 Now is the time to insist on changes of policy by Eritrea

Early this week, the Permanent Representative of Eritrea to the United Nations wrote to the President of the Security Council to denounce the draft resolution tabled in the Security Council last week. The resolution called for sanctions on Eritrea following its open support of extremist and terrorist opposition to the TFG in Somalia and its wider activities in the region of the Horn of Africa. This resolution was referred to experts for further analysis and has yet to come up for a vote.

Ambassador Araya’s letter took the expected line of suggesting that Eritrea’s interest and involvement in Somalia had been misunderstood. He claimed Eritrea did not favor or support a military solution in Somalia, did not support one party as opposed to another, nor work with one against others. Eritrea holds that any solution needs participation of all key Somali actors in an inclusive political process. The Ambassador also claimed that Eritrea has been attempting to organize such a process by engaging with various countries in the region to encourage an inclusive process. All this might sound persuasive but the Ambassador’s letter makes no mention of a number of undeniable facts:

1. Eritrea has consistently and publicly denied the legality of the TFG in Mogadishu, thus denying the inclusivity of a majority of Somali political figures, and calling for its overthrow;

2. It has repeatedly backed minority extremist elements, starting with the ICU in 2006, and among these have been Sheikh Hassan Dahir ‘Aweys’, who was provided with a base in Eritrea for over two years, and then in May 2009 was given sufficient quantities of arms to attempt the overthrow of the internationally recognized Somali Government in conjunction with the terrorist organization, Al-Shabaab;

3. It has consistently supported Hizbul Islam, the organization of Sheikh ‘Aweys’, and encouraged his connections with Al-Shabaab, and both, according to UN Monitoring Reports, have been the recipient of Eritrean arms;

4. Fighters from both Hizbul Islam and Al-Shabaab, who have been captured or who have defected in Mogadishu, have made no secret of the fact they have received training in Eritrea;

 5. Members of the terrorist Ogaden National Liberation Front that has been operating in Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State have confirmed Eritrean support and training;

6. Last year, Eritrean troops crossed the border into Djibouti, and they remain there despite UN Resolutions and international calls for their withdrawal;

7. There are currently plausible allegations today that Eritrea has been supplying arms to rebels in Yemen, as it has been doing for several anti-government elements involved in armed struggle in Ethiopia, and for rebels in several other parts of the region.

Eritrea, in fact, far from assisting in trying to resolve the problems in Somalia has been encouraging the differences between political organizations there and actively supporting two of the most extreme factions, both identified as terrorist organizations. It has consistently, since its invasion of Ethiopia in 1998, worked for the destabilization of the Horn of Africa. It has never responded positively to any reasonable approaches as Ethiopia knows only too well with all its efforts to open dialogue and normalize relations since 2000 being aggressively rejected. Asmara and its President have consistently made it clear that prudence and negotiations are to be seen as a sign of weakness. Flexibility is seen as a sign of compliance with “the enemy”, and the enemy is apparently the rest of the world.

Nevertheless, however, as we noted last week, the Eritrean Government is prepared to abandon its normal intransigence and stubbornness on (rare) occasions, if only under duress and temporarily. It has been a regime following the logic of war since 1998, and even earlier; it is a regime driven by violence, and it only responds to overwhelming pressure as it did, albeit briefly in February 1999 and May 2000, when it acted in the same predictable manner. Demonstrating a complete inability to consider any reasonable course of action, it remained intransigent until the last minute and then succumbing under duress. Equally, it returned to its implacable immovability as soon as possible subsequently. It finds any departure from this, even with a gimmick such as the Ambassador’s letter, extremely difficult. Indeed, this is demonstrated by Ambassador Araya’s letter. Despite his supposed moderation, the Ambassador berates the Security Council for acts “contrary to the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations”, repeating a number of attacks the Eritrean Government has made against the Security Council in the last two or three years. He even insists on raising the issue of the Eritrean Ethiopia border, continuing to claim this is at the heart of what he calls the turbulent situation in the region, and suggests it lies behind the conflicts in the region. As Ethiopia has consistently pointed out, and indeed as Eritrea does not deny, it has been Eritrea which has been behind many of the problems of the region. To put down Eritrea’s invasion of Djibouti or its support for terrorism in Somalia to “frustration” with Ethiopia and the UN is carrying absurdity a step too far. To then claim, as senior Eritrean figures do, that this also explains the Eritrean Government’s refusal to implement its constitution, to allow elections or political parties, to close down its independent media, to hold an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 political prisoners, to refuse to allow demobilization of its hundreds of thousands of national service conscripts, is carrying the argument to the ludicrous.

Certainly, the Eritrean Government should now be able to read the writing on the wall. Faced by the real threat of international sanctions over its behavior, it is not surprising that it is opting for the appearance of moderation. However, on past record, this is not the moment to modify the pressure. As the Ambassador’s letter demonstrates, Eritrea has made no more than a slight change of language and has shown no indication of any real change of heart, nor indeed of policy. It has shown no indication of any change of policies over Somalia, over Djibouti, over its support for armed struggle in other states and regional destabilization. Indeed, if the reports from Yemen are true, it is actually intensifying its actions, whether at the behest of its paymasters or on its own account. That Eritrean officials speaking from Asmara and New York are not sincere can easily be seen by comparing notes of what EU/Eritrean interlocutors have been told in Asmara and what the Eritrean Ambassador in New York has informed the Security Council in writing. We are changing and entering a new phase, says a top Eritrean official in Asmara, adding tantalizing hints about how things might change in the future. He talked about the re-ordering of Eritrea’s priorities, even suggesting that the exclusive pre-occupation with boundary matters might for the moment be left in the background. Within a few days or less, the Ambassador in New York was saying the opposite, confirming that prudence and commonsense advise that Eritrean statements must be treated with considerable skepticism.

Even in Asmara itself, depending to whom one talks, one can get diametrically opposed renditions of what Eritrea may be up to. Interviews with the President over the last few days make it all too apparent that what the EU Ambassadors and other EU delegations have been told by other officials contain no truth. They are designed to confuse and are no more that thinly designed prevarication. Indeed, the President was yesterday quoted as threatening the international community which he said would regret moves to impose sanctions on Eritrea. Eritrea has consistently made it clear it only responds to overwhelming pressure, and this is what must be applied. Clear changes of policy and active implementation of acceptance of UN Security Council Resolutions should be the first indication of compliance. It is only this which will help bring back the region towards the rule of law and the goals of defeating poverty and keeping extremism at bay.