Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 18:36:07 +0300 (BEAUT)
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HORN OF AFRICA: IRIN Update, 2 August 2000 

CONTENTS:

ERITREA: Repatriation speeds up
ERITREA: Defence ministers talk in Sudan
SOMALIA: 'Minority' groups reach consensus
SOMALIA: RRA leader pushes for 'due recognition' 
SOMALIA: Hawiye struggle with clan representation 
SOMALIA: Yusuf calls peace delegates "criminal"
SOMALIA: Puntland celebrates anniversary
SOMALIA: New radio partnership
ETHIOPIA: Somali region deserves priority - USAID 
ETHIOPIA: Detentions reported in Ogaden
SUDAN: OLS accused of "malpractices"
SUDAN: IMF restores voting rights


ERITREA: Repatriation speeds up

UNHCR said a total of 11,785 war-affected Eritrean refugees had returned
since the voluntary repatriation programme from camps in eastern Sudan
began on 25 July. The number was expected to increase "dramatically" with
the deployment of 393 trucks on Tuesday, UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski
told journalists a press conference in Geneva. "The camp populations in
Kassala are thinning out. Many refugees are seen packing up and preparing
to leave", he said. The returnees are heading to 17 towns in western
Eritrea, and pass through a reception centre in Tesseney, near the Sudan
border. About 900 returnees a night stay in the Tesseney centre, where
they are registered and provided with a two-month food ration. They are
then taken on by truck to their final destination. Heavy rains hampered
the operation at the start, but a recent improvement in the weather was
expected to speed up the voluntary return of some 90,000 refugees who fled
when the two-year border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea resumed in May.
A ceasefire agreement signed on 18 June is to be observed by the OAU and
monitored by a UN peacekeeping force. 

ERITREA: Defence ministers talk in Sudan

The Eritrean Defence Minister, Sebhat Ephrem, arrived in Khartoum on
Wednesday for talks with his Sudanese counterpart, Bakri Hassan Saleh,
Agence France Presse agency (AFP) reported on Wednesday. The two were
expected to focus on the situation on the Eritrea-Sudan border, following
recent allegations by a Sudanese official that Eritrea was backing a rebel
offensive against eastern Sudan. Sebhat told reporters on his arrival that
the Sudanese minister had invited him to continue the dialogue "on
questions left hanging between the two sides, in particular security
questions", AFP said. Eritrea has denied any hostile intentions towards
Sudan, and said it was not hosting or backing Sudanese rebels. "There are
no Eritrean troop concentrations on the border with Sudan and all press
reports about that are completely unfounded", Sebhat told reporters. Since
the Ethiopian-Eritrean border war started in May 1998, Ethiopia has been
successful in forging a closer relationship with Sudan, and has expelled
Sudan opposition representatives. The main Sudanese rebel group, the Sudan
Peoples Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), told IRIN recently that it was
"no secret" that it had an office in Asmara, Eritrea. 

SOMALIA: 'Minority' groups reach consensus

Two clan-based groups at the Djibouti-hosted Somali National Peace
Conference have reached consensus on their nominees for the proposed
225-seat Transitional National Assembly. The Dir and the Alliance group
(formerly known as "minorities") handed in lists of their nominees on
Tuesday, after two weeks of political haggling. The Dir have been
allocated 44 seats as one of the four main clan groupings. It comprises
three northern Somali sub-clans - the Issak, Gadabursi and the Issa - and
a cluster of southern sub-clans known as the "southern Dir". The Dir of
northwestern Somalia, encompassing the self-declared state of Somaliland,
have been given 22 seats, with the rest divided out between the Gadabursi
and the smaller clans. The Allied group have shared out their 24 seats
among very diverse representatives, including craftsmen, Bantu-speaking
farmers and merchants of Arab and Persian origin. An arbitration committee
established to help break the deadlock over the last two weeks, is
reported to be continuing its work with the other major Somali clans: the
Darod, the Hawiye and the Digil-Mirifle. 

SOMALIA: RRA leader pushes for 'due recognition'

The main clans are under pressure from armed faction leaders to distribute
seats on a political basis, sources close to the conference told IRIN. The
Digil-Mirifle, allocated 44 seats as a main clan grouping, is under
pressure from the leadership of the Rahanwein Resistance Army (RRA) to
apportion seats generously to the Mirifle sub-clan, which forms the basis
of the RRA.  The leader of the RRA, Hassan Mohamed Nur ("Shatgadud") has
demanded that recognition be given to the role of the RRA, and that it be
reflected in the seats apportioned to Mirifle. "This is where political
interference comes in: individuals want to see their political interests
served", IRIN's sources said. Problems have also arisen in relation to the
representatives of small sub-clan groups brought to the conference with
the prominent status of delegate; clan representation "overlooks"
individuals, the sources added. 

SOMALIA: Hawiye struggle with clan representation

The Hawiye, allocated 44 seats as one of the four main groups, have "90
percent agreement" but have been unable to satisfy some of the smallest
sub-clans, one delegate told IRIN. According to the delegate, the Hawiye
"have developed a culture of dividing up over the last 10 years, since the
establishment of the United Somali Congress (USC)". The USC was an Hawiye
opposition movement which established a congress in 1989, and divided up
the central committee among the sub-clans. But the clan delegates have to
deal with the influence of the absent Mogadishu-based Hawiye faction
leaders, who include Hussein Mohamed Aideed, Osman Atto, Musa Sude and
Mohamed Afrah Kanyare. They received clan-based support during the height
of the civil war from traditional leaders, military officers and political
activists - many of whom are now at the conference. "Everyone has to be on
board", the delegate said. Even faction leaders who have refused to join
the conference would probably expect to negotiate with a newly formed
transitional government, he said. Ali Mahdi Mohamed, a faction leader from
northern Mogadishu, was likely to be given a place on the list of
nominees, the source added. 

SOMALIA: Yusuf calls peace delegates "criminal" 

People attending the Djibouti-hosted talks would be considered "criminal",
according to a new circular issued on Tuesday by Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf,
president of the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland in northeast
Somalia. Yusuf said any representative from the Puntland region "with
responsibilities" at the conference would be treated as a criminal. Such
people would be considered to have committed "a crime against the Puntland
administration in general and the people of Puntland in particular", local
and international media reported. The circular said the Puntland
administration was not opposed to Somali reconciliation, but that the
talks in Djibouti were "stage-managed". It called on people in the region
to ignore the outcome of the conference, which began in May. More than a
thousand delegates have joined the process, as well as many more observers
and participants. Yusuf has consistently opposed the Djibouti-hosted peace
process, and his administration has arrested people supporting the process
or planning to attend. 

SOMALIA: Puntland celebrates anniversary

Meanwhile, the Puntland administration celebrated the second anniversary
of the establishment of the declared autonomous region. Yusuf inspected a
guard of honour mounted by "Puntland armed forces", the pro-administration
Radio Galkayo reported on Tuesday. Thousands of people, including clan
elders, religious leaders, women's organisations and school children
gathered in Garowe town to mark the occasion, the station reported. After
Somalia's central government collapsed in 1991, Somalia's northeastern
Puntland region enjoyed relative stability and prosperity - after initial
battles with armed Islamic fundamentalists - and was able to establish a
police force and a local administration. It declared itself autonomous in
1998. 

SOMALIA: New radio partnership

The independent Mogadishu-based radio station 'Horn Akrik' has struck a
deal with the BBC, in which it will rebroadcast BBC Arabic and English
programmes on it's 99.9 FM frequency. 'Horn Afrik' has re-broadcast two
daily BBC Somali programmes since June. In a statement released on
Tuesday, Head of the BBC's African Services Kari Blackburn said there was
"clearly a demand for programmes in Arabic and English in Mogadishu as
well as in Somali".  Gamon McLellan, head of the BBC's Arabic service,
also welcomed the new partnership. Ahmed Abdisalam Adan, Director of
Programmes for 'Horn Afrik', said the partnership between it and the BBC
had already benefited listeners in Mogadishu, and the new deal would bring
even better opportunities.  Mogadishu residents would be able to "enjoy
the rare opportunity of listening to BBC English and Arabic programmes
through 'Horn Afrik' as we successfully launch this new partnership", he
said in a statement. 

The media in Somalia has suffered the effects of 10 years without
government, institutions, investment, training establishments or the rule
of law. Until recently, local media were confined to radio stations run by
faction leaders and under-resourced, under-skilled news sheets. Horn Afrik
Inc., established in August 1999, is the first indigenous, private
multi-media corporation operating in Mogadishu. It has become extremely
popular in a short time through offering a wide range of programmes,
including news, features and debates, according to residents of Mogadishu
and international journalists.

ETHIOPIA: Somali region deserves priority - USAID

The Somali region of Ethiopia should be given adequate priority to
overcome the effects of drought, a senior official of the US Agency for
International Development (USAID) has said after a three-week trip to the
Horn of Africa.  USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator Leonard Rogers
toured the region to assess efforts to distribute food up to 22 million
people identified as being at risk from prolonged drought in the region.
Rogers said the Ethiopian government and international donors should give
greater priority to drought relief in ethnic Somali areas in eastern
Ethiopia, as well as in the highlands around the northwestern town of
Gondar, news agencies reported on Tuesday. He also said there was
increasing concern about Kenya, because rains had "failed completely". The
greatest concern in Ethiopia was that adequate priority be given to the
Somali region, according to Rogers. "This is a very problematic area
because there is a great deal of inter-clan conflict among the Somalis.
It's a very insecure area and humanitarian workers are regularly
threatened", he told Reuters news agency in Washington, USA.

Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) on Tuesday approved 1.675 billion euros
(or some $1.53 million) in new aid to help drought-affected victims in
Ethiopia. The money would help provide emergency assistance to some two
million people in drought-affected areas over the next seven months, the
Associated Press (AP) agency quoted an EU statement as saying. The
assistance was intended to be targeted on food, health care, water supply
and logistical support for operations by providing airlifts in southern
Ethiopia, it said. Part of the aid would help the health NGO Medecins sans
frontieres (MSF) with its therapeutic feeding, water and medical
interventions for malnourished children in Somali region, the report
added. 


ETHIOPIA: Detentions reported in Ogaden

Ethnic Somalis in the Ogaden area of the Ethiopian Somali region have
suffered a pre-election crackdown by government forces, Ethiopian
opposition radio said in a broadcast monitored by the BBC. "Many people"
in Degeh Bur, Kebri Dehar and Shinile had been detained for opposing plans
to hold delayed national elections in the region, Radio Freedom reported
on 28 July. It broadcast a list of names of those alleged to have been
detained. The Ethiopian government has maintained a military presence in
the Ogaden since 1993 when it faced opposition in the area from the Ogaden
National Liberation Front (ONLF), the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and
armed Islamic fundamentalist movements. Radio Freedom, which supports the
Ogadeni opposition, also said last week that the OLF had killed government
soldiers during recent fighting around Babile town, eastern Ethiopia, and
in the Ogadeni areas of Kebri Dehar, Degeh Bur and Il-Satosh. The station
said a government military truck had been destroyed in Harar, eastern
Ethiopia, and that Oromo people had been arrested for allegedly supporting
the OLF. There has been no independent confirmation of the reports. 

SUDAN: OLS accused of "malpractices" 

The Sudan Council of Voluntary Agencies (SCOVA) has criticised the
international humanitarian consortium Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) and
called for a new agreement which would limit relief operations to inside
the country. SCOVA observed "with regret the malpractices which were
accompanying implementation of OLS", according to a press release issued
on Tuesday. The statement, carried by the state news agency SUNA, said OLS
was responsible for aggravating the famine which hit Bahr el Ghazal area
in 1998. SCOVA was reported by the state media to have called for a
"comprehensive evaluation for humanitarian aid operations in Sudan, as
well as formulating a new agreement with OLS so as to avoid the
shortcoming and violations". 

The critical statement was released on the same day that UN Assistant
Emergency Relief Coordinator Ross Mountain rebutted remarks attributed to
him by the Sudanese newspaper 'Al-Sahafi Ad-Dawli'. The paper claimed he
had admitted the need for a review of OLS. State-run Omdurman Radio said
in a similar report on Monday that the UN had been officially asked to
launch relief flights from bases inside Sudan, and to abandon the OLS
logistical base in Lokichoggio, northern Kenya. Rejecting the "distorted"
view of the Sudan media, Mountain said the government had on Monday
cleared all OLS flight plans for August. 

SUDAN: IMF restores voting rights

A seven year suspension of Sudan's voting rights in the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) was lifted on Tuesday. An IMF statement said voting
and related rights had been restored "in recognition of Sudan's progress
since 1997 in implementing appropriate macroeconomic and structural
policies".  Sudan was also commended for the repayment of IMF debts. The
step is the most significant in a process which started in August 1999,
when the IMF lifted its "declaration of non-cooperation against Sudan".
The international lending body began sanctions against Sudan on 14
September 1990, and suspended its voting rights on 9 August 1993. The
restoration of relations would hopefully "encourage members with
protracted arrears... to establish a solid record of policy performance
and payments to the IMF", the statement said. A senior spokesman for the
IMF, Shigemitsu Sugisaki, warned that Sudan should "maintain the current
momentum", including on its improved relations with other creditors. "This
would help provide a basis for a comprehensive resolution to Sudan's
arrears to the IMF and its debt problem", the statement quoted him as
saying. 

[ENDS]

[IRIN-CEA: Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin-cea@ocha.unon.org ]







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