Horn of Africa: The Monthly Review, 01/00

Djiboutian journalist detained for seven months: Reporters Sans Frontieres has protested the alleged detention in Harar, eastern Ethiopia, of Amir Adaweh, editor in chief of "La Republique'" the newspaper of the Djibouti opposition Partie Nationale Democratique (PND). In a letter to Djibouti's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Abdi Farah and Ethiopian Minister for Justice Wolde Woredewolde, RSF asked for the journalist's location and the reason for his detention to be made known. "If it turns out that he is imprisoned because of his work as a journalist, we ask for his immediate release," said RSF secretary-general Robert Menard. According to RSF, Adaweh has been held in Harar for more than seven months, since he and other people were reportedly arrested by Ethiopian police while on holiday. (Reporters Sans Frontieres, January 11)

WFP launches appeal to feed drought victims: The United Nations World Food Programme has approved a US $2.7 million emergency operation to feed 100,000 people affected by an on-going drought in Djibouti, the food agency has announced. According to WFP Country Representative Sanda Maina, "drought symptoms are clearly evident in all areas of the country, Little rain has left watering holes at dangerously low levels and livestock has died either because there is a lack of pasture land or because it's drastically deteriorating." The influx of nomadic families into the city shows their growing desperation, he added. WFP's operation, which is expected to run through the middle of June, will distribute over 6,000 metric tons of food aid to needy people in the drought-affected areas. (WFP Press Release, January 27)
 

SUDAN

Negotiators attempt to resolve Sudan's political crisis: A committee comprising the chairman of Sudan's National Congress Party, Abdel Rahim Ali, and a number of trade unionists is acting to resolve the political crisis in Sudan along with a joint government-National Congress committee which has also offered its good offices. The executive body of the National Congress gave the government and good offices committees a month starting December 20 to "patch up the rift" between President Omar al-Beshir and NC Secretary General Hassan al-Turabi, a senior NC official told the daily Al Rai al Aam newspaper. Yassin al-Haj Abdin, the party's rapporteur told the paper that failing that the NC faction backing Turabi "will become a political party independent of those in disagreement with it and will expel the dissidents in a peaceful manner that averts violence and clashes". The Khartoum government and a faction of the ruling National Congress Party have pledged to find a solution to Sudan's political crisis. Seven representatives from each side in the political stand-off pitting Islamist Hassan al-Turabi against President Omar al-Beshir have been meeting behind closed doors in order to find a solution to the crisis that erupted after Beshir on December 12 imposed a three-month state of emergency and dissolved the National Assembly. Higher Education Minister Ibrahim Ahmed Omar heads the government team while North Kordofan governor Ibrahim al-Sanousi heads the Turabi faction. No date has been set for the negotiations to be completed. (AFP, December 21 & 22)
 

Oil pipeline on-stream again: Oil tankers at Sudan's Beshir port on the Red Sea will be loaded on schedule despite an attack on the oil pipeline that caused damage totalling some US $400,000, the SUNA news agency reported. SUNA quoted Ministry of Energy and Mining Secretary General Hassan Mohamed al-Tom as saying that repairs were under way and the crude would resume flowing to Beshir Terminal for exportation on 18 January. He said the crude lost in the attack would be replenished by raising the pumping rate from oil fields in southwest Sudan. The Sudanese government has blamed the Bejah Congress, a faction of the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA), for the time-bomb attack on the pipeline that took place on January 16 about 150 kilometres south-west of Port Sudan. (AFP, January 17)
 

Sudanese government resigns: Three weeks after President al-Beshir declared a state of emergency and dissolved parliament 48 hours before a debate and legislative vote on measures to curb presidential powers, Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir has announced his acceptance of the resignations of the central and state governments. The President said the resignations were in line with resolutions adopted by the ruling National Congress Party's consultative council which called for reorganisation of the country's federal and state executive bodies. After accepting the resignations, the President asked the former government officials to continue in office until a new administration is set up. Sources say the changes were expected and were intended to remove supporters of Beshir's former ally-turned-rival, Hassan al-Turabi, who was ousted on December 12 amid a growing power struggle. (AFP, December 31)
 

Ruling body votes on administrative reform: The Consultative Council of Sudan's National Congress Party, the highest body when the party's general assembly is not meeting, has voted overwhelmingly in favour of measures to reform the party's 60 member Leadership Authority which is currently chaired by former speaker of the National Assembly, Hassan al-Turabi. The Authority was created in September and gave Turabi, its chairman, wide-ranging powers. The Authority's tasks include appointing ministers and other senior government and party officials. The Secretary of the Consultative Council, Ibrahim Abdel Hafiz told reporters that the 345 members voted for the measures although it is not clear how many of the council's 525 members attended the closed-door meeting. The measures include revising the party's rules and restructuring other party organs and were recommended by a committee that has been mediating between Beshir's and Turabi's camps. The committee also recommended that the December 12 state of emergency be lifted as soon as possible. Ibrahim Abdel Hafiz added that Turabi will keep his position as the National Congresses Secretary General while Beshir will remain party chairman. Beshir later told a conference of Sudan's Pensioners Union that the Council's new resolutions "called for a unitary leadership, reinstated the government's authority, and banned interference in the government policies," Beshir said the changes were a victory for his decision to disband parliament and declare a state of emergency. (AFP, December 20 & 30)

Egypt and Sudan restore diplomatic relations: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Sudan's President General Omar al-Beshir have issued a joint statement announcing the restoration of full diplomatic relations between the two countries and the return of the Egyptian ambassador to Khartoum. The last Egyptian ambassador to Sudan was recalled in 1995 following an assassination attempt on Mubarak in Ethiopia that was blamed on Sudan. Since then Egypt has only been represented by a charge d'affaires in Sudan although Sudan kept an ambassador in Cairo. In the joint statement, released on December 23, the two presidents also said they had reached an agreement on the Red Sea border area of Halaib, which has been under dispute since Sudan's independence in 1956. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir had travelled to Egypt for the first time in 6 years as part of a tour of neighbouring states that included Libya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea and Uganda. (AP, December 22; AFP, December 23)

UN announces US $10 million humanitarian assistance for Nuba Mountains: The United Nations has announced a US $10 million humanitarian assistance programme for the people of the Nuba Mountains in central Sudan's South Kordofan State. The announcement of the programme was based on a month long tour that ended October 15. The mission was comprised of representatives of UN agencies and Non-Governmental Organisations who travelled to areas in the Nuba Mountains held by the government and the rebel Sudan Peoples Liberation Army. The report of the mission was transmitted to both sides in the conflict and the programme for the area was for the first time included in the Inter-Agency Consolidated Appeal for Sudan for the year 2000 to address the most essential humanitarian needs as well as the medium-term recovery and rehabilitation needs in government and SPLA-held areas. (AFP, November 12; IRIN News Brief, December 20)
 

SOMALIA

Somali faction leaders agree to set up joint authority for Moqdishu: Five main Somali warlords have agreed to establish a joint authority to administer the Moqdishu region as a first step towards forming a national government for Somalia. Hussein Aideed, Hussein Haji Bod, Osman Hassan Ali "Atto', Mohamed Qanyare Afrah and Ali Mahdi Mohamed signed the agreement late on December 22 following three days of talks. Each of the five warlords, all members of the Hawiye clan, controls part of the Somali capital. Aideed, Atto and Qanyare each has a fiefdom in south Moqdishu, while Bod and Ali Mahdi control parts of north Moqdishu. The agreement indicates that factions will set up a regional authority for southern Somalia, after first making institutions in Moqdishu operational. The new administration will run Moqdishu's main port and the airport, the warlords said in a statement. If the joint authority succeeds it is expected to pave the way for the resumption of Somalia's stalled national reconciliation process. According to the agreement, "after fulfilling the first part of the agreement, the leaders will proceed to discuss the formation of a national government through reconciliation with other factions in Somalia". The meeting also resolved to establish a co-ordination committee for the administration of Moqdishu and its environs. The mandate of the committee, consisting of 26 members, includes overseeing the framework of the operations, monitoring and assessing the progress of various committees that had been formed earlier, as well as updating the various faction leaders on the progress made by various committees. Previous agreements signed between warlords in Somalia failed mainly because of lack of goodwill among the feuding faction leaders. (AFP, December 22; Aayamaha, quoted by BBC Monitoring Service, January 5)
 

Appeal for Somalia launched: The United Nations has appealed for US $50 million in relief aid for Somalia, saying it would be used to purchase seeds and settle farmers. According to the UNDP Resident Representative and UN Resident Coordinator, Randolph Kent, half of the money would be used to keep people on their lands so they can take advantage of the rains and not become internally displaced and therefore increasingly vulnerable. He emphasised that UN officials were negotiating with warlords and militias to persuade them to allow WFP and non-governmental organisations such as CARE and World Vision to deliver seeds to farmers. The UN Humanitarian Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal for the year 2000 was launched in Geneva on November 23. The CAP 2000 for Somalia amounts to $50.5 million for humanitarian assistance. Another $73.7 million was requested for other priority assistance to respond to post conflict reconstruction and rehabilitation needs in northeast and northwest Somalia. Randolph Kent told a news conference at the launch of the appeal that "Somalia should be seen in a totally different light than we have seen over the past 5 years". He added that the country had one of the most sophisticated portable telephone networks in Africa. Kent urged donors to "back away from the standard view of Somalia as one great tragedy". (UN Somalia Monitor, November 17; AFP, December 7)
 

Islamic Court Administration faces resistance in Southern Somalia: Warlords in southern Somalia, who fear the Islamic courts will deprive them of political power, are resisting the courts' authority. The courts have been appointing local administrators, Islamic court officials and recruiting militia. The courts finished recruiting 100 militiamen in Lower Shabelle regional capital of Merca on December 11. Some of these militia were immediately dispatched to Jamamme District in Lower Shebelle region where an Islamic Court appointed District Commissioner was killed. The District Commissioner, Sheikh Abdurahman Barre who was appointed to the post by the courts in October, was also responsible for running Islamic courts in the area. He was killed as his car approached a roadblock outside Jamame town. In another development, 28 prisoners of the Islamic Court in Merca have escaped from jail. Most of the prisoners had been arrested for setting up illegal roadblocks and extorting money from the public. (AFP, December 12)

Somaliland re-opens border with Djibouti: Somaliland has re-opened its common border with Djibouti after blocking movements by road for more than seven weeks. Somaliland closed its main land route to Djibouti at the end of November following allegations by the interior ministry that Djibouti was sending infiltrators and interfering in the domestic affairs of Somaliland. The Djiboutian "infiltrators" were apparently seeking to convince influential elders in Somaliland of the need to reverse the Somaliland position on secession from Somalia. The border was closed at Lowyada, the principal crossing point between Somaliland and Djibouti for the importation of consumer goods. Flights between the Somaliland and Djibouti were not affected. The border was re-opened on January 19 following a directive issued by President Muhammad Ibrahim Egal. (AFP, December 5; Radio Hargeisa, quoted by BBC Monitoring Service, January 19)
 

KENYA

IMF team expected for negotiations on resumption of aid: Kenya's Finance Minister Chrysanthus Okemo has announced that an International Monetary Fund delegation was expected in the country on January 24 to begin talks aimed at concluding a successor programme to aid the resumption of the Fund's assistance to Kenya. The IMF suspended its US $205 million Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF) meant for budgetary support in July, 1997 citing poor governance and widespread corruption as the reasons. Meanwhile, a cross section of opposition leaders has called for non-resumption of IMF aid to Kenya. Accusations have also been made against the head of Kenya's Public Service Commission, Dr. Richard Leaky and the Britain's High Commissioner to Kenya Sir Jeffery James, that they misled the IMF and World Bank over the resumption of aid to Kenya and cajoling donors to resume aid with a view to securing the interests of locally-based British multinationals and British Asians residents in Kenya. Sir Jeffrey was further accused of giving the impression that the country would break up unless aid resumes. The envoy has dismissed accusations from eight opposition MPs and some civil society leaders that he had misled his government and the donor community over aid resumption negotiations. He said his advice on resumption of negotiations was based on Kenya's improved record on good governance and serious commitment to tackling of corruption. The Kenyan Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation Dr. Bonaya Godana has defended the British High Commissioner and told the opposition groups that the attack on the diplomat was uncalled for since his job was to promote friendly relations between his government and Kenya. (PANA, December 18; East African Standard, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, quoted by BBC Monitoring, 5 January)

Drought causes pastoralists to migrate: An acute shortage of food in Kenya's Turkana district is causing thousands of Turkana herdsmen to seek refuge in neighbouring countries, news reports claim. Two hundred and fifty thousand people in Turkana District are faced with starvation following the absence of rainfall during the critical short rains of September-October and media reports from the drought-stricken district indicate that at least 30 people have died so far. According to the Turkana District Drought Monitoring Bulletin Report for October, the complete failure of these short rains has constrained availability of water for both livestock and domestic use and increased the "trekking distance to watering points even within traditionally dry season grazing areas". The Minister of State in the Office of the President, Shariff Nassir, who confirmed that the food situation in Turkana District was critical, appealed to members of the Turkana community not to flee to neighbouring countries, saying the government will be seeking long-term solutions to the food problems in the district. (All Africa News Agency, December 13; KTN Television, quoted by BBC Monitoring Service, November 19)
 

UGANDA

Coffee exports record over 80 percent increase in Uganda:Uganda's coffee exports have increased by over 80 percent, earning the country over US $24.8 million, the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) said in a monthly report released early December. The report attributed the increase in both volume and earnings to good weather and improved international markets. It said that coffee exports in November stood at 411,903 bags of 60 kilogrammes each, which earned up to US $24.8 million, compared to 225,025 bags valued at US $13.5 million recorded in October -- an increase of about 83 percent both in volume and value. The November exports again saw an improvement of about 70 percent in volume and 20.5 percent in earnings compared to the same period during the last coffee year, which ended last September, the UCDA report said. Up to 2.5 million people in Uganda are employed by the coffee sector. Meanwhile, Uganda's inflation rate has remained in double figures for the third month running, according to figures released in December by the finance ministry. A statement from the ministry said the annual headline inflation for November 1999 rose to 10.6 percent, up from the 10 percent recorded in October, and up from 5.1 percent in May. Some analysts blamed the sharp increase on bad economic management by the government, while economists at the finance and economic planning ministry pointed the finger at regular hikes in the price of food -- a major component of the country's consumer basket. (AFP, December 4)
 

Ugandan parliament approves long-awaited amnesty bill: The Ugandan parliament has passed long-awaited legislation under which amnesty will be granted to rebels operating in the country. The legislation, which was moved by Internal Affairs Minister Edward Rugumayo, will be in force for six months, with a provision for extension. Amnesty has long been called for by people living in war-affected regions of Uganda, particularly in the north where the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels of spirit medium Joseph Kony have been waging war against the government of President Yoweri Museveni since 1988. Rugumayo described the bill as "exciting, because for the first time the government has come out clearly and unequivocally to say that the amnesty will be granted to all those who have been waging war against the country." (AFP, December 7)
 

Increase in rebel activity in western Uganda: In early December twelve people were killed and five were wounded as rebels in western Uganda led simultaneous dawn raids on five military units. The Allied Democratic Forces rebels struck small barracks at Butama, Kabango, Ndugutu, Ngite and Kanyamirima, Bundibugyo's resident district commissioner Edward Masiga told AFP. Kanyamirima and Kalindi are both within six kilometers of the district capital Bundibugyo, which lies at the base of the Ruwenzori Mountains less than 30 kilometers from the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. More than 100,000 people in the area are internally displaced, living in camps in trading centres and along the roads. As tensions increased in the area, the ADF warned humanitarian agencies in Bundibugyo district that their relief convoys would be attacked by its rebels. In a letter faxed to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the ADF accused the two groups of ferrying military supplies to the Ugandan army in the region. The UNHCR does not, however, operate in Bundibugyo because the people affected are internally displaced and not refugees. The threat resulted in a four week suspension of UN relief operations in the district. At the end December, the Ugandan army said it had killed 86 members of the ADF in the west of the country during the month. State Minister for Defence Steven Kavuma said that during the recent battles, the army also captured from the rebels 64 AK-47 assault rifles, an assortment of ammunition and other war equipment, as well as drugs. He noted that some of the weaponry captured seemed to have been newly acquired and that the government would investigate its source. (AFP, December 10 & 18, January 26)
 

Sudan, Uganda sign pledge to stop backing rebels: Uganda and Sudan moved closer to normalising their relations when they pledged to undertake to stop supporting each other's rebel groups in an agreement signed on December 8. In the accord reached during talks in Nairobi, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Sudanese President Omar el-Beshir agreed to take steps to re-establish diplomatic relations and to promote peace in the region. Points of the agreement included pledges "to renounce use of force to resolve their differences, to stop support for each other's rebel groups, to disband and disarm the terrorist groups and to respect each country's territorial integrity." The Carter Center, which oversaw the talks, issued a statement saying: "This agreement complements the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) peace process in Sudan, chaired by Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi." The 11-point agreement also includes clauses on the return of prisoners of war (POWs), locating and returning abductees to their families and an amnesty for returnees who renounce use of force. The accord called for the formation of a joint ministerial committee and technical teams to establish a timetable of specific steps for implementation. "If all other terms of this agreement are honoured satisfactorily, we desire to re-establish normal relations between our two countries within a month," the two presidents said in the agreement. "Within a month of this date, we will open offices in both capital cities and assign junior diplomatic personnel for service, and by end of February 2000, ambassadors will be exchanged and full diplomatic relations restored," the agreement added. The return in January by Sudan of a number of individuals abducted by Ugandan rebels operating from southeastern Sudan was one of the first initiatives taken following the signing of the new agreement. By January 23, some 10 adults and 43 children had been handed over to UNICEF. The United Nations estimates that 10,000 Ugandans have been kidnapped in the past five years, but many are believed to have died in battle or from disease. Thousands more have escaped. Ugandan authorities believe that up to 2,000 abducted people are still in rebel hands. In a reciprocal arrangement, the Ugandan authorities handed back 72 Sudanese prisoners of war captured by Ugandan soldiers inside Sudan while on a pursuit operation against LRA bases in April 1997. (AFP, December 8 & January 23)

Senior US official consults Uganda on AIDS: A senior US official arrived in Kampala January 9 to start a three-day visit to Uganda for consultations with AIDS researchers, support groups and officials on efforts to reduce the scourge. The visit of Sandra Thurman, who is National AIDS policy director at the White House, will be part of a four-nation, two-week tour which will also take her to Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya. Up to 1.5 million Ugandans are believed to be carrying the HIV virus that causes AIDS, while more than 100,000 other cases of the disease are full-blown. Uganda, whose AIDS orphans have reached 1.7 million, launched a new multi-sectoral approach last year aimed at renewing commitment to fighting the deadly pandemic. Uganda is one of the few countries in the world which have been successful in drastically reducing AIDS rate and new infections. An awareness programme, launched 13 years ago, made significant gains, reducing prevalence rates by 50 percent in the past seven years. (AFP, January 8)
 
 

DISCLAIMER
 
 

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
 

SOURCES:

 Information in this update has been obtained from official and private media reports, U.N. agencies and NGO sources. No claims are made by the UNDP-EUE as to the accuracy of these reports.

31 January, 2000
 

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