Briefing: Ethiopia Eritrea and Somalia headlines

Jimma Times

Ethiopia asks for more aid

The Ethiopian government asked for more aid on Friday, stating that 4.9 million people will need emergency food aid in 2009. It appealed for $390 million from donors.

Low amount of rains and inflation has caused food insecurity says the government but opposition leaders blame government mismanagement of the country’s economy, one of the most fertile countries in the world.

The recent drought has particularly affected pastoral communities in southern and eastern parts of the country.

Ministerial reshuffles bring no changes

The ministerial and other reshuffling of government positions and departments in Ethiopia have brought no improvements in governance the last two months, sources informed Jimma Times. Widespread corruption and incompetency in various ministries continue, according to Ethiopians inquired by JT. Instead, the ill-managed transitional periods have been more disastrous with many people forced to wait several weeks for basic government services in many places like the information ministry and sub-city administrations and agencies in Addis Ababa.

Some of the other ministerial changes included appointment of Siraj Fergesa as Defence Minister and Diriba Kuma as Transport and Communications Minister. Many locals are discontented with the performance of the Addis Ababa administration of Mayor Kuma Demeksa, who is from the Oromo ethnic group, with some opposition party officials claiming that he lacks full authority and he is surrounded by mostly Tigrayan officials in his administration.

After the opposition party, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), won the 2005 election in the capital city, Dr. Berhanu Nega was to become the Mayor of Addis Ababa before he was imprisoned for boycotting parliament. Berhanu has since been released but he has left the country to continue his university studies in the United States.

AU seeks War crimes investigation in Gaza

The African Union (AU) accused Israel of an aggression and demanded that it withdraw from Gaza. AU also appealed the UN Security Council on Friday to investigate “serious violations of human rights and war crimes observed during the said aggression and use of banned weapons.” It asked Israel to immediately end attacks against Palestinians and demanded end of Israeli blockage on movement of goods and humanitarian relief to Gaza.

AU acknowledged the death of “more than a thousand people” with “thousands wounded among them innocent civilian populations.”

ONLF leader Mohamed Sirad Dolal assassinated?

While the Ethiopian government media claims Mohamed Sirad Dolal, a senior official of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), was killed by its security forces, some people in the Ogaden community instead say he was put in a dangerous position by rival leaders of his own ONLF organization. The last four years, the ONLF faced a minor split into two factions: one led by the Chairman Mohamed Omar Osman and the second led by Dolal. One cause of division is said to be Dolal's opposition to Osman's decision of working with Eritrea and sending ONLF fighters to help al Shabab in Jubaland. Dolal was said to be more in favor of focusing on Ogadenia liberation though he was open for more Ogaden autonomy inside Ethiopia, while the Osman group strictly wants secession from Ethiopia.

The Ogaden, which is a sub-clan of the Darod Somali clan, itself endures sub-clan rivalries. There are believed to be around 15 sub-clans inside the Ogaden group. The Somali region of Ethiopia, which Ogaden covers a large part of, suffers from a humanitarian crisis compounded by governance issues with allegations of widespread corruption by the Somali People's Democratic Party (SPDP) local officials.

AU summit with Somalia in turmoil

The African Union summit activities are underway in the Ethiopian capital as the al Shabab insurgents take over more territories in Somalia including the parliament seat Baidoa, but AU officials remain optimistic about the UN-brokered peace process in Djibouti. Ethiopian troops withdrew from Somalia and the government said its mission in Somalia was accomplished by damaging the al Shabab and providing enough time for the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia to create an inclusive government.

But critics say the Ethiopian government has failed to achieve any of its goals, as the al Shabab has also become stronger than ever before. Thousands of Somali civilians have died during the conflict between insurgents and Ethiopia backed government. Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused all sides of war crimes, with stronger charges on Ethiopian troops who “indiscriminately fired on civilian neighborhoods in Mogadishu.”

Jimma "terrorists" face trial

A JT source said some of the at least a dozen Oromos arrested by the Ethiopian government are facing trial on allegations of plotting terrorist attacks in Oromia. The detained Muslim Oromos are part of a government campaign to crack down on a perceived underground network of extremist Wahabi groups who are attempting to carry out attacks.

Analysts say Saudi funded ideological influences in Ethiopia radicalize some Ethiopian Muslims. Ethiopian opposition groups have often accused the government of fabricating charges of links to “terrorists” in order to crack down on legal opposition supporters and dissidents.

Eritrean President blasts “imperialist” nations in interview

The Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki held a long interview with the government media about several topics, including regional and global issues. He attacked various western governments and institutions like CIA and IMF as imperialists and called IGAD, AU and UN as puppet bodies of the US, while stating his relations with Iran and Syria began during the Eritrean struggle for independence.

During the interview with the media, the Eritrean President also accused the Meles government for dividing Ethiopians along ethnic lines and for the crisis in Somalia.

According to BBC, Eritrea is the only African country without a private media and some members of the Eritrean opposition claim President Isaias interviewed himself; providing the questions and answering them extensively. Regarding the resolution by the UN Security Council on the Eritrea-Djibouti issue, President Isais accused the Djibouti President of declaring war on Eritrea. “The paper he presented to the Security Council indicates just that,” added Isaias.

EU gives $322 million to Ethiopia

Despite accusations of human rights abuses in Ethiopia from European government officials, EU gave 322 million dollars in aid to Ethiopia on Friday. This offer comes just over one month after opposition party leader Judge Birtukan Mideksa was imprisoned. European parliament member Ana Gomes said it is often “business as usual” with Ethiopia-Europe relations, regardless of human rights issues.

After a brief hold, Europe also gave millions in aid to Ethiopia following the 2005 post-election crisis where 193 Ethiopians were gunned down by security forces. In an interview with Jimma Times, Ana Gomes said “there is a lot of hypocrisy about Ethiopia, a lot of inconsistency about what are European values and objectives in promoting democracy and human rights.”